Nailbender

What are the actual out the front lumens of the nailbender products?

1)sst-50
2)sst-90
3)MC-E
4)Linger special

Anyone with actual tested values please post

Try searching for "integrating sphere."

Members bigchelis and MrGman have a huuuuuuuuuge collection of OTF lumen readings.

I think the more important question is why are you asking? What I mean is - what is your ultimate goal to use this knowledge with? I am a huge Nailbender fan and have purchased about 6-8 of his drop-ins with varying setups.

I don't have exact specs, but I can tell you that with the 4 different LEDs you mentioned you will get at least 3 entirely very different type of beams and the OTF lumens becomes a somewhat mute point.

Also - the color temperature 3000K, 4500K, 5400K, 6500K will determine the luminus flux bin of the LED so you will get more light for the same current from a 6500K than a 3000K, but the use of the light will determine better which is more appropriate. I appear to be in a small minority, but I feel that lights in the 5400K - 6500K cooler tint range are generally useless for anything other than blinding yourself shining it against a white an going "Ohhhhhh that's soooo bright".

That being said:

1) SST-50 - more throw with a bright spot but floodier than a KPG. At 2.8A probably about 400-500 OTF lumens.

2) SST-90 - brighter than SST-50 but with a bigger floodier spot, but still a spot. At 3.4A probably about 500-600 OTF lumens

3) MC-E - closest to SST-50 IIRC but I haven't had one for a while

4) Linger special is two XPG LEDS off-center - no spot at all, pure flood which is not good for any distance, there is a small dark hole in the center which is nearly impossible to focus out. About 400-500 OTF lumens is possible.

So you see up close the Linger special can be very useful but the square of the distance drop off rule means it loses its strength very quickly.

Side by side the SST-50 may seem brighter than the SST-90 because it has a touch more throw, but the SST-90 will put out more overall light.

These are all guidelines and YMMV. If we knew the purpose it would help pic the best LED for the use.

ktheo said:

What are the actual out the front lumens of the nailbender products?

1)sst-50
2)sst-90
3)MC-E
4)Linger special

Anyone with actual tested values please post

Click to expand...

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/260659


Check my thread. I have tested all of those mentioned in P60 and Mag build formats.

• I had a SST-50 1C Mag build by him and it was doing 986 OTF DD with D2flex.
• Then I got his P60 SST-50 w/ 2.5A shinningbeam.com driver (3mode). On high it was almost 500 OTF.
• The MC-E Mag builds made 500~600ish OTF at 2.8A.
• In P60 MC-E from DAVE I never received or tested this format.
• The P60 Linger Special makes 500~600 plus OTF, but it varied cause I tested both cool and warm XP-G's.
• I got 800ish OTF with P60 built by Dave with DD SST-90 at 5~6A.

SST-90 Mag builds at 6~10A can and will deliver at least 1000 OTF. My 2D Mag at 6.88A built by PCC with copper slug made 2300ish OTF off 3 NimH Tenergy cells.
bigC

Thanks for the reply's.

My use for these drop ins will be in a p60, surefire c2 from oveready, running 1x18650 and 2x16240's. McClicky hard press tail switch.

The main use of my lights is basically everything. I am in so many different settings that I prefer a light that is well rounded and capable of handeling a variety of applications. For me this means a ballance of throw and flood. As well, multi levels are handy since upclose work will also be encountered.



In my limited experience I like the look of the cool white. The neutrals are okay, but they always seem to be dimmer.

I hope this helps narrow it down.
thanks

Great combo - I have a few 6P Oveready lights myself.

First suggestion - only focus on 18650 cells and ditch the 2x16340 combo in this light. No Nailbender drop-ins will support that high a voltage and it's just not a very efficient way to go.

18650 = 3.7v x 2.6 Ah = 9.62 Wh
2x16340 = 2 x 3.7v x 0.55 Ah = 4.07 Wh

The 18650 has at least twice as much energy density in a single cell.

If you like the cools that is fine. It is a reality that the neutral/warm LEDs are dimmer - usually by one or two flux bins. You give up some lumens to get the warmth in the light color.

I don't think you will like the linger special - too much flood to be practical across a variety of situations. I would also personaly (not for any particular reason) not bother with the MC-E in this setup and would ultimately recommend either the SST-50 or SST-90 light. Both are great. Just decide if you want a little more throw (SST-50) with a smaller (but still big) spot or more flood (SST-90) and a little less throw with a bigger (but still darn bright) spot.

Once you decide I would get either:
- SST-50 5400K with a VLOP reflector, 3-level 2.8A regulated driver, or
- SST-90 5400K with a SMO reflector, 3-level driver.

Reason for my choices is thet the VLOP cleans up the beam a bit and gives a little softness to the spot in the SST-50. The SMO in the SST-90 maximizes the LEDs throw and I've found the beam to be nice and clean to begin with.

I've ordered a sst-50 with 6500K. I didn't specify a reflector type, so I am not sure what it will come with? Also, its regulated, 3 mode

I also ordered the MC-E. I Figured I Might as well give it a try, and I have another p60 Host that is in need of a engine.

They have already been shipped, so once I recieve them I will post my results.


My first dropin was the thrunite 493 lumens, 1.5 amp.

I'm using it in my pelicn m6, running 2 cr123's.

Its the brighest I have so far, but I can;t help but think that there is better out there.

I als ordered a 3 mode triple from oveready, its due to arrive soon aswell.( I will try one 18650 and two 16340's)

So, we shall see.

Any experience with the triple or any of the others? Thoughts?
Please advise

ktheo said:

Its the brighest I have so far, but I can;t help but think that there is better out there.

Click to expand...

