Review: Convoy S21E 519A (21700, 1150 lumens, USB-C)

Review of the Convoy S21E, with Nichia 519A emitter - a compact 21700 tube light, with side e-switch, and USB-C charging.
Is it a worthy successor to the S2+ ? Or have its chances been dented? Read on for the full review:

Nice review, thank you.

I’ve been looking at those on AE, and thinking that at that price, how can I avoid buying one (or more)? Reviews like this aren’t helping.

I am easily deterred from buying by the 10-click locking, and the tall, unprotected button. It seems to me that it’s unwearable in a pocket.

My IF25A and D4 have trained me to twist the tail cap for lock out, so I’m not too worried about that. I love Andúril, but I don’t blame Simon for being skeptical. I think Andúril 2 in muggle mode is perfectly acceptable for anybody, but I can see the arguments against it.

Since it’s shorter than an S2+, and only a slightly chonkier, it seems like a perfect pocket carry to me.

It’s not the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but that prediction aged like milk.

I knew going in the ramping sucked. 4-mode group fixed that. But, the big issue with carrying this light is the switch boot falls off if you look at it too hard. Mine’s lost now.

I still like Convoy tail switch lights, but the S21E is a complete bust.

Simon can add replacement buttons for free if you add a note to your next order.

Quote from convoy new releases thread.

I use my S21E regularly and have never had an issue with the switch boot.

Looks good. $21? What the hell?

I want S21E with TIR optics and 2-3 groups of simple modes :
1 mode, 0.5 or 1A,
2 modes, 0.1-0.2 and 1A,
3 modes, 0.1-0.5-1.5A
(maximum mode can’t overheat flashlight or create problem in pocket.
“1 mode” group for everyday use with wide optics.)
recessed e-button or tail button.
Advanced mode is covered by minimum 10+ click’s.

Not for me - for gift’s to other users.
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currently for this role work Convoy flashlight with driver from S2+ (12modes “biscotti” in 1mode group, 1A, 3x7135, SSt-20 4000K, wide bead TIR) .
But S21E - type case with 21700 , dc-dc driver and usb-c will be better .

I found the switch boot, and it’s fallen off a half dozen more times. It’s such a PITA to put back on when my snap ring pliers aren’t handy, that I finally just super-glued the boot to the retaining ring. It’s been a few days, and it hasn’t fallen off, so I’m calling it fixed for now.

Now that the switch is reliable, and I’ve dedomed the 519A, I’m starting to like this light again.

What is a switch boot? Hundreds of flashlights in, I’ve never heard this term.

It’s the rubber part. Pretty standard to call them boots…for switches and other components (shock absorbers and ball joints on equipment being good examples in the non-electronics world…). Boot covers the actual switch. :slight_smile:

1 Thank

Huh. I was trying to figure out what it could be by using the given context (part of your flashlight that falls off frequently and gets lost.) I haven’t had that happen, so I was unable solve the riddle. Thanks.

I don’t know about the falling off part…I don’t have this light but maybe there’s a machining error with thread depth, height of the trim ring, or a batch of boots with a thinner flange or something.

Here’s an old school post toggle with boot. Same thing on the rectangular rocker switches and such (although sometimes just called a cover if it’s like the clear vinyl type or something).

I can’t imagine anyone would use a wide angle TIR with only 1A output. I tried it and I can’t see anything (slight exaggeration but you get what I mean, too damn dark to be useful). Wide angle TIR needs lots of light to be useful. If I am using 1A driver I need a 8 degree TIR so the light is concentrated enough to be useful.

A beam with twice as wide dispersion needs 4x the lumens to be able to achieve the same perceived candela for a given light.

I’ve looked, but I can’t find a review or post about the S21E that measures the parasitic drain. I’m especially interested if there’s a difference between the boost (XHP) driver and the 519A driver. I have both, but I don’t have the gear to measure it.

My wife lost her KDLITKER and I’m thinking of replacing it with an S21E since my second one has a much more secure switch boot. It seems like my first one with the bad boot was just bad luck.