18650 Lanterns

I only know of this one so far along with its 200lm counterpart that was listed on FT about a month ago.

Wonder what the run time is? It has 3 modes…interesting Lo > Mid > Hi

I just asked about the runtime in a thread on FT from people who have the device already. Will see when/if they respond.

This is nice. If it came in a neutral / warm fashion I would get some.

Solar force has a conversion set, that converts a l2 type light into a lantern.

i allready think about ordering one :slight_smile: (and sticking it on top of a l2p with a nice warm 3k drop-in)

I think I’ve posted about it in another thread, they are very well designed and made, not cheap when you figure in the cost of an L2 but if you’ve got a spare then they are a good accessory. I certainly like mine, it’s a nice bonus being able to choose the drop-in temp and modes.

I really like the idea. Will come handy in an power outage, as flashlights aren’t that useful indoors to light a room.

Anybody tried to mod these?
They are on my radar now for some time. 3 * XM-L2-T5-5* each with 350ma and a modified Star FW might do the job for good runtime vs. light output vs. color rendititon.
As the current is low you might get away with a solid aluminium base below the mpcbs for cooling.
Integrated charging optional via. TP4056 and protection.

Crap see myself spending 20$ on parts in a 5$ light, that’s the spirit.

Flashlights are perfectly fine for that task. Just point it to the ceiling. Indoors I would prefer a ceiling bounce from a flashlight rather than a lantern, unless you have a dark ceiling.

The LT-1 has been around for long enough so I am surprised it has not been copied multiple times for various flashlights with removable bezels. Nitecore has multiple lights with a 40mm OD bezel and they offer a 3 prong “tactical” bezel that fits all of them so an LT-1 clone should be a natural for them. Most of the SRK clones seem to have interchangeable parts so a lantern head built to fit them seems like a natural accessory.

I currently have a couple modded lanterns that have 18650 carriers (along with AA, D carriers ) including a Coleman Remote-control lantern that i modded from its original fluorescent tubes to a modded 11-watt household bulb.
It has High, Low, Night light modes, and I also modded it with multi-cell capability, so it can run on either 8-AA, 8-AAA, 8-D, 8-C, 3-protected 18650s, or a 4.2AH SLA battery.

I’d love to see if someone has modded one of these:

Either one, with a more modern emitter and a decent driver. Put a decent CC driver in there. (Steal one from a Quark QTA for example, there are lots of other possibilities.) A 7135-based driver would be cheaper, but they’re less efficient at lower drive levels.

these are for sale on Ebay now for under $10 bucks delivered.

500 lumens and takes a single 18650 is hard to beat. Does anybody actually have one to report on?

Thanks,
bigC

I can ceiling bounce the photons from any of my tail standers, and have yet to have a need for a lantern, however the flying saucer from FT looks like it would be good in a tent or fish house.

Apparently there is one copy, anyway, the Sipik CK66, for $20.93 at Gearbest. I don’t know whether one diffuser fits on the other flashlight.

The diffuser screws into the bezel ring. It comes also with a simple orange plastic diffuser. It was somewhat intermittent and had only an XP-E, so I put in a two group 6 x 7135 driver and an XM-L2 T5 5A2. Two amps is mild for an XM-L2 on direct thermal, but it will stay in regulation longer and won’t melt the reflector. I don’t know how much it is like the LT-1, except for the pictures. It has nice threads but a plastic reflector. The pill is solid but was not very flat. I am pleased that the ends of the diffuser are metal. The window is plastic. It puts out a fairly uniform pattern, but is brightest in a ring near the forward dark region.

An interesting observation about diffuse reflection translucent diffusers like the round bottom element in this: The scatter is cooler than the transmission. In this case the light reflected out by the shiny cone on top is warmer than that coming out from the round part on the bottom. Another light, with a simple rubbery diffuser from Fasttech, has a weak and broadened but very warm spot and a very cool scatter. Its spot is very warm, even though it has a cool white XM-L.
In case anyone is interested in why, the diffuser must have variations of optical properties on the scale of a light wavelength. As can be seen in the sky, cigaret smoke some and other materials, small particles effectively scatter only wavelengths that are short compared to the particle size. Rayleigh scattering - Wikipedia

@ tryps: I know that feeling too well. Welcome to the BLF. You already have the spirit!

Don’t know about the 5W claim or the light output. I have 2. A wattmeter reading using an LG 2400mA lion give me:
Lo > 0.08A/0.3W
Med > 0.4A/1.4W
Hi > 1A/3.6W
I did not check it with AAA but it does ‘work’ with that pack.
So far I like the light.

I’m glad that I saw this thread. It has planted a seed in my head of what I need to do.

I went without power and heat for over a week last winter after a ice storm. I have some AA lanterns that I got cheap from Meritline a few years ago when I bought my Sipik SK68. I used those lanterns sparingly during that week of no power. I’m thinking of buying a single 18650 battery box to rig up as a base to power them with laptop pulls.

One cell should power a 11 led lantern for some time. And if I have another long power outage like I had last year. I’ll be set and be able to recharge my cell phone too.

http://www.meritline.com/11-leds-camping-light-telescopic-camping-bivouac-light—-p-118287.aspx

If you have the power bank, or intend to get one, also get the above XTAR light and included goose neck flexible extension to use with it in emergencies. Claimed 180 Lumens output on high as well as 60 and 120 Lumens output modes. I have used it as a reading light and it does a good job. Should work with any USB power bank. No real hot spot in the beam. Turns any USB power bank into a useful light. Available from Going Gear.