Jetbeam BC40 vs....

Hi all,

I have just recently stumbled onto LED flashlights and I'm blown away.

I just bought my dad a Jetbeam BC40 for his birthday and I cant believe how much light that thing puts out!!! Now, I am considering buying one for myself.

I have done a ton of research, and I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but I am wondering if anything else can put out this brightness and beam pattern of light with a 2x18650 set up. I am probably able to spend up to $150 AUD, but I am just interested if this will be worth the extra money over the BC40 considering its performance...

The possibilities I have are : Sunwayman M40C, thrunite catapult V3, Klarus XT20, olight M31... are there any others I should consider?

I will be using the light for walking around the property.

Thanks

Welcome to CPF.

Some good ones you've listed, Fenix TK35 will also be a good consideration if you like its form.

Check out the Jetbeams too

check out selfbuilts reviews in the review section. He has beamshots and comparisons for all the popular 2x18650 lights. Also, goinggear.com has videos on youtube of all the popular lights. if you like the side by side battery format, check out the eagletac m3c4 xml as well as the others you have listed.

I recently purchased the BC40 and for a $60 light I was impressed... I just ordered a JETbeam BC25 and hope that I am equally impressed with it...

Amazing that there are so many lights for so many different purposes! All we need now is the moolah to buy them all!

If you're just looking at the 2 18650 battery setup light, then the Fenix TK35, the Eagletac M3C4 or the XT20. If you want to go into the 3 18650 setup or more, the DRY 3XML, the Nitecore TM11 all output around 3 times as much light as the BC40. The best 18650 light in my opinion though, is the Zebralight SC600. It runs on 1 18650, has better runtime than the BC40 AND more output than the BC40 and 4 inches length...

The light output for BC40 is about average for that type of light, the throw is below average.
I have compare BC40 and some other lights in a beamshot.

yifu said:

If you're just looking at the 2 18650 battery setup light, then the Fenix TK35, the Eagletac M3C4 or the XT20. If you want to go into the 3 18650 setup or more, the DRY 3XML, the Nitecore TM11 all output around 3 times as much light as the BC40. The best 18650 light in my opinion though, is the Zebralight SC600. It runs on 1 18650, has better runtime than the BC40 AND more output than the BC40 and 4 inches length...

Click to expand...

Brighter than 830 lumens for over 1 1/2 hrs? That IS impressive!

Hi all thanks for your responses.

There are so many to choose from its ridiculous!

I forgot to mention but I will also be using this light to be hunting (50-150m beam would be useful), with it mounted to my rifle, so I guess that narrows it down to the tubular shape designs. I really like the catapult, but I'm unsure whether the overspill is useable outside the spot, over these kind of distances...

The main thing I am struggling with is...are any of these alternatives are 2X better than the BC40 considering that they are 2X the price?

I just wish the BC40 had a couple more modes with a ring selector and a grippier body...


Thanks for your review HKJ, it was very helpful.

and regarding the zebralight

from their website...
Light Output

• High: H1 500Lm with 750Lm turbo in the first 5 min (2hrs) or H2 200Lm (5.9hrs) / 330Lm (3hrs) / 500Lm (2.1hrs) / 4Hz Strobe
• Medium: M1 65Lm (18hrs) or M2 21Lm (50hrs)
• Low: L1 2.8Lm (280hrs) or L2 0.1Lm (80days)

I get get the impression that the 2hr runtime is only at 500 lumens and 1 turbo use?

BBB

Similar to the Jb BC40 with 2x18650 in-line, but a lot better and within $150 or so, is the Thrunite Catapult V3 XM-L.
Selfbuilt has tested it to throw a whopping 402 meters till the brightness falls to 0.25 lux.
The new Sunwayman T40CS 2x18650 throws some 432 meters as measured by Selfbuilt, and costs only $120!!
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?324855-Sunwayman-T40CS-(XM-L-2x18650-4xCR123A)-Review-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS-VIDEO

The Eagletac M3C4 XM-L using a 2x19650 in parallel layout can throw pretty well too at 394 meters.
Try the new Sunwayman V60C XM-L with 3x18650 in parallel for a similar 395 meters of throw.
The V60C has a continuously variable brightness adjust beginning from 5 lumens all the way up to 728 lumens ANSI OTF.

If you want a 1 inch rifle mount as well, then you must go to either 2x18650 in-line, or a weaker and smaller 1x18650.
Single 1x18650's will give you many models to choose from, however you will badly lose the beloved BC40's power and throw that you've become so accustomed to.

For example, the Zebralight SC600 is a nice compact 1x18650.
However, if the throw of the BC40 turns you on, you may be a little disappointed at the SC600's 145 meters of throw as measured by Selfbuilt.
The SC600 was made to be a compact size flooder as seen in the second table below.

