Need help deciding on a Javelin light

I want to buy a Javelin light, When I look at Flashlightconnection I see 2 listed .. one is The Javelin 3swc ( cool tint) and one is the Javelin 3S XpG R5 as I read through the 3wsc,, it seems as thought with options the 3wsc, can be made brighter than the -- Javelin 3s XPG R5,---if I add the same options, Smooth reflector and AA extender will the 3S XPG R5 attain the same lux as the 3swc says it will 10,000 lux? can anyone explain ? Thanks,, I am looking for best throw and good spill.

There are two cool white dropins for the Javelin from Dereelight, the XPG-R5 and the XRE-R2. The difference will be the same as for other flashlights :

- the XP-G emitter has a larger emitting surface, thus less surface brightness and less throw, but a bigger hotspot and more overall output - LUMEN

- the XR-E emitter has a smaller die, thus more surface brightness which will result in more throw - LUX. The overall output (LUMEN) is less

As you have now also 2 different reflectors to choose from, the choice will be more difficult as SMO always means more throw but a less homogenous beam and probably artefacts (Cree rings, donut...) and OP means a more homogenous beam, but less throw. You are looking for BEST throw and GOOD spill, which is impossible to say it straight...

- SMO with XR-E --> best throw, least spill, most artefacts
- OP with XR-E --> less throw, more homogenous beam, still artefacts possible
- SMO with XP-G --> bigger hotspot, good throw, maybe artefacts
- OP with XP-G --> least throw, most homogenous beam, no artefacts

I only know the last one for sure as I have it, my brightest AA light, I use it with the extender (3xAA), very impressive for sure!

I guess you should take either the XR-E with OP or the XP-G with SMO. No idea which one has more throw and the best beam though, for me both are obsolete, I took the XP-G with OP as I like bright and homogenous beams, I have a DBS XP-G and an SST-50 with SMO if I need throw. The XR-E with SMO will surely be a good thrower as well, but also have some weird beam artefacts for sure and probably lack some spill... :shrug:

I'll move this to the LED forum.

Bill

Henk_Lu said:

- SMO with XR-E --> best throw, least spill, most artefacts
- OP with XR-E --> less throw, more homogenous beam, still artefacts possible
- SMO with XP-G --> bigger hotspot, good throw, maybe artefacts
- OP with XP-G --> least throw, most homogenous beam, no artefacts

Click to expand...

I would have to argue this a little.

SMO with XP-G will give the most artefacts IMO. SMO with XR-E will give the most throw with still decent beam (but of course less flood). As you said, you really can't have both lots of throw and lots of flood. One needs to decide which is priority. You could just buy both pills and both reflectors and change them around for different situations.

so I could buy a javelin light with an op , smo,-- XRE and an XPG R5 and change them when ever I want to YES ?? Where can I buy the javelin are there a few places??

Henk_Lu said:

There are two cool white dropins for the Javelin from Dereelight, the XPG-R5 and the XRE-R2. The difference will be the same as for other flashlights :

- the XP-G emitter has a larger emitting surface, thus less surface brightness and less throw, but a bigger hotspot and more overall output - LUMEN

- the XR-E emitter has a smaller die, thus more surface brightness which will result in more throw - LUX. The overall output (LUMEN) is less

- SMO with XR-E --> best throw, least spill, most artefacts
- OP with XR-E --> less throw, more homogenous beam, still artefacts possible
- SMO with XP-G --> bigger hotspot, good throw, maybe artefacts
- OP with XP-G --> least throw, most homogenous beam, no artefacts

Click to expand...

This post helped me greatly and is accurate with what I had experienced "the hard way" with regard to XR-E vs. XP-G. I wanted more throw and went with an XP-G because there were more lumens. Mistake. Should have gone with XR-E. More lux is what I was looking for. Live and learn.

CaliColin said:

This post helped me greatly and is accurate with what I had experienced "the hard way" with regard to XR-E vs. XP-G. I wanted more throw and went with an XP-G because there were more lumens. Mistake. Should have gone with XR-E. More lux is what I was looking for. Live and learn.

Click to expand...

Atleast with the Javelin, you can always get another pill instead of purchasing a whole new light. Warning...The XPG reflector does NOT fit the XRE pill unless you bore it out. Also the possibility of the reflector bottoming out. Luckily I ordered the XRE SMO reflector before they took it off the Dereelight website.

Thanks this is helping me out alot, I have heard though that you cannot get a SMO for the XP-G only OP,,, but you can get OP And SMO for the XR-E

jacknife said:

Thanks this is helping me out alot, I have heard though that you cannot get a SMO for the XP-G only OP,,, but you can get OP And SMO for the XR-E

Click to expand...

Interesting...3 weeks ago i decided to swap the dereelight brand XRE SMO reflector onto the their XPG pill and it fit/worked. I did notice very little improvent in the throw although it's not significant. Also it created artifacts in the hotspot and emitted some rings(only seen at a few meters). In conlusion, the OP reflector is better suited for the XPG IMO.

jacknife said:

so I could buy a javelin light with an op , smo,-- XRE and an XPG R5 and change them when ever I want to YES ?? Where can I buy the javelin are there a few places??

Click to expand...

Yes, if you buy various reflectors and pills, you can swap. But as mentioned, the XPG reflector won't fit the XRE pill. The XRE reflector will fit the XPG pill, but may not result in the same beam as using an XPG reflector. Honestly, I don't like SMO reflectors as I prefer a smoother beam profile. OP reflectors still give enough throw for my purposes, and the P60-size reflector is a good size to offer a good compromise between throw and spill with a OP surface.

For where, Jay at flashnightconnection.com is an excellent person to deal with.

I do not recall the light, but I do know that it is possible for a smooth reflector equipped XP-G light to have less lux/throw than one with an OP reflector. This may be the case with the Javelin.

I think the problem is that Deereelight recently released a new SMO reflector for the XPG R5, and no body is quite sure how the beam behaves... yet.

See here