Help on decision - P2X Fury/XT11/ T20CS/TN11S or TR31C

[AnotherA]

As the title says, I'm trying to decided between these lights.
I don't know if i'm dealing with inflated or underrated numbers or missing out on a light that would fit my needs better.

Importance is as follows:

1. Reliability/durability
2. output
3. battery life
4. UI
5. design/accessories

Surefire P2X Fury has the output i'm looking for and durability, but it doesn't give me the ability to use 18650's without modifying the tube. And then the warranty is voided. 1.5 hours at 500 lumens.
Sunwayman T20CS allows me to use 18650's. 2.5hrs at 475 lumens. I like the beam and design.
Klarus XT11 has 2.2 hours of runtime on max output and can use 18650s
ThruNite TN11S advertised 830 Lumens (exaggerated?) 3 hours at 420 lumens. Tail cap loosens itself?
Rofis TR31C 1:40min at 655 Lumens and 7:30min at 150 Lumens. Various charging options. Durability? No charging port cover, will it short if water or debris gets in there?

I really like this Rofis, but have never heard of them before or know if they are junk and will die after 4 months of use.
On that note, anyone had warranty issues that they can rave about the manufacturer on?


I want to run 18650's with CR123's as spares for power outage.
Looking for something that will help navigate lakes at night while ice fishing (spotting shoreline, fish houses, holes), illuminating an area to track animals, light up my back yard when the dog goes nuts, lighting up a room during power outage, and used to identify targets when wielding a pistol or rifle.

To bad I can't afford the Surefire Lawman, I think that would be perfect.

 

[AnotherA]

How good of a reputation does Rofis have? I'm really tempted to try the TR31C.

 

[TMedina]

I'd never heard of Rofi before your post, if that tells you anything.

Personally, I'd opt for the Surefire if my life depended on the reliability/dependability. The next three have their fans on the board, so you can find people who like them on their own merits.

 

[ARA]

Get the Surefire and use one 17670 battery instead. Though they have lower capacity than the 18650 they should fit in easily without any modification.

 

[Gunner12]

Here's a review of a Rofis light by Selfbuilt:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-2xCR123A)-Angle-head-XP-G-R5-Reviews-RUNTMES
Here's the TR31C:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-TR31C-(-XM-L-U2-1x18650-2x(R)CR123A-)-Review

 

[AnotherA]

Yep. I saw Selfbuilts review of the TR31C and that's how it got on my list.

I also ran across a post about a [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Malkoff MD2[/FONT]. That body can take cr123 and 18650's.
I've seen quite a few threads on Malkoffs, don't know if thats a good thing or bad. Starting to look into that one now.

I'm going to stay away from the Rofis because I can't dig up anything to reference reliability off of.

 

[HaileStorm]

Can't go wrong with the xt11. Love the light. I'd say build quality is almost, if not already, at par with surefire so you don't have to worry about it failing. 600lumens on 1x18650 and 850lumens on 2xrcr123s. You get a good balance of throw an flood plus crazy runtimes on its 10lumen setting. Amazing ui, too.

Or if I can suggest something not in your list, check out the armytek predator v2. Throws like crazy, great beam profile, whitest tint i've ever seen and highly programmable. 120-day runtine on firefly mode. Built like a tank.

 

[AnotherA]

MD2 didn't tickle my fancy at all.

Do you own an XT11? If so, do you hear any audible wine come from it on any of the modes?

 

[HaileStorm]

MD2 didn't tickle my fancy at all.

Do you own an XT11? If so, do you hear any audible wine come from it on any of the modes?

I used to, sold it to a friend just recently. Nope, I never heard any whine coming from the driver. I've read about that before but it seems applicable only to certain batches. Probably one of the first batches.

 

[AnotherA]

What are you currently using in place of the XT11? Any particular reason you sold it?

