Wanted: brighter than X21

[Canopus]

hi everyone

i got the lenser X21 today and its great but left me wanting more.

I'm specifically looking for a commercial LED flashlight with a brighter flood (preferably much brighter). I know of the Olight SR90 but that only has a flood/spot combo and the battery life doesn't sound so great (2200 Lumens/70 Minutes).

any suggestions would be great , thanks.

 

[Canopus]

:bump:

 

[monkeyboy]

The X21 only appears to have long runtime because it's not regulated. So you're only getting a short length of bright runtime followed by a long tail off of very low light output. This is just the standard alkaline battery discharge curve. The olight SR90 maintains its full output for the 70 mins. If you want long runtimes you can select lower modes yourself.

A very rough calculation shows that 4D alkalines under load (on high) holds about the same energy as the 6 x 18650 li-ions in the SR90. Both LED technologies and electronics should be similarly efficient too. So you're not getting anything extra out of the X21. With the current technology you can't get brighter + longer runtime without making the light bigger.

EDIT:

You could also check out the Microfire Challenger II L2000R if money is no object

Or the Lupine betty bike light (1800lm XP-G version). This will give decent flood.

 

[Canopus]

thanks for your help monkeyboy,
I used the x21 for around three hours yesterday and still can't really feel a drop in power (using the alkaline d-cells provided by lenser). could be that my eyes can't tell the difference.
anyways thanks for pointing out the Challenger II. I haven't heard of it before, and seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. the size of the x21's flood is great just not very intense at around 10-15 meters mark. in your opinion would Challenger II provide a substantially brighter flood at that distance? you can't focus the beam on the Challenger II right? so does anyone have a photo of how the spot/flood looks like, and would the majority of the light be going to a spot.
should I buy the Challenger II or will that too leave me wanting a bit more. Should I wait for something to come out that's a big jump in performance.

 

[Jash]

Want bright flood?

You want this http://elektrolumens.com/FireSword/FireSword-IV.html

 

[Canopus]

hi Jash, yeah I thought about a custom/modified flashlight, but was concerned about quality reliability.

 

[bedazzLED]

Hi Canopus.

I can vouch for the Elektrolumens lights, they are just about the best quality lights you can get, and amongst the brightest LED lights, and the Customer service is fantastic.

I have the EDC MCE and the Decree XPG and they are just about as tough as a torch could be, and the build quality is second to none.

Do not hesitate on the Firesword if build quality and reliability are your concerns.

Need some convincing? The Firesword is 3000 lumens as opposed to the 1000 lumens of the X21.

Need even more convincing? The Firesword is around 36% more brightness and around 12% cheaper than the OLight SR90 at 2200 lumens.

Don't get me wrong, the SR90 is a beautiful torch, the X21 is fine also, but the Firesword is a Masterpiece!

 

[357mag1]

The Firesword is about as simple and rugged a flashlight as you could purchase. Even the switch is mechanical and can't go bad unless the spring gives out (not likely, it is large).
The beam is all flood and it will light up the night for a short ways but it has no real throw. In my back yard it is like someone turned on a couple of yard lights.
It will only run about an hour with four 2600mah Li-Ion cells. I would recommend you ask Wayne to open the barrel up for 26650 cells as that should get you at least an hour and a half. The barrel (body) is almost a quarter inch thick so there is plenty of room for the 26650 batteries.

 

[monkeyboy]

There aren't any good reviews of the L2000R that I know of but they are a decent brand. I had the opportunity to play with the SR90 last night and I was very impressed. But it is a large light and mostly throw orientated. The Elektrolumens Firesword is just not in the same league as either the SR-90 or L2000R with regards to sophistication or fit and finish.

 

[Archie Cruz]

I'm about to post pics of the MOD'd X21 that I've been using for Photography & Video work. The whole 'D' cell alkaline thing really got to me too. One thing about the X21. Once the optics have been tweaked and a Cyclops Dome added, it beats anything I've got for 120º of flood, hence my use of it in Video work. It's now also kickarse for prowling the hood. My next MOD will be even shorter to use a plug-in power.
lovecpf

 

[Canopus]

^^ more info please i'm intrigued.

after everyone's suggestions I decided to either buy the challenger II L2000R or wait for something better to come along. I tried to read everything I could find about the Challenger II but unfortunately there wasn't very much other than the company's info. this is the only photo I could find, and it's hard to judge without being able to compare it with anything else.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[monkeyboy]

It looks like a great light but it's very expensive in comparison to the SR-90

There was talk in a previous thread about a custom 4000lm version of L2000R light being produced that throttles down to 2000lm when it gets too hot. I don't know if it ended up being produced though.