Hello everyone. As some of you know, I am blind and I can see blobs, colors, and shadows. My main use for flashlights has rather dried up so what I own just sits now rather than being used. My wife and I are college students and we get into all the home games from football, ice hockey, basketball, etc for free with our school ID. I was not raised around sports, so I am a racing fan instead. Tonight I went to my first ever football game and last night my first ice hockey game. I took my XTAR something-or-other CR123 light with an XML T6 in it. We had these blow up plastic sticks to make noise for our team, and they weretransparent white with transparent colored labeling on them. I took that XTAR and use its blink mode and placed that stick over it to light it up. Doing that got several comments from people around me. I heard things like “that is a neat idea” and “look how small that light is”. I was able to palm the light. Being in that lighted stadium, the light did not seem that bright to me, maybe it was to those who saw it, I do not know.
What I want is a very bright pocket rocket to use as a toy for lighting stuff up at games such as those stick, flags, or whatever I can think of to cheer for the team. The goal is to light an object and not draw attention to the light or myself so to speak. What ideas do you have for me on this? Would a thrower be better at this than a flood beam for concentrated bright light? I would like to do this without spending tons of money as well. What would be a better form factor here, CR123, 14500, 18650?
it is so great to hear you again, paul. i would think that to light up objects from a distance a thrower would be required. But throwers often have a big head, and with that comes a big body. If you want a powerful pocket rocket Erik (E1320) has just made a 3.7 amp xml p60 dropin for foy. I am sure that he would be happy to assist you with what you want paul.
The smallest thrower i can think of is a flood to throw type flashlight.
Best wishes, Simon.
The goal is not to light thins at a distance but rather in my hand. I want to hold on to a flag or a “stick” at a football game and put the light up its butt to light the object in my hand to aid in cheering.
Glad to see you back on the forum, Paul! IMO you'd be best off with something small like the TrustFire Mini-01. With a 16340 it's a real joy to use and puts out 500+ lumens in one of the smallest packages you can get.
I have no experience with the trust fire mini-01 due to the battery size, but a single 14500 light i think would be good to conceal in your hand. But if concealment isnt an issue and you can just tape it to the stick then definitely a single 18650 solar force L2M with an xml drop in, they are about 22 dollars in total.
But what your are looking for is definitely a flooder if you want to illuminate a flag at close distance.
I myself have only just begun to get into small lights so I dont have much experience with these. Hopefully someone else can offer another alternative.
Simon.
What it sounds like then is that what I already own will do the job as the XML is still the brightest thing you can get. That XTAR XML CR123 light worked just fine, but being in that lighted football stadium at night with those four large stadium lights and a night sky, it just did not seem like enough for others to see it from say the stands from across the field. LOL Maybe what I own is fine then. Rather than just waving a small handheld team flag, I wanted to light it while waving so it will stand out rather than blend in. I want the light to be able to be palmed so I can simply hold the light and add whatever to my hand to light it by shining the light up to the sky and away from others so the XML will not blind anyone close to me. I was wondering by now if they had say a 3X XML P60 drop in for say the L2P or 504B body, but I do not see one on Manafont. What I want is car headlight brightness in the palm of my hand to light a team cheering device for 10 seconds at a pop. LOL But I do not think a flashlight like that exists yet that is cheap to afford, able to be palmed, and can still be powered by a single 3.7v cell. 
DOH.
Is there any way to put light fiber in the stick and a single 18650 XML in the handle? Dr Seuss firefly?
Yeah i think you're not going to find anything all that bright when there is that much ambiant light ..turn off the lights and you're already visable from 5 miles :P
Even triple the output which like you said ..Is impossible ...Wouldn't make your flag any more noticable
People near you probably got a glimpse of a strobe and thought ,,Wow that's screaming bright ...From 100 feet I'm sure not to many people would even notice it unless they got a direct flash in the eye .
Go team ..
No triple XM-L p60s yet. :'( The only way you could get brighter would be a SST-90 but that is way to expensive.
I was going to suggest an Eagletac D25C or A, but in reality what you have already is good enough. A couple more lumens here or there won’t make any visual difference in your application.
The current light you’re describing sounds like the XTAR WK21 Meteor, which I think is the best single CR123 light out there. Only thing I could suggest is getting a compact 18650 to up the brightness. Suggest the UF-T50, Review: Ultrafire UF-T50
That XTAR is the WK21 and it is one of my favorite go to lights or it was before the eye issue. I also have an Eagletac D25A Mini. Both of these were given to me by “The Shadow”, that nameless person who sent me lights a while back? Those two lights quickly became my go to EDC lights, now they just sit, sigh. It sounds like what I have will work just fine then. Thank you for all the help.
If you want something really bright you could get a King. :D Somewhere around 2300 lumens. It even kind of fits in a pocket. :P
A King? What is that, I have never heard of it.
OK, let me get this straight, is this 3 XMLs in this thing and 3 18650 cells? Hmmmm, that is an idea, but would it not be fat? I ask because I do not know and like someone already said, I am not sure being in a lighted stadium that the brightness will make a huge difference. Hmmm, anyone have a sample I can try before I even consider one? LOL
Yeah, 3 xml’s and 4 x 18650’s, but I believe it will also run off just 2 x 18650 for a shorter period with the loss of a couple hundred lumens.
Yep, it's fat. About the height of a soda can and a bit fatter. I have a similar light I can take pictures of if there is a specific test procedure. It is really bright!
The king is around 2200 to 2300 OTF lumens, if youre wondering. but gets very hot on high
If you are looking for compact sun in your pocket.
I was doing research for building my own triple P60 and came across this:
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WOW!“:http://www.oveready.com/moddoolar/moddoolar-pocket-stubby/prod_276.html
AGAIN, THIS IS NOT BUDGET!!! Just food for thought….