# MG L-Mini II review



## Lermite (May 21, 2009)

Some information about this small and cheap but awesome flashlight.







This light is similar to the Fenix P3D and the Jetbeam III Pro ST, on size, weight, beam and output power. So, let's compare them three.

The body knurling is much (but not too much) agressive than P3D's or Jet's. It provides a very good grip.

Interface is simple but handy: L-Mini II has a GITD reverse clicky with three modes: low, medium and high. The selected mode is memorized and restored each time the light is set on.

The L-Mini II has the same lenght than P3D's and the same weight than Jet's. Note: these weights are processed with batteries.

P3D Q5: 21.5 x 114 mm (0.85" x 4.5") - 84 g (3 oz)
L-Mini II Q5: 24 x 114 mm (0.94" x 4.5") - 123 g (4.3 oz)
Jet III Pro ST Q5: 26 x 123 mm (1.02" x 4.84") - 123 g (4.3 oz)

From left to right: P3D, L-Mini II, Jet III Pro ST: 













Beamshots on a white wall::

Fenix P3D Q5





L-Mini II Q5





Jet III Pro ST Q5 (textured reflector)





Others beamshots are available there: http://lermite.nerim.net/beamshots/

The L-Mini II hot spot is bit tighter than P3D's and provides a better throw.
It has the widest spill of these threee lights.
The overall output looks more powerfull than the P3D's, and about the same or perhaps a bit more than Jet's.
The L-Mini II tint is nice, rather cool but very near of neutral white.

The power is very constant, and the driver provides a very nice feature:
instead of shutting down the light when the battery is drained, the light switch from high or medium mode to low mode wich last several hours. This allows to look for a new battery and to replace the drained one without being in full darkness and without using another flashlight.

With a 18650 Trusfire 2500 mAh:
In high mode, the L-Mini II switches on low mode after 2:17. It shuts down after 8:28 (including high mode duration).
In medium mode, it switched on low mode after 7:43 and shuts down after 11:19
The low mode lasts about 65 hours.










The L-Mini II Q5 is one of the smallest 1x18650 flashlight and maybe the best one because I'm unable to find any cons. It gathers the good sides of P3D and Jet ST, and even improved them. It would be the light I would choose if I had to keep only one.

This flashlight comes with a usefull holster, a lanyard, a replacement switch with black rubber and four O-rings.


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## Kremer (May 21, 2009)

nice. I really like mine.


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## __philippe (May 21, 2009)

Nice run-time graphs, but specifying battery type for each graph would be even nicer....;-)

Cheers,

__philippe


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## Lermite (May 21, 2009)

The battery type is displayed four lines over the graphes:
"With a 18650 Trusfire 2500 mAh:"

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790


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## John_Galt (May 21, 2009)

Where can you get this light? A link would be nice. Also, what is the output #'s for each mode?


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## Lermite (May 21, 2009)

John_Galt said:


> Where can you get this light? A link would be nice.


http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-42/mini-L-dsh-mini-1081/Detail


John_Galt said:


> Also, what is the output #'s for each mode?


What do you mean with "#"?


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## Mjolnir (May 21, 2009)

If you mean lumens, they aren't really specified. Even if they were, they wouldn't be very accurate. 
On my L-mini II Q3 warm tint version, the high and medium appear to be pretty close in brightness.
However, the driver apparently runs the LED at 80 mA on low, 350 on medium, and 1000 on high.


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## ernsanada (May 21, 2009)

John_Galt said:


> Where can you get this light? A link would be nice. Also, what is the output #'s for each mode?



You can also get an optional Turbo Head.


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## Burgess (May 21, 2009)

Thank you for your time and effort in providing this fine review.

:twothumbs

_


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## choaticwhisper (May 21, 2009)

Looks like a really great light, smaller edc size with great a battery. Good kurling and regulated. I think I would want the turbo head also. 
Looks like its already got a great throw how much does the new head help? Comparison beamshot?


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## regulator (May 21, 2009)

Nice and informative review - good job. Looks like a very nice compact 18650 light.


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## ernsanada (May 21, 2009)

L-Mini II Small Head @ 96"






L-Mini II Turbo Head @ 96"






L-Mini II Small Head @ 32'






L-Mini II Turbo Head @ 32'


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## dudu84 (May 21, 2009)

choaticwhisper said:


> Looks like its already got a great throw how much does the new head help? Comparison beamshot?



According to shiningbeam, Q5 version standard head throws ~3,770 lux @1m whilst turbo provides ~11,550 lux @1m, so roughly 200% more throw with the bigger smooth reflector. 

EDIT: According to light-reviews.com, the turbo head increased throw by ~115% so I'm not sure what the exact numbers are but to be conservative, the throw will be more than doubled with the turbo head for the least.


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## I came to the light... (May 21, 2009)

Those runtime graphs are beautiful...

I have always thought that tapering output after regulation is better than a sudden cutoff, and that an automatic switch to low mode is best. This is one of a very few flashlights with the automatic switch; actually, I know of only 1 other (Ra/NovaTac)


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## fa__ (May 23, 2009)

Nice review


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## Frenchyled (May 23, 2009)

Is it a french review ? :wave:
Nice one indeed :thumbsup:


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## Grumpy (May 23, 2009)

Thanks for the review. I think that I will buy one of these.


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## Mjolnir (May 23, 2009)

They definitely are worth it, especially if you have laptop batteries lying around. The protection circuit is very good, and it automatically switches to low when the battery is almost dead, so you aren't left in the dark.


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## Lermite (May 23, 2009)

I tested the switching thresholds of the L-Mini II.
It switches to low mode when the battery voltage reaches 3.2V,
and it shuts down when the voltage reaches 2.75V.
This is a perfect protection against battery overdischarging and make this flashlight perfect for unprotected batteries.


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## Kremer (May 23, 2009)

Lermite said:


> I tested the switching thresholds of the L-Mini II.
> It switches to low mode when the battery voltage reaches 3.2V,
> and it shuts down when the voltage reaches 2.75V.
> This is a perfect protection against battery overdischarging and make this flashlight perfect for unprotected batteries.



Exactly, it's a near perfect little light.


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## NonSenCe (May 24, 2009)

thanks for the review. 

points to add from my Lmini2:
i have the warm tint version. and the lowest mode seems a bit too greenish on white wall. on higher modes it is alot better. and the tint does work fine when outside. only in white surroundings the greenish hue on lowest mode looks less than perfect. (i do use my light mostly outdoors and there it is good, so this is just basically nitpicking) 

The lanyard hole edges are too sharp. it shaved thru my lanyard in few days of edc. just simplu cut it all the way thru. now i have an small split ring thru the holes and attached the lanyard to the ring. (shouldnt fray anymore) 

i do carry it horizontally in my pocket and pull it out by the lanyard so i do put some serious stress on it. 

the lanyard itself is strong. (i have few of them in other lights) it can take some serious pulling and yanking  but it just dont play well togeter with sharp objects (but what would?) 


great light. simple 3 mode, good runtimes and dont get too hot to handle. and i like the ramp up modes. (and the memory mode is useful to those whom dont like to start from lowest)

i also just ordered the turbo head .. just to make sure they dont get sold out. as it seems this thing almost certainly beats my TK11, and becomes my "big" EDC light. -thanks to warmer tint and lower output modes. 

so negatives: greenish yellow tint on low, sharp lanyard holes, no pocket clip.. umm.. cant think other things at the moment. 

(oh yeah.. one thing more. i seem to have too numb thumb and try to press the light on from its lense in darkness. the rececced button on other end just feels similar to the lense end.. hahah.. i like the button to be recessed in this.. but i feel real dumb after i notice i once again am pressing the lense when trying to turn it on. )


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## Badbeams3 (May 24, 2009)

Can anyone make a guess as to how many lumen the low is? 15~20 lumen would make the low usable for many tasks...2~10 would make it great for a night light.

Love the low batt step down concept on this light.


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## Lermite (May 24, 2009)

Guessing the output power is difficult.
By comparing L-Mini II low mode to the P3D Q5 low (12 lm) and medium (53) modes, I'd say the L-Mini II draws out between 30 and 35 lumens in low mode.


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## Badbeams3 (May 24, 2009)

Lermite said:


> Guessing the output power is difficult.
> By comparing L-Mini II low mode to the P3D Q5 low (12 lm) and medium (53) modes, I'd say the L-Mini II draws out between 30 and 35 lumens in low mode.



Thanks...thats plenty bright for most things...and with great run time. I wish they would offer this light with these great features, but with a 4 die driven into the 400~500 lumen level. And especially since the 18650 batt power source seems to be gaining favor here on CPF. Be a near perfect general purpose light.


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## dudu84 (May 25, 2009)

Lermite said:


> Guessing the output power is difficult.
> By comparing L-Mini II low mode to the P3D Q5 low (12 lm) and medium (53) modes, I'd say the L-Mini II draws out between 30 and 35 lumens in low mode.



According to "your" graph , Lo output is ~15% of Mid so I think 16-20 LED lumens output sounds right. 

I have a warm L-mini 2 version and when compared with my L2D 5A-Q3 modded on Lo and Mid, L-mini 2 Lo is ~15 LED lumens. Mine lasts only ~40+h on Lo using TF18650 (tested twice now, battery charge time is [email protected] using WF139 charger), looks like your L-mini 2 is a little better :wave:

Thx for the great review btw


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## DHart (May 25, 2009)

Thanks for the great review. This is an appealing light for sure! Gotta love a small-ish light that runs on an 18650!!!


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## Niteowl (May 26, 2009)

DHart said:


> ...........Gotta love a small-ish light that runs on an 18650!!!



That's what I've been thinking the last few days. 

Thanks to this review and all the other gushing about this light, I decided to order one last night. Once I started using 18650s a while back, they're about all I care to use anymore. Depending on how I like this light size-wise, my "AA" sized lights may start gathering dust.


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## LEDAdd1ct (May 26, 2009)

Thank you for the nice review!

Must...resist...pulling...out...wallet...


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## DHart (May 29, 2009)

Thanks to this thread... I pulled the trigger on a Q3 5C warm version. It just arrived. 

Very nice output. In my ceiling bounce test it measures 4.6 EV on high which is the same output I measured from my Romisen RC-N3 Q5 on RCR123 and my L1 on RCR123. Quite respectable! Now I want to order the turbo head!

Beam is very nice, made even nicer by backing off the head a turn (sets the emitter back a little deeper). I love to warm tint. It does tend slightly more greenish on low, but this isn't bothersome at all and not noticible in most situations. 

While compact for an 18650 light, it's just a little large for EDC pocket carry for me, though no problem to drop in the pocket when you want to, on occasion. 

My only quibble would be the threads are micro fine... which makes them more fragile than large square cut threads some other lights have... makes them easier to strip... just exercise greater care when assembling. 

I'm looking forward to playing with it tonight!


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## Mjolnir (May 29, 2009)

The only issue I have with mine is that the anodizing does not lock out the light when the tailcap is loosened. There must be some sort of bare spot somewhere, since it can be turned on even with the tailcap loosened all the way. Anodizing is non conductive, so this should not be happening if the whole threads are coated. 
Its not all that big of an issue though, as I am never in a situation when I need to lock the light. If I need to, I can always take the battery out.


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## xcnick (May 29, 2009)

Mjolnir said:


> The only issue I have with mine is that the anodizing does not lock out the light when the tailcap is loosened.


 Ouch.:mecry: Mine will lock out


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## LEDAdd1ct (May 30, 2009)

Usually, I am a "one mode" light guy. How well does the memory mode feature work? If I turn it off on high, will it turn on high reliably the next time?


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## dudu84 (May 30, 2009)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> Usually, I am a "one mode" light guy. How well does the memory mode feature work? If I turn it off on high, will it turn on high reliably the next time?



It has never failed me on that :thumbsup:


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## Niteowl (May 30, 2009)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> Usually, I am a "one mode" light guy. How well does the memory mode feature work? If I turn it off on high, will it turn on high reliably the next time?



I'm not much for multi-mode or reverse clickies, but the combo works well with this light. I just got mine today but have been fiddling with it for about twelve hours. The memory mode seems to function fine.

I like the fact that while the switch is recessed, it's still easy for me to thumb. Between it being recessed and a reverse clicky, I see little need to lock it out, but I tried it and mine does.

This light has great ergonomics, a nice UI, and the Q3-5A tint rocks!

Lermite, thanks for knocking my lazy *** off the fence!


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## dudu84 (May 30, 2009)

Niteowl said:


> This light has great ergonomics, a nice UI, and the Q3-5A tint rocks!



I believed the warm version comes with 5C tint, no? 
I compared it with my 5A and I find 5C is more yellowish, especially on Lo.


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## DHart (May 30, 2009)

Mine is labeled as having a Q3 5C (from Shiningbeam). What a wonderful incandescent look it has to it. Funny thing is that I've become so accustomed to the common cool white of most LED flashlights, that the Q3 5C takes some getting used to now. In comparing to other lights, with Q5 emitters, the cool white Q5s give what seems to be a cleaner, more sharply defined image while the warm white Q3 5C gives a softer, but richer colored image... if that makes any sense.

Memory mode works just fine on mine.

Low mode is not very low... it's quite useful for tasks close at hand, and should give about 27 hours of runtime on the 18650, but is too bright for those situations where you want just enough light to move about a dark room with night adapted eyes without disturbing sleepers.

The beam on the Q3 5C is pretty smooth and creamy, not especially spotty/throwy, and can be adjusted somewhat by how you rotating the bezel a bit.


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## LEDAdd1ct (May 30, 2009)

Goodness, all this great news, and the mail carrier is not yet here. 

I am toying with the idea of buying a pair of the new Panasonic 2.9aH cells and giving them a try in this light to see if:

a) they are indeed around 2.9aH
b) they fit

Could someone post the internal diameter of the battery tube?

Regardless, I am very excited about receiving this light!


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## Lermite (May 30, 2009)

The internal diameter is about 18.70 mm.


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## Niteowl (May 30, 2009)

dudu84 said:


> I believed the warm version comes with 5C tint, no?
> I compared it with my 5A and I find 5C is more yellowish, especially on Lo.



Indeed it does. Edited to reflect that fact


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## LEDAdd1ct (May 30, 2009)

Lermite said:


> The internal diameter is about 18.70 mm.



Thank you! According to Panasonic, the cells are 18.6mm maximum diameter, so they may *just* fit.


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## Lermite (May 30, 2009)

Take care about the little space any Lithium battery needs because its volume can increase a bit while dischargins and preventing it by letting no space around the battery can cause dangerous overheating.


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## Lite_me (May 31, 2009)

We have a winner!  Received my L-Mini II today. I'm very happy with it. I've been wanting a small 18650 light but haven't pulled the trigger on any of the others till this one. It was too attractive to pass up... In every sense of the word. 

I got the cool Q5 version plus a turbo head. 


Things I like.....

-The knurling looks and feels great.

-Tailstands

-The Low-Med-Hi sequence when mode switching. 

-I really like the feel of the switch, as well as the smooth texture of the boot. I like the taper the switch cap has surrounding the button. It adds to the nice feel.

-The 3 output modes are spaced about as good as you can get. Medium is bright! I used the light most of the day today, and need something bright when there's so much ambient light and it was a pleasure to use. Some of you ask about the output on low and I agree with the assessment that it seems to be around 18 lumens. I removed the head to expose the bare emitter and compared it to my Zebralight H501, and it is very close to the Med setting on the ZL which is rated to be 18 lumens. 

-I usually don't like last output memory but I do on this one. And it works flawlessly. 

-I like the ability to be able to switch heads. I just tried the Turbo head now that it got dark and this thing really throws. :huh: I live in a residential area and don't have anything further than about 200-250ft to shine it at, but it lights up things at that distance, no problem! The standard head even throws pretty well also. 

-The runtime & regulation are top notch. It's nice to have 7-8 hrs of ~100 lumens, in your pocket! (med)

-Price! This is a lot of light for that.

Edit to add: My light will lockout with a slight backing-off of the tailcap. 


I can't find much to fault, especially considering the cost...

-Some would probably like to see a clip come with it. I've got a few I might try to fit but I don't think I'll use one on this light. (note: It does come with a holster) 

-Some might prefer a forward clicky w/momentary On, but I feel the reverse clicky works best on this type of UI.

-As someone noted, the edges are sharp where the lanyard attaches. That might be a concern for some.



If you've been looking for something like this, like I have, I don't see how you can go wrong on this one. :thumbsup:


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## LEDAdd1ct (May 31, 2009)

Lite_me said:


> The runtime & regulation are top notch. It's nice to have 7-8 hrs of ~100 lumens, in your pocket! (med)



Which brand and capacity of cells are you using?


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## Mjolnir (May 31, 2009)

On top of all of the things that Lite_me said, this light also has protection circuitry, so you can run unprotected cells without having to worry about overdischarge. I have over a dozen cells from a laptop, so this light is perfect for using them. The automatic switch to low when the battery is nearly depleted is also very useful for preserving runtime.


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## Lite_me (May 31, 2009)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> Which brand and capacity of cells are you using?


I haven't had the light long enough to do any runtimes myself. 
I was more or less quoting the graph in post #1. Right now I'm using AW 2200mAh but in order to get the runtimes shown in the graph, it looks like you'll have to use something with more capacity. Mev's runtimes from light-reviews always seem to be less than anyone else's. Not sure why that is. Could be his cells are losing capacity.



Mjolnir said:


> On top of all of the things that Lite_me said, this light also has protection circuitry, so you can run unprotected cells without having to worry about overdischarge. I have over a dozen cells from a laptop, so this light is perfect for using them. The automatic switch to low when the battery is nearly depleted is also very useful for preserving runtime.



I forgot about those things. I knew I'd forget something. :ironic: 

One other thing, it has reverse-polarity protection in case you install the battery in backwards. Who hasn't done that.


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## Lermite (May 31, 2009)

According to the test of LightReview: http://light-reviews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=513
The AW 2200 mAh is one of the worst 18650.
My graph in post #1 was made with a Trustfire 2500 mAh blue.
I tested the high mode with an 18650 Ultrafire 3000 mAh and I'm testing another L-Mini II Q5 and with a Trustfire 2400 mAh black. Still according to LightReview's test, this battery is about as good as the new AW 2600 mAh, and I know it is about the same than the Trustfire 2500 mAh.
The test in still running in medium mode and remains to do in low mode but I have the result is high mode:
L-Mini II Q5 #1 Trustfire 2500 mAh blue: 2:17 until switching to low, 8:28 until switching off.
L-Mini II Q5 #1 Ultrafire 3000 mAh red: 2:06 until switch to low, 15:46 until switching off.
L-Mini II Q5 #2 Trustfire 2400 mAh black: 2:23 until switching to low, 7:28 until switching off.
Don't ask me why I don't like AW


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## DHart (May 31, 2009)

Lite_me said:


> One other thing, it has reverse-polarity protection in case you install the battery in backwards. Who hasn't done that.



Fortunately, I've avoided any meltdowns of this sort, but my wife just toasted a Romisen RC-C3 Q5 by popping an RCR123 in backwards...  smoke and stink like crazy. 

As for the L-mini II, I continue to be so impressed with this light. I'm very happy to have it. The feature set, small size, and 18650 powering makes for a really great combination. Highly recommend this light. While I find the warm emitter a little less sharp in terms of object definition than a cool emitter is, the color rendition is fantastic. I'm considering buying a second one with the cool emitter as well... and a turbo head.


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## Cheapskate (May 31, 2009)

Lermite - Great review, merci beaucoup!

This light seems to have all the hallmarks of a classic. I really like the generous floody spill, yet still maintaining good throw. That is a neat trick to pull off.






LEDAdd1ct said:


> Thank you for the nice review!
> 
> Must...resist...pulling...out...wallet...



What do you mean, I do not understand? Your reasoning eludes me.


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## DHart (May 31, 2009)

Lermite said:


> L-Mini II Q5 #1 Trustfire 2500 mAh blue: 2:17 until switching to low, 8:28 until switching off.
> L-Mini II Q5 #1 Ultrafire 3000 mAh red: 2:06 until switch to low, 15:46 until switching off.
> L-Mini II Q5 #2 Trustfire 2400 mAh black: 2:23 until switching to low, 7:28 until switching off.



Been reading a lot of good things about Trustfire cells... with a pair of Trustfire 18650 2400 mAh cells going for $10 including shipping from DX, I'm ready to try some Trustfires! Thanks, Lermite, for your contributions!

L-mini II and Trustfire 18650 2400 mAh looks like a great combo!


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## LEDAdd1ct (May 31, 2009)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> Thank you for the nice review!
> 
> Must...resist...pulling...out...wallet...







Cheapskate said:


> What do you mean, I do not understand? Your reasoning eludes me.



I meant, "I am already near broke, but this light looks so incredibly tempting, it is going to take lots of willpower not to purchase it."

I failed; the light should arrive from Brooklyn tomorrow.


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## Lite_me (May 31, 2009)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> I failed; the light should arrive from Brooklyn tomorrow.


Like a true LEDAdd1ct......! :grouphug:  Enjoy !


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## Mjolnir (May 31, 2009)

This is a much better thing to "waste" your money on. For $41/$45, it is a very good deal considering its quality, features, and regulation.


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## hazna (Jun 1, 2009)

I just received my MG L-Mini II Q3 (warm tint) version!

Here are my initial thoughts:

-Reasonable size, would be ok for pocket carry in a coat. Slightly large for carrying in a pants pocket, but still 'do-able'

-I agree that the lanyard holes are little sharp, that there's a fair chance it will cut the lanyard over time. I will try putting a split ring there and attach that to the lanyard instead.

-This is my first warm tinted light. Still a little undecided whether I like it or not. The tint on this flashlight is quite yellow. I find that the tint is good for outdoor use, but I don't really like it indoors. Will try using it a bit more to see how it goes. Someone mentioned that the tint is greenish on low... I personally don't find it greenish, but maybe 'sickly yellow'. The tint generally looks better on medium or high.

-I like the feel of the clicky on this light.

-I like that you can take the head off and use it in a 'candle mode' for more flood

-There is a decent hot-spot and good spill. It has less flood than my fenix L1D, which I find a little too floody for outdoor usage.

-I haven't tested the regulation, but from previous data, I like the idea that this light is well regulated (then drops to a lower mode at the end).

-I find that for indoor usage the difference between med and high is not as noticeable (but still noticeable if you compare the ceiling bounce). I find that it is more noticeable in outdoor usage. Ideally I would like medium to be 'user-settable', however this would probably affect the regulation of this light.

-Comparing the build quality of this light with my fenix l1d. I would say that I like the feel of my fenix l1d better. To me the fenix build quality seems better (e.g. tailcap spring, reflector, feel of the threads). Mind you the L-mini II is cheaper than the fenix though.

-Overall I'm fairly happy with this purchase, I will use it for pocket carry in my coat (its starting to get cold where I am now). It will be good for using outdoors in nature settings. 

However I'm not totally blown away with it. I wish it was slightly smaller but its probably as good as it gets with 18650 flashlights. I would be interested in to see what the Q5 version is like, I think I would like that version more for indoor/suburban use.


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## Black Rose (Jun 1, 2009)

DHart said:


> Fortunately, I've avoided any meltdowns of this sort, but my wife just toasted a Romisen RC-C3 Q5 by popping an RCR123 in backwards...  smoke and stink like crazy.
> 
> ...
> 
> I'm considering buying a second one with the cool emitter as well... and a turbo head.


Get the Mrs. to buy the turbo head to replace the RC-C3   

I am glad to see lots of good info on the driver.
I bought the L-Mini II driver from Shiningbeam today to convert a spare P60 R2 drop-in into a 3-mode.

I told myself no more lights large that aren't P60 compatible, but I may have to alter that rule (again)


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## DHart (Jun 1, 2009)

Black Rose said:


> I bought the L-Mini II driver from Shiningbeam today to convert a spare P60 R2 drop-in into a 3-mode.



I've got some Solarforce R2 5-mode lamps that I wouldn't mind converting to L-mini driver... that sounds great... how difficult is the conversion for a novice soldering iron wielder?


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## Retral (Jun 2, 2009)

DHart said:


> Fortunately, I've avoided any meltdowns of this sort, but my wife just toasted a Romisen RC-C3 Q5 by popping an RCR123 in backwards...  smoke and stink like crazy.



Holy crap, is it really that easy to fry a 123a light?

I'd feel pretty miserable if I did that to my new P3D (or does it have protection?).


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## DHart (Jun 2, 2009)

Retral said:


> Holy crap, is it really that easy to fry a 123a light?


 Yep! 



Retral said:


> I'd feel pretty miserable if I did that to my new P3D (or does it have protection?).


 Don't know... do some research.


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## Painful Chafe (Jun 2, 2009)

Wow. It is certainly stiff competition for the P3D/PD30's. And cheaper to boot. Very nice.


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## Painful Chafe (Jun 2, 2009)

Lermite said:


> Others beamshots are available there: http://lermite.nerim.net/beamshots/




Also, great work on the website. :twothumbs


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## Black Rose (Jun 2, 2009)

DHart said:


> I've got some Solarforce R2 5-mode lamps that I wouldn't mind converting to L-mini driver... that sounds great... how difficult is the conversion for a novice soldering iron wielder?


Should be straightforward. The key is to make a clean solder connection - something I still don't get regularly 

Remove the solder from the two spots on bottom of the pill to release the circuit from the pill base (my SuperBright R2 5-mode circuit fell out on it's own due to poor soldering :thumbsdow) and then desolder the two wires from the LED.

Reverse the process to re-assemble. Based on the pictures on the Shiningbeam site, will probably have to trim the wires on the L-Mini II driver a bit.


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## dudu84 (Jun 2, 2009)

Painful Chafe said:


> Wow. It is certainly stiff competition for the P3D/PD30's. And cheaper to boot. Very nice.



I agree that both L-mini 2 and P3D/PD30 have similar form factor and brightness but besides those, they are pretty different:
-L-mini 2 has great quality for a budget light but it's not Fenix quality (hence the lower price).
-2 lights have very different UI
-P3D/PD30 is powered by both primary and 16340/17670 battery but L-mini 2 only takes 18650, more "flashaholic" IMO :naughty:
-Fenix lights have good warranty but are very unfriendly when it comes to mod-ability, L-mini on the other hand is way easier to upgrade/repair

But what's the fun in having lights that are all the same, eh? 
I have and I like them both


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## Lermite (Jun 2, 2009)

dudu84 said:


> I agree that both L-mini 2 and P3D/PD30 have similar form factor and brightness but besides those, they are pretty different...


You forgot two other differences between the P3D and the L-Mini II:
- The runtime: the turbo mode of P3D lastes about 1:10, the high mode of the L-Mini II lastes about 2h15
- The automatic switching to low mode instead of switching off because of the batteries PCB.
These two differences are most signifiant to me.


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## DHart (Jun 2, 2009)

The L-mini II has replaced my Jet III M Q3 5C light as nightstand light.... I often read on my laptop before going to sleep and use the L-mini II in tailstand mode to illuminate the ceiling for ambient light while I use the laptop. Lasts a very long time on medium... about 8-9 hours of nice soft, warm room light and around 55 to 60 hours on low with the 18650. This is awesome. Now my Jet III (which is a thrower) can be relegated to downstairs where I would use it to spot something out on the property.


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## dudu84 (Jun 2, 2009)

Lermite said:


> You forgot two other differences between the P3D and the L-Mini II:
> - The runtime: the turbo mode of P3D lastes about 1:10, the high mode of the L-Mini II lastes about 2h15
> - The automatic switching to low mode instead of switching off because of the batteries PCB.
> These two differences are most signifiant to me.



If you run P3D/PD30 with primaries, you can get over 2 hours of runtime on max too (much more expensive than recharging 18650 but more readily available). 
Although the switching mode to low of L-mini 2 is quite unique (and useful), mine runs only for slightly over an hour with TF 18650 (not several hours like yours) so I would consider it similar to the behavior of P3D/PD30 when it's powered by primaries that are almost depleted. 

And yes yes, there are many other things to point out too but that's exactly my point: the 2 lights are different


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## Lermite (Jun 2, 2009)

dudu84 said:


> ...mine runs only for slightly over an hour with TF 18650 (not several hours like yours)


That's very strange because I have several L-Mini II Q5 and I tested two of them to be sure my results are right. The first lasted 2:17 with a 18650 Trustfire 2500 mAh blue, and the second lasted 2:23 with a 18650 Trustfire 2400 mAh black.
Either you L-Mini II has a different driver than mines, or you battery has a problem. Is it protected? Didn't you overdisharged it? Any misuse like this can alter a Li-ion battery performances and could explain your too short runtime.


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## dudu84 (Jun 2, 2009)

Lermite said:


> That's very strange because I have several L-Mini II Q5 and I tested two of them to be sure my results are right. The first lasted 2:17 with a 18650 Trustfire 2500 mAh blue, and the second lasted 2:23 with a 18650 Trustfire 2400 mAh black.
> Either you L-Mini II has a different driver than mines, or you battery has a problem. Is it protected? Didn't you overdisharged it? Any misuse like this can alter a Li-ion battery performances and could explain your too short runtime.



My bad for not stating it clearly, I meant the runtime on Lo after the it's switched automatically from Mid, not the runtime on turbo.


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## Lermite (Jun 3, 2009)

OK, the runtime on low after the automatic switch depends on the internal resistance of the battery.
The L-Mini II stwitches on low when the battery voltages reached 3.2V.
In high of medium mode, the current is quite higher than in low mode. The higer current make the battery voltage to drop because of the internal resistance.
This voltage drop is more important with batteries whose the internal resistance is high, as the Ultrafire 3000 mAh. That's why these batteries have about the same runtime in high mode, but last quite longer after switching in low mode because the loss from internal resistance is quite lower in this mode.
I think you must be using a old gray Trustfire with low internal resistance, instead of a blue or black Trustfire.


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## dudu84 (Jun 3, 2009)

Lermite said:


> I thing you must be using a old gray Trustfire with high internal resistance, instead of a blue or black Trustfire.



yea I used a relatively new pair of gray TF 18650 2400mAh for the test.


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## jeffeyj (Jun 3, 2009)

Thanks to everyone for the comments and review. I bought two and a Turbo head, great light. I like the extra switch you get, hope I don't have to use it.


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## MWClint (Jun 5, 2009)

Always wanted an L-Mini..just never got around to ordering one...
was poking around shiningbeam tonite for some of his drivers and came across the L mini II. just couldnt refuse. ordered the warm cree version+turbo head.


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## Lite_me (Jun 5, 2009)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> I meant, "I am already near broke, but this light looks so incredibly tempting, it is going to take lots of willpower not to purchase it."
> 
> I failed; the light should arrive from Brooklyn tomorrow.


So, LEDAdd1ct, watdaya think of it?


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## lightbug (Jun 5, 2009)

I have a customer who received his new 2600mAh AW 18650, and this is the runtime he got on the Q5 version L-mini II.

L-mini II on high using the old AW 18650 2200mAh 1 hour and 47 minutes
L-mini II on high using the Tenergy 18650 2600mAh 1 hour and 55 minutes
L-mini II on high using the new AW 18650 2600mAh 2 hours and 30 minutes


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## DHart (Jun 5, 2009)

Bryan... calculating from the L-mini II (which I recently bought from you) current draw of 950 mAh (which mine - a Q3 5C version - draws on high) I think one would expect about 2.5 hrs. from a 18650 2200 mAh cell, right? And perhaps 2.75 hrs. or so with the 2600 mAh? Perhaps the current draw is higher on the Q5 version than it is on the Q3 version...


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## lightbug (Jun 5, 2009)

DHart,
Each battery's true capacity varies quite a lot. Mev from lightreviews.com got only 1 hour 33 minutes on L-mini II Q5 with his AW 2200mAh batt, where I got 1 hour 58 minutes using my 2200 mAh AW. Remember, L-mini II jumps to low mode when the voltage of your 18650 reaches 3.2V or so. If it goes to low mode at 2.8V or so, then the runtime will be longer. I'm not quite sure the current draw on Q5 or Q3-5C since I don't even have the equipment to measure them.


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## Black Rose (Jun 5, 2009)

lightbug said:


> Mev from lightreviews.com got only 1 hour 33 minutes on L-mini II Q5 with his AW 2200mAh batt, where I got 1 hour 58 minutes using my 2200 mAh AW.


I think Mev's AW 2200 cells are bad.

It seems every test he does using them, they perform poorly compared to others doing similar tests.



> I'm not quite sure the current draw on Q5 or Q3-5C since I don't even have the equipment to measure them.


 

BTW, the L-Mini II driver arrived today :thumbsup:


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## DHart (Jun 6, 2009)

lightbug said:


> I'm not quite sure the current draw on Q5 or Q3-5C since I don't even have the equipment to measure them.



Bryan... my DMM reads the following current draw, running an AW 18650 2200 mAh cell, on my L-mini II Q3 5C:

40mA on low,
290mA on medium, 
950 mA on high


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## trailstoride (Jun 6, 2009)

Resistance is futile... this thread convinced me to pull the trigger on a Q3-5C. A shiney new MG L-Mini II showed up surprisingly fast from ShiningBeam :naughty: 

I love the tint and color rendition of the Q3-5C Cree. Only if I shine a WD tint on the wall next to it does the beam appear to have a slight yellow tint. The beam is lovely, and bright! I have a Cree P4 driven at 800 mA in a Harbor Freight 3C Gordon flashlight. Ceiling bounce on high has the MG L-Mini II roughtly twice as bright as the P4. Medium is easily twice as bright as my Fenix L0D CE on high (50 lumens.) Low is identical to the LOD CE on medium (20 lumens.) and is a nice level for close work or walking around at night.

A few 18650's salvaged from a 2 year old laptop battery pack still hold their charge well, reading 4.15 to 4.18V after resting a few days. The cells were originally 2400 mAh. I was quite impressed to see the MG L-Mini II run for on high for 2 hours and 8 minutes before dropping to low on these old cells  

EDIT: Runtime test on medium, 7 hours 15 minutes before dropping to low, 30 minutes more on low before the light shut off :thumbsup:
EDIT: Runtime test on low, 66 hours!!! The light was on when I checked at 66 hours, but not at 66 hours 30 minutes. Battery measured 3.15V after resting. 

On charged cells the Q3 draws 0.88A/0.27A/0.03A on High/Med/Low
On half charged cells (3.80V) 0.95A/0.28A/0.03A
On discharged cells (3.40V) 1.12A/0.31A/0.03A (dropped from High to Low at 3.4V)

I shorten the tailcap spring a bit over 1/8 inch. This makes it much easier to start the tail cap threads after changing the battery.


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## lightbug (Jun 6, 2009)

*Black Rose,*
I do agree with you. Mev's runtime for L-mini II on his AW 18650 is by far the worst performer. Either his AW 18650 is bad or too old. 

Hope you'll have good use with that L-mini II driver you just got. 

*DHart,*
Current draw on your L-mini II seems similar to trailstorides.


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## DHart (Jun 6, 2009)

trailstoride said:


> Resistance is futile... this tread convinced me to pull the trigger on a Q3-5C. A shiney new MG L-Mini II showed up surprisingly fast from ShiningBeam :naughty:



I've bought perhaps a dozen lights from Bryan, including my L-Mini II, and must give a major thumbs up to him for exceptionally quick shipping and excellent customer service and communications. I will give Bryan my business for any lights I wish to buy that he carries.


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## Bullzeyebill (Jun 6, 2009)

Can not access shiningbeam web site. Does any one else sell them?

Bill


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## Lite_me (Jun 6, 2009)

Hmmm.... I can't get there either. Just give it some time, should be back up soon. I'd only get shiningbeam's version as it has a tweaked driver.


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## Lermite (Jun 6, 2009)

I sell L-Mini II Q5 too, exactly the same than Shiningbeam's, but at higher price because I'm in France and I have more fees to pay. I may not tell more because I fear moderators anger


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## Lite_me (Jun 6, 2009)

Oops... but it's back up now.


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## Black Rose (Jun 6, 2009)

lightbug said:


> *Black Rose,*
> Hope you'll have good use with that L-mini II driver you just got.


I installed it in a P60 drop-in earlier this afternoon - it fits perfectly.

I'm currently doing a runtime test of the L-Mini II driver (high setting) with a Cree R2 and a black TrustFire 2400 mAh 18650 cell. 
I'll post an update with the elapsed time when it drops to low.
*EDIT:* 2 hours 26 minutes until the circuit dropped to low :thumbsup:

Matching what the folks that have the L-Mini II light have said, I am really pleased with the performance of this circuit. 

Thanks for a circuit without SOS/Strobe and one that starts on low :thumbsup:

The driver is more expensive than other drivers on the market, but it is a customized feature filled driver that is far above anything else I have seen to date (this is not your typical DX/KD driver folks) - definitely worth the money IMHO. 

Bryan, will this circuit be a regular item, or are you limited in your stock?


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## needforspeed (Jun 6, 2009)

Got mine yesterday, and I have to say that for the price this little pocket rocket is geat. Very nice UI.

Love the turbo head too, but must admit, i keep switching the heads back and forth. Not sure yet which one I like best.

If this same light came in a rechargeable 3.7V 123 configuration I'd buy a few of 'em. I like it that much.

Thanks for pointing out this light guys.


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## hazna (Jun 6, 2009)

I've had my L-mini II Q3 for about a week now and I thought I'd give an update on my thoughts:

-Its brighter than my fenix L2d on turbo, has wider spill but not as much flood. More 'throwy' than my L2d.

-I like the tint for nature settings, but I don't like it indoors. I find the beam slightly 'ringy' but not a big deal for me.

-Run-time and regulation is good

-I think the build quality is very average. Having a good look at my flashlight: there are few scratches on the reflector (only noticeable when the light is on, looking at the reflector from the side), threads are too fine and have already loss some of the anodisation (I think it actually came this way)

-GITD tailcap is pretty much useless. Glow effect doesn't last long and not very bright.


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## Mjolnir (Jun 6, 2009)

As far as quality goes it is not the best light I own, but it is definitely worth the money. My reflector has no scratches of any kind on it; the lens has none either. Some of the thread anodizing is not perfect, so the lockout doesn't really work, although I never need it. There is also a small bare spot on the tailcap. Other than that, the quality is very good.

Seriously though, it is basically an aluminum cylinder. I don't really see how it could have better quality than it already does. It definitely would not improve the functionality of the light at all to have better quality.


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## Bullzeyebill (Jun 6, 2009)

Would one of you guys report on the heat build up after being on 30 minutes or so using medium and high mode? Thanks,

Bill


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## Aaron (Jun 6, 2009)

Has anyone tried the GITD O rings that Shiningbeam sells with the L mini II? I didn't notice them until after I received the light. I would definetly be interested if it is visible. 

Bullzeye Bill, it definetly gets quite warm after 30 minutes on high, however, it is not too hot to hold or return to your pocket.
Thanks


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## trailstoride (Jun 6, 2009)

Bullzeyebill said:


> Would one of you guys report on the heat build up after being on 30 minutes or so using medium and high mode?



It gets hot after about 5 minutes on high. However, I can hand hold it on high as long as I need to. If you set it down for 10 minutes on high, it is too hot to hold comfortably.

It barely gets luke warm on medium, even after sitting on a table for over an hour.


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## Bullzeyebill (Jun 6, 2009)

Thanks trailstoride, good to know. I may invest in one of these next week.

Bill


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## LEDAdd1ct (Jun 7, 2009)

Lite_me said:


> So, LEDAdd1ct, watdaya think of it?



I was away at a wedding the last few days, and the warm L-Mini II Q3 came along for the party. Here is what I found.

Pros:

-I love the tint color, indoors and out. It lacks the contrast of the cooler tints, but I don't care. All that extra contrast does is sting my eyes. The tint is like a buttery omelet with swiss and a large cup of orange juice.

-the reverse clicky on this light is perfect. It will *not* accidentally turn on, and changing modes is very, very easy. 

-the memorization works perfectly. It's a one-mode light when I want it to be, and a multi-mode light when I need it to be. 

-the size is just terrific. Nice and compact, and fits comfortably in the hand.

-ceiling bounce on low is perfect for reclining in bed pondering the meaning of life, having a discussion in a room, wandering about the house, or looking at things up close. When used tailstanding for this purpose, you would never know the light was on. Absolutely cool.

-medium is perfect for walking down the road or getting a bit more reach. High is great when you really want light. I have not hiked with this light yet, but it is high on my agenda. 

-I found the light to be quite hot when left tailstanding for fifteen minutes. Why is this a pro? It means the heat is being conducted away from the emitter/driver to the light body. When used on a hike in the woods, I doubt there would be any appreciable heat buildup whatsoever. 

Cons:

-this is not a $100 light, and it shows. The GITD clicky doesn't "take" a charge as easily as the other textured versions I've seen floating around. A deliberate charge works, but it does not pick up light from a lamp like some of my other textured GITD clickys do. 

-the threads stink. The tail is prone to cross-threading, and they have a very cheap, thin feel. The good news is, this is one of the only two flaws with this light.

-very obvious Cree rings are present (flaw number two). I mention these because I have other lights with OP reflectors that do a much better job of smoothing these out. 

Summary:

I love this light! The only detractors are the poor quality threads and the obvious Cree rings. Neither one is an issue while using the light outdoors, but battery changes have me worried (indoors or out), as I fear successive battery changes will wear out the threads, and the Cree rings are very obvious indoors. After the wedding yesterday, the special car my friend was driving away in suffered a component failure. They think it was the alternator and something else (car was made in 1961, I believe). My friend, his father, and his sister's boyfriend are all very handy with cars, and his sister's girlfriend is a professional mechanic (does this every day, all day). When they were working on it in the driveway, his now father-in-law was shining a puny incandescent flashlight on the guts. It was your typical two-D light, and was a joke. There was a much larger clip-on incandescent with a wide aluminum reflector, and that worked well. However, my L-Mini II, received just days before, helped illuminate the area around the alternator with more precision. 

While it would be a lie to state my L-Mini II "saved the day," it was certainly far brigher than the old incandescent, and the color rendition, though not as good as the hanging light with the massive aluminum reflector, was still pretty darn good. 

Things I would Change:

1) Those threads stink! I would pay a few more bucks for thicker threads that did not cross when twisting on the tailcap.

2) I would like less obvious Cree rings. I know this can be done, because there are other XR-E lights which do a better job of minimizing them.

Final Thoughts:

I think this light is an excellent first light for a budding (or beginning flashaholic), and paired with the Yoho charger and a few 18650 cells (any, since the circuit protects you from running the cell too low) would make an excellent gift. I love this light, and though not as bright or driven as hard as my Dereelight Q3 5A, the size, tint, and circuit make it currently my overall favorite light. I am seriously considering picking up a Yoho charger and this light to gift to one of my friends. He always comes along on hikes with me, but his lights are, umm...not quite up to par.  Hopefully I'll take this light in the woods in the next few days, and I'll let everybody know how it works in that environment.

Time for brunch!

LEDAdd1ct


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## lightbug (Jun 7, 2009)

*DHart,*
Thank you for all your support, people like you make it possible for Shininbeam to survive under such tough economy. 

*Black Rose,*
I'm glad you have successfully installed the driver in your new light. For now the demand for this circuirt board is not very high due to the high price, so I will only be keeping a few in stock each time. But it should be a regular item from now on, don't think I will discontinue carrying it. 

*hazna,*
L-mini II is considered a budget light, so the quality still not comparable with those better lights such as Olight or Nitecore. But we'll continue working on it, and make improvements over time. If its not the current driver we using, the light would be $4 to $5 cheaper.

*Bullzeyebill,*
As long you are holding the light in hand, then it would be only warm even if you running it on high mode for 2 straight hours.

*LEDAdd1ct,*
Thank you for your honest opinions. I do agree with you about the threads needed improvement. However, the customers who bought the first generation L-mini with simiar threads didn't report any problems.... yet (and I hope they never will). I guess that means the treads are not as weak as they looked.

The OP reflector indeed could be made more deep, but doing so will also make the light less throwy, so it is hard to say its a pro or con. :shrug:

Little I can do now with the current L-mini II since all the casing are been made. But in the future version, (Probably called L-mini III) I hope the threads could be improved and plus able to use 2 x CR123A batt as well. Don't know if the guy can tweak the driver to support up to 6.5V input and still able to keep the regulation perfect, but I sure hope he can.


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## Black Rose (Jun 7, 2009)

How far (i.e. in feet) does this light throw with the standard head?

I saw Ernsanada's shot of the most photographed shrubbery on CPF  but can't really translate that to how far I could spot something (i.e. the Foxes/Coyotes prowling in the field).

I have a couple Solarforce L2 P60 hosts (one received the L-mini II driver) and I really like the throw of them, but they are not very good for pocket carry and I'm not much of a holster user, so I am thinking the L-mini II would be a good option.


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## lightbug (Jun 7, 2009)

*Black Rose,*
L-mini II with the regular head is just mid-range thrower. If you want better throw, then the turbo head is required. I live in the city, so I really haven't test out how throwy the L-mini II is outside the house. Perhaps someone else here who has the light and lives in the rural area could tell you more specific.


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## DHart (Jun 7, 2009)

Agree on the threads being too thin and sharp... I take great care when doing battery charges to begin the threading evenly and properly... I would hate to destroy the delicate threading on this otherwise awesome light! 

Litebug... if there is anything you can do to convince the maker of this light to go with large, square cut threads, you would be doing a great service to future buyers of the light as well as to the manufacturer who will be making a product that will be much improved and more reliable. In the meantime, we just have to exercise extra care when assembling the components of this light.

I use my L-Mini II Q3 every night in the bedroom as a nightstand light on low in ceiling bounce mode... while surfing the web with my laptop... it makes a fantastic late night room light, warm, soft glow and runs an incredibly long time on low with the 18650... sweet! I love it.


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## Lite_me (Jun 7, 2009)

Black Rose said:


> How far (i.e. in feet) does this light throw with the standard head?


I would think this is hard to answer. What is 'useful' throw would vary to some. I will say this though, this is a throwy light, even with the standard head. The hotspot is defined and the output is bright! It easily out throws my Fenix L2D and my NiteCore D20. These are two lights that I have that might be concidered to be in the same class. My NiteCore D10 on a 3.7 Li-Ion doesn't stand a chance.  

Having said that, I would say...... 200-300ft would be it's useful range. The spot begins to spread at around 100-150ft with the standard head, unlike with the Turbo head. 

I've switched back and forth between the two heads for comparisons many times. I really like the look of the light with the Turbo head on it, but it doesn't carry as easily. For my use, I think the standard head will workout best. It also has a much wider spill with it. That works better for my 'residential' use. 

I hope I've 'shed some light' on your question but hoping others will chime in with their thoughts too.


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## xcnick (Jun 7, 2009)

Are there any negatives to square threads?

I have a light with square threads and would like to see this on the L-mini, but perhaps I am missing something.


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## lightbug (Jun 7, 2009)

*DHart,* 
I doubt you need to be that careful with the light's threads. Normal operation is not gonna make the threads go bad so easily. I'm sure those L-mini 1st version owners would agree with me on this. 

I will give a call to the manufacturer in few days and talk about the threads and see if possible to cut with square threads on future versions or at least make it thicker.

*Lite_me,* 
Thank you for sharing your experiences, I think you have answered Black Roses' question.


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## DHart (Jun 7, 2009)

lightbug said:


> *DHart,*
> I doubt you need to be that careful with the light's threads. Normal operation is not gonna make the threads go bad so easily. I'm sure those L-mini 1st version owners would agree with me on this.
> 
> I will give a call to the manufacturer in few days and talk about the threads and see if possible to cut with square threads on future versions or at least make it thicker.



Bryan... perhaps I am being more careful than I need to be. In any event, it is easier to cross thread such fine sharp threads than it is to cross thread thick, square cut threads. The fine threads on the L-Mini II certainly won't keep me from using and enjoying this great light... but this is one aspect about the light which I would like improved.


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## Mjolnir (Jun 7, 2009)

I haven't had any issues with cross threading. However, the threads don't engage with the tailcap until after the tailcap passes over the upper O-ring, which is different from the other lights I have. For some reason, this actually makes it harder to cross thread the tailcap, so it is even less of a problem.


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## DHart (Jun 7, 2009)

Mjolnir said:


> I haven't had any issues with cross threading. However, the threads don't engage with the tailcap until after the tailcap passes over the upper O-ring, which is different from the other lights I have. For some reason, this actually makes it harder to cross thread the tailcap, so it is even less of a problem.



As I use my L-Mini II nightly, I open the tube every other day to top off the 18650... over time, that's a lot of thread activity. I haven't had any problems with cross threading either... and I don't expect to have any as I'm careful to avoid that. But it can happen to those who may be hasty or less than careful in threading tailcaps and heads. Large, square-cut threads make cross threading less likely to happen, that's all... I'm happy to have the light with fine threads or large square-cut ones, just prefer square.


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## ernsanada (Jun 7, 2009)

Some longer distance beam shots.

Using AW's Black Protected 18650 freshly charged.


L-Mini Turbo Head @ 40" or 12.19 meters







L-Mini Turbo Head @ 146' or 44.5 meters 






L-Mini Turbo Head @ 210' or 64 meters


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## Black Rose (Jun 7, 2009)

Thanks for those shots Ern.

The turbo head really gives a good amount of spill as well as throw.


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## Black Rose (Jun 8, 2009)

This site is bad for the wallet 

Just ordered the L-Mini II and another L-Mini II driver


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## Lermite (Jun 8, 2009)

My beamshots of the turbo head:

Regular head on left, turbo head on right.


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## Mjolnir (Jun 8, 2009)

I think the red in those shots distracts from the actual beam pattern, so it is sort of hard to get a sense of the difference. Is there any way you could post the pictures without the red over the overexposed area?


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## Lermite (Jun 8, 2009)

I decided to color the overexposed zones of my beamshots in red because I'm sick of seeing to many nonense saturated beamshots and false comments to them.
When the color of one pixel of a picture reach the pure white, it remains white even if the light increases ever and ever, and no comparison is possible any longer, but many people seems to misunderstand this.
The red coloring is the only mean I found to force everybody to try to understand this problem, and I like better somebody who dislike this red color than somebody who makes a false judgment on a flashlight power only because of nonsense saturated beamshots.
Off course, I could have chosen a camera setting that does not saturate the pictures, but the spill would have never been visible wich such dark setting.


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## Black Rose (Jun 8, 2009)

Kind of looks like a big eyeball


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## lightbug (Jun 8, 2009)

*DHart,* 
I just spoke with the manufacturer regarding the square threads. Here is the what he said. To make the square threads, the L-mini II body tube has to be made thicker, that means L-mini II is going to be more chubby. This is not ideal since the whole purpose of L-mini is the super compact size.
An alternative way to keep the same size body but with square threads is by moving the pill into the light's head. This is doable, but you would lose the option of using the turbo head. :mecry:

*Black Rose,*
Thanks again for your support!


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## DHart (Jun 9, 2009)

Bryan... thanks for looking into that! As it is, the fine threads really aren't a big deal. If that's the worst thing someone can find about the light, then it's definitely a great light! I can certainly live happily with the L-Mini II as it is. It's a great light.


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## lightbug (Jun 9, 2009)

DHart,
Don't fix what's not broken.


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## Black Rose (Jun 9, 2009)

I don't expect my light to arrive until Friday so I can't see it myself, but how do the threads compare to those on the Gerber Infinity Ultra?

The GIU has _very_ thin threads.


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## xcnick (Jun 9, 2009)

Almost dead on. The top of the mini looks to have some tapper like a pipe.


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## lightbug (Jun 9, 2009)

Black Rose,
L-mini II's threads are actually similar to all the ITP lights in thickness, but I never heard a single customer complaint about the threads of ITP. 

L-mini II's actual Vi is up to 6V, so it is actually okay to use 2 x CR123A primaries, but due to the high voltage, it will creates excess heat. Thus, it is strongly not recommended to use them, unless you only going run in medium and low mode. Officially L-mini II only supports 18650/17670, so if you burn your driver due to using CR123A, don't blame me for it.



I certainly *won't* honor the warranty on that. FYI, I tested mine with 2 brand new Rayovac CR123A primaries, each measured 3.24V.


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## Mjolnir (Jun 9, 2009)

Lermite said:


> I decided to color the overexposed zones of my beamshots in red because I'm sick of seeing to many nonense saturated beamshots and false comments to them.
> When the color of one pixel of a picture reach the pure white, it remains white even if the light increases ever and ever, and no comparison is possible any longer, but many people seems to misunderstand this.
> The red coloring is the only mean I found to force everybody to try to understand this problem, and I like better somebody who dislike this red color than somebody who makes a false judgment on a flashlight power only because of nonsense saturated beamshots.
> Off course, I could have chosen a camera setting that does not saturate the pictures, but the spill would have never been visible wich such dark setting.


 I realize what overexposure is, and how it can be misleading. However, I was talking about the pictures purely from a beam pattern standpoint. To me, the red center in one of the pictures makes it difficult to compare their beam patterns (like the size of the hotspots). I don't really care about the apparent brightness, since it is nearly impossible to make the picture portray the true brightness of the light to the human eye. I am just interested in how much smaller the hotspot is with the turbo head.


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## DHart (Jun 9, 2009)

Yeah... to me the red dot really distracts much more than just a white-out center would. I would recommend omitting the red spot.

That said, one can still see that the turbo head gives a more intense and slightly smaller central beam as well as a narrower, more sharp-edged (though still very bright) spill beam. The beam shots do show that the turbo head is going to definitely give a higher level of illumination to smaller distant areas, i.e. "throw".


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## Lermite (Jun 9, 2009)

OK, I submit to you will. I removed the overexposed pictures.


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## needforspeed (Jun 9, 2009)

Any word on how water resistant these little lights really are ???


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## Lermite (Jun 9, 2009)

I didn't test it at a big depth but i left it working for a few minutes like this and no water went in:


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## netprince (Jun 11, 2009)

I got my *L-Mini II *yesterday. I must admit, the more I play with it, the more I like it. I got the warm version, with the turbo head. Here's what I think so far:

PRO

Beam pattern is nice. My turbo head had some funny artifacts, but after I re-seated the reflector they are gone. It does seem to produce a slight donut, but it throws so well its easy to ignore. The regular head has no such donut, and produces a larger hotspot. I like them both.

I also really like the simple design of the light. The hole for the lanyard is on the side of the tailcap, so it doesn't affect tailstanding. The knurling is nice, and the lack of ridges makes it fit well in the hand. Personaly, I really like the look with the turbo head on.

The regulated three mode driver is really nice. (thought I haven't tested the regulation personally)

CONS

My cheap 18650 cells were too long, and the light wouldn't work. This is because the cell prevented the tail cap from making contact with the body of the light. I've been looking for a reason to get some AW cells, so this is it.

The light flashes when changing levels. If I hold in the clicky a little longer, it doesn't flash. Quickly click the switch, it flashes before changing modes.

There are a few spots in the threads where the HA is missing, but lockout still works.

The glass lenses seem to be just slightly foggy. It is fairly thick though, so I'm thinking it should be strong.


In summary, the pros really outweigh the cons. Great value for the money.


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## trailstoride (Jun 12, 2009)

netprince said:


> My cheap 18650 cells were too long, and the light wouldn't work. This is because the cell prevented the tail cap from making contact with the body of the light. I've been looking for a reason to get some AW cells, so this is it.



My 18650 cells measure 165mm exactly. I found the tailcap worked fine, but had to work at getting the threads started when changing the battery. I cut off about 5mm of the tailcap spring (a bit over 1/8 inch) and find it much easier to replace the tailcap. The tailcap pushes on and rests right at the 2nd O-ring, catching the threads easily with minimal pressure.

I removed the switch from the tailcap before cutting the spring, and bent the cut end into a coil with needle nose pliers, similar to how the original end looks.

I'm not sure what you mean by light flashes when changing levels. I don't notice any flashes, just the light momentarily going out and coming back on smoothly at the next level. If I hold the clicky for more than a second, the light remains on the same level. The mode memory works great.

The HA was flawless on mine, and the lockout works fine.

I also notice a slight haze on the glass. Removing the reflector from the head allowed easy access to the glass and O-ring, and it cleaned up just fine.

I agree, the L-Mini II is great value for the money. Thank you Bryan :thanks:


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## Black Rose (Jun 12, 2009)

My L-Mini II arrived today :thumbsup:
Bryan, whatever you are bribing the postman with, keep it up 

I tried both AW and TrustFire (black) 18650 cells in it and both work fine, although it takes a bit of work with the TrustFire cell to get the tailcap on. 
The TrustFire cell sticks out the end of the body about 2mm whereas the AW cell is flush.
I'll lose about 18 minutes runtime on high using the AW 2200 mAh cell instead of the TrustFire cell.

I cannot find any flaw with the anodizing and the lockout works great. 

I am really suprised at how much spill the light has for such a small reflector. 
I was expecting it to have less spill than my SolarForce L2, but at 5 feet the spill is about 1 foot wider than my SolarForce L2.

I am very pleased with this light. Can't wait until it gets dark


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## DHart (Jun 12, 2009)

B R... congrats! Did you get the Q5 or the Q3?

It's a great light and I'm sure you're going to love it! Looking forward to your follow up comments after tonight.


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## Mjolnir (Jun 12, 2009)

So what specific trustfire batteries are people having issues with? I believe that my 2500 Mah cells fit fine in my L-mini II. However, I have 30+ celss from laptops, so I have been using those. The runtime is probably shorter, but I have so many that It doesn't really matter.


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## Black Rose (Jun 12, 2009)

The ones I have are the black 2400 mAh (dx sku 20392).

It's not really an issue, I just don't want to risk buggering up the light on day 1. I'm going to order some more of them and eventually use them in this light to get that extra 18 minutes runtime.


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## DHart (Jun 12, 2009)

Black Rose said:


> The ones I have are the black 2400 mAh (dx sku 20392).
> 
> It's not really an issue, I just don't want to risk buggering up the light on day 1. I'm going to order some more of them and eventually use them in this light to get that extra 18 minutes runtime.



BR... those are the ones I just ordered from DX... I'm so eager to get these Trustie black/red "true" 2400 mAh 18650s... should be any day now.... :green:


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## Black Rose (Jun 13, 2009)

DHart said:


> B R... congrats! Did you get the Q5 or the Q3?
> 
> It's a great light and I'm sure you're going to love it! Looking forward to your follow up comments after tonight.


I got the Q5. I prefer cooler LEDs to the warmer ones.

I sat outside in the dark for half an hour playing...er I mean testing the L-Mini II  

It's a very well constructed light - it feels very solid yet does not weigh that much. 
Size wise, it's not much longer than my Dorcy Super 1-watt (1xCR123A).

After using it outside I am even more amazed at how wide the spill is. 
Not that I'm complaining, I just didn't expect a light with such a relatively small reflector to have so much spill.

As far as the electronics go, I already had an idea of what to expect as I bought the L-Mini II driver before I bought the light, and modified one of my SuperBright R2 P60 drop-ins with it. It's a very well designed and programmed driver. 
I bought another driver when I ordered the light and another drop-in is being modded this weekend. 

Compared to the P60 drop-in, the spot is not as bright, but I am pretty sure that is due to the reflector designs combined with Q5 vs R2 LEDs. 

I am hopefully going to order the turbo head for it next month (currently showing as not found on the ShiningBeam site ) 

Even though I had decided I wasn't going to buy any more lights that were not P60 compatible, I am glad I deviated from that rule and ordered the light - it's definitely worth the money.


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## DHart (Jun 13, 2009)

Black Rose said:


> I got the Q5. I prefer cooler LEDs to the warmer ones.



I like the slightly warmer/neutral tint, but just as much, the brightness/contrast with the cool tints... I guess I'm schizophrenic when it comes to emitters.... I want it ALL!  There's probably a lux bin and tint bin that's the sweet spot for me (not too warm, not too cool, but bright too!), but I don't know what it is. :thinking: The Q3 5C tint of the L-mini I have is a touch on the warm side for me and I wouldn't mind it being a bit brighter, but it's a very nice light overall.



Black Rose said:


> Even though I had decided I wasn't going to buy any more lights that were not P60 compatible, I am glad I deviated from that rule and ordered the light - it's definitely worth the money.



Funny thing... as for myself, I've come to the point where I've decided I'm _not_ going to buy any more P60 compatible stuff... :tired: I think I've got too many P60 component parts at this point... so now I'm really drawn to the new and different designs.

I'm really envious at what you're doing with driver swaps and such!


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## lightbug (Jun 13, 2009)

*netprince,* 
Thanks for your sharing your opinions. I'm glad you found more Pros than cons with this light. 

*trailstoride,*
Thanks for your support. 

*Black Rose,* 
I told the mailman if he could deliver your package faster, I would give him the address of the pretty widow lives on your block (J/K).  

Anyway, glad you received the light so quickly. I'm also using Trustfire 2500, AW and others Li-ion testing the L-mini II. It seems the length of Trustfires are not very consistent. One is a perfect fit, the 2nd one sticking out the tube by 1 to 2mm. But they both work in the L-mini II.

I'm out of the Turbo head as for now. Will have more by next week. The package has already arrived in the customs, hope they don't hold it for long.


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## DHart (Jun 13, 2009)

lightbug said:


> *netprince,*... the Turbo head... Will have more by next week. The package has already arrived in the customs, hope they don't hold it for long.



Good to know, Bryan. I'm ready for one of those!


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## lightbug (Jun 13, 2009)

*DHart,*
I think R2 WH tint is what you looking for. I have some Olight M20 that comes with WH R2. I believe they might be hand selected, because none of them are green but all yellowish. I like it even more than the WC tint. But again, some people might hate it because of the yellowish color. 

Buy a few WH tint R2 emitters online, then select the one with best tint and install it on any light you want to test out.


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## DHart (Jun 13, 2009)

lightbug said:


> *DHart,*
> I think R2 WH tint is what you looking for. I have some Olight M20 that comes with WH R2. I believe they might be hand selected, because none of them are green but all yellowish. I like it even more than the WC tint. But again, some people might hate it because of the yellowish color.
> 
> Buy a few WH tint R2 emitters online, then select the one with best tint and install it on any light you want to test out.



Bryan... knowing where you live, I can see you're a bit of a night owl (like I am)!  It's a Friday night 2:08 am in New York and you're on the forum! 

Ya know, I know could do those emitter swaps, but I don't know HOW to do them  otherwise, I'd probably have ordered up a few drivers and emitters from you and be messing with them. How about some sort of *"emitter-swapper-newbie-tutorial"* to help some of us get off the sidelines and into the real action? :shrug:


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## lightbug (Jun 13, 2009)

LOL, you got that right, I'm certainly a night owl alright. Myself is not so good with light modding either. Flashaholics like Black Rose could probably teach us more than any turtorial guide.


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## DHart (Jun 13, 2009)

lightbug said:


> LOL, you got that right, I'm certainly a night owl alright. Myself is not so good with light modding either. Flashaholics like Black Rose could probably teach us more than any turtorial guide.



OK, B R, there ya go! The opportunity yawns wide open!


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## Black Rose (Jun 13, 2009)

DHart said:


> Funny thing... as for myself, I've come to the point where I've decided I'm _not_ going to buy any more P60 compatible stuff... :tired: I think I've got too many P60 component parts at this point... so now I'm really drawn to the new and different designs.


My original idea was that I would buy a couple of P60 hosts and then I would simply buy new drop-ins as LED technology progressed. 
The idea was to stop accumulating so many lights. 
Once I got the P60 hosts, I discovered that they are not really suited for EDC use like I thought they would be.

Also, by modding some of the drop-ins I have I now have what I consider to be the perfect drop-in, so now I don't have a need to buy any more drop-ins for awhile. 

I'll just have to be more selective about what I buy in the future.
I'd have no problem buying more lights like the L-Mini II.



> I'm really envious at what you're doing with driver swaps and such!


If you saw the soldering job on the one I did last weekend you wouldn't be  
The tip broke off my soldering iron , so I had to get creative to finish the job.

Not sure I'd be the one to show you what to do....more like what not to do


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## dudu84 (Jun 13, 2009)

Black Rose said:


> The tip broke off my soldering iron


:lolsign:

Back to the topic, my longest 18650 cells are protected Trustfire and they fit in the L-mini 2 without any problem. Unprotected Trustfire is about 1.5-2mm shorter and obviously also works fine. The springs on the driver and tailcap do their jobs well :twothumbs

I think L-mini 2 has wide spill due to its shallow reflector (compared to other lights with similar reflector diameters)


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## neo_xeno (Jun 15, 2009)

is anybody else getting a flash when switching modes quickly? whenever i hit the switch quickly to change modes there's a quick flash right before it changes. if i hold the switch down a little bit before letting go it doesn't flash.


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## Mjolnir (Jun 15, 2009)

No, I can't say that I have seen any flash. If I slightly tap the switch when the light is on, the light briefly goes out, then goes to the next mode.


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## DHart (Jun 15, 2009)

no flash here either. Light works wonderfully as expected. Having a couple dozen or more LED flashlights (almost entirely with cool LEDs), I am stuck by the incandescent warmth my L-Mini gives out every time I turn it on. I've become so accustomed to the cool look of most LEDs that the warm incandescent look is not so expected anymore and takes me by surprise. It's a wonderful look, rendering colors beautifully, even if the contrast is softer (not so edgy as with cool LEDs).


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## Black Rose (Jun 15, 2009)

I don't recall seeing any flashes with my L-Mini II or the two P60 drop-ins that have the L-Mini II driver in them.

I've cycled quickly through them (hit all 3 modes in about 1 second) and do not see any flashes.


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## Lite_me (Jun 15, 2009)

I get no flashes either. :shrug:


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## netprince (Jun 15, 2009)

I definitely have the flashing. Wonder what that means??


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## Mjolnir (Jun 15, 2009)

It could be a contact issue of some kind... Did you try replacing the switch with the extra that was included with the light?
Also, how hard are you pressing the tailcap down to change modes? You only need a very light partial press to break the circuit (in fact, the shock of hitting the back of the tailcap will switch the mode, whether you hit the actual switch cap or not).


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## lightbug (Jun 18, 2009)

Which one is WC tint??? :nana:

L-mini II Xtreme Cree R2 WF Vs. L-mini II Cree Q5 WC


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## dudu84 (Jun 18, 2009)

lightbug said:


> Which one is WC tint??? :nana:
> 
> L-mini II Xtreme Cree R2 WF Vs. L-mini II Cree Q5 WC



I'll have to guess it's on the right


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## justlux (Jun 20, 2009)

Hi Guys, 

I’m new to EDC’s and looking for a few good lights. 

I received my L-Mini II Q5 with turbo head and I have been playing around with it for a little while now. I’m using the new AW 18650 2600 mAH battery. I haven’t got a light meter, but I have done a runtime test on high and it goes for 2 hours 32 mins before switching to low mode. The wide spill beam is very impressive, but the thing I find surprising is how well this throws with the standard head. This is a quite an achievement 

My L-Mini II Q5 remembers the last level in under one second and does not flash when changing modes. I really like this light and it fits in my handbag. The long runtime is very useful and its nice and bright too.
At the moment I am using the turbo head which fits nicely into my Surefire V21 holster. It throws really well and I would say its on par with my Dereelight CL1H R2 with SMO reflector in terms of throw, and the UI is easy and ideal for my small hands. The fit and finish of my L-Mini II is excellent, the knurling gives super grip without being too aggressive. I have no problems with the threads when changing the battery and I like that it tail stands without any trouble.

This is my favourite torch and I love it! :twothumbs

I prefer the look of the R2 beamshot above.

Thank you Bryan.

Jessica


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## Black Rose (Jun 20, 2009)

Jessica, thanks for the runtime information with the new AW 2600 mAh 18650 cells. 

Sounds like you've got yourself a nice collection of lights so far :thumbsup:


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## apontes (Jun 20, 2009)

Are there any commonly available filters and/or diffusers that would fit either head (regular / turbo)?


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## Bullzeyebill (Jun 20, 2009)

Jessica, welcome to CPF. So cool when a gal is into flashlights. :twothumbs:welcome:

Bill


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## Lermite (Jun 20, 2009)

apontes said:


> Are there any commonly available filters and/or diffusers that would fit either head (regular / turbo)?


A diffuser would be useless on the L-Mini II because the head can be easily removed by hand and the naked led provides a quite more efficient flooding beam than any diffuser on a reflector.


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## Lite_me (Jun 20, 2009)

Lermite said:


> A diffuser would be useless on the L-Mini II because the head can be easily removed by hand and the naked led provides a quite more efficient flooding beam than any diffuser on a reflector.


This may be true, but it leaves the LED exposed and venerable to damage. If you're suggesting to remove the head, then unscrew and remove the reflector and then replace the head, then that requires a fair amount of work. Not something that can be easily swapped. Something quick and easy is what is needed and is probably what apontes is looking for.


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## apontes (Jun 20, 2009)

Lite_me said:


> This may be true, but it leaves the LED exposed and venerable to damage. If you're suggesting to remove the head, then unscrew and remove the reflector and then replace the head, then that requires a fair amount of work. Not something that can be easily swapped. Something quick and easy is what is needed and is probably what apontes is looking for.



Actually, I had in mind the "wand" diffusers that I have for my Fenixes. And specially the red *filter*.

For the regular head, Fenix accessories for LxD/LDxx fit quite well, if you carefuly sand them a little in the inside (the ridges prevent them from fitting out of the box). :naughty:

Gonna research options for the turbo head now. I'll keep you posted, in case anyone else has the same needs.


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## apontes (Jun 20, 2009)

Lermite said:


> A diffuser would be useless on the L-Mini II because the head can be easily removed by hand and the naked led provides a quite more efficient flooding beam than any diffuser on a reflector.



Yes, you're right in that regard. I like lights that can be used in candle mode with the bare emitter.

The L-Mini II is awesome, offers a lot of flexibility. Liked it so much I'll be getting another one next month. Guess I'll have to blame Lermite for that. :devil:


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## recDNA (Jun 20, 2009)

I love the shape of this flashlight. In a flashlight that uses just one 18650 I like it to be small. Theoretically, could they put an MC-E LED in a body like this to produce brighter light?

The MG PLI MC-E produces more light from the same size battery but it has a bigger square body and larger head. Perhaps you must have that shape to accommodate the more powerful LED?

Anyway, if it were possible to just put an MC-E and controller in a nice tube shape like that it would be great. I may well buy this flashlight just because I like the shape of it so much. I'm not into tactical heads at all.

Thanks for the great review. (Why don't they have a smilie for thanks?)

I see there is already a link to your review on one of the sites that sells this flashlight.


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## Black Rose (Jun 20, 2009)

recDNA said:


> (Why don't they have a smilie for thanks?)


You mean like this? :thanks:


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## DHart (Jun 20, 2009)

Jessica... thank you for the runtime and thanks for helping me spend another $45 bucks! I didn't realize that an R2 version was available until now and having the warm Q3 version, decided I also wanted a high output, whiter L-Mini.... paypal was sent and an R2 EXTREME will join me soon....


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## Mjolnir (Jun 20, 2009)

recDNA said:


> I love the shape of this flashlight. In a flashlight that uses just one 18650 I like it to be small. Theoretically, could they put an MC-E LED in a body like this to produce brighter light?
> 
> The MG PLI MC-E produces more light from the same size battery but it has a bigger square body and larger head. Perhaps you must have that shape to accommodate the more powerful LED?
> 
> ...



Shiningbeam actually sold an "experimental" MC-E version of the L-mini II right when they came out, but he only had a few of them available and they are all gone. However, they did get pretty hot, so he recommended not running them continuously (or the LED would be damaged). That is why he hasn't made them available to the general public; people would wonder why their lights broke after leaving them on for 20 minutes.

Also, apparently the Olight T25 diffuser fits almost perfectly on the L-mini II.


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## netprince (Jun 20, 2009)

I've been using this light for about a week now. I leave the turbo head on because I like the format better. Today I realized that the turbo head can be de-focused for a pretty nice flood pattern. I've been using the light in tailstand mode also, works great. I'm going to have to buy another MG light... :twothumbs


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## DHart (Jun 21, 2009)

My first MG was the L-Mini II with Q3 warm emitter. I love the warmth, but also craved a Mini with the brightest, white light, so I just ordered the Extreme R2. I noticed when doing so, that I didn't find any other L-Minis available on Bryan's site other than the R2... Bryan... are you out of stock or are the other emitter versions being phased out?


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## Mjolnir (Jun 21, 2009)

He sold out the first batch of the Q3 version, and the manufacturer was having trouble finding more Q3-5C's. However, I believe they located some, and he will be getting a second batch. You can check the marketplace thread on the L-mini II for more info.


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## DHart (Jun 21, 2009)

Mjolnir said:


> He sold out the first batch of the Q3 version, and the manufacturer was having trouble finding more Q3-5C's. However, I believe they located some, and he will be getting a second batch. You can check the marketplace thread on the L-mini II for more info.



Cool... thank you.


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## DHart (Jun 22, 2009)

Played with flashlights tonight and thought I'd share this to show how my L-Mini Q3 beam looks as compared to other popular lights. Unfortunately, my L-Mini R2 hasn't arrived yet, so it's not included.


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## TooManyGizmos (Jun 22, 2009)

I guess you don't have a L-mini II Q5 to include in there ?

.


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## jhc37013 (Jun 22, 2009)

This light is really starting to appeal to me, think I am gonna have to get one. I really wish it did not have a memory I like to start in low mode but since its only three modes it don't take much effort to change a mode or two before turning it off.

Can someone describe the included holster or give a link to some pics. Is it a flip down top or open top?


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## jhc37013 (Jun 22, 2009)

TooManyGizmos said:


> I guess you don't have a L-mini II Q5 to include in there ?
> 
> .



+1 on that, maybe a Q5 pic please if you have one.

Nice work DHart


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## DHart (Jun 22, 2009)

jhc37013 said:


> +1 on that, maybe a Q5 pic please if you have one.
> 
> Nice work DHart



Sorry, I don't have a Q5.. but I have an R2 on the way from Bryan.... I'll add that when I can.


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## Lite_me (Jun 22, 2009)

jhc37013 said:


> .
> Can someone describe the included holster or give a link to some pics. Is it a flip down top or open top?


It's a flip down top w/ Velcro. Pretty small. It won't accommodate the light with the turbo head on it. The flap won't close.


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## LEDAdd1ct (Jun 23, 2009)

Wow, DHart; nice work!


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## DHart (Jun 23, 2009)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> Wow, DHart; nice work!



Glad you like... hope it's helpful.


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## DHart (Jun 25, 2009)

I received my L-Mini II Extreme R2 from Bryan today. Output tests (ceiling bounce) put my two Minis at:

Q3 emitter 4.6 EV
R2 emitter 4.9 EV

Keep in mind that a difference of 1.0 EV represents a doubling or halving of output.... so there's about a 30% increase in output going from the Q3 to the R2. This is a noticible difference in use.

When used outdoors on farther subjects, the R2 version clearly offers greater illumination and a bit better contrast. I love the warm tint of my Q3, but it will serve better indoors as a ceiling bounce night light in the evenings, whereas my R2 version will be the clear choice for outdoor use and subjects at any distance. It's a luxury to have both.


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## DHart (Jun 26, 2009)

I installed a deeper, black boot (from DX) in one of my Minis and it makes activation a lot easier, though precludes tailstanding. Also... with the longer central stub on the inside of the boot, I cannot use the slightly longer Trustfire 2400 mAh black/red cells as the light is constant on with this new switch boot. But the slightly shorter AW 2200 mAh protected cells works just fine with the extended boot.

I keep the standard boot on my Q3 model as a nightstand ceiling bounce light... wonderful, warm glowing light during bedtime reading and such.

The R2 version I use for going outside on the property or taking on roadtrips and such. If I had to choose one or the other (Q3 vs. R2) I would take the R2 for sure... for the greater output and higher contrast - most useful when outdoors.

These are phenomenal lights.. I love the small form factor, very long runtimes, and three levels, tailstand if you want it too. Awesome utility in a light for a relatively low price.

Still haven't tried the turbo head... don't really feel the need for one, but I'm sure I'll go for one sometime. :ironic:


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## Black Rose (Jun 26, 2009)

DHart said:


> I installed a deeper, black boot (from DX) in one of my Minis and it makes activation a lot easier, though precludes tailstanding. Also... with the longer central stub on the inside of the boot, I cannot use the slightly longer Trustfire 2400 mAh black/red cells as the light is constant on with this new switch boot.


Does the new boot prevent the retaining ring from being screwed in as far as the standard one?


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## DHart (Jun 26, 2009)

Black Rose said:


> Does the new boot prevent the retaining ring from being screwed in as far as the standard one?



I'll have to double check if the retaining ring is as deep as it can go.

Yes, the black/red protected Trustfires are awesome cells... got one in an L2 R2-M as we speak. The other is in my nightstand Q3 L-Mini.

EDITED TO ADD:

I trimmed the center post of the boot a little more... that made the difference; now I have a Trustfire protected 2400 mAh in each of my minis. Gotta LOVE the runtime with this combination of light and cell!


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## Lermite (Jun 26, 2009)

I was curious to see the difference between the Q5 WC of the stock version of L-Mini II and a R2 WH in the same flashlight. So I replaced the Q5 of my L-Mini II by a R2 WH.
Here is the result:

Q5 WC:





R2 WH:





The R2's power is below the Q5's, but the tint is quite better and makes the colors nicer.


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## DHart (Jun 26, 2009)

Hmmm... wondering how the R2 WF in my Mini compares to the R2 WH... looking at the CREE chart, it looks like WF will be a bit bluer and WH a bit yellower. I need to do a beamshot to compare with my beamshot collection above.


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## DHart (Jun 27, 2009)

I finally got a few minutes to add a beamshot from my L-Mini R2 to my comparison pic:


----------



## lightbug (Jun 28, 2009)

*Dude84,*
The R2 version is actually on the left. Have you notice the beam pattern of the R2 is little bit less ringy? I guess that kills the extra few lumens due to deeper reflector.

*Justlux,*
Thanks for sharing your experience Jessica.lovecpf

*recDNA,*
Using the same driver, L-mini II with MC-E emitter doesn't produce more light than the Q5. That's why I don't want to offer the MC-E version.

*Dhart,*
Thanks for the efforts of taking all those beam shots.

*Lermite,*
I also like the R2 WH yellowish tint myself, more than the WC tint. The only problem with WH tint is some of them could be very greenish.


----------



## Meltdown (Jun 28, 2009)

any pocket clip for this?

thanks everyone, great info.


----------



## tomacco (Jul 7, 2009)

Well, I was definitely impressed by this thread so I ordered me an r2 mini (my most expensive flashlight yet).
Bad news for me though, when it arrived (real quick btw) i noticed a dark spot near the center of the hot spot. I had to set it to low and stare at the r2 emitter for a while til my eyes adjusted. Then, I noticed some smudges on the glass covering the emitter (no biggie, I could just clean that), but I also noticed that a dark spot was actually on the emitter itself. 
seems where one of the tiny wires enters the yellowish area, a small (i mean small) dark spot is clearly visible.

I don't have a way of testing the amount of light coming from the flashlight, but it is clearly the dimmest r2 I own. In fact, all of my p4 flashlights clearly give off more potent light.

I knew the l mini 2 wasn't going to knock my cocks off (as far as output), but I feel that something is wrong with the one I got.

Does anyone else have the same problem?


----------



## jahxman (Jul 8, 2009)

tomacco said:


> Does anyone else have the same problem?


 
No, I have a Q5 and an R2 and both are just as bright as my comparable lights on High.


----------



## apontes (Jul 8, 2009)

tomacco said:


> I knew the l mini 2 wasn't going to knock my cocks off (as far as output), but I feel that something is wrong with the one I got.
> 
> Does anyone else have the same problem?





jahxman said:


> No, I have a Q5 and an R2 and both are just as bright as my comparable lights on High.



Same here. 

These two are my best all-around lights. I keep the Q5 with turbo head at home and the R2 with regular head is my EDC.

I recall reading that the R2 version would have longer runtime. Is that confirmed?


----------



## smegs (Jul 10, 2009)

I'd like to comment on the issue of thread quality. My L-Mini I saw a year of hard use and I changed the battery almost daily. That means the the tail cap was on and off at least 300 times. That's 600 incidents of thread travel. The threads are still in great shape. No problems whatsoever. I sure hope the L-Mini stays the same. Aside from new improved emitters and/or drivers (when they become available), there's not a thing I would change on this light.


----------



## DHart (Jul 10, 2009)

smegs said:


> I'd like to comment on the issue of thread quality. My L-Mini I saw a year of hard use and I changed the battery almost daily. That means the the tail cap was on and off at least 300 times. That's 600 incidents of thread travel. The threads are still in great shape. No problems whatsoever. I sure hope the L-Mini stays the same. Aside from new improved emitters and/or drivers (when they become available), there's not a thing I would change on this light.



Good to hear. While better (square shoulder) threads would be nice to have, it sounds like the existing threads are adequate. Great light!


----------



## Black Rose (Jul 10, 2009)

Last weekend I ended up in the dark and had to do a battery swap...no problems at all with the threads.


----------



## justlux (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi Guys,

I've just come back from my holiday in the States and was wondering if i should buy an L Mini R2 to match my Q5 version?

Jessica


----------



## DHart (Jul 16, 2009)

justlux said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I've just come back from my holiday in the States and was wondering if i should buy an L Mini R2 to match my Q5 version?
> 
> Jessica



You won't gain significant utility adding the R2 to the Q5... if I were you I'd add the Q3 warm version... the warm tint is wonderful!


----------



## apontes (Jul 16, 2009)

DHart said:


> You won't gain significant utility adding the R2 to the Q5... if I were you I'd add the Q3 warm version... the warm tint is wonderful!



The R2 seems, to my naked eye, a tad brighter then the Q5, but if there is a difference, its very subtle.

Also consider that the new Q3 warm version has a new design that doesn't let you use the turbo head. Pill seems to be inside the head now.


----------



## jhc37013 (Jul 18, 2009)

Has there been any lux readings comparing the R2 and the Q3?

I believe I read the Q3 is rated 200 lumens and the R2 is 250 but I would like to see lux readings on high.

I gotta have one of these 18650 powered EDC lights just not sure which one yet.


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## apontes (Jul 18, 2009)

jhc37013 said:


> Has there been any lux readings comparing the R2 and the Q3?
> 
> I believe I read the Q3 is rated 200 lumens and the R2 is 250 but I would like to see lux readings on high.
> 
> I gotta have one of these 18650 powered EDC lights just not sure which one yet.



Only place I have seen numbers is http://light-reviews.com/l-mini_2/. That is the Q5 version. Expect the Q3 to be slightly dimmer.

I didn't get this light for the lumens, though. What really hooked me was the form factor, runtime on low, convenience of 18650 batts. EDC written all over it... 

I keep an R2 version in my backpack or briefcase 24/7, and at home I leave the Q5 version with the turbo head. With the turbo head installed, the form factor is even better imo (not so EDC friendly, though). 

Have also a Q3 version on its way. New version was just an excuse to get another of these awesome lights. I don't really have a preference for warm tint.


----------



## jhc37013 (Jul 18, 2009)

I went ahead and ordered the R2 if I like the UI and beam pattern I will order a Q3.

The two things I like about the light is the 18650 battery and the fact you don't have to twist the head to get to high (turbo). If I had one thing to complain about with my PD30 is I grow tired of twisting head to turbo. Thats the only complaint though.


----------



## PLI (Jul 23, 2009)

HI 

I'm looking for beamshots of the Q3 version :twothumbs
I want to see the difference beetweet the Q3 version
and the R2 version... I hope the Q3 version has
a nice tint


----------



## Black Rose (Jul 23, 2009)

EDIT: Never mind...DHart posted the image in the next post


----------



## DHart (Jul 23, 2009)

PLI said:


> HI I'm looking for beamshots of the Q3 version. I want to see the difference beetweet the Q3 version and the R2 version... I hope the Q3 version has a nice tint



I think I may have posted this earlier in the thread, but if not, here it is. And if so, here it is again:


----------



## jhc37013 (Jul 23, 2009)

Got an R2 today it came very quickly and nothing fancy just a light in a holster and a baggy with o-rings and lanyard all in padded envelope. 

No imperfections everything seems great quality can't wait until dark.


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## jhc37013 (Jul 23, 2009)

I have only had about 5 mins. outside time with it so far will get some more later. First impression is a really good one. The tailcap design is the best I've seen yet, love the recess for the boot and the whole for the lanyard is really awsome, why knowone else has done that is beyond me.

Output is great not sure its 250 lumens but its somewhere around there maybe 230-240. Compared to my PD30 not as much throw but really close. As for flood/spill the Mini has a larger spill area and I think it may in fact even be slightly brighter than the PD30.Tint is nice very neutral maybe a bit on the cool side. Its truly a nice EDC light.

The only complaint I have is the reflector, mine has a few lumps and one scratch. Also it doesnt seem to be well polished, I don't think any of this affect's performance though. This is a near perfect EDC light.

I'm not a big fan of the holsters that have a flip up top I like the quick draw holsters that Fenix use to use, anyway the P3D holster fit's the Mini perfect


----------



## dudu84 (Jul 23, 2009)

Has anyone tested the voltage protection of L-mini 2 on unprotected 18650?

My 5C-Q3 version shuts off when my TF 2500mAh drops to 3.00v (open voltage). However, in my spear clone with L-mini 2 driver, another cell (they are of the same pair) was at 2.62v  when the light cut off. I understand that some batteries have protection circuits kick in around 2.4-2.5V so 2.62 isn't dangerously low, but I expected the circuits to shut down at 2.8v :shrug:. Note that both batteries then recharged and have been functioning as normal since then.


----------



## jhc37013 (Jul 23, 2009)

dudu84 said:


> Has anyone tested the voltage protection of L-mini 2 on unprotected 18650?
> 
> My 5C-Q3 version shuts off when my TF 2500mAh drops to 3.00v (open voltage). However, in my spear clone with L-mini 2 driver, another cell (they are of the same pair) was at 2.62v  when the light cut off. I understand that some batteries have protection circuits kick in around 2.4-2.5V so 2.62 isn't dangerously low, but I expected the circuits to shut down at 2.8v :shrug:




I believe I read somewhere in this link at the marketplace about that, not sure which page though.

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=194446


----------



## Mjolnir (Jul 23, 2009)

Are these readings without load? I think that the general consensus is that 3.6V without load is a "depleted" cell. 3 V without load means that the cell is overdischarged. 

If you are not using unprotected cells in both, than it is likely that the protection circuit in one or both of the cells themselves is tripping.


----------



## dudu84 (Jul 23, 2009)

Mjolnir said:


> Are these readings without load? I think that the general consensus is that 3.6V without load is a "depleted" cell. 3 V without load means that the cell is overdischarged.
> 
> If you are not using unprotected cells in both, than it is likely that the protection circuit in one or both of the cells themselves is tripping.



Yep they are without load voltage as I have no equipment to measure under-load v.
Both batteries are unprotected and normally I don't do deep discharges like this but this was for break-in charges :]

EDIT:I just tested my Spear clone that has LM2 driver with some CR123 primaries; I used 1 cell with 1 dummy. 

Results:
WF [email protected] 2.71v without load: Light has rapid blink, but doesn't shutdown automatically, can not change mode (batteries from DX, only suitable for low current)
WF [email protected] 2.97v without load: Light works on Lo, can not go to Mid or Hi modes.
Panasonic [email protected] 3.1v without load: Light works on Lo and Mid, can not go to Hi

As I can't measure the under-load voltage, I don't know if these results were of any use.


----------



## yellow (Jul 24, 2009)

doh.
Have just plunged into that "new" version, which I did not put any eye on till now because of the memory.
Now, with all the cheers regarding improved mechanical work and ESPECIALLY the automatic switching into low, instead of stopping the light competely like most other 18650 ones, have read this whole thread - and know that I wont like it.

Got both the L-Mini I versions because of all the cheers then and the low price and was immediately disappointed. 
While the threads work, using them is akward for my taste (nowhere near SF, Fenix, Jetbeam, Mag, not even the Inovas I got for less than the L-minis), also the 18650 one featured a body too short to house some of my protected cells, had to shorten the stiff spring inside and still not too good.

With reading all the pages of this thread, both these - very personal - "problems" are mentionned again, so ...
Is it really this difficult to add 1 mm to body lenght and/or to use a normal working spring inside?
And to make the threads a tiny bit better, so that they also feel a bit "working", even when the o-rings are not yet covered by the trail cap? I dont need threads like jetbeam's, it would be enough when they seem to harmonize with their counterpart.

waiting for version III


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## jhc37013 (Jul 24, 2009)

To me the threads are ok not the best but nothing I'm worried about, they almost feel like Fenix.

The AW 2200 fits fine but I just tried a Eagletac 2400 and smashed the spring all the way down into the head and I didn't even tighten it down all the way. So there is concern for long 18650.


----------



## dudu84 (Jul 24, 2009)

yellow said:


> doh.
> Have just plunged into that "new" version, which I did not put any eye on till now because of the memory.
> Now, with all the cheers regarding improved mechanical work and ESPECIALLY the automatic switching into low, instead of stopping the light competely like most other 18650 ones, have read this whole thread - and know that I wont like it.
> 
> ...



Is your "new" version the one with square threads?

I agree that when using protected 18650s, it's not easy to tighten the tailcap but for me it's just a small problem. Apparently, the issue is that you can not start screwing the tailcap unless the threads are meshed first, which wasn't exactly easy for ppl not used to it, due to the resistances from both springs.

Regarding the circuit, I think the whole point of auto switching to Lo mode is to warn the user about almost exhausted battery, so you won't be stuck in complete darkness. This feature is particularly useful for using unprotected 18650s (1.5-2.0mm shorter than protected) to "possibly" avoid over-discharge.

Just my 2c


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## jhc37013 (Jul 24, 2009)

Yeh it seems the threads like it better when you screw the body into the tailcap and not the tailcap into the body. Its just the two o-rings that provide the resistance and not the threads. I like the idea of two o-rings so the resistance is fine with me.


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## trailstoride (Jul 24, 2009)

dudu84 said:


> Has anyone tested the voltage protection of L-mini 2 on unprotected 18650?
> 
> My 5C-Q3 version shuts off when my TF 2500mAh drops to 3.00v (open voltage). However, in my spear clone with L-mini 2 driver, another cell (they are of the same pair) was at 2.62v  when the light cut off.


I did some testing with some 2 year old unprotected 2400mAH cells. When my L-Mini II 5C-Q3 switches to low from high, the battery measured 3.4V with no load. When the light shuts off on low, the battery measured 3.15V with no load.

Run times starting with the battery charged to 4.15V were 2 hours 8 minutes on high, and 7 hours 15 minutes on medium, and 66 hours on low. 

The medium test ran 30 more minutes on low before the light shut off. I terminated the high test after 3 hours, and the light was still running on low.


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## PLI (Jul 24, 2009)

DHart said:


> I think I may have posted this earlier in the thread, but if not, here it is. And if so, here it is again:


ThX Really nice tint 

It's a pity that this flashlight has no Q3 ( or Q2) 5A version ...


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## dudu84 (Jul 24, 2009)

trailstoride said:


> I did some testing with some 2 year old unprotected 2400mAH cells. When my L-Mini II 5C-Q3 switches to low from high, the battery measured 3.4V with no load. When the light shuts off on low, the battery measured 3.15V with no load.
> 
> Run times starting with the battery charged to 4.15V were 2 hours 8 minutes on high, and 7 hours 15 minutes on medium, and 66 hours on low.
> 
> The medium test ran 30 more minutes on low before the light shut off. I terminated the high test after 3 hours, and the light was still running on low.



Interesting! It seems the voltage protection is all over the places. I wonder if the Vf of the LED and batteries have anything to do with that :thinking:, though they shouldn't at all.


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## jhc37013 (Jul 24, 2009)

I got a turbo head for the Mini and a PLI in today. First off the mimi with turbo head is a heck of a thrower while still maintaining a nice beam, I'm very impressed with it. 

However I'm not so impressed with the PLI. The output is suppose to be 700 lumen but so is my Olight M30 and the PLI isn't really that close to output as my M30. Even forgetting the output the lens is very milky and its on the inside and I think the head is sealed. Huge donut in hotspot also.


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## gem (Jul 26, 2009)

ernsanada said:


> You can also get an optional Turbo Head.


 
The Shiningbeam.com page says, the turbo head won't work with the new mini!

***One of the smallest 18650 LED Flashlight***
***This new version has improved threads, switch and anodizing***
*** Revised circuit board for maximum runtime on high** *
* Features a CREE XR-E Q3 5C warm white Emitter
* 200 Lumens on high mode
* Compatible with 1 x 18650 or 1 x 17670 
* Voltage input 2.8 - 5.5V
* 3 Modes: low >mid>high
* Current output: 40mA on low, 350mA on medium and 1,000 mA on high
* Perfect regulated circuit for constant current output
* Built in voltage protection, will cut off at 2.8V
* Reverse-polarity protection prevents wrongly installed battery from damaging the circuit
* HA III anodizing 
* G.I.D Tailcap 
* Tail clicky switch 
* It can tail stand 
* The memory feature will memorize the last mode 
* Toughened ultra clear glass lens with 98% transmission rate 
* Orange peel alumium reflector offers smooth beam pattern
* Comes with accessories: holster, switch, o-rings, lanyard, silicone boot
** L-Mini II has larger body tube to accommodate the protected 18650 Li-Ion cells**
** The *turbo head is not compatible with this new version of L-mini II*** *? ? ? ? ?*
**Do not use 2 x CR123A/RCR123A batteries in this light** 


Dimensions: 11.3cm x 2.2cm x 2.2cm 

but the pic shows it can?


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## recDNA (Jul 26, 2009)

jhc37013 said:


> I got a turbo head for the Mini and a PLI in today. First off the mimi with turbo head is a heck of a thrower while still maintaining a nice beam, I'm very impressed with it.
> 
> However I'm not so impressed with the PLI. The output is suppose to be 700 lumen but so is my Olight M30 and the PLI isn't really that close to output as my M30. Even forgetting the output the lens is very milky and its on the inside and I think the head is sealed. Huge donut in hotspot also.


 
You can eliminate the donut (or at least I can) by "focusing" the bezel.

I'm guessing around 450 lumens but that ain't bad for such a small light. It blows away other lights I have that are the sane size but doesn't compare to a TK40.


----------



## Tac (Jul 26, 2009)

That picture is confusing the heck outta me. It looks like a great fit.. but the writing says it shouldn't even be there. Strange. Maybe that isn't it...


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## pmoore (Jul 26, 2009)

Got mine Friday. I must agree with all the positive things that have been said so far. I like the slim and turbo head. Both serve a purpose very well. 

Paul


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## PLI (Jul 26, 2009)

gem said:


> The Shiningbeam.com page says, the turbo head won't work with the new mini!
> 
> but the pic shows it can?


 
I think that It can't. 
I was told that if you want the new L-mini II
with the Q3 5C emmiter and want to use the
turbo head anyway , you can buy the R2 version
and a turbo head and a Q3 5C emmiter at shiningbeam
and change yourself the emmiter. 

However , I think that it's not advised because
it's a risky operation and you can fail :mecry:


----------



## Black Rose (Jul 26, 2009)

gem said:


> The Shiningbeam.com page says, the turbo head won't work with the new mini!
> 
> but the pic shows it can?


There are two design versions of the L-Mini II.

The previous Q5-WC and current R2 version works with the Turbo Head because the LED and driver are in the flashlight body.

The Q3-5C version has the LED and driver in the head, so the Turbo Head will not work with that version.


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## gem (Jul 26, 2009)

Black Rose said:


> There are two design versions of the L-Mini II.
> 
> The previous Q5-WC and current R2 version works with the Turbo Head because the LED and driver are in the flashlight body.
> 
> The Q3-5C version has the LED and driver in the head, so the Turbo Head will not work with that version.


Yup BlackRose, my bad, I assumed that just cause they have the same front number model " L-Mini-II" they were both the same and yes the model is the same but the specific model item the mini-II difference is R3 and Q3-5C. The R3 can use the turbohead. Like allways , it's in the details that counts.


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## gem (Jul 27, 2009)

Black Rose said:


> There are two design versions of the L-Mini II.
> The previous Q5-WC and current R2 version works with the Turbo Head because the LED and driver are in the flashlight body.
> The Q3-5C version has the LED and driver in the head, so the Turbo Head will not work with that version.


I ordered the MG L-Mini II R2 and turbohead today. Within 2 hrs, I got a E-mail from Bryan showing me the UPS shipping number and telling me it is shipping out the door tomorrow. Wow, fast response, just like BatteryJunction does.


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## Zeruel (Jul 28, 2009)

I've just received my MG L-Mini II Q3. The HA is absolutely stunning. I have a thing for matt HA and this is like the king of matt ano (well, the other I saw was a Surefire). 

Beam is almost free of artefact except for a faint corona. Emitter is aligned center. The switch is like MG PLI, requires just the right amount of soft pressure to activate. Square threads and double o-rings. What's there not to like?

Some minor issues are slight ano mismatch (very minor, no big deal), sharp corners at the lanyard ring recess and 2 slight dents on tailcap end where it joins the body. For anyone who likes a simple tubular form, this 18650 light is recommended. A nice host for future mod too.


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## apontes (Jul 28, 2009)

Nice pics. 

Thanks for taking the time!


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## DHart (Jul 28, 2009)

Yes, Zeruel, nice work my friend. Appreciate your sharing those.


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## Zeruel (Jul 28, 2009)

apontes said:


> Nice pics.
> 
> Thanks for taking the time!





DHart said:


> Yes, Zeruel, nice work my friend. Appreciate your sharing those.



My pleasure (& for yours), guys.


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## Justin Case (Aug 20, 2009)

Black Rose and DHart, any photos of the driver board for this light? Is the mode switching logic built into the driver or is it in the tail switch?


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## TooManyGizmos (Aug 20, 2009)

It is not in the tail switch.


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## Black Rose (Aug 20, 2009)

Justin Case said:


> Black Rose and DHart, any photos of the driver board for this light? Is the mode switching logic built into the driver or is it in the tail switch?


I still have one that hasn't been installled in a module yet. I'll try to remember to take a photo of it when I get home.

The switching logic is in the driver.


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## LEDAdd1ct (Aug 23, 2009)

I can't find mine.  I am *sure* I packed it on the way back from North Carolina after a week by Kerr Lake, but I don't know where it is. It's not in the garage or family room...I'll have to scour my bedroom again. This was/is one of my absolute favorite lights. Medium and high (5C) in the woods are totally awesome. 

If I can't find it, I guess I'll be waiting on the next batch.

EDIT: Found it!


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## hazna (Aug 24, 2009)

My L-mini II has survived it's first drop!

I had too many things in my hands and I dropped my L-mini II on to hard concrete floor. There is now a large chip in the anodisation on the edge of the tailcap, but I am happy to report it is still working fine. :twothumbs


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## jhc37013 (Aug 25, 2009)

hazna said:


> My L-mini II has survived it's first drop!
> 
> I had too many things in my hands and I dropped my L-mini II on to hard concrete floor. There is now a large chip in the anodisation on the edge of the tailcap, but I am happy to report it is still working fine. :twothumbs



This is why I always use the lanyard. Use to not like them but after a couple drops of some of my favorite lights a lanyard is a must for me.

Glad to hear it survived though.


----------



## NonSenCe (Nov 29, 2009)

just to bump this up.. 

i came back to search the runtimes of this.. and still was amazed of the low runtime of 60+ hours. 

i keep liking mine.. 

there is 3 now.. all warm tints. 

the one scratched and abused edc that i mentioned in the beginning of this thread.. (and yeah i still sometimes keep pushing the lense to turn it on. hah)

one that has the turbo head. and is the backup if the primary one fails.

and the mc-e warm tint version.. the "wow cool toy" factor light.


----------



## liketotallyrandom (Jan 3, 2010)

Does anyone know the mass of the L-Mini II with the Turbo head installed? (also, please specify if it is with or without battery)


----------



## Swedpat (Jan 3, 2010)

I like the design of this flashlight, and the knurling is great!


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## Lermite (Jan 3, 2010)

liketotallyrandom said:


> Does anyone know the mass of the L-Mini II with the Turbo head installed? (also, please specify if it is with or without battery)


L-Mini II with standard head, without battery: 64.4 g / 2.27 oz
L-Mini II with standard head, with battery: 110 g / 3.88 oz
L-Mini II with Turbo head, without battery: 84.1 g / 2.97 oz
L-Mini II with Turbo head, with battery: 129.6 g / 4.57 oz


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## srolesen (Jan 3, 2010)

the light looks like just what i'm after, and at 1/3 of the budget  but then i noticed lumen/runtimes. and it looks like it does something like 52 lumen/watt is that right ?


----------



## Curious (Jan 14, 2010)

srolesen said:


> the light looks like just what i'm after, and at 1/3 of the budget  but then i noticed lumen/runtimes. and it looks like it does something like 52 lumen/watt is that right ?



Since nobody else seems to be responding...

The cell used for the runtime graph shown at the start of this thread was rated at 2500 mAh, and I would estimate it to have an energy capacity of about 9.0 Wh. On high, the L-Mini II ran for 2 hours 17 minutes, or 2.283 hours. If we assume that the amount of energy remaining in the cell after switching to low is negligible, we can compute the power consumption as 9.0 Wh / 2.283 h = 3.94 W.

The claimed output (of the R2 edition of the L-Mini II) on high is 250 lumen. 250 lumen / 3.94 W = 63 lumen/W. For the Q3-5C Neutral White version the claimed output is 200 lumen, which would mean about 51 lumen/W.

So your estimate of 52 lumen/W looks about right.

Do you have a problem with that? That ratio seems pretty typical of LED flashlights that produce 200 lumen from a single emitter. Maybe some of the R5 lights would yield figures better by 20%, but nothing dramatic. 

Speaking of R5, any chance of an L-Mini II batch made using the R5 emitter? Or better yet the S2 emitter?


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## Hack On Wheels (Jan 28, 2010)

For anyone who is interested, the dimensions of the reflector in the L-Mini turbohead are:

24.8mm, approximate length/height
28.2mm, approximate diameter (based on ID of threaded section in the head)

I think the actual diameter of the reflector was around 28.4mm (including threads), but the above dimensions will be of more use if you want to swap another emitter in.

Also, the closest fitting reflector I've come across seems to be the McR-27XR with a diameter of 27.43mm and a length of 24.70mm. I haven't tested this for fit and function yet, but I hope to do so soon.


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## srolesen (Jan 29, 2010)

Curious said:


> So your estimate of 52 lumen/W looks about right.
> 
> Do you have a problem with that? That ratio seems pretty typical of LED flashlights that produce 200 lumen from a single emitter. Maybe some of the R5 lights would yield figures better by 20%, but nothing dramatic.
> 
> Speaking of R5, any chance of an L-Mini II batch made using the R5 emitter? Or better yet the S2 emitter?


i never knew that! 
i thought the standard would be like 80 lumen/w and maybe 90 with the new R5
where do you look up a benchmarks like that ?


----------



## Curious (Jan 29, 2010)

srolesen said:


> i never knew that!
> i thought the standard would be like 80 lumen/w and maybe 90 with the new R5
> where do you look up a benchmarks like that ?



Typical flashlight efficiency? I don't know - I just picked out a couple of recent popular ~200 lumen flashlights that have been reviewed, and did the same computations that I showed above for the L-Mini II. For example, the 4sevens Quark AA2: http://www.light-reviews.com/4sevens_quarkaa_2/ produces 196 lumen on two Eneloop cells, which store about 2.16 Wh each, and output was maintained for 56 minutes, so that makes a power consumption of 2 * 2.16 Wh * 0.933 h = 4.03 W, hence 196 lumen / 4.03 W = 48.6 lumen/W (and it uses an R5, so it ought to be 20% better than the L-Mini II other things being equal).

Starting from the opposite end, Cree rate their R2 emitter at 114 lumen when operated at 350 mA with the junction at 25 degrees C. The typical forward voltage at 350 mA is 3.2 V, so the power is 3.2 V * 0.35 A = 1.12 W, leading to a specification of 114 lumen / 1.12 W = 102 lumen/W. However, flashlights don't usually manage to keep the emitter junction at 25 degrees C; indeed, to get the flashlight as bright as possible, my guess is that the emitter junction is allowed to rise to near the upper limit, with just a small margin of safety. The specifications claim a maximum junction temperature of 150 degrees C, so let's assume the flashlight aims for 125 degrees C when the ambient temperature is a comfortable 25 degrees C. At 125 degrees C junction temperature, the efficiency drops to 75%, so we are down to 0.75 * 102 lumen/W = 76 lumen/W. However, that is at 350 mA. When driven to 700 mA (the maximum current that a white emitter is supposed to run at according to Cree!) the efficiency drops to 87%. Cree doesn't specify how much efficiency drops when the emitter is driven above 700 mA, but extrapolating their curve my estimate would be about 81% at 1000 mA. So we are now down to 76 lumen/W * 0.81 = 62 lumen/W. To make matters worse, this was only allowing for less light per mA; we must also allow for the higher forward voltage. At 350 Ma the forward voltage is 3.2 V, at 700 mA the forward voltage is 3.4 V, so at 1000 mA we might guess the forward voltage would be about 3.6 V. This means the power is increased by a ratio of 3.6/3.2, so the overall efficiency is down to 62 lumen/W * 3.2/3.6 = 55 lumen/W. This is the absolute best that a perfect flashlight can do with a standard specification R2 emitter.

Next we must allow for electrical losses. To drive an emitter from a single lithium cell requires a boost circuit after the first few minutes, and either a buck circuit or a linear regulator for the times when the cell voltage exceeds the emitter voltage. I suspect, given comments about the L-Mini II getting hotter with two 3 V disposable cells, it uses a linear regulator to simply waste energy when there is any excess voltage? It is a trade-off - if the cell voltage is significantly above the emitter voltage for a long time then a boost/buck regulator will be more efficient, but if the cell voltage is usually less then a boost/linear regulator may end up being more efficient. If we assume the linear regulator is not normally active, a top boost regulator might manage as much as 95% efficiency. 55 lumen/W * 0.95 = 52 lumen/W.

Finally we must allow for optical losses - no reflector or lens will be perfect. I would be surprised to find even better quality flashlights managed much more than 80%, taking the upper limit down to 52 lumen/W * 0.80 = 42 lumen/W.

So if I found a flashlight using an R2 emitter that claimed better than 42 lumen/W out-the-front I would be rather suspicious of it!

Does anyone know if the claimed output of the L-Mini II is emitter lumens or torch lumens? My calculations make me suspect the claim is emitter lumens, and so should probably be discounted by at least 20% for optical losses??


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## alex_g2k (Mar 1, 2010)

*MG L-Mini II board test results*

i've tested L-Mini II board from shiningbeam with XR-E led as a load at the highest power mode. here are my results:







the left axis is for currents in Amps and the right axis is for the efficiency (calculated as Pout/Pin).

table of results is down here:
Vin	Iin	Vout	Iout	Pin	Pout	Eff
3,30	1,66	3,44	1,17	5,48	4,02	0,73
3,35	1,61	3,42	1,17	5,39	4,00	0,74
3,40	1,57	3,41	1,17	5,34	3,99	0,75
3,45	1,53	3,40	1,17	5,28	3,98	0,75
3,50	1,49	3,39	1,17	5,22	3,97	0,76
3,55	1,45	3,38	1,17	5,15	3,95	0,77
3,60	1,42	3,37	1,17	5,11	3,94	0,77
3,65	1,39	3,37	1,17	5,07	3,94	0,78
3,70	1,35	3,36	1,17	5,00	3,93	0,79
3,75	1,33	3,36	1,17	4,99	3,93	0,79
3,80	1,30	3,36	1,17	4,94	3,93	0,80
3,86	1,27	3,35	1,17	4,90	3,92	0,80
3,90	1,26	3,34	1,17	4,91	3,91	0,80
3,95	1,23	3,34	1,17	4,86	3,91	0,80
4,00	1,21	3,34	1,17	4,84	3,91	0,81
4,05	1,19	3,34	1,17	4,82	3,91	0,81
4,11	1,17	3,34	1,17	4,81	3,91	0,81
4,15	1,15	3,34	1,17	4,77	3,91	0,82
4,20	1,13	3,34	1,17	4,75	3,91	0,82
4,25	1,11	3,33	1,17	4,72	3,90	0,83
4,30	1,10	3,33	1,17	4,73	3,90	0,82
4,35	1,08	3,33	1,17	4,70	3,90	0,83

the board is indeed perfectly current regulated (constant 1,17A output) and provides a decent efficiency. 

:thinking:but i've got an unresolved problem yet: i don't know how to disable switching through modes. i've already tried attaching battery "-" and load's "-" together, but it didn't work. i've asked Bryan, but he doesn't know the answer either. does anyone have any ideas what to shunt on the board to make this board running as a one-mode driver?


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## gunga (Mar 1, 2010)

Wanna trade?

I did something to my driver (nothing really, just connected it and ran it for a few minutes), now it's 1 mode only.

I prefer 3 mode, but mine is locked into 1 mode.

Mineis the 1.0 Amp version.


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## alex_g2k (Mar 1, 2010)

*gunga*
i need it to be 1.2Amp, since i'm going to use it a thrower type of a flashlight, where the maximum brightness is essential but not a run-time. if you could only remember what you'd done to your driver! once i fried a PWM chip in one of my other drivers, supplying it with the voltage higher than was allowed, and converted it to a single mode driver. but i wouldn't use this brutal technique again with this particular driver, which is still valuable to me


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## gunga (Mar 1, 2010)

I have no idea. I soldered it in, turned on the light to test for burn in etc...

It flashed and the modes stopped working. Now I have a 1 mode only driver. I think it's the 1.0 amp model. I can test to be sure, but I'm pretty sure it's the 1 amp model...

Did you measure current by attaching a current meter to the output of the circuit? I don't have a jig setup to power the circuit and test forf output current at the moment.


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## alex_g2k (Mar 2, 2010)

*gunga*
i did actually use 3 multimeters simultaneously to do the measurements. i didn't use four of them, since the current meter of my laboratory power supply provides quite precise and reliable measurements which are enough for my needs.


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## Streak (Mar 2, 2010)

I wanted to order one of these and was told that the last unit shipped yesterday!!

They expect a new version (L-Mini III??) of the L-Mini II in the next couple of months.


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## LEDAdd1ct (Aug 9, 2015)

Pulled this light out after not using it for...six months...seven months...eight months...?...and remembered how very happy it makes me.

How many other satisfied L-Mini II users are out there?

Mine is a special one, a gunga modded creation with a neutral XP-E.

Slightly less throwy and more floody than the XR-E version, and with those high capacity Panasonics, over 80 hours runtime on low—
the ultimate tailstander!

Most 18650 bodies from this vintage were too narrow, but the L-Mini II tube easily accepts an unprotected 3400mAh cell, and it has, in my opinion, the gold standard in low-voltage protection so I never worry about using unprotected cells in it.

It has that perfect UI which makes it so easy to hike on low and then a quick "Tap, tap!" to shoot up to high and quickly go back to conserving battery on low.

Yes, it is "old" compared to all the other toys out there, but to me, it is a classic, and I will never part with mine. 

Anybody else still a happy L-Mini II camper?

For a bit of nostalgia, the original sale description looked something like this:


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## chuckhov (Aug 10, 2015)

Yeah - Those were the days.

Now people can barely walk the dog with that much light.

Things have been advancing rapidly, but I fear that they are about to slow down.

Which is a good thing, I think - Maybe they could work on some refinement since they'll have the time.

But as always, I could be wrong

-Chuck


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## gunga (Aug 10, 2015)

So you wanna XML2 in there?


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## chuckhov (Aug 10, 2015)

I want Shiningbeam back!

I miss Bryan...

-Chuck


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## LEDAdd1ct (Aug 10, 2015)

gunga said:


> So you wanna XML2 in there?



Never!



chuckhov said:


> I want Shiningbeam back!
> 
> I miss Bryan...
> 
> -Chuck



His e-Bay store is open.


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## BLUE LED (Aug 10, 2015)

I am still happy with my 2 x L-mini. One XR-E Q5 and one XR-E R2 cool white. One with the turbo head that made it throw further. Compact 18650 lights with excellent regulation and runtime because it is driven at 1A max.


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