Slim 18650 lantern

Cloud · 2019-11-27T23:34:45.000Z

BlueSwordM:

Pretty obvious: since the beam is directed upwards, the diffuser will make lots of glare, and doesn’t have any good firmware.

The beam will go upwards and to the sides. Mostly upwards. So just elevate it and lay your light on something so it’s directed where you need or better yet hang a rope above and tie the by lanyard to shine down - best kind of lantern light - from the top down. If you have a magnet tail in the light ( or willing to glue one on) that’s another way to mount it and have the light directed where you want. Also like the poster above said. Put the foil behind where you don’t want to light to go either inside or outside of the diffuser….

I mean, before I was into flashlights I was into lanterns for like half a year, I have about 30 different lanterns, even nodded / combined them. There is a lot I can recommend but right now. A diffuser in a regular flashlight especially if the light is Dimmable seems like the simplest 2 in one solution.,

lightboks · 2019-11-27T23:56:05.000Z

really, for backpacking camping/travelling even the Zanflare T1 was too bulky. You probably have a flashlight or two with you anyway. I just use a regular flashlight with a hard plastic or silicone diffusor or anything I find around the house and hang it inside the tent. A piece of paper or tissue and a rubber band will work fine. Or a plastic cup in a nice color when standing upright on the light.

To minimize glare but reflect the light back down, just get something opaque but reflective and put it on top of your diffusor.

JamesB · 2019-11-28T00:04:52.000Z

The Nitecore LR50 is not too big, there was a code on BLF to lower it at a decent price, not sure if the code is still available.

Barry0892 · 2019-11-28T01:36:21.000Z

I prefer to use a diffuser on a flashlight.

Barry0892 · 2019-11-28T01:38:10.000Z

But sofirn does think about use polymer battery on the botton of LT1 to make it light weight and shorter.

DBSAR · 2019-11-28T02:48:31.000Z

Barry0892:

But sofirn does think about use polymer battery on the botton of LT1 to make it light weight and shorter.

Interesting idea Barry, as in a smaller (lower capacity) battery pack than can thread into the base of the LT1 to shorten it? I remember someone mentioning in the LT1 main thread about an idea of a short, 18350 cell size battery tube.

MtnDon · 2019-11-28T03:02:55.000Z

Here…. a single 18650

BlueSwordM · 2019-11-28T03:44:28.000Z

@Barry, I think it would be better to just make an 1865/21700 lantern.

raccoon · 2019-11-28T04:10:52.000Z

MtnDon:

Looks pretty naughty!

Agro · 2019-11-28T07:03:03.000Z

Cloud:

BlueSwordM:

Pretty obvious: since the beam is directed upwards, the diffuser will make lots of glare, and doesn’t have any good firmware.

The beam will go upwards and to the sides. Mostly upwards. So just elevate it and lay your light on something so it’s directed where you need or better yet hang a rope above and tie the by lanyard to shine down - best kind of lantern light - from the top down. If you have a magnet tail in the light ( or willing to glue one on) that’s another way to mount it and have the light directed where you want. Also like the poster above said. Put the foil behind where you don’t want to light to go either inside or outside of the diffuser….

I mean, before I was into flashlights I was into lanterns for like half a year, I have about 30 different lanterns, even nodded / combined them. There is a lot I can recommend but right now. A diffuser in a regular flashlight especially if the light is Dimmable seems like the simplest 2 in one solution.,

That’s a part of the reason why I like Naturehike diffuser. They reflect a lot of light to the sides thanks to having a downward directed cone at the top. They never quite keep a perfect shape and take a few seconds to get them in a fair shape. And the beam is never perfectly smooth. But they still work better than regular silicone / plastic diffusers while being very universal (my S-sized works on BLF Q8 (though barely) and on AAA light), smaller and lighter. I complained a few times that for a piece of cloth they were quite expensive. But really - if I had to buy a diffuser for every of my lights that I wanted to have it I would pay more.

Juslearnin · 2019-12-11T08:58:23.000Z

These work well:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Camping-Hiking-LED-Waterproof-Light-Tent-Lantern-Outdoor-Emergency-Flashlight/383215848030?epid=24024316358&hash=item593971ca5e:g:PLoAAOSwC-5dp9bv

There are likely multiple sellers with essentially the same design. Look carefully as there are also ones that are two 18650s long as well.

It is a ?polycarbonate tube with caps on each end. As you screw the cap down it pinches an o ring that seals it to make it waterproof. I am not really a modder, but these things are completely simple to take apart and mod.

I bought a couple and they came with a 2000 mah 18650 which is soldered in place. I bought a couple of Panasonic 3400 mah 18650s with tabs soldered on and replaced the oricginal battery. They work well.

The don’t give 360 degree illumination, maybe a little more than 180 degree as the battery is on the back side, but are light, waterproof, and compact.

