how hot the body gets after minutes is totally insignificant

the LED junction temperature could be at 150°C or 50°C
within less than a second, if the thermal pad has no contact to the star, the heat that gets radiated from the small area of the exposed LED and board and thermal capacity is almost nothing
within 20 seconds after you turn on the light, if the star has no good heat transfer to the pill/body, the thermal capacity of the star is not much

and the heated mass and thermal radiation/convection of the whole light is identical there should be no difference

the only way to detect the difference would be an ir thermometer measuring the LED surface of the exposed phosphor

Thanks for the measurements WestBam.

Lexel wrote:

how hot the body gets after minutes is totally insignificant

the LED junction temperature could be at 150°C or 50°C
within less than a second, if the thermal pad has no contact to the star, the heat that gets radiated from the small area of the exposed LED and board and thermal capacity is almost nothing
within 20 seconds after you turn on the light, if the star has no good heat transfer to the pill/body, the thermal capacity of the star is not much

and the heated mass and thermal radiation/convection of the whole light is identical there should be no difference

the only way to detect the difference would be an ir thermometer measuring the LED surface of the exposed phosphor

I do not fully agree. A graph was presented showing the temperature in the course of time, the two flashlights follow exactly the same temperature course, that makes me suspect that most likely what is happening inside is close to identical. If in one of the two lights bad heat transfer occurs anywhere between ledboard and shell, you would see a slower temperature rise at the beginning of the graph, later catching up with the other flashlight (because the same amount of heat is produced in the two flashlights).

I am leaning toward an S3 as a replacement for the S2 I sent to my brother in Tampa. Wish someone offered it in a host version. S3 plus NarsilM and xm-l2 3d would be a nice combination.

tekwyzrd wrote:

I am leaning toward an S3 as a replacement for the S2 I sent to my brother in Tampa. Wish someone offered it in a host version. S3 plus NarsilM and xm-l2 3d would be a nice combination.

You can buy the S3 host from several sources:

Here: (Official Convoy store on Aliexpress)
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Convoy-S3-gray-flashlight-host-...

Or here (Fasttech):
https://www.fasttech.com/product/1277402-convoy-s3-diy-edc-led-flashligh...

But the best price I’ve found was here (Banggood):
Not exactly sure why they have 2 different listings – “New” version & “Upgrade” version
https://www.banggood.com/NEW-Version-Convoy-S3-Integrated-LED-Flashlight-Host-For-DIY-p-1025646.html?rmmds=search&ID=224&cur_warehouse=CN
https://www.banggood.com/Convoy-S3-Upgrade-Version-Flashlight-Host-Black...DIY-p-951515.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN

Thank you for the data WestBam. Supporters of the integrated shelf were so convinced of being right that the industry soon followed. And it is cheaper to manufacture too! But when you make a cross-section of both lights, you will see that they are almost identical. Same number of parts. Only difference: one has a narrowed tube and a bezel ring, and the other has a (brass) pill and a narrowed part at the front of the head assembly. I agree that the integral shelf has a theoretical superior heat transfer, but the transfer of a firmly screwed in pill of heavyer material is in reality not so bad either. So I stick with the pill. Wanna change something, take it out and have ample room to do so. Or keep on fiddling in a tight space.