Need a new thrower

It's time to upgrade my Magcharger and Ultrastinger.

We live on acreage in the country and often (almost nightly, it seems) have need to illuminate things at distance - 100 yds/meters at a minimum. The MC and US just barely do the job (both are stock and focused for maximum throw) and I think LEDs are now to the point that I could replaces these with something newer (and, in the case of the Mag, lighter!)

What I'd like is an LED light (need instant on, so no HID) with a hotspot that is BOTH wider and brighter at >100yds than the Mag or Streamlight. I'd also like to do it for under $150 if possible.

I need direct comparisons to the well-known lights I already own so that I can make a good decision. Thanks!

No replies? Are the US and MC that difficult to beat?

Sorry I don't know what the "US" & "MC" lights are, but I'd recommend the dedicated throwers that are based on the new XM-L LED like: EagleTac M3C4 - I chose this one because of the multiple output options 5, 65, 192, 404, & 748 lumens. Easily reaches out 200+ yds. Also great UI.

Others that have similar output that you should check out are the Thrunite Catapult, Olight M3X, & Fenix TK35.

Those would be the MagCharger (MC) and Ultrastinger (US), as referenced in the first post. Any experience with the lights you've recommended against either of those?

EagleTac M3C4
Solarforce Masterpiece Pro 1
Solarforce M8
Jetbeam RRT - 1
Fenix TK35
Thrunite Catapult V3
Deerlight DBS V3
Olight M3X
Tiablo A10

Google those, read the manufacturers descriptions but most importantly read the reviews and comparisons you find here on CPF. That should tell you everything you need to know to make your decision.

In general, everything on that list is in your price range and will blow your existing lights out of the water in terms of performance. The one thing to consider is that you are going to have to trade up to higher performance batteries, so consider than an additional investment on top of the lights themselves.

I didn't highlight the difference but a few of those lights have really pencil thin beams that will go forever but with relatively little spill. The majority of the XML based lights will have larger hot spots and some spill (some are pushing 800 lumens).

If you have any specific questions, feel free to come back to this thread and ask but I suspect you will find almost all your questions answered by previous posts discussing these lights.

Also, if there are any lights I missed (and I'm sure there are) please feel free to list them.

Cheers!

I've already read all the reviews. What I'm asking for is a COMPARISON to the lights I already own, so I have a frame of reference. Any comparisons that are done are to other LED throwers, and not to the well-known (to those of us who've been on CPF for a while) incan throwers.

@ geoBruin
:goodjob:

other lights:
- Fenix TK50
- Brinyte D8 XM-L
- Lumintop TD15X
- Xeno G42 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J7LXh509nc&feature=player_embedded#at=110

TheMechanic said:

Those would be the MagCharger (MC) and Ultrastinger (US), as referenced in the first post. Any experience with the lights you've recommended against either of those?

Click to expand...

Sorry, the names were right in front of my face & I missed it. Anyway, I do not have any experience with either light, but was just doing some reading on them. Looks like both lights are less than 300 lumens unless you get em upgraded with a new drop-in like the 700 lumen terralux drop-in. The EagleTac M3C4 XM-L that I have is ANSI rated (true out-the-front lumens) to 748 lumens. I'm pretty certain that the output of a light like the EagleTac would be a significant upgrade to your lights.

Outdoorsman5 said:

Sorry, the names were right in front of my face & I missed it. Anyway, I do not have any experience with either light, but was just doing some reading on them. Looks like both lights are less than 300 lumens unless you get em upgraded with a new drop-in like the 700 lumen terralux drop-in. The EagleTac M3C4 XM-L that I have is ANSI rated (true out-the-front lumens) to 748 lumens. I'm pretty certain that the output of a light like the EagleTac would be a significant upgrade to your lights.

Click to expand...

I see you're new here, so you probably haven't read this yet: The Real Reason For Throw. It's a sticky for a reason, and you should read it.

In short, lumens are only one measure of light output, and in this case aren't the most important one. For instance, I have on my belt as I type an Elzetta with the now-discontinued Malkoff MC-E module. It puts out 500 lumens, and is thoroughly spanked at anything beyond 75 feet by my 180 lumen Lumapower MRV (original edition.) Why? The MRV concentrates its output into a thin beam, as opposed to spraying it all over creation. It is more efficient at throw.

The Terralux drop-in for the MagCharger, for instance, is reported to have slightly less throw than the stock bulb, largely (I suspect) because the reflector was designed for a light emitter with distinctly different properties. It isn't able to properly focus the output of the LED in the Terralux, and thus has poor efficiency.

Comparison by lumen output alone isn't at all helpful.

I have never tried the MagCharger, but I have used a 6D mag. You can find that maglight compared to many other big lights on my website.

