Here’s a compilation of the pertinent modifying information for the Brinyte B158 that I posted in the group buy thread. I’ll try to include any new information I find or measurements I take at the top of this post, with the newest on top.
Currently waiting on lights…..
These quotes are in chronological order from the group buy thread.
Alright ladies and gentlemen, I have my light in from fasttech. I haven’t tested output yet or modified it, but initial impressions are very similar to what mhanlen posted in his video review.
Fit and finish kills the Uniquefire T20. I’m not exaggerating, head movement has firm even resistance through entire travel with almost no wobble in the head, I haven’t tested yet but I’m tempted to believe the IPX-8 (2m submerged) claim by Brinyte. It appears that they use multiple start threads for the head movement, while not the greatest looking (triangular cut, some spots have anodizing worn a bit where they rubbed too much with the threads inside the head) they do look decent and don’t feel like something that should ever let you down considering the number of starts on the threading (rough guess, 12-18), which should make it basically impossible to strip the threads by hand.
Tailcap threads are triangular cut and anodized. Threading is very very smooth, with very little play in the interface between the threads. You need to have the head zoomed out to properly install the tailcap, otherwise the head covers the battery tube and you can’t tighten the cap well enough to use it to twist the head without it (tailcap) unscrewing. Once seated fully it holds well enough to use it to adjust the focus without it coming loose (for now or for good though?).
The lens, at first glance, appears to be a GREAT plastic lens. The focus quality is better than just about any stock aspheric lens light I’ve ever tested at any price. Obviously lenses like what MEM uses are of even higher quality, but considering the cost of this light this is looking like it could be a really good performer. In zoom it clearly focuses well enough to see each dot on the XM-L2 die face, in flood there are 0 rings and only a mild tint shift at the very edges of the beam. Should you fancy trying other lenses in the B158 it will fit up to 51.2mm lenses with a back focal length of 31mm or less. Since it’s plastic, if you drop the stock lens face first onto a rock while hiking, at least you won’t have a shattered lens.
It is definitely anodized. You could be mistaken for thinking there are scratches in some of the threaded surfaces where there is no anodizing, but in reality those are the marks left by the clamps for anodizing (kind of rudimentary that they’re so visible, but all are completely hidden until you start disassembling things). The anodizing is even, smooth, and matches nicely on all parts. Should wear much better than the T20’s.
Assembly/disassembly are quick and easy for all the main bits, the only tools needed are a pair of tweezers or snap-ring pliers for the tailcap.
Provided this light performs how I think it’s going to I’ll probably be upping my qty on the ground buy. Stay tuned!
Took measurements of the stock light on a freshly charged Efest purple 18650.
Lumens at start: 624
Candela (measured at 27’): 56kcd
Looks like our numbers match up pretty well.
Just had my first disappointment with the B158. The 105c driver sits loose inside the pill, + and - are soldered to it from a contact plate(+) and pressed in brass ring(-). The thing that disappoints me is the press fit ring. What a pain to get out. This likely means a 17mm driver will float a bit and be hard to solder in place. We’ll see, I’m working on the build now, hopefully later today I’ll have modified numbers posted and some more thoughts on how mounting a 17mm MTN-DD driver goes.
Get ready for this group buy to explode. I finished the mods, dedomed XP-G2 S4 2B on a 16mm Noctigon, MTN-DD driver (which fit fine with the little tabs on it, they hold it in place nicely for soldering, don’t sand them off like normal), no spring bypass on the tailcap or new switch.
I’m still waiting on my 30Q’s to charge, but on a Sanyo laptop pull that was at 4.1V when I put it in I measured over 240kcd at 30 seconds.
I smashed the top of the press fit ring to pry it out, YMMV. Plan for the contact plate to be trashed and maybe saving the driver if you need a spare 105c.
I’ll update later with 30Q and tailcap spring bypassed.
Put me down for 20 total in red.
Fully charged Samsung 30Q, spring bypasses on both ends, dedomed XP-G2 S4 2B (not cherry picked) on 16mm Noctigon soldered directly to the pill, MTN-DD driver.
310,118cd
Jaw hits floor……
To give some perspective, a Jax Z1 at about 4.5A to a dedomed XP-G2 S2 2B makes around 245kcd with a smaller hotspot, costs 3x more, and has a green tint because of the type of coating on the lens.
I tend to always solder drivers to pills if it is an option, so if you’re comfortable doing that you shouldn’t need the brass press fit ring.
Same goes for the centering disc and white hold down disc for the LED, if you like soldering MCPCB’s to the pill the centering disc and white disc aren’t necessary except for cosmetic reasons. If you prefer thermal paste they’d be very helpful to have.
Provided they’ve got the part right, I’ll probably buy 10 of the bare pills with the 20 lights. That way at least half of them are easy to mod, and leaves a guy a spare red module in case it’s needed.
