The LEP Flashlights discussion thread - discuss LEPs here

It will take normal 14500

Nice!

So 165 lumens and 87k lux.

About what I expected. I figured this wouldn’t be over 200 lumens, much less the 500 lumens of other LEPS.

However, I do wonder if there is room for improvement via modding. If the laser module will actually take more wattage, this one might be a LEP that could see a substantial boost to output power from either modding or replacing the driver.

Any word on if there will be a group buy?

any good video on the difference between LEP and LED flashlight?

I don tknow what LEP is

Funny name: Lumintop Thor Mini Ant Man

I will have one on the way.. curious how it performs.

A white LED consists of a blue Light Emitting Diode (LED) with a layer of yellow phosphor on top. When the blue light from the LED passes through the phosphor some of it is absorbed and emits emits red and green light. A mix of all 3 colors is emitted and together to form white light.

LEP (Laser Excited Phosphor) uses a blue laser instead of an LED as the light source. There are two styles of LEP.

  • I think the oldest type of LEP flashlight on the market is the one that Wicked Lasers at least 5 or more years ago. The Wicked Lasers LEP wasn’t released as a standalone flashlight, but rather an addon module you could stick on one of their lasers. The blue laser beam shines forward and hits a diffraction grating that breaks up the beam (slightly opaque white diffuser material). In front of the diffraction grating is yellow phosphor. The diffuse blue laser beam then shines through the phosphor which emits red and green light. All 3 mix together to form white light.
  • Some newer LEP flashlights have a slightly different arrangement. The nozzle of the laser projects into the optic compartment. The beam hits a small reflector mounted in the center of the lens and is then directed backwards onto phosphor positioned next to the laser nozzle. This type has the disadvantage of there being a rectangle in the middle of the lens blocking some of the output.

The advantage of LEP is the the light it produces is much more intense than LED. This makes LEPs the king of throw. A similar output and sized LEP should easily out throw a comparable LED light.

All current LEP lights are designed for throw and use aspheric lenses. You get a tiny intense circle of light that has no spill and is probably completely useless for anything up close (except as a pointer or cat toy). But at the same time you can see things incredibly far away with it that might require a much bigger LED light.

The Wicked Lasers LEP had a reflector instead of an aspheric lens. I wonder if any current flashlight manufacturers will make a LEP with a reflector.

Check out THIS video of member @vestureofblood

Less graphs and data, but interesting beamshot comparison with addition of at least one led flashlight.

Battery is not proprietary, just a standard 14500 button top. Built in charging would just make it bigger than it needs to be, point of this light is to be small.

Love the animation in your signature!

:laughing: Thanks, I’ve had it forever don’t even remember where I found it at.

They built in the charging in the battery… Go figure…

There’s 2 options for sale on AE: with and without the cell.

The optional 14500 they include has USB-C charging and is button top, so probably quite a bit over 50mm long.

I’m not sure if it will take flat top 14500 cells.

If they can manage to cram in charging into the battery, why not just deliver it with a full sized battery, full capacity and build I t the charging in the flashlight. They can make it fit in a small battery, they should be able to make it fit in a flashlight…

New incoming from Nextool.

Looks to be one of the highest lumen ratings of an LEP. Very Expensive!

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003477698394.html

I'm currently reviewing it, together with the Maxtoch L2Ks (single cell version of the best LEP below $2000)

1 Mcd for a 900 lumen LEP flashlight sounds a bit underwhelming.

It does make 900+lumens, but I haven't measured throw yet. I wonder what the difference is between this and the others.. 900 lumens is double the others

New thread / poll about built in charging here: Do you like charging built in to a flashlight?

Sounds like a larger phosphor? Larger spot (lower cd/lm) and higher lm/W

Maybe they give a little bit more Ampere.

Maybe 4A to get the 900 Lumen.

Regards Xandre

It is a LED light with the charactaristics of an laser light. I think it has a fresnel lens.

Robert