Has anybody attempted to do an emitter swap or any mods to the OWL lights? I have one a friend asked me if I could make a bit brighter. Was hoping to swap the cree emitter with an SFT40, but the light appears to be press fit and potted. Wondering if it is even possible to disassemble?
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Thanks for joining the party, koticsniper!
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Are you talking about this light.
Thank you Raccoon, happy to be here!
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Looks like they don’t want you getting into it . Otoh there isn’t anything made that some more talented guys can’t break into .
This is one good reason to not buy a hugely expensive light . When you want to do a mod you risk breaking something expensive.
The company has a very nice sales pitch .
Start with heat …. Then the freezer .
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Thats what I was thinking. I just wanted to see if there had already been any pioneers in this process so I could see it disassembled first. I have been given the ok by my buddy (the light owner) to attempt to take the light apart. Appreciate the insight @Boaz!
Without swapping/modding the driver, I’m not sure you’ll get a great deal more light with just an LED swap.
Possibly marginal gains to be had by going from neutral white to cool white.
Claims 50Kcd which is not bad for a tube light, assuming it can sustain the output?
Going from a cree to say, an SFT40 should yield a pretty dramatic difference. If I can get to the board I plan to swap it with a 6 amp driver as well. Should drive an SFT40 close to or over 100KCD from what I have experienced.
Also, this light has an amber hue to it. It looks warmer than 5k. The battery is a samsung 3000mAh and they claim a half hr run time on max brightness. Assuming that is true, it means they are likely pushing 6 amps. The xpl hi I believe they are using is around 16-1700 lumen at 6 amps, where an SFT40 should be around 2100 lumen. This is all based on tests I have seen on this forum. Please correct me if wrong
For a simple LED swap, the most dramatic difference will be the switch from warm/neutral to the cool.
Light will go from c.1200lm to maybe 1700-1800lm after losses, visibly this will be “a touch brighter”.
The luminance is higher than XPL hi, so you’re correct it’ll throw better.
The SFT does have a lower Vf, maybe the driver will run hotter to burn off the voltage? I’m not a driver guy so just guessing.
Looking forward to mod pics to see what the inside of these look like.
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I will definitely post pictures if I am successful. Thanks for the insight gravelmonkey 
I have to say the one spec that impressed me was that it had 50kcd . 100 sounds better but I’d simply put the if22a on the gun with six rubber bands just to see if that’s what you’re looking to achieve first .
All of my recent builds have used a 6 amp driver and the SFT40. I really like that emitter for its nice hot spot and amount of spill. Its a very versitile emitter. I have used it in S2+, S21A, M21 and, most recently, a C8+. Every light I swap to this emitter gives me better results. The owner of the OWL just wanted more light. Even if the actual light output isnt much more, the beam pattern of the sft40 will be much more useable.
Even if you’re not successful, please post pics since it could help someone else in the future.
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If I can even get into the head, I will for sure. Working 7 mids in a row now so I will be trying this weekend
So I could not bet into the OWL light. I tried putting it in a dish glove and soaking in boiling water for a while to soften any adhesive. Light would not come apart. The reflecter sits behind a retaining lip under the bezel, and will not come out. I can see 2 seems in the construction of the head, but they have to be pressed in somehow. Im going to say without a proper press, I am out of luck on this one.
Thanks for the update!
Any luck with removing the driver retaining ring? It appears that may be holding everything together .
I was thinking the same thing. But that is an impression in the epoxy that looks like a retaining ring. Its rubbery in texture lol who does. That!?
Well that’s strange! 