I’ve never had components come off while soldering a driver in, but I did learn a while back to do a 30° arc of soldering, do another one opposite of it, then let cool for 90 seconds, repeat. If I try to do it all at once I’ve found it burns up about 50% of MCU’s unless the pill wall is very thin where you’re soldering.
If you pre-tin the edge you’re going to solder to on the pill it becomes easier to solder the driver in place. I tend to run my soldering iron at around 425°C, very little flux as long as the pill edge is pre-tinned, and use a wiping motion.
To solder the MCPCB to the pill I use one of those small refillable butane torches and solder paste. I clamp the pill in a metal clamp, apply the paste and MCPCB, heat with the torch till it flows, and then make sure to press down a little to get the MCPCB as tight to the brass pill as possible. Centering with these pills is easier if you have a small shim, or are able to accurately reduce a 20mm MCPCB to about 19mm.
Actually it was n10sivern who organized that group buy, I just happened to buy a lot of them, just like I’m going to on this one.
In terms of sheer output, the 1504 is better, but if you ask me which model I’m going to carry more it’s going to be the Brinyte. It’s just a more manageable size, lighter, better build quality, water resistant, and has a better lens quality (and won’t shatter).
In use it would be hard to notice the 100-200m advantage of the 1504, but it is easy to see the advantages of the Brinyte. Although I really want to complain about the cost of the pills, it’s still a good price all said and done on a light that really knocks 2 other lights out of my on hand stock, the T20 and 1504. It destroys the T20, and performs staggeringly close to the performance of the much larger 1504, while beating them both on build quality.
I’m going to pull out a MEM approved lens that should fit the Brinyte and see how much improved it can get from its already excellent output.
Edit: MEM approved lens on hold till I reduce the diameter 2mm. It’s only got about a 1mm wide rim, so I may decide not to risk it, but changing out the head may not be too hard….
shrick:
Ok, I’m almost in for around 10-20 of these. It does not really mind which I’m taking, will strip out everything and rebuild. I presume it will be best to add mine to the red section to get the most qty there? Let me know. Will also take around 10 qty of the bare pills, hope the price on these can also drop a bit more? Would have been great if Brinyte could incorporate screw-in retainer ring for the driver - will make this light a winner.
But, before I confirm, I see there’s quite some rings when zoomed in? Could anybody maybe fiddle with some matt black paint to see if these go away?
I’m going to primarily use these as gun mountable options. KKW, I know you’re into hunting… do you have any concerns around this light being used on guns? Do you 100% approve of the mounting mechanism supplied with the light.
A few more questions…
Whats the price on the remote switch?
Whats the quality of the remote switch. I know the switches for the UF-XXX models are quite cheap?
Did anybody test the resistance of the remote switch? Or, maybe the drop in output whilst using it? Trying to accurately find out how much performance will be lost in using them.
Thanks!
I’ve found that the beam in zoom or flood is quite ring free compared to most zoomies. The light I modified had nothing done to darken the interior of the head, and at more than 30’ it’s almost impossible to see any rings in the beam outside. I’d rate the beam quality as excellent on this light.
As for the rail mount, I actually am not a hunter, though I have many friends who are. The light I have is actually getting sold tomorrow to a friend of mine who is a hunter for his AR. If I had any gripes about the mount it would be the height. An extra 4mm of height would have allowed the head to clear the rail, as it sits it would need to be mounted all the way forward, or a shim and longer screws to raise the mounting position. This could be as simple as drilling a couple of holes through a block of the right height, width, and length, or a trip to the hardware store for a couple of aluminum tube style spacers.
I wasn’t aware there was a pressure switch specifically for this light, but I just put one of the pressure switches for the 1504 in the B158, it’s a direct swap. I put a jumper on the spring on the 1504 pressure switches when I use them, as most of my lights pull a fair number of amps. By eye I’m not seeing a huge difference in output compared to the stock switch with jumper on the spring. I think I tested the drop at one point in a 1504 and it was pretty minimal compared to the stock switch, maybe a 5-10% loss in candela output. YMMV
By the way, mhanlen, go ahead and put me down for 20 bare pills total to match my 20 lights. Just remembering having to take that driver retaining ring off is weakening my resolve not to spend the extra $60.
You need 4 parts to hit 300kcd+.
A dedomed XP-G2 S4 2B on a 16mm Noctigon, solder or thermal adhesive to mount it, a good FET driver like the 17mm MTN-DD driver, and a wire jumper on the tailcap spring. All of these should be easy to order from the Mountain Electronics international store.
What ^ said. In order of throw assuming driven hard. In a 1 cell light the line between the domed XP-G2 and dedomed XP-L/XM-L2 is much closer and might flip because of the XP-L and XM-L2 being able to pull more current in a single cell setup. Dedomed the XP-G2 is king for throw in this size lens/power class.
Dedomed XP-G2