Smooth or OP for tactical mounted T100C2 mk2

Hello all, first post. I have been doing alot of reading and searching on this site, and the site is filled with useful information.:twothumbs

I am building a tactical shotgun (winchester 1300 for when the zombies come:naughty, and have narrowed my light choice down to the Eagletac T100C2. Iv read all the reviews and opinions, and it seems to be a killer light for the price.

My only concern is wether to go smooth or OP. Most of the reviews I have read said the smooth reflector gave a very nice beam pattern without many artifacts, so I kind of got the impression to take the smooth over the OP and get the better throw, but still not 100%.

A shotgun in its nature is for close quaters, but still would like to be able to reach out and see the enemy from a good distance away. Will the OP have that much better spill over the smooth to be more beneficial in my situation? Or should I stick with the smooth as in most of the reviews?

Anyone?

I had a T100C2 in the past and did not like the hotspot on it with the smooth reflector because it had a slight donut hole in it. Otherwise, it had awesome throw. Go with the OP, you will get a really nice beam and I think you will be surprised with the throw.

Go neutral-white & OP reflector.
or wait for the SHOT show, to see what new products with the xp-g show up.

MichaelW said:

Go neutral-white & OP reflector.
or wait for the SHOT show, to see what new products with the xp-g show up.

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+1. NW and OP on the T100C2 is fantastic! :twothumbs

Ok, thanks guy. Seems like veryone loves the Neutral and OP. Is the cool white that bad?

It's a personal preference.

Many people like the neutral tint because it shows the colors more accurately then cool white tint. But some like the cool white tint because it gives more output and they prefer the cooler tint.

If you like the warmer tint (imagine somewhere between incan and the usual white LED tint), then go for the neutral tint.

:welcome:

Go with the smooth reflector. Use "jedi mind tricks" to correct the donut hole.

Hmmm, strange that a lot here seem to prefer the OP. On my T100 with the smooth reflector there was no donut hole or artifacts in the beam at all. And the spill was also plenty bright. And cool white would actually be more useful in an urban environment and the neutral in a 'bushy' or 'forest-y' environment.

My Smooth/Neutral has a slight donut hole that I only (barely) notice when white wall hunting. The first time I took it outside and tested it for throw, I was absolutely blown away.

In terms of ET lights, I also have an OP T10LC2 Neutral that puts out a nice floody beam.

Either way, Smooth vs. OP or Cool vs. Neutral, I don't think you'll be disappointed and for the price, you certainly can't go wrong.

Since it'll be on a shotty and used more for close quarters, I also think you'd benefit more from a smoother, wider beam made by the OP reflector. IIRC, the Eagletac 100's use an XP-E and some of the XP-E's aren't placed inside of the reflector optimally resulting in a donut hole in the middle of the hotspot. For example, I've owned 2 P100A2's, my first one's emitter was off center, but no donut hole, my second is centered and HAS a donut hole. It's kind of distracting at times IMHO. So if artifacts or donut holes may bug you, the OP reflector is for you.

defloyd77 said:

Since it'll be on a shotty and used more for close quarters, I also think you'd benefit more from a smoother, wider beam made by the OP reflector. IIRC, the Eagletac 100's use an XP-E and some of the XP-E's aren't placed inside of the reflector optimally resulting in a donut hole in the middle of the hotspot. For example, I've owned 2 P100A2's, my first one's emitter was off center, but no donut hole, my second is centered and HAS a donut hole. It's kind of distracting at times IMHO. So if artifacts or donut holes may bug you, the OP reflector is for you.

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Does the OP give a wider beam?? I thought it'll just smoothen out the artifacts unless the reflector itself is not as deep. Also, again on my smooth reflector it's already extremely smooth, no rings and a barely visible donut (even while white wall hunting).

strinq said:

Does the OP give a wider beam?? I thought it'll just smoothen out the artifacts unless the reflector itself is not as deep. Also, again on my smooth reflector it's already extremely smooth, no rings and a barely visible donut (even while white wall hunting).

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I honestly don't know as I don't have one of these, but I think typically OP gives somewhat of a wider beam, I am assuming here however on this light.

OK, I still have not pulled the trigger yet, because the Quark 123 turbo head + 18650 body has caught my eye.

I expect the Quark to be brighter, but will the quark turbo head have better throw? Or about the same? I would think runtime would be about the same on both too?

Any help is appreciated! Trying to pull the trigger on my first real flashlight!

I have the T100C2 mk2 N/W w/smooth reflector. No donut holes here. Great light! Spill not as wide as my TK11R2 but plenty enough for your purpose. If not mistaken run time exceeds that of the Quarks. 3hr/14hr-hi/lo.

thawk,
I have both the OP and smooth reflectors and really like both! If your scattergun is set-up for CQB then I would probably suggest the OP reflector as well...although the smooth reflector on mine show no artifacts or rings. It is hands down the nicest beam pattern on a smooth reflector I have ever seen. This is an amazing light for the price and could easily sell for $60-70 range. Pull the trigger...you won't be disappointed!

I wouldn't go XP-E for a scattergun, spread>throw for the limited range of the shotgun.

I did a comparison here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/243221

I think I have decided to take my TLR-1 off one of my pistols and use it for the shotgun, since it has a fairly wide beam and I would like to use the flashlight more often. Still need a good tactical light tho.

Bump, more info for post #14.

thawk said:

OK, I still have not pulled the trigger yet, because the Quark 123 turbo head + 18650 body has caught my eye.

I expect the Quark to be brighter, but will the quark turbo head have better throw? Or about the same? I would think runtime would be about the same on both too?

Any help is appreciated! Trying to pull the trigger on my first real flashlight!

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1. The quark will be brighter.
2. The T100 will throw better.
3. You can search for the runtime at the reviews section.