Questions about Solarforce and Drop-In modules in general

Hey CPF,
So I've been thinking it's about time I got a real flashlight. Currently my best flashlight is a cheap zooming one I got from DX for $7. It's fairly good considering the price, and I like how tight the zoom is on it. I know the 350 Lumen thing is a bit of a stretch but it's still much brighter than the old 25 lumen one I got from Radio Shack when I was a noob to flashlights.

Anyway, even though I know I could afford it, I'm still too cheap to spend more than $100 on a flashlight, and I'd prefer it be somewhere around $50. I would like really High powered emitter like upwards of 800 lumens (So an XM L(2)) and I want it to have really good throw. I also have a good interest in being able to change out parts of the flashlight like the driver, emitter, reflector, etc... So I looked around at different brands and lights and it seems that Solarforce has the closest to what I'm looking for.

All the parts they sell seem to be compatible with each other, they use standard Drop-ins which seems like a cool way of customising your flashlight, and they're pretty cheap.
Looking at what they have, I'm thinking of getting The L2T body with stainless clip and besel. It's one of the more expensive bodies, but I like the matt finish and the Stainless ends look really cool oo:. I also think I'll get the lantern attachment because it seems like it would be useful to have.

Now, about the drop-in. I have a few questions about them that I think you guys could answer.

1. Are the drop ins that the L2 series use pretty universal throughout different brands?
2. If they are, how can I tell which ones will and will not work? (what numbers do I pay attention to?)
3. Can I use cheep ones like the ones on Dealextreme or Fasttech?
4. How good a throw can I get from a Drop-in?
5. If throw on a drop in is limited, what other options are there?
6. Do TIR Drop-ins exist? if so, where can I get one?
7. Is using a lens along with a drop in at all a good Idea?
8. Is this one good for what I want?

As far as solarforce goes, the only question I have about them is, Is there a reason I shouldn't use them?

Thanks for reading and I hope you guys are able to help.

I would recommend looking at drop-in modules from Customlites (Nailbender). They also carry the Solarforce brand so you can get everything in one order. I've been happy with his products.

walterwitt said:

Hey CPF,
So I've been thinking it's about time I got a real flashlight. Currently my best flashlight is a cheap zooming one I got from DX for $7. It's fairly good considering the price, and I like how tight the zoom is on it. I know the 350 Lumen thing is a bit of a stretch but it's still much brighter than the old 25 lumen one I got from Radio Shack when I was a noob to flashlights.

Anyway, even though I know I could afford it, I'm still too cheap to spend more than $100 on a flashlight, and I'd prefer it be somewhere around $50. I would like really High powered emitter like upwards of 800 lumens (So an XM L(2)) and I want it to have really good throw. I also have a good interest in being able to change out parts of the flashlight like the driver, emitter, reflector, etc... So I looked around at different brands and lights and it seems that Solarforce has the closest to what I'm looking for.

All the parts they sell seem to be compatible with each other, they use standard Drop-ins which seems like a cool way of customising your flashlight, and they're pretty cheap.
Looking at what they have, I'm thinking of getting The L2T body with stainless clip and besel. It's one of the more expensive bodies, but I like the matt finish and the Stainless ends look really cool oo:. I also think I'll get the lantern attachment because it seems like it would be useful to have.

Now, about the drop-in. I have a few questions about them that I think you guys could answer.

1. Are the drop ins that the L2 series use pretty universal throughout different brands?
2. If they are, how can I tell which ones will and will not work? (what numbers do I pay attention to?)
3. Can I use cheep ones like the ones on Dealextreme or Fasttech?
4. How good a throw can I get from a Drop-in?
5. If throw on a drop in is limited, what other options are there?
6. Do TIR Drop-ins exist? if so, where can I get one?
7. Is using a lens along with a drop in at all a good Idea?
8. Is this one good for what I want?

As far as solarforce goes, the only question I have about them is, Is there a reason I shouldn't use them?

Thanks for reading and I hope you guys are able to help.

Click to expand...

