Smallest, thinest, highest lumen single battery (18650) with diffuser cap for all purpose use?
A few…
Fenix PD 32 UE?
Nitecore EC 25?
Nitecore MH1C?
something pencil thin but still lots of lumens? Nice diffuser cap for reading.
Other recommendations? Looking for small, lean and with 1 18650 battery.
Thanks!
For under $20 this one is hard to beat. I will probably be ordering this one after the holiday.
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10002364/1195015
24 mm
115 mm
5% 60% 100%
Orange peel.
S3 U2-1B 2800mA 2-Group 3/5-Mode: $19.53
Edit: no diffuser cap
I'm gonna nominate the XIAOZHI .
No diffuser , but those are usually easy enough to find or make .
roche f12
I'm thinking the HD2011. It will take something with a U2 or U3 driven hard to beat it.
Convoy S3 all the way.
I had the XIAOZHI, but it didn’t fit my Redilast 3100’s. It barely fit my Eagletac 2600. The spring in the head eventually broke from using the ET battery and putting too much stress on it. Good light, but the Convoy is better. Brighter, better built and will take any battery.
>>>>>>S3 U2-1B 2800mA 2-Group 3/5-Mode: $19.53
The S3 is pretty darn good, especially since it has NO DISCO MODE. HOORAY!!! Brightness is about 25-25% below a 501B with the famous manafont ultrafire 3-mode (no blinky) drop-in. Guessing 500-600 lumens? The drop-in would be my recommendation for the smallest brightest 1 18650 +BUDGET+ light.
I would put the S3 and S2 up against the UF2100 for a brightness comparison, except that my third 2100 just toasted, so I’m sorta giving up on them. It might not be the components can’t handle the heat, which means the same fate could befall the s3 and 2. Plus the 2100 can’t tailstand. Both the s3 and s2 tailstand sturdily.
The S3 is basically ALL flood and gets hot VERY fast, but the heat is totally to be expected with virtually no heat sink and very few heat sinking surfaces. (Same heat with the S2; about 1/2” inch longer). A 501B with the drop in is 1/2” longer than the S2.
Both S3 and 2 have very good fit and finish for a budget light, at least mine do. The S2 has more of a slight spot, but not much. The S2 seems to be about the same brightest, but I just got it today and haven’t really tested it yet. However the S2 will not take a straight unprotected battery without a blob of solder, or something to make the battery a few mm longer (bummer). Otherwise it just flops around in there. Too short — no contact. Fasttech provides a small disc magnet with the S2 to help with this problem, but I have found that the small magnets can migrate during EDC and short against the battery compartment wall.
The short problem is not a huge deal, but one wonders what the heck these designers do all day. One would think that fitting both battery types is the most important basic design element in designing a flashlight. I mean, come on. It’s like designing a vending machine for a quarter item that will only take nickels. How much foresight does it take to make the driver spring a 1/4” longer? Jeepers creepers (insert your own non-pc x-rated expression of incredulity.)
Even still, it’s a great light. But for better range, a 501-whatever with the drop-in has more power.
(Also got a fasttech x-power EDC but it whines like a cat in heat and has a bad switch design. Already had to resolder it twice, and it still may break again.) Have a Roche on the way but haven’t got it yet.
Hope this helps!
UF 2100 can tailstand.
>>>>UF 2100 can tailstand.
I have both the uniquefire and original ultrafire. Neither one tailstands. The switch boot sticks out too far. What brand do you have?
Another downside of any light that can’t tailstand because the switch book sticks out too far —- without a recessed swiych button, the light can bump against something and accidentally turn on with flaming-pocket results. I thought this was originally much ado about nothing, until my last 2100 somehow twice switched on in my pocket. Quite a surprise to sit down and suddenly have a soldering iron in your pocket press against your leg. Fortuantely it wasn’t hot enough to actually burn me, but it sure got my attention real fast!!!
The Zebralight SC600 and Eagletac TX25C2 are the brightest single 18650 lights out there for their size I think.
I think the best budget options are allready presented, here come the not-so-budget but even smaller ones:
definitely shortest and most certainly overall smallest 18650 light (not yet, but soon) available:
dqg 18650
thinest 18650 light as far as I know:
or the shorter twisty-version:
other small 18650 lights are:
Olight S20 (37$ at doingoutdoor.com great price!)
