2mm by 30mm diameter aluminum heatsink. maybe a cylinder of aluminum fujiked under will help. seems like enough heatsinking. much bigger than the 16-20 mm led star were used to.
not too familiar with drivers but is that a buck boost driver?
Press fit would be much better. On the other hand slightly loose fit with AA or fujik glue would be much better than nothing.
that is the same way M3X and M31 are being cooled. I have both and wait for this one too!
Yeah i think it is enough cooling as it is transfered from the big 30mm aluminum disk directly to the head with the cooling fins. if anything maybe add some arctic silver.
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If they used a copper disc it would be better, like how some handheld lasers are cooled, no need for anything bigger. I mean how many more watts are CPU dishing out of course the HSFs would be bigger correspondinly. But 10W and this piece of alu it should be ok, but for those who are anal, some thermal compound at the edges where it fits to the host would be nice. Without active cooling like a breeze over the torch this thing would get heatsaturated also sooner or later. LOL! Definitely won't do 1.5hrs full bore for the 2 x 18650s.
But actually from the pix, stock wise it seems that they already applied some thermal compound. Anything is better than none, and its not a super thick layer it seems.
Seems to me that its reverse engineered from M3X, rip off if you'd call that.....or just the same factory cutting cost and doing out a much lower tolerance as much as possible at as fast a pace as possible, since "the line is already there".....before the next new model wave comes. 
I mean it is 3X cheaper, if they can do 3X more at the same pace as M3X or 1/3 less workers, its good. The truth is, the flashlight production fraternity in China is not going to be very large. Not as large as say fireworks pyrotechnics (in Liuyang), speaker cones/transducers etc....workers still need to be fed.
If you'd check out the frontal reflector/emitter view, even that black plastic with 4 holes at the corners and the emitter in the middle, same reflector centering mechanism, they all look the same. LOL! And why does Fandyfire only release one, the same one, at the same time? Its from 1 factory, and where did that idea came from? 1 single factory - doing everything from low to high-end jobs. But its just a conjecture, lets wait for egrotelis.
Olight
Let us know how it compares. :)
Thanks for the beam shots James. It looks like you've picked another winner. Just as you had suspected last month, the large reflector seems to do its job very well in culminating the light for a narrow beam without a lot of spill. Not that it really matters, but is there a detectable donut hole in the center of the beam?
After owning a fantastic 3 x XML mag that delivered 3.0A to each emitter (with a pound of copper to sink the heat), my preference is for single emitter long throw XML's. They do much better with larger reflectors and still have good spill, unless a mega-flood light is desired. The cheap Chinese 3 x XML varieties dont drive the emitters to their fullest 3.0A potential, and there is definitely a major difference in brightness as seen by the human eye with these smaller reflectored varieties. But then, Im one to drive most of my lights at 100% for the duration and carry several extra batteries.
As for heat transfer, I suspect the design of the STLV2 should suffice since the host is becoming quite warm. Your idea of AA should also definitely help. Just apply as little as possible to get the job done. I wonder if a copper penny could be sanded down to fit inside the pill hole and bonded to the back of the star? Maybe this would help put more mass to work in conducting heat through the head. Pennies minted in 1982 and prior were solid copper and have worked well in more than a few of my heat sink mods.
Im hopeful that Cree will continue to develop the XML to much higher bins in the future so we can all look forward to easy mods for even greater lumens.
Well, there is no way 2 x 18650 Li-Co can safely handle the ramping of current to 5A+ and probably more when the voltage drops with use with a regulated driver if you are gonna drive it that high. The current chinese ones already are presenting some problems for the lesser batteries.
The only donut hole i get is when im holding it really close to the wall. at 1meter and further theres no noticeable donut hole just uniform bright light. from center to outside of the hotspot. i never really thought the X8 had a donut hole until i put it next to the STL.
maybe i could melt down enough solder and fujik it under the star. brings back memories of a soldering iron test i did years ago just playing around. i took a coke can turned it upside down. i was curious if i could melt enough solder to fill the curved bottom. started melting solder on it and when i was done i had a big dome of solder. maybe i can make one big enough to fit and fujik it under there.
Im not really tickled much by the 3xXML lights. Im sure someone will come out with a better driven driver for us budget minded BLFers. that olight sr92 seems like the ideal design. maybe skyray will come out with the STL V3. like the V2 is a copy of the m3x.
I got 3 16340s waiting to try. i really need to get me a lux meter to get a better idea how much these lights are putting out.
I dont know if its just the intensity of the STL but this looks more neutral or warmer compared to the X8. Go get one Flash you wont regret it.
I don't understand how there could be a better driver for the 3x XM-L lights, it's fully buck regulated with low voltage cut-off and outputs just under 2A to each emitter for about perfect light to heat ratio for the size of the light. It also drains most good cells at just around 1C, which is dead on for decent runtime really.
What would you do to improve it?
Which is why 2 x 18650's is probably inappropriate for such a light. Mine ran on 3 x C -or- 4 x D NiMH.
All good points RedForest. However, IMO, its better to have a well driven light in high mode, and with an available medium mode of approx 75% the output of high mode (Think: Fenix turbo mode). That way the user can still have a few minutes of blinding light when needed and then throttle back for longer run times and sufficient cooling. Who wouldnt enjoy that option more? Of course the amperage requirements for such a light would move us outside of what 2 x 18650 LICO's can provide but it can still easily be done; and has been done many times (just not yet in budget lights). In comparing 3 x XML's at 2.5A vs 3.0A, there is a massive difference in apparent brightness (to my eyes) across the entire hot spot and flood beam. I apologize for the lack of beam shots to demonstrate. My tests were conducted with this light and a DMM. If I never owned that custom Mag, then I probably wouldnt know what Im missing. In the end, I sold it because I own 1 x 18650 XML lights that are brighter, have more throw, still provide descent spill and at 1/6th the size and weight. They are also far more useful to me for nearly all of my lighting requirements.
