I received the Sky Ray STL-V2 Cree T6 Adjustable 3 Or 5 Modes LED Flashlight today from manafont. It was dispatched on 6/24/11 and received today 7/7/11. Upon ripping open the box and taking it out, it seemed smaller to me than the pictures at MF. the coating is on par with the Trustfire X8. Threads seemed smooth when adding batteries. After turning it on and tried changing modes, i discovered that its got a forward clicky switch on there. it does'nt bother me that much but ill have to open it up and see if i can change it to a reverse click. It is quite bright with a big hotspot. putting it side by side with the X8 the STL V2s hotspot is uniform throughout where the X8 seems to have a dimmer center. It is also noticeably brighter than the X8 Thanks to the 62mm diameter head.
@1meter from the wall the X8s hotspot was 80mm and the STL V2 was 120mm.
Measured current is 1.40A on high .73 on mid and .16 on low.
By turning the body 1/4 turn counterclockwise, it enters the 5 modes(H,M,L,Str,SOS) group and tightening it gives the 3 modes(H,L,Str) group.
The X8 still has better heatsinking compared to this light. leaving it on for 5 mins, the STL was mnoticeably hotter than the X8.
It is supposed to be able to take 3X16340s by taking the extender off. ill have to try another time.
I would say that the skyray has a better throw than the X8.
agenthex, it is the one on the left, im still trying to get my olympus stylus 1030sw setup to take better beam shots. its just a point and shoot camera and i just took those beams to show the hotspot size. i just shined it on the wall with the x8 and some sunlight. the x8 looks dim compared to it. i wish i had a sphere to test it with. it seems like its double the brightness of the X8.
The head looks a lot like the Trustfire X9 but the Stl is a bit bigger 59mm vs 62mm. The pill looks very much the same. im a little hesitant about unscrewing it as it looks like theres thermal epoxy on the metal lip where it screws in. dissecting the pill is what im most interested in because the white part(30mm or bigger) is the actual base and the lip seems like the only contact with the body.
It would be nice if they can make one of the mode groups strobeless like they just did to the Skyray 3XT6
I knew that it would only be a matter of time before you bought one. Now Im wondering if I need one too! The STLV2 looks to have more mass and cooling fins in the bezel than the X8, so Im wondering why the X8 sinks better. Or perhaps the STLV2 sinks better because you noted it getting hotter than the X8. Arent they driven at roughly the same current?
Im looking forward to your outdoor throw observations (X8 vs. STLV2).
I have a spare X8 reverse clicky. I suspect that it will interchange with your STLV2 forward clicky. If you could verify this, Id be happy to trade. We both live in the US so shipping should be less than $1 for standard mail.
Do you have a TR-1200? If it shares the same threads, you could use the TR-1200 battery extension to run 3 x 18650.
Yes you need one of these Flashpilot. You won't be disappointed. The x8 has the pill/dropin like a p60 that is screwed on to that big chunk of aluminum and that combo is screwed on to the head. the STLV2 has that big led pill that is screwed on to the head and looks like the outer part is making contact with the lip of the head. i really don't think there is anything under the led base center where the led is. i think the X8 still has better cooling because of the amount of material that is dissipating the heat so it felt cooler than the STL that has direct contact with the head so it transfers it quicker so it feels warmer. In the long run maybe they are just the same. cooling fins don't really help unless the flashlight is moving and air is going through them much like in a motorcycle engine. but im sure they are very functional as far as adding cooling surface area. ill just have to bite the bullet and see whats under there without destroying the pill. notice on the pic how big the gauge of the wire is. thats part of my surprise as to how good the build quality is. Trustfire/skyray/fandyfire rebrandedfire maybe they all share the same production line.
Here we go again ! Just as I thought that china mfg. finally learned something and started making decent screw-on pills without hole beneath led they did it again ! It totally ruins cooling capabilities of otherwise very capable host body. Only way to make things better would be to make additional alu circle (coin like) with two holes for wires that would fit snugly inside body and place it beneath led star. The thicker the better. If there is even room for that in the first place !
I have been so enamored lately with the triple skyray that I forgot all about this one. It looks like it would be the perfect companion to the triple. Paypal is waiting on your review.
Hi all!Nice to find you here! I wanted to add, other than the fact that i ordered both skyrays, the triple xm-l and this thrower, this thrower looks exactly the same with olight M3X. Even the thermal design with the big led pcb, is exactly the same like a M3X! So, i am suspecting that this one would throw the same like the olight!
I'm thinking of buying this light. I appreciate if you could measure the width and height of the reflector, and maybe post a picture of it next to a 1X18650 light.
2mm by 30mm diameter aluminum heatsink. maybe a cylinder of aluminum fujiked under will help. seems like enough heatsinking. much bigger than the 16-20 mm led star were used to.
not too familiar with drivers but is that a buck boost driver?
