BLF Kronos X6/X5 GB - Group Buy now closed.

I have one stainless steel light, a Convoy S7. It’s one of my favorites because it looks great and it’s very tough. I use it as my “beater” light, the one light I never have to worry about damaging. After years of being carried on the outside of my purse, it’s totally covered in microscopic scratches, but unless you look at it in just the right lighting… it still looks like a mirror.

If this GB becomes as popular as it deserves to be, I'll be putting my name down for another set of each at position 1981.

I CALL DIBS on position 1981!

...Waiting...

BTW, silly question… why is it the K6 instead of K5? Usually a 6 means 18650 and a 5 means 14500 (and 3 for 16340 / 18350).

So, for aluminum it should be able to dissipate quite a bit of heat. I’d imagine no turbo timer is necessary there, except maybe on the smaller version.

For copper, it’s probably okay too… especially since a 14500 cell won’t usually push as much power as an 18650. But OTOH it’ll also be small so heat could still potentially be an issue. Maybe.

For stainless steel, … heat builds up like crazy and takes forever to shed. To make it even remotely safe, it would probably need a somewhat short timer which steps down twice. Do you think it would be better to try to make it safe, or better to just get rid of the timer entirely and trust the light’s operator to manage heat, knowing that the light could probably kill itself? Also keep in mind that the outside of the light might not even be hot by the time the inside is approaching dangerous levels — heat moves slowly through steel.

“Also keep in mind that the outside of the light might not even be hot by the time the inside is approaching dangerous levels — heat moves slowly through steel.”

.

Very good point, TK.

I really think that if people want Bling, then to go with what Dale suggested - A Hybrid, with a SS body with CU fins.

Again: “…the outside of the light might not even be hot by the time the inside is approaching dangerous levels…”

Such is the nature of our reality. - You can actually have everything you want, but only in small doses at a time:-)

Thanks TK!
-Chuck

I really like the SS with Cu fins idea: makes it practical for use on high power for longer. But its probably hard to get that built…

I also agree if its going to green the beam its not worth the tiny boost in output. 3C is also pretty green on average, so I am torn on all the GBs, love the idea and the light, dislike the green NW + greening AR.

+9999999999999999999999999999

I’ll take an aluminum set too. NW.

Btw, a Cu insert with fins, in a SS body will be an improvement and awesome looking, but it will still not nearly shed the amount of heat that a middle-of-the-road aluminium body can, in which the heat spreads over the body in no time, if flat black anodised it is even better.

(aluminium is just unbeatable for flashlight use: great heat capacity, great heat conductor, lightweight, cheap, machining is a piece of cake, it can be durably stained, it is strong enough for most purposes. If you are a flashlight enthousiast and have a distaste for aluminium, you really make it hard for yourself)

My only stainless steel light is the Convoy S7… and even with its relatively thin walls (half as thick as aluminum lights), it’s heavy and takes a while to cool down after being used. Having air flow doesn’t help it as much as it helps aluminum or copper. I love the idea of a steel X6, and I want one, but I worry about it shedding heat.

But we won’t have to worry about damaging the host! If its parts are exactly the same size and shape as the original it might actually be bullet-proof. It’ll be seriously indestructible.

There’s a common belief that titanium is stronger than steel. And, in one sense, it’s true — a given mass of titanium will support more weight than the same mass of steel. But titanium is much lighter, so it can be a lot thicker at the same weight. And titanium is generally softer so it scratches easier. If you go by volume instead of mass, steel is usually stronger.

Chances are, a steel X6 will still be in pretty good condition when your grandchildren inherit it… Unless you use it for target practice with armor-piercing rounds or store it in salt water when not being used.

BTW, the X6 is a great mod host. I’ve been meaning to mod one of mine for a while, and finally did it today.

I just modded my BLF EE X6 (CW, stock) to use a BLF A6 driver (FET+1) and a de-domed XP-G2 S2 1D. Before the mod (stock X6), it got:

  • 922 lm
  • 18.3 kcd / 270 m

After the mod, it gets:

  • 604 lm
  • 52.5 kcd / 458 m

I’m having a hard time focusing the beam though, so the lux could potentially get a little higher.

I don’t know what the lux would be like with XP-L and a FET+1 driver, or with XP-L HI. At a guess though, probably about 27 kcd for XP-L or maybe 45 kcd for XP-L HI. But these are only guesses.

1) SS/Copper (SS/Cu) set
2) NW
3) One set

Thanks again, for this great GB!

Thanks TK,

You know… what would be really interesting to me, is what would the throw be with a constant output (lets just say) 600lm output - comparing XP-G2 (dome-on) to a XP-L Hi?

How do their actual ‘optical’ die sizes compare?

Regardless, there has to be a winner… Who do you think it would be?

Thanks,
-Chuck

Put me down for
1 SS/Cu NW
1 Al NW

Thanks in advance.

Not a clue, but I bet it would be close (ish).

Please put me down for :

1 SS/Cu NW
1 Al WW

Thanks,
Mike

So your spot is you serial number? I have #20… could I request #57, or if you have #57 would you be willing to swap spots for #20?

1 SS/Cu nw
1 Al nw

Please and thank you! :slight_smile:

I'll take 2 sets of Al

cw and nw

thanks

FTR, I’ve hit 103Kcd before in a X6 with de-domed XP-G2. manxbuggy1 has that light. :wink: