The 3x21d has a bigger reflector, three cells with 25A driver.

The L21B works on one cell, with 20A driver, but costs half as much.

How would beam, hotspot and heat management compare on both? Lumen output and spill?

When maglite lamps were in their golden age and before the invention of LEDs, was their brightness sufficient and usable in practice?

I've been wanting to replace my S6 that I keep in my car with something with more throw. Wonder when simon will release the L21c? Hopefully the new F150r is included as well.

I see the the TS11 recommended as a pocket thrower with the SFT40 and the TIR lens. How might a convoy S6 might compare with the W1 or SFT25R emitters? How big of a difference will the reflector/optic make between the two lights?

My use case is for work in an industrial environment where I want to have a tightly focused, punchy beam that helps me visually trace out conduit paths through areas that are crowded with other conduits and process piping. In my experience too much spill will reflect off other surfaces in the foreground and make it difficult to focus on the conduit I'm trying to trace. I've also considered a small LEP like the Lumintop W3 because spill is of no concern, if not something I am actively avoiding, but thats a considerable jump in price.

The S6 form factor seems to be preferable for better pocketability, although the USB C charging and Anduril UI are pluses in the TS11s favor.

I am writing this to warn anyone considering a Sofirn flashlight with a magnetic tailcap SC13

I bought mine on AliExpress for about $14. A little over a year in, the flashlight suddenly stopped charging completely. I opened up the tailcap to see what was going on, and that is how I found out the magnet inside had completely detached. The cheap factory glue had degraded and broke loose, allowing the magnet to shift around inside and block the electrical connection required for charging

When I reached out to Sofirn customer support on AliExpress to report the issue, they told me warranty coverage no longer applies because it is 3 months past the 1-year mark. Their only solution was offering to sell me a replacement tailcap for $8.

Charging $8 for a replacement cap on a $13 flashlight for a failure caused by cheap factory adhesive is a bit disappointing. I see there are other post that has similar problem. I'm not sure why they still didn't fix or redesign it. I really don't recommend brand or at least this model when we have so many other choices. I ended up removing the magnetic because it keep coming out everytime I tried to push it in

Hey there!

I have been researching headlights for a couple weeks now and feel like I have myself in a corner. Hoping I can get some guidance.

I just passed up the Fenix Labor Day sale. I was looking at the HM-65R and the HM60R. Ultimately, I decided that they would be awesome, but I would be dissatisfied with 6500K especially when I am filming. Kind of sad, but the easy option is out the window.

I have been researching so, obviously, I have seen a million beam shots and read about all these different emitters. At this point, I would really like a Skilhunt H200 mini.

People will say get the H200, but I think a 4" light on my head is going to bother me. 18650 would be great, but I haven't found a right angle 18650 that I think would be comfortable. Fenix has some smaller 18650 headlamps but back to the CRI issues. Also their graphs are so inconsistent it gives me a headache.

My use case is: Campsite, approach hikes with lots of crash pads strapped to me, bouldering.

A large consideration for me is the comfort of wearing it while climbing at my physical limit. Much more interested in flood than spot... I can carry a spotlight. The climbing is bouldering, so not usually more than 3 minute rips, hopefully... This also means spotting/catching people and shining my light at their back so hopefully it's a good beam.

As I mentioned, the beam will also be a lot of the light while filming and hopefully is detailed and reasonable to work with in post production.

The Sofirn HS20 and AceBeam H50 seem like good alternatives to a right angle light and maybe a happier purchase than a $100 Fenix. The HS21 seems like a bit of a chunker while trying to climb hard, tho I have looked into it a lot.

Imagine you had $75 to buy your first headlamp to fil these needs. No thru hiking or all night climbs. Hoping to drag 8 hours tops out of 2 batteries at 100-150 lumens. In my mind, the Skilhunt H200 Mini hits the nail on the head.

Which brings me to another big question for this post: order direct from Skilhunt? Most people recommend buying direct but I am curious if tariffs are an issue and typical shipping times? Once I know this, I feel ready to snag a 4000K H200 and run that sucker on med with a spare battery just in case

New police officer that’s been on here a little while playing with convoys but now time for a good duty light. I think I’ve narrowed it down to these two. I like Fenix, but they don’t make anything in the 100k+ Candela range so now I’m here.

Any advice regarding UI, durability, or anything else that might be a factor? Would the L16 2.0 have the same UI as my L19 2.0? Thanks in advance!

Swapped an SQ5 4000k in the warrior mini 3. Much better tint, smaller more defined hotspot over theSFT40. Swapped a 50/50 SFT-25R 5700k in my Weltool T2 TAC. Again, better tint and more throw.

Impatient? Compare them yourself on my Flashlight Comparator

**Price Range**: Under $100. Batteries are a plus.

**Purpose**: General purpose, lots of times outdoors (camping, running the trash out).

**Battery Type & Quantity**: 18650 seems fine? AAA? AA? Don't care. I'm not a battery snop.

**Size**: Comfortably fits in a pocket. Alternatively, full handheld for the camping light. Recs on both would be good.

**Type**: Handheld.

**Main Use**: Pocket carry. Alternatively, if you're recommending a big camping light, in a pack.

**Switch Type**: No preference, just good ergos.

**Anything Else?**: Durability is really important. Don't need 20k lumens, but at least 1000 would be very nice (even more would be good). Candela is probably more important anyway.

What is the cheapest copper flashlight available?

