Long throw LED's

[looman]

What is the current state of play between the long throw LED lights then. Is it still Tiablo A8/9 Q5's and MRV's or is there a new kiddy on the block.

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[djblank87]

What is the current state of play between the long throw LED lights then. Is it still Tiablo A8/9 Q5's and MRV's or is there a new kiddy on the block.

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See the following:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=184664
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=184552

I could list 10-15 items for you but really the fastest way would be for you to do a CPF search on any of these lights:

1. Dereelight DBS
2. RaidFire Spear
3. Tiablo A9 Q5WC
4. MRV

 

[Stereodude]

What is the current state of play between the long throw LED lights then. Is it still Tiablo A8/9 Q5's and MRV's or is there a new kiddy on the block.

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The Dereelight DBS is the new "kiddy", and he beats the old champs. The RapidFire Spear is apparently right on the DBS's heels.

 

[Rzr800]

$27.85 delivered.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=184280

 

[Stereodude]

$27.85 delivered.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=184280

Not exactly what I'd consider a glowing review.

 

[looman]

Hmmm the Raidfire Spear as per Stefan gets a good review - he always puts the work in - thanks Stefan.

Would like to see a comparison with the Raidfire and the DBS though.

Run time potential is an issue for me and anything sub 2 hours is a big detraction for my purposes.

I certainly like the fact that Raidfire offers a tactical gun mount and a tape switch as an option. Will have to look at these as I want to mod my A8 for a twin tape - one wired to low the other to high.

Doesnt seem that much has really changed since I last looked in though.

 

[Talas]

Pelican 7060

 

[djblank87]

Pelican 7060

The Pelican 7060 is a decent thrower for the application of it's intended use per LEO request but a long throw LED light like the OP asked, I would not put the 7060 in that range.

I used to own the 7060 and it could not keep up with my Tiablo, MRV or Aspehric Q5 Mag. Plus for mounting the light to weapon the 7060 is just a little to big.

 

[yaesumofo]

Re: Long throw Leds

Back in the day we used to modify a Mag 3D or 3C flashlight with an
O-sink and a lux III or LUX V emitter.
In terms of sheer throw the combination of the Mag reflector and the Lux III emitter is a great combination
There are other sinks available now as well as complete drop in solutions.
The point is that if you want throw and runtime you need to get away from cr123 based flashlights and move into a c or d cell sized light and the larger reflector found on Mag lights.
There are several drop in units witch literally are lamp replacements on a 3 or 4 cell light. I recommend switching the front glass out and replacing it with a UCL.
The hold thing can be done for like $50.00 for the light drop in and UCL..It may be a little more but not by much.
Anyway if you really want THROW you have to go with the larger reflector..
Have fun.

 

[Zenster]

My head's about to explode with the constant emphasis on "throw distance" as if that's the defining Holy Grail of what a flashlight must do for it to be considered "worthy".

I've got three of the lights that are considered among the best "throwers"; a DBS/2SD, the Tiablo A9s, and the newest MRV-SE/Epsilon (265+ lumens).
For all three of these lights, I bought both the SM and OP reflectors.
And after trying them all out with both reflectors, they are now ALL fitted with their OP refectors and will stay that way.

They all "throw" quite well still, but the OP reflectors do shorten the distance a little. However, in each case, the OP reflectors make each of these lights so WAY much better as useful lights than they were with their pencil thin beams that "threw" so well.

I pity da' foo' who goes out and actually compares one of these top throwers with a SM reflector against something like a L2D-CD/Q5. I'm willing to bet that once they're done impressing the neighbor kids with the "thrower", it's the L2D they'd rather take with them on a dark, nighttime walk.

Here's a free clue: Save anywhere from $20 to $30 dollars on any of these new generation "throwers" such as what I mentioned, and just get the OP reflector. They make the center beam a little bigger, enhance the brightness of the spill (VERY useful), and don't really sacrifice all that much throw.

My .02, now let the drubbing begin. I can take it.

 

[WadeF]

Re: Long throw Leds

Anyway if you really want THROW you have to go with the larger reflector..
Have fun.

Ever see the Dereelight DBS's reflector? The DBS can also use 18650 batteries which helps with the run time.

 

[WadeF]

Re: Long throw Leds

I took some pics of a couple Mag reflectors, one with the cam cut off for use with the Malkoff Mag Drop-in. Note the cam adds nothing to the reflective surface and has nothing to do with the size of the reflector it is attached to.



While the Mag reflector is a little wider, the DBS reflector is much deeper. Keep in mind the Mag reflector was designed for their incan bulb, and it wasn't optimized for LED's, especially CREE's. The DBS reflector is optimized for throw when using CREE LEDs:



Here you can really see how the DBS reflector is much deeper than the Mag reflector. Note the LED sits at the very base of the reflector so virtually all of the reflector's depth is being used:

 

[Stereodude]

My head's about to explode with the constant emphasis on "throw distance" as if that's the defining Holy Grail of what a flashlight must do for it to be considered "worthy".

My .02, now let the drubbing begin. I can take it.

