State of the art, today?

[JackLewis]

For me, the most radical lighting technology advancement lately would be LEP, Laser Excited Phosphor. Considering the time that Muyshondt was considered the latest and greatest, probably the best thrower out there was saabluster's DEFT lights. Now, these LEPs have nearly twice the CD and in a smaller form factor.

Now, how useful are they and whether they are better, that's purely subjective. As a flashaholic, part of my enjoyment is to shine light at objects just for the sake of it and make the light dance around. And based on that, LEPs can provide quite the entertainment value.

Hey, yep, I had read about these just a little bit. Astonishing technology. And hopefully, like other tech, it'll continue to get smaller and better.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Also worth adding to the list is the Oveready BOSS equipped with the MOFF body -

Future BOSS 70 - Milled & Buffed 7075 + Stainless Crenellated (BTO) - OVEREADY

Built to order (BTO) and hand buffed, this limited edition BOSS offers both a rare finish and more LED options. Please allow additional time for assembly. Milled & buffed head with polished stainless crenelated bezel. Plus milled & buffed body with polished titanium speed clip. Switch and lens...

www.oveready.com

I apologize for the huge picture.

 

[badtziscool]

Hey, yep, I had read about these just a little bit. Astonishing technology. And hopefully, like other tech, it'll continue to get smaller and better.

Oh, they get pretty small. This is a 14500 sized LEP light. https://lumintop.com/product/ant-man/

 

[SYZYGY]

Also worth adding to the list is the Oveready BOSS equipped with the MOFF body -

those are pretty cool, too. i don't follow those (or lux-rc) too closely because they're more than i'm willing to spend on a flashlight, but i'm pretty sure they use lux-rc drivers.

Sorry — I genuinely couldn't quite get your meaning. The truth is those lights are so (relatively) cheap it's hard to believe. The Zebras, I mean — I'm unsure how much the Lux-RCs cost?

actual lux-rc lights are even more expensive, btw. >$1k

here is what i like about zebralight:

more or less industry-leading, high-efficiency driver design. 12 brightness levels (6 are convenient to get to based on which you select), including sub-lumen moonlight modes. unibody construction for superior heat transfer / thermal efficiency. they are also among the most compact lights, especially relative to their output and thermal performance. sc64 series is just a bit larger than an 18650.

what directly competes with it? afaik, nothing. but also worthy of consideration is emisar. some of their lights have high efficiency (boost) drivers, but they don't have moonlight. overready boss probably competes with it as well, but it costs >$500. also, whoever makes the drivers for the boss makes really cool lights too. the name escapes me. but irrc those cost >$1k and are in limited runs.

i think a lot of good (or at least interesting) stuff has been mentioned already. even the fraz labs QTC lights! which are pretty cool but not really for me i think.

i'll jump into some specific recommendations now.

for a headlamp, i like h600c

https://www.zebralight.com/H600c-Mk-IV-18650-XHP502-4000K-High-CRI-Headlamp_p_235.html

by far my most used light is sc64c le. look how tiny it is. very pocketable.

https://www.zebralight.com/SC64c-LE-18650-4000K-High-CRI-Flashlight-Limited-Edition_p_239.html

the stock emitter on that is ok, but i prefer:
Nichia 219B R9080 sw35 3500K -- neutral looking
Nichia 519A R9080 sm353 3500K dedomed -- warmer
you can mod it yourself or buy one from @Bob_McBob

the emisar lights are fun, but i don't like the anduril firmware as much as ZL for everyday usage. i also don't care about the colorful "aux" leds and other gizmos. though there are boost drivers finally, the build quality and thermal performance is also not as good as ZL, and also there is no moonlight (very dim) mode. i think emisar qualifies as state of the art though in terms of all kinds of cool options you can request.

however, if you are in the market for a lantern, this is a good way to try anduril:

【Ship From USA】Sofirn BLF LT1 Anduril 2.0 Rechargeable Lantern

This link is only for people located in USA, order will be sent from California. If you want to buy together with other models, please make sure they are all shipped from USA. 🔦Emitter: 8 x LH351D(4 x 5000K 90CRI + 4 x 2700K 90CRI) 🔦 Long Runtime: powered by 4* 3000mAh batteries, the maximum...

www.sofirnlight.com

overall, it is the best lantern on the market afaik.
i actually like anduril in a product like this because it has a flickering mode which sounds bad but is nice in practice.
the main thing that i don't like about this lantern is that it very tragically has a linear (i.e. inefficient) driver, but it somewhat makes up for it with 4x 18650s for runtime.
the only improvements i can imagine are a higher efficiency driver and 4x 21700 batteries.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Matched Pair. This is what is carried on our nightly dog walks. FrazLabs qt 26mm optic and Emisar D-1 compact thrower with the excellent 519a dedomed 5600K (which gives snow a mild firelight cast compared to the nice 5000K white from the Samsung emitter in the qt)

 

[KITROBASKIN]

SYZYGY, that Emisar D1 has a white illuminated switch that is amazingly good for night adapted eyes at close-up navigation. State of the art for me.

Also respect your thoughts that the Fraz light may not be for you.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Those times when the smile gets wiped off your face; like a search situation.

About 12grams difference from the EagTac but the 26650 battery in the Lumenite ll can go the distance. It gets used for nightly ceiling bounce near bedtime, as well as dog walks when a wider hotspot is desired. Also 5000K.

People can scoff but carrying a backpack for gear and similar weight in each hand keeps the body in better balance when stamina is required.

 

[SYZYGY]

Also respect your thoughts that the Fraz light may not be for you.

well.. maybe it could be! is there a good review somewhere? pretty curious about how low it can go in output and also how the efficiency is across the output range (and how cell voltage affects efficiency).

