RRT-3 XM-L ... Worth it? Sell me on it. Do I really need it?!?

[ExtremeX]

Ive been doing mounds of research on 2k lumens bracket of lights... TM11, RRT-3, TK70, SR90 & SR91, 4 Sevens S18 (yes I know some of these are not ~2K lumen lights) Am I missing anything good?

As much as I like the SR90, I don't I can really take advantage of that much throw. And the size is pretty big, chances are I wont use it as much due to size alone. TK70, just too big for me, TM11 love the size, but I think real world beam pattern on the RRT-3 is better.

RRT-3 XM-L seems like something I am really going to like. I like some throw, but I love flood/spill.

What holding me back are some of my existing lights, I'm not sure if there is too much overlap, or if the RRT-3 really going to outshine my other larger lights. Maybe its too close in performance.

What I have:
Olight M3X
Klarus XT20

The Klarus XT20 is my brightest light, does an excellent job for everything I need, and I know 1200 vs 2000 lumens may not seem twice as bright to the eyes. Not sure if getting an RRT-3 is going to really provide me with a noticeable amount of benefit.

The Olight M3X provides a excellent throw for a single emitter light. Ive used it to around 200-300 yards so far, and works great.

RRT-3 seems like it can replace both of these lights, since it seems to throw around 300 yards, and provides excellent spill. Almost like the M3X and XT20 merged into one light.

With what I have already, is the RRT-3 worth it, or should I be looking at the SR90 or different light to prevent large overlap?

Ive never used or seen a 2k light in person, so I really don't know what to expect.

 

[peterharvey73]

It may help to classify lights.
Firstly according to size, especially battery size, eg 16340, 1x18650, 2x18650 in-line/parallel, 3x18650, 4x18650, then 6x18650 etc.
Then according to emitter class eg XM-L, triple XM-L etc.
Then according to beam type eg the traditional throwers, then flood-throw, then pure flood.
For example in 1x18650 size, an RRT-21 and TN11 are flood-throwers, whereas a compact SC600 is pure flood etc.

So your Olight M3X powered by 2x 18650's is a thrower.
Next up, your Klarus XT-20 also powered by 2x18650's is a flood-throw.
Third up, the Jetbeam RRT-3 3x18650 Triple XM-L is a bigger flood-thrower. The RRT-3 has the three LED's closely spaced for a smaller more intense hot spot; it also has a deep reflector which narrows the spill width, but this also produces a prominent corona around the hotspot.
Fourth up, the compact TM11 is pure flood; it has a shallow reflector which maximises spill width, but it also has a less prominent corona.


Now, for those three oversized lights; they are in a totally different size and battery category.
The SR90 & SR92 both use 6x18650's, while the TK70 uses 4xD batteries.
The SR90 has the most throw.
The SR92 has the most flood. The SR92 has shallow reflectors which maximise the width of spill, but has a less prominent corona.
The TK70 is the flood-thrower. It has deep reflectors which narrows the width of spill, but it has a prominent corona.


The M3X to RRT-3 to TM11 characteristics, is roughly on par with the SR90 to TK70 to SR92 characteristics.
Both the M3X and SR90 are dedicated throwers with small intense hot spots relative to the others in this group.
Both the RRT-3 and TK70 use triple XM-L emitter that are deep, for a narrower spill, but more prominent corona.
Both the TM11 and SR92 are compact/short flooders, with a shallower reflector, wider spill, and less prominent corona.

Thus, if you have the throwy M3X and throw-flood XT20 already, the next most logical step would be to throw-flood RRT-3, then the all floody TM11.
Think of the RRT-3 as a triple XM-L version of the double XM-L XT20; the RRT-3 is certainly a similar type of flood-throw, but more powerful.
The TM11 is a floody type.
The throwy SR90, throw-flood TK70 and flood SR92 are giant oversized versions of the M3X, XT-20/RRT-3 and TM11 respectively.

Hopefully that helps you to decide...

 

[mikedeason]

pick up a 3500 lumen HID spotlight if you're just in it for kicks.

I bypassed all the 2k lumen LED's...stopped at 800lumen on LED

also theres some dirt cheap 2k lumen led on DX i was thinking of trying just to see if 2k is really a level I want

 

[skyfire]

i wouldnt spend that much on a light unless it came with a great warranty.