HighlanderNorth
Flashlight Enthusiast
I dont fully understand how this "bin" issue works. I know that some light manufacturers sell their lights with a certain tint bin, while with other lights its like playing the lottery! I bought a thrunite Ti and got it in like 5 weeks ago. Then I ordered 2 more different colored ones(green and gold), but when they got here and I compared the beams, there is a big difference in the tints of the XP-E LED's in them. To be accurate, there seem to be 2 different tints between these 3 lights.
Then there's the Luma D-Mini ex2 I bought with an XM-L T6 that was about as blue as those cheap 5mm LED's you get in $4 lights, but another guy here said his tint was fine in his D Mini. Sent it back due to that and other issues. I have other lights with T6's that came in white, yellow, greenish, and blue-ish. They are all over the map as far as tint is concerned.
So how does this happen? How are some companies able to ensure that "their" lights come with a certain tint binned XM-L, or XP-G or whatever, but with other lights its a roll of the dice?
When Cree makes these things, do they come out with random tint bins, and then Cree separates "some" of them out into different bins, but leave the rest all mixed up so that you never know what you are getting?
Or do they have control of what tints they produce, so they can send "certain" companies the desired tint bins, and they just send these "other" companies whatever bins they have in stock at the time of the order?
It seems really unusual to me. Its like if you went to Lowes or Home Depot to buy white paint, but when you get home, you never know whether you will get white, or yellow, or blue, or green! Whats with the lack of consistency in the LEDs sent to most companies, but total consistency to other companies? Do those companies have to pay more for the "favor" of being sent consistent and desirable tints in their products?
Then there's the Luma D-Mini ex2 I bought with an XM-L T6 that was about as blue as those cheap 5mm LED's you get in $4 lights, but another guy here said his tint was fine in his D Mini. Sent it back due to that and other issues. I have other lights with T6's that came in white, yellow, greenish, and blue-ish. They are all over the map as far as tint is concerned.
So how does this happen? How are some companies able to ensure that "their" lights come with a certain tint binned XM-L, or XP-G or whatever, but with other lights its a roll of the dice?
When Cree makes these things, do they come out with random tint bins, and then Cree separates "some" of them out into different bins, but leave the rest all mixed up so that you never know what you are getting?
Or do they have control of what tints they produce, so they can send "certain" companies the desired tint bins, and they just send these "other" companies whatever bins they have in stock at the time of the order?
It seems really unusual to me. Its like if you went to Lowes or Home Depot to buy white paint, but when you get home, you never know whether you will get white, or yellow, or blue, or green! Whats with the lack of consistency in the LEDs sent to most companies, but total consistency to other companies? Do those companies have to pay more for the "favor" of being sent consistent and desirable tints in their products?
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