Which LED to swap into C8 for close up cycling illumination?

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

I recently bought pair of C8 flashlights for cycling that came with XR/XP-E, not sure which ones Ive got, but that doesnt matter at the moment, they are both throwers and this is what matters...

One is brighter with bigger but smoother hotspot, the other is visibly less bright with smaller hotspot that isnt smooth, but both are throwers and I would like one of them to become flooder-close up light while the other one must remain thrower, I love to see far far away when cycling but I need to see whats right in front of me :D!

I could use some DIY frosting to smooth out the beam and turn the less brighter C8 into all-flood light...

OR I could order one of these:

XP-E2 - Match(?) loves these, they have throw and more lumens, so could be nice ideological upgrade to the brightest C8, but unless it comes in neutral, not sure I NEED this upgrade at the moment since my current brightest C8 has plenty of throw for bicycle riding

XP-G2 - people say it has more lumens per watt, brighter, with better throw than XP-G, yet has rather usable spill and should be available in neutral, but is it already available in neutral? Also, its not likely to be floody enough to be used as main close up light on bicycle, right?

This leaves with last, perhaps, the best of the three, XM-L - its floody, has some throw, should be perfect for lighting up the road for closer distance and by closer I mean starting from right in front of bicycle and up to, say, 10-15 meters? Even more, XM-L has plenty of variations that come in neutral/warm tints, which I believe is very important for close illumination since these tints give you better depth perception which I find crucial.

So, fellow riders, modders, tinkers and those with obsessive compulsive light hoarding, Im asking for your help, your wisdom, you experience, oh please, share it with me, the uninitiated :D!

Thanks!

(Oh and another one - I want to upgrade only LED star and thats its, no driver upgrades for me at the moment)

2

If all you want is flood and a good tint, why not go with a Cree MC-E? That's the one thing they do really well. ;)

EDIT: Or you can go XM-L and install an OP reflector. That should work great.

3

What Johnny said...

Personally I would say that it is the reflector, more than the led, that makes it a thrower. Buy an XM-L and an OP reflector, or stipple the current reflector, or better yet, put a piece of clear tape on the lens and stipple the tape, so you can remove the tape, if you don't like pure flood. (Or buy some of the frosted tape).

4

I want that LED to be as efficient as possible, ie, as many lumens per watt as possible, wouldnt want to waste battery life :stuck_out_tongue:

MC-E you say, isnt it old tech?

5

It’s still a remarkably efficient emitter despite it being older tech.

6

To make the c8 flood good then OP reflector with an xml would be hopefully what you want. The good thing with the c8 lights is that there is alot of parts for them try slightly different setups. Try it with a smooth then a OP and then dicide what you want it to look like as others have stated.

7

MT-G2 maybe? It even has 90 CRI edition (or, if you want more lm/W, 80 CRI at 4000-5000K)

8

LOL, where do I find all these exotic LED’s for cheap :D?

9

For 10-15 metres worth of illumination, you could possibly go with an XM-L and then with the lens, sand that down to create a frosting effect. That’s what I did (the lens) with an UltraFire C2 that has an MC-E in it. The light in question and the effect of the sanding can be seen in the album below:

Tint Comparison - Album on Imgur *

*In the second picture, it’s the one in the middle, and its beam quality, can somewhat be seen in the second last picture of the album, but admittedly, it’s not that great of a beamshot.

10

Neutral 3C XML and a sputtered reflector ...

11

If the driver was originally for XP-E, it probably supply as low as 0,8A only. You aren't going to have lot of light from a XM-L at that low current. Add the price of a driver too and maybe, considering the hassle, it's better for you to sell one of them as is and buy another light for flood

12

You’ll have about the same amount of light, but with clearly less throw. Also I recommend d-c-fix diffuser film. It’s cheap, simple and even removable. PM me if you want a sheet.

13

Thanks alot for your help, folks!

Looks like that the first thing Im gonna try is do it McGyver style, with tape at first :D!

And Rockspider, thanks, somehow that thought didnt even cross my mind ;)!
I dont have DMM and its going to be some week or two at best till I get a new one, only then will I be able to tell how much goes to LED and whether upgrade to XM-L will be worth it or useless!

14

Here is a link to a replacement OP reflector for the C8 for just $3.89

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/416mm-aluminum-op-reflector-for-ultrafire-c8-p-6091