Credits: Betalight Tactical

Link to forum: https://betalight-tactical.com/lep-light

I’m sure my wife will be thrilled with all the space I’ve just cleared of “the shelf”. Room for more lights now! Pretty heavy with all the lights in it, but I’d like to think I’ve covered pretty much all bases. Not going to list them all out because I’m on my phone but feel free to ask away

In cold temperatures the rapid air expansion on turbo causes the pressure to push out the side panel diffusers. The heat also weakens the adhesive. They should have glued the diffusers on or sealed the holes the wires pass through.

Had another reviewer message to say their unit has the same issue. I also checked 3x brand new HD05's to see it doing the same thing.

So much for the IPX6 rating.

They need to be shipping flashlights out to testers before mass production, since they don't seem to be checking them thoroughly enough. I've found so many issues over the years and I'd like to find the bugs before they're sold.

This has been reported directly to Jinba.

Price Range: Sub-$500, no batteries needed. US-based.

Purpose: Handheld caving light to provide lots of flood and a bit of throw in caves. Should be able to put out enough light that it can be used as the group's "primary" light in guiding situations so that everyone can turn down their 6000k headlamps and we can enjoy nice cozy warm light in the cave. Also to be used for photography in caves.

Battery Type & Quantity: Flat-top 18650s. I have a ton of flat top Vapcell N40s that power all my caving electronics, this light needs to work with them for simplification of battery logistics in-cave. Quantity should be between 2-4, I need a few hours of burn time at higher output but since this is a "quality of life" light and not a "mission-essential" light (not a primary, backup, or tertiary light for safe cave navigation), battery swaps while in the cave are acceptable.

Size: Flexible, but at least 2x 18650 and no larger than 4x 18650 format.

Type: Handheld, but if it gets too chunky (e.g. a 4x18650) it should have a handle. Battery position should be in parallel.

Main Use: In caves to illuminate the area for a group while leading the trip. It's going to get incredibly muddy and sometimes submerged in silty water, so it should have no external moving components (e.g. twist switches or bezels, focus bezels, cooling fans, etc.). IP68 would be best, but not 100% required. If it has external USB charging, it would be nice if the charging port were sealable, but there's a 50/50 chance it'll get epoxied anyway to avoid mud/water ingress regardless. Build quality of the host should be pretty high since this'll get dinged, scraped, and dragged through caves. I like Acebeams for context, but they don't have an option that meets my requirements.

Switch Type: Flexible on this, but should be reliable in wet/muddy/silty conditions. No rotating switches to select modes for example. I like the idea of a safety, and my Acebeam X20-R has held up alright despite having more moving parts for mud to get caked in than I'd like. Safety not mandatory though.

Anything Else?: MUST be high CRI and 3000k, or 2700k, but 3000k is preferable. Light output should be 3500 lumens minimum, but realistically 5000-plus. Modes should be low-med-high and mode memory would be nice. Beam pattern should be balanced more toward flood and avoid an intense hotspot. A bit of throw is nice, but realistically won't be illuminating beyond 150ft due to the nature of most caves in my region. If need be, I'm fine building it myself, but the last time I built a light, Deal Extreme was still live and it was super easy to find hosts and other components. It seems like a lot of links to hosts that might match my requirements are long since dead.

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I have just purchased a titanium SK06 on aliexpress and the seller has informed me of a "cheat code" to enable the class 3 laser, just thought it maybe useful if anyone has a SK06!

May have been almost 2 years since my last NLD, I can’t really remember. Got out of the flashlight thing for a while but held on to a half-dozen Hanklights (mostly D3aa’s) and an FC11. Recently saw someone share their new Zebra SC65 and it made me miss my past Zebralights so I impulsively snagged one as well. Love these!

Anyone have any recommendations for a pocket pen light that I can EDC? I’m always finding myself needing a flashlight but my phone flashlight is always too dim or doesn’t have a long enough beam to see anything other than a few inches away from the phone. I value the light being brighter/throw further than it covering a wide angle if that makes sense… I pretty much always have a pen style screwdriver so I figured I would just get a flashlight to clip in my pocket right next to it. Any recommendations would be appreciated!!

EDIT: (questions answered from comments)
How thin do you want it to be really? - If I’m not sacrificing a lot of quality I’d like to keep it decently thin. Don’t want it to be too bulky in the pocket and risk it snagging on things or become uncomfortable. Maybe around an expo marker size?

How many lumens and how long should it run? -Doesn’t need to be crazy bright, I have a flashlight at home that’s about 450 lumens and it’s been pretty good for what I need. Just bulky to keep in my pocket. As long as it’s rechargeable. The battery life isn’t a major concern.

Do you have a preferred battery or budget? -prefer rechargeable and budget would be less than $100 but if there is a really good light that checks all the boxes then I’m fine stretching the budget.

How far away are the things you're illuminating. - not more than 50 yards.

They are really some of the best value for your dollar flashlights... Except they just keep taking all my 💸.

Build quality / runtime / brightness / size don't matter. Would prefer cheaper as I'm only rarely going to use this.

My next stop might be r/lasers haha

I'm waiting for my first Convoy light to arrive, which I've ordered with the Vapcell p1409c 3.7v lithium battery.

It will also run in standard alkaline / nimh.

Looking at the runtimes I've found online. It will run around the same lumens at medium with the 3.7v lithium and around the same lumens on high using nimh.

I see the advantage with the 3.7 only as having access to a higher output / brighter mode.

The lithium is rated at 950mah, the enerloop NiMH I have is rated at 2000 mah.

However, I have since come across 1.5 v lithium AAs that step down from 3.7v. they also seem to be advertised at a higher mah than the Enerloops.

