So… I finally went through with it and did my first build.
Ended up with the Convoy M2 with the XPL-HI (sorry forgot what bin) but it’s 3k warm white and matched it up with
the mountain electronic FET driver mtn-17ss. Did a double spring bypass and slapped in a nice high drain battery.
OH MAMMA!
What a nice host! annodizing and threads are great! Everything fit great and was such as easy build.
definitely had some difficulty soldering the driver to the retaining ring. Had trouble getting in there and getting it hot enough.
The results are really nice! I’m not the biggest fan of warm white, but wanted a change.
It’s 56 yards from my window to firepit. This light throws well over 100 yards
pretty pleased with the results!
I did some lux testing and at 1 meter my Thrunite TN12 gets 29k. This light gets 40k, C8 gets 49k. So the hotspot falls between the 2.
I guestimate it’s around 1000-1200 lumens
I generally get about 3.3-3.7a at the tailcap depending on battery. 3.3 for a ncr18650b 3.7 for an mj1
I really like the mode spacing of the driver. The 80% is very bright and doesn’t get too hot to handle.
100% gets the light very hot within 2 minutes.
It falls into my collection nicely. It’s brighter and throws better than my TN12 and P12. It’s pocketable, but doesn’t throw quite as well or manage heat as well as my C8’s, TC10, JM07, etc…
If anyone knows where to get a smooth reflector for this, I’m all ears!
Nice build! I have one of the 3000K XPL HI’s, very nice tint, gets to be beautiful at the higher amps… I would not even worry about a smooth reflector, that hotspot looks great and the throw looks to be more than sufficient for the host size.
idk bout this but why not thicken the board with solder and wire on the outer ring then screw the retainer ring tight?
this way you get to use both without worrying your solder pops out
Nice job. I did this exact setup (almost) last month for a friend of mine. I did NOT want to give this light to him. I carried it around for a week before I gave it to him. I will probably do one for myself as it’s an almost perfect match. I used a QLite with guppydrv and soldered an extra 3 7135s on it. Got 4.16 at tail with a Q30.
However, it did not get ‘hot’ when left on high for an extended amount of time. It certainly warmed up, but nothing I was concerned about. Is your XPL mounted on aluminum? Also, what centering ring/spacer did you use for the reflector?
i have one that a fellow member built. M2 host with an MT-G2, MTN FET with memory, braided driver spring. 6.55a at the tail. stupid bright with fresh efest purple 18350 charged to 4.25v. BUT, those little 18350’s get sucked dry pretty fast on turbo… once they are around 3.75v, my bypassed BLF A6 with a fresh LG HG2 gives it a run for the money.
love the M2 though. still a very usable light on lower modes. i’d say the BLF A6 is a more practical light though. plus my A6 shorty tube actually works without issue! YAY!
Most XP size rings should work, but I still do not like any of them. I think they stick up too high over the led and interfere with light. You can sand them down, but anymore I just do this:
As others mentioned in the thread, make sure you wait quite some time before sealing things up as the glue fumes can wreak havoc.
I don’t think it’s bad at all. Just get a flat screwdriver style tip for your soldering iron. Pre-tin the pads and wires. A nice long set of precision tweezers and it’s a piece of cake.
I used to have a terrible time with them until I bought new tips. Only a $2 investment and it made working in tight spaces so much easier. I really only use the small point for soldering wires to driver and attaching springs, and the flat for soldering wires to led.
