He just said flood ...so the jacobs is out
Funny thing is if they make a big headed xml light that gives you heat dissipation they usually are trying to increase throw not flood since the stupid emitter has too much flood by nature .
So you're looking for less throw than the c-8 and brighter ..floodier with great heatsinking right ?
for under 20$
tuff ...glad I don't have this problem :p
For a couple bucks more you can get a Small Sun ZY-T08 and that is a lot more light for the money.
No it’s not the newest LED but I can tell you it’s going to out throw it by a long ways. It doesn’t get hot. It’s not that much bigger. The two 18650’s run side by side so no stacking to worry about. It’s run time is great. The flood is good and the beam is very smooth.
If I could only own one light in the $20 range this would be it and it seems to be a little more of what you are looking for compared with the smaller pocket lights.
yeah mine are custom drivers // i agree the 2 mode drivers aren't that well spaced (and I don't like the flash ).. they need to be spaced like the blf a8 or e1320's moonlite drivers or the Qlite driver at international outdoors
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/17222
Foursevens Preon P0 is full flood (no hot spot at all). Stainless steel and tiny, but it runs on a single AAA so might not be bright enough for you. It’s only CW too.
I got one of those Qlite drivers in the other day and matched it up with a XM-L2, cheap 502B, OP reflector and copper pill. not a bad light for about $16 total. I wouldn’t leave it on high for long though.
agreed on the low low, I built a cnqg d4 (convoy m1) using a blf a8 driver and 4c xm-l, that, is an awesome light, the qlite driver would make it even better but I’m happy with the a8 driver tbh.
One thing that stands out, in this class of light, almost all the suggestions are for nw emitters, they are not as “bright” but much much nicer in use.
Another thing, I could show you a light that tends to impress my friends and family, they think its “mega bright” it has a brilliant white xp-g2 driven at 2a, just that the reflector makes an intense hot spot, looking bright, is subjective, a nw xm-l2 at 3.3a does not impress them as much but would be much higher on the lumen count.
“Brightness” does not tell the whole tale, or make the light most usefull, if you want to impress, put an xp-g2 in a big reflector and drive it hard, it’ll blow most people away with its reach, the zy-t08 is the same in that respect.
thanks for reminding me! i need to grab a handful of these for future use
More amps and heat will also have less runtime with the same power source. If you aren’t going to really notice the small measured lumen gain, I’d suggest saving up for a better flooder. I still don’t have one, but the King clones are now down to about $35 after discount, I think.
Now, if you were more of a thrower fan, I say think of the Defiant Super Thrower as a super-sized $23 C8 . . could stay cheap if you know somebody in the USA who can buy one and keep the shipping/duties away via regular travel.
I have 2 Small Sun ZY-T08’s, and yes they are a heck of a deal for around $25 shipped. And yes i like them better than the Jacob A60.
i got an about $11 light for you at KD. ultrafire WF or UF2100 with XML T6. powered by 1x 18650.
never found better driver than this one. but surely quick hottie on high mode.
I agree that the ZY-T08 is one of the best value per dollar lights, but it is outside the OP’s parameters. The C12 seems less floody than what the OP seems to want, but again subjective terms like floody leave a lot of room for interpretation.
The strength of the C12 is the amount of heat sinking for the compact size. It puts out a bigger hotspot and a little more spill than a T08. So it’s a bit more useable for general purposes, but still too hot a spot for close stuff.
What a lot of responses!!. Thank you!.
Well, i supuse there isn’t the best flashlight, there is the best for each person. In my case, i like the very good heat sink of the c12, this is useful for having it on at high mode more time. And, i think that i don’t want a pure thrower or pure flooder. I think that i like my KD c8 xm-l with op reflector, it has got me a good flood and throw. A want the same but a up step more.
With c12 for heat and xm-l2 more efficient and powerful i should think that for 20$ aprox. the ultrafire C12 xml-2 was my best option. But only if it is driven at 3.5A.
I only see that model here:
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-c12-1-cree-xm-l2-5-modes-led-flashli…
http://kaidomain.com/product/details.S021400
And i don’t know if it’s the same or the same but other batch (less amperaje etc)… That’s my fear.
think you asked a tough question.... maybe that's why the answers went a bunch of different directions .
I was just afraid you might not see any real difference in the 2 lights..
The good thing is lots of people own the c-8 to compare it to .
I have a Shadow JM07 clone on order from DX. It's only $21.60 and supports 3AAA's in a pinch. Can't report on quality or how hard it's driven yet of course. It should have decent throw coupled with a wide bright spill (flood). Photos of the pill show excellent heatsinking.
-Garry
What are the features of C12 that makes it a good heat sink? How is the heat sink of C12 different from that of C8?
Well, you can see the differences of c12 from c8 on the number of heatsink fins. You can see this C12 review and see the photos:
Well, i forgot to say that i want that the flashlight uses 18650 battery (1 only).
I’ve found C12 XM-L2 for 18$:
I don’t know, what is the current drawn from a cell. Anyway, I may look for some C12 with XM-L2. It’s quite big for a single 18650 flashlight, so it should be able to disperse some heat. Right now, I’m waiting for Roche F12 (XML U2-1B, 2,8A, 19:money_mouth_face: from FastTech 
Thanks for the link. The review says C12 pill is bigger also.
That c12 is badass for the price.
Only problem is theres no point in awesome heat sinking when you have a light like that with a small alloy star and poor heat conduction between the star - pill - body. A little as5 would make it a heck of a lot better.
My favourite little cheap light for general purpose is this one:
Just ordered another 10 of them, if they turn out to be all the same (ive found some suppliers to vary) ill get another 20.
Best thing about them is the stepped down reflector, which works great for de doming as you can put the reflector straight on the star for a better focus without shorting it, 20mm pill for sinkpads, DD driver at over 4.5 amps for super high mode - around 35k lux standard, 60k de domed u2 and upwards, very good quality components, springs on driver and tail cap (for 12 gauge and rifle use), and fastest shipping on ali express ive had so far.
Perfect wee light as is, and even better once modded.
Chris
i would second the convoy m1.
thing is bright and floody and its small.
all the tube style lights mentioned are the same way.
unless you go with a bigger tube like one that takes 26650’s
but my a8 has almost the exact same beam as the convoy m1, so id get the convoy instead since its alot smaller.
i was also gonna mention the kd c8, that thing throws like crazy, probably the best throwing c8 in stock form out there.
and its also the one with the biggest flood and spill of all the c8’s i have also.
but mine is a smo reflector, so your op reflector should be even floodier with more spill.
oh, and id stay away from that c12 from lightmalls, read this