i am pretty much a newbie with budget lights. i'm also a newbie when it comes to li-ion's and just ordered some 14500's for the first time to use with my iTP C7T.
what i'm looking for is a 1x 14500 light that puts out 200+ lumens, is reliable on a 14500, doesn't stress a 14500, weighs no more than 50 grams, is as compact as possible, and costs as little as possible (<$20). single mode would be preferred.
i've read the reviews and comments for the Trustfire R5-A3, Uniquefire AA-S1, Ultrafire M2 R5, Ultrafire C3, and a few others.
The Trustfire R5-A3 looked like it would be too heavy and the high current draw too hard on a 14500. the Uniquefire AA-S1 looked like the Osram was overdriven on a 14500. the Ultrafire M2 R5 looked like it might be too heavy and reliability on 14500 was as yet unknown. the Ultrafire C3 looked like it was not bright enough for my needs on a 14500.
i haven't been able to find a light that looks like it does what i would like, so i'm still looking.
are there other lights that i should be looking at? lights that i may have missed? or are any of my concerns about the lights i listed above unfounded, and will one of those actually do what i'm looking for?
i like the C7T as a general duty flashlight, but i'm looking for a smaller, lighter handheld to supplement my floody headlamp on night hikes. the C7T is bigger (107mm) and heavier (76g w/o battery) than what i'd like for the intended use. and i haven't tried it with a 14500 yet, but from everything i've read, the ouput will be closer to 150 than 200 lumens. so i'm looking for something a little smaller, lighter, and brighter.
i think i read that a 14500 will do 1.3-1.5 amps relatively safely depending on the cell. if that's right, i guess that's what i'd like the draw to stay under. if that's wrong, then i guess i need to do some more reading.
i looked at the Xeno E03, and it seems really nice, but it's a bit out of my price range. i'd really like to keep the price tag below $20. same with the Nitecore.
If you can wait, the BLF Tank E07 may do what you want. Very small and if the 14500 support comes through, I can't imagine Tank would drive it beyond 1amp based on their track record. Can't say for sure unitl they come out and someone tests it though.
One other option is the Xtar Wk30. It weighs in at 50grams and accodrign to Don does 175 on 14500, not 200 but close.
There is also an R5 versionof the C3 available at Manafont. It is sinlge mode but I'm not sure what the current draw is. It will do 300 lumens so it may be on the high side:
what i'm looking for is a 1x 14500 light that puts out 200+ lumens, is reliable on a 14500, doesn't stress a 14500, weighs no more than 50 grams, is as compact as possible, and costs as little as possible (<$20). single mode would be preferred.
Such a thing pretty much doesn't exist. I have the C7t w/ 14500 and it's better regulated than any cheapo dx light. ALL of them that can use a AA will run DD on a 14500.
The closest you'll come is the Hugsby P31 that some people got with a buck driver which only runs on lithiums.
Smaller, lighter, and brighter? Heatsinkin' of that flashlight will be poor. 1 min. on HI and you will notice how warm it will be. For a smaller and lighter you can try A2 or even A3 (with li-ion), but remember not to run them on HI for more than a few minutes (unless it's cold outside)
several of your recommendations come pretty close to what i'd asked for, and the Uniquefire G10 actually seems to meet all my specs. but after reading what everyone had to say, i realized that maybe a budget 14500 pocket rocket may not be the best way to go after all. maybe i'd be better off with a light that won't be driven so hard like a CR123 light, but i don't know. i'm still figuring it out.
so i kept looking, decided to stick with 14500's, and ended up getting a Trustfire F20 from Manafont and i'm pretty happy with it. on a 14500, it's brighter, smaller, and lighter than my iTP C7T. i don't know what the lumens or the current draw are, but old4570 posted in another thread that one of his did about 200 lumens and pulled less than an amp. i would assume that this one does about the same.
i especially like how light this one is. just 42 grams w/o a battery.
it's not a single mode, but i'm not minding that too much. i disassembled and reassembled the light and the build quality is very nice. i like how clean all the threads are and the soldering and taping and all that are done very nicely. very cool for an $11 light.
VFMaddict, i looked at the P2 and i liked the TIR and the ability to take different cells, but it was just too big (the head is 27mm wide, about 7mm wider than i wanted). it'd be nice if someone made a 20mm wide light that has a TIR.
thank you everyone for your suggestions. you guys helped me narrow things down.
How much difference (on high) is there between using 1 AA and 1 14500 (relatively speaking)?
Does it throw further than your headlamp?
Thanks. I think that the the Trustfire version of the Akoray k106 isn't it? I had the K109 version and the non-programmable version wasn't all that bright on CR123 and I didn't have the rechargeable version (which supposedly was brighter).
I then got the programmable version and it was much brighter even with CR123. The switch is a little worrisome on that light if you have to replace it.
since i can't compare them side by side, it's kind of hard to say how much brighter the 14500 is than the AA. but if i had to guess, i think it's about double. the medium on 14500 seems pretty close to the high on AA, and i think the medium is supposed be about 50% of max... i think. don't quote me on that.
i haven't been able to test out the throw. but i can say for sure it'll out throw any of my headlamps. i've sold all my stock headlamps so all i have now are either pure flood or floody mods, and those don't throw at all. i think my modded Eos floody barely reaches 20 meters. the reflector on this F20 is your standard 18.5mm LOP, so i don't expect it to be a throw monster or anything like that. but then, i wasn't really looking for a great thrower, just a decent one, and this one looks good enough for me so far.
one nice thing about this light so far is that i've drained two 14500's on it without problems. after reading about other people's problems running a 14500 on this light and it's cousins (K106 and etc.) i was a bit worried. but so far so good. next step is to drain four Eneloops on it and see how it does.