It'll come in time, but brighter is not always better.

If you want to try another drop in with the most beautiful beam I've seen - go for a XP-G drop-in. Since you like cool tint you'll be shooting around 300 OTF lumens with a tight spot and great flood and pulling about 1.4A on Hi. For $35 it's a great bargain and can throw nearly as far as the SST-50s can.

PS - Welcome to the most expensive hobby I've found other than cars. :thumbsup:

thanks, its definately fun,

And if you's going to do it, might as well do it properly!

any experience with the triple?

how much better would the nailbender xp-g be than the thrunite(1.5 amp)

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:

PS - Welcome to the most expensive hobby I've found other than cars. :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Flashaholism is one of my cheaper hobbies, and I'm not even into cars

I'm curious if anyone knows what sort of difference there is between an SST-50 direct drive and one with a regulated 2.8A (shiningbeam) driver.

If you read through the Nailbender threads (yeah - I know they are really long) you will see that even Dave concedes that the 2.8A regulated is the better way to go than the direct drive.

With the direct drive you will get the brighter output for maybe 30 seconds than the regulated, but once the cell voltage drops they even out.

Problem is that with the high currents the SST leds are running at, the Vf goes way up. At Vf levels approaching 3.5-3.7 volts the cell voltage will drop below the Vf pretty quickly with a single LiIon cell.

I find that even a regulated SST-50 drop-in will start around 2.7-2.8 Amps but drop very quickly to 2.2-2.3.

Check out the figures which Download quotes even in his sales threads for the Pocket Rocket:

Does NB make a 3 stage with the lowest to come on first?

ktheo said:

I als ordered a 3 mode triple from oveready, its due to arrive soon aswell.( I will try one 18650 and two 16340's)

So, we shall see.

Any experience with the triple or any of the others? Thoughts?
Please advise

Click to expand...

I have the triple single mode from oveready and i have run it with a single 18650 but usually I run it with two 18500's in a 6P with extender. It is by far my favorite light. I as well have a triple 3 mode on its way from the latest and expect it will fill another host right away. I don't think any of the single led p60 drop ins avail right now from anyone can compare to the triple that oveready is making currently.

kellyglanzer said:

I have the triple single mode from oveready and i have run it with a single 18650 but usually I run it with two 18500's in a 6P with extender. It is by far my favorite light. I as well have a triple 3 mode on its way from the latest and expect it will fill another host right away. I don't think any of the single led p60 drop ins avail right now from anyone can compare to the triple that oveready is making currently.

Click to expand...

I am curious, knowing that the linger special is all flood and reading that the Oveready triple is a very floody light as well can you say how this drop-in works at any given distances?

carl said:

Does NB make a 3 stage with the lowest to come on first?

Click to expand...

I'm not sure about his other dropins, but my sst-50 3-level remembers the last level it was set at, so if I turn it off when it was on low, it'll come back on at low the next time I switch it on. And it's the same on med and high.

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:

I am curious, knowing that the linger special is all flood and reading that the Oveready triple is a very floody light as well can you say how this drop-in works at any given distances?

Click to expand...

Yes, I think I would say that. It really is a wall of light with no real hot spot.
My yard is 100' wide and When I light up the cherry tree on the farside of the yard everything between the tree and myself is lit up.
If I point it at a target farther away of course the intesity diminishes.
I believe the one I have is cool white and the one on its way to me is Neutral. I am hopeing for a bit warmer color then the single mode triple I have now.

Perception is everything. Even though I know the oveready triple I had put out far more lumens than any other flashlight I own let alone drop in, it didn't. Look bright to me at all. All I can think of is that my brain perceived the lack of a hotspot as dim light? For whatever reason I prefer a R5 or SST-50.
because of this I've stayed away from the linger special. I think the hotspot helps me focus on one thing rather than be distracted by the entire environment.

kellyglanzer said:

I have the triple single mode from oveready and i have run it with a single 18650 but usually I run it with two 18500's in a 6P with extender. It is by far my favorite light. I as well have a triple 3 mode on its way from the latest and expect it will fill another host right away. I don't think any of the single led p60 drop ins avail right now from anyone can compare to the triple that oveready is making currently.

Click to expand...

I think it may be perception partially (and I am sorry to the OP for a digression in the conversation, but the Linger Special was one of the possibilities on his list) but I think it is also reality and the way light travels. With a pure flood beam you are okay when everything is within about the same distance from the light - but dimishes by a factor of a sqaure of the distance as objects are at different distances. So if I reference an object at 5 feet as 100% brightness, an object 10 feet (twice the distance) is 4 time dimmer, at 15 feet (three times distance) it is 9 times dimmer, at 20 feet it's 16 times dimmer, you get the idea.

This phenomenon is something I actually find this very disctracting with a pure flood beam because as you shine the light into, say a back yard, the stuff up close shines really brightly and overwhelmes your eyesight from being able to adjust to the things which are further away and 4, 9, 16, 25, etc time dimmer.

Overall I prefer a beam with a spot because it can push out much farther and when it does the close-up foreground illuminated by the spill tends to be much closer in brightness to the background being illuminated by the diminishing brightness of the spot. Although not at bright I find the XP-G in the right reflector does this even better than SST-50 or SST-90 and makes the XPG almost just as functional as the SST lights.

I have tested Nailbender SST-50's Direct Drive in 3 mode and single mode DD. In both cases the lumens were better when regulated.

The P60 NB drop-in that was regulated had a 2.5A driver (3modes) and even this performed way way way way way better then the 2 different direct drives.


Going the SST-90 Route DD was good. My guess is the 5A on an SST-90 are not as hot as an SST-50 at 5A.

bigC