As for twice the quality for twice the price?
Unfortunately, flashlights obey the rules of life - the Law of Diminishing Returns!
Try - twice the price, for just a bit more quality...

I get get the impression that the 2hr runtime is only at 500 lumens and 1 turbo use?

Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking. Unless yifu knows of an update we don't yet.

leon2245 said:

That's what I was thinking. Unless yifu knows of an update we don't yet.

Click to expand...

Yep, thats right, it drops in output automatically after 5 mins, although you can just reset that timer. The BC40 is about 700+ real lumens (ceiling bounces less than the SC600) so there is not a noticeable between 500 and 700 lumens to our eyes. I'm just saying that the driver is much more efficient.

Hi B.B.B.

If you have made it to this point, you are past the point of no return! Welcome.

Here are my suggestions. Olight M31, TK35, waiting for the T40CS, TK41 (awesome), Catapult V3 and the TN11 are all great.
If you want to spend a little less but still get yourself a great torch, go to shiningbeam.com and have a look at the offerings such as the Blaze and the P-Rocket to name a few.

If you want something a little smaller again but with tons of output, have a look at the Eagletac D25LC2. This one will blow you away how bright and small it is!

I know I have strayed from your 2x18650 criteria, but I couldn't help myself; sorry!

yifu said:

The best 18650 light in my opinion though, is the Zebralight SC600. It runs on 1 18650, has better runtime than the BC40 AND more output than the BC40 and 4 inches length...

Click to expand...

yifu said:

Yep, thats right, it drops in output automatically after 5 mins, although you can just reset that timer. The BC40 is about 700+ real lumens (ceiling bounces less than the SC600) so there is not a noticeable between 500 and 700 lumens to our eyes. I'm just saying that the driver is much more efficient.

Click to expand...

Okay, I see where you're coming from with "better runtime AND more output" now: turning it off & on 24 times x 5 minutes at a time = 2 hours, which is longer than 1 1/2 hours; and 500 is close enough to 700 lumens to call it more... better runtime AND more output!

I think we could also say their prices are close enough to say the sc600 costs less too!

leon2245 said:

Okay, I see where you're coming from with "better runtime AND more output" now: turning it off & on 24 times x 5 minutes at a time = 2 hours, which is longer than 1 1/2 hours; and 500 is close enough to 700 lumens to call it more... better runtime AND more output!

I think we could also say their prices are close enough to say the sc600 costs less too!

Click to expand...

No matter how you look at it, the BC40 is a great buy!

Olight SR51 with the 2x18650 battery pack. It has an impressive beam. it is also a very compact light only 7.5 inches in length., comes in a nice metal case.

Thanks for your input everyone!

haha. I think I have to hijack my own thread. I will definitely buy the BC40 as it is such a great deal, the light you get for the money is amazing.

However I think I will get a 2nd light for my hunting purposes, I'm thinking a 1x18650 tactical type light. I know this is a other can of worms, but I am deciding between the jetbeam rrt-21, eagletac t20c mk II xml and thrunite scorpion v2. After doing some research, I assume, these will be adequate for hunting up to 100m. its funny that I will be spending more money for less light, but I think these will serve me better.

I like the power and rear selector of the thrunite, the red filter screw on for the ET and the look and build quality of the JB...I have alot more research to do...

EDIT: add sc600 too!

If so, u shud also consider the all new Jb BC25 XM-L; BC40's younger brother.
Like all B Series, the BC25 is super budget priced, has only two brightness modes, but pumps out 650 lumens for 189 meters of throw.
By comparison, the much more expensive RRT-21 XM-L with continuously variable brightness, pumps out only 460 lumens for only 155 meters of throw.
The SC600 puts out a lot of lumens, however it is sideways, thus it's throw is shortest at just 145 meters.
That means that at 145 meters, it is 0.25 lux which is the brightness of moon light.
Rifles and hunters usually want a more concentrated hot spot to focus on the target with more throw, and some light peripheral sideways spill like the BC40.
These single 18650's are nice and compact, but will really underperform relative to your BC40, which throws a whopping 307 meters by comparison.
For a 1x18650 with good throw, you may want an Armytek Predator, or Lumitop TD-15 etc, but you will always find your 2x18650 BC40 much better than these, yet the BC40 is far from the best in it's 2x18650 class...

Some recent 1x18650 XM-L data from Selfbuilt:

Some lights can take the abuse of being mounted on a weapon, and some can not. Many lights also have a spring on both sides of the battery to protect it from shock as well. Make sure any light you buy to be mounted on a weapon can take the abuse. A good way to tell usually is if the manufacturer also sells accessories for weapon mounting, remote tail switch, etc. I really like my eagletac t20c2, but there are many other good ones as well.