I have decided that a light that only uses an 18650 battery is not very useful to me. While they do put out a lot of light, they get too hot to leave on if you were walking on a path that you needed constant light. I have a couple of Ultrafire 501/502 lights, and while they are bright I do not find them as useful as lights that use standard batteries.
I have a couple of cheapies that don’t have a name, but use 3 AAA batteries in addition to an 18650.
I like the lights that use AA size batteries. My Hugsby P2 uses Alkaline or 14500 plus Cr123 batteries. For a light larger than a Fenix E11 I like the Hugsby P2.
The Sipik 68 clones are much more useful, and if the 3 modes with Hi Lo and strobe work out they might be used most. While they will take the li-ons the lights get too hot fast.
Just a thought.
I think you are correct only if you are talking about a single mode Li-Ion light.
Low and medium will provide more, the same, or even less output, depending on the modes, than a torch in high mode using standard cells. It will also give you more runtime at those outputs than a standard cell and can be recharged and reused over and over. When you need extra light the high mode has you covered where a light using standard cells couldn't.
Just because a light uses Li-Ion cells does NOT mean that it will run hot. That only happens in a hard driven high mode compared to the size of the host. It's all about the mode you are running it in and the output it is providing.
the lights getting hot has nothing to do with it being an 18650 capable light, they get hot when they put out to much light with not enough heat syncing, their are plenty of lights on the market that use 18650s and are perfectly capable of being left on for long periods of time
I admit that I am a cheapskate, and do not know of any 18650 lights that are relatively small and “budget” lights. The Skyray King is much too large.
Is there a budget 18650 that has 2-3 modes and is about the size of the Ultrafire 502?
Thanks,
Jerry
My most useful/used light is a Solarforce L2M(18650) with a Nailbender 3 mode(1.4A) XP-G drop-in.
I use this at work. Even on high it will run for a couple of hours without getting too hot. It does heat up after extended use, but not enough to worry about.Its also bright enough to light up a dark room in boarded up house in the winter and be able to work.
Thanks. I wonder how long it would burn on low mode? Obviously with the size of it the light would get hot pretty quick on high, and maybe med. It does look like a good choice.
I assume one of the advantages of 18650 lights is the length of run time.
I camped and hunted for many years and never needed a powerful light. Most of the time I used a 2 or 3 C cell light. Of course I realize that this is a hobby, and an enjoyable one.
I have several 18650 lights that get hot on high. I only consider the high mode on these lights to be for short uses. The medium modes tend to be fine for most tasks and have much longer runtimes.
Sometimes getting hot is a good thing. If it is dissipating the heat from the emitter, it will get warm. That’s telling you it is pulling heat away from the delicate electronics into the mass of the body where it is safer.
I did have a Zebralight H-51 (AA) that got too hot to hold after just a few mins. There was a problem with that light and it soon showed up. After just having it a few days, it would hardly put out any light at all. It would only go into an ultra low mode that was lower than it should have been able to produce.
So with the ZL, I was soon left with a $60 paperweight that would produce no more light than a match (if that much). Point being, heat is not always linked to 18650 only lights. A 1AA light likenthe ZL H51 can be a ball burner as well.
I’ve only limited experience, but i have found that running a 1.4A P60 light like my L2M seems ok for continuous use. Its producing about 370 lumens.
I had a 2.8A P60 that could also run for a reasonable amount of time without getting hot, but anything over 2.8A heats up quite quickly. It all depends on what you want to use it for.
The runtime on medium or low on my 1.4A drop in will be very good. You’d probably get all day in work on medium. I bring a spare 18650 just incase too.
What led, what drive current? If its getting warm, its heat sinking pretty well, if it concerns you, you have to realise that high output = heat, if you want lots of high output, you need a host with much greater mass, a c8 for example is a bit bigger than a 502, but deals with the output of an xm-l much better, because it has greater mass and better heat sinking.
Personally, I wouldn’t touch a p60 light with a barge pole, but I’m just odd like that, I prefer decently designed lights, not necessarily more expensive, just better able to cope with the output.
For your use, you probably don’t need the capacity/volume advantages of 18650, but still there are 18650 lights wiith high settings that don’t overheat and favor longer run time over brightness. The ShiningBeam S-mini is an example with the high at 1Amp. Just select lights based on your needs.
i think you got usefulness confused with needingness!!
different lights have different uses. like my monster tr-j12 for security work or as a batton or hammer tool!! lol.
Sky ray king = long walks in the park for its run time on 4x batteries high low mode.
TN31 = for long distance inspections
Solarforce P60 L2m (2010) 1 mode (quick vehicle inspections glove box)
all 18650s! i use all.
my tank 007 key chain light (i used it quiet offen for light to open the front door when its dark). thats aaa light stuck to my keys.
some people on here just likes to collect lots of lights which i think most people on this forum are
