Lights. CREE XML XM-L T6 / U2 etc Thread

[dee.jay]

I think it's the chargers/batteries are my concern, not the lights themselves. My uncle recommended some Magicshines, which look to be similar to the offerings above, but it's £130.

 

[Hacienda71]

I have a Magicshine MJ808 (£60ish) probably three years old now used on daily commutes in all weathers and it still works fine. When I bought it there was a lot of internet chatter that Magicshine was an unknown Chinese brand and that the battery pack might combust and that to get a reliable light you would need to spend £300 to get a light that bright. I agree that the batteries on the cheap offerings are going to be hit and miss but as many on here have done you can always make your own packs up. I suspect Solarstorm will be the next Magicshine.

 

[dee.jay]

I like the Torchy ones - are they decent?

 

[PpPete]

I've had T6 & U2 torches, chargers & 18650 batteries from Torchy.
He's very reliable and replaces stuff without quibble if a problem.

Not tried the separate battery pack lights though.

 

[dee.jay]

Torn between the Oriole and Fluxient Mini - Both £40, the Fluxient obviously more convenient, but more power with the Oriole. Hmmmm.

 

[dee.jay]

OK ordered the Oriole - 2 x Cree should light the way adequately and am now looking forward to receiving it.

 

[tincaman]

OK ordered the Oriole - 2 x Cree should light the way adequately and am now looking forward to receiving it.

You will good to go with that one, you will also get a good charger and battery pack

 

[crazyjoe101]

I've skim read quite far back into this thread looking for information about battery packs and as far as I can tell I want a waterproof case to store 4 18650s in a 2 series 2 parallel configuration to get the voltage the light needs (I will be running a single T6) and x2 the mAh of one of the induvidual single cells used.
I can solder and shorten cables so that's not a problem. The problem I'm having is that I can't seem to find any waterproof cases, could someone point me towards a site or tell me which terms to search for? It sounds stupid but I've tried nearly every combination of '18650' 'battery' 'waterproof' 'case' 'pack' 'holder' that I can think of and I can't see anything similar to what other people have used in this thread...

Thanks.

 

[fossyant]

The Torchy ones are a little dearer, but he does offer reliability and he is a good ebay seller.

 

[fossyant]

I've skim read quite far back into this thread looking for information about battery packs and as far as I can tell I want a waterproof case to store 4 18650s in a 2 series 2 parallel configuration to get the voltage the light needs (I will be running a single T6) and x2 the mAh of one of the induvidual single cells used.
I can solder and shorten cables so that's not a problem. The problem I'm having is that I can't seem to find any waterproof cases, could someone point me towards a site or tell me which terms to search for? It sounds stupid but I've tried nearly every combination of '18650' 'battery' 'waterproof' 'case' 'pack' 'holder' that I can think of and I can't see anything similar to what other people have used in this thread...

Thanks.

Search for pannovo battery case. I'll have a look. I bought a job lot last year direct from China.

 

[crazyjoe101]

Search for pannovo battery case. I'll have a look. I bought a job lot last year direct from China.

Thanks fossyant! I googled the name and immediately a few options came up, this being the first:
http://www.dx.com/p/pannovo-b-c04-w...-case-for-bike-lamp-black-254957#.VD_9-xZNLBE
It looks like it gives the correct 2S2P settup so that's great.
I'm going to choose some 18650s later and a seperare charger. I noticed that the highest capacity (~3400) 18650s on Torchy's ebay are unprotected. I'm hesitant to get those as I can see myself over-discharging them, I might look around for some protected 3,000mAh+ cells or get some slightly lower protected ones since I'm only driving one T6. I can keep the stock charger to reset the protected cells should I ever trip them.
EDIT: I've just spotted the lack of stock on the first two Google links so I'll have to do some further searching, I know what I'm looking for now though so that's good.

 

[fossyant]

I have some protected Senybor cells at 2800 and the 3400 unprotected panasonics from Torchy. Not had any issues.

You can charge these packs with a standard charger you get with these lights, or a stand alone charger like Xtar.

That is the correct pack. Think I got mine via Aliexpress. There were sellers on ebay with these packs, but not seen any recently

 

[dee.jay]

You will good to go with that one, you will also get a good charger and battery pack

That's what I was after, thanks!

Looking forward to that now. Not sure what I'll do with my Cateye - just use it as a strobe I suppose or Retire it (only a few weeks old... lol)

 

[dee.jay]

The Torchy ones are a little dearer, but he does offer reliability and he is a good ebay seller.

I am always happy to pay a little more just for that. I could have bought other ones for £20-£25 but I'm happy to pay £40 to know what I've bought will work and not burn my house down

 

[potsy]

Not sure what I'll do with my Cateye

Keep it as a backup, that's what I've done with my Moon 500 that was previously my favourite light.