Get a SkyRay King for $35 off Ebay then buy 4 18650 lithium ion batteries with charger and move on. 1st) you will get a gawd awefull bright light for cheap, 2nd) you will want something better after the "Tim Allen" effect wears off. Then research some better lights and additions. Don't worry. It's an addiction. Your doomed! Just like me (and a couple hundred others). John

walterwitt said:

Now, about the drop-in. I have a few questions about them that I think you guys could answer.

1. Are the drop ins that the L2 series use pretty universal throughout different brands?
2. If they are, how can I tell which ones will and will not work? (what numbers do I pay attention to?)
3. Can I use cheep ones like the ones on Dealextreme or Fasttech?
4. How good a throw can I get from a Drop-in?
5. If throw on a drop in is limited, what other options are there?
6. Do TIR Drop-ins exist? if so, where can I get one?
7. Is using a lens along with a drop in at all a good Idea?
8. Is this one good for what I want?

As far as solarforce goes, the only question I have about them is, Is there a reason I shouldn't use them?

Thanks for reading and I hope you guys are able to help.

Click to expand...

1) L2 uses P60/D24 dropin, which is hugely popular since it is interchangeable & easily upgradable whenever newer stuff comes out.

2) P60 dropin uses 16mm LED stars & 17mm drivers. Anything within that size, u shud be able to use them.

3) The best throw, get an XP-E2 or XP-G2. However, due to the size of the reflection, P60 dropin aren't the best thrower out there, but they can still be impressive. Check out Nailbender or Vinh, they can hook u up with some great stuff.

4) Limit on throw? Up the current then. Haha..

5) Not too sure about TIR, so cant answer you.

6) No lens means your reflector & emitter will be exposed to water & dust. Buying a host will usually come with a lens alrdy.

7) For your dropin, u keep mentioning throw so an XM-L emitter might not fit ur liking. This will be more of a flood then throw.

By far, Solarforce is my choice for my EDC since they are sturdy & solid enough for some rough treatments yet not too expensive that it will hurt my wallet too much.

- JonK

DellSuperman said:

6) No lens means your reflector & emitter will be exposed to water & dust. Buying a host will usually come with a lens alrdy.

7) For your dropin, u keep mentioning throw so an XM-L emitter might not fit ur liking. This will be more of a flood then throw.

- JonK

Click to expand...

By a lense, I meant an actual Convex one instead of the flat window it comes with (should have been more specific)

Also, I'm not sure I understand how the emmier the drop in uses would affect the throw.

Thanks for the rest of your answers though.

If you want to use the Lantern attachment then the L2T won't tail stand, the L2P will tail stand and it has the HAIII finish.

walterwitt said:

By a lense, I meant an actual Convex one instead of the flat window it comes with (should have been more specific)

Also, I'm not sure I understand how the emmier the drop in uses would affect the throw.

Thanks for the rest of your answers though.

Click to expand...

Ahh, convex lens. This should help with focusing the hot spot to a tighter spot so u can throw further.

And the size of the emitter are the factors that affect the throw.
XM-L series have larger die, hence resulting in more flood & less throw.
XP-G2 /E2 series have much smaller die, resulting in better throw & less flood.

- JonK

walterwitt said:

...Also, I'm not sure I understand how the emmier the drop in uses would affect the throw...

Click to expand...

The size of the led itself effects throw. The larger the actual led, the less throw for a given reflector. With the right size reflector the XM-L will throw fine, but not with the one you are looking at. An XP-G would throw much better with that size reflector.

Yeah.. But since OP wants a P60 system, the reflector size is more or less fixed.

- JonK

Dave D said:

If you want to use the Lantern attachment then the L2T won't tail stand, the L2P will tail stand and it has the HAIII finish.

Click to expand...

No, it comes with a stand, just slot the torch in.

Can anyone recommend a decent neutral dropin? Don't say Malkoff, I'm cheap

Talk to Vinh or Nailbender....

- JonK

DellSuperman said:

Talk to Vinh or Nailbender....

- JonK

Click to expand...

Was looking mainly for cheapo Chinese, but the Nailbender thread caught my eye, thanks.

