Looking for a truck/farm light

Florida_Man · 2019-09-11T19:33:00.000Z

Hey guys stumbled across this forum and have already read more about flashlights that I ever new possible, I tried buying a couple flashlights myself off amazon and have returned them for not being as advertised, I’ve read on here just buying on lumens alone doesn’t give you enough info so I’m hoping y’all can help me out.

I’ve read some of the info at the top of the forum so I hope some of my terminology is correct. Looking for a flashlight to keep in my truck, to help check on some of my fields at night. Seems like a lot of guys need long throwers, I need more of a flooder.

I’d like it to have a wide beam that can stretch out about 1000 feet/300 meters (further is a bonus but not needed).

Rechargeable (extra points if it can charge in my truck (usb or lighter plug), long lasting as possible (couple hours at the 300 meter range)

Best and brightest under $50 if possible, if not suggest the most affordable you can.

Thank you for any help will be glad to answer any questions that would help more.

Yokiamy · 2019-09-11T20:00:41.000Z

If you don’t use full power all time, the Astrolux Ft03 might be nice, has USB charging
But it cannot sustain turbo for a long time and will most certainly not last a couple of hours on max brightness.

DavidEF · 2019-09-11T20:14:50.000Z

I’d say the Sofirn SP36S available on Amazon.

Edit: I just looked at that Astrolux FT03 and it has a single emitter. That will give you more throw, but not as many lumens. Since you wanted a floodier light, the SP36S is still better. Also, the FT03 uses a single battery. The SP36S holds up to 3 batteries. So runtime between charges will be better with the Sofirn SP36S as well.

amishbill · 2019-09-11T20:27:24.000Z

Something that can throw that distance and still have a wide-ish flood AND be under $50 is a tall order. Add in a few hour runtime at 300m, and I think you’ll have to compromise on something to be satisfied with the others. You may need to have several sets of batteries to have that much total runtime. Also, you need to understand that making this much light generates a LOT of heat, and most lights will step down from their maximum mode in a matter of minutes (or seconds) to keep from damaging themselves. Lights with bigger heads will be able to absorb more heat and stay bright longer.

Can you tell us what lights you’ve already tried and how they fell short of your needs?

As a general high-power light, I agree with the Sofrin Sp36S suggestion.

Does anyone have throw and lumen numbers for a Convoy L6? (not USB rechargeable, but a spare set of batteries in a USB charger might be a good answer?)

Florida_Man · 2019-09-11T20:49:24.000Z

Thanks guys. The first light was the fatmax, I liked how it was chargeable and seemed to last a long time but it didn’t seem to have nearly the lumens they advertise. Honestly the other lights I were trying were just Chinese knockoffs I found on amazon that just boasted high lumens. Obviously I don’t know much about high end flash lights.

The Sofirn looks great, and the run time being a couple hours I should have clarified it will be intermittent run time. 15mins here 30mins there.

The other light I had narrowed down to on my own was the ThruNite T1:

https://www.amazon.com/ThruNite-Magnetic-Flashlight-Rechargeable-Stepless/dp/B07R66R5FS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?keywords=thrunite+t1&qid=1560387868&s=hi&sr=1-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=tactbright-20&linkId=6ac4544d6e4b0f5afe18b5b2ac482783&language=en_US

Any idea how the ThruNite T1 would compare to the Sofirn? Am I correct in assuming the Sofirns battery life would be much longer? and also the 4 LEDs vs 1 would give me more flood?

jeff51 · 2019-09-11T20:55:15.000Z

Welcome to the BLF.

I second DavidEF on the SP36.
An amazing light for the money and it checks most of your boxes since it comes in a kit with the batteries. The user interface will take some learning compared to the typical Big Box Store light.

As the others have stated it’s not going to produce max Lumens for a long time. All lights that bright get hot and will step down.

The distance you are talking about takes a LOT of light in a flood beam.
With a flood, the super bright light on the closer stuff (like the ground) tends to blot out stuff in the distance since both are getting the same amount of light.
There are lights that can do that but they are large, heavy, and not cheap.

