Some thoughts on the Jetbeam RRT 1 R2

A few thoughts on the Jetbeam RRT 1 R2

Took out my shiny new RRT 1 for a look around this evening and thought I'd post some thoughts.

Packaging and instructions:

A basic but serviceable cardboard box and extremely brief instructions. No specs or runtimes to be seen.

Build:

Feels very solid in the hand, screw threads feel smooth and substantial. Tactical ring has an excellent feel with noticeable detentes to match the settings. Big, smooth reflector - very nicely done.





Ergonomics:

A little top heavy. It's a big reflector for a fairly small flashlight and the center of gravity is at about the tactical ring. It's not awkward to hold but certainly more unwieldy than an M20 or 30. The tactical ring sits nicely under the thumb and is the best level control I've yet to use. I hate the side switch on the M30, I don't mind the 'twist the head' switch on the M20 but I like the tactical ring a lot.






In use:

I had the choice of the R5 or the R2. I have been led to believe that the R2 is the better thrower of the two with a slightly larger head. (which is what I went for). I was after a pocket 'spotlight' for foxes and general critter spotting and that is exactly what I got. A very tight beam - say half to two thirds the size of the M20 with smooth reflector. Feels like it's got 50 yards on the M20. Does a much better job at lighting distant objects up than either the M20 or P14, both of which out throw the M30. With enough spill around the beam to give plenty of peripheral vision. That's something I don't like about the Led Lensers - they have a good spot and a good flood but you can't have both together. When using the spot on the P7/P14 there is almost no spill - it's almost like you've got blinkers on.



It's perhaps a bit too specialized to be a general use light but it certainly has the throw to spot foxes at 100 yards or more. I think the literature claims 300 yards - I have a shed at this distance and can see it fairly clearly in the beam. I like the fact that you can put the light in 'standby' and simply use the tactical ring to turn the light on and off - even if you have to 'jump' the strobe feature. I tried disorientating a hare (jack rabbit) with it at about 30m, but the hare ignored me and hopped off !! It's a very solid and slightly heavy light which feels like it should last me many years. Now if I could have this beam with 500 lumens.......

Totally agree with you.
The RRT-1 R2 has a tiny R2 emitter to big reflector ratio for maximum throw; at short distances like 2-5 meters away has a tiny intense hotspot.
The hotspot is so tiny, it is impractical for general use. However, it throws superbly.

Pity they have that silly strobe interupting between standby and low.

I think a flashlight of this nature is dying for more lumen output.
The problem seems to be that the Cree XR-E R2, and XP-G R5, and even the S2/S3 can't put out much more than 300 lumens; 395 is probably the max that I've seen.
Jetbeam needs to get into the new bigger Cree XM-L emitters that are capable of nearly 1000 lumens!!!
I know the XM-L is a bigger sized emitter, so it will lower the reflector to emitter size ratio which will diminish the throw somewhat - but they can always overcome the bigger emitter size with a bigger reflector to maintain the throw!
Once you have a head size as big as the RRT-1, who cares if you make it a few millimeters bigger in diameter??

With the compact RRT-0 head size 25.4 mm, and the semi-compact RRT-2 headsize 33 mm, I can understand their reluctance to use the bigger XM-L emitters - coz they will need to increase the head size by at least a few millimeters to maintain the throw.
As emitter size increases, the reflector size must also increase proportionately to maintain the throw.
A few millimeters increase in an RRT-0 and RRT-2 will certainly cheeze off owners, and would be unacceptable.

However, the mid-size RRT-1 R5 currently has a 48 mm head; an R2 slightly bigger again - who cares if the RRT-1 head increases by a few millimeters? Afterall, it's not going to be carried in your pocket.
The M1xm already has an XM-L for 750 lumens, and the RRT-1 is dying for an XM-L...

To get 1000 lumens and more, I think we need an SST-50 or SST-90 emitter, which probably are capable of very high currents?
These emitters aren't as energy efficient as the Cree XM-L, so they should only be used in flashlights with twin 18650's or triple 18650's like the M2S and the RRT-3 respectively.
Thus, for a single 18650 battery powered flashlight like the RRT-1, XM-L is the way to the future.
The current R2, R5 and S2 emitter are just not powerful enough to do the midsize RRT-1 justice...

I read somewhere that the R2 emitter is driven at 0.94 or 0.95 amp. Thats kinda low. Is there anyway to drive this to 1.3 to 1.4 amps ? That could bring some life back to the Raptor ?

Presently, 1 amp is the XR-E's maximum specification.
Overdriving it beyond max specs may reduce longevity.
Thus, the trend is to use bigger emitters like the XP-G R5 which can be driven to about 1.5 amps.
In particular, most pundits would guess that the updated version of the RRT-1 will use an XM-L that can be driven to 3 amps and output something like 1000 lumens.
That's put some life back into the Raptor?

The only drawback of the XM-L is that because they are 2mm by 2mm die sizes, the emitter to reflector size ratio will rise, thus resulting in more flooding and less throw, but presently the Raptor R2 does throw a long long way, and it has a biggish 48mm [2 inch] head size, so it should be able to cope with the bigger emitter size reasonably well...

peterharvey73 said:

Presently, 1 amp is the XR-E's maximum specification.
Overdriving it beyond max specs may reduce longevity.
Thus, the trend is to use bigger emitters like the XP-G R5 which can be driven to about 1.5 amps.
In particular, most pundits would guess that the updated version of the RRT-1 will use an XM-L that can be driven to 3 amps and output something like 1000 lumens.
That's put some life back into the Raptor?

The only drawback of the XM-L is that because they are 2mm by 2mm die sizes, the emitter to reflector size ratio will rise, thus resulting in more flooding and less throw, but presently the Raptor R2 does throw a long long way, and it has a biggish 48mm [2 inch] head size, so it should be able to cope with the bigger emitter size reasonably well...

Click to expand...

I have the R2 version, I use it only to impress friends for brief moments. It never gets driven for extended period of time. I w'd love, if there was a way, to over drive it to the limit or a little beyond just for the "wow factor".

Try the section on Custom Flashlight Builders & Modders.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?92-CPF-Custom-Flashlight-Builders-and-Modders

I'm sure some one can help you there.