Which 600+ lumen flashlight to get?

Seems like there is now a huge range of MCE/P7/triple cree flashlights is now available on the market. I'd like to get one for some powerful lumens but at a loss on which one to get.

Originally I was eyeing off the Fenix TK40 because I like the AA factor, as I currently do not have li-ion batteries. However thinking about it; 16xAA (2 sets) is a lot of rechargeable NiMH batteries that I'll need to get. Plus I'd need a new charger if I plan on charging all 8 in the one go.

I like the look of the eagletac m2/m2x, form factor seems good and quite different from other brands... waiting to hear reviews for it. I'd be fine getting some 18650 li-ions for it.

Then theres also the range from tiablo, jetbeam, olight m30. I don't like the look of the olight M30 though... its too sharp and pointy for me

Just wanted to start a discussion and comparison between whats out there.

I'm sort of dreaming I had the budget to spend $331 on a sunlite 16w ($228) with these accessories ($103):

- Car charger
- Short 8w body
- 2600 mAh battery (for the short body)
- Headband

The shorter body will give shorter runtime and slightly less output, but will be more pocketable. Both the short (16w head on 8w body) and the long version (16w head&body) will give you a two mode light, around 100'ish lumens on low and 5-600 on high. As you can see, I'm also a fan of headlamp for some applications. I'm not sure if you can use an ordinary battery (such as 18650) in this light, but I don't think so.

Check it out on http://www.powerledlighting.com/ You will find a link to a couple of CPF reviews, or search this forums for more.

Technically, it will be less than your specified 600 lumens but pretty close...

The price is pretty steep, but for allmost every other light you must include the cost of batteries and charger, which are inluded here.

A perhaps more realistic budget alternative is the MG RX-1 ($61) from shiningbeam.com.

http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-125/**NEW**-MG-RX-dsh-1-Cree/Detail

Reviews can be found at the forum or in the above link. I have a particular sweet spot for vendors that include links to independent reviews on their web page.


I've also read at CPF that the MG RX-1 will have a little brother with smaller head, to be released anytime soon.

Get something custom made!

You'll get alot more than the 600-700 lumens that you would from the production lights.

There are several review threads which compare some of these high output lights. May I ask what your other intended use would be for one other than one that has 'powerful lumens'?

Here is a list of basically what is currently out there:


Some info is missing...but most of it is there. These all have their good points and bad points.

Edit....just noticed I don't have the RX-1 on there.....and I have the Raptor included, which is not technically a 'high-output' light.

Edit: I've updated some info and added the RX-1 MC-E. Also removed the Raptor.
Edit: I've also taken out the M2X and adjusted the weights to include the batteries, since that is the weight we all care about.
Edit: Added some Lumapower and Ultrafire lights.

Ryanrpm said:

There are several review threads which compare some of these high output lights. May I ask what your other intended use would be for one other than one that has 'powerful lumens'?


Some info is missing...but most of it is there. These all have their good points and bad points.

Edit....just noticed I don't have the RX-1 on there.....and I have the Raptor included, which is not technically a 'high-output' light.

Click to expand...

Ryanrpm, this is awesome! Thanks so much for a great chart!

I too am in this boat and I think that there are MANY of us who are waiting to hear what the best of the best will be this generation. I think that the EagleTacs are bound to be great and am very excited about the Legion II if Neofab can get things together with production... The TK40 is a cool light but it didn't speak to me with the multiple AAs and the slightly odd form factor... but it is a contender none-the-less!:twothumbs

Which 600+ lumen flashlight to get?

I have to start with this: Which 600+ lumen flashlight is currently shipping? There's a lot of vapor right now.

Ryanrpm said:

There are several review threads which compare some of these high output lights. May I ask what your other intended use would be for one other than one that has 'powerful lumens'?

Click to expand...

I don't really have any particular intended use, other than general outdoor night-time usage. I just want 'powerful lumens' is that so much to ask?

btw budget wise I was thinking the $150-200 mark

I consider myself still a newby, so take my comments with care.

Lights that I own:

Wolf-Eyes sniper MC-E:

Fairly bright, well build, nice design and still small enough to be carried
around all day long in a jacket pocket or a briefcase.
My favorite light to date.

Solarforce L900m (SSC P7):

Not exactly an EDC light, but I sadly have to say
that in regards of brightness it will run circles around the
WE Sniper and probably most of the other lights.
Huge, bright spill and a spot twice as bright as the WE Sniper.


Light that I'm not particularly interested in:

Fenix TK40, because of the amount of batteries.

Tiabolo 10, just an on and off UI for a 600lm light?

Jetbeam M1X, if I read the beamshots correct, it's more a thrower and a searchlight,
while I prefer a large and bright spill and don't need much throw.

Lights that I consider:

I heard rumours about a MC-E version of the Jetbeam Raptor,
this one would be very promising for me.