Zebralight sc60 (rather hard to find because not in production anymore)
Nitecore EC2 (about 60:money_mouth_face:
Ultrafire H6 (actually a headlamp, sells for 38:money_mouth_face:
edit: those are not the brightest but the smallest! the ones in the post above mine should be the brightest, I agree.
I fully agree!
Similar problem with lights that don’t tailstand because the booth is sticking out by just 1mm,
clips in awkward and therefore non usable positions,
(not really designers but still…): visible low PWM even in non budget lights,
etc…
With every small light with high output, you will always have high temperatures too, which will quickly lower the efficiency of the LED and be uncomfortable to hold.
I suggest a solarforce P60 with an international outdoors NW XML drop in, it’s driven well at 3amps, and takes a good few minutes before the heat becomes uncomfortable.
The Ultrafire tailstands after you put o-ring spacer in tailcap.
>>>>>The Ultrafire tailstands after you put o-ring spacer in tailcap.
.
Won’t work with the ultrafire. Sorry. Already tried. There are no threads past the switch retaining ring on the side where the end cap screws on the main light barrel. You can’t move the switch ring further down in the end cap so the switch shroud will recess. Wish it did, but it doesn’t. :-(. I never got a chance to try with the uniquefire. It burned up in like a week. Definitely not up to EDC usage. :–0
After three of ’em burned up, it’s time to move on in the quest for a perfect EDC. And the S3 and S2 are FAR better choices (IMHO) than the 2100, especially since there are NO blinkies!!!
These suggestions are all in theory going to be similar output - xm-l u2 @ 2.8a, you’ve only got reflector/lense/bezrl losses to differentiate. I do know that the xiahzo (spelling? See jack the flippers post above) tested much higher than the edc18650 for some inexplicable reason.
If you want really bright, you need to find a host that will take a 20mm board and optic, then build a light engine that will run a 3up xp-g2 cw @ 2a/emitter (think 8*AMC kd v2 with another 8 AMC chips stacked), your then in the region of 1500 emitter lumens, and a s* load of heat.
It’s definitely a project on my list for later in the year.
I have owned both and even though I didn’t have them at the same time to compare side by side, I can say my edc 18650 was much brighter than the X (I give up looking it up to get the spelling right). Not sure why others have seen different. Some day I will measure the amp draw of the EDC.
I have both, the edc18650 I built up myself with a 2.6a 2 group driver and u2, the black one (i give up too) is 2.8a t6 3c. I’ve also built a 3a t6 3c edc18650, I would say that other than the u2 tint, you’d struggle to pick one from another, but when a blf member I trust puts both through a lightbox, side by side and one tests at about 560 lumen and one tests at 800+ lumen (he was just as suprised as we are) you have to accept the results.
For what its worth, the u2 will soon be pulled from my edc in favour of a t6 4c, I just prefer the more neutral tints over out and out brightness at any cost. Brightness is fun but I prefer usefulness myself and will happily sacrifice a few lumens I can’t recognise over a light that’s slightly less bright but much nicer in use.
Don’t forget, the idea of an edc is that its used, possibly daily. We used to manage on 100 lumen not so long ago, all these mentioned should do 7 - 8 times that, looking at things like that, their all winners. 
ubehebe, if you compare the s2/3 to the 2100, then the roche f12 that i suggested will be brighter. i have the e1320 modded 2100 and its just a tad bit brighter than the roche 12. so im assuming the f12 will be brighter than a stock 2100.
and still the f12 throws further than the e1320 2100.
i also have a hd 2011, very bright, but still not as bright as the f12. very close though. but the hd2011 does have the greatest flood and spill of these three.
but if you can have something a bit bigger. the convoy m1 will not dissapoint!
Quote Ubehebe:
“Won’t work with the ultrafire. Sorry. Already tried. There are no threads past the switch retaining ring on the side where the end cap screws on the main light barrel. You can’t move the switch ring further down in the end cap so the switch shroud will recess. Wish it did, but it doesn’t. . ”
After three of ’em burned up, it’s time to move on in the quest for a perfect EDC. And the S3 and S2 are FAR better choices (IMHO) than the 2100, especially since there are NO blinkies!!! ”
Look before you leap……………… 
