Cheap 18650 zooms for scopes — state of the art?

[Tiburonsmoke]

Hi, it’s been a few years since I bought my Sunray King. I’m still very happy with it, but I get most use out of a cheapy 18650 Ultrafire. I decided to buy a cheap zoomer for attachment to a scope. This is what I chose. It cost £12 with shipping.

I was quite surprised at what the zoomed beam pattern looked like. Clearly won’t work with a scope. Is this the best bang for my buck or would I see a significant upgrade for £20-£25? Presumably with a single LED. I’ve not tried this thing zoomed at night but the flood setting seemed okay, so my money wasn’t entirely wasted. Thanks!

 

[vicv]

What’s wrong with the led beam? It looks bad at a few inches from the wall. I bet at night it will just give illumination. Like every other light. Unless I’m not understanding? My wife says I do that a lot

 

[Tiburonsmoke]

Thanks. Haha. I know the feeling.

At 15 metres, standing in the garden and shining down the hallway, it’s illuminating the entire front door with a pattern of 12 bright but widely spaced squares of light. The diameter of the spread looks to be over 2.5 metres. LOL!

Can anyone recommend a good single spot zooming 18650 flashlight for around £10-15 that will work with a scope? I need a tight beam. Thanks!

 

[vicv]

Oh… wow. Ya you get that with a large die led. Sorry I can’t be of much help. I don’t use zoomies

 

[Tiburonsmoke]

I don’t, usually. Thanks for the input, though. I guess some advice on the best single led emitter for a zoomer would be good if anyone is listening?

 

[Tiburonsmoke]

By the way, that pattern is not the flashlight a few inches from the wall. It’s 6 feet from the ceiling!

 

[vicv]

An XL-l is a pretty good emitter for a tight beam. So is an XPG3. And an SST 20. I believe Osram makes some. As well as a Samsung. But I have not tried those. I am a very big fan of the SST 20. But have not tried it a zoomie

 

[Tiburonsmoke]

Thank you. That’s helpful to know. The names and bins of the LEDs have all changed since I was an enthusiast. I don’t know what’s what any more.

 

[vicv]

Me too. I'm an incan guy for the most part. I do t have any of these large die LEDs. But I do know the smaller the die, the more throw you get. Which is my preference. I do not like floody lights. I want what I'm pointed at to be lit up and nothing else so I can preserve my night vision. Plus I don't need to see what I'm not looking at!
The sst-20 in 4k or 5k is my favorite led. It throws quite well even in a small reflector. So it should work in a zoomie quite nicely. But you can still push it to close to a thousand lumens if you wish.

 

[Olumin]

I mean, if you count focusing as zooming then a lot of incans are zoomies. Pretty much all Mag-lites, Pelican M6/M3, Streamlight Strion/Stinger/Ultrastinger. No focusing with Surefires tho.

 

[Dave_H]

Even the single-LED zoomies (cheap ones I have) project LED die image including bond wires, when narrowly focused.

Dave