# My Ultimate Light (so far): KT2 Turbohead on FM 2x 18650 (with MN16) [Pics Inside!]



## shomie911 (Oct 20, 2008)

So my KT2 Turbohead arrived today as well as my MN16 (Thanks GenEric808!) and quickly dropped it on my FiveMega 2x 18650 body with a pair of AW's 3.7V 18650 cells inside. Output is great, although it isn't night yet. :sigh:

Pretty soon I'm planning on getting a FiveMega Bi-Pin MN Adapter and running a hotter bulb.

I'm thinking of running 4x AW IMR16340 (123 size) in the 2x 18650 body with the Turbohead and the FM Bi-Pin adapter.

What's the hottest bulb I could run in this configuration?

If I stick to 2x AW 18650, I'll probably throw in a WA1111.

(Who knows what lamp I could run once the AW IMR18650 cells come out! ) 

Anyway, I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking :laughing::
































Here's the whole family. :twothumbs: (100% American Made )
(Missing: Aspherical 3D [email protected] and 2D Terralux [email protected])





And here's what the family looked like a few months ago :shakehead:


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## cl0123 (Oct 20, 2008)

Thanks for posting the very nice photos. While darkness is where our hobby shines, it is daylight that gives the best photo of our gears. 

Those black HA looks really sharp too.

My favorite:


shomie911 said:


> Here's the whole family. :twothumbs:


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## shomie911 (Oct 20, 2008)

cl0123 said:


> Thanks for posting the very nice photos. While darkness is where our hobby shines, it is daylight that gives the best photo of our gears.
> 
> Those black HA looks really sharp too.
> 
> My favorite:



Thanks!

I'm trying to keep all my Surefire compatible lights in Black type II or Black HA. That way I can lego them all. 

Oh by the way, I like your signature "_Didn't I come here to look for super-bright and ultra-efficient-high-tech LED lights? Why do I keep going back to incan?_"

I'm the same way. I keep going back to incan. They're just more satisfying to me because I value CRI and Color Temperature.

---------------------------

EDIT:

I'm going to try to post up some beamshots tonight, but I have a lot of work to finish up, so I may not be able to. Hopefully I will be able to though. :twothumbs

---------------------------

Here's another pic that I forgot to put in:


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## DM51 (Oct 20, 2008)

That is a very good and effective combo - I use it myself quite a lot. The KT2 head throws extremely well. The black looks very good there. I have a Z49 tailcap on mine - somehow it gives it a nice balance.


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## shomie911 (Oct 20, 2008)

DM51 said:


> That is a very good and effective combo - I use it myself quite a lot. The KT2 head throws extremely well. The black looks very good there. I have a Z49 tailcap on mine - somehow it gives it a nice balance.



Yep, it looks great in person. The combo feels great in the hands as well and has very nice proportions to it.

I can't wait to test out the throw tonight along with a comparison between all my other lights, I'm hoping I'll have enough time for beamshots but we'll have to see.

I'm still wondering if anyone knows what is the brightest bi-pin or lamp assembly I could run with four AW IMR16340? And also with two AW IMR18650?

Thanks in advance.


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## streetkid (Oct 20, 2008)

Wawawoowa!, i NEED a turobhead, well, want one really bad


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## mdocod (Oct 20, 2008)

As per your original question about bulb options..

You could do 4xIMR16340, There are theoretically bulb options out there (none come to mind atm), but IMO, the place where the IMR16340 shines is in the ability to operate in the 1-3 cell range where there is nothing that can compete in that size class. Like 1 16340 driving a P7, 2 driving a WA1111 or MN16 or something like that or 3 driving a WA1185 or something like that, when you move up to 4, you are now in the territory of 2x18650 SIZE flashlight, where you can just run a 64275, 5761, and various other options without having to hassle with twice as many cells. And 2 18650s will have about 30-60% more watt-hours of total stored energy than 4 16340s. 

