Pocket Thrower - Better Than TK40???

Here's my dilemma: I need a metal flashlight for work that will comfortably fit on my belt. Most of my work is up close, so I don't usually need a thrower. I would like to have a thrower in my collection though, as I don't have one. I have found a wicked deal on a TK40, but it doesn't fit on a belt very well.

I can't afford both right now, so.....will any of these compare to the TK40? If I can find one that's as good or better than a TK40 at throwing, then I won't be tempted by it anymore!



Option 1: Lumapower Signature Tactical VX LED Comes with two lenses, so that I can have the best of both worlds. I can't find any comparisons or beam shots with the throw lense though.

Option 2: LumaPower's D-Mini VX ULTRA & Turbo Force Head Two lenses, so that I can have the best of both worlds. I can't find any comparisons or beam shots with the throw lense though.

Option 3: MG P-Rocket & MG X-Thrower For close to the same price as the other options I could have two seperate lights. I doubt these will even come close to the TK40 though.......but if someone knows better......


Any insight or experience that you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

g.p. said:

Here's my dilemma: I need a metal flashlight for work that will comfortably fit on my belt. Most of my work is up close, so I don't usually need a thrower. I would like to have a thrower in my collection though, as I don't have one. I have found a wicked deal on a TK40, but it doesn't fit on a belt very well.

I can't afford both right now, so.....will any of these compare to the TK40? If I can find one that's as good or better than a TK40 at throwing, then I won't be tempted by it anymore!



Option 1: Lumapower Signature Tactical VX LED Comes with two lenses, so that I can have the best of both worlds. I can't find any comparisons or beam shots with the throw lense though.

Option 2: LumaPower's D-Mini VX ULTRA & Turbo Force Head Two lenses, so that I can have the best of both worlds. I can't find any comparisons or beam shots with the throw lense though.

Option 3: MG P-Rocket & MG X-Thrower For close to the same price as the other options I could have two seperate lights. I doubt these will even come close to the TK40 though.......but if someone knows better......


Any insight or experience that you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Click to expand...

g.p.,

Here's the link you need for the Sig Tac VX beamshots, http://www.lumapower.com/products/Sig_VX/Signature-VX_Beamshots/index.html.

Here's a link for the D-Mini,
http://www.lumapower.com/87U.html.

If you decide on VX or the D-Mini, check out here for great customer service, http://www.illuminationgear.com/241082.html.

As for competing with the TK40, although I don't have first-hand experience, based on my own research, you may be surprised by the power of the LP's when the Turbo Force head is used.

All the best in your search,
John

Thank you very much John for taking the time to reply! I did find those beam shots previously, but I was hoping to find some independant ones. I read in one thread that those looked nothing like real life because of the exposure times. I was ready to press the buy button until I read that.

g.p. said:

Thank you very much John for taking the time to reply! I did find those beam shots previously, but I was hoping to find some independant ones. I read in one thread that those looked nothing like real life because of the exposure times. I was ready to press the buy button until I read that.

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I wish I could help more, but like you, I haven't found anything more at all for beamshot comparisons. However I did communicate with a GX (XPG-R5) owner, which is the model I'm going to get, and he stated that with the Turbo Force head (ST-03), "it's an excellent thrower". BTW, if it's throw you want, Lumapower confirmed that the GX out throws the VX which uses the SST-50 LED. If you buy anything from Illumination Gear and you have any issues, the owner will take care of you.

Also, since fitting a light comfortably on your belt is a priority, let me suggest you try this, http://www.niteize.com/collections/flashlights/products/lite-holster-stretch. This holster rotates 360 degrees so that you rotate your light horizontally, which in my opinion is more comfortable, especially with bigger lights. If you have a Lowes nearby, they might have them available where they stock thier flashlights and it's only $8.99. I holster all my lights with the Nite-Ize and by positioning your light forward (or slightly up or down as well), you can work hands-free.

John

The TK40 is not a thrower, a certainly not a pocket thrower! You may want to look at Selfbuilt's thrower roundup here. For even more throw in a bigger flashlight, you may want to look at the Tiablo A10-G or your option 2. For EVEN more throw while sacrificing ALL of the spill, a dereelight or tiablo with aspherical lens will do the job. If you want more lumens then the previous options (as bright as the TK40), but still want decent throw, you may want to consider the Thrunite Catapult V2, Olight M31/SR50 or the Eagletac M3C4. These are all at least as bright and throws better than the TK40. Hope this helps!

alvinyhwong said:

.......For even more throw in a bigger flashligh......

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I'm looking for one SMALLER than a TK40.......but will hopefully throw at least as well as a TK40.

I'm liking the idea of two heads. That way it can be used with the floodier/smaller head 95% of the time.

jcalvert said:

I wish I could help more, but like you, I haven't found anything more at all for beamshot comparisons. However I did communicate with a GX (XPG-R5) owner, which is the model I'm going to get, and he stated that with the Turbo Force head (ST-03), "it's an excellent thrower". BTW, if it's throw you want, Lumapower confirmed that the GX out throws the VX which uses the SST-50 LED. If you buy anything from Illumination Gear and you have any issues, the owner will take care of you.

Also, since fitting a light comfortably on your belt is a priority, let me suggest you try this, http://www.niteize.com/collections/flashlights/products/lite-holster-stretch. This holster rotates 360 degrees so that you rotate your light horizontally, which in my opinion is more comfortable, especially with bigger lights. If you have a Lowes nearby, they might have them available where they stock thier flashlights and it's only $8.99. I holster all my lights with the Nite-Ize and by positioning your light forward (or slightly up or down as well), you can work hands-free.

John

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Thanks for the tip on the holster! I had looked at that while looking for a holster for my TK45, but had forgotten about it. It would be nice to be able to work hands off.

That's awesome to hear about the GX! I like the side clicky for my work. I'm actually surprised to hear that the GX throws better. Everything that I've found seems to say that the xp-g r5 doesn't throw as well.

g.p. said:

Thanks for the tip on the holster! I had looked at that while looking for a holster for my TK45, but had forgotten about it. It would be nice to be able to work hands off.

That's awesome to hear about the GX! I like the side clicky for my work. I'm actually surprised to hear that the GX throws better. Everything that I've found seems to say that the xp-g r5 doesn't throw as well.

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I don't have personal experience to confirm if the R5 is in general a better thrower than the SST-50 as much as it's more of a function of the emitter paired with the right type of reflector. Although you'll have to confirm this with the real experts here on the forum, but if I understand correctly, "in general", with all else being equal, the smaller the emitter, the greater the throw. I'm fairly certain that although the SST-50 puts out more lumens, the smaller die of the R5 concentrates the beam providing for greater throw potential paired with the right reflector. The R5 is smaller than the SST-50. The GX w/ the XPG-R5 recommendation comes directly from Lumapower.

Also, I agree with alvinyhwong's recommendations for dedicated throwers, but for your purposes, I believe what you want for your "up-close work" would be a "general purpose light with thrower capability". The LP's should work fine because you can use the small default head for work and the Turbo Force head (ST-03) for playing outside of work. Another to consider in the general-purpose-thrower category is the 4Sevens Maelstrom G5. I haven't had good luck personally and I don't want to skew your decision with my experiences, just consider that many others love theirs and in general, the G5 would be a good choice to consider. I know that my next choice in this category will probably be the LP GX, but I will give the G5 another try when they add an OP reflector.

If at some point you want a dedicated thrower, review alvinyhwong's recommendations again. I personally have what some consider the best, stock thrower on the market, the Tiablo A10-G, but others will consider some of the others as their choice. Best wishes for making a decision!

John

What about a Solarforce L2P with a multi-mode drop-in for daily use and a Masterpiece Pro-1 head for throw?

The Pelican 7060 LED will outthrow the TK40 by a fair bit.
It's a little longer than the TK40 though.
Still has useable spill, incredible warranty and it's
rechargeable. The police here use them. There very
sturdy.

The Streamlight supertac though large reflector throws 200feet+ and is affordeable.
I own the TK40 as well and it's definitely more of a flood light.
It owns the first 30 feet after that the Pelican dominates for throw. 170 lumens otf but well focused, well engineered. Button on side like a maglite and a tail clicky.

jcalvert said:

I believe what you want for your "up-close work" would be a "general purpose light with thrower capability".

Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'm looking for. I would love to get a dedicated thrower later on, but this is what I need at the moment. Fun stuff later on! You input has helped me out a lot....Thank You!

OCD said:

What about a Solarforce L2P with a multi-mode drop-in for daily use and a Masterpiece Pro-1 head for throw?

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Thanks for pointing that out. I'm pretty new to all of this, so I'm not sure what kind of performance I would get by piecing a light together. I'm pretty sure that I could get wicked performance for less money once I know what I'm looking for, but for the moment I just want to order something that is going to meet my needs out of the box.

OCD said:

What about a Solarforce L2P with a multi-mode drop-in for daily use and a Masterpiece Pro-1 head for throw?

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g.p.,

OCD makes another good choice in the general-purpose-thrower-capable category. The listed combination of components will price out right at about $114.00 vs. the LP GX at $90 before CPF discount. One advantage for the GX is the side switch, but the Solarforce w/ the optional Masterpiece Pro-1 head competes head-to-head with the Tiablo A10-G at around 50K lux according to, I think it was BigChelis's lux comparisons.

