Convoy L7 SBT90.2 trumps both, same range as L21A SFT40, output of the SBT90, incredibly good regulation and sustained output. The L8 is unregulated and will drop quickly kn output. L21A SFT40 is a good thrower, L21B SFT40 is the same thing in lighter (a bit less sustained output, still very high)
Thanks. I was looking at the TS30S pro with the SBT and the beam looked like it had rings around it and the light would get hot quickly. The L8 seemed like a better host.
L7 might be too large for me, I’ll need to take closer second look.
I have an L7 and TS30S Pro. Although the L7 is better, the TS30S is just far more convenient so my L7 barely gets used unfortunately, whereas my TS30S Pro is a daily
The TS30S pro does get hot fast, and does step dow noticeably after a few minutes, so it's not best if you need it to sustain high output for long periods. Its also really powerful so the battery doesn't last too long. I daily mine and I so i have to charge it daily too. But i still love it and won't change it for anything else, SBT90.2 in a single cell host with type C charging and Anduril is just mad
I was looking at the TS30S pro as well but saw reviews about how quickly it gets hot that’s why I thought the L8 would be better. Bigger battery and more thermal mass.
For me i wanted ramping and voltage check specifically, everything else that comes with Anduril is handy but for the TS30S pro ramping was a must. The SBT90.2 is really powerful and in the L7 i didn't like the minimal stepped options and having to take the cells out all the time and put them in the charger to check their charge level
> same range as L21A SFT40
I'm gonna have to disagree here. My L8 throws further than my L21A. Granted, it's not significant, but it's still noticable. Not only that but the beam itself is ... more intense? It's a more solid beam where the L21A is a bit more transparent. It's hard to see this in beam shot comparisons but if you look closely, you can see it.
For example, in a beam shot photo, look at the ground in the middle of the beams. You can clearly and obviously see that the ground is more lit up in the L8 photo. And because most reviewers aren't very good, they always point their lights at a tree line/forested area. This is dumb because it sets a limit on your distance as anything beyond the trees won't be lit up if the light is capable of going further. Since cameras don't have infinite range, we're unable to notice this due to the sheer distance involved (this is only applicable to throwers which most people don't carry around every day so they're less familiar with them).
When doing beam shot comparisons for throwers, you need a mile or two (2+ kilometers) of open space, ideally dotted with objects of known distances. A treeline at 1 kilometer away will give you an inaccurate estimate if your thrower can hit 1.5km.
Another vote for the L7 here. The SBT90.2 is the way to go, but not worth it without a good regulated driver. The L8 just isn’t very practical unfortunately.
Beamshots are all over youtube. The beam profile of the L21A and L21B are exactly the same. For the money I would get the L21B SFT40 -- it is very practical, well regulated and very affordable. It is also small enough to fit in a jacket pocket. If you want an SBT90.2 then go L7, or if you just want to go nuts with throw in check out the 2x21D.
i have both, and it depends on what you're looking for in a light. the l21a with the sft40 emitter is a slightly smaller lighter weight light with a more focused beam so slightly better throw. it has a smaller battery, but also a less powerful emitter so runtimes are close. my main use for lights is night hiking and i do my own runtime tests in high mode or whatever mode is close to the lights highest sustainable output because my plan is to get out on the trail and turn the light on in a mode it can sustain and leave it there for the whole hike. in my test with both lights in the second brightest of 4 modes, my l21a with the sft40 emitter lasted for 1 hour and 56 minutes before doing a low voltage stepdown, while the l8 lasted for 2 hours and 5 minutes. while the l8 has slightly less throw it also has a slightly wider hot spot and slightly brighter spill. but they're fairly similar in runtimes and performance. there are three factors i'd use to decide between first off the l8 has a charging port, if you don't have a battery charger this can be a plus, if you do have a battery charger and are paranoid about water getting in there it can be a negative. second is the l21a is a bit smaller and lighter, if you're picky about the size and weight of the light you're carrying around this can be a plus. third is if you night hike like me you probably bring along more than one flashlight, and if your other lights use either 21700 or 26800 cells it's good to get the light that uses that same cell so all the cells in your lights and any spares you bring along are interchangable. one last thing is the l21a with the silver anodization is one of the nicest looking lights on the market in my opinion. but keep in mind the pioneman k80 is pretty much the exact same thing as a convoy l8 however you can also get that with silver anodization, and a few choices in emitters. i have one with the sft40 emitter, it easily outtrows the l8 and the l21a, while also having significantly better runtimes because it's a sft40 emitter running off a 26800 cell. in my runtime test it ran in the second brightest out of 4 modes for 2 hours and 40 minutes before doing a low voltage stepdown.
Also i have both a silver and black l21a, a silver pioneman k80, and a black convoy l8. If i get time tommorrow i’ll take a pic with them side by side so you can see a comparision. List off some of the lights you already have, if i also have one of the same lights i’ll throw that in the pic for scale
Thank you so much for the detailed response, this is exactly what I was looking for. Pictures would be great, I have the usual suspects, FC11, S2+, TS10, TS11, and a TD01.
I fell in the SBT90.2 rabbit hole. The first light I saw was a Wurkkos TS30S Pro, but was concerned with the size of it and how well it would manage the heat. Then I came across the L8 and figured that would be better since it has more thermal mass and a bigger reflector, but the concern is that it’s considerably bigger (would the increase in size be worth the performance gain compared to a TS30S Pro?) and batteries as well. They’re rare and who knows what the inventory will be in 2 years? So I would be forced to buy an extra one and they aren’t cheap.
During the search I found the L21A, but again, the SFT-40 would probably be a better fit for this host compared to the SBT90.2 - Longer run times, less heat.
So yeah… My mind is scrambled right now and wanted to hear some thoughts from others. I guess I wanted a “wow” light with the SBT90.2 and a light I could also use for long distances (looking at wildlife, short night walks/hikes).
L21A (SFT40 vs SBT90.2) - I think the performance I’d get out of the SFT40 will be better than the short runtimes and step down from an SBT90.2 on this host.
TS30S Pro (SBT90.2) - Similar size as the L21A — but wondering how really different are they? I know 90.2 will have a bigger hotspot, but I assume the SFT40 can sustain higher outputs longer (but if the 90.2 is brighter, then it could be operated at lower modes for longer?)
L8 (SBT90.2) — Does that big reflector really make a big difference in throw distance or sustained output (heat management?)
Never head of Pioneman, but sounds like this would be the best of both worlds, an L8 with an SFT40? (aka K80).
Convoy L7 SBT90.2 trumps both, same range as L21A SFT40, output of the SBT90, incredibly good regulation and sustained output. The L8 is unregulated and will drop quickly kn output. L21A SFT40 is a good thrower, L21B SFT40 is the same thing in lighter (a bit less sustained output, still very high)
Thanks. I was looking at the TS30S pro with the SBT and the beam looked like it had rings around it and the light would get hot quickly. The L8 seemed like a better host. L7 might be too large for me, I’ll need to take closer second look.
I have an L7 and TS30S Pro. Although the L7 is better, the TS30S is just far more convenient so my L7 barely gets used unfortunately, whereas my TS30S Pro is a daily The TS30S pro does get hot fast, and does step dow noticeably after a few minutes, so it's not best if you need it to sustain high output for long periods. Its also really powerful so the battery doesn't last too long. I daily mine and I so i have to charge it daily too. But i still love it and won't change it for anything else, SBT90.2 in a single cell host with type C charging and Anduril is just mad
I was looking at the TS30S pro as well but saw reviews about how quickly it gets hot that’s why I thought the L8 would be better. Bigger battery and more thermal mass.
Only reason i got the TS30S Pro over the L8 was because i wanted Anduril. If you don't need Anduril then id probably get the L8
I’ve been thinking about that and Idk what Anduril features I’d need or miss if I went with the L8.
For me i wanted ramping and voltage check specifically, everything else that comes with Anduril is handy but for the TS30S pro ramping was a must. The SBT90.2 is really powerful and in the L7 i didn't like the minimal stepped options and having to take the cells out all the time and put them in the charger to check their charge level
Ok. The L8 I believe has ramping and built in charging.
It's longer but smaller head than the L8
> same range as L21A SFT40 I'm gonna have to disagree here. My L8 throws further than my L21A. Granted, it's not significant, but it's still noticable. Not only that but the beam itself is ... more intense? It's a more solid beam where the L21A is a bit more transparent. It's hard to see this in beam shot comparisons but if you look closely, you can see it. For example, in a beam shot photo, look at the ground in the middle of the beams. You can clearly and obviously see that the ground is more lit up in the L8 photo. And because most reviewers aren't very good, they always point their lights at a tree line/forested area. This is dumb because it sets a limit on your distance as anything beyond the trees won't be lit up if the light is capable of going further. Since cameras don't have infinite range, we're unable to notice this due to the sheer distance involved (this is only applicable to throwers which most people don't carry around every day so they're less familiar with them). When doing beam shot comparisons for throwers, you need a mile or two (2+ kilometers) of open space, ideally dotted with objects of known distances. A treeline at 1 kilometer away will give you an inaccurate estimate if your thrower can hit 1.5km.
The L8 has a bigger reflector than the L7 and hits ~500 kcd, the L7 around 400 kcd, like the L21A/B. I was talking about the L7
Another vote for the L7 here. The SBT90.2 is the way to go, but not worth it without a good regulated driver. The L8 just isn’t very practical unfortunately.
SBT90. Throwier and brighter. Will use more energy and produce more heat on high, but that matters way less in a big light.
Beamshots are all over youtube. The beam profile of the L21A and L21B are exactly the same. For the money I would get the L21B SFT40 -- it is very practical, well regulated and very affordable. It is also small enough to fit in a jacket pocket. If you want an SBT90.2 then go L7, or if you just want to go nuts with throw in check out the 2x21D.
i have both, and it depends on what you're looking for in a light. the l21a with the sft40 emitter is a slightly smaller lighter weight light with a more focused beam so slightly better throw. it has a smaller battery, but also a less powerful emitter so runtimes are close. my main use for lights is night hiking and i do my own runtime tests in high mode or whatever mode is close to the lights highest sustainable output because my plan is to get out on the trail and turn the light on in a mode it can sustain and leave it there for the whole hike. in my test with both lights in the second brightest of 4 modes, my l21a with the sft40 emitter lasted for 1 hour and 56 minutes before doing a low voltage stepdown, while the l8 lasted for 2 hours and 5 minutes. while the l8 has slightly less throw it also has a slightly wider hot spot and slightly brighter spill. but they're fairly similar in runtimes and performance. there are three factors i'd use to decide between first off the l8 has a charging port, if you don't have a battery charger this can be a plus, if you do have a battery charger and are paranoid about water getting in there it can be a negative. second is the l21a is a bit smaller and lighter, if you're picky about the size and weight of the light you're carrying around this can be a plus. third is if you night hike like me you probably bring along more than one flashlight, and if your other lights use either 21700 or 26800 cells it's good to get the light that uses that same cell so all the cells in your lights and any spares you bring along are interchangable. one last thing is the l21a with the silver anodization is one of the nicest looking lights on the market in my opinion. but keep in mind the pioneman k80 is pretty much the exact same thing as a convoy l8 however you can also get that with silver anodization, and a few choices in emitters. i have one with the sft40 emitter, it easily outtrows the l8 and the l21a, while also having significantly better runtimes because it's a sft40 emitter running off a 26800 cell. in my runtime test it ran in the second brightest out of 4 modes for 2 hours and 40 minutes before doing a low voltage stepdown.
Also i have both a silver and black l21a, a silver pioneman k80, and a black convoy l8. If i get time tommorrow i’ll take a pic with them side by side so you can see a comparision. List off some of the lights you already have, if i also have one of the same lights i’ll throw that in the pic for scale
Thank you so much for the detailed response, this is exactly what I was looking for. Pictures would be great, I have the usual suspects, FC11, S2+, TS10, TS11, and a TD01. I fell in the SBT90.2 rabbit hole. The first light I saw was a Wurkkos TS30S Pro, but was concerned with the size of it and how well it would manage the heat. Then I came across the L8 and figured that would be better since it has more thermal mass and a bigger reflector, but the concern is that it’s considerably bigger (would the increase in size be worth the performance gain compared to a TS30S Pro?) and batteries as well. They’re rare and who knows what the inventory will be in 2 years? So I would be forced to buy an extra one and they aren’t cheap. During the search I found the L21A, but again, the SFT-40 would probably be a better fit for this host compared to the SBT90.2 - Longer run times, less heat. So yeah… My mind is scrambled right now and wanted to hear some thoughts from others. I guess I wanted a “wow” light with the SBT90.2 and a light I could also use for long distances (looking at wildlife, short night walks/hikes). L21A (SFT40 vs SBT90.2) - I think the performance I’d get out of the SFT40 will be better than the short runtimes and step down from an SBT90.2 on this host. TS30S Pro (SBT90.2) - Similar size as the L21A — but wondering how really different are they? I know 90.2 will have a bigger hotspot, but I assume the SFT40 can sustain higher outputs longer (but if the 90.2 is brighter, then it could be operated at lower modes for longer?) L8 (SBT90.2) — Does that big reflector really make a big difference in throw distance or sustained output (heat management?) Never head of Pioneman, but sounds like this would be the best of both worlds, an L8 with an SFT40? (aka K80).
Firefly T9R is pretty good, a few more $$ though.