If you could find a G4 base bulb with a small enough envelope to fit through the turbohead, that would run at ~60W with around 10 hours life at 14.8V, then that would be brighter than the brightest 2x18650 options, but not by much. Runtime would be about 6 minutes, but I honestly don't know if that bulb exists.


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## shomie911 (Oct 20, 2008)

mdocod said:


> As per your original question about bulb options..
> 
> You could do 4xIMR16340, There are theoretically bulb options out there (none come to mind atm), but IMO, the place where the IMR16340 shines is in the ability to operate in the 1-3 cell range where there is nothing that can compete in that size class. Like 1 16340 driving a P7, 2 driving a WA1111 or MN16 or something like that or 3 driving a WA1185 or something like that, when you move up to 4, you are now in the territory of 2x18650 SIZE flashlight, where you can just run a 64275, 5761, and various other options without having to hassle with twice as many cells. And 2 18650s will have about 30-60% more watt-hours of total stored energy than 4 16340s.
> 
> If you could find a G4 base bulb with a small enough envelope to fit through the turbohead, that would run at ~60W with around 10 hours life at 14.8V, then that would be brighter than the brightest 2x18650 options, but not by much. Runtime would be about 6 minutes, but I honestly don't know if that bulb exists.



I guess I'll just stick to the WA1111 and 2x 18650 then. (Unless there's a better bulb out there for 2x 18650 rechargeables?)

I already bought a pair of IMR16340 cells so that I can attach the KT2 (with MN16) to either my 6P-BK or C2-BK and still be able to use it.

EDIT:

When you said: "where you can just run a 64275, 5761"

You meant with LiMn 18650 cells, right?


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## shomie911 (Oct 20, 2008)

Just went for a quick expedition/walk outside with my KT2/FM 2x 18650/MN16 combo light.

Wow, this thing can *throw*.

I have an Aspherical [email protected] and it can clearly out-throw the KT2 but with the KT2 the hotspot is HUGE and the aspherical's is a dot.

With traditional LED throwers (DBS, MRV, etc.) the hotspot is ridiculously small and unusable inside but the huge hotspot of the KT2+MN16 lends itself to both adeptly. (while of course being better at outdoors distance lighting.)

I'm very excited to get a hotter lamp in the KT2 but I think I'm going to wait for the MN16 to burn out first.

Hopefully that will happen around Christmas.


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## mdocod (Oct 20, 2008)

shomie911 said:


> When you said: "where you can just run a 64275, 5761"
> 
> You meant with LiMn 18650 cells, right?



Yep, with LiMn 

Many of these bulb options are hit and miss on what fits. The 5761s either do or don't, nothing you can do about it.

The 64275 will usually not fit because of the rectangular base, this you can fix with some grinding if you are willing. 

Eric


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## cl0123 (Oct 20, 2008)

shomie911 said:


> Oh by the way, I like your signature "_Didn't I come here to look for super-bright and ultra-efficient-high-tech LED lights? Why do I keep going back to incan?_"



Thanks, but don't get me wrong. I still believe LEDs have plenty potentials. In fact, my favorite 2xRCR123 form factor lamp module is the Malkoff M60F. Comparing to the P60 and the EO-9 drop-ins that I have, I think the M60's are just as bright. Unfortunately, I have no way of quantifying what I see. Secondly, in any outdoor environment with some artificial ambient light (I call them noise), LED just does not illuminate as incan. Actually, even if you are out in the dark without any city lights, the incans probably still shines better. Oh well, for my own household uses, the 2-cells LED are great. In my emergency kit, I have an M60L on an C2 accompanying an M6. I trust them, but never want to actually "have to activate" them. 

