Good powerful Flood light

I had a friend just loose my beloved SF III lux V from Light Hound. I loved the powerful flood beam this thing produced.
Can anyone point me to something that will replace this? Is the stock KL4 as good? I would like some input for I lack a similar light.

Oh no SFIIIs = priceless one of a kind artifacts

When in doubt though, U2 it out!

Tell me about it. I learned a valuble leason. Never lend anyone anything nice that he/she does not appeciate or adore. I am still hoping it will turn up. '

I just don't want to take the risk with the U2 and all the horror stories I have heard about them. Are they good floods or a combo of throwing and flood? I just want a great flood? What about the KL4 stock?

Fringe said:

I had a friend just loose my beloved SF III lux V from Light Hound. I loved the powerful flood beam this thing produced.

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Don't you mean ex-friend?

If I were you, I'd give the Surefire L5 or L6 a shot. More expensive and less pocketable than the L4 or L2, but with a more powerful floody beam.

KL4 > KL5 when it comes to flood

the L5 throws and floods, the KL4 just loves to flood

runtime and all the jaz is another story

Thanks guys, I will check these out.

Here's a thread with similar topic that you may have seen. . .

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/131183

The only SureFire LED light that I chose for a "good powerful flood light" was the SF.L2 Digital LumaMax.

Hope you find what you're looking for and Enjoy!

Fringe said:

I just don't want to take the risk with the U2 and all the horror stories I have heard about them.

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Shrug, my U2 is fine. On the front you get the same Luxeon lottery as with any other Luxeon. And on the back end you might have a switch go bad, but it's not really a problem because Surefire will send you them like candy, so if you want to play it safe, request a new tailcap as soon as you get the light.

The beam has a nice flood and a nice spot, so it's half and half for throw and flood. The thing that sold me was the variable settings and great battery life at each setting. Jack of all trades works for me since I only need one light.

That said, L5 and L6 are shown in this fun new post and their beams might be up to your standards too! https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1576564

If you are looking for a similar beam, then another McGizmo offering would probably do the trick. I believe the reflector used by the SFIII is a cutdown McR-38 reflector, used in the AlephIII, and the same curve of the McR45 reflectors used in the HD45. Based on that I'd assume (because i haven't owned an AlephIII before) that the AlephIII with the appropriate drive levels and power pack would offer you a similar experience as the SFIII. by coincidence, MSax has a chrome AlephIII on sale right now, but that is with a 1x123 powerpack.

I compared my lighthound SFIII to my U2 and HD45, and the HD45 of course had the closest beam, with a very similar hotspot, both in terms of shape & brightness. the main difference (apart from the HD45's larger physical size) is that the SFIII trades off a little bit of hotspot brightness (not noticeable in practical-use terms) for a much wider spill. The spill is about the same brightness on both, but SFIII is really much wider, probably due to the cutdown reflector allowing more 'width' in the beam.

The U2 is unique in that it literally straddles the line between flood and throw. most have described it as a "ram" of light and that's what it is. for most practical (real life) purposes my U2 has as much throw on high as the HD45 and the same beam width, but a much wider hotspot and much brighter sidespill.

I eventually decided to keep the U2 & SFIII, and traded off the HD45. Beamshots on my site comparing these three lights if you are interested in any of them. I also did a small writeup on the three lights here on F-F. It is possible to avoid most of the subjective quality issues of the U2 if you get it off a known seller on B/S/T. OpticsHQ, where I got my U2, is a great place to buy it new.

Thanks guys for the excellent advise and illustrations of various beamshots. I am going to do some more research and hope my SFIII turns up, but until then, I will gather all I can to make a wise purchase.

The Streamlight TL-3 LED has a great flood with a decent hotspot.

What are you using it for to need a large flood?

The Streamlight TL-3 LED will light up a larger area than my Surefire U2, but the U2 has a brighter hotspot and sidespill.

just an advice... Don't kill you friend!!!(or enemy from now onwards ?)

lets hope he can find it... or you will be mourning for the SFIII

how much is the SFIII and is it limited in production?
only lights I heard as "priceless one of a kind artifacts" was for a Mclux

loomy said:

Oh no SFIIIs = priceless one of a kind artifacts

When in doubt though, U2 it out!

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the Lighthound SFIIIs sold for US$385 or something like that, and were a limited run of 125 units.

i didn't follow the 'original' SFIII sales thread more closely but those were of an even more limited production.

they are all built like a tank and the machining oozes quality and durability. emitters are said to be handpicked, and from my unit i have no reason to doubt it, so essentially you are ensured of a lottery winner.

differences that i am aware of is that the Lighthound SFIIIs are driven at 750ma, has W-bin luxVs, and a single-stage kroll. the 'originals' had a choice of LuxV@1000ma or LuxIII@?, and two-stage krolls, among other things i guess.

there's also (at least) one K2 SFIII floating about... wonder who has that one =)

The L4 is more of a close range to just MAYBE medium range light. The L5 is a much better thrower, and around here is considered a "Ram" of light. It doesnt throw awesome, and it doesnt flood awesome, it just does both pretty well. The L6 is also like an L5, just a bit more throwier. If you want get similar output as your SFIII, then I suggest an L6 or a U2. You can find reviews on most of these lights at

www.flashlightreviews.com/index1