Pocketable, tight throw

$10.34 pocket thrower.
Build yourself or have made for you. :beer:

Tempted to give that a go as a side project and see how it stacks up against whatever I end up with.

Thanks for that. The negatives of the R20 don’t look like too much of an issue to me, and for a quick turn on and look type thrower 3 minutes sounds plenty.

That looks interesting, and on paper out-throws both the T01 and the R20 Javelot.

The T01 - for my use - looks very, very good. The form factor is ideal - small and light enough to hold whilst running and not really notice it was there (I used my MT10C last time - not a thrower, but size, weight and instant turbo access worked well. But no more throw than my HT.)

I really see what you mean - that review really does sell it.

Right now, my thought process is that the Manker T01 best suits from a size and weight perspective - it’ll fit into the palm of the hand when running, or tucked into a hip belt pocket whilst night hiking and just be forgotten about. Whilst neither the P12GT or R20Javelot are large, they’re both 30-40g heavier and run off 18650’s rather than 14500’s - so total weight is likely to be double the T01 and are physically much longer too and less likely to be forgettable in the palm of the hand. In fact both look about the same size and weight as my BLF A6 which gives me a handy frame of reference.

But…I like the idea of 350m+ throw offered by the P12GT over the T01’s quoted 200m.

Nothing much in it price wise, although if anyone knows a way of getting the prices down I’d be all ears - currently seeing around £40/$60 dollars between BG and AliExpress for all three options.

Of the three the T01 tempts me most - it looks like an excellent little light.

I may be alone in this, but I’m really suspect of Nitecore’s numbers for their new GT line. ~350m from a tube light seems too good to be true, even with XP-L HI. I personally am holding off on that line until I see some independent verification of those numbers.

I agree that Nitecore’s numbers are likely inflated or Manker’s numbers are under reality. These lights have similar emitters and are driven similarly, but the Manker has a bigger reflector, so it should throw further.

Well I’ll be keeping an eye out for the P12GT when some reviews come out (I can’t find any) to see if it does live up to claims, but I’ve ordered the T01. It seems to be the closest thing to what I’m looking for and has some decent reviews. And I don’t own any Manker lights which is a good enough reason alone to order one.

Quick update:

The T01 arrived today along with a pair of Keeppower protected 840mah 14500’s - the only 14500’s I currently have. And the T01 won’t switch on with either of them. (The cells are fine, tested in an SK68.) They fit, the tailcap closes but it won’t switch on. Which is a disappointment. On the upside with a normal Eneloop AA it turns on fine and - even before I try and get it into pro-mode - has an impressive output. In fact everything I’ve seen so far suggests it’ll be ideal.

Am I going to need to look for unprotected 14500’s though? I’ve got some Xtar 800mah protected cells on order that were intended for a handful of SK68’s, but if the KP ones won’t work what are the chances of the Xtar cells working?

ETA:
Worth ordering a pair of Nitecore 650mah IMR’s to try?

Some optics are rated by FWHM which means the Full Width of the beam at Half Maximum intensity. This is not a half angle measurement but the full width of the beam at the point where the intensity is down to one half maximum. On spot lenses this coincides very closely with the edge of the hotspot. Ledil uses this for optic ratings. They include numbers for different LEDs by different manufacturers as well.

Forgot I’d ordered a pair of IMR14500’s already. One’s a dud but the T01 works with the remaining one - so I’m happy.

It’s a great little light. Despite the oversized head (relative term here - it’s still less than 30mm diameter) it fits perfectly in the hand and there’s no weight to it. Will be taking it out for it’s intended purpose soon but just mucking about with it I can see why others are so impressed with it.

Mmm, what about a Convoy S2 with SMO reflector & AR lens running a dedomed XP-G2 S4 on copper with FET driver, or then dedomed XP-E2 on copper @ 2.5 amps. Especially the XP-E2 should do great with throw, will be a pencil type beam, but thats the requirement? Otherwise dedomed XP-G2 S4 should also do good, less throw, more lumens. Very pocketable… and the advantage of 18650 over 14500. Heavier though, but still very pocketable.