You might consider a thrower. Many have plenty of spill to the side so you can still see things off center. With the hot spot lighting up the distance you can see both near and far.

I really like the Sofirn SP70 for a truck light. It comes in a kit with 26650 batteries and a charger.
https://www.amazon.com/Tactical-Flashlight-Led，Police-Searchlight-Rechargeable/dp/B07Q2T6JHQ?ref\_=ast_bbp_dp

Also take a look at this guys youtube channel

YouTube

Charles BridgTec

I mainly test and review electronics & flashlights. I had a blog from 2005 to 2016. I have a lot of experience in this field but posted online mostly with blog reviews in the past. I have left this type of reviewing to start my adventure on...

He reviews LOTS of lights. His beam shots are consistant.
But he also gets these for free and he likes virtually everything.
So if you see something you like, try to find other opinions - Here on the BLF most reviews tell it like it is.
Good Hunting.
All the Best,
Jeff

PS
The T11 is like a popcorn fart compared to the SP36. Not even in the same league.

amishbill · 2019-09-11T20:53:29.000Z

Florida_Man:

…
Any idea how the ThruNite T1 would compare to the Sofirn?

Not very well.
1500lm vs 5000lm
102m vs 343m
1100mah single battery vs up to 3x3000mah

ps - the Stanley FatMax only gets up to 920lm. You can exceed that in a $20 BLF A6 / AstroLux S1.

Another option may be a Convoy M3. It only takes a single 26650 and doesn’t get quite as bright, but it may hold max power longer with the design of its head.

DavidEF · 2019-09-11T20:56:56.000Z

Thrunite T1 will have about 1/4 the lumens of the Sofirn SP36S. It will also have paltry runtime. The cell is 18350 size, and there’s only one. The SP36S will hold up to three 18650 size cells, which you can get in capacity up to 3500mAh. Three of them would give you about 10x the capacity of the 18350 cell. That won’t translate to exactly 10x the runtime, because the SP36S will also draw more power. But it would still be a lot more runtime than the Thrunite T1 anyway.

amishbill · 2019-09-11T20:57:17.000Z

jeff51:

…
I really like the Sofirn SP70 for a truck light. It comes in a kit with 26650 batteries and a charger.
Amazon.com
…

Ohhh… A bit over budget, and you might want a second set of batteries, but this is nice. A grown up version of the L6 I asked about earlier.

jeff51 · 2019-09-11T21:05:18.000Z

Another thought,
If the light is going to be used from inside the truck, one of the many hunting type spot light that plug into 12v might do quite well.
All the best,
Jeff

Florida_Man · 2019-09-11T21:05:39.000Z

I might have to up my budget I like the look of both of these much more for the truck. The other’s seem small enough I’d lose them. I really like the look of the L6 wish it wasn’t so much, looks tough and durable.

DavidEF · 2019-09-11T21:13:45.000Z

Florida_Man:

I might have to up my budget I like the look of both of these much more for the truck. The other’s seem small enough I’d lose them. I really like the look of the L6 wish it wasn’t so much, looks tough and durable.

Convoy is a VERY good brand, and also budget priced. They don’t make anything “cheap”. You always get great value for your money. I’ve never owned an L6, but if you like the specs, I’d say get one.

jeff51 · 2019-09-11T21:17:41.000Z

David is right Convoy is a good brand.

I have both the L6v2 and the SP70. The SP70 is measurably and visually brighter than the L6. The larger head on the SP70 keeps the temps down.

Being able to turn the light off with the side switch is a huge improvement over the L6 that only turns off and on at the rear.

The anodizing on the L6 is flat black and rougher feeling than the semi-gloss on the SP70.
For nearly the same price the SP70 comes with batteries, a charger, O-rings, and a strap.
The L6 comes with nada.

The side switch on the SP70 feels kind of cheap to me. But it’s working so far.

