Christmas Gift Ideas

Hello all, I am Will and new here. As everyone says, long time lurker, etc.


Anyways, I am looking at doing a few builds for Christmas this year and wanted your opinion on best price/build etc. and a few options on prices. I am looking to build 2-3 flashlights around 20-30 bucks, and 2-3 around 30-50 bucks. Not including chargers if you were wondering.

For the higher priced ones, I was thinking a convoy C8 with an XP-L Hi PCB and a Fet Direct Driver. Maybe add in the AR glass.

The cheaper ones, I have no clue. Maybe an S2 build with a qlite and maybe solder on some extra drivers myself? I am a bit new to how the drivers all work, but I know I can increase output. Any idea on led? Run same XPL-Hi, or go with just the XP-L

If you have any suggestions, I am open. I am a bit new to building flashlights, but love to learn. I built quads (drones) etc. So just being around long enough I will learn all of the maths and lingos of this new hobby.

The S2 or S2+ with the Qlite driver would be a good choice for a budget light. Do not add any extra 7135 chips to the Qlite driver. At 3.04A, the stock driver makes a lot of heat on high. The Samsung LH351D is another LED that is worth considering. It has high CRI and excellent output. Make sure that you use thermal epoxy, or paste under the copper MCPCB.

datiLED said:

The S2 or S2+ with the Qlite driver would be a good choice for a budget light. Do not add any extra 7135 chips to the Qlite driver. At 3.04A, the stock driver makes a lot of heat on high. The Samsung LH351D is another LED that is worth considering. It has high CRI and excellent output. Make sure that you use thermal epoxy, or paste under the copper MCPCB.

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Thank you.

I am pricing it out and I may be a bit higher than I want to spend on a few of them. I appreciate the info on the Qlie driver. And I have enough thermal paste to last a long time!

Have a look at MtnElectronics, I believe they have some less expensive cost hosts. *nevermind, I just looked. you can do the 18350-sized Convoy S2+ for $9.35. The 18650-sized version is $12 - $13, but figure in that the larger battery will also be more expensive.

If you are making them for newbie friends, don't give them barn-stormers. Simple, even 300 lumen torches are still very handy tools.