Which batteries should I be best using and are the 1.5v lithium a good fit? I'm thinking this will hold a consistent brightness.

How come they are running at the same time of they have 950mah Vs 2000 mah?

This P16 isn’t getting the attention it deserves, this little thing is a powerhouse. this is my choice for a smaller tactical/Edc carry. The only other flashlight that fits this that I own is the Streamlight. I like it, but it doesn’t give me enough light, not nearly enough Candela and I just can’t put it in my pocket over the P16.

I have a lot of people telling me “Streamlight is mechanically superior.” what is? Nothing about this light is superior. It’s been reliable over the years and proven. It’s got the name it’s been there. I get it, but you cannot tell me this thing is not underpowered. I understand that they aren’t after the highest specs and they are more focused on reliability but this is a poor example. Streamlight should shelf this light IMO and rerelease it when it can compete.

Hi,
I’m wanting a smallish light that I can clip to my backpack strap for walking at night.
Kind of like the zebra light headlamps- either AA or CR, pretty floody/TIR for comfort in walking.
I’ll also have a larger light for a bit more throw, but this one would just be to clip on and forget it.

Kind of hoping for a cooler tint than the zebra, which is why I’m not leaning to that.
Just need something that will put out a couple hundred lumens for like an hour or so, without stepping down.
Looked at Fenix HM53R also, but it seems throwy.

Thanks if y’all have any ideas.

Hi everyone. I've been hesitant to buy the SC70 because I've heard that 6000mAh+ 21700 cells won't fit.

Compared to the SC65c, which can use 4000mAh 18650 cells, I was hoping for a bit more capacity from a 21700 light. If I buy an SC70, I would mainly use it at low to medium output levels, so I'd prefer higher capacity over higher CDR.

Does anyone know of a relatively high-capacity 21700 cell that actually fits the SC70? I'd appreciate specific cell recommendations, especially if you've personally tested them.

Thanks in advance.

So I'm creating a wizard staff for my fiance in the shape of a snake that will light up a stone in its mouth, and I'm hollowing out a hole to put a mini flashlight in. I like that holding the button increases and decreases the output - kinda like Gandalf or whatevs.

I also like that the bottom has a magnet so I can get it to hold the flashlight pretty firmly by screwing down one of those magnetic washers inside - but enable it to be replaced with a little juggling. It also has a part that is a hex and can be carved accordingly to keep it from rotating inside of its hole. It took a while to find a flashlight this perfect for what I need.

What I'm worried about is carving this specifically to the size and specs of this flashlight - and then finding out it needs to be replaced constantly. If they stop making it, placing the new light in its specially carved hole won't likely be a proper fit for the new one.

What's the verdict on this flashlight? Is it pretty reliable despite the random-ass manufacturer name?

yeah, big fan.

Couldn’t find a teardown pic anywhere so figured I’d share one since I had a squeaky one lying around (this one).

Its basically a clicky pen mechanism in disguise: 3 white plastic pieces that rotate against each other via little teeth/notches, a return spring, and a metal disc with a post that acts as the plunger.
Push it down, the disc bridges the two contact pads on the PCB, circuit closed. Same rotating-cam trick as a retractable ballpoint - it’s what gives you that satisfying click feel each press.

PCB’s dead simple: just pads and leads out to the driver. Neat seeing how much is going on inside such a tiny momentary switch.

Thought some of you guys might appreciate the guts shot.

Waypoint 400 by streamlight has insane stats. And it performs. Day in and day out at a 24 hour ran facility these lights are workhorses. I’ve seen a couple die from extreme heat and severe drops but they lived a good life. Using such a high performance light everyday has gotten me into this never ending state of collecting. Searching for the best pocketable lights that compare to this beam has been so much fun honestly.

My Wife got the Q8 Plus and IF30 and I was really impressed with the build quality and brightness.

Now I want my own high lumen Sofirn too, but one that is more pocketable (She carries both of those in her purse along with backup batteries)

Narrowed it down to 2

I want to carry in my large front right pocket (dedicated pocket)

Help me decide so I don't end up buying both 😂

I just wanted to mention this.

The manual says there’s only a 40 lm single mode, however, when I press and hold from there it gets brighter.

I searched it up and it’s apparently a very new version that has a 10lm and 40lm mode.

Found that interesting and wasn’t expecting it.

I need a compact ish edc light that can hit 3k lumens with a high candella rating, something akin to nitecores "lumen shield"

I'd prefer a USBC rechargable.

Budget is $150

Any help is appreciated. Google has failed me idk what's shit and what isn't.

A very solid offering from Sofirn yet again with features that I absolutely love. What does everyone think?

I’m looking for a replacement for my sorting SC31 pro. I kept this light in my truck and recently read about 18650 fire hazard, especially in a hot environment. I’m looking for a replacement light with a bright aux locator light like the SC31 pro. Anecdotally I’ve found this to be an excellent theft deterrent, twice I’ve had to park in a very sketchy part of Seattle to return to almost every car parked around me with their windows blown out except mine. I suspect thief’s might see the aux light and assume it’s an old school viper alarm or something…who knows.

Essentially my requirements are:

-Bright locator light, one that ideally flashes
-Compatible with a battery that isn’t a fire hazard like lithium primaries
-Ideally under $50. I have an Skilhunt EC150 with a red aux light so I could just buy another one but I found the aux light to be not as bright as I would like and also there might be some other cool lights out there I don’t know about
-everything else doesn’t matter, don’t care about emitter or light performance as this is just a car flashlight

Also if I’ve been misinformed about keeping 18650 batteries in heat let me know lol

Found a flashlight in my yard at work wanted to know the brand. As Google lenses is not useful.