I’ve never modded any light, ever. Not that comfy with such work. Not saying I couldn’t do it, but I’ve never thought of trying it. I don’t know a thing about doing it either. So, I think unless it would be a really good benefit to doing so, I would be better just buying OTC lights and enjoying them.
Hey robo819…howdy. Good to see neighbors hanging out on the same place. Do you do any hog hunting or know anything about it? If so, I’d like to know more about it as I have no friends here and don’t know a soul in Texas.
As for lights, there are just so many nice lights out there. Now that I think of it, my good light is a Convoy C8. I don’t know where the XinTD name came from. I know it’s a good little light, but I’d like to see what else is out there that might be better.
I’m also looking to get a new EDC light, something better than my Convoy M1 that I have now, which is also a good light but it just has a tint that I don’t like much. It’s a yellowish kind of tint and I like a whiter light. That’s in another thread I posted.
I’ll check out these suggestions guys. If you have others, please post them
Checkout the new acebeam L16, it should throw similarly to a modded C8, but with a more usable and brighter spill, and superior regulation. It will serve as a great EDC as well. Not budget but you’re getting all the latest tech in one light.
I used to coon hunt and did some hog hunting with dogs , but it has been a number of years now since I have been able to do either due to my back , as I have severe spinal arthritis that limits me a lot now days.
You know I have like 100 lights (many of them modded) sitting in there from 10440 sized up to the larger multi cell 18650 and 26650’s. If you think you might want to meet somewhere one Friday or Saturday evening just before dark or something , we could go somewhere like the Sam Houston State park , (which is around the halfway point for us both) I could bring 20 or 30 of the more elite of my lights for you to look over and test out there , to see if I have any that fit the bill what you are looking for maybe , in the thrower or the EDC either one.
I also have the XinTD , M1 and 3 (maybe 4) other C8’s that I modded , so you could see if those would be something you might want to have modded if you don’t want to try to do it yourself at this point , as I could mod out one of those for you if you like.
You didn’t mention the maximum form-factor (or price) you’d consider.
The XinTD is a great C8 which throws nicely. You can mod it or get a new C8 with XP-L HI, XP-G/-G2/-G3, or even dedome a G2 and push it kinda hard for the best throw.
If you’re going a-killin’, and want colored lights, you can get XP-E2s in red and green. Don’t push them too hard, though, as they’re physically smaller chips and current-density will go through the roof if you do, but you’ll get the smallest tightest hotspot possible. If you’re modding a C8 to take an XP-E2, make sure you get one with an XP-sized chip, not an XM-sized one, because you want the right-sized hole in the reflector.
Otherwise, if a bigger form-factor (and price) is okay, you can consider the Convoy L2, Maxtoch series (“designed by hunters for hunters”), or a big honkin’ aspheric like a Brinyte/Ultrafire (dunno model #s offhand) for all throw and no spill (basically throw a batsignal hunnerts of yards downstream).
In his category It surpassed all budget(and non budget) reflector lights in performance and not to mention it is lightest of them all.
1x 18650 320+ kcd beast
You should look into the haikelite sc01 while it’s still on sale. Great thrower with an xhp35 hi led. It’s a little shorter than a c8 but it is much thicker due to the 26650 it uses. Also has longer runtimes than most 18650 lights out there
I have a nitecore p30 that is quite good. Nice design and it’ll throw 600m for about $45 or so. Cool tint. I use it for orienteering but seems it was intended for hunting, they sell optional colour filters and gun mount kit etc.
I have recently ordered but not yet received a convoy c8 clear for about $17. Apparently throws 500m or So, big attraction in being able to get different tints other than CW. I ordered one in 4C.
I chose the C8F because of its singularity. Tracy Wan (from Sofirn) sent me a unit last Friday.
Had a few Q&A with him her last week. I was told this new C8 series uses a 17mm driver with dual MOSFET setup (high and low power). Besides this, she told me the MCPCB is 16.8mm (for a triple? we'll see).
Smooth reflectors, throw should be nice for the price. The advertisement throw figures are unbelievably low and senseless, at least for the C8A (XP-L2) and C8T (XP-L HI) versions imho.
I have some homework to do review wise. I am going to improvise a shunt with a few low value resistors and 0.1mm (≈3 oz) copper sheet, some short and thick cables and maybe low temp solder over the battery cathode to easen my life (LoL!). With it and a helping friend I should be able to measure the voltage drop in the shunt to accurately determine tailcap current with minimal losses. I aim for 4 or 5 R050s in parallel, not going lower as my multimeter is a tad outdated. Should be good.
I also need/aim for a way to calibrate my smartphone so I can get some sort of reliable candela figures at a given distance, suggestions?
I’m waiting for the triple XP-G, thinking that should be interesting for a C8, but later got to thinking that it probably won’t be as throwy as a regular C8, even with a single XP-G, just due to the smaller reflector per LED.
In a single, it has the huge reflector all to itself, but now, it’s sharing only a much smaller chunk of real-estate.
We’ll see. I’ve been impressed with Sofirn (especially that warm-white SF31… getting to really like that color!), so they probably got their sh-tuff in a row with the C8 family.
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Was going to make a S2+ triple. Got my 219Bs, got the triple mcpcb, got the Carclo optix (frosted), all ready to go… only to realise that my mcpcb’s 20mm and the S2+ pill is recessed for a 16mm board. Bugger. Now I definitely need the spacer. 10bux each from MTN, might just to have to get a couple extra for Future Builds.
Was wondering if the (longer) pill from a regular S2 would thread into an S2+, but I don’t think the threading goes in deep enough in the head to be able to do that, that I’d still need the spacer to push the pcb/optix closer to the end.
Damn, I really wanted a quick’n’juicy S2+ shorty triple 219B in a hurry!
Ironic that the spacer will cost almost 50% more (10bux vs 7bux) than the complete host!
Unless I’d go for the Al spacer… cheaper and much lighter. Ain’t gonna be using a FET driver or anything like that. Nah, I’ll stick with Cu.
The biggest developments in budget throwers in the past year are the Emisar D1S, Lumintop GT Mini, and the Astrolux C8. They’re all FET driven XP-L HI lights. The D1S and GT Mini throw about the same (700m, depending on the battery), and the C8 throws about 600m. The D1S and GT Mini both have great ramping UIs, and the C8 has the BLF A6 UI.
her last week. I was told this new C8 series uses a 17mm driver with dual MOSFET setup (high and low power). Besides this, she told me the MCPCB is 16.8mm (for a triple? 
we'll see).