Well after a year of collecting parts, building a few lights and generally having a great time on BLF I finally got down and dirty and knocked out some real lights.
Put together about 40 of them since the year started and I officially finished all of the lights I currently own as of yesterday. (well except for some C8’s, but I am waiting for a triple setup to prototype for kiriba-ru before I build those).
I had them all out charging the cells yesterday and gave them a head count, turns out I have officially joined the Century club with over 100 flashlights (some didn’t make it into the picture as I kept remembering more I had stashed around the house and cars).
So with them all out I decided to take a family picture or 5:
I think I have officially exhausted my options for budget lights at this point and my collection offers everything from 17,000 lumen flood monsters to 1000m throwers. I have a trade pending for a cometa which is one light I am missing, a mid sized zoomie.
See what ya’ll can point out, if you have any questions about the builds feel free to ask.
Yep, every one of them (except the 4 or 5 cheap 9xled style lights), some more then other though naturally.
Favorites are hard to say, I have been trying to figure that out myself. There is just only so much you can use flashlights in a 2-3 week period.
Some highlights are in this post from the what did you mod today thread:
So far I am really liking the F13 / MT-12 form factor and style, although the host itself is not the greatest ever. The convoy M1 with 80cri XP-L2 is one surprising light as well, great general purpose light.
The VG10 is what the P60’s hosts I have should be, I plan to get a few more VG10’s to replace the P60’s.
The X6 / S2 is a great little pocket thrower, although I don’t have many C8’s to compare them to right now.
The supfire F3 is my favorite compact zoomie, very nice host.
Obviously the Convoy S2 / S2+ are a favorite design, just not sure what guts I like best in them. I EDC a 4000k 219C with TA driver and TIR lens at the moment and it is doing well, just wish it had a bit more output sometimes.
Now for the big fun lights:
I obviously have a thing for Skyrays. I love them and they are the most used light when doing something outside for any length of time. The 10,000 lumen Narsil modded ones are the most used, the 17k lumen version just gets too hot. I really like the 4x SRK as well, great overall beam pattern and output. I want to put some XP-L2’s in the Q8 when it comes out, thinking about putting them in the M6 as well. These are some of the most practical lights for general use IMHO.
The close second is the convoy L6, similar output but throws further and a more “classic” shape. It is always a hard choice between the L6 and a SRK and it usually comes down to which ones I have not used recently.
The D01 is modded for 1000m of throw with an XP-L HI and is loads of fun out in the open. Same goes for the XHP35 1504, it is like a laser beam, but they are not that useful anywhere else.
The L2 XP-L HI is a good hand sized thrower but the XHP35 version is a lot more fun. A bit more throw and almost twice the lumens.
I really want to get an XHP50.2 to put in the supfire L3, I think that will be a great match.
The blue one is a rather nice 9x LED light I got about 10 years ago when they were all the rage. Quality is quite nice for what it is but naturally only around 60 lumens. I have thought about modding it but never really pursued it, it is one of the kids play lights so I am not worried if it gets lost.
The black one behind it is the Nitenumen NE01, I lied earlier when I said they were all modded. This is an exception due to being glued down 10 ways from sunday near as I can tell! I want to put a 219C in it and boost the current.
Which bin 219C do you have in your S41S. I’m looking into options for mine.
I bought a modded E14 from Vinh with D320 bin 219C. The beam at lower level’s almost yellow which I think it’s caused by the optics(old head design). I just got a S41S yesterday and the beam is perfect neutral white. Tempted to give 219C D320 another try but this time I’m modding it myself.
I actually really like the optics in the S41, it really blends the tint together well giving a nice even beam and tint.
I used a 4000k 219C and could not be happier. I have these LED’s in a lot of lights but this one has one of if not the best tint from them. It really smooths out the tint and gives a beautiful bright white with just a hint of rose to it.
The D320 from RMM work quite well as well, they are on my short list of go to LED’s as well.
Cheers!