I only wish the SP70 came in a NW.
Still I’d pick the SP70 over the L6.
All the Best,
Jeff

Yokiamy · 2019-09-11T21:21:21.000Z

There should be coupons for discount, you can try Martin from M4DM4X.

Simon, the owner of Convoy on convoy.aliexpress.com will give you 10% discount if you ask for it.

BillyBobJoe · 2019-09-12T00:17:35.000Z

Agree with the others, gonna be hard to beat that SP36S for $50. I don’t have an SP70 to compare it to, but I’ve been happy with my Convoy L6.version 2. Very nice flashlight. Good spill, pretty decent throw, good runtime. Kinda big, but for a truck light it doesn’t really matter.

Lightbringer · 2019-09-12T00:44:39.000Z

ANSI spex for “throw” are kinda stretching it. If you really need to see 1000’, I’d say go with a throwier light like an L2. If you spend the bux for lumens and flood, and the light still doesn’t “reach”, you’ll be cursing the light and yourself.

Besides, a floodier light with huge output will light up the foreground right in front of you very brightly, washing out everything else that you see. The whutsit out in the distance will be quite dim compared to the painfully bright foreground.

Get the L2 for checking fields, and an Airpro DC7 (like the Sofirn Q8 but with built in usb charging, which you will appreciate with any multi-cell light) for anything closer-in.

One-time investment which’ll cover pretty much everything…

AguassissiM · 2019-09-12T01:03:27.000Z

@Florida_Man

How about something like this.

DavidEF · 2019-09-12T01:31:07.000Z

Lightbringer, do you know if the Airpro DC7 issues were ever fixed? I just read the review thread HERE and I wouldn’t confidently recommend THAT light to anyone! It seems the hardware quality is pretty good, but the UI is bad and can’t be re-flashed to BLF firmware because of incompatible microcontroller.

Lightbringer · 2019-09-12T02:53:43.000Z

The hardware is pretty good, by everything I can see.

The UI is a lobotomised version of the Q8’s, but it has the important stuff:

— press’n’hold for moonlight/lowest

— ramp up/down as expected

— 2click for turbo/brightest

Multiclicks for lockout, “breathing” switch button, blah blah blah, stuff I never use anyway.

There’s probably stepped mode, in fact I’m sure there is, but I never used it other than to see if it existed.

Throwy and CW like the Sofirn Q8, but usb chargeable so I don’t have to drag out a 4-bay charger every time it needs a top-off.

Now, for The Muggle™ it’s perfect. No one’s gonna be itchin’ for “lightning mode”. And no one is gonna wanna hafta buy a 4-bay charger for his/her new light.

I can’t remember the last time I looked at a light’s instruction manual (my electron-microscope is in the shop anyway, so I can’t read the molecule-sized print), and with my BLF Q8 (which I prefer anyway as warmer and floodier), I just instinctively used it right off.

So? DC7.

Stuff it with batteries, plug in, wait, done.

Top off? Plug in, wait, done. End of story.

As much as I like my Q8s, it’s a pain in the ass to open it up, unpack one of my chargers (unlike most, I keep them nicely boxed and tucked away ‘til I need one), and then go to it. And then tickle the f’n O-ring every quarter-turn so that tightening it doesn’t lop off a “tongue” of errant O-ring. And then pack up the ol’ Opus again.

Lightbringer · 2019-09-12T03:01:19.000Z

Just to throw in again here…

What we may want, isn’t necessarily what’s improtant to someone who just wants, literally, a truck/farm light. High-CRI? High R9 value? No glue? Any normal person would be like, “Wotnahell are they all babbling about??”.

So, yeah, the UI is definitely lobotomised, but it does all the Important Stuff. And it does it easily. In fact, my in-use Q8 has been in its holster for a long time, and locked out, and my DC7 is what’s right in front of me. For just lighting up the backyard, or car interior of whatever idiot is repeatedly parking-by-Braille, it fits the bill nicely.