Anything better (in terms of throw/output) than my TK40

I got my fenix TK40 a few weeks back, and needless to say, im very satisfied with it. However, my urge for more power has taken over :sigh:, especially with all this MC-E lights coming out recently. Are there any MC-E lights which have:

1) Better throw? Lux values for the TK40 vs other lights such as the JetBeam M1X (a great thrower) would be greatly appreciated. This review here compares all the variations of the eagletac megalights + TK40 beamshots but no calculated lux value :sigh:

2) Higher Output? I know MC-E lights generally have the same output, but the size and diameter of the reflector also makes a difference or the emitter could be driven harder.

3) Pocketable? The TK40 is not at all EDC-able. Im not asking for much here, just a smaller size compared to my TK40 and more towards the TK11 would be nicer

4) Better colour rendition (4300K)? I know of the EagleTac M2XC4 neutral white but are there others?

Regards,
Steven

king2penn said:

I got my fenix TK40 a few weeks back, and needless to say, im very satisfied with it. However, my urge for more power has taken over :sigh:, especially with all this MC-E lights coming out recently.

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In my collection the Legion II has both more lumen and more throw than TK40, the M1X probably has more throw, but a lot less lumen.

The Quad emitter with the most throw I have seen is the Solarforce L900. It also makes 600 plus confirmed lumens out the front as posted in MrGmans sticky. It litterally throws like an R2 Dereelight Smooth reflector P60 drop-in, but with tons of flood.

I have seen the Leggion II, Mag P7 builds, M6 w/ 5R2's, and Malkoff Tripple R2. The Solarforce L900M and L900 appear to win in lumens/throw combo. It is arguably the best deal out there right now.

Simply, the brightest and farthest throwing quad emitter light is the Sunlite 16w driven at 4a. (It is 5000k in color)

Currently it is driven at 2.8a and the 4a switch control is being developed and not yet released.

I currently own the 16w, and the M2X is being sent to me by Russthetoolman to try out. I have also ordered the M1-X, hoping it will get here next week also. These 3 are the farthest throwing lights out there right now, (that we can get our hands on) and I will be testing them in a final showdown for throw at long distances. ~450ft or greater

I believe they will come very close to each other....but we'll see.

I have to add, that once the 4a driver comes out for the 16w, its current 580 OTF will go to around 800 OTF. IMO, boosting the drive current like this is only achievable if you have excellent heat sinking, and Sunlite has the best. (mounting the die directly to the copper heatsink)

If you desire something better, wait for the MCE Lance, AKA "Throwgod" that L.E.D and friends are creating.

I think you should also consider the efficiency of the light and not only the brightness.

You can have a MC-E driven at 2.8A giving you ~700 lumens for 1 Hour, or you can have a MC-E driven at 4+ amp giving you ~150 extra lumens by sacrifying 1/3 of precious runtime.

My picks are the M2XC4, M1X and the L950.

+1 on Eagletac M2XC4 same power longer throw

richardcpf said:

I think you should also consider the efficiency of the light and not only the brightness.

You can have a MC-E driven at 2.8A giving you ~700 lumens for 1 Hour, or you can have a MC-E driven at 4+ amp giving you ~150 extra lumens by sacrifying 1/3 of precious runtime.

My picks are the M2XC4, M1X and the L950.

Click to expand...

I understand your point........

I think it's highly subjective too.

For example, since we live in a world where everyone here mainly uses rechargeable batteries, and a lot of us rarely use our lights for more than 30 minutes a day, the extra lumens are worth the sacrifice in runtime.

But all that is IMO.

BTW, the M2X is a very good light and may be what the Original Poster needs to oust his TK40.

Ryanrpm said:

Simply, the brightest and farthest throwing quad emitter light is the Sunlite 16w driven at 4a. (It is 5000k in color)

Currently it is driven at 2.8a and the 4a switch control is being developed and not yet released.

I currently own the 16w, and the M2X is being sent to me by Russthetoolman to try out. I have also ordered the M1-X, hoping it will get here next week also. These 3 are the farthest throwing lights out there right now, (that we can get our hands on) and I will be testing them in a final showdown for throw at long distances. ~450ft or greater

I believe they will come very close to each other....but we'll see.

I have to add, that once the 4a driver comes out for the 16w, its current 580 OTF will go to around 800 OTF. IMO, boosting the drive current like this is only achievable if you have excellent heat sinking, and Sunlite has the best. (mounting the die directly to the copper heatsink)

If you desire something better, wait for the MCE Lance, AKA "Throwgod" that L.E.D and friends are creating.

