Hello from New Delhi, India.

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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Hello BLF,

First up, apologies if this isn’t the right section for posting this!

I have been trawling through the forums and spent many hours reading reviews and generally having a blast!

I started out looking out on Gearbest at the really cheap five buck flashlights and quickly realized they’d be rubbish. Thankfully I stumbled upon this informative forum and like many others before me, decided that the Convoy s2+ should be my first and hopefully only edc- with a scale eighteen automobile addiction, I can’t afford to be a flasholic, bet everyone says that!

So after two days of reading reviews, threads, comparisons written by you flasholics, I’ve narrowed down on the 2.1A S2+ in Grey which has the older XLM lamp. I could have gone for the red or blue versions with the more powerful driver and updated lamp, however for my needs the 7135x6 feels enough plus I really like the grey! Also, I won’t lie, at the current flash sale price of $9.99 on GB it feels like a steal.

The few questions I need your help with are:

1) Is there significant difference between the older XML lamp versus the newer XML - 2 in terms of longevity and importantly, luminance?

2) Would you recommend the NCR18650B 3.7V 3400mAh 18650 Rechargeable Li- ion Battery for this light? OR Are there better battery options from Gearbest I should go for? Eg: AA 3000mAh 1.2V Ni - MH

3) Would you recommend the LiitoKala Lii - 202 USB Battery Charger (which has no reviews on GB) or the single Bay one which has very positive reviews.

I thank you for reading the long winded post and look forward to interacting with you!

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Anyone :weary:

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Welcome to budgetlightforum! Good to have South Asian representation :slight_smile:

xml2 - I would say go for the newer version as it is more efficient (by about 10%)

NCR18650B is a fine battery for this usage

LiitoKala 100 (single bay) is an excellent charger and probably the best bang for your buck if you already have another charger for your nimh needs (though LiitoKala 100 can also charge nimh). If you are looking for one charger to replace all your charger needs (e.g. charging multiple nimh and Li-Ion at the same time), then LiikoKala 500 is an amazing value

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Welcome to BLF! :slight_smile:

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Hi and welcome!

Whatever radioshaq said. Do update here if you can get GB to ship you the Pana NCR batts; tried to order this week and failed. My order from two weeks ago went through, though, waiting for them.

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welcome to BLF
And +1 on this:

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Hello Guggga, welcome to BLF.

As for the advice you asked for, you should be fine when you follow the entries above.

Just one word of warning. What you called an alternative: Eg: AA 3000mAh 1.2V Ni – MH should NOT be considered.
The internal (low voltage) protection of the S2+ driver will shut it down when the voltage falls below 2.75V.
This is to prevent LiIon cells from overdischarging to a level they can’t recuperate from (in layman’s terms: over exhaustion).
NiMH cell are nominally rated for 1.2V, so they would not even be able to produce any lumens at all. In this light, anyway.
As for the energy-content: a Li-Ion cell is 18 x 65 mm, and a NiMH is 14 x 50 mm. So what do you think :wink:

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+2 on whatever @radioshaq said.
And the NCR18650B is a good battery for the S2+.
The NiMH battery is a NO GO for the light, so stick to Li-Ion 18650 battery

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Off topic: Are there authentic 3000 mAh NiMH cells?

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Hello Gents (and ladies, if there are any here), thanks for the warm welcome and informative comments! Thanks for taking time out to respond everyone! This clears my confusion and I am ready to hit BIN!

Except- I stumbled across the Convoy S3 XM - L2 T6 4C LED Flashlight which is about $1.8 more than the XML2 Blue S2. I like em both with a slight edge to the blue S2, its gorgeous! Both have the updated lamp and 7135 X 8 driver, so are there any advantages that the S3 over the S2+ has except for being lighter and shorter?

I read concerns about 18650 batteries fitting into the shorter S3. What would you suggest?

dhvl1357 - you are right, I just checked at GB and they won’t ship any battery to India, what a bummer!
Is there another place to get these batteries for a decent price? I checked DX and they are twice the price on GB. Same story on Ebay and Amazon India - 3 times more here!

