Why are there no 4xAA flooders?

[bibihang]

I don’t know how do you define ‘throwy’. My Starrylight SA-22 throws 240m but it still have good spills.

[Serifus]

Even better, you can also leave a small ring around the outwe diameter near the bezel and still have a hotspot with all that diffused flood

[StorminMatt]

@bibihang

I don’t know how do you define ‘throwy’. My Starrylight SA-22 throws 240m but it still have good spills.

When I think of ‘floody’, I think of your typical Zebralight beam.

[saypat]

I would love a floody (4) AA light.

[ChibiM]

How about the the new thrunite?

Forgot the name.

Should be 4AA

[Boaz]

@gadabout

Perhaps it's market demand.

On the positive side, you can make a thrower a bit more floody with a diffuser or DC-fix but you can't go the other way!

I think it's a best of both worlds ...Add diffuser material and take it back off in 2 seconds .

turning flood into throw is much harder and has much greater losses . .. I waited a long time before trying out diffuser material and finally was forced to use it with some really horrible ringy beams ..

try it you'll like it .

[dangerous]

There’s a lack of mules in every format really.

[Chicken_Drumstick]

@StorminMatt

You have quite a few 4xAA lights out there. But they all have one thing in common: they’re all throw oriented lights. Why not a floody 4xAA light? Just because a 4xAA light is larger in diameter than a 1x18650 light, this doesn’t mean the light HAS to have a large, deep, throw-oriented reflector. You could just as well have a shallow, orange peel reflector for a nice, floody beam.

Throw is more dictated by reflector diameter rather than depth. Having a tiny 20mm reflector on the front of a 4AA light is possible, but I suspect many would see it as not making use of the physical space.

Maybe a multi emitter setup would be better. But then it adds cost.

The Led Lenser P14.2 is a 4xAA torch and very floody:
http://www.ledco.co.uk/content/productView.aspx?prodId=10

[Ricflair]

I have, in some cases, removed the reflector. With some lights, it gives some serious flood (aka mule). You can add some wax paper on the glass for a diffuser. Depending on the light, it works “ok”.

[ChibiM]

This is the one I mentioned..

it looks more of a flooder.. especially with the op reflector

its called the Thrunite TN4A

[ezarc]

@ChibiM

This is the one I mentioned…

it looks more of a flooder… especially with the op reflector

its called the Thrunite TN4A

I really cant get into stubby 4AA lights, I’ve owned 4 different ones and they all suffer from being too short to change modes comfortably with 1 hand.

Probably due to having large hands but I prefer the PA40 or Starry Light 4AA format of lights.

But if they made a 8AA version of this TN4A… that might be something I’d consider.

Also what is the XP-L LED? I haven’t read anything about it before.

Edit: just read some more google search results and ThruNite describes it as “the perfect compact thrower” on CPF.

Edit again: some interesting links on XP-L

Cree XP-L, XM-L performance in an XP size package

Cree XPL

If you liked XML you gonna love this The XLamp® XP-L LED is the first commercially available single-die LED to deliver breakthrough efficacy of up to 200 lm/w at 350 mA. The game-changing Cree® XLamp XP-L LED delivers an immediate performance increase of 50% or more as a drop-in upgrade for lighting designs based on Cree’s market-leading XLamp XP-G LEDs. As the brightest member of the industry’s only family of high-density-class discrete LEDs, the new XP-L LED redefines system performance, cost…

There was mention of XM-L output from a XP-G footprint or something along those lines.

I guess that LED would make for some good throwers.

[Ejected_Filament]

@ezarc

Also what is the XP-L LED? I haven’t read anything about it before.

Its been the subject of quite a bit of debate here, its essentially an XML on an XPG footprint.

Easier to make a triple XML like EDC is what most have suggested its good for, that and XML output from lights typically restricted to XPG

[ezarc]

Yeah just did a little reading on it, I’m surprised I didn’t read about it before and that more manufacturers don’t use it yet (that I know of anyway).

[chouster]

Yep, Thrunite TN4, 26,6kcd can’t call that a flooder. To me not even a SC600 is a flooder.

[ChibiM]

yes, but who knows those numbers are right...

at least it has an OP reflector, and it seems like not a very deep reflector either.. which would only help for more flood!

[Hikelite]

For hikes and walks in the woods a flooder is without a question the beam type to use.
If you use a thrower you can't see anything and you end up more stressed than anything. Anyone who has explored dense plant areas and dense wooded areas knows what I am talking about.
I can see all the time people in their apartments shinning throwers around on other buildings, that kind of proves throwers are more for show than actual use, especially since 90% of the people who don't not need a flashlight ask me: "how far does this flashlight throw" Guys that actually needs it for hardcore bike riding never asked me about the throw of a flashlight.

[StorminMatt]

@Hikelite

For hikes and walks in the woods a flooder is without a question the beam type to use.
If you use a thrower you can’t see anything and you end up more stressed than anything. Anyone who has explored dense plant areas and dense wooded areas knows what I am talking about.
I can see all the time people in their apartments shinning throwers around on other buildings, that kind of proves throwers are more for show than actual use, especially since 90% of the people who don’t not need a flashlight ask me: “how far does this flashlight throw” Guys that actually needs it for hardcore bike riding never asked me about the throw of a flashlight.

That’s for sure about floody lights and hiking. With a thrower, you get ‘tunnel vision’, and are not able to see around you. To make matters worse, the hotspot is often just WAYYYYY to bright compared to everything around you, which both exacerbates the problem and almost hurts your eyes. Not to mention that hiking often goes with camping. And a throwy light doesn’t work to well at lighting up a campsite or illuminating an area for task lighting.

[Woodfiend]

@Ricflair

I have, in some cases, removed the reflector. With some lights, it gives some serious flood (aka mule). You can add some wax paper on the glass for a diffuser. Depending on the light, it works “ok”.

On one light that I wanted more flood from I lightly sanded the lens with 400 grit sandpaper and it essentially made it frosted and scattered the light in a much wider pattern. If you had a light you weren’t concerned about or had extra lenses sanding them would be another option.

[Ronin42]

So thats what I do with all the old plain lens after I have bought new AR lenses. Good idea!

[flyboy]

Diffusion film is a reasonable solution, as is making your own “Orange Peel” reflector with some sort of clear finish from a rattle can. BUT, the best solution may be the Streamlight 4AA Propolymer light with the multiple LEDs. The single LED model is a good thrower, but also very usable. It has had good reviews ever since Candle Power Forums first tested it years ago! Good run time, bright, relatively inexpen$ive (This is the “Budget Light Forum,”right?) and reliable. No Gee Whiz factor, but, you could do much worse! :cowboy_hat_face: