I’m looking for a compact thrower and have possibly narrowed it down to the above 2, I was also interested in the Eagletac TX25C although they seem incredibly hard to find in the UK with the XP-L Hi which I believe would be the best option …. the other 2 would also have better run times with the 18650.
If anyone has experience with any of them or suggestions of any others … I don’t know if there are any Convoys that could be considered tight focus throwers and are of similar size but any input would be much appreciated!!
Looking for something to easily go in the pocket … I know some have quite large heads which wouldn’t really be suitable.
I don’t own any of those lights, but they seem like a good choices for what you want as far as head size (throw ability vs pocketability). Also they are relatively short because they don’t have tail switches.
Some other ideas that come to my mind, though they may not suit your requirements as well as the two above: The Eagle Eye X6 is relatively pocketable for its head size. It does have a significantly larger head at 40mm, but it will throw a lot farther. The convoy M2 with FET driver and XPL HI will throw about as well as the MH20GT. The convoy s2 (with smooth reflector) with dedomed XPG2 and FET driver will also throw in the 30-40kcd range.
Someone has mentioned it already, the Astrolux S3, formerly known as the BLF X5 and was a light designed by the forum and some of our talented members.
It’s a 14500 light, but has a fairly big SMO reflector, XP-L HI and a FET driver.
You’ll want a good battery for it. I use Efest red or purple IMR’s in mine. You can get these batteries from eBay.co.uk from a UK supplier pretty cheap. I’ve not really found any China based 14500’s as well priced that match the performance. Also buying from a UK supplier will get your batteries in 1-2 days.
This light is truly kick ass and you won’t find anything brighter on the market that runs on 14500 batteries. At full tilt runtimes are however very very low. Less than 20 mins, maybe nearer 15. But no fear, it comes with a 7 mode programmable driver. Which means it’s easy to find a suitable output for your use and easily extend runtimes.
I’ll be honest, I normally don’t EDC 4500 lights due to the poor runtimes. The S3 is the only one I’ve successfully and happily used, because the driver makes it so versatile.
I did a quick comparison vid here:
It’s the one on the far left in this pic:
It’s not the smallest 14500, but you need the reflector size for the throw.
Of interest you may like the bigger brother of the S3 called S2. Far right in the pic with the blue tail switch.
This is an 18650 light, so has much better runtimes, and 18650 batteries can deliver more current, so slightly higher peak output. The bigger reflector means even more throw. These really are one of the best pocket (coat pocket in the case of the larger S2) lights money can buy at any price. The S2 will out throw lights costing 3 times as much and ones that are physically bigger.
Ya that should be it the xpl hi version should have good throw for its size with that emitter. I have a p12gt nitecore and for a 1 inch reflector it is a good thrower for its size. Might be a little bigger then op wants. I like a tube light for edc or the nitenumen. Much cheaper tube lights around. A good $20 light is a good edc in my opinion. If it gets lost or dropped its no big deal compared to losing or damaging a 70 p12gt. Well they are under $50 now but still
Yes found them … thank you for that!!!Nice that you can set the lumens to what you want!!!
By chance has anyone compared one of these to either of the 2 I listed … I’d be interested to know if the hot spot is as tight and if there’s quite a bit of spill in comparison.
I like the fact you can use either 18650 for longer run time or 18350 with the other tube … makes it very pocket size!!
Had a look at the Astrolux S3 which is interesting as well … any idea roughly what sort of run time I’d get on either the 213 or 293 setting …. I’m guessing probably around 45 mins? It’s bigger brother the S2 is just edging towards bigger than I’d ideally like.
