Super Bright EDC/Weapon LED

[ctownstud00]

Hey all, I'm new and I've been doing my best to learn about LEDs; however, I feel like I'm at a point where I need some personalized guidance. I need a great value in price, but I am extremely picky when it comes to quality. I've been leaning towards something like a Klarus XT11, ThruNight TN11, or a Xeno G42 XM-L U2 (kinda hefty, though), but I don't want to spend quite that much, since I have such a limited budget, and after purchase of the light, I would like to purchase a weapon mount and pressure switch (and possibly other extras, like a red or infrared filter).

I gather that driving the LED with an appropriate battery is important for achieving maximum brightness. I'm thinking I want a CREE XML-t6, and hoping to use rechargeable CR123As (because I already have some). Unsure if that will achieve best results or not. I also gather that using the rechargeables will cause more power, hotter temperatures, and less runtime.

Additionally, I think I dislike PWM, if I understand correctly that it adds a visible pulsation to the light!

For all questions please select all that apply.


1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?

____I will be mail-ordering or buying online, so this doesn't matter.


2) Budget: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest! :-)

____Less than $50. (Under $75 possibly?)


3) Format:

____I want a flashlight.


4) Flashlight-specific format/size:

____Every day carry small (2-4 inches).
____Every day carry medium (4-7 inches).
____Holster carry.


5) Emitter/Light source:

____LED (known for efficiency, longevity, and compactness)


6) Manufacturer:

____I want to buy a light from a traditional mass producing manufacturer that is ready to go out of the box.
____I would consider getting a light that is pieced together (for example a “host” or flashlight body from one manufacturer, and a “drop-in” emitter from another source). Under the right circumstances, this path can provide more options to the consumer to meet specific needs, and can often be easily upgradeable as technology improves.


7) What battery type do you want to use?

____I intend to use rechargeable lithium (li-ion) chemistry. Feel free to specify a size if you know which size you want (14500, RCR123/16340, 17500, 17670, 18650, etc.)

I already own four rechargeable CR123As, and I used them in a $4 cheapo "3 watt" LED, which was actually very bright with a full charge. I guess what I'm getting at is, I'm unsure of the quality of the batteries, but they test around 3.7v if I remember correctly, when just off the charger. That was awhile ago, my memory might be off, though. It would save me some money to be able to use these. I wasn't able to use them in my SureFire G2X Pro, as I was afraid to overdrive the LED, which I read was only rated for 6v.


8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need? Sometimes you can have too much light (trying to read up close up with a 100 lumen light is impossible).

____I want to illuminate an entire field, the neighbor's front yard several houses down, impress my friends and neighbors, etc. (300-700 lumens).
____I want ridiculous amounts of lumens (800+ lumens).

I could accept less than 800 lumens if I had to sacrifice it for price, runtime, etc.


9) Throw vs. Flood: At what distance will you be most likely to use this light? Select all that apply.

____Less than 1 yard/meter (reading, other close work)
____Less than 5 yards/meters (looking for something inside a dark shed/garage/basement)
____5-20 yards/meters (check out a noise in the backyard)
____30-50 yards/meters (I have a big backyard)
____50-150 yards/meters (I live in a very rural area/farm with wide open spaces)
____150+ yards (I want maximum throw possible)

Basically, I want a tight beam for far throw (spotlighting things at hundreds of yards away), but I will use the light for all ranges in EDC and weapon use.


10) Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims, but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries (Measured on maximum output).

____90-120 minutes (Runtime is moderately important, but still not critical)
____3 hours + (I critically need this light to run on max for extended periods in between battery changes/charges).

I want the lumen output to remain high for as long as possible, and then the battery die, as opposed to a steady decrease in lumens over a longer runtime, if that makes any sense!

11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase “you get what you pay for” is very accurate for flashlights.

____Very Important (Camping, Backpacking, Car Glove-box).
____Critical (Police, Fire, Search & Rescue, Caving, Survival).


12) Switch Type and location (choose all that apply):

____I want a forward clicky (Helpful for momentary activation and signaling).
____I want a reverse clicky (For use with multi-mode/level lights).
____I want a momentary switch (Predominantly for use with signaling and short bursts of momentary light only).
____I want a twisty switch (Tighten the head/tailcap to activate, and the light will stay on until the head/tailcap is loosened).
____I want a body mounted switch (near the head, like on a Maglite).
____I want a tail mounted switch (found on the majority of today’s high end lights).
____I don't care.
____I don’t know.
____Other, please specify____________________.


13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.

____I want multiple light levels. (Some lights have 5-16 light levels.)
____I want a strobe mode. (Blinks to show location.)


14)Material/Finish/Coating

____Anodized Aluminum – either type II or III (Hard Anodized) (Aluminum, specifically HA, is the most common material/finish for today’s flashlights).


15) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any below.

____Red filter (for preserving night vision).
____Other filter colors (Amber, Green, Blue, _________).
____Recoil Proof
____Water Proof (This is flexible, but I at least want it to work in rain.)

