ROP or M3 or... ? Bump in the night/outdoors.

So, I've got a low post count, but I've been registered a while. I hang out on other forums, but I registered here for my occasional lighting questions
that only the true lighting geeks can answer :thumbsup:.

My EDC is covered. I'm looking for my bump in the night light. The prime considerations are durability, brightness (200+ lumens), and good outdoor performance. I know and enjoy LEDs, but having only used Cree xr-e, I am drawn to incan for outdoor use.

As indicated from asking about M3 with mn11, or a ROP, runtime can be around 20 minutes. I know the ROP is brighter, but I need durability. I have read multiple threads on building ROPs, but I still have yet to see a concise and easy thread on the use of one. Bulb life (both HOLA and LOLA), how finicky/instaflash they get, how bumping around when not on affects them, durability in use vs. other lamps- does it break if moved vigorously in the air? Basically, I know the SF is much darker, but having owned a surefire, and not being too gentle with gear, came to appreciate their ruggedness.

Additionally, what are the opinions on the M3 vs. the 9p durability wise? Not as much throw, I know. But what about horizontal abuse- is one better? Rechargable also wins points (read threads on both, 9p seems easier to make rechargeable). However, it's primary consideration is ultra reliability. Willing to use cr123s exclusively if that is what it takes.

Finally, I would go for an LED- but again, it needs to be ultra-reliable (circuitry included) and have spectacular CRI. The GDI doesn't cut it. Someone posted a picture with a frog and a particular LED that looked like midday- it was called sun something. I could go for that, but NO WHITEWALL HUNTER SPECIALS.

Size/Range: No turboheads. The 2D mag footprint is even starting to get too big. I want it to be large but not impossible non-flashaholic EDC-bag sized. Beam characteristics: SF-ish. Meaning, not a Zebralight nor a Maxabeam. Say, best performance is out to 30m. Can throw farther, but optimized for out to 30m.

Price? No more than $200, $150 is better. I can source a used M3 for under $150, so cheaper is better, and more expensive better have really good reasons.

Thanks for any help with this! Open to learning more, and answering more questions.

Consider buying a Magcharger (from Mag-lite) and replacing the stock bulb with a Phillips 5761 bulb that you can get off of ebay. Under $100 with charger, built like a tank, has Mag-lite parts and so forth, and makes a ton of light. The downside is that it is the size of a 3D mag. But its worth it.

If you want to spend just $20 or so, get a rechargeable Vector brand or similar spotlight from Target or Walmart. Its the most lumens for the money of any light, anywhere. Again, the downside tho is that it may be a little bigger than what you are after.

In your price range is also a Tiablo ACE, that uses an MC-E quad LED. Monster throw in the range of 600+ lumens, and can feed on 2xCR123 or 2x18650 with the included extension tube.

There are others, but this is where Powernoodle would start.


:twothumbs

Thanks for the suggestions; the magcharger might bear consideration.

So is no one really experimenting with modding using higher CRI leds? The led I was looking at was Mcgizmo's sundrop- but obviously, too expensive and too underpowered. So... what about the LED that fenix uses in the tk20? A beefed up, overdriven, bigger version (more than 1 led?) would be just about perfect for my use. Is there anyone that knows of anything like that?

The mag in this thread looks pretty much perfect: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/202363

So is there anything? Or am I doomed to easily breakable lights?

I don't think you will be able to achieve 200 lumens from a high CRI led, more likely ~170 at max drive current. That is unless you can find a warm 4-die emitter, which in that case would meet your requirements.

For your purposes, an ican may be the way to go. I have both a 2D ROP and a Surefire M3-CB, and would rather put my safety behind the M3. The ROP is brighter, but the M3 driven by 2x17500's throws out a wall of 400 lumens...more than enough for your tasks.

Situations like this are one of the reasons incans are still around. Your use would be a great application of a nice incan, what better light than a shock-isolated Surefire.