HKJ said:

I have never tried the MagCharger, but I have used a 6D mag. You can find that maglight compared to many other big lights on my website.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. The MagCharger is significantly brighter than a 6D, so that wasn't much help. However, your long distance beamshots certainly were - the best I've yet seen, and very similar distances and conditions (treelines) to what I'm doing. Very helpful, and I'm surprised how well the Fenix TK-40 powered by AAs holds up to the more powerful lithium batteries. Impressive - didn't think AAs could do that!

TheMechanic said:

Thanks for the link. The MagCharger is significantly brighter than a 6D, so that wasn't much help. However, your long distance beamshots certainly were - the best I've yet seen, and very similar distances and conditions (treelines) to what I'm doing. Very helpful, and I'm surprised how well the Fenix TK-40 powered by AAs holds up to the more powerful lithium batteries. Impressive - didn't think AAs could do that!

Click to expand...

Rechargeable AA can deliver a lot of power, alkaline cannot. But the TK40 uses many cells (8) to also work on alkaline.
If you are looking on TK40, it might be a good idea to wait for the TK41, it is about the same size, but brighter and has side switches. I can not say anything about the beam yet.

TheMechanic said:

I see you're new here, so you probably haven't read this yet: The Real Reason For Throw. It's a sticky for a reason, and you should read it.

In short, lumens are only one measure of light output, and in this case aren't the most important one. For instance, I have on my belt as I type an Elzetta with the now-discontinued Malkoff MC-E module. It puts out 500 lumens, and is thoroughly spanked at anything beyond 75 feet by my 180 lumen Lumapower MRV (original edition.) Why? The MRV concentrates its output into a thin beam, as opposed to spraying it all over creation. It is more efficient at throw.

The Terralux drop-in for the MagCharger, for instance, is reported to have slightly less throw than the stock bulb, largely (I suspect) because the reflector was designed for a light emitter with distinctly different properties. It isn't able to properly focus the output of the LED in the Terralux, and thus has poor efficiency.

Comparison by lumen output alone isn't at all helpful.

Click to expand...

Gee thanks...
I have a pretty good understanding of this already, and there will always be more to learn. I learned the hard way though before educating myself on throw vs flood. I have an Olight M20 with the R2 emitter...love the throw on that light. Olight then came out with the M21 with the SST-50 LED & twice the lumens. I bought it without reading much, and was hugely disappointed....even sent it back. It was more of a flood light when compared to the M20. The LED was larger and installed in practically the same package making it floody. Now after buying quarks, eagletacs, nitecores, fenix, olights, & zebralights, I get it....but I'm no expert.

Anyway, you should read up on these lights, so that you have a better understanding of their performance. I understand the performance of the EagleTac because I own one. I studied up on these quite a bit before buying - The EagleTac M3C4 with its 2.4 inch deep reflector built for the larger die size of the XM-L produces 38,750 Lux. The Catapult V2 with a 2.3 inch head also designed around the XM-L produces 46k Lux, the Olight M3x with a 2.48 inch head has similar Lux, and the Fenix TK35 appears (from beam shots) to have slightly less Lux & less throw due to the smaller head size at 2 inches. I can't find the Lux readings for the US or the MC, but surely they're out there for comparison.

I'm just sayin that these lights can throw light in a big way for their price range, and easily more than the 100 yds that you need it for. I used my laser range finder to see how far my ET was throwing the light & it was reaching out over 200 yds effectively...meaning I could discern what I was looking at.

These lights are the newest & best throwers on the market in the <$150 price range....not my opinion, just fact, and more are coming out soon. If you're looking for an upgrade then check em out.

I just got an Olight M3X XM-L and it's a thrower! Throws further than the Olight M31. I got a good discount + free shipping so it is less than $150. Check out the thrower comparisons in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnL5lFxVwLw&feature=related

Hey mechanic, take a look at this review with beamshots - ClickHere

If you can wait, Led Lenser is upgrading all their products.

They will start displaying the new models at the end of April 2011, and will start selling them on June 1st 2011.

Hopefully some of the lights will have Cree XPG & Cree XM-L LED's

I got a Xeno G42 from Tactical LED and it's a great throw light, reflector is really nice and super deep and it is very well made.

Sell you MC and US and throw in another $50 and get a Surefire M3LT...the little bit of extra money spent will pay off in the long run. Shop around, or look for specials and sales, and save a bit on the retail while your at it.

I own both a Brinyte D8 and a Brinyte D8 XM-L, and I am really happy with both flashlights since they are great and affordable throwers.

By the way, a review of the Brinyte D8 XM-L is available here. Although it is written in German language, the translation link above the review can be used to translate it to other languages.

and about the flashlight with a lux over than 70 000 lux a 1 meter, what is the choice ? for raisonable price.