By best I mean lumen, throw, runtime, listed in order of priority.
Most lights don’t have DD option, and I think I can ask Simon for DD. Thats why I consider buying this, also It has 4 leds and relatively cheaper. However, if you believe DT8 or DT8 with dual channel(or another model) can grant better lumens, I may consider that as well, even though it cost a lot more.
Did you see this review by Gchart?
Light looks like it gets VERY hot, unless the thermal regulation has been changed.
Didn’t see that, I only know it had a good runtime. I will probably pick something else, thanks.
The S21D is a great and popular light, but infamous for having seemingly just one step-down for temperature regulation from Turbo level. If you just turn on at Turbo and let it rip, it’s going to get very hot. At lower level it does fine. For temporary Turbo, which is how it could be used more safely, IME it maintains brightness better than D4V2, a smaller host.
M21H is a more modern “replacement” with side switch and convenient USC on-board charging, AND active temp regulation unlike some old Convoy hosts like S21D. I would recommend it over S21D for 219b 4500k, but I am not sure if Simon offers it with 519a.
M21H looks amazing but it doesn’t have 519a yet, maybe I will wait. Thanks for the help.
The other choice is of course Hank lights - extremely popular and well designed, and has real thermal regulation w/ Anduril: https://intl-outdoor.com/emisar-d4k-1-21700-high-power-quad-edc-led-flashlight.html
Its the only other option, but I don’t know if its necessary. I’ll need boost so in total it will cost 62$ whereas convoy is 30$.
I should clarify that S21D in 35% mode has no problem with overheat. It’s only in Turbo mode that it doesn’t regulate well. In the sense that I don’t, or rather, can’t, use Turbo mode in any of my other lights for more than a couple minutes anyway (ALL step down from heat within a few minutes), the behavior of S21D is “acceptable” as long as you know about it. Use 100% for a few minutes, then go down to 35%.
My S21D 219b also has more negative Duv and a more rosy beam than M21H 219b. For me, that means it is “better,” because it is the ultimate in 219b’s rosiness. Why this is so, whether it’s tint lottery, or the optic, I don’t know.
Bottom line: were my S21D 219b to break down, I would readily buy another one. In fact talking to you now, I’m thinking I might just buy another one . 
Why? Because, for me, for color rendition, it’s the “reference standard” I compare all new lights against. Have to have a backup lol. All IMHO, YMMV.
I received two s21d with nichia 519a 4000k and I ran tests on both of them starting with %35 mode first.
Both of them got so hot after about 6 minutes that I could not hold the lights even in the very back.
I tried holding them with a paper towel and I could only hold them for about 60 seconds.
I stopped the test at about 7-8 minutes and let the lights cool off a little.
I than decided to do a test on one them set to 100%. The light got scolding hot in less than 3 minutes but I did not care I expect the thing to work as advertised.
After about 10 minutes on the 100% mode, I could swear I smelled something burning. I stopped the test at about 10 minutes not only cause of the smell but I was afraid it would blow the battery up.
I have no fire extinguisher.
I let the light cool off completely then turn both lights on at about 20% mode, and I immediately noticed that one of them was pink the other one wasn’t.
I thought about it for a second then decided to take the bezel off to look at the LEDs.
As soon as I took the tir off, I noticed 2 of the domes were sitting next to the leds, the 3rd one was funky looking.
I decided to take the 4th one off with my finger.
The light was now significantly dimmer than when I got it, tint was garbage.
I literally got angry and threw it in the trash. $24 is not worth me going to USPS and shipping it to China.
The other light I kept but no longer trust it.
This crap should have been fixed at the factory.
If the light cannot handle 100% for more than 2 minutes than lower the damn temperature threshold to 45 degrees.
Also I’m not sure if the 4000k LEDs can handle the same amount of current as the 5700k. If they can’t than they should have designed the circuit to only go up to 1amp or whatever the 519a 4000k can actually handle.
These lights are garbage and false advertising.
They’re not 1700 lumens or 1000 lumens or even 600
The only outputs these things can handle nicely is under 300 lumens.
That’s probably why the hdss guy advertises his lights as a 325 lumens not 1500.
All of this being said, I also ordered a m21e model with an Sft40 3000k led.
I did the same tests starting with turbo, the light got hot but dimmed eventually. I stopped the test at some point can’t remember how long.
I charged the thing back up and redid the high test the next day, and the light got barely warm and I got 1hr 40 minutes total just fine.
M21e is worth the money the s21d they need to lower the temperature way down.
Also, while I was looking inside the s21d I noticed that there is a pretty big gap between the PCB and the side of the light. Also the amount of thermal paste was minimal. That can’t possibly be good for heat transfer.
That PCB should be tightly fitted within the host. Ive heard gene malkoff say that, it makes sense to me.
I will probably be getting some other convoys like the m21f with a xhp70.3 3000k just cause they have so many options, but i can tell you I would never take these things into any potentially life threatening situation.
