I just clicked through and looked over the pictures. That first one actually does appear to be fairly well built. The second one, I didn’t really look at, but maybe it is too.
I wouldn’t want an e-switch. After since James3 sent me the NWK 750N1 I got so hooked on a baton-like light… I do have the WL-S4 and that’s not bad. I was interested in the JAN X6 host but I heard bad reviews when receiving the item in poor condition.
I think the Convoy M2 is one of the most overbuilt lights I’ve come across. Thick walls, brass inserts at the head & tail, bulletproof switch, good cooling - the thing is built like a brick outhouse.
Set it up with a Q-lite driver with the modes of your choice, and the emitter of your choice, and you’ve got a good tough light at a very reasonable cost.
Any recommendation over the others? I am planning to build a single emitter monster with either an SST-90 or MT-G2…
For MAXIMUM lumens and throw! Any tips and input will be very much appreciated
The TR-J20 dominates them ALL for cooling. The head without driver, or pill, stripped, weighed in at 640g. Add 150g of copper pill to that, and you have some serious cooling.
You need single-emitter you say? No problem! I sure didn’t want 12 either!
Just like you, I search high and low for these “overbuilt” hosts to turn into aspheric throwers. My next “large” project I’m doing uses this next light. It has some of the best thermal design in 26650-size I have found for a smaller aspheric than the J20. SingFire SF-605: http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_68677.html
It’s a matter of how you get the heat out to the fins, and it will not be the way the factory does it—especially with XHPs. Yes the beefy fins are there, but you have to have some material knowledge to get the heat away from the emitters quickly and out to those fins where air can pull it away. It shouldn’t be too hard at all. Copper pressed into aluminum is your best friend for these projects and is also cheap to do. Trustfire and Singfire both make them (Trustfire model is the TR-DF003), my experience with Trustfire is they have good quality. The Singfires I cannot speak for, but they look like the same grade of anodizing (look like the same exact light) from the generic photos.
I will PM you some info about these lights which I have recently learned. There’s also a second version that is interesting I have recently spoke with the manufacturer about.