# SST-50 Drop-in: Review



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*Santa came early!* Today I got my SST-50 drop-in from Kaidomain. When I opened the package I hesitated because I thought they sent me two by accident! I forgot that the order included two reflectors.. Anyway, I'll cut to the chase. This thing is impressive..:eekster: ! To those who thought that the output would be somewhere near 400 lumen, let me just say....*NO FREAKING WAY!*

First thing I did was take it outside and shine it around off my balcony. It is *BRIGHT! VERY BRIGHT!* I compared it to my MTE P-7 torch and my Aurora MCE torch. Unfortunately the ground is very wet right now where I live so it's really hard to tell how far it is actually throwing. I'll know more about that in a couple days if we don't get any more rain. ( fingers tightly crossed.. )

Just keep in mind this is a _preliminary review, my first impressions_. First thing I noticed: It looks to be brighter than my MTE P-7 torch. The fact that I can notice that under the current conditions is significant in my book. _That means in has to be somewhere over 600lm with a fresh battery. _The beam pattern looks to be very similar to my P-7 torch with a nice combo of flood and throw and here's the kicker... The spill looks brighter and whiter than my P-7! Also, the beam itself ( regardless of what reflector used ) looks flawless. No artifacts, rings or halo's, just pure white light. The beam tint looks very Cree'ish, a nice neutral white, no tinge of blue or green or yellow. None of the reflectors given look to provide an overtly narrow beam pattern unfortunately. Perhaps the smooth one has more throw but I really can't tell for sure at the moment. I'll know more about that come the weekend.

I also did a wall test and it looks brighter than the P-7 torch at first glance. However the beam tints are so different it is hard to judge. It compares favorably with my Aurora and looks brighter because it has a wider beam but the Aurora has a more intense hot spot which is why it has been my favorite helmet torch. More comparisons will be done in the next couple days for sure. :thumbsup:

Lastly, this drop-in functions like a true bike light. It has three usable light levels. Medium looks to be near 225-250lm, low under 100lm but good enough for slow fire road climbs. Oh and this one has memory which looks to work for once and there are no stupid flash modes.

Just how well this is going to work as a bike light remains to be seen. I have no idea what the run time is going to be like but output could drop significantly when the current drops below 1.75A. Kaidomain listed the output for this drop-in at 550lm. If that's true it's the brightest damn 550lm I've ever seen. :rockon: Can't wait to compare this to my Dinotte 600L. I'll get back when I have some more low-down. :thumbsup:


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## moggy82 (Jan 30, 2009)

The Manufacturer claims 665 lumens and shows a pic of a integrating sphere, to say that the test has been done correctly. I would agree, it shows as just under my 700 lumen MCE on a bounce test. So seems correct. I deeper reflector would be good, gonna try and modify one of my XPG P60 reflectors to fit!


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

moggy82 said:


> The Manufacturer claims 665 lumens and shows a pic of a integrating sphere, to say that the test has been done correctly. I would agree, it shows as just under my 700 lumen MCE on a bounce test. So seems correct. I deeper reflector would be good, gonna try and modify one of my XPG P60 reflectors to fit!


Yep, it certainly looks to me to be in that range. Of course that is with a fully charged battery. I can't wait to do a run test. I also thought about trying different reflectors. I have both an R-2 and P-4 ( drop-in ) reflector that I'll try when I get home tonight. The XP-G one has too small a hole for the emitter dome. Tonight I'll be driving out to the country where it's nice and dark. Can't wait to try this on some old country dirt roads. Sure hope it doesn't rain...


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

You actually got 1 I presumed they where ALL cancelled.

Sounds great ran with a XP-E to boost the spot aswell I guess, which was my plan and just switch this on for fast sections.

You need something like a UltraFire C2 36mm ish smooth reflector they kicked butt at 150lumens with 665 they'll put alot of the light forward where you want it.

Can you still order these anywhere then ??

Still tempted to try the Aurora though but heavier than a 501b + SST50.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Well I got a chance to try some field tests tonight while on the job. I found a nice grassy area with a tree line behind it. From where I was standing it was about ( I walk-paced it out ) 145ft. to the tree line. As I held the torch head-high amazingly the beam reached all the way to the tree line and lit the ground _and_ the trees up. Even with the smooth reflector this drop-in still has a very wide beam. Still, I have to consider that this is on a grassy surface. I almost always poo-poo all beam shots done on grass because grass is so reflective. Still it was food for thought. Later I found another dormant crop field only this time with no tree line near by. Once again, this little drop-in totally lit up the field with it's wide flood. The whole time I'm looking at this and I'm thinking, "Wow, helmet or bar mounted...this would make a nice light"!
Still, I'm going to hold off making any more "Wow" statements until I can see what this does on the trails. I wish I had brought my Aurora along to compare because that would of given me a _known_ point of reference. I say that because_ I KNOW_ what the Aurora can do. I go out tomorrow night again. This time I'll take the Aurora MC-E out as well. Hope it doesn't rain tomorrow night and really hope it stays dry until at least next week. :yesnod:

*Turveyd *: As far as I know the SST-50 is still listed on the Kaidomain website as being in-stock. Yes, the Aurora is a much heavier torch, hence my seach for a lighter alternative.
This just might be the one but the jury is still out. I need to do run-time test and trail tests before I declare it the winner....BUT, Oh is it sweet to see that much light coming out of a WF-501-B Ultra-fire host!  Note to self: I need another P-60 host.


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## moggy82 (Jan 30, 2009)

Dyl. got mine from here

http://www.szwholesale.com/3742v-lumens-sst50-bulbbs50-p-3425.html

Quicker postage than Kai by a long margin! They do it as a torch for $62 too.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

moggy82 said:


> Dyl. got mine from here
> 
> http://www.szwholesale.com/3742v-lumens-sst50-bulbbs50-p-3425.html
> 
> Quicker postage than Kai by a long margin! They do it as a torch for $62 too.


Ah!..I haven't used them in a while. I'm surprised to see them offering the newer items. On the other hand I'm more surprised that D/X isn't. D/X still doesn't even have anything with XP-G.  Anyway, my KD order only took a little more than two weeks...which isn't too bad as I see it.

Moggs, have you done a run test yet with the SST-50? If not what's the longest that you've let it run?


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

It's sounding ideal, it's going to take Max Current from a 18650 so like a P7 it'll run for @75mins I'd bet, which is more than enough switch it off while climbing and thats a real 4hour run time I'd bet, with the XP-E on all the time / there to boost the spot further.

I suspect I'll be ordering 1 of these on Friday


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## moggy82 (Jan 30, 2009)

Just over the hour to noticeable dimming! 

There has got to be somewhere cheaper to get these! 

Was tempted by a Olight M21 SST-50 (£88) but bit too assault torch style for a bike!


So you gonna be some spare cash friday then??


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Have you got 1 already then Moggy ?? thought you said they where all cancelled last week.

Or am I losing my mind.

p.s. I ache all over barely used the car and it's BEATING me up!! Or I'm old! Realistically no on the cash have you sorted soon ish don't worry.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

I did some more field comparisons last night, this time with my Aurora M2 MCE as the measuring stick. The results were interesting. The SST-50 drop-in looks to throw about as far as the Aurora BUT....the main difference is beam pattern. With it's tight center spot, the Aurora could define terrain a tad better at distance. The SST-50 D.I. on the other hand has a much wider beam pattern and was able to illuminate more area than the Aurora. This makes the SST-50 D.I. more useful if you happen to want a wider field of view. Still, with such subtle differences I can't really declare one to be the over-all winner for helmet duties until I actually take it out for a ride. If I feel comfortable with SST-50 D.I. beam pattern coming off the helmet than it will certainly be the hands-down winner.This weekend maybe if the rain holds off.

*SST-50 drop-in with WF-501 Ultrafire torch host
Cost: $51.00 (DI) + $16.00 for torch host*
Favorable points: light-weight, 3 usable modes, smaller size makes it less likely to grab branches. Makes an excellent bar light. Output (fresh battery) over 600lm. The wide beam pattern throws a good distance ~ 140ft. or > depending on conditions and terrain.
The beam tint is a nice neutral white which I like. Since Ultra-fire torch hosts are so cheap buying an extra one for modding is on my to-do list.
Negative points: the beam pattern is perhaps a little too wide to have good distance throw ( > 150ft. ) _but_ the jury is still out on that.

I'll see about doing a ride test and perhaps a beam photo this weekend if there's no rain and I get all my Christmas shopping done.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Running the Smooth reflector I trust for more throw ?? Does it make much difference ??

There is a diffuser built around the LED itself on those, why you don't get the artifacts like with a MC-E / P7.

It's a whiter output than a MC-E right ?? which should get a better return off dark wet ground.


Will get to see 1 in a week or 2, when Moggy gives it to himself for xmas!!


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Turveyd said:


> Running the Smooth reflector I trust for more throw ?? Does it make much difference ??
> 
> There is a diffuser built around the LED itself on those, why you don't get the artifacts like with a MC-E / P7.
> 
> ...


Yes, I am using the smooth reflector. It looks to confine the beam a little more but it is still a wide beam. Past 100ft it is twice the size of the Aurora MCE center spot. I have yet to see if I will like this beam pattern on my helmet. If not it will still make a peachy bar light.
Compared to the MCE the tint looks roughly the same. I suppose since the SST-50 is a single die LED there is no artifacts caused by a criss-cross separation as with the mult-dice MCE.

I found out over on CPF that Cree is working on some more LED upgrades that just might create another high output single die LED. Also, they are getting ready to release a neutral white version of the XP-G which should come out some time in March of next year.
Since I've been so impressed with the SST-50 I can't wait for someone to do a DIY build using these so I can see what optics are the best. ( for spot beam patterns that is..:thumbsup: )


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Looks like I'm about to get snowed in for the weekend. . What a drag. No beam shots or trail comparisons on the horizon. On the upside I might get a chance to get a snow ride in if it's not too slushy or deep but with our typical Mid-Atlantic region, I'll not be holding my breath. I did do some more comparisons last night and the more I see of the SST-50 the more I like...*sigh*.
Unfortunately it looks like the weather will have me screwed for the near future.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Backed up with my XP-E Thrower to boost the range / run time this sounds ideal to me, but expensive with shipping, I could get 2.5 P7 MTE SF15's for that price.

Wider beam is better for close up slower riding anyway, my 2 x XP-E torches have the range but up close slow tricky stuff the spot is to small.

Going to try the SF15 likely similar output and pattern but 30grams heavier then your SST-50 with 1 x XP-E but much cheaper, the P7 D bin SXO beats my MC-E for output, similar beam pattern and WHITE so looks brighter.

Might get some snow here to over the weekend, I like riding in snow!!  Makes even the most basic of lights blinding to


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## saltytri (Feb 13, 2009)

If it's an SST that you want (or any other emitter, for that matter), try this guy:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=248771

He does great work and I get delivery in the US 3 to 7 days after the order is placed.

The last SST-50 I ordered was with a D36 reflector and 3 level driver for parallel 18650s .

I think it was about $75 pp. He also does the more common P60 reflectors.

For the small difference in price, why buy from Hong Kong and wait?


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

SST-50 with a 36mm Reflector I presume + running of 2 x 18650 so full power 3000ma being possible would get you 1000lumens and a tighter beam with a 90min run time ( for 2 cell's ), that would make the perfect single torch for all your useage, throw in a 1/2 power mode which would be more than rideable on it's own and BABY!!


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## saltytri (Feb 13, 2009)

Right! Except I ride randos so my 18650 packs will be 4 cells in parallel for more run time. I figure that with limited use of high mode for fast descents, one 4x pack will last a full night.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

saltytri said:


> If it's an SST that you want (or any other emitter, for that matter), try this guy:
> 
> http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=248771
> 
> ...


I suppose that is one way to look at it. Another would be to say, "Why spend another $25+shipping just to have it 10 days sooner"? The ones sold by _Nailbender_ look to provide about the same output on high ( 600lm as per Nailbender ). Not sure about the mid-level though. Also, the beam pattern he described to me with his is the same beam pattern I have on mine. ( that said without a direct comparison of course ).

*Turveyed*, I don't think any of these are going to be set-up to operate in the 3000ma range. Not unless of course someone is making a nice custom 3000ma driver. In order to get a 1000 lumen out of one of these you would have to run it at about 3.4A or 3400ma as it may. 3000ma should get you about 900lm though if you could.

I really would like to see a beam shot from one of the D36 drop-ins. If it has a tighter spot I might start looking for a host...*Saltytri*, any comment on the beam pattern from the D36 ?

Dang it! I am totally snowed-in. Looks to be about 20"- 2'. No bike/night riding/beam shots for Mr. Cat Man for a good long time. On the up-side I get to have a white Christmas.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Thats some serious snow there Cat Man, tell me did your entire area come to a stand still ??

Cause in the UK we've had about 1" and the UK ground to a halt as always 

SST-50 wouldn't take 2 x 18650's on direct drive for 3600ma - 4000ma draw then ??


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Turveyd said:


> Thats some serious snow there Cat Man, tell me did your entire area come to a stand still ??
> 
> Cause in the UK we've had about 1" and the UK ground to a halt as always
> 
> SST-50 wouldn't take 2 x 18650's on direct drive for 3600ma - 4000ma draw then ??


Actually it wasn't as bad as it could of been. It started snowing on a Friday night when most people were already home. It continued all day Saturday but by Sunday most roads were cleared although parking lots were still a mess.

About direct driving a SST-50: If using 2 X 18650 cells in parallel I'm sure it could be done but at 3600ma ( >1000lm ) run time on high probably only about 1.25hr. You would probably have to have a resistor in series to help limit/set the current ( I suppose ). Even if you did that @ 3600ma that resistor is going to get real hot. Also remember at that output level, heat sinking becomes much more important. You might want to try to ask _nailbender_ over on CPF about how he direct drives his set-ups. He does offer some direct drive set-ups but I'm not sure if he does the SST-50 direct drive. He did tell me that the ones he builds put out about 600lm on high. I figure if that's so he's driving them under *2A ( 2000ma) ( *provided he's using the brightest bins )


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## moggy82 (Jan 30, 2009)

Used mine a few times now and the MCE is going back on. Mine has a green twinge which Turvey wouldn't like. its probably only about 400 - 450 lumens.

I must have a dodgy one, theres no reverse clicky on the switch on the G & R host in came in. 

At the price a pair of XPG's would be a much better investment. Longer runtime, still a nice beam. Second one , drill the hole for the LED to 5mm to get more flood. Would be a nice bar setup.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Shame on the Green twinge, expensive experiement there, glad I'm skint 

* p.s. Soon!!


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## shrigg (Oct 4, 2006)

Cat-man-do said:


> Actually it wasn't as bad as it could of been. It started snowing on a Friday night when most people were already home. It continued all day Saturday but by Sunday most roads were cleared although parking lots were still a mess.
> 
> About direct driving a SST-50: If using 2 X 18650 cells in parallel I'm sure it could be done but at 3600ma ( >1000lm ) run time on high probably only about 1.25hr. You would probably have to have a resistor in series to help limit/set the current ( I suppose ). Even if you did that @ 3600ma that resistor is going to get real hot. Also remember at that output level, heat sinking becomes much more important. You might want to try to ask _nailbender_ over on CPF about how he direct drives his set-ups. He does offer some direct drive set-ups but I'm not sure if he does the SST-50 direct drive. He did tell me that the ones he builds put out about 600lm on high. I figure if that's so he's driving them under *2A ( 2000ma) ( *provided he's using the brightest bins )


Nailbender does offer direct drive SST-50's, not sure if I would recommend direct drive tho. His 3 mode draws 2.5A and the 1 mode draws 2.8 A


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## shrigg (Oct 4, 2006)

moggy82 said:


> Used mine a few times now and the MCE is going back on. Mine has a green twinge which Turvey wouldn't like. its probably only about 400 - 450 lumens.
> 
> I must have a dodgy one, theres no reverse clicky on the switch on the G & R host in came in.
> 
> At the price a pair of XPG's would be a much better investment. Longer runtime, still a nice beam. Second one , drill the hole for the LED to 5mm to get more flood. Would be a nice bar setup.


Too bad, guess that justifies $10 extra for Nailbender's...... He overdrives them so they are WHITE, plus you can ask him what tints he has available. I'm getting a regulated 3 level that is a neutral 5700k, WJ brightness. I'll post back here how I like it....


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

shrigg said:


> Too bad, guess that justifies $10 extra for *Nailbender's...... He overdrives them so they are WHITE,* plus you can ask him what tints he has available. I'm getting a regulated 3 level that is a neutral 5700k, WJ brightness. I'll post back here how I like it....


...this depends on what you mean by overdriving. If you mean he drives them over 1.75A , yeah that would be true. If you mean driving them over the 5A max...I don't think so.
Like I said before, the one I bought from K/D has a nice neutral white tint although I have no idea what type of driver it uses. Output looks close to 600lm but when I compare it to my Dinotte 600l it might be just a tad less...so perhaps 550lm with fresh battery. I would love to see one of these driven in the 3.5A range which should output around 1000lm. FWIW, D/X is selling a SST-50 driven torch that supposedly has a 4000ma driver. One of the other posters ( Whitedog1 ) is buying one and waiting for his order. Can't wait to read when he posts up with the review.


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## shrigg (Oct 4, 2006)

I got the 2.5A driver which actually draws 2.8A at the tailcap or so I am told. I went with regulated although I'd be interested in hearing any advantages to direct drive


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

shrigg said:


> I got the 2.5A driver which actually draws 2.8A at the tailcap or so I am told. I went with regulated although *I'd be interested in hearing any advantages to direct drive*


So would I. More than likely you would have a brighter initial output for maybe ten minutes but after that the output would likely drop to more nominal levels. My estimate on direct drive run time would be about 30-35 minutes before major dimming. So shrigg, how bright does the one you have look to you on high?


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## shrigg (Oct 4, 2006)

Yes, and in theory regulated yields a longer runtime. But I'm no guru in these matters. I was wondering what batteries you've used with success. I've been using AW protected 2200mah 18650's but I hear the safe chemistry IMR's allow higher current etc. With regulated I dont know if I should care, maybe inexpensive DX batts would be worth a try


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

shrigg said:


> Yes, and in theory regulated yields a longer runtime. But I'm no guru in these matters. I was wondering what batteries you've used with success. I've been using AW protected 2200mah 18650's but I hear the safe chemistry IMR's allow higher current etc. With regulated I dont know if I should care, maybe inexpensive DX batts would be worth a try


Darn, I edited my post just after you posted.. Right now I'm using the red/black Trustfire 2400mAh batteries. These are suppose to provide good initial high current output or so it has been said over on CPF. I also recently bought 4 of the red Ultrafire 2600's. So far I've not done any run time tests on any of these new batteries on any torch I have in high mode. . Ummm...maybe tonight if I'm not doing anything. I have no experience with the IMR's but if my memory serves me ( from what I've read over on CPF where the REAL Gurus are.... ) I believe that they don't run as long as your average Li-ion cell. However, if you're looking for something that will give you the highest initial current output and only need it for quick/short on/off torch use, this might be the way to go. Just keep in mind that these might not work with a torch that is direct driven. The only way to know for sure would be to ask the person that assembled the led/driver circuit.

My question from above....How bright do you estimate your SST-50 is on high?


