i am looking to get a light for about the budget of $12~18, so far, i’ve narrowed down to these few lights based on the reviews and comments from BLF community.
I’m looking for a balance between thrower and flooder (60-40, 70-30 ratio?).
Convoy C8 Cree XM-L T6-3C 2-Group 3/5-Mode LED Flashlight $16.51~16.54 no SMO VS SMO
What’s the difference?
T6 vs U2, which is better? from some reviews (correct me if i’m wrong), their almost the same?
Many say the convoy C8 is a must have. true?
what about these?
C8 is a nice (jacket) pocketable light, which provides a nice balance between throw and flood, being more on the throwy side. Maybe 70-30. That's why it's so popular.
SMO = smooth reflector = more throw.
Jacob A60 is pure throw, not good for what you are after.
S2 is way floodier, like 30-70.
T6 and U2 are brightness bins, U2 being slightly brighter than T6. But T6 3C, which you linked to, indicates a neutral white (NW) light, which is more pleasant than U2 1B which is cool white (CW) [Depends on your preferences though. Not everyone is a tint snob..]
That Convoy C8 T6 3C is a good all around light. Go for it!
Fixed your link for the third from the bottom. That one is essentially the same as the last one (SK98). I believe those have a hollow pill and can burn up easily on high due to lack of heatsinking.
I have an Convoy S2 and love it (though I hated the 1B tint - too purple for me). It's a very floody light. Generally the smaller the diameter of the reflector, the floodier the output and the wider the reflector the more throw it will have (brighter hotspot with dimmer spill).
I'd suggest looking at the Convoy M1 (and M2 as well). They will be slightly more floody compared to the C8. There are beamshots posted around here for all of them I am sure.
Thank you. thats a lot of good info.
jacob A60 is out for now… (until the day i wan to go for full throw)
What about the T5 2C and T4 1C. how to differentiate them?
just finish reading the M1 review + all the comments as we speak. now i’m stuck between the s8 and M1. the s8’s more within my budget range. so the ultrafires are definitely out. and almost nothing can fight with the value and quality of the convoy at this price range.
See this chart. And see this link to "Brightness Bins". The "bin" is a standard for output level, whereas the tint is the output color. A T5 bin will put out slightly more lumens than a T4.
i have the convoy S2 (warmer tint 5c with 2800mA) and i can say that the machining and anodizing are perfect but depending on how you are going to use it, it can get very hot on max (i use it on a bike and it is ok, but in hand maybe you will be better with 2100mA version, and if you can stretch your budget to convoy M2 https://www.fasttech.com/products/1212502
21.65 $ shipped if you use BLF code i can say that you can not beat this light for the price, it is not as big as C8 and yet it is big enough to handle the heat from emitter, it has sufficient throw and still because of the orange peel reflector it has enough spill…two groups of modes and yes the machining and anodizing are flawless…good on a bike good in your pocket…in one word the best general purpose light for the money…and one more thing pictures on internet just don’t do justice to this light…it is much better in person…
Haha! i maybe thinking of getting the 2800m ones and leave it at mid most of the time… only when i really need the extra throw then i switch it to high. Good?
