Upgrading the tk40 to a m40a or tk41

I have been debating for the last week about upgrading my old tk40. I know i want to stick with AA batteries since i am well stocked on the eneloops. Right now i am torn between getting the fenix tk41 or the sunwayman M40A with the xm-l led. Now i know most of you will say to get both and believe me if i could, i would but i must choose. I guess the info i seek is, is the m40a rated at 600 otf lumens? Also i see it it does about 32,xxx for lux compared to the 18,xxx that the tk40 does. Will there be a noticable difference in throw? I am looking for something similar in beam pattern to the tk40 but brighter. I orginally was excited for the zebralight q50 but after thinking it through i want something with a little bit of flood and some throw. Right now i am leaning towards the m40a since it's more compact and the design of the light is simply beautiful. But would i be wowed enough that it outperforms my tk40? Any input or even pictures are appreciated. I searched and the m40a with xm-l led beamshots at distance seem to be few and far in between.

Beware that there are two versions of the M40A, the older one with MC-E LED (like your TK 40) (rated at 500 lumens) and a newer one with XM-L (rated at 600).

I have the XM-L one but I never compared it directly with a TK-40. All I can say is that it's geared towards throw, with a rather narrow beam of good quality (no doughnut hole or other annoyances). And that the design, machining and finish are exquisite.

Nap.

goinggear.com did some nice comparison videos..

here is the M40a http://youtu.be/dLIeaTVSJkI

here is the TK41 http://youtu.be/VyaOYj89UkM

here is the TK40 http://youtu.be/WFY-lZEMkLQ

The TK41 definitely looks like it has the M40a beat with regards to throw. not sure who wins with flood.

I have the TK40. It looks like the TK41 is a pretty nice upgrade. I'm not too familiar with the M40A

Yes thank you for pointing out that there are two forms of the m40a and i am looking at the upgraded version with the xm-l led. Hmmm. Thank you energythoughts for the comparison videos. Do you know by chance what led bulb the m40a is sporting in that video? I have read the tk40 puts out about 550 otf lumens while i thought the tk41 has 800 lumens otf.

T-roc87 said:

Yes thank you for pointing out that there are two forms of the m40a and i am looking at the upgraded version with the xm-l led. Hmmm. Thank you energythoughts for the comparison videos. Do you know by chance what led bulb the m40a is sporting in that video? I have read the tk40 puts out about 550 otf lumens while i thought the tk41 has 800 lumens otf.

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He didn't mention which emitter that M40a was.. and I looked through the comments & notes and nothing indicates which one it is.. sorry.

energythoughts said:

He didn't mention which emitter that M40a was.. and I looked through the comments & notes and nothing indicates which one it is.. sorry.

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I see we are on the same page. I will have to shoot them an email.

The M40A won't give you more output but will cut the size in half. Don't expect a brighter light with a cut of 50% of power (4 AA instead of 8).

The TK40 gets the same brightness with 4XAA's. If the M40A gives 600lumens OTF then it should actually give more light than a TK40, which is 630 led lumens

energythoughts said:

He didn't mention which emitter that M40a was.. and I looked through the comments & notes and nothing indicates which one it is.. sorry.

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MC-E, there was no M40A XM-L in June.

lightseeker2009 said:

The TK40 gets the same brightness with 4XAA's. If the M40A gives 600lumens OTF then it should actually give more light than a TK40, which is 630 led lumens

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I should have mentioned I was referring to the MC-E model compared to the TK40. If you compare the XM-L M40A, it would be fair to compare it with a TK41.

Honestly, why not go with the TK41 if you are comfortable with the size of the TK40. The TK41 is just a tad longer (due to the deeper reflector) but the output is much greater. I find the beam a *dad* less floody but more throwey than the TK40. But because the output is much more noticable, the TK41 just blows the TK40 away. I have both the TK40 and TK41.

While I know you are limited to eneloops (like I was until I sprung for 18650s a year later), I find the TK35 to be similar in nature to the TK40. It's more floody and throws maybe a tad farther than the TK40. It's a more usable beam IMO for everyday use than the TK40. But for throw and distance, you can't go wrong with the TK41.

I took my TK40 freshwater snorkeling many times last year, and this year I got the TK35 first, then the TK41. At night when I first turned on both the TK40 and TK35, I was floored at how much more light was coming out of the TK35 vs the TK40. I had to double check the modes, thinking it was only on high, but it was in fact on turbo like the TK35 was on turbo. And to think last year, I was floored at how much light was coming out of the TK40.

The video was the old M40A MCE.

The M40A XML will not be a noticable upgrade in terms of output and will be slight upgrade in terms of throw. The only reason to get the M40A XML as an upgrade would be the size - it is much smaller than your TK40. If you want a more noticable difference, get the TK41.

Thank you all for your input. I guess i must decide whether i want smaller size or more throw at this point. I also got an email from sunwayman and they use the FL1 standard.

tre said:

The M40A XML will not be a noticable upgrade in terms of output and will be slight upgrade in terms of throw.

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XM-L is noticeably brighter and has 50% higher lux number (MC-E ~20klux/1m, XM-L ~30klux/1m).

CyberCT said:

I took my TK40 freshwater snorkeling many times last year, and this year I got the TK35 first, then the TK41. At night when I first turned on both the TK40 and TK35, I was floored at how much more light was coming out of the TK35 vs the TK40. I had to double check the modes, thinking it was only on high, but it was in fact on turbo like the TK35 was on turbo. And to think last year, I was floored at how much light was coming out of the TK40.

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Not to jump off topic but did you use them underwater as well?

I have the TK41 & absolutely love it.
Running on alkalines it's lasted over 3 months now and that's with messing around and some legitimate usage at night.
I've got AA 1.5v lithiums waiting for it when these die.

DisrupTer911 said:

Not to jump off topic but did you use them underwater as well?

I have the TK41 & absolutely love it.
Running on alkalines it's lasted over 3 months now and that's with messing around and some legitimate usage at night.
I've got AA 1.5v lithiums waiting for it when these die.

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Yes, in my statement above I meant I compared them underwater. I should have been more clear. Because of the higher density of water vs lighter density of air, I found underwater testing to be a good indicator of differences between these three lights. The Tk41 underwater had more throw (could penetrate deeper) but the spill wasn't very usable underwater. The TK41 seemed to over brighten the hotspot if I was looking within 4 feet of the river floor. The TK35 was the best overall underwater light. The hotspot wasn't too bright and the spill was much more usable, to show crevaces and hiding places of eels, catfish, carp, and other fish much better.

I might even add that the TK45 has EXCELLENT flood (which I also have, and also runs off AA batteries). It's not as much of a thrower as the TK41, but if you want flood or "useable" light IMO, it's a great light too. There's a curveball for you. It had better flood underwater (and in air, normal use) than the TK35.

phantom23 said:

XM-L is noticeably brighter and has 50% higher lux number (MC-E ~20klux/1m, XM-L ~30klux/1m).

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1) He asked if he would see a big upgrade from a TK40 to an M40A XML. That is what I was talking about

2) FYI, it takes 400% more lux @ 1 meter to get a light to throw 2x the distance.