Hi, I am new to the forum and to high powered flashlights so I need some help building up my flashlight collection. I made some impulse buys on ebay for a few flashlights from china before I knew this site is existed. I currently have a srk 7x, a convoy m2 with xm-l2, a trustfire c8 xml-t6, and an ultrafire z5 xml-t6. Opinions on these?? After doing some research on here I believe I made a bad decision spending $45 on the trustfire c8 because it seems as tho that is an older outdated led. I bought it because I love the way it looks. Any suggestions on modding it? I would like to make it as bright as possible so what driver and led would y’all recommend for it? Also, what are some suggestion for flashlights around the $50-$60 range as well as a few cheaper and compact flashlights? Looking forward to y’all comments!
Ultrafire is always hit and miss, basically because it isn’t really a real company. Loads and loads of people manufacture, or brand lights as Ultrafire. Some are ok, but many are not. Unless you want to take a complete chance, it’s always worth a quick Google to see if you can find a review. This goes for any torch really.
Convoy’s on the other hand have proven brilliant. Lots of places to buy from such as FastTech or Banggood, or direct from Convoy-Flashlights (a user here), he has an Ali Express shop or you can deal direct and use PayPal with them.
For instance the Convoy C8 is a really good torch for the money. $15-20 and you get to choose driver output and emitter bin. The Convoys are usually well built with good to high quality.
As for other lights, well I think these days there are 3 classes of lights:
-Something cheap (or built from cheap bits) budget lights. Hit and miss, although with modern parts they can all be usable lights. But often very low quality and very high variance.
-Slightly more pricey, but firmly budget. These are the likes of Convoy and Eagle Eye. Usually well built and good quality but more of your straight forward and ordinary style of lights. But often very good performers.
-Premium lights. These go from something like a Nitecore, JetBeam, Sunwayman to EagleTac, Fenix and much more expensive. These lights don’t always perform any better than the Convoy like lights do and tactile quality might not always be so different either. But lights in this category do tend to have funkier user interfaces and controls.
Some recommendations:
-Have a try with a zoomy. I’ve got on well with the Zeusray from Dealmetic.com and for $7.99 inc shipping it’s a steal.
http://www.dealmetic.com/product.asp?ID=FL05518
Very popular on here.
And for another pocket light, try the Convoy S2+ 18650. I would also highly recommend trying a Neutral White (NW) tint emitter. Much nicer imo than cool white that you find in most other lights.
The T6-3B is a very nice emitter to sample a NW tint.
Thanks! I think I’ll order the s2 because the zoomy you suggested is on back order.
Convoy S2 will be the most consistent quality out of China…best of the “budget” lights
The thing is with minor tweaking you can really make these stock lights MUCH better than what comes from the factory out of China
Look around and learn how to do the very basic tweaks such as
Spring Bypass/solder braiding the spring (involves soldering a 22ga or larger wire inside the spring to allow better current flow/lower resistance thru the spring, the light will shine brighter and run better)
If it comes with a stock flashy mode to get to off or the dreaded “next mode memory” then learn to either scrub a pencil across the capacitor on the MCU or solder a 300~K 0805 resistor to allow it to bleed the voltage of inside the capacitor at a slow rate in order for it to reset back to it’s 1st mode, usually high, thus when you turn it off for a few seconds it resets back to default rather than continuing on to the next mode the next time you turn it on
Learn to solder larger emitter wires 22ga silicon wire is par for the course, large enough for decent current flow and very very flexible
Get heatsink compound in order to heatsink the star to the pill/body for better heat transfer (heat is the enemy to high power emitters, the faster you can wick it away, the brighter the emitter stays for longer)
any old timers wanna chime in
another thing…can you provide links to the flashlights you did buy…they seem ok…but they are basic flashlights…you will learn quickly, I guarantee it 
Convoy S2 is still the undisputed champ for a starter light :beer: :party:
You will probably regret buying it, because you'll end up buying more :evil:
Well then I guess I have to get a Convoy s2 to see what the hype is about lol! Any recommendations on what emitter to get in it?
I would suggest something in the “3” range. 3C, 3D, etc.
Just so you know, the S2 probably isn’t going to blow you away with it’s performance. It will be about the same as your M2. It is highly regarded because it is bright, but also very well made.
If you want something that will knock your socks off, you will most likely have to make it yourself, buy from a seller here on BLF, or check out the custom modified lights on MtnElectronics.com (most are unavailable/sold out at this moment)
Thanks pilotdog68 I guess I’ll start searching the diy theards of this site.
This may sound like a silly question but which is an all around better flashlight, a Srk 8x or the acebeam K40m? The acebeam is way more expensive but is it really brighter? Reason I’m asking is because someones has offered to buy my srk and if so I’d like something to replace it. I like the skyray but its terrible at a distance as I’m sure yall know. I could also invest in the 9x srk if thats any better.
No doubt the Acebeam is a better light, but I refuse to buy a premium light off the shelf. I only buy lights around $30 or less, and then do whatever needs to be done to make them better.
Likewise, I probably wouldn’t buy the 8x SRK either. Usually they are poorly made and are not built to handle the heat from a properly powered light.
There are many other options, but I would look into a Supfire M6 as a compromise. It’s bright to start with, but is also well-built to handle some modifications later on.
I’ll definitely get rid of my srk then. The only reason I brought up the k40m is because it is one sale for the next couple of hours from bg for $85 which seems like a good deal. I’m pretty tempted to just get it as a replacement to my srk because I need a powerful light for a camping trip in 3 weeks. Build quality aside, I am just curious as to how the brightness of the two compare? Any input on that? I also need to brush up on my soldering skills before I attempt any mods lol
no…keep the SRK…tweak it up…I am sure you can get it to be one heck of a powerhouse…
Not really alot to em…but some of the later models come neutered and will take some tweaking to ensure proper heat management…but they CAN be some mega light throwers…even stock…with decent batteries they are quite useful
i don’t have one, but I believe Acebeam is a reputable manufacturer and we can trust their lumen figures. They say 3000 lumens for the K40m, from an MT-G2 which has a beautiful tint. It is also a deeper reflector and single emitter, so it will throw much better than any SRK. It looks like a great light, and probably a great deal at $85. It’s just a little out of my own price range. I’m sure someone here has reviewed it.
@WarHawk-AVG
is there a video or a link for a better description of the tweaks whitout reading all the forum
thanks