Been lurking here for some time, but finally decided to make an account.
Not so long ago I found a nice deal for an eagletac sx25a6 (specs) with ~50% price reduction. This is my first 1000+ lumen thrower and I’m quite happy with it. Once in a while I take it with me to explore some old mines together with a friend. He is also impressed with the light, however, unfortunately he was too late for the deal and now the light can only be bought for over 100 euros.
Then I found out about the wonders of budget lights such as those provided by convoy and others, and started to wonder if I can find him a good alternative with a more ‘decent’ price. Ideally something less than 50 euros, but less is would be even better.
The eagletac is an 6xAA light. Although an alternative with AA’s would be nice for him, I realize this is difficult if not impossible, and it’s fine to settle with lithium batteries after giving the right instructions
Anyway, what we like about the eagletac are the following things:
- bright! 1000 lumen is nice to light up large areas
- tint: I choose a neutral white. According to eagletac this is a T6 LED, so I guess it’s a 3x or 4x.
good thrower (spec’ed upto 400m), while still floody enough to brighten the surrounding area. This is especially nice for lighting up long ‘hallways’ that are typically few meters wide and up to 200 meters long.
Browsing through this forums, I found a couple of lights which may be candidates:
- Convoy L2 XPL hi
- Convoy L4
- Convoy C8
- Convoy M1
- XinTD C8 V5 XM-L2 U3 3D
XinTD C8 V5 XP-G2 S4 2B
It seems that the main variation here is the throw to flood ratio, but perhaps I’m missing other things? Which light do you think is most approximate to the eagletac? Of course making sacrifices due to relative low price is reasonable, although something else then a cold white tint would be very much appreciated.
1dash1, your link is and pictures lead to the X6, but you said A6, based on the need for a thrower I think your link and pictures were correct, so to the OP ignore A6 unless I’m mistaken.
BTW, I agree completely with the X6 suggestion, I’m sure others can pipe in with other options as well but you can’t go wrong with the X6, it’s not completely a thrower and the spill can be very useful for close up work as well on the lower levels while still being quite the long range light as well.
Rick: Regarding X6 tint, the 3B (neutral white) tint is presently sold out. Reported that it will be back in stock 3/6/2016 [reference link] .
And for just $15 more (total of $50), you can get the X5 & X6 set. The 3B tint is in stock for that set: [link to X5 & X6 Set]
Use discount code: 3aeb2e
A lot of BLF members favor the smaller X5 over the X6 because of its “giggle factor”. (People can’t stop smiling when they use this pocket rocket. )
Unfortunately, the eagletac deal still heads in the direction of $100 including shipping and possible taxes.
However, the X6 looks really interesting! Didn’t realize there was a cheaper, standalone version. The bundle with X5 is also interesting, but it being a 14500 light, I guess runtimes will be very short(?). I guess for both lights a high drain cell is required to get all the lumens out?
As far as the X5 runtime it depends, if you just use the lower levels for the most part it’s not bad at all.
You definitely want high drain cells, the lights function fine on some laptop pulls and an older imr14500 I have but they don’t pull nearly as much current as they could.
If you can grab the set at the groupbuy price I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.
The X5’s runtime will be shorter overall yes. That’s just 700mAh vs 2500-3000mAh for an 18650.
That said, it has 7 output modes, so you don’t need to run it on high all the time. The X5 is also very pocket friendly, so it’s more of an every day carry (EDC) light, that just happens to have kick ass performance should you want/need it.
Both the X5 and X6 are superb lights, I own 2 of each of the current version and some older X6’s. Even compared to premium lights they are still absolutely brilliant.
Thanks for your suggestions. There are indeed a couple of 4xAA lights out there with spec’ed 1000 lumens. My impression so far is that they are generally not so easy available here (in NW tint at least) and only burst out 1000 lumen for a short while (I think most are even momentary). Also, the throw distance is mostly quite a bit less compared to the sx25a6. I agree that they are still interesting if AA’s are a must.
For now the either the BLF X5/X6 kit or Astrolux S2/S3 seems to be the most interesting candidates. The standalone BLF editions with 3A tint don’t seem to be coming back anytime soon (S5 now pushed back to April and S6 is not even selectable anymore).
I couldn’t resist and ordered a set for myself as well. Damn these are nice lamps! Fantastic suggestion! So much smaller and lighter compared to the eagtac. The x6 seems even a bit brighter.
The 3B tint is a bit less warm compared to the eagletac. I also ordered a Convoy C8 with the 4C tint (they are so cheap right?) and this seems to match the tint better.
)