Thread: 20% Off Sale on selected lights

20% discount on selected torches and headlamps

Not sure how long I'll keep the special, but it's the lowest price I've allowed for with my already cheap pricing.

I've added a "specials" page where I'll continuously drop deals.

@Night_Into_Day
I'm keen to buy a torch for hunting use but suffering a bit of analysis paralysis....
I'm guessing one of the C8+ models you have will be best option for me, just not sure which one.

Looking for something that will be good for spotlighting rabbits/possums but only need to see them at 100-200m not 600m,would rather longer battery life than ridiculous range.
Keen for something that has a tight beam for spotlighting but enough throw that can still see where I'm walking and animals,
I'll predominantly use it hand held.
I want to stick with a model that uses 18650 batteries unless there is a really good reason to go to the bigger battery size.

Cheers
Sam

@Beetroot, I've been impressed with the c8+ green led.
I would seriously think about getting a headlamp while your at it. Spotlights are for spotting, headlamps for waking.
I like having the 18650 batteries as standard over the fleet.

@Beetroot

The Osram C8+ V1 is the best when it comes to runtime, but its spot is quite small for closer range. The V2 has a wider spread and you can program the brightness levels 1 & 2, to any brightness which is a big plus. Sometimes preset levels of low and medium aren't ideal, so it's great to have control over that.


The V2 does not have a temp limit so it needs changing to a lower level once it's getting too hot to hold. The V1 doesn't either, but have an upgraded part for it which does, so let me know. I haven't officially announced this upgrade since I'm wanting to use up the parts I have on hand first.

As Joe has mentioned it probably would be a good idea to get a headlamp instead of trying to get a torch to fit into everything.

The below image is at 50m

Osram C8+ V1 - Osram C8+ V2
Convoy XPL HI - Convoy C8+ SST40

Based on best runtime

C8+ V1
C8+ XPL HI
C8+ SST40
C8+ V2

Based on range

C8+ V2
C8+ V1
C8+ SST40
C8+ XPL HI

Do you already have 18650 batteries? If so, what are they? Yours might not cut it

Originally Posted by Joe_90

@Beetroot, I've been impressed with the c8+ green led.
I would seriously think about getting a headlamp while your at it. Spotlights are for spotting, headlamps for waking.
I like having the 18650 batteries as standard over the fleet.

I use a head lamp for walking, main concern was something not having the throw when spotlighting up close but that's probably not likely to be an issue thinking about it.

Originally Posted by Night_Into_Day

Do you already have 18650 batteries? If so, what are they? Yours might not cut it

I have a couple of Nitrecore batteries which seem to work well and some old ones I removed from a laptop battery.
Will buy some more from you but as Joe said want to keep everything the same across the fleet.

I'm happy to take recommendations for batteries from you too.

Originally Posted by Night_Into_Day

@Beetroot

The Osram C8+ V1 is the best when it comes to runtime, but its spot is quite small for closer range. The V2 has a wider spread and you can program the brightness levels 1 & 2, to any brightness which is a big plus. Sometimes preset levels of low and medium aren't ideal, so it's great to have control over that.


The V2 does not have a temp limit so it needs changing to a lower level once it's getting too hot to hold. The V1 doesn't either, but have an upgraded part for it which does, so let me know. I haven't officially announced this upgrade since I'm wanting to use up the parts I have on hand first.

As Joe has mentioned it probably would be a good idea to get a headlamp instead of trying to get a torch to fit into everything.

The below image is at 50m

Osram C8+ V1 - Osram C8+ V2
Convoy XPL HI - Convoy C8+ SST40

Based on best runtime

C8+ V1
C8+ XPL HI
C8+ SST40
C8+ V2

Based on range

C8+ V2
C8+ V1
C8+ SST40
C8+ XPL HI

Based on those pictures I'm not sure I'd like the V1, the beam on that SST40 looks like what I'd want.
Realistically what's the difference in runtime when in high/turbo mode?

Just keep in mind that there's more surrounding light than what I could capture on my old camera. The camera is only showing the center hot spot.

