Single Cell 'throwy' EDC...?

[Tuigali]

Hi,

first post, but long time observer, really appreciate the knowledge and opinions here.

I'm interested in hearing people's ideas on a pocketable light I can carry around on patrol, preferably with a decent amount of throw-I'm not really aware of anything much more than 365m from a single 18650 and a really small size.

fully aware I'm going to have to make compromises somewhere, but wondering if there is something that is a real all round beast. I currently have a niwalker mm15 which is phenomenal but a bit chunky to carry round at work...

examples of lights I've been looking at:

imalent dn12-love the specs, but not sure about the max runtime.
imalent dn11- wondering if the trade off on extra runtime is worth the extra size.
Manker t01- lot less throw than the two above
manker u21- massive head-is it still 'edc worthy?'
Nitecore mh20gt- more than 2x the cost of the imalents for the same throw.

Any input appreciated!

thanks in advance...

 

[jorn]

Throw usually has it's cost. A big sized head. The bigger led you have, the more lumens you get. But, the bigger led needs a bigger reflector to focus the beam. So you can get throwy lights that is kind of small, but with a smaller led with less lumens.

I would stay away from imalent. Bought a headlamp, and its falling apart. Have seen reports about the same on other lights from imalent, so i guess buildquality is sloppy for imalent lights. How mutch $ are you willing to throw into this light?

 

[brighterthanthesun]

Generally the more throwy lights also have larger head size which can make pocket carry an issue. One way to beat the big performance/small size dilemma by looking at the lights that Vinh works his magic on at Sky Lumen. I just bought a Manker U21vn that throws 1,600 meters. He has some smaller lights with very good throw also.

 

[Tuigali]

Thanks for the reply Jorn.
I get the trade off-forgot to mention I also have an olight s1 which I used to think was awesome for its size until I looked online a few months back and saw all these new XPL-HI lights coming out, not much bigger but with quite a bit better performance. Plus I probably should have something a bit more substantial that I don't keep losing every 5 minutes 🙄....
Budget wise, I have around £75 for a light. However, there are a few other EDC bits I'm thinking of (multitool, pack-but that's for a different forum) so the appeal of the manker lights is obviously enhanced by the price being around £40 in the uk, £50 for the u21.

 

[Tuigali]

Thanks for the reply Jorn.
I get the trade off-forgot to mention I also have an olight s1 which I used to think was awesome for its size until I looked online a few months back and saw all these new XPL-HI lights coming out, not much bigger but with quite a bit better performance. Plus I probably should have something a bit more substantial that I don't keep losing every 5 minutes 🙄....
Budget wise, I have around £75 for a light. However, there are a few other EDC bits I'm thinking of (multitool, pack-but that's for a different forum) so the appeal of the manker lights is obviously enhanced by the price being around £40 in the uk, £50 for the u21.

 

[Tuigali]

Great suggestion-unfortunately most of Vinh's stuff is a bit beyond my budget.
I could be tempted at 1600m throw from something that size...it's listed on sky lumen and here as more like 1130 max...?
niwalker recently released a relatively compact 1200m (stock) thrower I believe selfbuilt is currently testing...just a bit too big for my needs unfortunately.

 

[Sledgestone]

How did you get one that throws 1600 meters? His website states 1130 meters.

 

[Lexel]

A good EDC with decent throw would be Klarus XT11GT XHP35 HD, the XT12GT is bigger but has a lot more throw
or Manker U21, Nitecore P30

 

[jorn]

I really like the convoy c8 as a budget thrower. Got a large head. But not too lage, so it will fit my jacket pocket. Convoy got some well buildt budget lights. I have rebuildt mine with a neutral xp-l hi and a blf x6 driver. But the stock one with xp-l hi is great, and hard to beat for the price.
Edit: forgot to mention the astrolux s2. Its a good compromice between size and throw. The reflector is not huge, but the led is driven very hard. So for it's size it throws really well.

 

[Tuigali]

Love the look of the xt12gt-only issue I'd have is some members on here have previously expressed doubt over claimed figures from klarus...I had looked at the xt11gt before and at some point the claimed throw mysteriously dropped by around 25% from the original ads-when the 12 comes to the uk would something similar happen?!

 

[Poppy]

Love the look of the xt12gt-only issue I'd have is some members on here have previously expressed doubt over claimed figures from klarus...I had looked at the xt11gt before and at some point the claimed throw mysteriously dropped by around 25% from the original ads-when the 12 comes to the uk would something similar happen?!

.
The ads are laughable, almost. The U21 has a beam of 700 meters. How can klarus make such a statement that it throws less, yet is 200% brighter than the competition?

BTW... the U21 can be pocketable, if you have big pockets. Probably better in a holster.

THe Manker U11 is a small 18650 light, over 1000 lumens, and is a mix between flood and throw.

 

[Lexel]

The Klarus XT11GT dropped in throw because they swapped the LED from HI D4 to HD E4

HI always get more throw

Probably because the planned launch of the XT12GT and that a XHP HI has less lumens than advertized and they had to run it above specifications, so it generated more heat and less lumens than a HD E4

 

[Swedpat]

Eagletac TX25C XP-L HI. 7,800 lux and 177m with a single CR123 according to the specs. Brighter with a 16650 or 2xCR123(still smaller size than a typical single 18650 light).

 

[Tuigali]

Ah, makes sense-thanks Lexel. Poppy-depending on what I get, it could be in a belt holster, or if small enough, a dock on body armour. I think the u21 would be right at the limit in the dock, but possible.
To be honest, I like the look of pretty much everything manker is offering at the moment-the u21 for throw, but a bit chunky in the head, the t01 or u11 for an all rounder, but there are better performing lights if I was willing to get something a bit bigger. I know the e14 is more flood than throw, but I can't seem to find figures for throw...

Does anyone have experience of manker gear-it seems they produce some of the BLF/Kronos stuff too.

Or or are there any more opinions on imalent? Love the look of what they make, but not sure on the practicality of the UI-but then again that's not based on any kind of experience!

 

[Poppy]

You mention carrying the light on patrol. I don't know what that means. But while side switch lights are ok for me, I don't think that I would want one as a duty light if I was a police officer and needed to know WHERE the switch is EVERY time I grab for my light. Therefore I would want a tail cap switched light.

With that in mind, you may find that a Solarforce host, or Elzetta host, with an XPL emitter drop in, may give you the throw that you'll need in emergent situations, and if you need to see out farther, then you can grab a bigger, farther throwing light, that you'll have time to fiddle around searching for the darn switch, especially if you have gloves on.

 

[hyperloop]

I would go for the Convoy C8. it's reasonably pocketable and it's my go to light when I am looking for a thrower (at least until my Convoy L2 gets here that gives me the option of 1 or 2 x 26650 cells).

 

[vadimax]

I have filled that gap for myself with a Lumintop TD16 XP-L HI. It is claimed to have 450 m throw, but some reviews rate it above 500 m.

 

[jarheadgreasemonkey]

Another Lumintop TD16 fan here...

It's about as big as you're gonna get and still be somewhat suited for pocket carry.

Pleased with mine as much as can be.

I live in a somewhat rural area and it's my "see what dogs are going nuts for" light.

edit: included a pic of my single cell 18650 lights; left to right Lumintop TD15, Fenix PD35, Malkoff MD2, Manker (BLF) A6