Anyone tried a reflector instead of optic on KL1?

Has anyone used a reflector instead of the NX-05 or Fraen for the KL1? which one did you use?

I am going to send my KL1 to be upgraded to a Lux3 700 ma TWAK and want to know what else has been tried and works, I like the PR-T beam and would like something similar if possible.

Would a reflector beat the optic? I am thinking about a Mag 2AA reflector or a PT Rage reflector or if I can find something better that would fit and give a good throw and corona.

Any suggestions?

Alex

Alex,

You could try one of the Carley reflectors. They tend to run on the shallow side, but give a nice beam. I believe that one of their 1" reflectors could be turned down to fit, but I haven't tried this yet and don't have a KL1 to try it out on. The 1" reflector gives a beam somewhere between a modded KL4 and a PR.

Are you looking for a focused or diffused light?

There is a thread somewhere around called "Optics Shootout". It goes through several types of optics including the NX-05, NX-01, Fraen LP, etc. and shows the resultant beam.

But you need the side-emitters if you're planning to use reflectors. Or else you need a deep reflector. The bare LS has a very wide beam, but not quite wide enough to utilise most reflectors. Have a look at the KL4, KL5 and KL6. Compare their beams and the depth of their reflectors. This would give you an indication of the reflector depth and curve needed to achieve a tight beam.

The KL4 has quite a shallow reflector and that doesn't catch much of the light, so the beam is very wide. The KL5 and KL6 on the other hand, have a very deep reflector which manages to catch the light and focus it to a tighter beam.

Expect the same with a 1W emitter since the bare LS viewing angles are similar.

I used a few spare emitters from some KL1s that fellow Member Chop supplied to make a few experimental mods.
I have no optics and simply used a cut down reflector from another zenon light(cant remember what one).I think it may have been from a 2-AA Legend host but it worked pretty good for a reflector.I used a step up circuit and single 123 cell for power.
The beam was very ringy with a dark spot in the middle using the stock mirror surface of the reflector.
I used some light sandpaper and sanded the mirror surface off and then painted it with some cheap silver color enamel.
The result was a very pretty room filling flood beam with hardly any noticable hot spot.
Best I could do without any optics but the result was pretty decent for a low dome

You're fine with a reflector from a 2AA mag espically with a HD (lambertain). Should give a beam like an NX05 only brighter.

I've been using the faceted reflectors from Rayovac Industrial 2AA flashlights, which seem to be plentiful in WalMart for $3.96 (or something like that). It's shallow as I believe it was designed for close use, and yet it still makes a beam with a hotspot, not a flood. A high dome positioned just right makes a beautiful, almost perfect beam. Take a look at my photos of reflector and beam in the Milkbone 2AA thread over here.