Gary123
Enlightened
After purchasing Ma_Sha's "King of Throw", I decided to do a thread comparing my throwers. Most of these are custom, some are built from readily available components, and a few are production pieces.
For me, a thrower is a useful light that meets two tests:
1) puts enough light on a target at 60+ yards to clearly make out detail on the target, and
2) the illuminated field of view at that distance is large enough to reasonably conduct a search.
My lights in the picture are ordered by throw with the best thrower on the left. They are:
Ma_Sha's XM-L King of Throw
Sunlight 8W
Houndog XM-L
Houndog XP-G
Led Zep custom 27mm aspheric in a two stage Balrog body
Milky custom MC-E with Fraen optic
Milky custom 3 x XRE
Led Zep 3xP7 on 3x18650 FM Megalennium body w/ Mac switch
Saltytri SST-90 Two Tone Thrower
Van Isle DSM XP-G R4 quad with copper heatsink in an FM 26650 body with smooth old FM tail and Cryos Cooling Bezel
And two XM-L lights for baseline comparisons:
Milky XM-L designed for shorter ranges in a SF 123 host
TnC EDC 18650 XM-L flupic light driven rather hard
I did three rounds of shots: 55 yards, 70 yards, and 150 yards.
Needless to say, the surprise in the group was the second from the left - the 8W Sunlite.
All night pictures had identical exposures. Best I could do with my camera (3" @ 2.8) Let the pictures begin:
Rounds One and Two: 55 vs 70 yards: tree in the middle is the target.
55 yards
70 yards
Milky 123 XML @ 55 yards: not even close to illuminating the target, as expected from a mid/short range EDC
Milky 123 XML @ 70 yards
TnC EDC XM-L, compact 18650 @ 55 yards: Reaches the target. Impressive for an EDC
TnC EDC XM-L, compact 18650 @ 70 yards: target is beyond reach, as expected for an EDC, which should be a general purpose light.
Van Isle DSM quad XP-G copper heatsink R4 @ 55 yards: Reaches the target on sheer brute force. Fantastic tint! Considerable spill, note where the spill falls relative to the soccer field lines. Very even field of illumination.
Van Isle DSM quad XP-G copper heatsink R4 @ 70 yards: Not surprising, cannot reach the target at this distance.
Saltytri 2 Tone Thrower @ 55 yards: Entering thrower territory. Reaches target with some illumination of dark bushes nearby. Spill does not reach to the right soccer field line. Spill is sacrificed to increase throw. Notice how the spill beam fades off in the near mid field, and the clearly formed spot in front of the tree.
Saltytri 2 Tone Thrower @ 70 yards: Still reaches target, but at its useful limit. A wonderful search light for 50 - 70 yards.
Milky 3xXRE @ 55 yards: Slightly better than the 2 Tone Thrower. Good blend of spill and throw, spill reaches right soccer field line. Nice large spill fades at midfield and blends to spot in front of the target tree.
Milky 3xXRE @ 70 yards: Slight illumination of bushes around target.
Led Zep 3xP7 @ 55 yards: Reaches target with authority, clearly illuminates bushes around target. Achieves throw by brute force. Monster spill with substantial throw. Note how even the field of illumination is from close up to the target tree. Spill and spot are nearly perfectly blended.
Led Zep 3xP7 @ 70 yards: still illuminates some bushes around target. In person, more illumination of bushes than picture shows.
Milky MC-E w/ Fraen optic @ 55 yards: A powerhouse at this distance. Very little spill in order to enhance throw. Spill is just sufficient to walk with, but insufficient for the camera to record. Remarkable throw considering the emitter is an MC-E.
Milky MC-E optic @ 70 yards: ample illumination of dark bushes around target. Plenty of light on the target at this distance.
Led Zep aspsheric @ 55 yards: A tinly flashlight putting considerable light on a small target. Notice how green the bushes are around the tree.
Led Zep aspsheric @ 70 yards: Putting considerable light on the dark bushes around target at this distance.
Hound Dog XP-G @ 55 yards: A fantastic production thrower. Weak but sufficient spill is sacrificed to enhance throw.
Hound Dog XP-G @ 70 yards: Plenty of light at this distance. Plenty of light on dark bushes around target.
Hound Dog XM-L @ 55 yards: Same throw as XP-G but larger spot and much brighter spill. Additional light compared to XP-G mostly goes into spill for more even field of illumination, and some goes into an enlarged spot.
Hound Dog XM-L @ 70 yards: Reasonably large area of dark bushes around target are well illuminated.
Sunlight 8W @ 55 yards: More light on target than either Hound Dog, in a smaller form factor. Aspheric like performance, with a large spill beam that is adequate for walking in the dark. A touch more spill than Milky's MC-E optic. A sleeper on Candlepowerforums.
Sunlight 8W @ 70 yards: Target and bushes adjacent are well lit. Small spot.
ma_sha1's XM-L Thrower @ 55 yards: Way too short a distance for this light.
ma_sha1's XM-L Thrower @ 70 yards: Still too short a distance for this light.
150 YARD COMPARISON pictures of beamshots below were heavily cropped to show performance
Led Zep aspheric @ 150 yards: Barely visible, but it is there. Pretty good for such a small light.
Hound Dog XP-G @ 150 yards: Tree is slightly visible.
Hound Dog XM-L @ 150 yards: Tree is clearly visible, slightly better than the Hound Dog XP-G.
Sunlite 8W @ 150 yards: Close, but it edges out the Hound Dog XM-L. Impressive, considering it is a warmer tint.
ma_sha1's XML Thrower @ 150 yards: How much further can this go?
For me, a thrower is a useful light that meets two tests:
1) puts enough light on a target at 60+ yards to clearly make out detail on the target, and
2) the illuminated field of view at that distance is large enough to reasonably conduct a search.
My lights in the picture are ordered by throw with the best thrower on the left. They are:
Ma_Sha's XM-L King of Throw
Sunlight 8W
Houndog XM-L
Houndog XP-G
Led Zep custom 27mm aspheric in a two stage Balrog body
Milky custom MC-E with Fraen optic
Milky custom 3 x XRE
Led Zep 3xP7 on 3x18650 FM Megalennium body w/ Mac switch
Saltytri SST-90 Two Tone Thrower
Van Isle DSM XP-G R4 quad with copper heatsink in an FM 26650 body with smooth old FM tail and Cryos Cooling Bezel
And two XM-L lights for baseline comparisons:
Milky XM-L designed for shorter ranges in a SF 123 host
TnC EDC 18650 XM-L flupic light driven rather hard
I did three rounds of shots: 55 yards, 70 yards, and 150 yards.
Needless to say, the surprise in the group was the second from the left - the 8W Sunlite.
All night pictures had identical exposures. Best I could do with my camera (3" @ 2.8) Let the pictures begin:
Rounds One and Two: 55 vs 70 yards: tree in the middle is the target.
55 yards
70 yards
Milky 123 XML @ 55 yards: not even close to illuminating the target, as expected from a mid/short range EDC
Milky 123 XML @ 70 yards
TnC EDC XM-L, compact 18650 @ 55 yards: Reaches the target. Impressive for an EDC
TnC EDC XM-L, compact 18650 @ 70 yards: target is beyond reach, as expected for an EDC, which should be a general purpose light.
Van Isle DSM quad XP-G copper heatsink R4 @ 55 yards: Reaches the target on sheer brute force. Fantastic tint! Considerable spill, note where the spill falls relative to the soccer field lines. Very even field of illumination.
Van Isle DSM quad XP-G copper heatsink R4 @ 70 yards: Not surprising, cannot reach the target at this distance.
Saltytri 2 Tone Thrower @ 55 yards: Entering thrower territory. Reaches target with some illumination of dark bushes nearby. Spill does not reach to the right soccer field line. Spill is sacrificed to increase throw. Notice how the spill beam fades off in the near mid field, and the clearly formed spot in front of the tree.
Saltytri 2 Tone Thrower @ 70 yards: Still reaches target, but at its useful limit. A wonderful search light for 50 - 70 yards.
Milky 3xXRE @ 55 yards: Slightly better than the 2 Tone Thrower. Good blend of spill and throw, spill reaches right soccer field line. Nice large spill fades at midfield and blends to spot in front of the target tree.
Milky 3xXRE @ 70 yards: Slight illumination of bushes around target.
Led Zep 3xP7 @ 55 yards: Reaches target with authority, clearly illuminates bushes around target. Achieves throw by brute force. Monster spill with substantial throw. Note how even the field of illumination is from close up to the target tree. Spill and spot are nearly perfectly blended.
Led Zep 3xP7 @ 70 yards: still illuminates some bushes around target. In person, more illumination of bushes than picture shows.
Milky MC-E w/ Fraen optic @ 55 yards: A powerhouse at this distance. Very little spill in order to enhance throw. Spill is just sufficient to walk with, but insufficient for the camera to record. Remarkable throw considering the emitter is an MC-E.
Milky MC-E optic @ 70 yards: ample illumination of dark bushes around target. Plenty of light on the target at this distance.
Led Zep aspsheric @ 55 yards: A tinly flashlight putting considerable light on a small target. Notice how green the bushes are around the tree.
Led Zep aspsheric @ 70 yards: Putting considerable light on the dark bushes around target at this distance.
Hound Dog XP-G @ 55 yards: A fantastic production thrower. Weak but sufficient spill is sacrificed to enhance throw.
Hound Dog XP-G @ 70 yards: Plenty of light at this distance. Plenty of light on dark bushes around target.
Hound Dog XM-L @ 55 yards: Same throw as XP-G but larger spot and much brighter spill. Additional light compared to XP-G mostly goes into spill for more even field of illumination, and some goes into an enlarged spot.
Hound Dog XM-L @ 70 yards: Reasonably large area of dark bushes around target are well illuminated.
Sunlight 8W @ 55 yards: More light on target than either Hound Dog, in a smaller form factor. Aspheric like performance, with a large spill beam that is adequate for walking in the dark. A touch more spill than Milky's MC-E optic. A sleeper on Candlepowerforums.
Sunlight 8W @ 70 yards: Target and bushes adjacent are well lit. Small spot.
ma_sha1's XM-L Thrower @ 55 yards: Way too short a distance for this light.
ma_sha1's XM-L Thrower @ 70 yards: Still too short a distance for this light.
150 YARD COMPARISON pictures of beamshots below were heavily cropped to show performance
Led Zep aspheric @ 150 yards: Barely visible, but it is there. Pretty good for such a small light.
Hound Dog XP-G @ 150 yards: Tree is slightly visible.
Hound Dog XM-L @ 150 yards: Tree is clearly visible, slightly better than the Hound Dog XP-G.
Sunlite 8W @ 150 yards: Close, but it edges out the Hound Dog XM-L. Impressive, considering it is a warmer tint.
ma_sha1's XML Thrower @ 150 yards: How much further can this go?
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