Massive throw, money not an issue

OK folks, now that I got my feet wet with my first purchase of a massive flood, the Big Bruiser http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?335757-The-Big-Bruiser-lives-up-to-its-name
I am now in the market for a tight, massive throw beam, that can be any size. All of you have been in this game a lot longer than me, so make me some recommendations shy of the 4Sevens $2500 light.

A big-gun-customs guy like yourself would be a good fit for the Maxabeam; a xenon short-arc lamp in a massive reflector with serious mil-spec packaging, projects what is essentially a "fat laser" a mile or more away..

Well, do you want an LED, or a short arc tank light, HID, etc?

The Lambda Light Turbo V2 is coming out if looking for an LED based canon. The Olight SR90, especially de-domed, has huge punch...the TK70 has throw but its not tight...its floody...but fun. (Big maglight sized options)

If you want pocket sized TIGHT throw, the DEFT edc LR+ is awesome, and a bit larger, the Deerelight DBS V3 (IIRC) is a powerhouse.

:devil:

deckofficer said:

OK folks, ...............am now in the market for a tight, massive throw beam, that can be any size. All of you have been in this game a lot longer than me, so make me some recommendations shy of the 4Sevens $2500 light.

Click to expand...

LED's are pop guns when it comes to "Massive Throw". To echo StarH, if you truly want "massive throw" in a handheld light, then Maxabeam is the only game in town, more or less.

BVH said:

LED's are pop guns when it comes to "Massive Throw". To echo StarH, if you truly want "massive throw" in a handheld light, then Maxabeam is the only game in town, more or less.

Click to expand...

So, what's a Maxabeam cost?

StarHalo,

I would prefer to stay with the efficiencies of LED and instant on, so I guess I'm not going after the biggest, baddest gun on the market, but what can be the baddest of the LED genre.

TEEJ, you have been a lot of help to me on this forum. I would like a light with multiple output settings (unlike my Bruiser, full bore and too hot to hold after 5 minutes), a tight beam with just enough spill to be somewhat useful up close. Batteries and size to be dictated by the performance.

deckofficer said:

StarHalo,

I would prefer to stay with the efficiencies of LED and instant on, so I guess I'm not going after the biggest, baddest gun on the market, but what can be the baddest of the LED genre.

TEEJ, you have been a lot of help to me on this forum. I would like a light with multiple output settings (unlike my Bruiser, full bore and too hot to hold after 5 minutes), a tight beam with just enough spill to be somewhat useful up close. Batteries and size to be dictated by the performance.

Click to expand...

I thought so...but, well, you were somewhat unspecific....hence the Super Lights.

The ones I recommended would be pretty sweet for what you want...depending on how portable you want them to be.

I find for myself, if they are too big to have with me, they won't BE with me.

I use them for work...so mine are not on a shelf where I can take them down, shine them into the yard, and then put them back.

The SR90 and TK70 are the largest I take with me....and I have some modded maglight sized stuff too that comes in handy for certain applications....and everything else I use is belt/holster or pocket sized.

For pocket sized, its hard to beat the DEFT edc LR+....~ 1" head.....and it projects a picture of its die on stuff 500+ meters away.

I de-domed my SR90, and that MoFo throws ~ 800 meters measured, so far, it might go further....but I can't SEE much detail past that distance because its like a 1/2 mile away.
It STILL has a lot of spill too, super useful.

I haven't seen one in person, but, the Lambda Light VaraPower Turbo V2 is projected to thow even further. I had an older Lambda Light 3C that threw on par with the SR90, and the new version should blow THAT away.

:devil:

Anything that's LED with some spill is not going to be a massive thrower, but merely a good thrower for LED; look into the Olight SR series, which will give you hundreds of yards of throw (bearing in mind the Maxabeam is rated for 3000+ yards..)

StarHalo said:

Anything that's LED with some spill is not going to be a massive thrower, but merely a good thrower for LED; look into the Olight SR series, which will give you hundreds of yards of throw (bearing in mind the Maxabeam is rated for 3000+ yards..)

Click to expand...

I'm not professional search and rescue, just a new hobby for me. A good flood that is pocket-able I now have in the Bruiser. The company that TEEJ is suggesting, Lambda is quick to empty their R&D inventory, which speaks well for the confidence of them by their customers, and they are taking orders next week for their latest offering. If there are folks on this forum that always snatch the newest offerings from all the companies and post reviews, I'll wait for the review, if not, then I'll order and review and post here.

You could go back to Elektro Lumens and check out the St-90.

