Long throw 18650 powered budget light.

[saltwater_therapy]

Anyone selling modded Convoy C8's?

I'm not into building lights yet, I don't need another expensive hobby.

I am an avid outdoorsman and gun nut. I like budget lights that outperform the expensive name brand stuff.

I am looking for long throw lights for night hunting. I purchased an Odepro kl52, and an Orion M30c and they both work pretty well for my uses, but they are a little big.
I am looking for something with as good or better throw, with a smaller head.

 

[xxo]

Unfortunately big heads (or at least big reflectors) and throw kind of go together. You don't need a ton of lumens to get good throw, but you do need a fairly large reflector and/or comparably small LED. A good example are the Maglite ML25's, only around 175 lumens, with a not too big reflector for a C cell light, but they throw well thanks to the small XP-E LED which also limits the lumen output (a larger LED would put out more lumens but probably won't throw as well unless it had a larger reflector).

 

[Keitho]

I'd say the Emisar D1 might find a place on your short list of lights that aren't too expensive, not available at Cabela's, and perform great in a small package. The effect of reflector size can be seen by comparing the D1 to the Emisar D1S, both at 1300 lumens ouptput; go from a 35mm head to a 50mm head, and increase intensity (throw) from 43kcd to 130kcd (415m to 721m ANSI throw). You can get a green D1 and a black D1S, and lego the tubes/heads together for a pair of good-looking high performers that will be a quarter of the cost of a single Surefire (I also enjoy finding high-functioning budget stuff that works better for me than name-brand stuff).

 

[Timothybil]

What do you consider a big head? The Nitecore P30 is a single 18650/2 CR123 light with a 2" head, that has a rated throw of 600m. How long are you looking to have this light throw the max distance? Pretty much every light is going to drop output as it heats up when doing maximum output. Some (most) will automatically drop after a set amount of time, and drop the same amount each time. Others, like the P30, have Advanced Temperature Regulation (ATR) that only steps down far enough to keep the temp of the head/LED below a certain temp. You should be able to obtain a P30 for ~$50 USD. Nitecore also sells it as part of a hunting kit that includes the light, a long gun mount, and a remote pressure switch, for about double that.

I really like my P30. It has a nice tight center beam, especially in Turbo or Max mode, with a nice spill that lights up the surrounding area without overpowering, so that you can still see the full length of the throw. In some lights, the spill is so bright that it causes one's iris to close down a little, which cuts down on the detail one can see at the far end of the beam.

 

[saltwater_therapy]

Thanks for the tips and info. Good stuff guys. Thanks!

 

[LightObsession]

That Nitecore P30 is quite impressive. It is available at walmart.com bundled with an 18650 and charger for $69.95.

 

[Niconical]

www.pflexpro.com has several options for convoy hosts.

 

[flphotog]

What do you consider a big head? The Nitecore P30 is a single 18650/2 CR123 light with a 2" head, that has a rated throw of 600m. How long are you looking to have this light throw the max distance? Pretty much every light is going to drop output as it heats up when doing maximum output. Some (most) will automatically drop after a set amount of time, and drop the same amount each time. Others, like the P30, have Advanced Temperature Regulation (ATR) that only steps down far enough to keep the temp of the head/LED below a certain temp. You should be able to obtain a P30 for ~$50 USD. Nitecore also sells it as part of a hunting kit that includes the light, a long gun mount, and a remote pressure switch, for about double that.

I really like my P30. It has a nice tight center beam, especially in Turbo or Max mode, with a nice spill that lights up the surrounding area without overpowering, so that you can still see the full length of the throw. In some lights, the spill is so bright that it causes one's iris to close down a little, which cuts down on the detail one can see at the far end of the beam.

I love my P30, it's a great light with an excellent UI. I have a convoy C8 but don't use it. It's got a horrible corona and I can't stand the UI. I was cheaper but still not worth it.