You can get a neutral white, high CRI XML2 drop-in from Intl-Outdoor, for ~$18. The QLITE driver it uses draws 3Amps on high and can have a moonlight mode too. There is no flicker etc to bug you but you may need to add another spring to the positive pole as it is a bit short for Solarforce bodies.

You can find really cheap dropins too. Like KaiDomain sells Xml2 dropins for $8-9 or something. They are usually decently built from the parts you can find on their sites. Nowhere a Malkoff or EDCPlus (Xeno) in build quality but decent for their price.

I could only manage to add a TIR lens to an XRE emitter as it had a holder to snap on the emitter. As P60 dropins are lose in the flashlight you'll need another casing over the dropin to keep TIR lens and the pill together. Malkoffs had TIR lenses in m60 series if I know correctly. They are using reflectors in m61s.

XPE or XPG2 emitters make decent mid range throwers but XMLs are mainly flooders in P60 format. But Solarforce has some other guns those can work with their bodies, like the uber thrower Masterpiece Pro1 head with XRE, a better than P60 thrower M3 head with XML and an uber flooder K3 head recently with MTG2 emitters. So you are never out of date with a decent Solarforce setup.

I now have at least 9 Solarforce bodies with over 20 dropins, most of those I built myself. A pity some of them aren't made any longer, like 2xAa L2r, 3XAAA L2i and 2x18650/4xCr123 L2x/L2x Extended.

I'd buy a 3mode Solarforce Xml2 dropin and a body of choice with 18650 extender. A L2N + Steel Clip + Dropin is sold at $31.

Thanks for all the responses guys.

I see now how a larger emitter would be harder to focus with a small reflector, however, after doing some math I found out that the XM-L2 U2 Emitter actually has more lumens per mm, So the XM-L2 Would still throw further. If I do end up wanting a bit tighter throw, I might just get another drop in, or maybe even try out some convex lenses. Anyone know where I can get lenses the right size?

Kokopelli said:

You can get a neutral white, high CRI XML2 drop-in from Intl-Outdoor, for ~$18.

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Is this the right one? It does look like it would be a bit more useful, seeing as it can go lower, and drive it higher than the solar force one. Thanks for mentioning it. Also, is sacrificing a few lumens is worth the higher CRI?

I also decided to change the body to this one, because it turns out adding the bezel and belt clip afterwards is cheaper then having them come with. I considered the L2P for a bit because of the HA3 anodizing, however, I really don't like the look of it as much. I also think that getting an extension to hold an extra battery would just look silly.

Hey, I sent an email to solarforce about the price of the body I was looking at, and they said they could give it to me for $31.50 instead. Although now I'm wondering how useful would a belt clip and a Steel Bezel really be? Also, anyone got any comments on the questions in my previous post? Like how worth it is Higher CRI, and where can I get convex lenses for it.

walterwitt said:

Hey, I sent an email to solarforce about the price of the body I was looking at, and they said they could give it to me for $31.50 instead. Although now I'm wondering how useful would a belt clip and a Steel Bezel really be? Also, anyone got any comments on the questions in my previous post? Like how worth it is Higher CRI, and where can I get convex lenses for it.

Click to expand...

A belt clip is really a personal choice.
Its good to have & you can remove it as and when u like.
A steel bezel, according to most, will help with high falls because it can take higher impact.
I'm not exactly sure about it though.

And as for HCRI vs lumens, the lack of lumens will be hardly visible to our naked eyes, unless we are talking about 200-300 lumens difference..
And HICRI lights make things look more natural to the eyes too.

- JonK

Solarforce dropins can work with multiple cells up to 9v in total, but Intl-outdoor's p60 dropin is limited to 4.2v or a single lithium ion cell as like all AMC7135 chip based drivers are. It more probably drives the emitter higher, though.

High CRI dropin from IntlO isn't a thrower BTW. it isn't overly orange in warmth but has a smooth daylight beam. Solarforce dropins are said to be better in throw but I couldn't have the opportunity to test one against others. IO High CRI drop in is mainly a flood reflector.