I think this is probably because up until fairly recently LEDs either weren't bright enough to really throw or the lights just weren't designed to throw. Lets face it... A lot of the current crop of LED flashlights are very bright (150+ lumens), but don't throw very well. As a result the market is shifting somewhat towards an emphasis on throw and some people and manufacturers are going crazy with it. It it an easy way to differentiate a product, as throw can be fairly easily compared and quantified. oo:

I'm sure someone will make a "mass market" LED powered light here shortly that has a beam like a laser that's basically worthless short of measuring contests. :thumbsdow

 

[WadeF]

My head's about to explode with the constant emphasis on "throw distance" as if that's the defining Holy Grail of what a flashlight must do for it to be considered "worthy".

I don't think anyone said the amount of throw is what makes a flashlight good or not, but if your specific need is throw, and you need a lot of it, then the distance does matter. If I want to light up a field to spot deer, and they maybe 600-800 feet away, I don't want a light that kinda throws, I want a light that puts as much light on the target as possible. Keep in mind the pencil like beam, or small hot spot, won't be very small at 600-800 feet, it will be much larger than a deer, etc.

The deer is hard to see in this pic, it's a 10 second exposure so the deer blurred as it looked around wondering where the UFO was to take it away, but it was just the DBS with smooth reflector. Click the pic to see a larger version, and click the magnifing icon on the web page to zoom in even more if you want:



As you can see the hot spot part of the beam of the DBS is plenty large to cover the entire deer, or several deer. If the beam was larger the brighness of the light hitting the target (in this case the deer) would be less.

For spotting things at 400+ feet I want the maximum brightness, which means the smooth reflector in the DBS. For shorter distances I'll use my CL1H, or whatever, with an OP reflector.

The DBS is still great with an OP reflector, but if you want to use it at 400+ feet the smooth reflector will do better when it comes down to illuminating the subject.

 

[looman]

Re: Long throw Leds

Back in the day we used to modify a Mag 3D or 3C flashlight with an
O-sink and a lux III or LUX V emitter.
In terms of sheer throw the combination of the Mag reflector and the Lux III emitter is a great combination
There are other sinks available now as well as complete drop in solutions.
The point is that if you want throw and runtime you need to get away from cr123 based flashlights and move into a c or d cell sized light and the larger reflector found on Mag lights.
There are several drop in units witch literally are lamp replacements on a 3 or 4 cell light. I recommend switching the front glass out and replacing it with a UCL.
The hold thing can be done for like $50.00 for the light drop in and UCL..It may be a little more but not by much.
Anyway if you really want THROW you have to go with the larger reflector..
Have fun.

Indeed but strapping a maglight to an already heavy rifle is not good news.
Bear in mind that the light is used for hunting and is not tactical therefore, you will normally dab it on to sweep to see what is in range then stalk closer. re-illuminate and drop. LED thrower units have run times of 2 hrs plus or minus which is absolutely fine especially as carrying a spare is not an issue either.

 

[looman]

My head's about to explode with the constant emphasis on "throw distance" as if that's the defining Holy Grail of what a flashlight must do for it to be considered "worthy".

I've got three of the lights that are considered among the best "throwers"; a DBS/2SD, the Tiablo A9s, and the newest MRV-SE/Epsilon (265+ lumens).
For all three of these lights, I bought both the SM and OP reflectors.
And after trying them all out with both reflectors, they are now ALL fitted with their OP refectors and will stay that way.

They all "throw" quite well still, but the OP reflectors do shorten the distance a little. However, in each case, the OP reflectors make each of these lights so WAY much better as useful lights than they were with their pencil thin beams that "threw" so well.

I pity da' foo' who goes out and actually compares one of these top throwers with a SM reflector against something like a L2D-CD/Q5. I'm willing to bet that once they're done impressing the neighbor kids with the "thrower", it's the L2D they'd rather take with them on a dark, nighttime walk.

Here's a free clue: Save anywhere from $20 to $30 dollars on any of these new generation "throwers" such as what I mentioned, and just get the OP reflector. They make the center beam a little bigger, enhance the brightness of the spill (VERY useful), and don't really sacrifice all that much throw.

My .02, now let the drubbing begin. I can take it.

Good point but as stated, I want it for shooting where throw is indeed king. I dont need spill in this application and I got the smooth and orange peel reflectors so i could swap should I need to.

 

[looman]

I don't think anyone said the amount of throw is what makes a flashlight good or not, but if your specific need is throw, and you need a lot of it, then the distance does matter. If I want to light up a field to spot deer, and they maybe 600-800 feet away, I don't want a light that kinda throws, I want a light that puts as much light on the target as possible. Keep in mind the pencil like beam, or small hot spot, won't be very small at 600-800 feet, it will be much larger than a deer, etc.

The deer is hard to see in this pic, it's a 10 second exposure so the deer blurred as it looked around wondering where the UFO was to take it away, but it was just the DBS with smooth reflector. Click the pic to see a larger version, and click the magnifing icon on the web page to zoom in even more if you want:



As you can see the hot spot part of the beam of the DBS is plenty large to cover the entire deer, or several deer. If the beam was larger the brighness of the light hitting the target (in this case the deer) would be less.

For spotting things at 400+ feet I want the maximum brightness, which means the smooth reflector in the DBS. For shorter distances I'll use my CL1H, or whatever, with an OP reflector.

The DBS is still great with an OP reflector, but if you want to use it at 400+ feet the smooth reflector will do better when it comes down to illuminating the subject.

Pretty much sums it up

 

[I came to the light...]

In a few words, the DBS has about 1.5x the A9's throw, and the Spear is halfway inbetween. The MRV is just behind the A9.