Trying to find the perfect creamy neutral XP-G tint... What to choose?

So I'm looking at the plethora of XP-G options on the Cutter site for some emitter swaps I want to do and I'm unsure of what the perfect tint would be. Looking at the ANSI chart, it appears I want something in the 4C or 5B1 or 5B2 tint range. Correct? I don't want it too white, but not too red, so I guess I definitely need a good neutral.

I plan on putting these in, for example, a 4Sevens mini CR2 and other lights that are already XP-G based anyways, if that makes a difference to y'all.

As far as efficiency, I don't think I particularly care what efficiency bin it is, so long as its the right tint.

What do you guys suggest?

I would recommend the Nichia 219 from Illumination Supply. It is around ~4500K with 92 typ CRI.
It will give you better color rendition than the XPG neutrals.

The Nichia 119/219 HCRI LEDs are by far the closest to midday sunlight I have seen.

The 219 is a direct replacement swap for the XPG so no other modification required.

Be careful, this LED can spoil you.

The added bonus is that the Nichias are more efficient than the HCRI XP-Gs, and cooler to boot. I think I saw someone run the numbers and say that the highest binned 219 (that Illumination Supply carries, by the way) is equivalent to an R2 for an XP-G.

I finally got a 2x219 light set up on my GF's bike, we went riding last night and it was glorious (the light, not the ride). Made my neutral XM-Ls seem green by comparison.

A10K said:

The added bonus is that the Nichias are more efficient than the HCRI XP-Gs, and cooler to boot. I think I saw someone run the numbers and say that the highest binned 219 (that Illumination Supply carries, by the way) is equivalent to an R2 for an XP-G.

I finally got a 2x219 light set up on my GF's bike, we went riding last night and it was glorious (the light, not the ride). Made my neutral XM-Ls seem green by comparison.

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More efficient than warm high CRI XP-G Q2, yes. More efficient than neutral XP-G (what the OP asked for) commonly available in R4 bin, no.

Nichia 219 high CRI in B10 bin (100-110 lm @ 350 mA) is approximately equal to a Q4 or Q5 in Cree binning, not R2.

Tint is highly subjective. What you see and what you like will likely be different from another person. It's simply not possible for another person to tell you what 'the right tint' is.

5b1 is nice but a bit greeny, i prefer the 5a or the warmer 5c.
cutter stores the 5c tint in xp-e line, wich could make a good upgrade if you want your Mini to be more throwy..

Creamy would be closer to 4000K CCT than 4500K.
Also the smaller the die, the greater the homogeneity the beam. For this reason, I am boycotting the xm-l, it is just too large for flashlight applications.

Another option for "creamy" light is the 4000k XT-E that Cutter stocks. I have a couple that I use for night lights around the house. The listed tint is 5D2, bin is an R2 based on the baggie it came in. Since they're tested at 85 degrees versus 25 for the older XP-Gs, it performs more like an R4 XP-G but is much cheaper and warmer than available R4 XP-Gs. They're also less prone to the ugly yellow color artifacts that plague the cool XT-Es and XB-Ds, but in my experience they don't give as focused a beam versus an XP-G. If they're already going into floody lights it won't be as big an issue.

Also, thanks for the information bobjane.

I'd say any of the 5b tints should do fine. Do keep in mind that the tints are rated/evaluated at full drive current (1.5A for XP-G). If you under-drive a emitter significatly enough the resulting tint will generally be warmer. I had a XM-L T4 4000K (exact tint bin unknown) emitter that looked spot on as far as tint/color temperature at 2.8A, but at a lower drive current of 1.5A it looked closer to 3500K.

If your lights don't fully drive a XP-G at 1.5A then a slightly cooler tint in the 4X tint range might be appropriate.

MichaelW said:

Creamy would be closer to 4000K CCT than 4500K.
Also the smaller the die, the greater the homogeneity the beam. For this reason, I am boycotting the xm-l, it is just too large for flashlight applications.

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I've found 5000K to be the nicest, otherwise it gets too yellow, 5,000K looks like a nice light beige when compared to a 6,000K.

The 3C & 3D bins don't look beige. The 5C & 5D do.
My 4500K SST-50 has the very faintest hint of beige.

thanks a lot yall for the input. Based on your posts and what others have told me, I guess it'd be a safe bet to get a Nichia 219.

so this may sound stupid, but will a 219 work well as a replacement emitter for my small 4Sevens twistys (specifically a titanium #259 123 and a CR2 twisty)?

The 219 is the perfect swap replacement for the XPG. It should do great in your CR2 Mini or any XPG light you have.