With Aloha, 

Clarence


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## shomie911 (Oct 20, 2008)

cl0123 said:


> Thanks, but don't get me wrong. I still believe LEDs have plenty potentials. In fact, my favorite 2xRCR123 form factor lamp module is the Malkoff M60F. Comparing to the P60 and the EO-9 drop-ins that I have, I think the M60's are just as bright. Unfortunately, I have no way of quantifying what I see. Secondly, in any outdoor environment with some artificial ambient light (I call them noise), LED just does not illuminate as incan. Actually, even if you are out in the dark without any city lights, the incans probably still shines better. Oh well, for my own household uses, the 2-cells LED are great. In my emergency kit, I have an M60L on an C2 accompanying an M6. I trust them, but never want to actually "have to activate" them.
> 
> With Aloha,
> 
> Clarence



I'm actually eagerly awaiting for someone to make a MC-E 6C drop-in for P60-sized assembly flashlights (6P, 9P, C2, C3, etc). The tint would be exactly like incan and it would have plenty of output.

No one seems up to the challenge yet though.

I have a Malkoff M60, RA Twisy 85-TR, Kino Bay SS P4, Inova X1 Gen.2, an Aspherical Q5 [email protected], Terralux [email protected], and an Arc-P AAA in addition to my Incan flashlights.

So I like LED as well, but there's just something special about incan.


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## fivemega (Oct 21, 2008)

shomie911 said:


> I'm thinking of running 4x AW IMR16340 (123 size) in the 2x 18650 body with the Turbohead and the FM Bi-Pin adapter.
> 
> What's the hottest bulb I could run in this configuration?



*Osram 64611 seems to be best for above configuration but it's a T3.5 bulb and G6.35 base.
Maximum possible wattage of G4 T2.5 bulb running at 3400K is 43 watt which was custom made for this flashlight. Please see LuxLuthor's brightest.
So, stay with 2 protected 18650 and WA1111 now and later 2 AW's IMR18650 with 64275 combined with some soft start. *


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## shomie911 (Oct 21, 2008)

fivemega said:


> *Osram 64611 seems to be best for above configuration but it's a T3.5 bulb and G6.35 base.
> Maximum possible wattage of G4 T2.5 bulb running at 3400K is 43 watt which was custom made for this flashlight. Please see LuxLuthor's brightest.
> So, stay with 2 protected 18650 and WA1111 now and later 2 AW's IMR18650 with 64275 combined with some soft start. *



The WA1111 and 2x 18650 seems like it will be a fairly good combo. Bulb replacement will be a lot cheaper in the long run also. :thumbsup:

Hold on, they make an incandescent soft start for this flashlight?


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## Monocrom (Oct 26, 2008)

Those are some sweet pics! 

I've got a similar set-up. Head and tailcap off of an M4, body is a Leef C-M 2x18650.

It's just bliss. :twothumbs


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## shomie911 (Oct 26, 2008)

Monocrom said:


> Those are some sweet pics!
> 
> I've got a similar set-up. Head and tailcap off of an M4, body is a Leef C-M 2x18650.
> 
> It's just bliss. :twothumbs



Finally got all the parts together to build my *true* dream flashlight. (Well, I still want to get an FM Bi-Pin MN Adapter and WA1111.)

Surefire C2 / Surefire KT2 / Surefire MN16 / AW IMR16340
HIGH-output *brighter than two 18650 to my eyes*






Here's some beamshots I took this weekend at a camping trip. (They were taken hand held, so they aren't that great.)

Not sure about distance. Maybe 250-300 feet to the electrical pole?





Not sure about the distance on this one either, maybe 450-500 feet to the palm tree?





EDIT:

Keep in mind there was ZERO ambient light. Everything you're seeing is thanks to the flashlight. :thumbsup:

It also seemed brighter in person, but the camera didn't capture it. :thumbsdow


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## Superdave (Oct 26, 2008)

I have "Socom1970's" 2 18650 (unprotected cells) extended 9P with the same turbo head and a MN21 lamp here. Can't run it for very long for fear that the batteries will 'splode but holy sunlight! :twothumbs


I'd post beamshots but i'm making a slight mod to the 9P body for him.. maybe later.


