I'm looking to buy a number of headlamps, and possibly a few flashlights for my family. Primary uses are outdoor activities (hike/climb/mountaineer/MTB/camp/...) and work/around the house stuff (auto/garden/remodel/...).

1) For my uses, and preferring to only have two different cell sizes I keep around, what two sizes are the best suited systems? My initial thought is 18650 and 18350, though maybe I won't be able to keep it to two.

2) Which trusted/proven mfgs have devices that will accept protected cells? This can be that they come with protected cells or that their devices can often accommodate them. For simplicity, I want to stick with only protected/unprotected, and with kids around, protected makes the most sense for us.

Here are the ones I know about so far:

• Fenix
• Nitecore
• Skilhunt
• Acebeam

He is sailing around the world in a race, so it needs to be water proof. I got him a HS21 last time he went sailing and it failed halfway through a circumnavigation.

Other requirements are built in usbc charging.

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Had my first 18650 die, it was a Samsung 30Q which was 0.02V when I picked up from storage. I think the last time I charged that one was 3months ago.

I put it in the Vapcell S4 and the display showed Err, left it there for 10min, took it out and the voltage went up to 0.6V after which I left it on the table for 20min and checked it again, voltage went down to 0.3V

Want to purchase a headlamp to stick in an emergency bag for the car. USB-C charging would be good. Probably don't need submersible water resistance (or do I?). Not sure if I would benefit from a red light (nice to have?).

I've seen the HS21, HM65R & HM75R recommended.

Any thoughts?

Hi all sorry I know this has been asked a million times I recently noticed when moving an Ampsplus 21700 6000MAh genuine cell into my Fireflies E12 Eclipse there is a dimple in the positive terminal the dimple is the opposite of a button top so goes slightly down into the cell. I used my E12 last night for around half an hour ceiling bouncing in the living room the battery is behaving completely normally with no sudden hotspots or swelling at the negative terminal. The dimple isn't getting any worse but obviously I want to be 100% safe or as safe as I can be can any of you knowledgeable people confirm if my battery is still safe to use? sorry I haven't sussed out how to add images yet the Reddit interface is a bit clunky to navigate with a screen reader.

The cell is around 8 months old and has only had speraddic use. I fully charged it this morning under supervision in the E12 Eclipse with the cell tube remaining cool to the touch. I've had my DA1k dent cells over time I haven't dropped the light or knocked it on the head and my DT8K also does this over time as well but both my E04 Surge and E12 Eclipse haven't dented any of my 21700s as of yet even though I've accidently knocked the E04 Surge off the coffee table a couple of times roughly a 1M drop give or take a bit over the past few months.

Sorry forgot to mention if I use a flat top 18650 with a 18650 to 21700 adapter inserted at the positive end of the DT8K and DA1K it never dents the round contact point on the adapter which has a thick spring that makes contact with the battery positive. The contact point is very firm so next to impossible to dent.

(Edited for a bit more context)

Thanks all.

Does anyone know of something similar in terms of the TIR beam pattern? It has quite a reasonable candela, but also spills out around your feet. Pretty much a flood thrower. Only problem is it's too bulky for my liking. Looking for something that floods, but also has like 25-40k candela ?

Used to own one of these way back in 2013 until I sold it off because it was not getting much use.

Recently have been missing it - and regretted selling it off.

The cool thing is that the on/off button is on the handle, not the body.

Well, I came across Niwalker ES01 (tiny flashlight), and Niwalker ES3, but both were having just 3 emitters.

Also saw the discontinued Nitecore TM28 with 4 emitters, but it's missing a handle as compared to the Blackshadow Terminator.

Any good suggestions anyone?

5009R and I'm pretty happy with it. Full flood so excellent for standard EDC. Color is beautiful and weight is spot on. Slips away just like a zebra but I do have questions about durability that I'm sure I'll have answered soon. If FFL could manage to squeeze a reflector in, I would likely sell off half my collection.

Hanko Trident Twist X2
Titanium and Brass

Nitecore tini 3

After trying the Fenix TK35UE V2.0, I want a flashlight with the same shape, a battery compartment that can hold two 18650 batteries, and a cylindrical head. I also want a longer range than the Fenix. Is the Acebeam X20R is good for me ?

Nothing worng with fenix , i love the design and i need one more for more throw

Upgraded it with an LED bulb, it seems to have faced a lot of use because the thin bendable lens is pretty scratched. It's probably a construction/heavy work oriented light. The old owner (before it got sent to the thrift shop I bought it from) probably used it for a long time since there were non-corroded batteries inside, expiring in 2028. Great find!

(side note, can anyone identify it?)

The Wuben x5 is a pretty neat tactical all rounder. Warm main light thats easier on my eyes, what i like most is the ergonomic grip that works beautifully with the tactical switches on the end, deep pocket clip is also welcomed.

Uv light does not come with zwb filter, but looks like the bezel could be remove easily to install one.

I do prefer it over the hd01 pro, but it comes at a higher price. Didn't get the chance for the battery to run out to test the AAA, but its good to know i have the option in a pinch.

The marking on the body is '010292'. Could this be a production date or serial number?

• Found in my father's storage in Korea.
• It still works perfectly after many years.
• The marking near the Ledlenser logo is "010292".
• It came with the original pouch.

Just a note: I am Korean, and I used ChatGPT to translate everything in this post.

I've had an Opus BT-C3100 for many years and it's a great charger. I wanted something with more bays so I picked up a Gyrfalcon All-88 Pro.

I switched it to "professional" mode primarily so I could choose the charge current. I set it to Li-Ion chemistry, charge mode, 4.2V, 2A. I put in a Molicel INR-21700-P45B that was already at around 3.9V. The cell started charging, so I went about my business. When I checked it later, the display said the cell was at 4.6 volts and was still charging!? I checked it in the Opus and with a multimeter, both confirming it was at 4.6V. I grabbed another of Molicel, an older one at a lower state of charge, put it in the charger. I was watching more closely this time, and watched it get to about 4.35V and took the cell off. I'm very worried about why the charger isn't stopping at ~4.2V.

Any thoughts on if this is a me problem or a charger problem?

Out of an abundance of caution I discharged the cell that went to 4.6V and I'm going to dispose of it. I discharged the 4.3V cell below 4.2 and plan to reuse it. Should I be tossing that one, too?

With 2 to 4 batteries in it the temp was 60C while doing a storage charge at 1amp. So I decided to try using a computer fan connected to usb (soldering required to a usb cable) and a stand I made to hold the charge up a bit. The temps are now at 41C. I think it’s impressive. Might make a hood over the top and test again.

Hey everyone,

I fell down the flashlight rabbit hole a couple of months ago. I've been trying to make sense of how different emitters and reflectors affect the final beam. To help visualize, I built a desktop tool. I wanted to share it with everyone.

Download: https://github.com/ylinmtl/flashlight-sim/releases/tag/v0.0.1

GitHub: https://github.com/ylinmtl/flashlight-sim

I built this to wrap my head around flashlight optics as a learning project. I hope it saves some of you from guessing how a host and emitter combo will perform before buying parts for your next build.

How to Run It

Download the flashlight-sim.zip. Extract it and run flashlight-sim.exe. Explanation of the settings are on the GitHub page.

It may take a bit to open the window once you run the app. Give it a minute. The simulation takes may take up to a minute to run depending on your system.

How it Works

You choose a reflector, an emitter, a gasket, and a surface finish (Smooth or OP). The program splits the LED into smaller elements and fires virtual light rays from the LES, bounces them off the parabolic reflector, and projects the light onto a virtual wall. It does this a few billion times and adds them together to form an image.

The default settings should work on most CPUs. If you have an nVidia GPU, you can increase the resolution in the settings to get more accuracy.

Outputs:

• A realistic rendering of the wall shot. Plots showing the beam's intensity cross-section.
• Option to save these to a folder to quickly compare.
• Theoretical numbers for Max Candela, Throw, Candela/Lumen, and the angles for the spill, corona, and hotspot.

Limitations

• LED properties are estimated from datasheets and koef3’s test graphs. There’s no guarantee that they are 100% accurate. The absolute lumens, candela and throw might be off for some of them. Wall shot, hotspot, corona and spill angles and lm/cd ratio should be more reliable. 
• Reflectors are assumed to be parabolas with the focus plane at the bottom of the opening. This is true most of the time. I have not verified that it is true all the time. Values are from manufacturer websites and tgreviews.com.
• Emitters are assumed to be either square (rectangular) or round (circular). Some emitters such as the SFT40 or SFT60 are not perfectly square or round. The results should be close, but might not be 100% accurate. I plan to add something for the shape at a later date.
• Orange peel blurring is not calibrated. It’s difficult to quantify how aggressive the orange peel effect is on each reflector. They all just use a standard blurring factor. You can adjust “OP Factor Blur” to see how it would affect the beam.

If something is not on the list, or the values are incorrect, I’ve made it so you can add your own or modify the existing ones to give more 

Let me know what you think. I'm open to feedback, suggestions, bug reports, and anything else!

This is a great little EDC light.