Well, it sounds like I’m being a bit too picky. The reason I haven’t been stocking SS bezel models is because I thought my customers would start complaining about it.
If lets say you purchased them from a store for 3x the price, would you then have an issue with the beam?
Apparently the bezel is discontinued now. I’m not sure if it was because of all the jokes or if it was for liability reasons. I am no lawyer, but I think even self defense would look like premeditated violence if you carried this monstrosity around.
So many Convoy lights have stainless bezels? I’d not really noticed. I think I only have one an M2. But I don’t recall a ringy beam. Will have to check.
Although I run a Nichols 219B in mine. Bought as a host.
M2 is fine for me with an SST40, but everything else I’ve tried is ringy. H1, H2, H3, M21C, M21G, M21D.
I see little point of the strengthening benefits on the headlamps since the bezel is flush with the head. The H2 & H3 beam profile is the worst of the headlamps.
Sofirn’s SP40 has no such ring, as far as I recall
The geometry of an SS bezel matters. Artifacts can be completely avoided with the right geometry.
I don’t consider regular unhardened stainless to be the ideal bezel material. Hardened stainless (which is inexpensive) or grade 5 titanium would be better. I would guess that hard anodized 7075 alloy aluminum is comparable to an unhardened SS bezel in terms of how it handles drops. Eventually I’ll get around to testing this theory.
The SS bezels in my S3 and M2 (and JAXMAN E2L) flashlights do not create an issue with a ringy beam. That’s probably due to the small size of the bezels compared to others.
It seems a SS bezel is more for aesthetics than actual protection of a flashlight. Most of my flashlights are shelf queens, so perhaps in the real world a SS bezel can protect the head and lens better than aluminum. But I think the size of the bezel will be a more of a determinant in preventing damage than the material itself.
Funtastic, just saw this thread after commenting earlier in the main Convoy one. Looked at L.R.O.’s video footage, too…in outdoor use that ring doesn’t seem terribly noticeable but in-hand is surely different than in-frame. Just found a third reflector/stainless in my collection, which is the Rofis R2 14500 with an XPL…no rings on it either.
As a Convoy data point, my M3C with the stainless bezel does not have much of a ring, but a faint purple one on the flood periphery where it meets the primary yellow-green tint of the spill (XHP70.2). The beam looks exactly the same with the stock black aluminum bezel. I played around with black sharpie and a black paint pen this afternoon and nothing I did the the sloped or vertical step of the stainless bezel changed anything in that beam. Wish I had some more to play with or something with a good offensive ring. lol.
I see Hoop mentioned geometry before I did…kinda thinking that’s where it’s at if it’s not just something with the reflector pairing or focus. Did you already try blacking out your bezel, and if so did it have noticeable effect?
About the bezel geometry: if the light emission doesn’t hit the bezel and reflect off of it, it’s not going to introduce artifacts. A sharp edge on the inside opening and a steep face angle should not produce reflections. If the ID of the bezel is larger than the optic by a good amount, the geometry is not as critical, it can have an inside flat and less steep face and it may still avoid the light path, but the thickness of the glass and o-ring stack needs to be taken into account. Modeling the beam angle will help to design a bezel which will not interfere with the beam.
Have you ever asked your customers about their preferences. The rings do not bother me. The SS bezel is preferable from the durability and appearance perspective.
It seems to be a preference thing. If most of the people buying the lights don’t care, should you? If you offer options, then those that do care about rings can buy something else.
I have an convoy M2 and it definitely was super ringy when i got it, but then you see white wall shots of other ppls where it looks fine. And it doesn’t get better when you take the bezel off. I kinda just took the reflector out, poked at the board, tapped the gasket around, jiggled the thing around for a bit, put it back together and eventually found a set up where the rings went away. And now I just leave it like that and try not to jiggle it
Do not get oversized bezel, and you wont see your beam change. My kr4 has a SS bezel, i ordered it as extra, it is identical to the size of stock aluminum bezel, so no beam changes.