I have done so much reading and searching on the forum that I am a little fatigued and overcome, so I'm hoping to ask the experts, as it were, personally. So, please post your recommendations!

Thanks for reading, and I'm open to opinions, comments, or questions.

 

[ctownstud00]

Hello?

So far considering the Klarus XT11 and the Xtar TZ-20 Platoon 800 Lumen tactical flashlight. The Xtar's price is more in my budget. I'm concerned with possible noise/noticeable flickering or whatever it's called being visible. Any advice?

 

[TEEJ]

The Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is rarely visible on lights that have it, as it cycles many many times per second (1,000, etc...) so you don't see it any more than you see the 24 frames per second of a movie at the theater, 60 frames per second of the TV, etc.

When you CAN see it sometimes is when there is something ELSE artificially chopping your vision with the light. For example, when you use a camcorder to record a TV program off the screen, you CAN see effects where the 24-30 frames per second of the camcorder, and the 60 or so frames per second of the tv, coincide to produce gaps in picture, or what looks like vertical scrolling, etc.

Shining a light with PWM through a fan blade, at spinning machinery, etc, can produce a strobe like freezing of the motion of the machinery if the machinery had elements that acted like the fan blades (An RPM than had a harmonic with the PWM, etc)

In practice, this is not much of a problem for most people. If you USE the light to look at spinning machinery, etc, maybe its food for thought though.

Some of the early PWM lights had very SLOW cycles, and merely waving the light was annoying, and, many of the biases against PWM started due to these early attempts and slow Hz.

PWM extends the light's abilities though, as it runs cooler/longer at high heat/performance levels, makes the cells able to run longer at a given output range, etc...so it has many advantages as far as performance of the light....so if your personal use doesn't preclude it, its a positive feature to have.

I am very familiar with the Klarus XT11, and personally, never noticed PWM effects, as it has a super fast cycle speed. On RCR123's, it was measured at 850 Lumens OTF, very bright. As a weapon light, I'd say 150 -200 yards would be its max useful range though. Its broad floody beam shows you a lot of what's down range, but the 850 lumens ARE spread out enough to do that, leaving fewer of them to project more than that. If you have a good night sight, exceeding 200 yards can work though...as I can SEE things 300+ yards away by eye, but, dimly. For myself, too dimly for an iron sight shot at least. :D

I typically use the light with one 18650 rather than the RCR123's though. On two RCR123's, it only runs about a 1/2 hr or so...a bit short for me.

On a single 18650 (3100 mAh) I get about 2.5 hours of run time on high.,,but at more like 650 lumens on turbo, with a step down when it gets hot to more like ~ 500 L. This also reduces the range a bit, so figure more like 100-150 yards for iron sights, etc.

The specs for these (All lights) use the ANSI 0.25 lux at the end of range to declare max range/throw. This number is OK for what used to be max range for lights, but, a few hundred yards down range, the part of your eyesight needed to resolve details has too crappy light gathering ability to use the same lux as at closer ranges, so targeting with 0.25 lux means being able to shoot with only normal moonlight level lighting (As in, you would not NEED a flashlight if you COULD see stuff far away with that level of light) :D

IE: Take the quoted/stated throw numbers for all lights you see with a grain of salt...you can COMPARE the lights to each other with the ANSI lux #'s, but, in practice, those #'s themselves won't work for long range shooting, etc...the "Useful Maximum Throw" will be a lower in most cases than "ANSI Throw".

I have not had a chance to shoot with (Or hold) the Xtar TZ-20 Platoon, so I don't have a comparison for it, but someone else might. I know madecov on this forum has experience with this light, and his site does offer two versions of it, and he has weapon light packages with it (Mount, pressure switch, charger, cells, etc...). He does describe the two versions as, one being floodier, and one having more throw. We can't post links, but if you go to MD-Lightsource dot com you can read what he has on the weapon system uses.

In KJK's review, IIRC, the Xtar doesn't have PWM. I don't believe it steps down either when it gets hot, but again, I don't have one.


The Xtar was reviewed on this forum, and so was the Klarus, so reading those reviews should help as well.

I have some beam shots coincidentally from last night from the Klarus XT11:

(Exposures were adjusted to look as they appeared to the eye)

Dark - Control Shot

Klarus XT11

For scale, in these shots, those telephone poles are 87 meters apart, and the second transmission tower is 405 meters away (The convergence of the lines makes it hard to judge the distance between things in the above shots.)

The XT11 was using two RCR123's in the above shots.

As you can see, the light has some ballz....despite all the mist and crud in the air that night.

:D

 

[ctownstud00]

Thanks for your advice. I'm leaning towards the Xtar due to the higher lumen rating and cheaper price tag. I'm glad you explained PWM, it makes a lot of sense. I read the reviews you mentioned already, I was just looking to gather opinions. Thanks. Now I just need to get a larger battery or two and a charger, since I want long as possible runtimes!

 

[rambo180]

is he standing at a telegraph pole when shooting? that is to say, the pole being lit up is around 87m away?

cheers.