# Cree XM-L vs SST-50



## cmacclel (Dec 17, 2010)

-Same Host

-Same Reflector

-Same Driver (2.8a Max on High)

-Same Battery (Voltage Verified)

-Top LED Bins both rated at 6500k

-XM-L on Left SST-50 on Right











20mm Reflector 






Heatsink 








1/13 Second Exposure 

Low 150ma 






Med 1000ma 






High 2.8 Max 








1/60 Second Exposure 

Low 150ma 






Med 1000ma 






High 2.8a Max


----------



## cdrake261 (Jul 17, 2011)

So the XM-L is a tad bit brighter


----------



## PCC (Jul 17, 2011)

There's a good bit of information missing due to the great forums crash of 2010. The bottom line is that the SST-50 is less efficient than the XM-L at the same drive current, but, the SST-50 can be driven harder so it will put out more lumens once you get past about 3500-4000mA of current.

My personal experience with these two emitters is with a 2.5A Dereelight pill meant to be used on the DBS. I bought mine with the SST-50, installed it into my light then had it measured. It put out somewhere around 475 lumens. I then swapped the emitter to an XM-L T6 and the lumens went up to around 550 OTF. Same flashlight, same driver, same batteries (actually, on the same charge, 15 minutes later after doing the emitter swap). These numbers are from memory.


----------



## cdrake261 (Jul 17, 2011)

I see... I bought mac's mag drop in with the xm-l and glad I did since the drop in are only pushing 2.8 amps max according to specs! I can't wait!!


----------



## shao.fu.tzer (Jul 17, 2011)

XM-L FTW!!! Really though, PCC got it right... The only advantage of SST-?? LEDs is their ability to handle higher current, thus > lumens in the high range at the cost of efficiency at all current levels.


----------



## tobrien (Dec 23, 2012)

hmmmmm. i've been considering getting an SST-50 drop-in (3 level) with a high of 4.2A

sensible or not?

edit: for what it's worth i was also considering the same levels for an XM-L drop-in. So the SST-50 will be a better performer at this, at least on high?


----------



## Tiresius (Dec 23, 2012)

tobrien said:


> hmmmmm. i've been considering getting an SST-50 drop-in (3 level) with a high of 4.2A
> 
> sensible or not?
> 
> edit: for what it's worth i was also considering the same levels for an XM-L drop-in. So the SST-50 will be a better performer at this, at least on high?



Yes...these guys can be pushed pretty hard. SST-50 is like the Cadillac of medium-sized emitters. I like both emitters but XM-L's are a lot cheaper for the lumens. 

Speaking of drop-in's here's my rendition of it for a customer's solarforce: Noticed mines is on the right and the stock one is on the left? The driver and LED on the left one is completely fried due to bad heat management.





EDIT: That pill on the top-left is for a Crelant 7G5 V2 but made specifically for an XR-E emitter. A shame that thing went with the light when sold a few months back.


----------



## tobrien (Dec 23, 2012)

Tiresius said:


> Yes...these guys can be pushed pretty hard. SST-50 is like the Cadillac of medium-sized emitters. I like both emitters but XM-L's are a lot cheaper for the lumens.
> 
> Speaking of drop-in's here's my rendition of it for a customer's solarforce: Noticed mines is on the right and the stock one is on the left? The driver and LED on the left one is completely fried due to bad heat management.
> 
> ...



gotcha, thank you!

i had no idea the pill in the 7G5 V2 was intended for XR-Es, how'd you figure it out?


----------



## nfetterly (Dec 23, 2012)

tobrien said:


> hmmmmm. i've been considering getting an SST-50 drop-in (3 level) with a high of 4.2A
> 
> sensible or not?
> 
> edit: for what it's worth i was also considering the same levels for an XM-L drop-in. So the SST-50 will be a better performer at this, at least on high?



I have two Oveready M2 setups, sst-50 and xm-l (mod of a M2-50 by torch lab, part of Oveready folks), direct drive 5+ amps, neutral. I love the sst-50 but the xm-l is brighter, not by much and some of it may be tint related. Both are pretty much fantastic.

I really like the set-50, I say go for it.


----------



## Tiresius (Dec 24, 2012)

tobrien said:


> i had no idea the pill in the 7G5 V2 was intended for XR-Es, how'd you figure it out?



Because I built that pill myself  The whole thing went poof after 2 weeks. Very Very hot and the emitter melted along with the bond wires. It was great to see something that can throw almost a mile away. But as of today, I forgot the exact dimensions of the pill so I cannot replicate one.


----------



## Tiresius (Dec 24, 2012)

nfetterly said:


> I really like the set-50, I say go for it.



The beam looks very nice on this emitter. Look @ Mac's shot comparison.


----------

