Makes sense to me. You get a bigger and deeper reflector - the XM-L works better with a bigger reflector. But the downside is a physically larger light.
I've had one p60 drop in croak from a small drop recently and I'm thinking that for a small increase in size I could get a light thats overall a bit more robust (and a wee bit cheaper), I'm curious about the output from this new R5 C8 as I want to use it with my recovered 18650s, I dont think the recovered batteries will be happy with the demands of an XM-L so I was planning on using some decent 18650s in the KD C8 I ordered recently and get an R5 which seems to be better matched to the output the recovered batteries can manage.
XP's link to this light reminded me to ask a question.
You see a lot of reflectors like the one below. The flat part around the LED, is that there just there so they can make the hole for the emiter any size they like without having to change the design or is there somethign else to it?
I assume a reflector designed with the sides meeting the emiter with no flat spot would be better or am I missing something?
Not really. Led's have a given emmition angle. The further away from the LED a part of the reflector is, the more throw it gets. Think of it like looking at a ruler from 1 and 5 feet away. The ruler is the same size, but it appears bigger from a foot away. So a closer to LED reflector will have a larger corona.
XP - I cant speak for the OP but If I had to decide between the two I would chose the more expensive one from Manafont. For me it comes down to shipping speed, I will get it 10-14 days faster over ordering from DX. Plus you get a R5 and a driver for ~5 bux for future mods. aww heck im going to order one also I just convinced myself while writing this post. Im going to put in a 16mm XM-L and a KD 2.8a 7135.
Does anyone know the lens diameter of the C8 for an aspherical mod?
see i already have a ton of leds i cant do anything with. as well as drivers. maybe thats why im biased
if i didnt have the driver and led already sitting in my desk, i could see getting the palight. my only thing is it may not have an easy moddable driver pill. which i have found to be a problem in some versions of non-diy flashlights that have DIY versions available.
What I need at the moment is a usable R5 for 18650's, I dont have any spares around but at some point in the future I'll probably get an XML in there. So I got the working one now and know its good enough and simple enough to mod later.
Well Squidboy, I hope you're happy. Because of you I "had" to order the Palight too. I also ordered an Ultrafire XM-L 3-mode drop-in. I want to compare it to the Solarforce XM-L.
My wife is going to freak when she sees yet another Paypal charge for yet another flashlight. I'm going to be in so much trouble.