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Apparently this Li-ion shipping blockade is due to some new flight cargo regulation wherein they won’t transport batteries unless they’re already inside a product. Go figure. If you’re desperate, there are two authorised Nitecore and Fenix sellers (LightMen and Lightorati) who sell batteries at MRP, so comparing to GB/Ali prices, it’s buying one battery for the price of four. They do come on the second day though and carry a warranty, if that’s any balm.

It might be worth checking Aliexpress though as some sellers there will ship batteries by mislabelling them. Worth a shot IMO.

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Get both :slight_smile: I will let somebody else answer that has experience with both. I have the s2+ which hands down is the best value.

Batteries - since they allow if battery is inside a product, why don’t you try PM’ing the Gearbest rep here (user id gearbest) and ask them to just put the battery you buy into the flashlight you buy and ship it to you? they are quite good at responding to BLF members. Another option is to buy a rechargeable flashlight that already comes with 18650 battery. Convoy has a few options there also.

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Thanks for the tip Radioshaq! I’ll report back if they agree to snicking one each inside the light and the charger!

Dhvl- That’s a great idea! I also found that Fasttech has a pretty great price on the batteries - not sure if they ship though.

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In fasttech you know after made order, if they dont able to ship the shipping method dont apears.

http://pt.aliexpress.com/item/4pcs-protected-for-panasonic-18650-3400mah-new-100-original-18650-battery-ncr18650b-rechargeable-battery-hot-sale/32492124810.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.56.dCRKw7

Try here, Miller sent this seller and worked for me :slight_smile:

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Namaste! Aap kaise ho? Well, that’s about as far as my Hindi goes. Welcome.

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You’ll pay a lot more for the batteries then if you can find a online retailer. But if they are any vape shops for e cigarettes in India which I’m sure there are. They will sell 18650 batteries. But it will be costly. A $5 battery online is usually $15 at a cape store in.The United States. Imagine it would be a 3-4x market up everywhere else as well. Or if you can find some used laptop batteries you should be able to find 6-9 batteries per pack. Check voltage if 2.5 give or take a couple tenths they should be able to be salvage. Just keep a eye if the cells get warm on the charger toss them. Most manufacturers have the cell cut off at 2.5 volts. But some cells a couple lg variants discharge down to 2.0 to get there mah. Kinda deceitful if you ask.me as almost no device can use power down to 2.0

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Hi Guggga, welcome to BLF! :slight_smile:

Don’t worry about “long winded” post! I think my reply is longer!

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I have both the Convoy S2+ (red with stainless steel switch) and the S6, however I really want an S3 because I like that it’s shorter and has the stainless bezel, I also like the grey color for the S3.

Yes the NCR18650B 3400mAh is an excellent battery choice, you may want to consider the protected version NCR18650B for this reason: The light has low voltage “warning” but it doesn’t shut itself off in the event it is left on accidentally. (For the low voltage warning it begins flashing the light when the battery voltage drops down to 2.9 - 3.1V)

According to the official Convoy shop the S3 will fit both unprotected and the longer protected batteries.

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Between the 7135x8 and 7135x6 driver I recommend the x8 version, you can always use the lower modes if you need less light and you will have maximum brightness available when it’s needed.

Something else to consider is if you want to outfit your Convoy with a pocket clip… The New Upgraded version clip fits the S2+ but does not fit the S3, for the S3 you will have to use the original bolt on style clip The newer style clip is sturdier and can be easily removed and re-installed without tools. For me a pocket clip is a requirement for EDC.

The blue color S2+ has the stainless switch which is very nice, and smooth to operate, but some people prefer the rubber boot for a more positive grip (S3 has the rubber switch boot).

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You could also buy directly from the official Convoy shop, a few bucks more but you can be assured of getting genuine product, request a 15% discount for being a BLF member by contacting them using the aliexpress messaging system (“Contact now” link on left side of page). You can also ask if he would ship the flashlight with a battery inside.

