Pebbled vs Frosted TIR

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
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Are there advantages pros / cons to frosted (matte) vs pebbled (beaded) TIRs?

I’m generally aware of 4 types of TIRs:

  • Flat
  • Oval
  • Frosted / matte
  • Beaded

For the sake of this discussion, I’m only curious about the merits of frosted over beaded TIRs.

There are some cases, where frosted seems to work better than beaded. For example, the skilhunt E2A has some artifacts, small LES emitters might do better in frosted TIRs.

But for a typical scenario, are there any clear advantages to using a pebbled over a matte or vice versa?

Things I am wondering about:

  • Disability glare: Lens surface intensity at 80°
  • Efficiency: is one of these more or less efficient; do you lose more lumens with one over the other
  • Color mixing: does one of these behave differently, messing with Duv or doing strange things to (domed) emitters with tint shifts

The LEDiL documentation hints at these things but doesn’t go into detail between pebbled vs frosted.

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2

I find glare at big angles not to be an issue except when it is an eye type lens. I dislike the Herrmans H-black pro bicycle light for this reason. Too much light goes upward which affects your vision when riding in an aerodynamic position.

Efficiency of the pebbled TIRs from Convoy is better than his frosted TIRs, i.e. more light gets sent back with the frosted TIRs, which I see when using the LED + lens without housing, and the impression of less light coming out as well but the light going the wrong way is the best indicator. The best thing to do is try several types/angles as lenses don’t cost very much, at least for single LEDs.

No idea about colour mixing.

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3

Actually about colour mixing, I misread that section: Rather you mean colour shift or splitting, I can say that I had no issues with the lenses I tried using SST20, 519A standard, 519A shaved, no weird colour circles for example, all a fairly even colour, or at least nothing stood out. But to be sure I’d need to check my lights and I’m travelling now. The 519A 4000K slightly shaved that I’m using on my trip with a pebbled TIR looks fine, no colour shift/colour rings.

I don’t know about DUV change.

4

i have a flashlight that has both. hd15. i noticed that the pebbled tir will mix the colors much better than the frosted throw tir. sst20 5000k with frosted is pretty ugly but put a pebbled tir over the sst20 and its even nicer than the lh351d below it. its still green af on lower modes tho.