P60 sized led drop-ins (part 3)

[red02]

The C2H uses either a 123 or 14500, so I thought with that low of a capacity it would be best to use IMR, and that the "below 5A" would be more applicable to 18650 cells. I'm still trying to figure out when the best time to use IMR over normal Li-Ions is..........

Even NiMH can handle the draw of the C2H boost circuit. CR123s can handle about 2A safely (the C2H boost circuit wont eat that much current anyway) and 14500s will work even better in terms of discharge characteristics. There are great charts and explanations over at the battery section.

[AlphaZen]

Even NiMH can handle the draw of the C2H boost circuit. CR123s can handle about 2A safely (the C2H boost circuit wont eat that much current anyway) and 14500s will work even better in terms of discharge characteristics. There are great charts and explanations over at the battery section.

Thanks again. The boost circuit of the C2H wouldn't be applicable once I put a Javelin head on it with a seperate P60 dropin, correct?

[simplec6]

What's the best choice for my needs:

Goal: I want the most OTF lumens for $200 or less that is well-made and durable.

The host will be a bored HA III C2 with A19 extender bored for two AW 18650's from overready with a McClicky hardpress.

Which drop-in should I go for?

[red02]

I am partial to Nailbender's Linger special (500OTF for ~ 50). He also makes SST90s for about 80.

[Midnight Oil]

Wow, deep pockets.

Try nailbender's sales thread. I believe he's got the goods you're looking for, and probably under 200 bucks.

[simplec6]

Just want to get the best there is on the market currently.

So for $200 or less, there is no P60 drop-in running on two 18650's that can do over 1000 OTF lumens?


Are there any options currently available that are similar to this offering from overready that are in stock?

"Triple Cree XP-G LED Regulated 1100 lumen P60 Drop In

• Fully regulated output between 4.8 and 9.5 volts
• Below 4.8v it drops out of regulation and continues running until about 3v
• 93% efficient driver with 2 lithium ion cells
• Integrated thermal overheating protection at 120C (248F)

This triple cree looks like a great drop in for two 18650's, any others that fit this bill?

[Ziemas]

Wow, deep pockets.

Try nailbender's sales thread. I believe he's got the goods you're looking for, and probably under 200 bucks.

+1

Nailbender would be the man to contact. His drop-ins are top notch, and his customer service is simply excellent.

[mr.snakeman]

+1

Nailbender would be the man to contact. His drop-ins are top notch, and his customer service is simply excellent.

I agree as well, he took the time to help me choose a good drop-in for my Ti Fireworm F1 and even tried out several so that I could get the tint that I wanted. Now my F1 sports a nailbender SST 50 P6 drop-in (perfect fit btw) and couldn´t be happier.

[Lischke]

I'm on a tight budget right now, but really need a cree to my lamp. Which one do you guys consider the best?

I want a good wide beam, lots of light and acceptable life span.

I know it's hard to find a good lamp for a low price, but one of them must stand out a little against the others, right?

[Black Rose]

Lumens factory is currently selling their Cree XR-E R2 lamps for $18.00 plus shipping ($1.85).

A great deal on a very high quality drop-in.

[Lischke]

It really looks quite nice, and the price is right.

Which one would you guys prefer, the three mode version or the one mode version?

Can't make up my mind about which I'm going to buy.

[^Gurthang]

BR,

Yep, +1 on the LF R2 based D26 drop-ins for cheap.

Also note that LF is now stocking XPG based drop-ins [single & 3 modes]

How 'bout an XPG shoot-out between LF, NB and Neo-F XPG drop-ins???

[pae77]

I'm on a tight budget right now, but really need a cree to my lamp. Which one do you guys consider the best?

I want a good wide beam, lots of light and acceptable life span.

I know it's hard to find a good lamp for a low price, but one of them must stand out a little against the others, right?

If you want a wide beam and not too expensive, you should consider a module with an XPG emitter in it. I got a 5 mode XPG module from DX for $14.16 shipped that is working great and I consider it a very good deal. It may not be as bright as some of the harder driven (e.g., 1.5 amp) modules available, but it is still very bright with a nice big hot spot and bright spill, and offers good runtime and efficiency. Only thing that I don't like is that it is 5 mode (with strobe & SOS) instead of 3 mode (just high, med, & low), but considering the price, I was willing to put up with it.

Those Lumen Factory modules sound very nice, especially the XPG ones, but at $28 they are a little more money. Probably worth it though, if you can afford it.

If you get a single mode module, you only have super bright high level with short runtime and will not have the option of running it at a lower power level for close up use or to get increased runtime if you should need it for some reason. Thus I think a 3 or 5 mode is more useful.

[fishx65]

What's everyone's take on the Solarforce XPG smooth reflector dropin? Was thinking about ordering a few.

[Black Rose]

It really looks quite nice, and the price is right.

Which one would you guys prefer, the three mode version or the one mode version?

Can't make up my mind about which I'm going to buy.

It boils down to what you prefer.

For me, if I was putting one is a 6P or a G2L, i'd get the single mode.
If it was for my Solarforce bodies, I'd get the 3-mode, as I like multi-mode lights (that don't have strobe and SOS).

[Lischke]

It boils down to what you prefer.

For me, if I was putting one is a 6P or a G2L, i'd get the single mode.
If it was for my Solarforce bodies, I'd get the 3-mode, as I like multi-mode lights (that don't have strobe and SOS).

I ordered the 3-mode version.

Think it can be good to be able to use less battery power sometimes when 100% isn't necessary.

How many lumens is it on 100%?

[Black Rose]

IHow many lumens is it on 100%?

Should be around 190 - 200 lumens OTF.

[Lischke]

Should be around 190 - 200 lumens OTF.

Cool. What do OTF stand for?

[Superorb]

Cool. What do OTF stand for?

Out The Front Lumens. It's always less than rated (emitter) lumens due to loss through the front lens and any other bouncing around before it leaves the reflector.

[Paul_in_Maryland]

Those Lumen Factory modules sound very nice, especially the XPG ones, but at $28 they are a little more money. Probably worth it though, if you can afford it.

I believe the 1-mode is currently on sale for about $18. I've read that the 3-mode is 1.0A on High, while the 1-mode is 1.2A. If so, the 1-mode should be brighter.

[pae77]

The XPG models which I was clearly specifically referring to in my previous post are not on sale, unfortunately. Neither the one mode nor the three mode, as of the time I made my first post on the subject. It's the XRE based models that are on sale.

The XRE models are great for throw but I personally find the XPG beam characteristics (bigger spot with bigger brighter spill, and more efficiency) more generally useful, even though they don't throw as well. So the one XRE module I already have will be enough XRE based modules for me. I would like to pick up one of those 3 mode "warmer" toned (5000-5500) XPGs though. I think I'll probably wait until hopefully those go on sale eventually.

[fishx65]

What's everyone's take on the Solarforce XPG smooth reflector dropin? Was thinking about ordering a few.

Anyone have one of these????

[Black Rose]

The XPG models which I was clearly specifically referring to in my previous post are not on sale, unfortunately. Neither the one mode nor the three mode, as of the time I made my first post on the subject. It's the XRE based models that are on sale.

They are most likely clearing them out.

Until the XP-G showed up, I thought the XR-E was great.
Now I have a bunch of XR-E drop-ins that will eventually get shuffled to the back of the drop-in box to make way for XP-G and Rebel based drop-ins (or I'll remove the XR-E LEDs and replace them with something more visually appealing).

[pae77]

The 5 mode XPG R5 (1 amp) module I got from DX for $14 (shipped) was an incredible bargain, imo. Perhaps I got lucky but the one I got has a flawless beam and a nice tint, assuming one is OK with cool white. I would guess its between 6,000 and 7,000 K. It has a large very bright hot spot and nice bright spill. Really puts out a lot of light on high powered by a single 18650.

The only negative is the presence of the Strobe and SOS modes which are annoying to have to cycle through when cycling through the other modes. But since it has memory, it always comes on at the mode it was last used in, so if I just use it on high, it's almost like having a single mode drop-in and I rarely see the other modes. But the low and medium are, of course, still available should they be needed to provide extended runtime in a power outage situation.

It seems very bright and gets pretty hot if left on high in candlestick mode for more than 10/15 minutes or so, but not so hot that one couldn't leave it running on high for longer periods of time. So I'm actually pleased that it's not driving the LED at much more than 1 amp on high (per manufacturer's specs, which I haven't verified yet).

In sum, I'm really pleased with the performance and beam of the XPG emitter and find it much more useful than the beam on the Solarforce XRE that I also have. I'm looking forward to getting some additional XPG based modules, preferably with slightly warmer tints and w/o the strobe and SOS modes. But for $14 shipped, I'm very satisfied and happy with the DX module.

[Lischke]

I got a question about the Lumens Factory D26 LED module.

This is what it says "-3V-3.7V Regulated Input for Single Cell Application".

Does that mean I can't use two CR123A cells like i would normally do?

If not, what battery model should I use?

I'm feeling like a real noob right now, but that's just what I am.

[Black Rose]

But for $14 shipped, I'm very satisfied and happy with the DX module.

I was happy with both of mine as well (single mode versions)...until they both failed and I had to rebuild them

[Black Rose]

I got a question about the Lumens Factory D26 LED module.

This is what it says "-3V-3.7V Regulated Input for Single Cell Application".

Does that mean I can't use two CR123A cells like i would normally do?

If not, what battery model should I use?

I'm feeling like a real noob right now, but that's just what I am.

Using 2 CR123A cells will it.

If the battery tube of your light is wide enough to accept an 18650 cell, use one of those.

If it's for a Surefire 6P or a G2, use a 17670 cell.

[Lischke]

Using 2 CR123A cells will it.

If the battery tube of your light is wide enough to accept an 18650 cell, use one of those.

If it's for a Surefire 6P or a G2, use a 17670 cell.

Yeah, the extra voltage will of course kill it. I should have thought of that.

The 17670 should be my best choice, since I have a 6P.

AW sells protected 17670. Think I will go for two of those plus a charger.

Lucky me that I checked the specs of the LED module. Would have sucked to burn it out on the first try.

These flashlight batteries is a whole new thing for me, but I guess I will learn by lurking around in the forums.

[MosesM]

What's everyone's take on the Solarforce XPG smooth reflector dropin? Was thinking about ordering a few.

I just got the 1-mode version for my L2P about a week ago, and while I don't have any equipment to measure, nor do I have much experience in this field, I would say that it's a pretty decent drop-in.

Not sure if Solarforce designed a new SMO reflector for the XP-G or not, but I don't see any donuts. The beam quality otherwise is expected of a SMO reflector, not exactly what you'd call "clean", and the transition from hotspot to spill is not defined. All in all, it's pretty darn bright and with a pretty good balance of throw and flood.

For the price that itc_shop has it for, I'd say go for it.

[pae77]

I was happy with both of mine as well (single mode versions)...until they both failed and I had to rebuild them

I hope that doesn't happen with mine but if it does fail within a short time, I'm sure DX will replace it. They are pretty good about things like that. But I've been running mine pretty hard for the past couple of weeks and it has been handling it well so far.

They've been out for a while now. Perhaps they have changed or improved the components that were causing the failures.