Hi All, long-time lurker, first time poster. I'm looking to put together a few torches using Solarforce L2 bodies and single 18650 batteries. My use is for general purpose lighting - dog walking, critter spotting, and disaster preparedness (i live in Florida and hurricanes and power outages are common). For beam pattern, my need is a general purpose, combination beam - enough throw to see a reasonable distance ahead, and enough flood to light up a yard. I'd like to put together 4 or 5 of these, so cost is a factor. I"m looking for the highest light output that still has reasonable efficiency and doesn't get too hot. I haven't looked in a few years, what are the current best options in emitters and modules?
I, too, am a huge fan of Solarforce L2 Series hosts; but not of their drop-ins. I'm using mostly Customlites, Mountain Electronics, International Outdoors, Malkoff, EDC+, and Sportac dropins in all of my hosts.
What kind of color temperature are you thinking of getting? Cool white is the most dazzling (and seemingly the most commonly found in many stores), but also the
least color accurate (for spotting things at a distance, in fine detail, or where accurate colors are important, like when wiring something electrical, assessing a patient, etc.)
You can buy a drop for about five bucks or so, but if you want much better build quality, you'll probably find yourself spending about 20. Two excellent sources for these drop-ins, are Mountain Electronics, and International Outdoors - and they come in a wide variety of user interfaces and tints.
Customlites are superb drop-ins, as well, but they run closer to 40 bucks.
Malkoffs are pretty much bullet proof, with dead simple interfaces, and solid brass construction (which offers superb heat sinking) - and they have fully-potted electronics, making them almost impervious to all sorts of abuse (they'd be perfectly suited for weapon mounting, for instance, without being damaged by the heavy recoil) - but run 40 to 50 or more, each.
I'm assuming you want a drop-in with multiple modes, so you can select whatever output fulfills your needs, at the time, and a fair combination of spot and spill beams, so you can do work up-close, as well as spotting things at a distance, without having to switch lights (from what I read above) - and all of the lights are going to be configured the same way, with the same type of drop-in?
What's your budget? Do you already have the 18650 batteries to power them all? If so, what type (make/model)?
Generally, the most powerful also means the most heat-producing, and with the shortest run times. There's a definite trade-off involved. How much power are you talking about, and/or for how long? Might you be lending some of these lights out to others, who may have little or no experience with high performance lights? That would account for the need for a light that doesn't heat up much.
I'm also assuming you want something that will offer up long run times, if you find yourself without power, or a way to recharge your 18650 batteries.
The more you can tell us about your uses for these lights, the better suggestions we can make, for something that will suit your needs.
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