Eagle Eye X6 Group Buy *Crash Test of the Sample - Pics & Vid added 9-6-14*

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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Hiya!

I thought I’d get a little jump on the Group Buy BLF Special Edition Eagle Eye X6 by quickly taking some base tests on the stock light. I received this X6 today, regular form $18.89 shipped. And it actually came faster than I expected, didn’t know what it was cause I wasn’t looking for it yet. :slight_smile:

So, I decided to use the Sanyo UR18650FJ that came from a laptop pull. I have quite a few of em so I can cycle them through during testing using 2 or even 4 that are evenly matched. This should give a good general idea of how the light performs, as this is a middle of the road cell, coming in just under the Samsungs, Sony’s and Purple Efest.

That said, my newest sample, sporting the XM-L2 U2 3C in Neutral White, tested at

High…….698 lumens at 2.22A
Med…….383 lumens at 1.09A
Low………83 lumens at .17A

Lux showed at 15Kcd with an extrapolated 245M throw.

The samples should be showing up in the next couple of days, so now we have some numbers to compare to with my standard test set. Apples to apples, as it were. :slight_smile:

I’ll be back!

Beamshots, just got the new/old Canon 20D today…same settings ISO1600, f/5.6 at 1/2 sec exposure. Red oil drum at 97 yds. Yes, I missed the focus. Not used to converting either, usually use full frame sensors. This is the ES 24-105mm f/4 IS lens.

Wide angle, 24mm (38.4mm equ)

Zoom, 105mm ( 168mm equ)

WooHoo! The sample came in and it’s the same nice light I’m loving already, with a very nice BLF Special Edition logo in place of the Eagle Eye X6 logo.
The modes on this sample start in Moon and go up through Turbo for 5 levels, but there’s going to have to be some tweaking as the top 3 levels are too close together.
Moon could be a bit lower too, we’ll see how our requests for change get handled. The below amp readings are taken from the tail of the light. Output is measured on my lightbox, numbers being mine and not necessarily indicative of what anyone else’s readings.

Moon………10.8 Lumens at .02A
Low……………55 Lumens at .08A
Med…………574 Lumens at 1.57A
High…………773 Lumens at 2.25A
Turbo…….1000 Lumens at 3.13A

The tailcap has been redesigned for a cleaner look with a longer section of knurling, and it now easily tail stands with a shorter rubber boot.

Some pics taken impromptu…

JohnnyMac has a more elaborate review, I’ll defer to him for some of the more technical aspects as I’m not up to par at the moment.

Feel free to ask and I’ll do what I can to provide answers…

9-6-14, Crash testing the X6

I decided to find out how tough this little guy is. So I had my wife drop it out of the car at 60 mph while I video’d. :slight_smile: While that’s uploading, I have some stills to share. The damage seems to all be from direct impact, you can see and hear the light skidding but there is no visible sign of that on the light as far as scrapes and scratches go. The clip is intact, no marks, even the lens is intact! The top of the Sanyo UR18650FJ cell was dented in, not allowing the light to function. Replacing the cell the light works just fine! Tough little bugger indeed!

As you can see, almost no minor damage, only the impacts hard enough to gouge out aluminum seemed to phase it. I’d say it’s a very good anodizing job! From this, I doubt we have to worry about babying these lights. :wink:

Video when it’s uploaded and I figure out how to do it.

Ok, first time for everything…

[video:ttp://youtu.be/XAEzWDdLbfs]

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The stock light for under $20 is a nice little light! The neutral white tint suprised me, very nice. I have marked this light as stock and will keep it that way as a base for future comparison to the BLF Special Edition and any modified versions that I might end up with.

Yes, I already do have one of those on hand, and a recent one sent to a friend with different parameters. I’ll worry about the modded versions after having a good look at the new sample pretty soon. :wink:

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Looks like nice throw for the relatively small head!

Thanks.

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It does pretty decent stock.

I can’t wait to see the numbers on the BLF Special Edition! :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the report DBCstm. What would say the beam pattern is similar too? Kind of looks like a cross between a P60 and a C8, but it's hard to tell from beam shots.

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Thanks DBC.

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I really like the beam profile from this light. It has a fairly sharply defined hot spot with an aura around it, then good spill. For me this seems to highlight the central subject, with the aura giving good light for the area immediately surrounding the subject and there’s ample spill to detect anything that needs a closer inspection in a pretty wide area.

Indoors the hot spot is great in the stock light, being sufficiently large to easily cover a person’s head and shoulders at 20-30’

A simple de-dome tightens this up of course, but we’ll get into that later. Suffice it to say my modded light has 86Kcd compared to the stock lights 15Kcd. :wink:

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4Whlr, it’s closer to the profile of the C8. With a 35mm lens diameter it’s pretty close to the same size of a C8. The P-60 is 25mm isn’t it? I need to look.
If I get the chance tonight I’ll try a comparison shot between my modded X6 and comparable P-60/C8 lights.

