I have built at least 12 of them over the last year, usually with A6 and bistro drivers, with all kinds of emitters and output, 18350 and 18500 shorties, and I was very happy with them all, and amazed at the amount of light that you could squeeze out of such a small light.
But then not long ago came the handsome Jaxman E2L, eventually even with host option, shorter in size than the S2+, better reflector opening, better heat management, and I love the SS bezel.
And then came the Aspire 18350 cell that made all my painstakingly made 18500 mods obsolete.
And then came the D4, a dedicated quad that has it all, no driver change needed and easy access for led-swaps.
This evening I made another S2+ triple (a desert tan host and Kirabu spacer) to see how the XP-L2 fares under the Carclo 10507. And apart from that I somehow killed one of the leds, I did not like the end result: I did not like the near absent heat path, and did not like the blockage of part of the optic by the bezel, that looked like half-closed curtains. In fact I’m building that nice brown S2+ back into the reflector light that it was, much nicer!
djozz, as a modder, I like owning and building lights that aren’t available or cost 3X the price of my investment stock, so, when a light comes out that equals my efforts at an acceptable cost, that build becomes obsolete. It’s the consequence of progress in my opinion.
Yes, almost everything is standard, the driver is 17mm. Only one thing: I found that a triple Noctigon needs sanding the sides a tiny bit to fit, the Jaxman MCPCB fits fine of course…
Does its footprint fit the carclo 105xx series ?
I ordered 2x E2L hosts with jaxman MCPCBs and optics (15 days ago, still not here) but i would like to try different LED and optics combinations if possible.
I’m not sure what the question is. I do not have numbers for the stock light I think, and did not dedome the leds, the first thing I did was pull out the driver and swap a BLF-A6 driver in, and high CRI Nichia leds.
Yes, the stock E2L uses the Carclo 10507, so their boards fits them. The holes for the optics legs are a bit narrow though, it is a tight squeeze, be careful not to break the legs.
I am with ya on about 12 S2+, S2 triples. IMO I still prefer them with a copper pill/spacer.
Built One E2L from a host with a FET+1 and it just gets too hot to hold way too fast.
Larger spacer on an S2 does better for soaking up heat for longer run time. I generally solder the triple MCPCB to the copper spacers and thermal epoxy the spacer to the head….
Still would rather have a rebuilt/modded S41 where I also solder the board directly into the head.
I agree on the benefits of the S2+ spacer, and the copper head of the S41 (which is one of my favourite lights). But however much I love copper for the looks, the feel, the thermal conductance and the heatsoaking capability, for my taste it is just too heavy to carry around, the E2L has every measure possible within the dimensions of a small tube light to work reasonably well without being heavy, that is why I like it so much.
S41 polished aluminum, modded up is my favourite too.
But I have an OTR M3 5C in my pocket and an old thrunite Ti2 AAA striped bare aluminum that is on its 5th lens with XPG2 R5 something $1.50 from Simon.
Hmm, letting go and finding peace is not really applicable on the hobby I’m afraid, I’m always frantically on the lookout for the next perfect flashlight and emitter :disappointed:
