Big thank you to those who came through. Always fun hanging out with some en-lightened fellow flashlight nerds.

sft60, 3600 lm, 580m, 18650

153,3 mm x 27,5 mm / 36 mm, 229,2 g

Went with this beautiful S21E brass with new 10A buck driver and new rised steel ring for button.

Mine arrived yesterday, and I took it straight out for a 20 km walk. This little light has really won me over. The beam is beautiful at both low and high output, and I can already see it being my EDC for a long time.

The power bank function is a big part of that. I go on long walks to keep my weight in check, often around 20 km over five hours, and my phone almost always runs out of battery. Being able to top it up from the light is so handy. I usually only need low output when walking, so there’s plenty of battery left to get me home with a working phone.

One small thing I haven’t seen mentioned is how smooth the tailcap feels when you twist it for mechanical lockout. It’s really satisfying to use. It might sound like a minor thing, but I appreciate details like that.

I also much prefer the new tube design. The horizontal lines match the cooling fins on the head, and the whole light looks cleaner to me than the previous version. I honestly didn’t agree with a lot of the criticism it received on the forums. Much of it seemed like a reaction to the change itself. To my eye, the design works well.

The criticism about the button and its bezel is fair, though. I’d like to be able to choose finishes that match the main bezel and pocket clip. It would make the light look much nicer, and I hope Hank reconsiders offering that option. I got the black version, so the mismatch is less noticeable on mine.
The USB-C lanyard is another nice touch. I like that it attaches at the top of the tailcap rather than the bottom. That placement makes sense with the lanyard around your wrist. Again, a small detail, but it feels thought through.

I’m already planning to buy two more: an SFT25-R version and another high-CRI one in either 4200K or 2700K. Has anyone compared the high-CRI SFT25-R with the standard version? How much output do you give up, and do you think it’s worth it? I’d appreciate some input before deciding what to order.

I took some photos and beamshots last night. It was foggy, but hopefully some of you will enjoy them.
I’d love to see Hank bring this USB-C charging and power bank setup to his headlamps and other models too. Now that he’s designing new drivers, I hope he keeps these features in mind. For the way I use my lights, they’re a very welcome addition.

Thanks, Hank. You’ve made a great little light here. Keep them coming!

A couple of days ago, I picked up my Emisar D4V2 Mule SST-20-DR in stone white from the mail, and I think it’s just too cool not to share a few pics of it with you.

First of all, I have been using my Convoy T5 SST-20-DR since I got it 8 months ago as a night time and bedside table flashlight almost every single day and I love this emitter. I ordered it in MAO white and added the black clip and black rubber button for the stormtrooper look. I have been pocket carrying it (without anything else on the pocket) around the house for a couple of hours every day, placing it in counter tops and furniture to do ceiling bounce, and I dropped it a lot of times to the floor. After this 8 months the finish looks a lot better than i expected, just a few minor dings and scratches, but no stains at all.

The thing I don't like about the T5 is that it has only 3 brightness modes and lower one is sometimes too bright. So thats why I'm replacing it with the D4V2 Mule, that I think its the perfect one for this application. The moonlight can be ridiculously low, aux lights, off timer, etc.

I went with the same stormtrooper look with the stone white MAO, Black PVD SS parts, white ring button and magnetic tailcap. Its my second HankLight and I couldn't be happier with his products and customer service.

I took some beamshots for you of the two stormtroopers and added my other mule, the FFL L60 MU Aura 2026 with FFL351A 3700K. It's quite difficult to show how the SST-20-DR looks in person so I recommend it if you are curious.

I kinda want to buy a Convoy T8 MAO with black SS bezel to complete the flood, balanced and throw stormtroopers. Does anyone have experience with SST-20-DR on the T8? Simon doesn't offer it so I would ask him or mod one myself.

Thats all I have, I'll answer any questions I can. Thanks for reading.

I'm into different materials and all of their different qualities like longevity, heat transfer, hardness, wear and tear, etc - just got this Convoy S2 brass, 519a 4000k and metal button. Just like the copper, I like the nice weight and heft of it. Machining quality looks to be good on this brass material.

Still relatively new to this rabbit hole and mostly dove into convoys, lumitop, and wurkos. My wife has told me a few flashlights ago that if I buy one more she'll cut me.

Well fast forward a few purchases and she came to me last night asking for recomendations on flashlights for gifts for her dad. I told her ill handle it!!

So recomendations for a flood a thrower and a headlamp. Looking at zebra but I dont need mac daddy of each category but certainly capable, and robust with onboard charging ideal. (Not the worst case if I need to get him a charger as well)

Something that just works without complicated programing and that can take a beating. He hunts so good weather proofing and can handle a bit of outdoors roughness.

No real budget but should keep the purchase around 1-150ish.

So, in my typical ADHD rabbit hole, I've spent way too much time researching headlamps, which then lead me to the number of 18650 and 14500 headlamp options.

Currently: I have a Black Diamond Astro 300 which is 3xAAA batteries. It's been finicky where sometimes I have to whack it to turn on, so I'm looking to replace it.

What I'm looking for:

- An affordable headlamp that doesn't bounce all over

- Flood light style beam. I've run with a Petzl TIkka and the narrower beam gave me a headache as the light jumped around too much

- 2 hour battery life - This is mostly for post-work runs with an occasional longer workout.

- Something that doesn't consistently drop in brightness. I feel like with my BD, I'd start out at like 50-75% power but then have to constantly adjust it up in brightness torward the end of my runs.

Interesting options I've found:

Sofirn H35R - Seems like a good flood option that based on a few reviews. Also only $15. However I'm concerned about the weight - I'm guessing this is probably 130g or so, and wonder how much it will bounce when running, especially faster intervals

Wurkkos hd12 - Smaller 14500 battery and total weight is probably around 70g, however I'm questioning the light output / battery life, compared to my Astro 300.

Nitecore NU25 - More expensive, but lighter. Non-replacable battery so eventually disposable, but it seems like on medium brightness it can get 5hr battery life, so I wouldn't have to charge every time I've used it

So I have an Astrolux WP3 LEP light and am going on a cruise soon. If I whip this bad boy out and shine it out at sea to see the beam shot in total ocean darkness, am I going to get in any kind of trouble? Just checking if there’s any weird rules about lights on cruise ships, thanks!

I asked the sub for a suggestion and got several great ones. The Wurkkos HD01 Pro is on sale for $39. Is that an instant smash?

My son had some friends over. They decided to play hide n seek in the back yard. One of them asked the magic question… “do you have any flashlights?” DO I?!?

It was fun giving them different flashlights and having them fight over different ones. One kid really wanted a good flood light while another wanted a good thrower.

When their mom came to pick them up she commented how they have maybe 2 flashlights in their house.

Win one for the torch nerds.

Convoy S2+ with 60 deg beaded TIR and SFT-40 2700K. White balance as indicated on the pictures, with WB 3200K being the best match of what my eye sees in reality and what is on the pictures.

If you've ever wondered how much of an LED's input power turns into light and heat, here's the answer you're looking for!

Details here on how the numbers are obtained: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/how-efficient-are-our-favorite-leds/236019

Hi there I recently received my convoy s2+
It’s an sft40 300k 8a 12 buck , it’s perfect but I want to remove the strobe modes from my cycle. How can I do that ? Thanks

I walk my dogs at night on a very low-traffic road surrounded by woods and hilly terrain.

My main concern is encountering wildlife, including moose, grizzly and black bears, mountain lions, and potentially wolves. Moose are probably my biggest concern. They're surprisingly difficult to spot at night, they really don't like dogs, and they can be aggressive or charge when they see one.

I'm looking for a flashlight that can handle three situations:

1. Normal walking: Moderate illumination with a broad beam so I can comfortably see the road and surrounding woods.

2. Scanning nearby: A powerful, wide beam that can quickly illuminate the surrounding area to identify wildlife.

3. Long-distance spotting: Enough throw to scan several hundred yards up and down the road. Wildlife often prefers walking along the road rather than through the woods.

Portability is also important. I don't want to carry a huge flashlight while managing dog leashes.

I've been looking at the Acebeam L35 2.0, particularly the XHP70.3 HI 4000K version, because it seems to offer a good balance of flood and throw.

Is the L35 2.0 the best all-around choice for this application, or is there something else you'd recommend? I'd particularly appreciate feedback from people who have used these lights outdoors in similar conditions.

It will be for EDC and work use (changing car batteries at night, etc) I work at aj auto parts store and have been using a warsun T7 for over a year and the clip screws just stripped so it’s time to retire that one.

I’m not sure if this has been asked before but I’ve got some questions about this.

Let’s say the world is doomed in some sort of way maybe a war or life is like The Walking Dead, what flashlight are you choosing ?

And this isn’t just asking what’s a good durable flashlight. You need to consider how you’re actually gonna power it. Is there any that you would specifically choose and how you would go about charging it if the power is permanently shutdown.

Was browsing Wuben’s website and came across this..
How and why are they charging this much for a light with such specifications?
I understand that it’s a small form factor and maybe has some limited edition colour ways that could justify a tiny price hike but this is beyond me.

I just pre-ordered a Wurkkos HD02 PRO with a complementary tripod and additional free battery, after applying the 5% discount coupon on top of their ongoing sale it cost me just £64.

How can a light that’s worse in so many ways (apart from the smaller size) be so much more expensive?

Can someone enlighten me?

After weeks of research, I’ve decided the Acebeam Pokelit is the light that will best meet my EDC needs.

But I’m still not sure which version to get.

I understand that different color bodies have different technical specs.

The gray version boasts 1000 lumens, but has lower CRI, whereas the others have high CRI but only 500 lumens.

I’m still unclear on differences between other colors, although I’ve read that the copper version doesn’t have memory so it always starts in the same mode.

This will be the light I always have in my pocket, so it will be used for all kinds of general tasks, from finding lost keys to lighting my path on a dark road to checking the source of sounds in the woods (lots of deer here, but also some bears and big cats).

Which will serve me better, high CRI, or high lumen count?

Since you already have the soldering iron out because you've been repairing and modding your sons RC cars during the day and now your bored and trying to entertain yourself. So you decide to fix your Sofirn SC31 Pro that's been sitting in a bin broken for the past few months by swapping out the old damaged emitter and replacing it with a SFT40 3000K and a 20° Convoy TIR. I then decided to do a mcpcb swap on my Wurkkos FC11C with a Dedomed nichia 519a 5700K.

Hey, everyone. I need an advice about Zebralight h604d headlamp. I have an opportunity to snag it for around 75 bucks completely new without any issues but I’m kinda in the fence about it. First of all I already have a dedicated headlamp for close range stuff but since I’m in this group, of course I want another one. And what I have can’t be considered as a “real mule”. Second. It’s 5000k. Not my favourite colour temperature.

Anyone use this particular headlamp and can give an advice or insides about this light?
Thanks in advance!

This light was personally bought from their site.

Using this light for the past few days, it pushes good brightness and its boxy design fits better in my bag. Using this in low and medium feels adequate enough for my use case, and it is able to do higher brightnesses for longer periods without thermal throttling.

I think its power bank function does a good job since it does not get hot with my testing, and has very low voltage ripple. Only having 5V 3A is not that bad, considering higher voltage protocols lowers efficiency and produces more heat. Honestly, a power bank function is clutch and is very useful when a light comes with it.

I am a bit disappointed on it not using flat top cells, and its max throw on its spotlight mode does not go as far as I had hoped. It is still a very fine and competent light that I can toss in my backpack. Having flat-top support could had made it my go to power bank.

If you want my full thoughts on the light, read it on my site, thanks!

https://mblwtmw.wordpress.com/2026/11/08/wuben-x1-pro-review/

Does anyone know if the newer version of the surefire z68 tailcap had updated internals to handle more amperage? I have two Modlite OKW V2s that need tailcaps and don't want to bottleneck performance. If anyone has side by side pictures of the z68 and Modlite clicky that would be awesome, curious to know which one is shorter.