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Good questions. There's no electronics to heat up or buzz, only resistance between connections. The piston and positive contact with the battery seem to be brass.

QTC? Good question regarding efficiency, though inclined to think once again it is not an integrated circuit with all that entails.

 

[JackLewis]

those are pretty cool, too. i don't follow those (or lux-rc) too closely because they're more than i'm willing to spend on a flashlight, but i'm pretty sure they use lux-rc drivers.



actual lux-rc lights are even more expensive, btw. >$1k

here is what i like about zebralight:



i think a lot of good (or at least interesting) stuff has been mentioned already. even the fraz labs QTC lights! which are pretty cool but not really for me i think.

i'll jump into some specific recommendations now.

for a headlamp, i like h600c

https://www.zebralight.com/H600c-Mk-IV-18650-XHP502-4000K-High-CRI-Headlamp_p_235.html

by far my most used light is sc64c le. look how tiny it is. very pocketable.

https://www.zebralight.com/SC64c-LE-18650-4000K-High-CRI-Flashlight-Limited-Edition_p_239.html

the stock emitter on that is ok, but i prefer:
Nichia 219B R9080 sw35 3500K -- neutral looking
Nichia 519A R9080 sm353 3500K dedomed -- warmer
you can mod it yourself or buy one from @Bob_McBob

the emisar lights are fun, but i don't like the anduril firmware as much as ZL for everyday usage. i also don't care about the colorful "aux" leds and other gizmos. though there are boost drivers finally, the build quality and thermal performance is also not as good as ZL, and also there is no moonlight (very dim) mode. i think emisar qualifies as state of the art though in terms of all kinds of cool options you can request.

however, if you are in the market for a lantern, this is a good way to try anduril:

【Ship From USA】Sofirn BLF LT1 Anduril 2.0 Rechargeable Lantern

This link is only for people located in USA, order will be sent from California. If you want to buy together with other models, please make sure they are all shipped from USA. 🔦Emitter: 8 x LH351D(4 x 5000K 90CRI + 4 x 2700K 90CRI) 🔦 Long Runtime: powered by 4* 3000mAh batteries, the maximum...

www.sofirnlight.com

overall, it is the best lantern on the market afaik.
i actually like anduril in a product like this because it has a flickering mode which sounds bad but is nice in practice.
the main thing that i don't like about this lantern is that it very tragically has a linear (i.e. inefficient) driver, but it somewhat makes up for it with 4x 18650s for runtime.
the only improvements i can imagine are a higher efficiency driver and 4x 21700 batteries.

That lantern is fantastic! Thanks!

 

[chillinn]

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That may very well be the creepiest thing ever posted on CPF, KITROBASKIN. Or the sexiest, either/or.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

That may very well be the creepiest thing ever posted on CPF, KITROBASKIN. Or the sexiest, either/or.

Creepiest ..... It was the gloves.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Atlas 375 xl nitrile from Vietnam.

Those flashlights can go so low in output, it is easy to accidentally leave them like that.

 

[JackLewis]

Good questions. There's no electronics to heat up or buzz, only resistance between connections. The piston and positive contact with the battery seem to be brass.

QTC? Good question regarding efficiency, though inclined to think once again it is not an integrated circuit with all that entails.

I've been trying to work out how the piston works, exactly, but I can't find a schematic or illustration, explanatory video, etc anywhere… do you happen to know of such a thing? Thanks either way!

 

[kerneldrop]

I've been trying to work out how the piston works, exactly, but I can't find a schematic or illustration, explanatory video, etc anywhere… do you happen to know of such a thing? Thanks either way!

Think of the piston as a brass nub that pushes against QTC fabric that allows current to pass go.
The harder you screw righty-tighty the harder the brass nub flattens the QTC and the more current that gets full-send.

 

[JackLewis]

Think of the piston as a brass nub that pushes against QTC fabric that allows current to pass go.
The harder you screw righty-tighty the harder the brass nub flattens the QTC and the more current that gets full-send.

That's how I was imagining it, but it still leaves me wonder how that makes it a piston, instead of just a lump. Could it be anything? Just a chiclet glued in there? Or is there something special about the brass, or the action it takes? And thanks!

 

[kerneldrop]

That's how I was imagining it, but it still leaves me wonder how that makes it a piston, instead of just a lump. Could it be anything? Just a chiclet glued in there? Or is there something special about the brass, or the action it takes? And thanks!

Just a tight fitting lump pressed fit. It's made to come out then go right back in its spot.

 

[SYZYGY]

Also worth adding to the list is the Oveready BOSS equipped with the MOFF body -

View attachment 39829

Future BOSS 70 - Milled & Buffed 7075 + Stainless Crenellated (BTO) - OVEREADY

Built to order (BTO) and hand buffed, this limited edition BOSS offers both a rare finish and more LED options. Please allow additional time for assembly. Milled & buffed head with polished stainless crenelated bezel. Plus milled & buffed body with polished titanium speed clip. Switch and lens...

www.oveready.com

I apologize for the huge picture.

either i'm a idiot, or they're idiots. one has to be true, but which is it?

does it seriously not say what type of cell their lights take anywhere on the website?!? absurd.

 

[idleprocess]

either i'm a idiot, or they're idiots. one has to be true, but which is it?

does it seriously not say what type of cell their lights take anywhere on the website?!? absurd.

Appears not to. But I'm going to speculate that the '70 models use 18650s and the '35 models 18340s.

There's an indirect tell on the header of their LEGO flashlights page:

FLASHLIGHTS
20 = 18350 twisty • 35 = 18350 clicky • 70 = 18650 clicky

 

[KITROBASKIN]

70 bodies can use two cells but need to be programmed to do it. When ordering, a person can specify the UI configuration. It is fun to program a BOSS for the most part.