Olight M30, yes it has an odd design but if it is build as good as my Olight M20,
it would be something to consider. (can't wait to see the first reviews)

Neofab Legion II and EagleTac M2C4

Interesting design, though I'm not sure if changing batteries
(in the dark middle of nowhere) will work without problems.

Solarforce L2 with MC-E drop in

A SF L2 with Q5 is on the way, if I like the build quality
I'll surely consider to get one with MC-E drop in.

Ryanrpm said:

Here is a list of basically what is currently out there:

Click to expand...

The TK40 is "out the front" lumens, and it fits very well with my measurements:
M1X is about 70% of TK40
TK40 is about 90% of Legion2

I would go with the Tiablo ACE. It Seems to be a be a really solid flashlight. And don't be scared of using CR123's or 18650's... Just order a nice batch online.

And what about the Dereelight DBS MC-E? 500+ lumens out the front.
Chopped liver?

extremetito said:

And what about the Dereelight DBS MC-E? 500+ lumens out the front.
Chopped liver?

Click to expand...

LOL!

I should add it in there too. I haven't personnaly seen a lot of attention on it lately...and assumed that many wouldn't consider it a decent comparison.

Have any of you all seen it in comparison to these newer quad emitter lights? I don't think it will hold up.

Dereelight should design a purposeful MCE/P7 light that will take the lead.....maybe they have something in the works already...who knows.

hazna:

I think you need to consider how large of a light (bezel primarily) you can manage. As a rule, the larger the bezel/reflector (assuming similar driver performance) the greater the output will be. The Sunlite is an exception due to it's proprietary LED.

I'd be curious to see an M30-DBS MC-E comparsion as both have similar reflector diameters, although the DBS reflector appears deeper.

I have built up my own 16 inch integration sphere system and have been working to "calibrate" it against all my lights I have taken readings of from the 6 inch IS system we have at work. I have gotten some really good readings on various flashlights in the 400 to 900 lumen range. bigchelis brought over several lights for me to test and compare to the solarforce L900M and Malkoff Triple drop in a 4C maglight that I have. I was actually trying to publish the spreadsheet last night using that google document upload resource. However, it was actually clipping off some of the data and everytime I tried to upload the updated spreadsheet with full data it wouldnt take it. So I may have to load all of that data manually like I have in my original thread.

Point is I am very close to taking very accurate relative measurements of the various high power lights one against another in the same system. It definitely can tell me which one is brighter compared to the other. Measuring P7 sources in a maglight head or the big head of the Solarforce units versus smaller P60 or D26 type modules, seems to be getting very good results. We put in an maglight that he had an aspheric lens for versus the reflector and got to see how much total light was being lost due to the aspheric lens not collecting all the light that the reflector did and sent forward. The larger 16 inch sphere does a good job at integrating the total light for these large units, having a 3 inch opening is not a problem.

So in time I would love to measure all of these different light types in the same system and see which one is the real high power winner for "out the front" lumens which are the only ones that matter to the end users.

I will say that I got an 855 lumen reading out of one of bigchelis' lights that really surprised me. More to come later.

Theres something about that solarforce... Almost like if Surefire were to make a P7-2x18650 light THIS would be it.

$89 shipping from lighthound, typeIII, massive heat sinking... Love that deep dish OP reflector.

http://www.lighthound.com/Solarforc...e-Flashlight--2-x-18650-batteries_p_3014.html

Note I don't own this light... so I'm just drooling over www pages and CPF user reports.

MrGman I am blaming you for the $150 hole in my wallet.

I picked up a Malkoff triple thanks to all your pics.

Sgt. LED said:

MrGman I am blaming you for the $150 hole in my wallet.

I picked up a Malkoff triple thanks to all your pics.

Click to expand...

Everytime I visit MrGman I want to take that Malkoff Tripple home. It has the throw I want with the output of a P7..:twothumbs

Ryanrpm - Your chart is amazing! Did you make it yourself? Do you have similar charts for things like AA flashlight, 2x123 lights under x grams, etc?

sygyzy said:

Ryanrpm - Your chart is amazing! Did you make it yourself? Do you have similar charts for things like AA flashlight, 2x123 lights under x grams, etc?

Click to expand...

I wish! No, I don't have any other charts. I made it using a simple Excel sheet. I first created it a few months back when all of these high power lights started popping up all over the place and I wanted to keep all the specifics seperated and not mixed up. So I originally did it for myself. And another goal was to only include what we all would consider the 'pertinent' information.

You can see some items are missing, like the driving amperage and weight of some....so if you all can help me find those, I know we all would benefit!:wave:

I should remove the Raptor (I included it because it is new) and make up another that contains only the top well known, single die, reflectored throwers...

Also....I'd like to replace the manufacturers ststed lumens with actual IS lumens. True out the front lumens. To the best of my knowledge, the only ones on that list that were gathered by an IS are the Sunlite 16w and the NeoFab Legion II.