I agree with powernoodle, the ultimate bump-in-the-night light is a magcharger with a Phillips 5761 bulb.Stunningly bright and big enough to "bump" back if necessary!No LED will out throw it except maybe a Tiablo A10,and it won't have the overall volume (765 lumens vs 250 lumens).:thumbsup:

To answer just one of your questions; the M3 is a more durable design than the 9P and will hold up better if dropped or bumped on the side of the bezel.

You should be able to put together a 12P for under $150. See my list of lights below. A 12P will be 220 lumens for about 50 minutes. It will fit in a back pocket, or the side pocket of a pair of painters pants or carpenter jeans. You can add a shock resistant SureFire Z32 head for a P/C size lamp assembly for about $24. The Cabela's small turbo head (1.7 inch diameter) is a deal and it is a bit tighter beam than a C/P size head. C/P heads are a wall of light but they have good throw too. An M3 is not a bad choice either. When SF releases the M3 LED head you will have 350 lumens for 1.5 hours. The cost of that head will not be cheap and who knows when it will come out.

ugrey said:

A 12P will be 220 lumens for about 50 minutes. [...] You can add a shock resistant SureFire Z32 head for a P/C size lamp assembly for about $24. [...] C/P heads are a wall of light but they have good throw too. An M3 is not a bad choice either. When SF releases the M3 LED head you will have 350 lumens for 1.5 hours. The cost of that head will not be cheap and who knows when it will come out.

Click to expand...

1st (Question): Are there any reviews of the Cabelas head- output, durability, how many hours before , reliability?

2nd (Question): This surefire z32 head... looks great. If it has the same shock isolation as an m-series light, why aren't there more LEGOs with that head? Seems relatively cheap for the potential reliability increase.

3rd (statement): Unless the M3 LED has superb CRI, it don't matter to me.

4th (unrelated question): I am curious about having a ROP, Mag-5761, or other hotwire, even if not for this purpose, just to have a "super"-light. Are there any long term reviews of these lights? Meaning- day in, day out, how much bulb replacement is, the care and feeding, etc.? I've seen build plans, but nothing on the actual usability.

Thanks again CPF members. Even if I don't post here much, I read the forum at least weekly. Truly the saviors for those who want gear that the less-enlightened can only dream of.

M3 + (2)17500 + LF lamp for 200 or so

Better yet - both the M3 + ROP

Personally, I don't see the point of an M3 / M6 type of light unless you really are a SWAT member or part of the Special Forces, where all expenses are paid for. I wouldn't trust my safety / security solely on a light no matter how good it is. I hope I didn't just open up a can of worms...

My personal choice for a "bump in the night" type of light, as well as a general bright light, would be an off-brand high power incan. Something like the Solarforce 600 / 1200, or the Ultrafire WF-500/600, would be ideal, with two UNPROTECTED 18650s. The reason is, if you need a light RIGHT NOW, you don't want to be doubling clicking the switch to warm up the filament.

The "600" series lights from Solarforce or Ultrafire comes with a 20W Phillips bulb, so it's of fairly good quality.

If you want to go for a custom setup, then so far, I still believe I have the cheapest solution to a ROP / Mag85 style light.

I'm running a custom soldered 8aa Eneloop pack in a 2D Mag, which fits perfectly without a bore. With this, I'm driving a generic 6V, 20W, G4 bi-pin space light bulb rated at 5000 hrs. The high hr rating is necessary for the high level of overdrive. The good thing about this bulb setup? It's around $1 a pop off Ebay.

The bulb pulls roughly 30 - 35 W of power, which I estimate to be around the same level of brightness as an ROP.

My preferred 'bump in the night' light is a 50w Mag hotwire, bulbs are cheap enough from Dept. stores (2 for $4.99 AUD) however charging batteries is a tedious affair for me as I need to remove the cells (I don't have a multi-cell charger)... runtime is in the vacinity of 30+ minutes

It produces a wall-of-light with decent throw, as an example I've included a small beamshot below, distance from powerpole is 106ft, camera is imediately to the right of the torch whilst camera settinngs are 2 sec delay, F2.6 ISO 100, the environment is free of ambient lighting (middle of nowhere) :thumbsup: