GB for maxtoch sn6x-2s currently going on
The A60 wouldn’t look right after de-doming without re-adjusting the optics to get the beam right. Plus, without following Gj’s info and boosting the current, you’d have still less light. Best advice is to go for the new 2S from Maxtoch and have super throw and great brightness. It’d put you right above your spending limit, but a bit extra would offer a seriously worth it upgrade.
Message Amanda about it…
I sometimes wonder if people who are looking for a thrower, would be happy with a dedicated thrower, especially one with a dedomed emitter.
Is a C8 with an OP reflector and XM-L2 a thrower?
I’d say yes it is, but not a dedicated one like a A60 with dedomed XP-E2.
But the C8 is far more useful in practice, probably…
a bit off topic maybe...
Since you can mod, Small Sun ZY-T08 comes to my mind easily.
I’ve been slowly working on an A60 lately.
Swapped in a de-domed XP-E2 on copper and switched the driver to a single mode Nanjg 8x7135 with 2 7135s removed.
I like the tint (was a little too cool for me stock) but like Gj and RustyJoe said getting the focus right has been tough.
I’ve got a nice hot spot but the corona seems a bit large, can’t help but feel that’s wasted light. No rings at all so that’s good.
Does the HD2010 work well with an XP-G2? I have an XM-L2 thrower but want something with a smaller hot spot.
Theres some shots here comparing the XPG-2 with a stock HD-2010
i have made one hd2010 with xpg2 dedomed with driver east 92 from fasttech.
with the spring mod
its very trowing
now i waiting from one jacob A60.
work that good with xpg2 dedomed ?
Yezl y3.
Rusty Joe,please chime in here, you do not seem to keen to suggest your y3?
I pick mine up at the post office tomorrow.
Got the Jacob A60 from gear best the other day, around 50000cd, put in an xpe2 with a driver pushing 2.4a, disappointing increase to bout 57000cd, and really still struggling to get a nice beam, really considering just going back to the original xre…. It is a great light for the price, but I was more pleased with the zyt08 I modded to also around 50000cd, but a lot more usable light…
So I would say 1. Yezl y3.
2. Small sun zyt08
3. Jacob a60.
Hope some of this helps you…
Cheers
Anton
My thrower is about a 10 cm. short focal length stage lighting Fresnel lens on a spare zoomy minus the slide and lens. It is flimsy but light weight and throws like made. It is so wide that it looks yellow around the edges where the light of the emitter fades off. I think the Fresnel now sells for around $15 and the mule should be under $10. I used paper and model airplane dope to make the lens holder. To make it stronger, one could use carbon fiber or fiberglass.
Really like C8’s right now. Mine gives 3-3.5 A. Got one with an XP-E or something at over 1.75 A. So look out for that. Get at least an xml-t6 in my ( current) opinion.
Even if I change the emitter and the driver in the A60 it doesn’t sound like I’ll even get a 50% increase in output, less than that isn’t going to be very viable.
I like the looks of the Small Sun ZY-T08 the 2 cell parallel is good, series lithium cells still make me a bit nervous. Other than changing the driver to get closer to 3 amps to the emitter what changes would be good with this light?
The Yezl Y3 is also interesting, but I don’t have any 26650 cells so I’d be running it off a 18650 in a sleeve.
According to TomE, output is the same using a 26650 or 18650. I just got mine, very nice light, light meter says around 50000cd, multimeter 1.9 A, but leads are flimsy/thin, probably around 2.2 or so, I will check at work on Monday…. I stick to my my previous recommendation, having all 3 now, yezl y3 first,small sun zyt08 second, Jacob a60 third.
It looks like cnqg sells the long version for about $31, I think the 2 extensions just screw off if you only want to use 1 battery, short light is around $31 at wall buys, $36 with extensions, I got wall buys short version, would get it at cnqg for the better price with extensions if I bought another one…
U3 1C xml led from fast tech if you want the zyt08, added with the resistor mod to 3A, also could copper braid tail spring…
Cheers
Anton
I like my Y3 for sure, but it isn’t driven as hard as it could be, comparing it to other lights (Tom E. said 67,000-something kcd measured at 5 or 10 meters if I recall correctly), and I don’t like the PWM-ridden lower modes. But as you’ve no doubt seen already, it is certainly thowy and a real nice bargain. I just find that it grows on me less the longer I have it since the beam isn’t as useful as, say, the HD2010, which is fatter and seems to illuminate better. But it is a great budget light. No heat issues or anything to really count against it.
