Cheap Thrower for the farm recommendation/advice (200 acres)

I’ll have to take a closer look at that. It sounds good but I really don’t enjoy explaining to my wife how I spent more than $40 on a flashlight. Thanks for taking the time to educate me.

Wow. Thanks for the video links. That really puts it in terms that I can understand. I’m very grateful for your input. High five!

I like my Noctigon K1 for throw, but it costs about a hundred antlered whitetails.

FT03 is an excellent value. It will run on 18650 or 26650. Be sure to check around here, or just ask, for a coupon whatever you decide on.

@species8472, the reason I didn’t recommend the FT03 is because it uses a 1x7135+FET driver, meaning driver output goes down as battery level goes down.

For throwers, having a regulated driver is now a high requirement for me since I depend on them having constant intensity.

How about the Sofirn IF22a? Here is a review with beam shots

Sofirn IF22A & IF22 beamshots and review [Update 2021-10-02]?

Looks like it’s around $40 including 21700 battery on Amazon if you use the coupon

https://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-Flashlight-Powerful-Emergencies-IF22A-Kit/dp/B09SV4Q4PF?

I’ll give a third (fourth?) vote for the Astrolux FT03. Bigger reflector that really has some punch and it’s not overly larger…maybe an inch and a half longer than the C8 lights, and of course a little fatter tube and the wider head. You can get those on Banggood and if you look up Freeme’s threads he’s usually got coupons to get good discounts from them (if nothing else, you can use the 10% discount or whatever from Charles Bridgetec’s youtube channel). Get the natural/neutral white version of the emitter if they have it. It’s not “warm” like an incandescent flashlight but it’s warmer than the cool/cold white and that does help to cut through all of the airborne dust and pollen and mist at night, plus for my eyes it makes it a little easier to pick out natural colors like coyote and deer fur (maybe armadillos for you). The light has usb charging which works well and it comes with the clear plastic tube adapter so that you can run your 18650 cells. You’ll want good high drain cells for the best current/running on turbo.

If you want to invest in fat batteries, it would pay to research what the best 26650 you can get right now is (there have been some good ones that disappeared in the past, so what you can buy now isn’t necessarily same in comparison). The old black Shockli cells were great and I think Mountain Electronics still has some of those. Illumn and Liion Wholesale may have some of them or the better versions of Vapcell cells also. Or…right now isn’t the best moment, but there’s a longer 26800 cell from Queen Battery (can be bought cheaply at Aloft Hobbies in California when they have them in stock again). Those are great cells with the power delivery and capacity for long run times…you do need to purchase the additional accessory tube if you want to try those cells out (around $8 or $9 with a discount coupon…I think $14 normally at Banggood).

The light has stepped light modes like most lights, or it can run on a nice smooth ramping mode where you press and hold to get brighter or dimmer. Has a lit side switch. Pretty decently made - spare drivers and lenses are available if needed but of course it takes awhile to get them from China. Also, those are made by Mateminco (Astrolux is Banggood’s house brand label…they don’t make their own lights, just contract it out) and Mateminco has the same light under a different model number that can be bought on Aliexpress.

If you want easier and comparable, the Thrunite Catapult V2 is on Amazon, sometimes on sale but check their webpage for pricing, too. They seem to be out of their neutral white emitter all the time so probably just cool white available. They changed that light to where it has less throw now, but I think still plenty adequate for what you’re asking…bit wider beam, which may come in handy. I think it’s usually around $70, though. Possibly sometime soon and around that same price, Lumintop will have the updated ODL20C V2 for sale…not much really known about it now. The Thrunite and the Lumintop are both quite a bit smaller and more pocketable, but still a bit large for some pockets, where the C8 is easier there. If you go for a C8 you might consider some of the larger emitter options such as SST70, XHP50….or the slightly smaller SST40. If that’s all greek to you, just understand one basic point, which is that a smaller emitting surface on the LED will throw farther and have a smaller/tighter hotspot than a larger emitter in the same reflector. So in a medium-small head size like the C8, if you put a normal smaller emitter in there it will throw pretty well, but you won’t get as much effective light downrange as you will with a larger reflector…and then that larger reflector lets you effectively use a larger emitter to really put a good beam far out there. Throwers that have little “pencil beams” are impressive and ready way out, but not much light to see by usually.

Oh heck, also, check out the Sofirn IF22A……on Amazon usually for $45-ish, either from Sofirn Direct or 77 Outdoors as sellers, and you can probably still get a coupon here for a good discount. That’s more compact than a C8 but also punches out there better. They use 21700 cells, but on Amazon they will come with one (good cells, too), and they come with a tube adapter for 18650 as well.

Any of these would work but if you don’t mind the wait time and larger size, I think I’d go for the FT03 here. Pretty impressive for such a bargain price. They have an FT03 Mini also, but that’s probably not going to be what you want. When you get a light in hand, try holding it overhead/overhead to the side….sure helps when there’s a lot of junk in the air and for my eyes it makes it easier to pick things out by not having the distraction of the visible light beam so much in my direct line of sight.

An FT03 is a good choice.

I would also recommend you don’t get 2 identical lights right away.

Get one, if you really love it, get a second
but you might want more or less throw or something a little different.

I use a c8 for popping off hogs and coyotes on the farm. The meth heads have already learned from my father my side of the fence is a really bad idea and tend to stray other places.

18650 might be a “smaller” battery but it aint like you are walking around all night with the light on turbo. Heck even night hunting hogs I rarely use up a full battery but do carry a spare. Plus it’s not my only light I carry.

For another $20 ($60) you can get the Convoy 4x18 with SBT90.2. This is no comparison to the FT03. Even on low the 4x18 is more powerful than the FT03. I have several of both and have done side by side tests.

Correllux,

Thank you for taking the time to give me such a detailed response. I think I’m beginning to understand the nuances. Your whole response is very helpful and I very much appreciate people like you (people who have a ton of knowledge) who can “break it down” in a way that makes sense to the uninitiated.

Excellent Advice! Thanks.

I recently ordered a Convoy with a SFT40 emitter.

I recommend a flashlight with that emitter because it's so throwy.

Just choose one that appeals to you.

Since you're on a tight budget, I would check out Sofirn, Wurkkos, and Convoy.

Hmmm… more throwy than SBT90.2 ??? :open_mouth:

i asked simon if he could put an sbt90.2 in a c8+ but he said no go; he said The size of C8 is too small, it is not enough to provide a good cooling environment for SBT90.2.

skylumen offers them though…

Nope, but a SBT90.2 is not sustainable in smaller hosts. After the SBT90.2 steps down, it won’t be much different than a SFT40. Also the emitter alone is $30-40 vs. $5 for a SFT40.

I notice you didn’t link any <$40 SBT90.2 flashlights.

For the OP’s requested price range, SFT40 seems a much more appropriate recommendation.

I own 4 Astrolux FT03s with different emitters, and they’re nice, but maybe I’ve just been lucky. I have seen lots of complaints of quality issues with them. A Convoy or Sofirn might be a safer bet for quality. I would link a Convoy C8 with an Osram emitter, but that store is temporarily closed thanks to the latest COVID-19 lockdown in China. Something like this, since you already have 18650 batteries, but I would recommend you wait until the official Convoy store is open again before you buy, if at all possible. Still, at $23, the throw/$ ratio is hard to beat.

Astrolux EA01S with SST40, serves a good mix of throw and flood, light weighted and handy, takes different kinds of cells.
Currently on sale.

Get an LEP!

I’m curious, what is the comparable Mateminco model?