Im not trying to diss the 3 x XML Chinese versions, and I apologize if my comments were taken that way. They are very efficient for current to lumens output and an incredible steal for the price. After comparing 3 x XML's driven at 2.5A vs a well designed 1 x XML light, I fail to see any real advantage for having so many comparably dim emitters; unless a massive close range flood light is needed. Also, the emitters show a much greener tint when driven at lower currents, which is something I dont particularly enjoy. If you're lighting a back yard with a fence line around it, you might be very pleased with the results. But taking it into an open field will quickly show its limitations and the advantages of a single emitter w larger reflector.
Yeah, I certainly see where you're coming from and why you would want that. But I am actually really pleased that with the 3x XM-L light they've gone for what I see as a more sensible efficient light with good output which can handle the heat very well while still holding a much higher output than a single XM-L can produce.
I do see that it is really not suited to throwy applications, where a single XM-L driven harder for the greater surface brightness and larger reflector can really outdo the triple XM-L. But for what it does do I think the current 3 mode triple XM-L is almost perfect, I'm so pleased a budget manufacturer has finally done a well made, KISS, mega-output light.
For a 3x XM-L light to be throwy it would really not only need to be driven harder but also need a much larger head for larger individual reflectors. While it could be done by someone 'budget' for much cheaper than the SR92 for example I don't think it would end up as a light comparable to the current 3x XM-L light, more like another seperate specialised and much larger powerful light. I personally would likely rather stick to a smaller single XM-L or HID light for the serious throw.
Actually there is an advantage, the more number of emitters driven at a lower current, the more efficient (lm/W) it is. This is so even if heatsinking is great with copper, coz at the junction is just too small to dissipate heat away fast enough at such high currents. Unless its active, or cryo cooling.
Think you may have come across this before, you can play around it with the spreadsheet here https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/2525
Luckily no green tint monsters for the Sky Ray, it works great even in low, absolutely not a single bit of change in tint. (even I was surprised coz for my UF U80 XM-L the change in tint is pretty big).
Flash, that light is great, think i saw you putting it up for sale. Vestureofblood's stuff is also great (5 x XM-L?!). I guess floods have a use so I'll just take the light as it is - actually it is powerful enough to do 100m.
They actually have the Maglite 3 XM-L here http://www.thaicpf.com/webboard/index.php?topic=2824.0 but I am not sure who modded it, and no info on drive levels. Seems like it is just a bit more floody and around the same throw. Animated GIFs are always great! (thanks and credit to brother dong of thaicpf)
Looking at the spill (picture corners) the Maglite 3 XM-L and Sky Ray 3xT6 seems to be of the same intensity, but the Maglite hotspot is even more floody. Thing is, the Maglite has a real estate of 39mm dia (Sky Ray is 57mm IIRC). SR92 is 100mm!
To remain on-topic (LOL!), anyway I have a copy of the Fandyfire's STL-V6 coming from DX, wish me luck. Hope its an identical copy to the Sky Ray STL-V2.
Seriously, i'll need to find a nice long period of time where i can get out to my apartment's garden bridge and do some measurements of all my lights includ HIDs.
PS. OT - how about a quad XM-L gunned at 6.2A each. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?317204-quot-Eco-Star-quot-Quad-XM-L-U2-4000-lumens-beamshots-added
The SkyRay is brighter but I love the color of the Maglite. The TK35 does not impress me at all. It's like having tunnel vision where the SkyRay and Maglite are like being all seeing.
I can finally see where the comments of green tint from users are coming from even at full power. It is not evident till you do A-B comparisons. As a photographer I am quite sensitive to such things at times, though on screen it looks worse than it is.
Forgot to mention, this could be a possible source for the Maglite. (if its not a custom modded whole light) http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?314981-Triple-Cree-XM-L-T6-Dropins-for-D-size-Mag-Lites
Those are 2.8A to each T6 btw. And best of all, NW is available!
As much as I like the 3*XML light (I pretty much use it for everything now), the throw on it isn't all that great for outdoor use. If the dx fandyfire is the same thing as skyray, I'll have to get it, too.
I wonder how they compare to the BC40 though, which is only like $60 or really low for a "name brand" xml.
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I wonder how they compare to the BC40 though, which is only like $60 or really low for a "name brand" xml.
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I have both the V2 and the BC40. I like 'em both, but they're quite different in use. The Jetbeam is more of a general-purpose light (good mix of flood & throw) and the Skyray is more throw than anything. The V2 is not really that useful at close distances whereas the BC40 is, on the lower power setting.
Btw, I have a SHADOW TC300 (from Intl Outdoor) on the way 
and it'll be kind of interesting to see how it stacks up against the BC40. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I have the Sky Ray STL-V2 and compared it to my Olight SR-51 tonight. My target was a building exactly 200 meters distant. Air was steady and clear with a cloudless night. I charged up my batteries for the comparison so each light had full power.
To the eye, there was the slightest edge given to the inexpensive Sky Ray in intensity at the 200 meter range. The building was really lit up, not just ghostly but enough to clearly see any people moving about outside. It was still remarkable how similar the flood and throw of each light was to one another given the large difference in purchase price. I still prefer the elegant side mounted smart switch of the Olight over the manual tail switch of the Sky Ray. The Olight build quality is noticeably higher than the Sky Ray. But for about $47, the Sky Ray has much going for it.