My SR51 with XM-L2 U2 driven at 4.0 amps outclasses them all, clocking in at around 71,000 kcd. And with a smooth reflector, it would do even better. I love the T08, though. It just seems like I’ve outgrown many of the old budget favorites.
What’s the best price on an sr51?
So the hd2010 is floodier than the small sun? Where is the best place to get one,I believe the quality varies quite a bit?
Thanks
Anton
The ZY-T08 is by far the best budget thrower around and I have modded a ton of throwers. Now a little better yet is the Big head Courui. That one is a little harder to mod though because of the side switch but well worth it if you know how to do it.
The Jacobs is a complete and total PITA to get to focus. I just did one for another member with a de-domed XP-G2 and it throws like crazy but wow what a ton of work to get it to focus correctly and even then it does have a large corona that is wasted. However done right the hotspot is intense for sure.
I say go for the ZY-T08 it’s not at all that hard to mod and it has a great pill that you can put all kinds of different drivers into. With it I say go for a De-domed XM-L2 with a larger reflector like that you only get minimal extra throw with a XP-G2 and you lose a bunch of lumens. Although if all you are looking for is max throw then then the XP-G2 is the way to go, but then once again it’s a little harder to get to focus correctly.
The ZY-T08 can handle the heat of running an XM-L2 at over 5 amps with no problem at all. Of course the emitter needs to be on a sinkpad or noctigon.
IIRC, Match's chart for XP-E2 on copper showed peak output at 1.9A. Might want to remove another 7135. (assuming 380ma 7135's)
Best price on SR51 is going to be Banggood…
Be sure and specify in the selection and PP notes the 18650 battery carrier if you decide to jump for it. They messed up and sent the CR123 holder with mine and several other members, but oh well.
It may be more than you want to spend, but it’s hard to say enough good about this light. You get a wicked tight hotspot with frosted reflector, resulting in a narrow - but very floody - beam. I can light up houses that my STL-V2 has trouble reaching, and with a much whiter (read: not purple-ish) colored light, unlike with the old T6’s. I got an hour and 20 minutes of runtime on two Orbtronics…totally steady brightness and considerably low heat to the hand. I finally just ended the test because there was no point in keeping going. Next to a Tom E modded “super toy” hotrodder light, this is going to give you the best brightness, best regulation, best bang for your buck all-round (they used to be really expensive, but these come with cardboard box to save money, but with the holster, etc), and a UI to die for.
This light has become my most played with light, mainly, because of the UI and the low, which is a usable 326 lumens of no PWM and an 11-hour runtime. I use it for a nightlight (as I’m doing now). Occasionally, I’ll kick into high against the wall just to remind myself of how badly it hurts the retinas! lol I get 1,174 lumens to start, dropping to 1,078 after 5 minutes, where it STAYS for the whole dang rest of the runtime! Amazing! A very close second in brightness would be the XINTD X3, with 1,113 to start. It also maintains brightness wonderfully well.
So yeah, the build quality will FAR exceed what you are used to in the budget realm. Just sayin’.
Now, if you want a cheaper, straight-up thrower with my approval, you can opt for the HD2010 from Willbuying with XM-L2 T6…
www.willbuying.com/ultrafire-hd2010-cree-xml2-led-1200lm-3-mode-flashlightblack-p-1664.html
Now a lot of these run-of-the-mill HD2010s suck; varying build quality, unknown emitter types, flickering, etc. I’ve trashed them openly lots of times, but these ones are much better built. Read my review at their site of it. Has higher lux than I estimated at the time of the review. Will outthrow anything, I believe, and is around 990 lumens at start (I got only 873 lumens for the Y3). This throws…furociusly! Honestly, it’s that impressive. I recommend it hands-down.
Only thing that could be called a negative is that the more neutral L2 T6 tint can appear greenish on certain backgrounds, but I carry it out regularly just to put spots on buildings at 600+ meters, and it does so very easily. In straight throw, it will take just about anything I’ve played with (except for the larger-headed Maxtochs). I bought this for a buddy and he lost interest, so I claimed it (and I’m glad I did!) The Y3 and this light throw very closely in overall distance, but they are different beams altogether, and if I had to pick a winner, I’d say the advantage clearly goes to the HD2010. The beam is just thicker and wider, but remains culminated at downright silly distances, making it more useful to me. I’ve had plenty of time to evaluate them and there is no denying that this 2010 beam just keeps on stretching out and out further. I still crack a smile when I fire it up!
I just ordered a Small Sun ZY-T08 from T-mart.
I really like that light. No heat issues, great throw, great runtime, and (generally) good build quality and weight distribution.
Great stuff, you won’t be disappointed with the small sun!