The XM-L2 probably will be just as hot, as I will not lower the power. This thing is getting hot in my testing. I’m considering lengthening the head by 2”, adding 8 more cooling fins.
Probably I’ll start selling the shorter version, hand made only, for a bit, perhaps a few people can get one and try it out, give a bit of feedback. As it is hand made, price will need to be a bit higher.
Also, I’m thinking about a Bruiser-12000 By going from 3.5” to 4.00” diameter, I am able to fit one more Bruiser board in there, totaling four boards with a total of 12 XML2 LEDs.
From what I can see the FF4 is HID, right? HID and LED flashlights are very different. The upside of HID is they can achieve a very narrow beam. 4000 lumens and a narrow beam are great for distance viewing. I was having trouble getting the specifics on the beam type and distance, so, I cannot say for sure. Flashlights with an LED are getting close, in terms of throw capability, like the ST90 I make, the SR90 by Olight, and there are a lot of good thrower flashlights with an LED.
The downside of an HID flashlight, are: Warm up time and cool down time. You cannot cycle on/off/on/off with an HID flashlight. Each use of this type of bulb has a bit of degredation of performance. The bulb is costly to replace. The ballast is costly to replace.
The Bruiser-9000 has a 19 degrees floody beam. I do measure around 45000 lux at one meter, which by the way, is similar to my Blaster-ST90 flashlight, so, I know the Bruiser-9000 will have respectable throw. I had it outside last night shining it around for a while, lit up the neighborhood like day.
One downside of the Bruiser-9000 design is the use of 26650 batteries. Sometimes they are difficult to buy, or, to buy the correct high amperage output batteries. I hope that I can buy a few hundred batteries to resell, to help in this. The King Kong 26650 battery is usually available, and is adequate to power my flashlights that use the 26650. I almost bought a bunch of them but went for the INR batteries I had been selling. I’m also considering carrying the 26700a moli batteries that have a 40 amp discharge rating, but these were a bit overkill, and the INR chemistry seems to have better overall use characteristics over the true IMR chemistry. INR is similar to IMR except it has a bit of nickel added in to give more stability, but this lowers the output from 40 amps discharge to 10 amps.
The FF4 and this Bruiser-9000, it would seem to me are very different animals. Which is best is determined by your needs, and preferences.
I have ordered more aluminum stock for Bruiser-12000. It will be 4” diameter. I probably will make the head a bit longer, more cooling fins. This would be around 151 watts up to 160 watts! That’s a huge amount of power to cool.
You can be the guinea pig on this one if you like. I already have the Bruiser-9000 up on my web site for sale, hand made version, price is $399.99. The Bruiser-12000 will be $499.99. However, I have not made a Bruiser-12000 as of yet, but, I have made plenty of Kong-12’s, enough to know it works, and, requires lots of heat sinking to keep cool. I have put up to 21 XML LEDs, into a Kong-21.
Its not on your site yet. Either way i’d have to do some serious thinking before jumping.
Just wondering, why is the manual lathe version of the S&R a much higher price than the Bruiser 9000? Seems like there is much more material in the 9000.
I have not made a Bruiser-12000 as of yet, so I have not put it up on my site. Normally I will make a prototype first and take pics, do a bit of testing, before I officially put it up on the web site for sale. Unless someone emails me and asks me to make it for them, then I will sell one, otherwise, not. I have the metal on order, I ran out of 4” bar stock. I don’t normally keep a lot of this size aluminum on hand, it is very expensive.
I would rather not make any of these myself, but, I have to work within my budget, money on hand, so, I’m making them for now, unless I do a pre-sale on them, which, I might consider doing, if there is enough interest. Part of the reason for a thread like this is for me to try and determine the level of interest. Sometimes my ideas gain interest, sometimes not.
Sorry for no beam shots as of yet. Just got home and it’s late, and this flashlight will disturb the entire neighborhood, have to go off somewhere there is some distance to get a good shot. I should be able to do something tomorrow night.
It’s a matter of perspective: What is big (or bright) is relative
I’m in the middle of a Kong-21 build, so, I thought I might take a comparison photo of Kong-21, Bruiser-9000, Big Bruiser, and a 26650 as something for a common size reference.
Bruiser-9000 Beamshot down and across the street about 100 yards:
Kind of a close approximation of what my eyes are seeing, sort of. Just a ton of light, flood, but really does throw a long distance. Sorry, not very good, will have to go off farther out of town some time.
Shining over at the tree, lights it up like day time, plus everything around.
By going from 3.5” to 4.00” diameter, I am able to fit one more Bruiser board in there, totaling four boards with a total of 12 XML2 LEDs.
