Will All Flashlights With The Cree XM-L2 T6 Have 960 Lumens Out?

As posted above, will all of the flashlights using a Cree XM-L2 T6 have an output of 960 lumens?

JAS said:

As posted above, will all of the flashlights using a Cree XM-L2 T6 have an output of 960 lumens?

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Nope, it all depends on the drive current.

Some drivers only push 500ma, some well over the 2.8amps ish to get 960 lumens.

Not to mention the other factors like what batteries you're using our that when a manufacturer claims 960 lumens you may not know how they tested it, or whether they mean at the emitter or "out the front" lumens, which is what you can actually use.

Some folks around here push the xml2 up over 6 amps, which is well over what Cree puts on their data sheet. With enough heat sinking at the right batteries, it's crazy what can be done.

It depends on how hard the designer wants to drive it. I have seen designs where the LED is driven at 1 amp, with the lumens down around 350, and around 600 at 2 amps. To get the 960 lumen number it has to be driven at around 3 amps, which is about the limit for the LED. Check the Cree XM-L2 Datasheet, third page, top line of the chart to see the various values. Lots of interesting info on that page.

^^^^^^

Both of the above posts nailed it on the head. Different manufactures simply do different things when driving an LED. Take this into account for reliability as well.... a lot of lights are over driven.

Don't forget about other losses. Even with identical drive current, a bare mule head will have more out-the-front lumens than a thrower with a deep reflector. Between the reflector and the window a lower quality light can lose 30% of the lumens.