TigerLight Upgrades Reviews (js mods)

This thread serves two purposes:

1. Collect all the links to impromptu reviews and comments on my TigerLight mods in one place.

2. Provide a place for all future discussion and reviews and comments on my TigerLight mods, other TigerLight mods, and anything that relates to TigerLight mods, as long as it is appropriate to this forum. (i.e. it should in some way or another be able to be considered in the sense of a review.)

So, right off the bat: CALLING ALL js TIGERLIGHT MOD OWNERS. If you have not yet posted anything on your TigerLight mods, I'd love it if you would do so now. Don't feel that you need to post beamshots with lux readings or get all professional and scientific. I personally want to hear any sort of feedback relating to the mods: build quality, fit and finish, packing, problems, suggestions, comparisons, and so on. Anything that will help people who are intersted in these mods decide--sort of a "what to expect when you get your js TL mod order"--is also appreciated.

And this can be a discussion thread too, as I mentioned above. There are a lot of Tiger11's and 85's out there right now (as well as a couple Tiger74's) so I thought it was high time to post this thread.

For those who want a background, The TigerLight Upgrade Thread started it all. This is a monster thread, but if you have the time and interest, you can follow all the twists and turns of the TigerLight Upgrade project. I had a lot of help, as you will see if you read the thread.

For those who just want a summary and description of the final mods, see theTigerLight Upgrade Offerings (summary) thread. This also contains beamshots which I took of the Tiger85 vs. the stock TigerLight, and links to detail threads or posts on how I make the battery packs and ring-potted lamps and how I modify the charger.

Now, on to the reviews and comments that have been made so far, in no particular order:

springnr's comments on the battery pack.

Frame57's comments on the battery pack.

Psychomodo on Tiger85.

Frame57 on Tiger11.

Frame57 on Tiger85.

dano on Tiger74 and ring-potted lamps.

agent8698 on Tiger11.

cue003 on Tiger85.

Prolepsis on Tiger85.

Paul_DW on Tiger85 (beamshots).

Tiger85 vs. M6 HOLA (Paul_DW beamshots).

brightnorm's mini-review of Tiger11

Judgedog on Tiger11.

Josey on Tiger11.

Josey on Tiger11 (again).

Catdaddy on Tiger11.

bmsmith on packs and Tiger11

SilverFox's comparison graphs of stock pack vs. KAN pack.

If I missed anyone's comments, he or she should post a link to them.

So there it is. Sorry for the necessity to post links instead of quotes, but I don't want to violate the CPF posting rules.

Great idea JS - I've spent enough time trawling through the TL threads looking for various posts!!

Hey Jim:

You do great work! You really care about your TigerMod project and it shows.

I've already posted, but I can add that the one thing that makes the TL11 so useful to me -- besides the killer brightness -- is the rechargeable battery pack. For lights this bright, you just about have to go rechargeable because of the cost of batteries.

My only worry is how long the batteries will last. You have given great instructions on proper charging, but I live on solar power and batteries are the weak link. There are huge controversies about the proper charging of lead-acid batteries, which have been around since the wheel. I have a feeling that NiMh batteries still have a lot of secrets.

Josey

Josey,

I'll be very surprised if you don't get at least 500 charges from one of my battery packs. The KAN cells are rugged, RC community cells, and should hold up very well in this application. I do not expect any problems from this front. I only worry that people will over-discharge their battery packs, and thus ruin them.

Just posted a review in the upgrade thread

REVIEW

Brightnorm

I just received my 1274 in OP reflector - This thing is bright! I can't wait for it to get dark.

So far only shooting the beam on the wall it is equally as bright if not brighter than my MN61 (350 Lumens) Surefire Lamp.

Thanks a million Jim !

Here's an additional link to go with this thread:

bwaites on ring-potted lamps.

And here's CromagNet's Tiger11 review.

Is there a major difference between the orange peel sputtered relfector and the smooth one when it comes to beam shape and focus on the TL11?

It depends on the degree of orange peeling, but the answer is "yes". You lose throw with an OP reflector, but you gain flood and smoothness and a more rounded hot-spot. My guess would be a 15 percent loss of hotspot intensity with MOP vs. smooth.

Jim,

Not a lot in the way of reviews for the "baby" mod w/Carley RF1940-OP/WA01274 LA. Your potting work is superlative and the difference with this bulb and orange peel reflector using the factory battery pack provides quite a noticeable improvement. Unquestionably the TL11 takes everything to a higher level but I'm quite content with what these tweaks provide. Great stuff and my thanks! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

--Bob

Bob,

This is really good to know. I have been wondering how this option has been working out for people. I'm so glad that you like it!

Jim,

Now that I added a KAN 1800mAh battery pack to my 1274 for a true Tiger 74 I can only comment that your posts elsewhere that the stock battery pack isn't up to fully extracting the bulbs capabilities is spot on. Anyone contemplating that mod should also get your custom 1800 mAh KAN 4/5 drop in battery pack.

That said I've also experimented with one of your potted WA01111s and must say that indeed the Tiger 11 is another step up. Granted less run time and a lower filament life but the output improvement is significant. I'd thought I'd be using my Tiger 74 configuration the most but have found that I'm a lumen pig /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif and opt for the Tiger 11 much much more. So much more that I've just e-mailed you to arrange to get more WA01111s! That and inquire about your experimentation with a 2000 mAh 4/5 battery pack /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Best!

--Bob

Bob,

Thanks for the post to this thread! I was excited to see it. Good info. I'm glad to see that I was not premature in making that claim regarding the stock pack and 1274. I only have experience with four stock packs, so more data points are always good.

As for the Tiger11 vs 74, it's an all too common tale, and a cautionary tale at that. If you get used to the 520 lumens from a Tiger11, it's hard to go back again, even though the 74 is kicking out some serious light.

OK. This one was a lot of work, but I managed to fix all of the links (in my posts only) that were worth fixing. Unfortunately, all of Psychomodo's nice beamshots of the Tiger35X/11/85 are lost or unavailable. So for the moment, I just deleted those entries. Please note that not all links are in the first post. A couple are in later posts of mine in this thread.

Not sure if anyone will ever really use this thread, but at least it is cleaned up as much as possible.