One man’s trash, another man’s treasure. I’m sure many in this forum will happily take your dedomed 4000k 519A because they love the tint. (Not me).
Tail switch convoys have very primitive firmware that doesn’t do temperature management. That’s why I don’t gift them to anyone who doesn’t know about flashlight. The e-switch lights are better but the UI is still not up to modern standards like Sofirn and Wurkkos.
To me Convoy lights are mostly toys. I can depend on them, I just need to know how to handle them properly. The good thing is a convoy light never really dies because every part is user replaceable.
Ouch… terrible experience. You ordered from Aliexpress and got the CC 8A model, not the FET, right? If you think the light is defective and are interested in getting a replacement, message Simon and see if he would send you another one. When I got a defective M21F from Simon, he sent me another one and did not make me return the defective light.
No, I got all of them from convoy light we site.
It’s not fet it’s buck.
That’s not the issue. The issue is that they got way too hot. That’s why I said the temp should have been set waaay lower at the factory.
Yours, at least, worked. My S21D (4500k 219B) did not work correctly out of the box - modes are messed up, sometimes fiddling with the bezel/battery makes it work correctly for a short while…
The only reason it did not end up in trash yet is that the emitters/optics are nice, i still hope i’ll swap the driver to something which is not trash/is not made by convoy some day.
But yeah, letting it run like that on 100% is not a good idea. No thermal management, all convoy tail switch lights are like that - completely unsafe unless user monitors and controls the temperature.
I shouldn’t have to move monitor s***.
The other guy who engineered the light should have looked at the specs for the max current a 4000k tint can take and planned the driver accordingly.
I’m tired of repeating myself. This shit is not complicated at all.
Instead of making lights and advertising them being capable of doing 2000 lumens which the light cannot sustain , they should have capped the amperage at 1.2 amps max or whatever amperage keeps the body at no more than warm temperature of something like 100 degrees.
If a company actually tests the s*** they build they would know what the temperature is. The temperature of the BODY I mean, while running on the 35%or 100% mode.
If the body gets over 100 degrees in the 35% mode at 1.8amps then the amperage for all the modes should have been lowered.
In other words, this light is advertised as approximately 1700lumens at a 100% at 2.2amps if it was limited to 1 amps max, it would be probably be producing 600 lumens max, and it may actually be able to handle that for over an hour.
All companies need to test their s*** and all of them should cap the amperage at whatever the light can actually sustain for over an hour
All the companies do this BS and I’m sick of it.
100% or turbo is not meant to be used continuously. It is meant to provide a burst of light in short amount of time when needed. All companies design their lights like this. No one is going to product a light with max brightness of 200 lumens anymore. Agree with thermal management need to be done correctly but disagree with capping max brightness to sustainable value.
You’re not getting what I’m telling you. Stop defending convoy so much, you keep doing that over and over again.
When I tested my light I did not keep reactivating the turbo mode as soon as it dimmed, I just turned it on and pointed the light to the ceiling and left it there watching it, and running a timer on my phone.
After about 6 minutes I smelled something almost plasticy burning.
I tuned the light off and let it cool a little when I reactivated it I did not reactivate it to turbo but 10% mode. That’s when I realized that both the tint and beam pattern had changed.
It’s their fault not mine
You have to think of convoy as a hot rod shop that’ll give you whatever host/emitter/driver you want whether or not that configuration is sustainable. It’s also less of a manufacturer and more of a dude and maybe a few employees.
He’ll give you a 8 amp buck driver to drive your sft25 or sft40 to their limits. It’s usable in short bursts, but probably not great for it in the long run, but you have to make that decision.
Otherwise convoy isn’t for you and you’ll need to get something from a different manufacturer.
You could have also ordered another mcpcb with a different emitter on it to replace the burnt one.
Exactly. It’s a matter of expectation. Not trying to defend the brand cuz I have my personal issues with their products. But buying a convoy, you have to be prepared to do DIY works on them. There isn’t a single one I own that I haven’t done some modifications to. If you expected otherwise, then better look to other brands.
Simon will happily send you a mcpcb with emitters for free and you can solder it in by yourself. My S21F came with a crooked emitter which dedomed itself. Simon sent me a replacement emitter that I reflowed on myself. I’m still happy with it.
The 4xOptic is actually not a good fit for 519A since the opening is a bit too small for the dome. If the emitter is not perfectly aligned, it will exert pressure on the dome. In the case of 519A, any pressure on the dome will dedomed it eventually. After realigning all emitters, I sanded the bottom opening of the optic so it’s slightly elevated and not putting on pressure on the domes. I haven’t had a dome failure over last year and half.
Above is not excuse for Convoy. Just telling you my personal experience with their products so you know what to expect. I can buy other brands, but non offers the configuration and flexibility of a Convoy so I accept the cons and still buy from them some time when I need a custom light for my need.