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Thanks DBCstm. Sounds like a great beam profile for a pocket carry. A C8 is just a tad too throwy for me for general usage.

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I think the question of de-dome or not will really come in strong on this light. It’s so much wider with the dome on that it meets that general “out for a walk” requirement very well.
De-doming turns it into a respectable thrower, although the profile still works for general purpose use.

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The sample lights are en-route and will probably be delivered Monday.

At a targeted 3.5A the difference should be substantial while maintaining the beam profile, and with the 4th level moon mode it should have a very nice balance of duty levels.

My biggest problem with the stock light is the blinkies that you have to go through to get from Low back to High (Hi-Md-Lo-Strobe-SOS). Very distracting to me. The new BLF Special Edition light won’t have these. :slight_smile:

So I’m really expecting it to be just about the perfect all around use light in stock form, with no need to make modifications. Which has me excited as it’s rare that they get it so right from the manufacturer. :wink:

I’m looking for right at 1000 out the front lumens, and with an AR lens in place, a copper direct thermal path star, 3.5A, no blinkies…what needs modifying? It’s all there!

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It does seem crazy to buy the groupbuy light, then mod it. Id mod a stocko, but the BLF is best left as is IMO.

However, my patience sure needs modifying. I need to know if Ill be waiting on the 2 I asked for, or more.

Put me down for 5. Oh wait, wrong thread. :smiley:

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It has a great looking beam dedomed, good hot spot and spill with no artifacts.

I did a short write up of my mods, external comparison size to other lights such as a UF C12, a Convoy C8, plus others, and an indoor beam shot here, see post # 6 and #11:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/28481

Please note that with the DTP Sinkpad II, extra copper disks under the pill shelf, and 2.85 amps to the LED - this light gets hot pretty quick…… The whole light gets hot not just the head within about 5 minutes on high. After 10 minutes on high it is too hot to hold without gloves, did not test any further than 10 minutes on high and put it on low to cool down.

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Max, that sounds like you’re getting more than 2.85A…did you use stock leads on a DMM to get that? I have a clamp meter and use a 12ga tenergy loop to take tail amp readings and have had an X6 doing almost 7A, yep, it got hot, as expected, but the one I have now at just over 5A runs about like you’re describing. Just wondering if you might actually have it running more current than you realize.

When I first started on here my amp readings never got anywhere close to what everyone else was quoting, couldn’t figure out why. Then someone suggested using 12ga wires stuck straight into my DMM and the truth came clear….my thin, long leads weren’t capable of showing the true amperage with too much resistance in em. I got the 12ga tenergy wires and “tinned” the ends of about 5” lengths, used those as the leads for my amp readings for a while and the numbers more closely matched those with the expensive Fluke meters and such.

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Quick Question: Was this stock light Glued together?

I’m hoping they quit the glue altogether. (If it weren’t for the strobe modes, stock would suit my needs just fine.)

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No

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I just got this light in the mail yesterday. So this is one of the most recent to be shipped. No glue and there’s lube on the threads. It even has both screws holding the star down. Complete with extra O-rings, green rubber boot and lanyard. Oh, and the now standard crushed white box. :slight_smile:

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Dale, I have to agree with you - not sure my meter reading are correct, even though it is an expensive Fluke DMM.

So I've ordered one of CK's calibrated meters and hope to retest late next week.

PS - mine did not have any glue on it either.

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I finally received my stock X6 on Saturday. What an amazing light! I do not care for cycling through the blinkies but a great light nonetheless. For some reason I thought that this light was actually larger than what it is. With the BLF Edition upgrades one can definitely call this a pocket rocket.

The link below shows a side by side comparison of the Eagle Eye lights (left to right: X2, F30, F35, X6 and far right for comparison a Fenix PD35)

http://postimg.org/image/jivvd9zjv/

The following two links show the beam from the X6 (left) and PD35 (right). Both units have SMO reflectors. The X6 is the NW tint and the PD35 is the CW). No matter what you will see that the X6 has a very tight and bright beam.

(side by side)

http://postimg.org/image/qkp7lqdrv/

(overlapping)

http://postimg.org/image/47hgyxcu3/

I always thought that aside from the EE value that the PD35 had a slight edge on brightness, primarily because the X2 and F30 have the OP reflectors. That thought is definitely out the window. I still believe my PD35 is a quality light (I have to - considering what I paid LOL) but this is proof that the budget competition is a serious contender.

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The PD35 should be about 200lm brighter in turbo, but the throw will definitely be less. It's a tube light so the PD35 reflector can't compete with the larger reflector of the X6.