Amongst others I currently have a Thrunite Ti2 and a Trustfire Mini-01 (also had an Ultrafire UF-T1 but gave it away) and have decided I don’t particularly like the twisty type lights. While they both perform well and I like both of them, I would prefer a clicky type torch. These have been relegated to the car centre console and one for just kicking around the house.
So I am coming to the BLF community to help me choose a new small form CLICKY torch.
Requirements:
Uses either AA, AAA, RC123a, 16340 size cells. I have a spare new Yezl 880mAh protected 16340 laying around so could use that.
At least as big as the Ti2 but preferably no bigger than say a Jetbeam BC10. (~92x25mm)
More after flood than throw but a bit of each would be nice. Not overly fussed with this one.
Cool white tint. Have considered trying a NW so throw out some suggestions for these as well.
Black anodized finish. Not fixed on black but I would prefer it.
No clip or one which is removable.
Not concerned about tail standing, or whether it has a smooth or OP reflector.
Not too concerned about number of modes but the little the better. If I can get something without strobe that would be awesome!
I understand this leaves me with quite a number of options from all different price brackets. I have looked at the Jetbeam BC10, Lumapower IncenDio V3+ and Thrunite Neutron 1C however they are reasonably expensive for such a small light. As far as cost is concerned I am not too concerned if I need to pay what the Jetbeam costs then so be it. In saying that I don’t want to spend money unnecessarily, if I can get the same performance as a $50 light from a $20 light I would obviously prefer the cheaper option. On the same token though, having recently bought a Thrunite TN30, TN31 and an XinTD C8 V4 I am far more inclined to stick to the better quality lights as I can certainly see the value in what I paid for those three.
So armed with that info, what are your suggestions? I am basically open to anything that mostly fits my requirements.
How about building yourself a custom light with ultra fire 602c host. It is decent quality, 16340, op reflector, no clip. You can choose whatever emitter and driver you like. Search on fasttech.com
There are many options from fenix too. Try search on amazon.
The Sunwayman is a very good price at the moment, it usually sells for $30-35 at most places and I’m sure it wont stay this price for long because Sunwayman is already on wallbuys back about the price of the D40A and they had to raise it to make them happy.
Thanks for the suggestion, I have changed the title to suit.
I am not overly concerned about the cell type, any of the ones listed in my requirements will suit me fine. To really narrow it down a 16340 would be good as I already have a spare one, however I have plenty of AA and AAAs lying around so it really doesn’t bother me.
I’m really only concerned about getting a small torch, as bright as possible which is nice quality.
Hi, at this stage I would really prefer to buy a ready built light. I have no experience in building my own so would not know what to be looking for or what to do with the bits if I bought them.
Thanks a lot for the other replies, I will take a look at them and see how they all compare.
Trustfire R5-A3! It has PWM on the low mode, but it’s really good.
Runs off AAs and 14500s (3x more powerful on the 14500), and is just a really well made light. Mine has taken a pretty big bashing. Throws quite well. I grinded down the crown bezel though so it wouldn’t tear a hole in my pants.
This looks like a great little light! I love how you can choose which emitter and it will run on the 16340 and RC123a. Any suggestions on the best place to buy one of those?
Would I be right in saying that the XM-L2 U2 emitter will give more of a flood beam profile than the XP-G2 R5?
Not necessarily too expensive. As I said, I’m happy to pay for it if its worth it. If paying $60 means I get $60 worth of light then I’m a happy man. It certainly looks pretty good at the moment. XM-L2 U2 emitter, 16340 capability, very compact, clicky, good quality. It’s ticking a lot of boxes. I will wait to see what else comes up and go from there.
How would the sunwayman R10A linked previously compare for output assuming the XP-G2 R5 D25C.
D25C with XP-G2 is 230 ANSI lumens.
R10A is 140 ANSI lumens on AA and 205 lumens on a 14500, I can’t find if that is 205 ANSI lumens on a 14500 but I would assume so.
25 lumens would be hard to tell the difference, the reflector would make the biggest difference in output but both appear to have OP reflectors.
Then again if you are after lumens the Archer 1A is supposed to be 300-400 lumens on a 14500 and from memory the XENO E03 V3 with XM-L2 thats 490 lumens and I think I read somewhere of a XP-G2 version of the XENO E03 as well somewhere but don’t remember how many lumens it was and cant find it with just a quick search.
If you don’t mind modding the light, then Trustfire F20 (Aurora SH-00271 looks the same but is black) modded with XML 3C tint, copper pcb and different driver. I love this light! It feels strong and has a nice square threads. Only thing that I don’t like on it is the O-ring used on lens - it is a bit thick and it may be pushed out of its place if you fasten the pill much. The clip is removable.
Xeno E03 is nice but I don’t like the mode spacing much.
TF R5-A3 is really nice but it is a bit “girly” if you know what I mean - Threads are much too fine for a flashlight (thin and long). It looks a bit brittle eventhough it is not. It has better heatsinking than F20. The clip is removable.
If you’re referring to the red/pink ring near the tail cap, it doesn’t look that bad. It’s pretty cheap (~$15) so you can just clip it to your dog’s collar and let him loose (I used to do this when he was a pup and we let him outside to poop). Although this like is pretty dated, it’s still quite cheap for what you get, and uses an XPG to give some nice throw
Yes an RCR123 is the same as a 16340. Watch on the EagleTacs, running on a 4.2v li-ion puts the light into direct drive - hence the HUGE lumen output. Trouble is it’ll heat up really quickly and you lose the modes. So it’s max and nothing else. Fine if you will only use it for short periods and never need to use it close up, but pretty useless as a torch to use.
I’m not sure if the latest ones retain modes now or not, if they do then max will likely be lower and more usable.
But it all depends quite what you are after I’m honest. 14500 and RCR123’s don’t have much capacity, and I personally find anything that outputs high lumens just gets too hot to be usable as falls out of regulation very quickly and suffers fairly poor runtimes.
A compact 18650 is often no bigger than many 14500 ones and only slightly bigger than an RCR123 one. While it will still get hot if it’s driven too hard, you can use batteries with 2600-3400mAh over the 500-700mah you get on the smaller batteries. That’s a huge difference in runtime and more importantly runtime while being regulated.
