Hi all, I’m wondering which emitter I should go with for maximum throw in a Convoy C8 host or a Convoy S2 (both with smooth reflectors). I would like to cut down on the spill if possible, but not if it reduces throw.
I narrowed down the options to a XP-L HI, a dedomed XP-G2, or a dedomed XP-E2. Are there other emitters or optics setups I should be looking at?
You can’t really reduce throw by cutting down spill.
In fact quite the opposite in most circumstances.
The XP-G2 gets much rep here for long throw.
Yea I personally would use the XPLHI it has a higher output overall in a C8 but people swear by the xpg2
Hmm, nice to know about the relationship between throw and spill.
I just remembered that the XP-G3 is now a thing. Is the die the same size as before?
Have you looked at the XHP35 HI?
You need to boost to 11.3v though.
I know it fits in a XP footprint and likely has good throw, but I’m looking for something that can be driven by a single cell FET/7135 driver. If there’s a good programmable boost driver that works with the XHP series though, I’m very interested.
This is my build. i just bought xhp35 i want to put that in my L2.
Indeed. Although I say that relatively loosely.
I probably should have said “one light cannot be both a throw King, and flood King at the same time”
Some lights do both well, but you’ll find they are dedicated throwers that happen to have ( either by design or otherwise ) very bright spill.
A prime example being some of the king-hitter Fenix throwers, and the recent Maxtoch Shooter 2X. Huge throwers that happen to have bright spill.
XP-G3 is a bit different, not exactly suited for throw because it is hard to dedome it, I haven’t seen successful demode of XP-G3 yet.
You are wrong… Cree messed production process for XP-G2 emitters.
They nuked XP-G2 and there is really no sense in using them for long throw configurations cause they throw same(or less) than dedomed xpl or xm-l2.
More info what happened to them here.
I’m not about to get involved with the silly name calling in the comments above, and I know nothing about any production changes for these emitters so I have no comment there, except to say that if that’s true then obviously my observations may no longer be relevant, but I’ve built C8s with all three of those emitters myself just to see the results. In my lights, my dedomed XP-G2 was the furthest thrower by far. I got 795m out of mine. The XP-L HI on a fet driver missed it by almost 100m, but it does have a wider beam profile and is probably more useful in real life. The dedomed XP-E2 can’t be fet driven because it can’t take the power, but I drove it as hard as it would supposedly take, 2.3 amps. Little guy hits 670m, so quite the performer. Its an absolute pencil beam though, so not as impressive in real life as the meter reading would imply.
One thing you won’t see (outside the OP) is an S series (there are a lot of them, all essentially the same as the S2) being mentioned in a conversation about Throw.
If you really want Only Throw, search for “pencil beam”. The concept is worthless as a flashlight (IMNERHO, of course) but the only way to get photons downrange is to keep them in a tight line.
The general formula is {The smallest, brightest point source of light at the precise focus of a deep parabolic reflector.} To me, that means incandescent or HID, but YMMV.
This thread is in serious risk of derailment.
OP, I’d just pickup a couple different emitters, either already flowed onto a star or not, they’re not super expensive and can be swapped in the same light fairly easily. That way you can directly see which you like in a specific host.
A dedomed XP-G2 clearly throws further in a C8 than a XP-HI does. I’m almost tempted to say that a dedomed XM-L2 U41A throws further than an XP-L HI in a C8 as well…but I’m not too sure about that.
But where can we buy an XP-G2 emitter that isn’t junk?
It think it doesn’t. I remember Robo mentioning something about a better beam for hunting after swapping out the XPL Hi in the BLF TE thread iirc. But the older XM-L2 has more lumens on higher amps as compared to the current ones. That’s one complaint I can confirm here.
Scavenge old lights! 
Where do I find the old lights? 
For the Convoy C8, I might be tempted to try using an XP-L HI just for kicks. I’ve had bad luck with tint after dedoming emitters… Or maybe, you could use a new XP-G3, domed, with a FET driver.
Re: the Convoy S2, that’s a bit more interesting to me! I’ve got a S2 host, and the deep smooth reflector in my kit, waiting on some free time to build. I have a couple of older-gen XP-G2 emitters in other lights that are unused. My plan is to pull a couple of those and see how they perform. One of them will likely end up in this light.
I’m a little disappointed more people haven’t tried the Olson Black Flat more. Djozz’s tests show it may have some good potential even if his “in host” test wasn’t impressive, maybe it just needs some tweaking. I’m planning a light with one now but still waiting on the parts.