Solarforce M8 XML throw??

[tmackie]

Hey everyone,

I can't find a detailed review on the M8 anywhere. (Hint Selfbuilt :thumbsup

I have a Quark Turbo 123^2 R5 and a Lumintop TD15-X and am looking for something with even better throw for night time varmint control used with an AR-15.

I am looking to stay under $120 and the M8 is very intriguing indeed. I can run it with one or two 18650 cells and stay well under budget.

Can anyone shed any light on the beam pattern and throw of this light relative to the Turbo and TD15X?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[lightmyway]

How about the Solarforce Masterpiece Pro 1,very long tight throw, or the Zeno G42 ,with excellent throw and lights up more area, i have both and like the versatility and great beam of the G42.

 

[EZO]

I've been interested in the M8 since I first heard about it but so far no serious reviews and until now no good beam shots. We'll just have to wait awhile until the light is in greater distribution.

In the meantime, Duglum, a member from Germany posted an outstanding resource for beam shots where you can compare almost 150 flashlights and that can be found HERE. It's in German but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. See image 132 - Lumintop TD15 and image 030 - Solarforce M8 XM-L. No Quark Turbo yet though.

 

[Craig K]

Great link EZO

 

[EZO]

I have a Quark Turbo 123^2 R5 and a Lumintop TD15-X and am looking for something with even better throw for night time varmint control used with an AR-15.

Just an afterthought here tmackie but if you plan to mount an M8 on your AR-15 you may need to find out how well it will perform under recoil. A lot of otherwise excellent lights will not hold up well or damage their batteries. Most reviewers have no reason to consider this but I know there are threads here on CPF that discuss and analyze this issue. As an example, one reason that Surefires are called Surefires is that they are designed to handle any shocks you throw at them and their battery tubes, springs and other parts are designed for recoil. Another example are the 4Sevens Maelstrom models that prominently state in their descriptions, "Shock-mounted battery design holds the batteries firmly inside to the body of the light, avoiding self-destructive battery movement. The light is ready to be weapon mounted."

I've always found the guys at SolarForce to be pretty friendly and responsive about questions I've asked them or in handling customer service issues. Might be worth sending them an email before you buy this light for this purpose, assuming you do indeed intend to mount the light on your firearm.

I'm excited about the M8 and I plan to order one.

 

[EZO]

Great link EZO

Yeah, it is a great link! Duglum is the one to thank really. Here's his recent thread where I got the link in the first place.

 

[srfreddy]

The TD15X won't take recoil, and I don't think the M8 will, but I'm not sure. The TD15X has a solid, very raised positive terminal, that rendered one of my cells unusable after I dropped it onto tile (hammered the front of the battery in)

 

[3Diver]

Comparing the M8 vs TK35 the M8 will out throw it by alot but where it excels in one point it lacks the spill of the TK35 workmanship on the M8 is ok not the best but its excellent for the price would give it a 7.5/10

 

[tmackie]

I've been interested in the M8 since I first heard about it but so far no serious reviews and until now no good beam shots. We'll just have to wait awhile until the light is in greater distribution.

In the meantime, Duglum, a member from Germany posted an outstanding resource for beam shots where you can compare almost 150 flashlights and that can be found HERE. It's in German but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. See image 132 - Lumintop TD15 and image 030 - Solarforce M8 XM-L. No Quark Turbo yet though.

Thanks for the link EZO

Hard to tell alot from those shots IMO. The JetBeam RRT0 that I have looks similar to the TD15X in the beamshot but in reality the TD15X has a lot more throw.

 

[tmackie]

The TD15X won't take recoil, and I don't think the M8 will, but I'm not sure. The TD15X has a solid, very raised positive terminal, that rendered one of my cells unusable after I dropped it onto tile (hammered the front of the battery in)

Thanks for the heads up on the TD15X srfreddy. I looked at both it and the Maelstrom G5 in Going Gear's store and the battery contacts looked the same (at least I thought they did) and I know the G5 can handle recoil. But I will be careful. I have ran the TD15X on my AR15 with no problem as of yet but then again the 5.56 Nato round doesn't have much recoil.

So, if I'm on the wrong track here, what's the best option under my $120 shipped limit that gives the most throw and can take 5.56 Nato recoil??

Thanks

 

[EZO]

Hard to tell alot from those shots IMO. The JetBeam RRT0 that I have looks similar to the TD15X in the beamshot but in reality the TD15X has a lot more throw.

Your observations are useful. Thanks. Sometimes I think the best thing to do is just go buy the thing. I'm in the market for a good thrower and I think I may just have to order a Solarforce M8 and find out for myself how well it works for my purposes.

Hey, if you are not already familiar with it check out fonarick.com (a Russian site) for another excellent source of beam shot comparisons. In fact, they are likely more real world useful than the German site. Unfortunately, they don't feature some of the lights we've been discussing (like the Solarforce M8) but the TK-45 and TK-35 beam shots are impressive and are in fact the reason I haven't ordered the M8 yet.

 

[tmackie]

How about the Solarforce Masterpiece Pro 1,very long tight throw, or the Zeno G42 ,with excellent throw and lights up more area, i have both and like the versatility and great beam of the G42.

I just looked at the Xeno G42 and it looks very nice! I noticed it's shockproof - so weapon mounting is OK. My question is will it fit in a weapon mount?? It looks like all those cooling fins will get in the way. Do you have a photo of it weapon mounted? What mount do you use??

 

[tmackie]

Double post - sorry....

 

[amaretto]

I own a Solarforce M8 and Olight M3X.
M3X outhrows M8. By the way M3X is the best thrower i tested so far.
But M8 is nice too, i like it because it's shorter than M3X though quality of Olight is better.

 

[lightmyway]

I just looked at the Xeno G42 and it looks very nice! I noticed it's shockproof - so weapon mounting is OK. My question is will it fit in a weapon mount?? It looks like all those cooling fins will get in the way. Do you have a photo of it weapon mounted? What mount do you use??

Sorry i don't have either weapon mounted...\mounting the G42 could be a problem the 1inch tube section is slightly over a inch and a quarter in lenght hope that helps..

 

[recDNA]

Although the site has the M3X and the M31 I don't think there is any way to do them side by side since they are in different sets of shots. The SR50 looked really good too. Olights seemed to dominate.

 

[FrankD5]

Thanks for the link EZO

Hard to tell alot from those shots IMO. The JetBeam RRT0 that I have looks similar to the TD15X in the beamshot but in reality the TD15X has a lot more throw.

If you compare both shots (RRT-0 and the TD15) I think you will see a little difference!

RRT-0

TD15X

 

[duffman]

I own a M8 and I would like to say that I am not a big fan of the AI switch that comes with it. Its a bit annoying changing modes.

 

[EZO]

I own a M8 and I would like to say that I am not a big fan of the AI switch that comes with it. Its a bit annoying changing modes.

How's the other switch it comes with? Also, are the M8 switches legoable with other SolarForce/6P lights? As far as I know they are but I'm still not 100% certain. If they are, I might consider a McClicky upgrade when I order an M8 depending on my experience with the switches it comes with.

 

[Fatso]

How about a Jetbeam RRT-1 for mounting on a riffle. It's built for it!
I have the RRT-1 R2 version and It throws excellent! I can't say about the R5 version??