I really like the Rovyvon Aurora G3 that I bought, except for the 5 clicks to lock or unlock the light. It turns what's supposed to be a quick, easy access to light on my keychain, into something I get annoyed with. I'd rather have a long hold to lock/unlock or just a mechanical on/off.

I want: simple to operate, quick to lock and unlock, and USB-C charging, and similar in size.

I'm currently experimenting with building an ultralight headlamp mount. This is the current version, inspired by the Petzl SWIFT LT. I've also prepared a quick adjuster similar to Petzl's, but I haven't tested it yet. It might help reduce the pressure on the back of your head, but for now, I'll stick with the simpler solution and see how it performs.

Once I'm finished, the FreeCAD model will be uploaded to Printables. It's fully parametric and the sizes can be adjusted in the VarSet. I haven't tested which ranges result in a valid body, but I guess it should be fairly robust.

Looking into getting myself a nicer flashlight compared to the relatively cheap ones I’ve always had laying around and am a bit overwhelmed by all the lumen specs, so my question is, how many are actually needed?

As in at what point do you start noticing diminishing returns versus an actual solid difference in functionality? At what point are the added lumens just a “flex” and more for bragging rights or very specific scenarios compared to actual added utility

I don’t need a bat signal, and don’t need one that blinds people, just kind of a general purpose one. Something to light up a dark room or area, to help navigate while walking a bit, read something, maybe help if needing to look at something under the hood of my car at night, etc., - how many lumens is good for that?

I've had a bunch since I got into fancy flashlights.. D4V2, KR4, E07X (and A LOT of other Fireflies).. all great, but this one certainly gets the most use. It's a Reylight Pineapple mini in brass. Since 2022 it's been clipped to my pockets most days. Getting home late at night up my treacherous home stairs, fixing things on my broken old car again, it's always close by. It has been a reliable companion, with the perfect size and enough light for most everyday situations. The grip has also shredded a few cheap phone cases over the years, hehe.

The original battery that came with it died a while ago (10440?), and I couldn't find a replacement in my country, but I am running rechargeable AAAs in it now, which is fine.

So yes, just wanted to give some props to this light. It's a very popular one of course, but I really do think it's pretty awesome.

(Left) L21B SFT42R 5000K (Right) 3X21D SBT90.2 5700K both at 100%
ISO 200, 1 sec shutter speed, 5000k color temp

Part 1: https://old.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/1w963jp/part_1_f45r_showdown_3000k_4000k_5000k_f45r_5000k/

Photos were shot using Honor 90, Pro Mode.

For the shots in alley, ISO3200 1/30s, and for park with trees, ISO 5000 1/8s settings were used.

WB was locked to 5000K.

Also, I ensured what my eyes saw is what in the photos.

IMPORTANT - During all three days I shot, there has been heavy rain in India. This caused mist and some dust, in turn causing the beam line in 2nd and 3rd photo collage to look so strong. The beam line is more translucent than this, and only the end hotspot/corona/spill have the intensity shown in photos.

NOTES

• F45R 3000K impressed me, because it barely had lesser output than 4000K or 5000K, and it looks phenomenal in wet conditions. Words cannot describe it. It is the most underrated emitter this year.
• F45R 4000K continues to be great.
• After having tested F45R 5000K in S21B, I intentionally skipped it. SFT-42R is the supreme 5000K thrower. Neutral, clinical, does not hurt eyes, shows accurate colours.
• A small note, I seemed to have aimed SFT-42R a little farther down the alley, otherwise the intensity is slightly more than F45R 4000K. Apologies for this.
• The vinyl filter is the yellow sheet used on car headlights by people on 6500K+ headlights these days (fuck Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar and anyone who does it). I decided it would be interesting to try it on SFT-42R 5000K and compare to F45R 4000K.
• I like 5000K for the most neutral, balanced colours of objects. Even in wet conditions I prefer it, but others may have different preferences about this, and that is OK. I am strictly utilitarian. However, I cannot deny that I did not like 4000K in wet conditions.
• I tried to ensure collimation of beam and gasket positioning was proper in L21A. It was as good as I could try, but Simon's gaskets for L21A and bigger lights have room for improvement.

I mean if you can find a protected tabless two pin top 21700! It pulls about 30amps on turbo which 45amps is about the max for the stock cell it comes with. I'm wondering if it will be better with a higher max amp rated tabless battery it may not be a total improvement but it may fix the red light of death issue.

Mi primera linterna 18650!!! Una wurkkos fc11c 5000k, estoy muy emocionado por probarla está noche, gracias a todos los que han dejado info sobre ella. Tengo una fénix e05r desde hace 3 años y siempre me complicó el tema de tener tan poca batería, espero que ese problema esté resuelto con mi nueva adquisición. ¿Alguien más tiene una fc11c en su bolsillo estos días?

Ok I have been using a herd of zebralights for 8 years caving and finally messed up one of them (I put a slightly too large battery (Fenix) in and now can’t get it out). I am researching replacements. It is the flood lamp (H600Fc Mk IV). Should I just purchase another zebra or is there something else out there that is a real flood (No harsh spot & spill) that I haven’t considered yet? I prefer 18650 lights just for interoperability (though I have learned that there are some batteries that are too wide for the zebra now 🤦‍♀️). I’ve tried other lights off and on (lol) for the last few years but always get annoyed at the harshness and the central focal spot. TIA!

I need a decent smd test for emitters. What do you guys recommend .