Both of my S Series lights are 4C tint which is very nice, (I prefer neutral tints over cool white) however I’m still slightly on the fence if the 4C is a slight bit on the warm side for me, I’ll probably try the 3B when I get the S3.

Here (Convoy official shop) you can see photos of all the different tints available: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-Shipping-Gray-Convoy-S3-Cree-XM-L-U2-1B-AMC7135-3-2-Group-3-5/330416_1106058070.html

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Here’s another option for a flashlight similar to Convoy S2 but with built in USB charging if you don’t want to buy a separate charger yet:
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/EAGLE-EYE-X2R-usb-led-flashlight-camping-light-lamp-for-bicycle/1735126_32698198611.html?spm=2114.8147860.0.60.aydSVS

This listing shows only the black version, however it is also available in grey color (message them to request a grey one)

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Since you mentioned about the S3 being a bit smaller I want to add that when I got my first Convoy S series it was larger than I thought it would be, this was mainly because my EDC was an Olight S20 which is much more compact.

With that in mind here’s another light you may want to consider, I’m definitely getting one of these to replace my cool white Olight S20: http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_425392.html?wid=21

Group Buy for it here: ENEDED

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Franz : thanks for the link, just one small problem - shipping to India is $ 85 on top :-).

WillyD : Dhanyawad! Main theek hoon, aap kaisey ho _ - thanks! I’m good, how are you doing!

Speed 4 goal : thanks for the heads up, I’ll definitely look into that, I love to recycle.

BeamO: Thanks for the exhaustive reply and options, appreciate it! I think I’m set on the Blue S2.

Its a slippery slope, I’m already finding that out.There are over 5 lights in my GB favorite list already :[ and last night after reading about the OTR M3, I put my name on the M6 GB thread too. :/ Do you think it’s too similar to the S2? All the good things I read about the m3 makes me believe the m6 should be a step above the s2+ and it’s pretty small too!

I just need to find someone who’ll ship the darn batteries now and hopefully they won’t cost an arm n leg!

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Ah - yes. this. I totally forgot about this option. My first batch of 6 18650 came this way. The process is not as daunting as you might think it is

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To answer your question of whether the OTR M6 is “too similar” to the S2, (I assume you mean the Convoy S2+, not the Olight S2) No it’s not too similar:

As you already know it’s more compact, but the main difference/feature (I forgot to point out in my previous post) is it has s side switch, the side switch has the advantage of being able to operate it comfortably while holding it in a more natural position in your hand, whereas a rear mounted switch you have to either use a fingertip grip, “cigar” grip or a reverse grip to keep it aimed while mode switching.

Some of the drawbacks to the side switch are:

1. It can be more prone to accidentally turn on while in your pocket (there is a “lockout mode” you can use to avoid)

2. May be harder to locate the switch in total darkness, until you get used to the “feel” for it, may take a few seconds longer (why a rear switch makes more sense for a “Tactical” light, when every second counts) One solution to this is orientating the pocket clip at a position where it will help you identify the location of the switch.

Another feature of the M6 is it has a magnetic tail, IMO a VERY handy feature, and pretty much a must-have feature for me. The magnet piece can usually be removed if you don’t want it to be magnetic.

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Another option is the OTR M900, I’ve been very interested in this one as well, it is VERY similar in appearance and size as the Convoy S3, it has the stainless steel bezel and it’s the same length as the S3. It also has the rear switch. One advantage over the Convoy is that the M900 uses (and comes with) a detachable pocket clip that’s similar to the new upgrade style clip for the S2. The Convoy S3 does not come with a clip and will not fit the detachable S2 style clip.

In the XM-L2 U2 you can choose either 1A or 5C, (so either very cold or towards the warmer end of neutral) They also offer a XP-G2 version, which is usually desired for better throw due to a tighter hot spot, however it appears to have a OP (Orange Peel) reflector, which may somewhat defeat that purpose.

A bit pricey though at the moment, I’m hoping there will be a group buy at some point.

I’m very excited about both of these OTR lights!