recommend me a flashlight that takes unprotected 18650s

[leel]

got a bunch of extra samsung 35e, and sanyo ncr cells

whats a good recommendation ya got for about 100-150, that i can find on amazon?

any current surefire, olight, or streamlights work with these?

looking for a tough and bright edc, i do underground construction and prefer brands listed above, and brightness over longevity

already have a zebra and like it do any of the above brands have anything similar?

all the descriptions leave me wondering what is compatible with unprotected, 18650s.

thanks

 

[turbodog]

I've had good results with a lumintop fw3a 2800. It is made for unprotected cells. You can get as much or little out as you want.

Your main problem with output is going to be HEAT. Simply not possible to heatsink & export a ton of heat away from a small 18650 light.

Amazon.com

 

[LRJ88]

Any of the Emisar or Noctigon lights that take 18650s would by my recommendation, the Noctigon KR4 or Emisar D4V2/DW4 with tint ramping lets you effectively have two lights in one body depending on how you spec them out with the LEDs.

 

[raggie33]

emisars rock id go with the boosted dv42

 

[scalpel_ninja]

I've got a titanium/copper Emisar D4V2 for sale. It's dual channel with 5000K LH351D and W1 emitters. Essentially a high CRI mid-range and thrower all in one.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

I've got a titanium/copper Emisar D4V2 for sale. It's dual channel with 5000K LH351D and W1 emitters. Essentially a high CRI mid-range and thrower all in one.

 

[leel]

I've got a titanium/copper Emisar D4V2 for sale. It's dual channel with 5000K LH351D and W1 emitters. Essentially a high CRI mid-range and thrower all in one.

pm sent

 

[idleprocess]

I've had good results with a lumintop fw3a 2800. It is made for unprotected cells. You can get as much or little out as you want.

I greatly enjoy my FW3As as well, however I gather Lumintop has steadily revised the entire product line to the point that it is no longer what it was when originally released. FW3A design team on BLF went so far as to issue multiple warnings at the top of the sprawling thread where it was originally announced 5 years ago.

Your main problem with output is going to be HEAT. Simply not possible to heatsink & export a ton of heat away from a small 18650 light.

This is something I feel is ranted about with so many failing to understand the underlying - and unavoidable - physics of the situation as your second sentence lays clear: the cells, power electronics, and LEDs can greatly exceed the ability of the body to shed that heat.

 

[turbodog]

I bought the fw3a on a whim... to see if it was good for a bike flashing headlight (it is).

Don't use most of the features other than 1) flashing 2) medium brightness. Anything much beyond medium gets too hot. I do live in a warm climate though.

Have not had any issues w/ the light so far in the ~year I've had it.

Turbo/max gets hot IMMEDIATELY, like under 5 seconds. It's a gimmick mode.

That said... the light has a good flood beam, good features, seems waterproof, runs on your unprotected cells, and is CHEAP.

 

[turbodog]

..


This is something I feel is ranted about with so many failing to understand the underlying - and unavoidable - physics of the situation as your second sentence lays clear: the cells, power electronics, and LEDs can greatly exceed the ability of the body to shed that heat.

I've seen some of the larger, MONSTER output lights (50k lumens) that have a heatsink, fins, and cooling fan. Would like to get them hands-on and see how they do.

 

[idleprocess]

Turbo/max gets hot IMMEDIATELY, like under 5 seconds. It's a gimmick mode.

It's a burst mode primarily useful for what's that moments.

I've seen some of the larger, MONSTER output lights (50k lumens) that have a heatsink, fins, and cooling fan. Would like to get them hands-on and see how they do.

Same. And I gather that even with additional mass, more surface area, heatpipes, fans there's still almost-inevitable performance sag in anything reasonably handy at that level of output.

 

[turbodog]

Now if we had a light made of copper or silver... that might be another story.

 

[Sabrewulf]

Noctigon k4 or dt8.