L-Mini II

I've tried a lot of different EDC flashlights and this L-Mini II is the best for my needs. Why are there so few small form factor 1860 lights? Are there any this size with a P7 or other quad die LED ?

L-mini II XR-E = Throw Beam
L-mini II MC-E = Flood Beam

.
Expect heat issues .

.

glenda17 said:

I've tried a lot of different EDC flashlights and this L-Mini II is the best for my needs. Why are there so few small form factor 1860 lights? Are there any this size with a P7 or other quad die LED ?

Click to expand...

Probably heat buildup. Flashlight designers have to consider worst case use by their customers. So imagine leaving the light on HI, and falling asleep with it wrapped up in a blanket. I can't imagine running an XR-E higher than 1A under such conditions. Maybe... 1.3A for an MC-E or P7. So it certainly wouldn't be a very bright light (by quad die standards).

Under-driving quad-die emitters is not a very popular heat control solution on CPF, so such a light would not sell very well.

I think you could base a design off the XP-E-Q5. My P100C2 emits around 180L and only draws .85A from a 17670. I am guessing it pushes the emitter with .~75A, so its an easy load for an 18650. It also runs noticeably cooler than my other XR-E lights that draw ~1.3A.

You could easily DIY/mod a light (trustfire TR-8XX for example) and hit the XR-E with 1.4A, but you would not be able to leave it ON for long duration. **edit** I modded some small tube-lights for bigchelis each pushing an XR-E with about 1.15A. He runs them for LONG time periods in a Fenix headlamp/clamp setup... so far they are doing fine using non-IMR 18650 cells, although they do get very warm even at ~1.15A.

kramer5150 said:

Probably heat buildup. Flashlight designers have to consider worst case use by their customers. So imagine leaving the light on HI, and falling asleep with it wrapped up in a blanket. I can't imagine running an XR-E higher than 1A under such conditions. .

Click to expand...

auto shut off after 3 minutes or some other clever electronic programming ?

waddup said:

auto shut off after 3 minutes or some other clever electronic programming ?

Click to expand...

I'd like one with the driver designed so it can run on high for 15 minutes without burning my hand. I'd give up 100 lumens for that.

I modded a trustfire-801 single 18650 with a p7 c bin and while it is a super wall of light it gets hot after 5 minutes https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/223781. Quad die led's are just not practical in such a small form factor. However, no one ever accused me of being practical when it comes to flashlights.

I bought saberwolf's mini edc p7 its great
he makes a 18650 version I think

glenda17 said:

I've tried a lot of different EDC flashlights and this L-Mini II is the best for my needs. Why are there so few small form factor 1860 lights? Are there any this size with a P7 or other quad die LED ?

Click to expand...

Does anybody have the L Mini II MC-E in stock now?

recDNA said:

Does anybody have the L Mini II MC-E in stock now?

Click to expand...

Apart from a limited few more for testing than anything, the L-Mini II MC-E doesn't really exist yet as a production light. Patience is needed if you want one.

I was under the impression that the L-mini II MC-E was not ever intended to go into "mass production." Only a few were made and sold right when the L-mini II came out, but because of the small size, heat issues are inevitable, and Shiningbeam didn't want to sell lights that people could easily break if they left on for too long.

Mjolnir said:

I was under the impression that the L-mini II MC-E was not ever intended to go into "mass production." Only a few were made and sold right when the L-mini II came out, but because of the small size, heat issues are inevitable, and Shiningbeam didn't want to sell lights that people could easily break if they left on for too long.

Click to expand...

Yup, that is exactly the case. After being petitioned by a few of us, he somewhat hesitantly agreed to look into the option and it sounds like there will be some made. Of course, this goes with the very large disclaimer that they are only for serious CPFers who should know exactly what they want and what they are getting.

Mjolnir said:

I was under the impression that the L-mini II MC-E was not ever intended to go into "mass production." Only a few were made and sold right when the L-mini II came out, but because of the small size, heat issues are inevitable, and Shiningbeam didn't want to sell lights that people could easily break if they left on for too long.

Click to expand...

Oh, I see that makes sense. I just love floody lights so I would have used it on medium.

How about the R2 version? Are they available?

Hack On Wheels said:

Yup, that is exactly the case. After being petitioned by a few of us, he somewhat hesitantly agreed to look into the option and it sounds like there will be some made. Of course, this goes with the very large disclaimer that they are only for serious CPFers who should know exactly what they want and what they are getting.

Click to expand...

They're OK on medium though right?

It may not be as bright as you would like on medium - thats the prob.
.