X axis = lux
Y axis = ANSI throw distance (meters)
And now zoomed in to show all lights except the top 6:
The legend for what each colour means is at the bottom right.
*There is no standard definition of a “flashlight”, however for the purpose of this list it will be an artificial light source that:
1) contains a battery or power system that does not require it to be tethered by a cable (no mains, vehicle, or generator power)
2) is portable and can be carried in a single hand for extended periods of time (no wheels, stands, or heavy external batteries)
3) has a runtime of at least several minutes at max without running out of power or overheating (no ‘flash’ bulbs)
There current list is:
Lights below 1Mcd have been omitted.
Fun fact, over half of the lights are below 2Mcd!
Please keep in mind that certain lights have only been measured at close distances (less than 100 feet) or with budget lux meters and may have inaccurate numbers.
This list is constantly growing, so if there is a light that you think should be on here please leave a comment and a link to the source!
Thanks to The_Driver for helping me compile this list
Nice!
A German post with this list (plus a few other well known lights under 1Mcd) can be found here.
Project Excalibur - Next Generation LED Thrower (UPDATE 2018-01-15: 1.7Mcd)
Portable Thrower Comparison
Ha humbling graphs you got there
It is done when it is done

How my BLF Specials generally work, please read before asking Qs
The Q8, Exciting a groupbuy for a Premium BLF special high lumens soda can light!
The GT, A BLF special GIGA thrower
The FW3A, a TLF BLF special small, elegant, powerful triple
Lithium Ion safety 101 important read
Sorry grammarlovers, I am a real King Typo.
We’re just scratching the surface of short arc with our LED lights
The only way to get better is to keep building!
The BLF GT will hopefully be on this list soon
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
Well I’m happy with my 14th overall, 3rd in LED aspherics place. Nice to have a comparison of all these in one place.
Co-owner/Engineer at STO Flashlights.
It’s funny that all three of the top lights are called “blaster”
.
Are you planning on releasing more information on your light at some point? Or maybe do a passaround to get some reviews? It is certainly interesting!
Project Excalibur - Next Generation LED Thrower (UPDATE 2018-01-15: 1.7Mcd)
Portable Thrower Comparison
Actually there will be a review of the Lance of Ra coming up shortly.
Co-owner/Engineer at STO Flashlights.
I would like to see a list of the most powerful flashlights in the world per dollar.
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light --- Plato
The Maxabeam would probably do very well…
Project Excalibur - Next Generation LED Thrower (UPDATE 2018-01-15: 1.7Mcd)
Portable Thrower Comparison
Well it’s also #1 for LED flashlights that are available on the market
Guinness apparently didn’t take Ra’s Maxablaster submission because it wasn’t a retail flashlight.
If I ever build a light that makes the top 3, I will call it _____blaster
Looking forward to that!
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
Using the theoretical numbers for the GT, where will it fall on the curve?
Anti blaster!
Theoreticall it will do 1Mcd, so 2000m throw.
Project Excalibur - Next Generation LED Thrower (UPDATE 2018-01-15: 1.7Mcd)
Portable Thrower Comparison
Thanx!
To put it into perspective… I simply can’t imagine what the ones to the far left of that curve are like.
Here I added 3 flashlights (red Xs) for reference, the M3XS-UT from olight, the TN42, and the potential BLF GT assuming around 1.25Mcd.
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
Haha
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
I have added many more lights and graphs to my google speadsheet. Maybe you also want to add them to yours.
Project Excalibur - Next Generation LED Thrower (UPDATE 2018-01-15: 1.7Mcd)
Portable Thrower Comparison
Will update asap.
Unfortunately the Hyperblitz and the Zielscheinwerfer won’t make it on my list since they are both tethered, not “portable”.
If people want to see those lights they can go to your document instead
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
Actually the Zielscheinwerfer ist not tethered. Alex made it portable later on (although rather heavy).
The Hyperblitz has a built-in battery.
The blitz short-arc moon blaster I’m not so sure about. He doesn’t mention a battery.
Project Excalibur - Next Generation LED Thrower (UPDATE 2018-01-15: 1.7Mcd)
Portable Thrower Comparison
You’re right, I was looking at the wrong images that weren’t the hyperblitz.
I’m not sure if the Zielscheinwerfer counts as “portable” based on the guidelines I mentioned at the start, do you think it can be carried in one hand for many minutes with the ballast and batteries and everything?
Looks a bit too heavy to me, but idk.
I assumed that the moon blaster was battery powered and portable if it is only 120W, but without images it is hard to be sure.
I will have to look into it.
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
Well no, I would guess two hands for a short period of time. It is a tank light after all…
Project Excalibur - Next Generation LED Thrower (UPDATE 2018-01-15: 1.7Mcd)
Portable Thrower Comparison
List has been updated, and stuff put into a chart
Images updated too in the original post.
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
Updated again, this time a few more lights were added such as the “BLF GT” and “HID Scheinwerfer”
The_Driver still holds the record for a single-LED reflector thrower at 1.5Mcd but the BLF GT is very close
When people start modding the GT with Black Flat or Synios LEDs we will probably see 2Mcd+
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
I wonder where you always find all these lights
Project Excalibur - Next Generation LED Thrower (UPDATE 2018-01-15: 1.7Mcd)
Portable Thrower Comparison
Well, you’re right, I’m left, she’s gone. (a song, made famous by the
)
You are a flashaholic if you are forced to come out of the closet, to make room for more flashlights.
From browsing the german forum of course
I think I also have to add the TN42vnM which is at 1Mcd
wow the list is 40 long already!
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
Not anywhere near 1Mcd, sorry
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
The list and images have been updated with pscals’s sceptre, #20 in the world
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/59081
Also the recent vinh CFT90 GT mod and I added a 7.5Mcd placeholder for my Syniosbeam, until I can find time to do a better measurement (hoping to get around 10+Mcd)
The Acebeam WL20 should make it onto this list soon too since it is expected to have 1Mcd.
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
Why did you label all the HIDs as short-arcs?
Project Excalibur - Next Generation LED Thrower (UPDATE 2018-01-15: 1.7Mcd)
Portable Thrower Comparison
HID is a subcategory of arc lamps.
I guess it would be more correct to call them “arc lamp” instead of “short arc”, I’ll edit that.
The OPTOFIRE - 4.63Mcd aspheric LED flashlight The SYNIOSBEAM - 10Mcd recoil LED flashlight List of the farthest throwing flashlights
Pages