Can't Decide: New Olight M20 Warrior OR Dereelight CL1H V4

I like the strobe on the M20, and everything else looks awesome, but I DON'T like that you have to double-twist the head of the light to change modes. Not sure how well and how fast I could do that with one hand.

I like that the CL1H v4 is modular and upgradable... but, one simple question...

What are the emitter lumens on the CL1H v4 when driven at 1.2A???

I think my Tiablo A9S is 256 emitter lumens and it is driven at 1A (it has a Q5 in there I think).

Also consider that I could get the premium M20 with the R2 bin Cree... I'm wonder how many amps it pushes the emitter at in order to get 250 emitter lumens from the R2.

A chart with amps vs. emitter lumens for each cree bin would be really nice if someone could do that for me

Overall, what do you guys think about these 2 lights against each other?

My main objective is to have the best personal self-defense LED light I can get. The M20 is almost everything I would want in that regard, but the mode change via twisting is the killer for me. I also would have liked less intensity modes. (i.e. Max and strobe, and just maybe a low).

The CL1H doesn't have strobe.

AAARRRHHHHGGG.... help me decide guys.

p.s. Oh yeah, and don't CPF me by saying "just get both"... I shouldn't even be buying one, much less two!!!

yalskey said:

A chart with amps vs. emitter lumens for each cree bin would be really nice if someone could do that for me

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Just multiply the 350mA value with 2.2 and your got the 1A lumens (Efficiency is lower at higher current).

I have to say the Olight looks like a smashing (pun) light and going by the specs it gets my vote!

I wouldn't worry about one light being a few lumens more than the other when it comes to real world situations, however I also have no knowledge on using flashlights for self defense purposes.

I'm not sure how much faith I'd put in a flashlight for self defense and I'm leary of making recommedations. However, the one thing I'd be concerned with is the UI. During a self defense situation the last thing you probably want to be dealing with is changing modes. With the CL1H you'd be tapping the tail switch, with the Olight (which I have no experience with) it sounds like twisting is involved.

When I take my kids for a stroller ride in the evening I carry a light on me with self defense in mind, even if it would turn out to be uselss, I at least feel it's the best set up I can put together. It's a Surfire 6P, with a Solar Force stainless steel strike bezel, and a Malkoff M60 Q5. The light has some heft, the stike bezel would do a number on someone if I managed to hit them with it, and the Malkoff M60 sends out about as much of a blinding beam as you can get in a light that size, from a Cree LED.

The CL1H with an OP reflector and a Q5 would be very comparable when it comes to intensity, or you could put a M60 in a CL1H.

With the SF 6P set up I have momentary on, and it's only one mode, full blast. With the CL1H if you go with a 3SD you have low, medium, and high, which area easy to select through, but for a self defense situation it maybe less than ideal. You might consider a 1SD (1 stage) Dereelight drop-in so your CL1H would always come on in high. If you installed a smooth reflector you would increase the lux in the hot spot, making it even more blinding, but the hot spot starts to get small and you will have to be more accurate with your aiming.

Wow... thanks WadeF for your input. That really helped.

Right now I have a SureFire 6P Defender with a Wolf-Eyes (read: ProLight) R2 280 lumen (NOT 280 lumens if you know what I mean) drop-in. It has 2 modes... full blast and strobe (which I love that configuration for self-defense), but the intensity is significantly less than my TK10.

Not to go off topic, but does anyone know of a P60 drop in with full / strobe modes only where the full mode is as bright or brighter than the TK10?

Flashlights that take both 18650s and 2xCR123As usually don't have flat regulation when running 18650s. Some examples are Fenix tk11, Dereelight CL1H SM3 and Wolf Eyes (Fox & Sniper). Dereelight CL1H 3SD and 1S have flat regulation with 18650s.

The other Olight flashlights limit current for the lower modes. If this one does, it would be an advantage over the Dereelight.

Hopefully the Olight reviews will show up soon.

maybe you can ask Dereelight to custom made the driver + the pill for you just to have 2 modes ( Turbo & Strobe ) hint-hint

i carry the derry on my belt every day now, not cumbersome and superb beam. in all honesty mate,i for one can do without 'functions' . on and off is fine. as far as strobe goes, its a gimmik, has to be a certain frequency to work correctly, most strobes strobe too quickly. yalsky, i know u can handle urself, relying on a torch in a situation is an error. :shakehead

Metatron said:

i carry the derry on my belt every day now, not cumbersome and superb beam. in all honesty mate,i for one can do without 'functions' . on and off is fine. as far as strobe goes, its a gimmik, has to be a certain frequency to work correctly, most strobes strobe too quickly. yalsky, i know u can handle urself, relying on a torch in a situation is an error. :shakehead

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Metatron.... thanks for you input on this matter.

Believe me, I have ZERO delusions about what a flashlight is useful for, and what it is NOT useful for in a self-defense situation. I DO NOT believe, nor do I depend on flashlights stopping and dropping an attack on the spot.

Me carrying a tactical flashlight for self-defensive purposes is a small part of a multi-layered personal protection portfolio I employ. No one thing is a solve-all, and they all work in conjunction with each other.

The main benefit tactical flashlights have in a self-defense context is they display your situational / environmental awareness to a would-be predator. The predator observes you walking along with a very powerful light helping you be aware of your surroundings. He may very well choose a less aware mark / target.

The strobe function works well as a low level deterrence. Someone approaching you for no good reason? You can go to strobe and tell them to stop their advance. If employed ahead of time, this can be an assertive action that can derail escalation. Then again, nothing's a guarantee... that's why you have many layers of self-defense available.

Thanks for the concern regarding this, but, as you can see, I have my head on squarely when it comes to this subject.

nanotech17 said:

maybe you can ask Dereelight to custom made the driver + the pill for you just to have 2 modes ( Turbo & Strobe ) hint-hint

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I'm sure they would jump at the opportunity.

I'm also sure that kind of thing would be very affordable!

[/sarcasm]

For self-defence I have a Fenix TK10 and a can of pepperspray. Once you spray pepperspray in their eyes there is no need for strobe.:naughty:

I would choose the Dereelight over the Olight mostly because the Dereelight has better regulation and is upgradable.

I hope someone with much more experience will post to this after my input as my knowledge is about 20 years dated. I joined CPF recently when I in the market for new lights just to have around, but in another world I was a LEO (Chicago PD). I think other conciderations should go into his other then lumens or the lights UI, and it depends on what defense you are going to do with it.

If you are just going to "blind" someone might as well consider output as the primary motivator in your decision, but I have really never had a lot of faith in this. Several people just acted like bufoons when I shined a light in their face.

If you think you might have to actually hit someone with your light you have to take this fact into consideration. You will want your light to work during and after you have engaged the other combatent. (For this reason I am parshal to Surefire, but they were the only company around when I was a LEO that had this rep.) At the time it was looked down upper smacking an offender with a Maglite. The question from the defence would be, "So office, why did you find it necessary to hit my client with 3 feet of aircraft aluminum when there was this nice wooden batton near you for your convenience to whale on his a**." Although I never had to engage anyone with my Mag I went through them like candy.

If you are using the light for firearm combat you should consider weight and bounceback as well. At the time we were trained using the Illinois State Police recommendation...hold the light out at arms length to your side. Flash your Mag light on when you want to see where the subject was, click off, change position, click on, fire, wash, rinse, repeat. Vola, you are an expert nighttime handgun marksman. Things have changed a bit. Weight has been discussed as on CPF in reference to firearms combat. You may be engaged for some time when in combat so you should consider a light that is not heavy. Bounceback from too much output is another problem in close quarters IMO.

John

Here's you one with strobe: http://www.szwholesale.com/-p-1850.html

Thanks for all the great input guys.

I've pulled the trigger on the M20 due to the Strobe feature and the R2 emitter.

yalskey said:

Thanks for all the great input guys.

I've pulled the trigger on the M20 due to the Strobe feature and the R2 emitter.

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Congrat's on your new light! I think you would (or I would) be more than happy with either light. I felt more than secure carrying my old 6P with first the P60 and then P61 bulb back in the 90's and both lights are far more versitile and have way more (or less) output than the old 6P.

The nice thing these days is... there really are not too many "bad" choices out there. But, I think I am going to make the same decission you did... and hope I am happy as well.

yalskey said:

Thanks for all the great input guys.

I've pulled the trigger on the M20 due to the Strobe feature and the R2 emitter.

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Let us know what you think!

WadeF said:

Let us know what you think!

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Will do Wade. I plan on doing unboxing photos and beam shots... although my automatic camera won't allow me to adjust the white balance I don't think... I'll see.

Hey, completely off topic, but how come most flashlight reviews are in the Flashlight Reviews forum on CPF, but some are listed on the LED forums? I put my unboxing photos / initial review of the D10 in the LED forum and it was quickly moved out of there... yet some people's stuff remains. What gives?