The Convoy C8+ XPL HI and SST40 have the some UI (modes) as the Osram V2.

This video shows a much better comparison. Skip to the below timestamps for a good comparison of the V1 & V2

150m - 1:56
240m - 3:52
480m - 6:20
550m - 8:33
820m - 10:32

Originally Posted by Beetroot

Based on those pictures I'm not sure I'd like the V1, the beam on that SST40 looks like what I'd want.
Realistically what's the difference in runtime when in high/turbo mode?

Difficult to say with the driver that's installed. The default settings are 100% brightness limited until it gets too hot to hold, so looking at 3 minutes max. The 2nd level is set to 30% brightness which gave a runtime of 2 hrs 10 min. You have the ability to change those levels to any brightness though.

The wider the beam you go for, the less range you get and the hotter the torch will get at high lumens. There's no way around this unless a larger model is used which I don't have for mounting. If you're only going to use it handheld then the Astrolux FT03 (SST40) would be ideal. You can get 400m of good visibility on Turbo, so using it on High for 200m would be ideal. It's made for a 26650 battery, but has an adapter for 18650's as well.

As an estimate of Turbo/100% of the C8+ SST40 would be 24 minutes. The Maxtoch M1 & M2 have roughly 3 minutes on 100%, but they have thermal regulation at 50°C. I prefer it being full manual when hunting, the last thing you want is lining up a shot and it drops back to 20% brightness to cool off.

You need to know that you can't compare my runtime specs to any other brand out there because of the way they measure it. The ANSI FL1 standard is used for every brand out there. The runtime is recorded at 30 seconds from when it's turned on, down to just 10% output, so for example a torch could run on High brightness for 3 hours, but only achieve that lumen value for 30 seconds.

The way I measure is by getting the current/amps for each level and giving a calculated spec as if it's running at X lumens at entire time. I say 24 minutes of Turbo/100%, but if it had thermal regulation at 50°C it might drop to 40% brightness, and using the ANSI standard I get a measurement of 1hr 50 min. Everyone needs to learn what the ANSI standard is because it can be very deceiving f you're unaware

There's also the Sofirn C8G that I have one left. Uses a 21700, but also has an adapter for an 18650.

Here's a thread on it - https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.nz/f11/sub-$100-spotlighting-set-up-68084/

Originally Posted by Night_Into_Day

As an estimate of Turbo/100% of the C8+ SST40 would be 24 minutes. The Maxtoch M1 & M2 have roughly 3 minutes on 100%, but they have thermal regulation at 50°C. I prefer it being full manual when hunting, the last thing you want is lining up a shot and it drops back to 20% brightness to cool off.

Sorry if I'm being blind but I cant seem to see run times for the SST or XPL anywhere on your website or in those videos.

24minutes on 100% brightness seems pretty good, what is the XPL by comparison?
Am I right in thinking that V1 comes preset with low/medium/high modes with the other 3 giving you the ability to set your own low and medium settings?

Originally Posted by Beetroot

Sorry if I'm being blind but I cant seem to see run times for the SST or XPL anywhere on your website or in those videos.

24minutes on 100% brightness seems pretty good, what is the XPL by comparison?
Am I right in thinking that V1 comes preset with low/medium/high modes with the other 3 giving you the ability to set your own low and medium settings?

Convoy never provides those runtime tests to know what the runtime is. I'll just measure the amps and give you an approx. calculation.

I should have asked you right from the start what you considered good runtime, some are thinking 2+ hours. I probably made this way more complicated then it needed to be

The Convoy C8+ XPL

100% - 36 minutes (runs at 5A)
30% - 2hrs

100% - 4 minute bursts or until it's too hot to hold. Won't damage the light until 90°C which is way too hot to touch.

Convoy C8+ SST40

100% - 30 min (runs at only 6A, I was wrong previously)
35% - 2 hrs

Well, I just had a quick look with my SST40 model and bumping the 2nd level up to 40% approx. gives you 100-150m and activate a burst of 100% when needed.

If you already have 18650 batteries you just need to make sure they have a amp rating of at least 10 amps. Using less than this will still be okay, but with less output.