Click to expand...

I will be awaiting your test eagerly... No $$$ to spend on all three lights ever since i bought a maxabeam

MaxaBeam,

I had a buddy come up with with something like that. It was a Motorcycle headlight with a deepcycle battery and High beam low beam switch.

Lit up the worl like it was daylight. Looks like it was just as portable and at a fraction of the cost.

Still a cool light none the less.

richardcpf said:

I think you should also consider the efficiency of the light and not only the brightness.

You can have a MC-E driven at 2.8A giving you ~700 lumens for 1 Hour, or you can have a MC-E driven at 4+ amp giving you ~150 extra lumens by sacrifying 1/3 of precious runtime.

My picks are the M2XC4, M1X and the L950.

Click to expand...

You are saying that more lumens are available because more current!! I used to agree with this idea too, but after testing many lights with MrGman's home sphere it is likely not possible. Well, the only way possible is if as you increase the current you increase the heatsinking and heat dicipation capabilities: otherwise more than likely you are just wasting power and shortening the life of the LED.

In MrGman's tests I also saw how bigger cells IMR 18650 to "C" NiMH Tenergy made a huge difference in making power without improving the heatsinking.

bigchelis

bigchelis said:

You are saying that more lumens are available because more current!! I used to agree with this idea too, but after testing many lights with MrGman's home sphere it is likely not possible. Well, the only way possible is if as you increase the current you increase the heatsinking and heat dicipation capabilities: otherwise more than likely you are just wasting power and shortening the life of the LED.

In MrGman's tests I also saw how bigger cells IMR 18650 to "C" NiMH Tenergy made a huge difference in making power without improving the heatsinking.

bigchelis

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+1!

To the OP: check the JetBeam M1X out.

Cheers

bigchelis said:

The Quad emitter with the most throw I have seen is the Solarforce L900. It also makes 600 plus confirmed lumens out the front as posted in MrGmans sticky. It litterally throws like an R2 Dereelight Smooth reflector P60 drop-in, but with tons of flood.

I have seen the Leggion II, Mag P7 builds, M6 w/ 5R2's, and Malkoff Tripple R2. The Solarforce L900M and L900 appear to win in lumens/throw combo. It is arguably the best deal out there right now.

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I have chatted with the boss of solarforce. The L900 series have less lumens than Legion II. But they have a better throw because of the much wider reflector. They love Legion II quite much.

neoseikan said:

I have chatted with the boss of solarforce. The L900 series have less lumens than Legion II. But they have a better throw because of the much wider reflector. They love Legion II quite much.

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whoa! u know the boss of solarforce personally?

king2penn said:

whoa! u know the boss of solarforce personally?

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He's the designer/maker of Spartanian and NEOFAB Legion-II, so I'd say he probably knows what he is talking about...

I saw many of these MC-E lights at our last Photon Fest at Milkyspit's house. Legion II, TK40, Tiablo ACE, MX-1, etc. They were all similar. Yeah, some had a bit more throw than others, but I didn't notice any dramatic differences. If you have a MC-E light with 600 lumens out the front and another with 740 lumens out the front, in all that flood, you're going to have a hard time noticing the difference. It's about a 25% increase. You need four times the light to look twice as bright, which would require a 400% increase.

I brought my DBS with a MC-E driven at 2.4A and I didn't see much difference in throw, etc, between the other MC-E lights. Some of them didn't throw as well, some through a tad better. I didn't see anything that would make me want to carry a larger light as the increase in output/throw wasn't dramatic enough. The only reason I would go larger would be for more run time, but I rarely have a situation where I need to fire up my DBS MC-E on high for any length of time.

In the spirit of CPF buy as many as you want, but you're probably not missing out on much by sticking with your TK40.

Outdoors Fanatic said:

He's the designer/maker of Spartanian and NEOFAB Legion-II, so I'd say he probably knows what he is talking about...

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Yes, I met him in Hongkong.

neoseikan said:

Yes, I met him in Hongkong.

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I met Joe too, he's a ncie young guy.

wow, thats what i call global connections :rock:

hmm, i shld be planning to get a solarforce next month and maybe an eagletac megalight

Use something at SSC P7 (up to [email protected] by specification). A lot of flashlights based on this LED are on dealextreme.