When I saw the title 'Massive throw , money not an issue' I instantly wanted to recommend the Polarion PH50. It is an awesome light and you wont be disappointed with the throw.. Reading your posts since your OP it appears that may be a LED asperic thrower might be more suitable such as the DEFT by saabluster if size is not a issue.

I still like the throw of a HID light even though there are the practical considerations such as limited battery life and 15-20 second warm up time.

deckofficer said:

I'm not professional search and rescue, just a new hobby for me.

Click to expand...

The hobby guys have bigger and better lights than the search and rescue guys (ask BVH!) And we do indeed have reviews.

mohanjude said:

may be a LED asperic thrower might be more suitable such as the DEFT by saabluster if size is not a issue.

Click to expand...

There's no spill with an aspheric.

Massive throw? How about 85 miles? (Planet Earth's atmosphere ends at 62 miles) Spider 3 Krypton 1x18650 and a lux of 86 million. It's the only thing that is visible from outer space. Looking directly at the hotspot is 8000 times brighter than looking directly at the sun. So it will do wonders to your retina. (maybe fry them to oblivion)

It's cheap too, only US$ 1,100.00 shipped. Comes with special protective eyeware coz if the beam hits you, you go blind.

Comes with a warning too, don't point at airplanes as you could blind the pilot, nor point it at satellites as you could destroy its sensitive sensors.

How's that for massive throw!

roadkill1109 said:

Massive throw? How about 85 miles? (Planet Earth's atmosphere ends at 62 miles) Spider 3 Krypton 1x18650 and a lux of 86 million. It's the only thing that is visible from outer space. Looking directly at the hotspot is 8000 times brighter than looking directly at the sun. So it will do wonders to your retina. (maybe fry them to oblivion)

It's cheap too, only US$ 1,100.00 shipped. Comes with special protective eyeware coz if the beam hits you, you go blind.

Comes with a warning too, don't point at airplanes as you could blind the pilot, nor point it at satellites as you could destroy its sensitive sensors.

How's that for massive throw!

Click to expand...

Yeah, but hows the tint?


And it sounds like too little spill.



And, YEAH, I forgot about Wayne's new beast too...ElektroLumens SR

Yah GOT the BB from him...maybe its Kismet?

Realize you're going for LED but just want to point out that the Maxabeam is indeed, instant on.

roadkill1109 said:

Massive throw? How about 85 miles? (Planet Earth's atmosphere ends at 62 miles) Spider 3 Krypton 1x18650 and a lux of 86 million. It's the only thing that is visible from outer space. Looking directly at the hotspot is 8000 times brighter than looking directly at the sun. So it will do wonders to your retina. (maybe fry them to oblivion)

It's cheap too, only US$ 1,100.00 shipped. Comes with special protective eyeware coz if the beam hits you, you go blind.

Comes with a warning too, don't point at airplanes as you could blind the pilot, nor point it at satellites as you could destroy its sensitive sensors.

How's that for massive throw!

Click to expand...

Thanks, but not interested in a laser, those things are just too dangerous for my liking. I would always wear the correct wavelength eye protection, but just one slip of the eye wear at the instant the beam hits a reflective surface and I lose my sight, no thanks.

LEDs are like toy throwers compared to HIDs of any kind. If you want ultimate throw, get a Spectrolabs SX-16. It is a landbased version of the popular Nightsun searchlight you see on 90% of helicopters, with 160 000 000 lux at 1 m and around 300 000 lumens. Link removed. See red banner at top of page.
It does cost around 18 000 USD though.
A cheaper option would be a Maxabeam Gen3, at around 6 000 000 lux, the SX16 'overthrows' by a factor of 20 but it will do just fine with 10 mile targets etc. Prices rage from 1300-1500USD new although cheaper ones pop up on the marketplace from time to time.
Seriously, if you want throw, AVOID LEDs, they are just not up on par yet, and probably never will.

Also just to point out, if you want cheap static throwers, a lot of Chinese companies make cheap Sky tracker lights for under 800 dollars. I got a quote for a 2500W HID SkyRose from nightsun.net (obviously a copy of the real one) and it came down to 480USD including shipping!!! I can PM you the email and quote if you want. I certainly won't rely on its reliability though. However if you want a cheap light that WILL hit the clouds then it's a good option i suppose.

OK, need to adjust my thinking. Since this light is for fun, maybe what is being suggested is spot on (no pun intended) and had this light converted to lithium that I'm very comfortable with, having used in EVs, wasn't sold at that price, I would have bought it.
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...key-package-with-Lifepo4-battery-light-weight

The image of the "Non-Lethal Package" in post #2 comes with Li-ions stock, but you can forget about a three-digit price, that was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime discount..