It’s a extremely powerful for the size, good price to performance, and excellent NarsilM UI.
However, since it can draw 200W, that means it also has to dissipate 200W. The MT03 design can handle 40-50W at maximum continuously in ambient conditions.
It’s also extremely floody, so it’s not really useful in most situations at max power, since it can drown your vision.
I’ve got a SkyRay King 9 x XML-2 (Same size as Q8).
Also a L2 and L6.
Those cans are NOT comfy in hand for longer walks.
I usually carry my L6 with short tube from L2 and one cell for a walk.
Handy. Comfy and lotsa light for 20mins/half hr.
Good spread/ great throw.
Full tube and 2 x cells if going out for a while.
Balances well in hand. I wear a shoulder strap and it carry’s nicely on that
set to wrist length it takes weight without restrictions on moving.
Those can lights are on for checking pool area for snakes.
2 x Pythons curled up with eggs here at moment under Cane Palms.
But I reckon the L6 is better ALL rounder.
L2 when you get serious maybe.
I’ve never had a L6. Might be time to change that. I haven’t heard anything bad about them really. Thanks for this thread. It talked me into a L6. I already have a Q8 and it’s just awesome for what it is. Hard to beat for the money.
I have a BLF Q8 and a Sofirn Q8, I use them regularly. I have a Thorfire S70 and I haven’t touched it in months. I better check the cells, thanks for the reminder.
The Sofirn is cooler/bluer but throwier, whereas the BLF/Thorfire is warmer (neutraler?) and floodier. I prefer the latter on both points.
Was tempted to get an L6, but I rarely use my L2s or even the Q8s unless I NEED a mega-light. Most times I’ll just grab for my Cometa as a “big” light.
So, it depends on what you wanna do or use it for, other’n being a “Wow!” light to show off to people.
The Q8 fits, albeit very snugly, into a grenade pouch, so you can MOLLE it to something else hang it off a belt. Don’t think you can do that with an L6 or other bat-light. Also fits nicely into a jacket pocket.
Bat-lights need matched cells because they’re running them in series, but the Q8 has all 4 cells in parallel, so they’re naturally going to be and stay matched inside the Q8, from fresh-out-of-the-charger to having LVP kick in.
I never even played with the Q8’s UI. Click on, 2click for turbo, press’n’hold for ramp up/down, click off. Never even looked at the manual that came-with. Other options? Yeah, probably, but I never bothered to mess with ’em.
So, you wanna whomp something/someone on the head, get a bat-light. Else the Q8 is nigh perfect for hella-bright yet still jacket-pocketable.