You could get the Solarforce L2p for $43.98 (http://www.sbflashlights.com/Solarforce-Lights/Solarforce-L2p-p44.html) and add the MPP-1 head later for $69.99 (http://www.sbflashlights.com/Solarforce-Lights/Solarforce-Masterpiece-PRO-1-p51.html).

Another viable option presented by OCD.

Also, our Canadian pal, CarpentryHero, always offers great advice and information.

John

Not really pocketable. But both well sized for a holster, were as my TK40 I use the maglite D cell loop to carry it.

CarpentryHero said:

The Pelican 7060 LED will outthrow the TK40 by a fair bit.
It's a little longer than the TK40 though.
Still has useable spill, incredible warranty and it's
rechargeable. The police here use them. There very
sturdy.

The Streamlight supertac though large reflector throws 200feet+ and is affordeable.
I own the TK40 as well and it's definitely more of a flood light.
It owns the first 30 feet after that the Pelican dominates for throw. 170 lumens otf but well focused, well engineered. Button on side like a maglite and a tail clicky.

Click to expand...

I understand that the TK40 isn't a thrower. My main light right now is a TK45, and the TK40 is supposed to throw better. I guess I just want something that will out throw my T45, but I used the TK40 as an example since I have a wicked lead on one and a bunch of Enerloops. I'm trying to talk myself into not needing the TK40 as well.

I saw a Solarforce L2p and an L2i with an MC-E emitter on eBay for around 50 usd. Not sure it it's exactly as bright as the tk40. But there was a solarforce with an Sst-50 for around $60usd
Maybe someones reviewed them?

jcalvert said:

g.p.,

OCD makes another good choice in the general-purpose-thrower-capable category. The listed combination of components will price out right at about $114.00 vs. the LP GX at $90 before CPF discount. One advantage for the GX is the side switch, but the Solarforce w/ the optional Masterpiece Pro-1 head competes head-to-head with the Tiablo A10-G at around 50K lux accordingto , I think it was BigChelis's lux comparisons.

You could get the Solarforce L2p for $43.98 (http://www.sbflashlights.com/Solarforce-Lights/Solarforce-L2p-p44.html) and add the MPP-1 head later for $69.99 (http://www.sbflashlights.com/Solarforce-Lights/Solarforce-Masterpiece-PRO-1-p51.html).

Another viable option presented by OCD.

Also, our Canadian pal, CarpentryHero, always offers great advice and information.

John

Click to expand...

I think I'm going to go with iether the Signature GX or VX. I really like the side clicky. I'm using it to inspect aircraft, and it's great to be able to switch between modes with one hand while holding underhand. I need the high modes to see up high, but it can be blinding if I don't switch to a lower mode when looking down low and closer. I need to switch modes constantly, so it becomes a big plus.

Like you said, the throw will just be for playing, so I guess the work has to take the higher priority.

Thanks again everyone!

My edc is a surefire 6p with a nailbender sst-50. Goes toe to toe with my TK40. I have a P7 from nailbender as well, that isn't as bright as the Tk40 but the hotspot is narrower.

I'll trade you my tk40 for your Tk45 but you'll miss the tk45 switch system on the very first day

Thanks jcalvert for your kind words

g.p.,

I'm using it to inspect aircraft, and it's great to be able to switch between modes with one hand while holding underhand. I need the high modes to see up high, but it can be blinding if I don't switch to a lower mode when looking down low and closer. I need to switch modes constantly, so it becomes a big plus.

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I don't want to make it harder for you to decide, but after you stated your precise purpose for a new light, I must suggest that the LP GX or VX w/ the small default head won't focus a tight enough beam for this type of work, so I want to point you to two more lights for you to consider which will allow for one-handed operation of changing modes and offer relatively good throw. They are the Olight M20S and the Fenix TA21. These are my two favorite general-purpose-kind-of-thrower-capable lights.

1) M20S w/ side switch, http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_23&products_id=1314,

2) TA21 w/ selector ring, http://www.brightguy.com/products/Fenix_TA21_LED_Flashlight.php.

I'm sorry to make the decision harder, but I believe for your very specific intended work needs, these two make more sense.

John

CarpentryHero said:

Thanks jcalvert for your kind words

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Sorry g.p., this a bit off topic for one second.

You're welcome CH, we hadn't communicated in a while, so I thought it was good time for a greeting and recognition of your contributions. BTW, I'm still waiting for my mom to get me that geneology about my Canadian heritage.

To g.p.,

It's time to hit the hay :tired:, I'll check back with you tomorrow. Feel free to PM anytime.

John