I’m new here, and I’m hoping you guys can help me out with some suggestions for my first 18650 light.
I’m relatively familiar with flashlights in general (but I’m not an expert by any means).
I have a Surefire E1B Backup, and for years my EDC light has been a Peak Eiger, which I really like.
However, I’m thinking about getting a cheap, simple, reliable 18650 light which I would carry in my bag every day.
I gotta admit that 18650 lights are uncharted territory for me…
I have been doing some research on sites like eBay, Fasttech, DX, etc, and I have found that there’s so many different lights to choose from that it would be best if I sought expert advice.
While I would prefer to keep the cost as low as possible, I certainly wouldn’t want to spend my hard-earned money on garbage.
Here’s my set of requirements, I would appreciate if you could suggest some suitable options. These are not set in stone, feel free to correct me if I wrote something unrealistic or impossible.
*1 x 18650 battery (protected fit preferred)
*Cree XML T6 or U2 LED
*3 modes maximum
*No disco
*Reasonable runtime on high, no flame throwers that last 2 minutes
*Minimum 800 lumens on high
*Neutral white preferred, but cool white is OK
*Size is not critical, it would be carried in a bag
*Good F&F (emitter centering, anodization, etc)
*I would really like to keep it under $25 (the cheaper the better), so worldwide free shipping is essential
Where are you located? Not in the US I assume. Look at the Convoy's - fabulous quality for the price and you can select a mode group that removes the blinkies. Look at the S2 or S3 for nice small EDC units, though a little tough to get 800 lumens out the front maybe. Realistically though, you'd hardly notice a difference from 800 to say 650. The form factor will determine whether you get a floody light or a throwy light. The smaller the reflector the floodier it will be. The larger diameter the reflector the throwier it will be. I love my S2 and find the flood suits me 95% of the time (and it still throws out there a good ways on high - maybe 250 feet or so).
Agree, pick-up the Convoy C8, it will fit your needs. The built quality is great and i’m very happy with the XML2 U2-1A / OP reflector. Very nice beam with great flood&throw.
Keep in mind that your required long runtime and required 800+ lumen high are conflicting. To get that output, you will need an XM-L @ ~3A which will get warm. A single 2600mAh 18650 = 2.6A for one hour (in theory). Don't count on getting full brightness for that length of time in real life.
That said, a C8 is a good general purpose single-18650 light. Throwy, bright, and not too big. FastTech has a few Convoy lights that have the selectable-mode-group driver that has a basic 3-mode hi/mid/low group:
But those strobe SOS modes are "hidden" in a separate mode group (albeit I don't like it and I find myself accidentally shutting it off at the wrong moment which causes a mode group change).
I will take a look at these Convoys, both the C8 and the S2 look like they could fit my purposes, except for the unnecessary modes. Is it easy to disable the strobe permanently? I hate complicated UIs.
I see. How much do you think would be a reasonable expectation regarding OTF lumens?
As I said, I may be totally off on the priorities. I’m here to learn…
A driver swap is the only way to permanently retain the groups you need. Apparently, the Convoy C8s use the soft mode-swap vs a hardware mode selection. You can replace the driver with a standard 105c that has the mode group selection stars, but then, you might as well just build your own light using an empty host. :-(
Nice shootout If size is less important over performance, go for the C8. It will last for 1 hour in high mode on a good quality 18650 cell (e.g. panasonic ncr18650b). It’s in your own hands to have longer runtimes by using the medium or low mode
It very easy to ‘soft’ switch between 3 & 5 mode groups. I also dislike the strobe&SOS so use the 3 mode setting.
Convoy M1 is a very nice light with a head a bit smaller than C8. Similar in size to a P60 light it has a screw in pill for better heat transfer. Reflector is ~ 30mm instead of 26.8mm.
That time will probably come but apparently I’m not there yet.
At this point I just want a cost-effective way to try out a 18650 light for a couple of months. See how I like it and whether it gets enough use to justify carrying it daily.
Problem is that all the manufacturers love strobe modes. If you can stretch to $30 then the Convoy L4 might be a good match for you (strobe is hidden from the main modes), but the other Convoy lights have a good reputation for being good quality. If you have a soldering iron and want to build your own then the Convoy C8 with an XML2 and Qlite driver is a good way to have no strobe modes under $25. Anyone know if there’s a good P60 drop-in that doesn’t have strobe?
M1 is a very handy flashlight, smaller reflector means it’s slightly floodier than C8 which is good for general purpose light. 2,1A version will produce 800 emitter and around 650 out of the front lumens, that’s still a lot of light. It will also have longer runtime and less bright lower modes - it’s not a bad thing because 40% out of 2,8A is really a lot of light and lower modes should be useful when you don’t need it. Convoys (M1/C8) driver has two groups of modes, one doesn’t have strobe/sos at all. I have Convoy L4 and I think it may be a little bit too throwy, med and high mode are a little too close (med is too bright) and if you change modes quickly you can accidently activate strobe which is not very pleasant.
You can get them from Simon on aliexpress with just 3 modes. The 3/5 mode driver is ok but I occasionally find I have switched between the groups by accident.