 

[HaileStorm]

I replaced it with a predator. Since I use an xt2c for edc, it didn't really see much use. The beam profile was identical to the xt2c too so I figured I'd get a thrower and my first programmable light

The xt11 was an excellent light for me. I had no problems whatsoever with regards to quality of the light. Just really wanted the predator. Hehe!

 

[TMedina]

The Malkoff modules are solid performers with a lot of fans.

That said, based on your descriptions, you want a "light for all occasions" - in which case, you should look at the multi-mode lights.

High output, short runtime lights like the Surefire Fury or the Malkoff M61/M61SHO/M91 are not well suited for general applications and not what I'd recommend for lighting a room during a power outage.

 

[Southpaw1925]

I'd shoot for the t20cs. YouTube sunwayman t20cs and look for virtuovice's "my favorite outdoor lights so far.

Heard this light is durable. Runtime from 68 mins (turbo) to 82 hrs (low) and it throws farther and wider than an xt11 and it is more compact.

 

[AnotherA]

I looked up virtuovice's videos and I like the XT11's beam profile better then the T20CS.

Wonder if Klarus changed the tactical ring from plastic to metal on the newer production runs.

 

[TheVat26]

I have a Klarus RS11 and have read a bunch about the XT11. The emitter, beam profiles, and runtimes are almost identical. The RS11 and XT11 give a great balance of flood and throw. I heard somewhere Klarus was switching to the metal combat ring because the plastic one broke/cracked. A lot of users commented that the ring spins easily, even the upgraded metal one. My pocket clip broke in peices when I dropped it from 3 feet. That part was cheaply made but my light seems durable everywhere else and I'm sure the XT11 is the same.

 

[AnotherA]

Well I ended up going with a Nitecore MH25, Jetbeam BC25, XTAR WPII, and EagleTac 18650 3400mAh.

Love the rechargable feature the Nitecore has, the Jetbeam was more of a Black Friday impulse buy.

 

[Bwolcott]

Rofis build quality is pretty much identical to Fenix so yes they are good, Honestly those 4 are all good lights but like you said no 18650s with the surefire

 

[AnotherA]

The NH25 is going back to going gear. The charging port must be broke because it won't charge at all. The red LED doesn't light up when the light is plugged in and even when I click the light on to start charging there is no indicator.

NEXT!

 

[martindb]

I own a fury, XT11 and an NT11 (but not the s version) and the one that I think is the most special (features, output, UI plus look and feel in the hand) is the Klarus. That said, whenever I need to use one of these lights, the Surefire wins everytime. Just to throw in and extra recommendation - I also have a Niteye TF25 which is in the same league as the other lights and well worth a look.

 

[TEEJ]

Your criteria listed leave out important issues; beam profile and range, and, what you use it for.

UI all by itself doesn't tell you much...I like different UI for different purposes.

The UI I use for work is tactical, in that it only comes on in high, has a tail switch with momentary and no memory, but can change brightness to a lower setting if need be. The Klarus XT11 for example does this for me, but has a nice floody beam very similar to my Surefire Fury's...and has a better UI than the Fury, and can be weapon mounted with a pressure switch, where they Fury can't, etc. Neither is good out past ~ 150 meters or so, so if I need more range than that, I need a different light.

"Output" - if we mean lumens, is not the be all and tell all for output...in that we might want the lumens to all line up and march out of the light in a nice tight column to hit a small target 800 meters away, and not light up anything on the way out to the target...OR...we might want to spread those lumens out in a floody pattern, to see a whole football field sized area at once, but not further away, and so forth.

The XT11's UI for example, while perfect at work, could be annoying on a camping trip where I just wanted to turn on enough light to put shoes on before heading to the latrine...so a different UI that comes on at its lowest setting first, and then ramps UP would be better. My ZebraLight SC600 for example does that. Two excellent UI's that can be 100% WRONG if used in the wrong context.

So, how much do you want to SEE at what ranges, and, what style of UI would fit your life better?