How much would the parts set me back, would it involve any soldering and is are we talking about fairly easy mods here?
I’ve got the T01 anyway but I’m looking for a project to break me into modding gently in the new year, wondering if that might tick the boxes.

I believe it will tick the box. Only problem is you’ll probably have to source all your parts from the US, you’ll get all from Mountain Electronics. You also have to first decide if you want to go XP-G2 which will give around 900 lumens & 350-450m of throw, or XP-E2 which will give around 350-400 lumens with more throw. I have not build an XP-E2 Convoy S2 yet, so cannot comment on throw figures… Maybe someone else can chime in.

I’ve planned to build exactly these 2 lights somewhere soon. If you insist, I’ll build them and give feedback on the exact lumens & throw figures? Let me know… Maybe then you can decide how you’d like to proceed. Take note that the XP-E2 version will give almost double the runtime.

tenohfive, some feedback on the builds I’ve done. The Convoy S2 XP-E2 version did not work hey, I retract my recommendation on this. Throw really not as good as I thought - just does not do it.

Herewith the specs on the Convoy S2 XP-G2 build…

  • Dedomed XP-G2 S4 2B
  • MTN 17mm FET Driver (Turbo Timer of 30s - its heats up quick)
  • 18 Gauge Wire
  • AR Lens
  • Braided springs, driver & switch

I tested with a LG HG2 3000mah

  • Amps at tail - 5.1
  • Lux Start - 1200 at 6.2m -> 46,128 Lux -> 429.5m
  • Lux 30s - 1050 at 6.2m -> 40,362 Lux -> 401.8m
  • Lumens Start - 1045.5
  • Lumens 30s - 923.1

So, its definitely pocketable and does very well for its size, but its maybe not the ‘thrower’ that you’re looking for. Also take note that the light warms up very quickly when pushed this hard.

The Eagle Eye X6 might be closer to what you’d be looking for. I don’t have practical experience with the X6, but there’s many here that do have. Sure they’d be happy to share some feedback. I believe a well tuned X6 (dedomed XP-G2) should do around 100,000 lux (630m) and it handles heat much better than the S2. Also, as mentioned, a tricked out Convoy C8 (dedomed XP-G2) is an excellent light - will do around 160,000 lux (800m) but its a bit less pocketable than the X6.

Also remember the light cannot sustain the above figure for very long. The light get pushed to its limits and the batteries work very hard. I believe any of the lights mentioned above should give around 30-40min until around 10% output left.

Herewith some photos of the 3 lights compared:

Hope it helps :wink:

X6 with short tube and 18350 cell weighs about 130g or a bit less, does around 60kcd with dedomed XP-E2@2A.

tenohfive, I see you own a Jacob A60, as reference. I can add the A60 into a size comparison photos if you’d like. Let me know…

Forgot to post back in this thread.

The Manker T01 arrived and got used in anger recently. I really, really like it - 200m range in sideways, misty drizzle. Waiting for a clearer night to see what it can really do. I’m confident that it’ll do what I need it to though.
But I do like the idea of getting into modding and given the choice of a floody or throwy first project light I’d always pick the latter.

I’m not sure if any of the modding options mentioned so far would tick the boxes though - beyond 100g I’m not sold (for me at least) on it being light enough, and the X6 or C8 both look (relatively, compared to the T01) bulky.

Could you take a beamshot please?

Shrick, if you can, please put a couple of photos with Jacob and C8+X6, thank you very much.

Thanks for reporting back. Where did you get the XP-G2 and did you dedome it yourself?

Hi Erik

The S2 XP-G2 build already went as a gift to a friend. The other problem is I don’t have a proper camera with manual settings for beam shots. Sorry about that…

Hi Manx. I’ll do so, give me a day or so…