18650 and 14500 lumen outputs

Despite the title this isn't directly a battery question exactly, hence posting here.

I'm fairly new to the "premium" flashlight world and enjoying it a lot :thumbsup: But one thing I've noticed is, a lot of 1 x 14500 (and sometimes even 1 x RCR lights) will put out HUGE lumen ratings. Yet the 18650 variant in the same range, while impressive often lags with light output.

e.g.

A Xeno EO3 will put out 400+ lumens on a 14500, while the newer Xeno S3A running an 18650 only puts out 300 lumens. :shrug:


Is there a reason to this? I've seen similar from several different flashlight makers and model line ups.

xeno e03 doesn't really support 14500. all levels get jacked up so you lose the low. it's an AA light that gets OVERDRIVEN when using 14500

for an example of a light that has PROPER support for 14500 take a look at the Foursevens Quarks. fully regulated even on 14500. no overheating

I agree with the OP that there's some goofiness going on -- or maybe something perfectly rational, that I still haven't heard a good explanation for. Look at the Jetbeam PC10 vs PC20 -- 20% more output on one 123-sized cell as on two. The light with a lot more metal and twice as many cells is 20% *less* bright?!?!

I don't even buy the explanation above on the EO3 vs S3A. Oh, I get it that the E03 was not really "meant" for 14500. But the fact that people aren't burning out their E03s left and right means that the much bigger heat sync from an 18650-sized package should also be able to support more output. Yes, ok, maybe the output of E03 on high is a bit reckless, and even a "properly designed" 18650 in a really small package shouldn't be quite so much -- but I have an incredibly hard time believing it could only support 300 lumens.

Of course, I also think it's waaaaaay too easy to get overly-focused on raw lumen numbers, when in my personal use, I find that UI is way more important, given two lights within (say) 40% of the same output.

I will what overclocker is trying to say has to do with the out put of the battery.

Chicken Drumstick said:

Despite the title this isn't directly a battery question exactly, hence posting here.

I'm fairly new to the "premium" flashlight world and enjoying it a lot :thumbsup: But one thing I've noticed is, a lot of 1 x 14500 (and sometimes even 1 x RCR lights) will put out HUGE lumen ratings. Yet the 18650 variant in the same range, while impressive often lags with light output.

e.g.

A Xeno EO3 will put out 400+ lumens on a 14500, while the newer Xeno S3A running an 18650 only puts out 300 lumens. :shrug:


Is there a reason to this? I've seen similar from several different flashlight makers and model line ups.

Click to expand...

I'll take a stab at this: The reason why some 14500 lights will have higher output than some 18650 lights is because of the differences in LED used and the driver. Design considerations were in play here where some lights are designed to "WOW" your friends by giving you the highest possible output but with mediocre run time. (hello PA10) While some lights were designed to be duty EDC lights with excellent runtime (ex PD32, C20C, EC2, XT11, etc etc etc etc) at the cost of high output.

But there are lights that can give you the best of both worlds. That is why the SC600 sells well to us flashaholics, it gives you the "WOW" factor to impress your friends with 750 lumens output, but it can go conservative on the battery because it has a maximum runtime of 80 days. You could be trapped in a mine for two months and this light will keep going beyond that time.

If you ask any SC600 owner here, you'll see they dont usually run it at 750 all the time, to them its a comforting thought to know that big light output is there should the need arise.

Thanks. I can see that, although it still seems a little odd in my mind. It seems if you want a slightly larger light then there are some good high powered offerings. If you want a very small light then it's also true (despite low run times and step downs/heat). But if you want a flashlight inbetween they seem to offer less performance for the money.

e.g.

A Niteye EYE10 will run on Li-ion using an RCR and will out lumen the EYE15 that runs on an 18650. Yet the TS or EYE20 will also out perform the EYE15.

JetBEAM PC10 offers 550 lumens while the PC20 only offers 410. If you move up to an RRT21 you are again kicking around the 480-500 lumen level.

Personally I quite like the 18650 form factor, but it does seem that many of the compact 18650 lights perform worse (in terms of lumen numbers) than the model below and the model above them??