This one has better pictures to see what you are getting and comes with a 2600 mah battery for quite a bit more:

http://vi.raptor.ebaydesc.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemDescV4&item=113483595784&category=168867&pm=1&ds=0&t=1569288776000&ver=0&cspheader=1

On mine one press comes on low white then it cycles through high white red and I think blinking modes but at any time a long press turns it off without going through all the modes.

Here are the batteries I put in them:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-NEW-PANASONIC-NCR-18650-B-Li-ion-BATTERY-3400mAh-3-7v-w-pre-welded-TABS/371386465607?epid=1337918909&hash=item56785bbd47:g:YSQAAOSwDNdVqKwW

Vincent7 · 2020-01-05T16:24:28.000Z

I use this setup. It's a 35mm film canister. These are really cheap , in bulk, online. These fit all of my 18650 Zebralights, plus some of my other lights.

My kids use these when we go trick or treating. I just put a little bit of electrical tape around the bottom, so the canister doesn't get knocked off.

It makes a nice , inexpensive lantern, with great run times and slides on and off easily.

particleez · 2020-01-10T21:14:10.000Z

At 99 dollars, I am not sure if it qualifies as a “budget” light.
It uses a 26650 battery.
It is made by a company called Lantern. Seems like a really bad idea for a product name.

It is basically a flashlight with a diffuser on it. The tint looks kind of blue.
They sell the diffuser separately for $12.50. Opening is listed as 33mm or 1.3”.
Could maybe fit on a cheaper flashlight with a better tint and the same diameter bezel.

Anyone know of an 18650 or 26650 flashlight with good tint like Nichia 219C 5k for cheap with a 33mm or 1.3” bezel diameter?
I guess something a little bigger could be turned down, and smaller could be shimmed. I am not sure how much being wider on the top would negatively effect carrying and packing. I know for me it would always be falling over onto that wide part of the diffuser, so it would need to be sturdy.

LANTERN Light

LANTERN Black

The Ultimate Multifunctional Light! up to 1000 lumens, USB rechargeable lantern flashlight with up to 72 hours of run time, 4000 mAh USB power bank and powerful bike headlight. FEATURES INCLUDE: Unique LANTERN light diffuser can light up a tent or a...

Price: USD 99.00

Anyone heard of these and know about them, such as who manufactures them ?

Jerommel · 2020-01-10T22:45:32.000Z

This is not such a bad idea either:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32887936541.html

…but it’s AA…

DBSAR · 2020-01-11T01:21:03.000Z

Jerommel:

This is not such a bad idea either:

Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

…but it’s AA…

i have bought many variants of that over the years, if they would only build one without the blue-tint Latticebright XPE knockoff LED, remove the blinky modes, and not use a horrible PWM on the low mode, they would be a good pocket light micro lantern for emergency uses.

particleez · 2020-01-11T02:36:57.000Z

MoreLumens:

I use Fenix AOD-S with BLF A6. Also fits nicely on Zebralight SC5w OP and works with Fenix LD12 too.

That fenix diffuser is even more compact and cheaper than the Lantern one.

raccoon · 2020-01-11T12:13:24.000Z

That Fenix AOD-S diffuser looks real nice.

It's kinda pricey for what it is, though.

By the way, on AliExpress, they have it with free shipping.

(I don't know if Fenix sells their stuff on their website with free shipping.)

raccoon · 2020-01-11T14:25:28.000Z

There's a number of flashlight diffusers on AliExpress for under $2 shipped.

They couldn't be as nice as the Fenix one, but maybe they're good enough.

Search for:

flashlight diffuser

This one is the cheapest I've seen at $1.25:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33007563406.html

It's made for the Convoy S-series.

EDIT:

Here's something similar, and they actually deliver to the U.S.:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33004560643.html

raccoon · 2020-01-11T14:49:45.000Z

Looks like a lot of the cheap diffusers are made for the Convoy S-series, which would also fit the BLF A6.

Because the FW3A is just a little bit bigger in diameter, I think the diffusers would sadly be too small for it.

aswang · 2020-01-11T15:56:51.000Z

Agro:

That’s a part of the reason why I like Naturehike diffuser. They reflect a lot of light to the sides thanks to having a downward directed cone at the top. They never quite keep a perfect shape and take a few seconds to get them in a fair shape. And the beam is never perfectly smooth. But they still work better than regular silicone / plastic diffusers while being very universal (my S-sized works on BLF Q8 (though barely) and on AAA light), smaller and lighter. I complained a few times that for a piece of cloth they were quite expensive. But really - if I had to buy a diffuser for every of my lights that I wanted to have it I would pay more.

I agree with Agro. I have too many diffusers and the naturehike is the one I use the most. Not as easy to set up but it works with almost all of my lights including headlamps, diffuses the light to the sides and not as much glare as using regular silicone or plastic diffuser because of the surface area. Doubles as a carrying pouch too.