As a hunter searching the woods, I need a flood light.
The intent is to mount it on a rifle but mounts are my headache don’t bother with this. 
What I feel would be awesome is:
Single 18650 in an as close to 1” tube as possible.
Largest possible reflector
Good cooling.
I do not know what chassis or led to look for.
Can someone with good knowledge direct me further?
Any suggestions would be very helpful!
Flood is a large area lit usually closer by , small reflectors, several LEDs behind a tir optics or zoomie zoomed out are usually used for this
Throw is a smaller area lot usually far reaching, big reflectors or zoomie zoomed in are usually used for this.
Ok, was just thinking that a large reflector would direct more light into the desired area even if that area have a larger form than a spot light but If I am wrong I stand corrected.
In that case any flood light out there better than my BLF A6 Manker?
The BLF A6 is considered one of the floodiest lights around, if you want more flood than that you may need a flashlight without reflector, just a bare led shining around. Or use a diffuser on the BLF A6. You can also sand the front glass to matt, or stick diffuser film on it.
Depending on how floody you want it, you might try a Convoy S2+ with a TIR optic. There are several cheap TIR options available on FastTech, as well as other sites. Available in 25, 45, and 60 degree varieties IIRC. I personally like the beam patter of the 25 degree. The 60 degree is so floody that there is NO throw. As in, unable to see past the back fence at 30 feet.
I´m ok with the A6 flood beam but would like more light in the beam cone, less spill and more cooling.
Sorry if I´m not explaining my need well, English is not my native language.
Bascially I want a wide cone with all (as much as possible) of what the led outputs inside that cone.
Flood light as a rule won’t have the greatest beam distance. Can you give an example of how far and how wide an area you are trying to light up? Or even an example of the type of object you are wanting to light up. I’d have thought hunting you’d normally want something more focused and more range?
TIR optics and other optic devices can give an even illumination. Maybe this is what you are meaning?
I have a Convoy S2+ with a large LED (XM-L2) and a floody TIR optic. It gives no spill beam at all, but a nice wide evenly lit beam.
The beam really is nice and seems to have similar beam distance to the stock reflector, but long range is not really it’s thing.
You can buy various different TIR optics from many sources, although I think I got these from an MR16 triple LED house bulb.
They can be made to fit many different tube lights, such as the BLF A6, although the Convoy S2+ works well as most TIR optics are shorter and the S2+ uses a shorter reflector, so works better.
(or you can swap the driver/LED in a Convoy S2+ if you want)
Depending on the type of TIR you can get a reflector style beam with a hot spot and spill beam. So you’ll need to experiment to get the profile you want.
Triple optics in a compact light are floody too, but usually have a large hotspot and a spill beam.
Another option is some kind of projector style optic. It’s quite rare. But Bushnell do some lights with optics like this:
Again no spill beam, just even illumination.
The only real downside is the Bushnell lights are expensive and apart from their clever optics, the rest of the lights are very subpar in terms of modes, tint, LEDs and performance. But they do offer a pretty unique beam.
Then I think the TIR option may be something you would want to play with, if you are up to some basic building/modding.
These are cheap enough that you can buy different angle options to see what you like:
https://www.fasttech.com/products/1606/10007055/1574901-21-2-12-6mm-pmma-optical-lens-for-cree-xm-l-t5-t6
More cooling might be the problem; for that, you would need extra mass/fins/etc… How much runtime on high are you expecting?
I´m a hunter, a flood light is what I use when searching the woods at night. Currently I use the A6 but it gets to hot to fast and it also have a center “dot” that is to bright, I want the light to be spread evenly across the cone.
65-100ft / 20-30m of illumination would be sufficient.
If I have a ~30 ish degree cone with as much lumen within it as possible, spread evenly, I´d be very happy.
Runtime can be hours but I´m totally ok to change batteries when needed.
Looks good, but I belive that light would have similar heat problems that my A6 have?
how about manker e14/astrolux s41, DQG 7th 26650 7*xp-g2 too
Why not use a good zoomie?
I’d say Jaxman Z1 but don’t have the renowned and very popular Brinyte b148 (I think) which is cheaper and smaller.
It does sound like a TIR will give you the beam you want.
What brightness level do you use on your A6 and how long do you typically want to have it on? A larger light with more mass will get hot less quickly, but larger lights will typically have a more narrow beam.
Check out the fenix fd30/41, its exactly what you want
I’ll just throw in the Sunwayman T25C for consideration. Fairly slim 18650 tube but with larger head. Zoomed back (out, whatever) provides a pretty nice, even, floody light (compared to my Astrolux S1….BLF A6 copy). There is no hotspot to speak of and it can be zoomed in for a pretty nice throw if you ever need. I haven’t used it extensively, as it was a gift for my father, but I never noticed it getting nearly as hot as my S1 (A6 clone).
2 possible negatives:
Hey… what about a C8 with an OP reflector and an XM-L2. Bigger die = bigger hotspot and OP reflector = good balance of spill and throw! And is more or less 1 inch for gun mounting.
26650 Would unfortunately be to heavy to be mounted on my rifle.
Good suggestion, I´ll take a look at those, I´ve never owned one but a friend has a Brinbyte b148 that I can test.
Usually I´m using level 5 or 6 (out of 7)
Typically it would be turned on for half an hour at a time when searching through a crop field or such.
When I´m just walking distances i´m using a headlamp.
Interesting little thing but wouldn´t that one get to hot aswell?
That one certainly looks interesting, the larger head is of no problem I have mounts for such.
I just love the C8, good performance and cheap enough to manhandle. Thats what I use as a spotlight when shooting at longer distances at night. (I´m using an adjustable mount so the spot is where the crosshair is)
If a C8 could be modded with a suitable reflector I think that would be very close to what I´m looking for.
Both reflector types are available for the C8…