Another reason people don't buy the 2.8 version is they are planning on using them as bike lights and want to run them on high without overheating them .....I have heard of people buying lower amperage drivers looking for lower lows but that seems rather silly .
I have three s2 with 5c tint at 2.1
and
two xiaozhi /convoy s6's ...one xpg2 running at 2.1.. and a nichia 219 at 1.7 I don't think heat is an issue on any of them .
To me one of the best reasons to buy these lights is tint ..People will walk across coals to get one bin brighter,never mind that it is almost impossible to see any difference in brightness between the two ....And yet miss out on the ability to absolutely transform a light by simply adding a neutral emitter..
I'd almost go as far as to say if you don't do a neutral don't bother buying a Convoy.Sort of like going to a custom tailor and having him make you the same suit you could buy right off the rack . Or ...like buying a sports car and then putting cheap tires on it.
+1 Bean darchs posts above are right on the mark ..
In my experience, you will have no probs driving an S2 at 2800mAh for two minutes.
I just did a little test. Took my S2 out of the cupboard, chucked in a freshly charged XTAR 2600, and stood it on its tail on the table. Windows closed, no draft, air temperature 20Celsius.
Here’s what I found:
Time
Observations
30 sec
not hot enough to warm hands
1 min
gentle comfortable handwarmer for top 1.5cm
2min
hot handwarmer for top 1.5cm, but still comfortable to hold even at the head
3 min
top 2cm a bit uncomfortably hot
4 min
top 3cm uncomfortably hot, but no risk of hurting me
5 min
top 3cm uncomfortably hot, lower handle now a gentle handwarmer
7min 30 secs
top 3cm too hot to hold, rest now a hot handwarmer
10 mins
Lower handle now uncomfortably hot
I’ll leave it to cool down, and some time I’ll repeat the experiment in medium. I guess I should also try it when held in my hand, to reduce cooling.
But the test confirms my previous impression that 1-2 minutes on 2800mAh high is no problem. If I was buying another, I think I might consider a 2100mAh, but I don’t regret getting the 2800.
Added later: I just did a 10minute test on medium (40% of 2800mAh = 1120mAh). After the full 10 minutes, the light is just about getting to the point where it might be some use as a v gentle handwarmer.
It's a lot easier to make it dimmer by switching to a lower mode than it is to make it brighter if you build it with a crippled low-amp driver.
I have several of these small lights with ~3A drivers, and the heat is purely a comfort-for-your-hand thing, the lights won't be damaged in any way even if you switch them on high, set them down somewhere, and walk away and leave them until the low batt function turns them off.
FWIW… I have the T4-7C 1000mA version of the Convoy S6 (FastTech sku 1319303). I also have those exact same protected Pansonic 3100 mAh 18650 cells. The batteries just barely fit, and I would even go so far as to say that for all practical purposes, they do not fit. It’s an issue of girth. When I first got this flashlight, I was able to shimmy one of these Panasonic protected cells in. The next time I went to swap batteries, I tore the plastic coating on the battery. That made me think that it’s too tight of a fit to regularly use these batteries in this body. (Now I have some heat shrink tube and unprotected cells on order.)
Furthermore, I also have a bunch of the Sanyo protected 2800 mAh cells (FastTech sku 1143804). These are definitely too fat for the S6; they won’t fit under any circumstances.
Having said that, I really do like this light. I deliberately bought the lowest-power version for my wife and I to use in the middle of the night when taking care of our newborn. (This was my solution to this question.) Pointed up at the ceiling, on low mode, it makes enough light to change diapers and prepare bottles, but not so bright that our night vision is ruined.
I also have a Convoy S3. I like the knurling on the S6 better, but I like that the S3 can use protected cells. Another minor quip with the S6 is the smaller button size versus the S3. Now I also have an S2 on order.
I agree with boaz, I built up an edc 18650 with an xm-l u2 and at the same time built up another 18650 tube with an xp-g 4c at 1.7a.
that xp-g totally ruined the u2 for me, the u2 tint was just awful to use for my usual edc work - working in electrical panels with lots of coloured wires.
I have since swapped out most of my emitters for nw ones, even my latest thrower build is a nw xp-g2.
my next series of builds will be with the high cri xp-g2’s and xm-l2’s, colour definition is much much more useful than extreme output.
BUT I don’t use a nanjg driver, I use a 2.6a ld-25 current controlled driver, you might cry about that 200ma drop but in use, you won’t miss it, what is good is absolutely no pwm in any mode. Not, very high pwm, NO PWM. In an environment with lots of moving parts (machinery of pretty much any kind) this is, I have found, very very important, and I’m not even pwm sensitive, the difference is pulleys seem to pulse, fans look odd, cable tie tails that get flicked……they can make you feel ill to be honest.
Its one of my most used and useful builds and the only part missing from it being perfect is a moon/firefly mode, if that could be programmed into the driver, I wouldn’t buy another type at all.
yeah……I’ll stick a vernier across it tomorrow, its narrower by a hair than a trustfire t2 reflector and not as deep, its also mop so quite diffused, not a thrower reflector but uerful up close
Hi guys, i was very busy lately, and all of my plans for orders and playign with flashlights was on hold!
I thank you guys for all the help in this thread, very helpful, but since things change very quick in flashlight world, i would like to know if there is some flashlight atm better then the Convoy M1 which i think would be best choice for me….
So new things i look for.
At least 800lm
At least 2-3 min on max without stepdown
Good heatsinking
Must use 18650 and fit protected
Must be free shipping worldwide order
Must be around edc size or a bit bigger
Must be around 60% throw, 40% flood light
Must be XML2-U2 or T6
Must have efficent driver, without drops in output (at least without big ones)
No dark holes in hotspot
Around 30$ max, if im asking to much sorry, i just throw out what i read is good or bad about flashlights, maybe even 35$ 30$ is not absolute max, thanks guys!
$30 shipped
Your choice of a Cree XM-L2 U2 1C (cool white), XM-L2 T6 3C (neutral white), or XM-L2 T4 5B1 (80+ CRI)
Brightness: 1125lm (U2), 1050lm (T6), 900lm (T4)
Will easily fit any protected 18650
You can choose the driver modes (I would go with the 4 mode personally)
Good heat sinking
Constant current driver
AR coated lens
I have the last generation of this light, the V3, and I do think it is an excellent light. The only thing I do not like about it is the reverse clicky tail switch, but that is more a matter of personal preference than a design flaw. People on here rave about this light and when I first started collecting lights, it was recommended to me as one of the “must have” lights for all flashaholics.
This review has some beam shots and more info for the light. Like all C8’s, they throw more than they flood, but I think it is a good, all around compromise.
Firefly mode refers to a mode where the light is extremely dim, usually 5 lumens max. It is used for times when you do not want to ruin your nightvision, such as reading a map while night hiking.
anyway thanks!