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## shomie911 (Oct 26, 2008)

Superdave said:


> I have "Socom1970's" 2 18650 (unprotected cells) extended 9P with the same turbo head and a MN21 lamp here. Can't run it for very long for fear that the batteries will 'splode but holy sunlight! :twothumbs
> 
> 
> I'd post beamshots but i'm making a slight mod to the 9P body for him.. maybe later.



Isn't the MN21 meant to be run on three li-ions? Like 3x 17650?

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought the MN21 would be underdriven with two 18650?

Anyway, I think a regular Surefire 9P body with a Surefire KT1/2, three AW IMR16340 rechargeables, FM Bi-Pin MN Adapter, and a WA 1185 would be just about the most impressive light for it's size around.

Maybe I'll get a black detonator or some other extender for my C2 and run three IMR16340 and a 1185 whenever I decide to buy a FM Bi-Pin MN Adapter.


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## Superdave (Oct 26, 2008)

the MN21 is a 9V lamp, with the 5A load on the cr123's it's probably dropping to 8V or lower under load. 2 fully charged 18650's @ 4.2V each drop less voltage since they can handle the current draw better. 

with these unprotected cells a regular incan is fine.. but one drawing 5A (so i've recently heard) can cause the cells to overheat and 

Here is one beam shot.. i'd have taken more but it's raining and windy. I'd say 200' or so.. I live on a hill and shined out my kitchen window and was able to light up the side of a house about a half mile away. :laughing:


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## cl0123 (Oct 27, 2008)

shomie911 said:


>



Shomie911, 

Great foresight in planning everything in shiny black!

My own tri-tone "character" (fancy words for "mismatched") setup





With Aloha, 

Clarence


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## Monocrom (Oct 27, 2008)

shomie911 said:


> Finally got all the parts together to build my *true* dream flashlight. (Well, I still want to get an FM Bi-Pin MN Adapter and WA1111.)
> 
> Surefire C2 / Surefire KT2 / Surefire MN16 / AW IMR16340
> HIGH-output *brighter than two 18650 to my eyes*


 
I just wanted to let you know that because of the fun that you and etc. are having with your modded Surefire lights, I could no longer resist; and just ordered a 2x18500 C-C Leef body. I may get a KT2 turbo head for it, or just go with a stock C-series bezel.

My wallet hates you guys! 

**Note ~ *For those who are unaware, "etc." is the name of a CPFer who's been making some nice posts about his SF 9P.


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## shomie911 (Oct 27, 2008)

Monocrom said:


> I just wanted to let you know that because of the fun that you and etc. are having with your modded Surefire lights, I could no longer resist; and just ordered a 2x18500 C-C Leef body. I may get a KT2 turbo head for it, or just go with a stock C-series bezel.
> 
> My wallet hates you guys!
> 
> **Note ~ *For those who are unaware, "etc." is the name of a CPFer who's been making some nice posts about his SF 9P.



With the new IMR cells I can LEGO all my C-series and size lights together.

It's pretty great. The Surefire C2 with the KT2 and MN16 is one heck of a combination. I love it.


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## Monocrom (Oct 27, 2008)

shomie911 said:


> With the new IMR cells I can LEGO all my C-series and size lights together.
> 
> It's pretty great. The Surefire C2 with the KT2 and MN16 is one heck of a combination. I love it.


 
Let me ask you this.... Can you clip it to a pocket, or is it a bit bulky?


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## shomie911 (Oct 27, 2008)

Monocrom said:


> Let me ask you this.... Can you clip it to a pocket, or is it a bit bulky?



It clips to the outside of any pocket just fine. 

It also fits quite nicely clipped inside my back left pocket. Like a glove. I can even sit down and it doesn't get in the way. YMMV though because my pants fit well and it might not be the case with looser or "baggier" pants.

I can't wait until I have more "equipment" (read: toy) funds so I can get the FM Bi-Pin MN Adapter and a WA1111. I can't imagine more light coming out of this little 2-cell light.


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