It’s a steal that little light, did you go for the nw option? I love mine, its a real quality light at a real budget price.
No I actally went with the CW.
I kind of like that tint……
No problem, I think you’ll be very very happy with it, all I’ve done is lube the threads and its awesome.
Must do a review on this when I get mine back.
Mine came yesterday. Great little light! This beats the hell out of the Shiningbeam S-mini. Very solid feel and I like having 2 mode groups. One of the best spends I've ever made on a small light. I also got the CW tint and it is just slightly brighter (to my eyes) than the Roche F12. Gets hot faster on high though, which I did not think could be possible.
I have bought two of the popular into-outdoor EDCs in XP-G2 R5 and like them very much. You could buy the U2 version for a total of $28 there. But, guess what I saw at fasttech for $18.80 this morning!
Exact same light. $10 less.
This is the Convoy S3, which has the little stainless steel bezel. The Convoy S2, without the bezel, appears to be a similar light and costs less. But I don’t know what the differences are other than the looks.
It’s similar, but some things about it have me wondering….350 lumens…2.5 hrs run time on low?!
Does it have internal protection? It is my understanding that this host will not accept many (if any) protected batteries. Also, the driver and emitter is not well described - the beam shot on the ad looks very purple to me, although that may simply be bad photography. Still, it casts doubt.
I also wonder about the output spacings. High-medium-low doesn’t really tell us much. I sure wish these marketers would be a bit more specific about their products, and that is one of the things I really appreciate about I-O. I might be paying $26, but I know exactly what I’m buying and I’m much less likely to be disappointed.
Every time I come in here, somebody forces me at gun point to buy a new flashlight.
Now I have on order a brand new ZIAOZHI in NW.
So what am I supposed to do with the 2 other 2100s I already have (includes a 5 mode by E1320)??
BTW, I think the name is pronounced Zao-zee
Did you all know that the Olight holster that wallbuys is selling fits the 2100 types perfectly, I have 2……bought at full price……GRRRRRRR
It’s very well made and a steal for the $3, if you don’t mind the Olight logo on it (subdued).
I don’t know about fasttech’s driver and emitter, but I know that the Convoy S3 host pictured there accepts protected batteries.
I wish I had seen the S2 sooner on FastTech: I had just ordered the C20 EDC DIY kit intending to build the same light; by the time I add a driver and emitter, it would have been cheaper to buy the S2. The C20 is 1mm thinner/9mm shorter per the specs; maybe I won't be too sad...
nice!
i was just going to recommend the roche f12. this little light is built tough and feels good to the hands. but if you say the $16 from wall buys is brighter…then i dunno
i have the e1320 modded 2100, roche f12, and the hd 2011.
the roche f12 throws the furthest, but the hd 2011 has the biggest flood and also looks to be the brightest. but is also the lowest quality light imo.
but now that trustfire t2 got my interest since gords says its the best throw of the bunch. how bright and floody is it?
I am thinking about buying one of the Convoy lights on FastTech. However I have no idea what I am looking at when the specs show XM-L, U2, T4, etc. Can someone give me a quick lesson as to what the advantages are with the various lights?
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1/10002364/1192700-convoy-s3-cree-xm-l-u2-3-mode-350-lumen-edc-led-fl
I would really appreciate the help.
PS I received a
Black XIAOZHI CREE XM-L T6 LED 1x18650 Two Group mode Flashlight yesterday. I am wondering how this one compares with the Convoy lights?
I have a Ultrafire 2100.
Regards,
Jerry
So what do you think of this light ?
Hi jerry. This post covers the driver options and pro’s/cons of each.
The two digits at the end 5c 7c etc are emitter tints, I suggest reading up on scaru’s emitter thread for all the info on this.
When you ordered the xiozhi, did you go for the 3c tint?
What fastechs convoys offer is the opportunity to experiment with neutral white or warm white tints for not much money, and choose run time (4*7135) over output and overheating (8*7135). It’s a very good buy to be honest. But I would use it as a chance to see if you like neutral or even warm tints over cool white.
Personally, I like 4c myself but I am still experimenting to find my ideal. It does make more of a difference than you’d think, I wouldn’t buy a u2 option as this could just duplicate your recent purchase.
I built the intloutdoor host with a u2, and to be honest, it’ll get pulled soon as I much prefer the tint of my t2 with an xp-g 4c to the 1c of the u2.
Hi Jack,
I like the XIAOZHI, but not really better than the 2100. I like the capability to choose the 3 mod option. I do notice that the threads are better than the 2100. I wish they had the option of using two cr 123 batteries.
gords1001,
Thanks for the help. I should have also asked about the mA figures like 1050, 1400, etc. I notice that they go to 2800 mA. I do not know if the figures refer to the load or what. I would assume that the one that used 1050 mA would have longer run times. I don’t know how much more time we are talking about, however.
My own preference would be for longer run times, but how much brightness would I lose using the 1050 mA light vs the 2800 mA?
You can see I am not knowledgeable at all here.
I ’kinda hate to ask what is the difference between the S2 and S3 versions?
As for the tint on the XIAOZHI I went for the T6 because it was cheaper, and I did not know what it meant anyway.
I bookmarked the tint chart Garry, and thanks.
Thanks for the help.
Jerry
Lots of good info in that thread gords posted above including discussion on S2 vs. S3. I also linked Match's thread on XM-L (& other emitters) testing (output at various current levels) in post #6 in that thread - here is link to Match's test (note that a T6 bin was tested, so U2 would be slightly higher). At 1050mA you're looking at +/-395 lumens, vs. +/-852 lumens at 2,800mAh according to that chart. (Bookmark that thread too - I reference it all the time.)
-Garry
Looks like a good host to me. I almost bought one myself.
-Garry
Neckdo, that host looks pretty good price wise, I’d guess it needs a 16mm star as it doesnt seem to say, at 1.4a you’ll have plenty of run time and good flood with the xm-l/op reflector, and its unlikely to over heat.
For both you and Gerry, a typical high current for xm-l is 2.8 - 3.0a (2800ma - 3000ma) you can go higher in the right host, but I wouldn’t want to in an edc, their just not big enough, one of my edc’s runs at 1.7a (trustfire t2, nw xp-g) one at 2.6a (edc 18650, u2 1c) one at 2.8a (xiozhi xm-l 3c). All get hot on high fairly quick (minutes) if your not holding them in hand. I use medium and low mostly, so 1.4a would be my medium on two, 1a is close to the t2’s medium all three have usefully high lows, I could easily go lower but they are not uncomfortable when used as night lights when the baby wakes up or checking the other kids.
I hope all this helps.