convoy m1 compared to the astrolux s1 & c8?

Is the convoy m1 roughly between the astrolux c8 & s1 throw/flood wise? I've been using the s1 for hunting and it works pretty good but i would like if it had a bit more throw but not to the point of the c8 and the s1 gets pretty toasty after about 10 minutes swapping between high/turbo. So far i'm mainly considering the convoy m1 and it looks like it would control the heat better than the s1 and throw more and a user has a used one for sale on the forums. This is what im looking for in a light:

  • better throw/ more focused beam than the s1 but not to the point of the c8, about 50-100 yards will be the usual range
  • doesnt want to roast your hand or fingers within 5 minutes of continuous use
  • around a hour of runtime on its highest mode
  • would like to get around ~$20-$25
  • hidden modes for strobe/sos/any other blinking modes so it doesn't accidentally go into them and i never use them

any advice would be appreciated, thanks

Sure, the M1 should be somewhere between the two. Because it has an orange peel reflector, it will be somewhat floodier than another light with a similar sized reflector and emitter. There are a bunch of other lights that fit in there, too.

Keep in mind, if you want an 18650 light with about an hour of runtime on high, and you want the light output to be pretty steady over that period, you are limited to lights with a regulated driver and somewhat under 3A current limit.

One idea, the Eagle Eye X6 with XM-L2 (not the XP-L HI model, nor the similar looking Astrolux S2).

When you say a regulated driver do you mean 7135s or something else? the used m1 dropped to $13.99 so i snagged it up, it has a xml-2 and 8*7135 in neutral white (T6 3B) and came with 3 filters in red, green, and blue. I plan on keeping it stock for now if its good enough but with how cheap it was eventually modding it isn't out of the question. Plus i like how it looks and wanted to get another flashlight