SF C3/KL3 parts project

Here are a few pix of the C3 I pieced together using parts from Lighthound:



The result is a stable, bluish-white beam with good throw, and little sidespill. A bit lengthy, at 7 3/4 in (19.7 cm), but still handy.

Tailcap is a z48-HA.

~Steve

Nice. I used to consider that setup, but it was too expensive so I decided not. It also would work with 2xAAs (although not at the same brightness)

Mags said:

...It also would work with 2xAAs (although not at the same brightness)

Click to expand...

I didn't think the 2nd generation KL3 would work at 3 volts, but tried it on my 3BL+Z49, after reading the above post. It works! If a little dim.

Nice chunky little flashlight. Wonder how long a fresh SF123A battery would power the 2nd generation KL3?

:wave:Hi all, great flashlight site and have been a surefire flashlight fan for sometime. very hard to find surefire parts from where i am now. even there is a dealer here, it is very expensive.
Nice set up, i wanted to get the C3 body from lighthound as well but i already had a 6p with A19. just got hold of the new kl3 and i am very happy with the performance. the torch look more handsome now and has a very good throw. the old kl3 has better flood.

TrueNorth said:

Here are a few pix of the C3 I pieced together using parts from Lighthound:



The result is a stable, bluish-white beam with good throw, and little sidespill. A bit lengthy, at 7 3/4 in (19.7 cm), but still handy.

Tailcap is a z48-HA.

~Steve

Click to expand...

Welcome TrueNorth and smoking!

TrueNorth, thats a mighty nice setup you made. I love my KL3 on a 3 cell tube. The combination of runtime, throw, and brilliance is top shelf in my book.

Hey smoking, I have your exact setup. All black, so pretty. It lives in my backpack. I think the 2 cell tube is way to small for the KL3. To awkward to hold.

I also built my KL3 platform ala carte from Lighthound.

Shine on!

kelmo

How does the KL3 gen2 really throw? From the numbers alone it seems to outhrow even P60/P61. Is this true?

Comparing the KL3 to a P60/61 is kindda like comparing apples and oranges. The P60/61 do OK in the throw department, but they were never meant for monster throw.

The newer KL3 has an optic rather than a reflector. I think the optic is either similar to or is the same optic as that used in the KL1. If the KL3 mimics the performance of the KL1, then the KL3 is driving a Lux III at about 500mA, which does yield a good bit of useable light. Although they (the KL1 and KL3) have been characterized as long throwers, I wouldn't call them that. In the usual suburban environment, I'd call them good medium range throwers. The thing is that the character of the beam makes it seem as though the really throw, due to the lack of sidespill. They just kind of punch a hole in the dark.

As for the numbers, I would imagine that the KLs would have high lux reading, but this is misleading in terms of overall light. I think that the P series lamps put out more lumens.

kelmo said:

Welcome TrueNorth and smoking!

TrueNorth, thats a mighty nice setup you made. I love my KL3 on a 3 cell tube. The combination of runtime, throw, and brilliance is top shelf in my book.

Hey smoking, I have your exact setup. All black, so pretty. It lives in my backpack. I think the 2 cell tube is way to small for the KL3. To awkward to hold.

I also built my KL3 platform ala carte from Lighthound.

Shine on!

kelmo

Click to expand...

Thx, kelmo

Yes, I like the end result too. 3-cell + KL3 works well, with a good runtime (another member here posted real-world runtime data - IIRC, this should give about 6 hrs at close to full brightness, and diminish over 2 more hours of use).

Gotta love CPF for endless info on lights!

~Truenorth