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## shrigg (Oct 4, 2006)

I don't have it yet, just ordered it last night and should get it by the end of the week. I had to sell my Malkoff P7 dropin to fund the Nailbender, at least that's how I justified everything.  The P7 Malkoff sold on CPF in 14 minutes, good riddens to it! I never really fell in love with it, found it ran too hot and wasnt THAT amazing. I'll let you know how the nailbender sst50 looks when it arrives. I got it with a smooth reflector and will be using it in a Surefire 6P 18650 host


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

I've seen Moggys and well it was even with the smooth fitted well to big a spot and below the XP-G P60 drop in I've got in terms of power and run time. Don't bother from a single battery P60 size, twin battery and 40+mm Reflector it'll THROW very well but to tight a spot. but it'll also suck 3.7Ah's so no wonder it's then good, much more than P7 / MC-E's.




And Regulated has to start off with a lower power that the battery can output for a period of time where it's not fading, so you might get slightly longer run time, but a regulator can't up the output and the regulator is generally 85% efficent so you actually get less run time and less initial output unless using more than 1 cell to get around the Output issues.


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## shrigg (Oct 4, 2006)

Hmm, So you'd recommend direct drive over regulated for longer runtime?

Wonder how a Tiablo A9 reflecor would work with the SST-50: http://kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=1812


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## shrigg (Oct 4, 2006)

Cat-man-do, what host are you using the SST-50 in? Do you bike or helmet mount it? I plan to use my SST-50 as a helmet light and mount 1 or 2 DIY XP-G dinotte's on the bars


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

shrigg said:


> Cat-man-do, what host are you using the SST-50 in? Do you bike or helmet mount it? I plan to use my SST-50 as a helmet light and mount 1 or 2 DIY XP-G dinotte's on the bars


I'm using an Ultrafire WF-501B host. My intention when I bought it was to helmet mount it. I have not yet had a chance to try it while biking due the awful winter weather where I live. 
I did however do some testing in a parking lot before the big snows came. I feel the one I have would make a nice helmet light. On high mode it lights up things pretty well for about a 100ft. although it can throw farther to about 150ft. The beam pattern ( with smooth reflector ) is a compromise between spot and medium. The beam is much wider than my XP-G drop-in and so IMO makes it a better choice for helmet duties. The XP-G drop-in has great throw but it is basically a tight spot and so it is limited to how much area it can light up if you are using just one. If someone can come up with a 3.5A driver and put it into a SST-50 drop-in....:ihih: ....now that would be sweet. You would need two cells to get any kind of decent run time but I see no problem with that. I would simply mode the torch to work with a duel cell external battery and mount both to the helmet. I figure maybe an hour and 10 minutes on high ( @ 3.5A ) with maybe 950 real lumens out the front. Now you might think that is not much run time but remember the mid-mode. Mid mode should output somewhere around 350-400lm. Right now the one I have runs about three hours on mid-mode @ ~ 200lm With that said it compares very favorably to my Dinotte 200L which I found useful up to about 75ft. I'll try to get around to doing a run test of the high mode when I get some free time.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

...Continued from the above post. 

Well I did a run time test with the SST-50 drop-in on high mode. Results were pretty impressive. There was very little drop in output after an hour had gone by. At least that is what my eyes were telling me from looking at the wall pattern. Oh if I only had a lux meter! Anyway, that in and of itself is pretty impressive. Compared to my P-7 torches there is noticeable drop in output after 50 minutes.
Of course I'm using new batteries so this is not perfect science. After 75 minutes output on the SST-50 drop-in had dropped to about 225lm ( comparing it to my Dinotte 200L and my P-7 torch on mid-mode ) . At this point I stopped the test. During the whole test the beam remains neutral white. The only difference was the intensity of the beam. The only problem with this test is that it was done indoors with the light shining up against a wall. This is not my favorite way to do a beam test. Being inside, there is no way to judge the usable throw of the light. That being the case I'm not going to take this test too seriously. I won't be happy till I see what it can do on a dirt trail that is relatively dry.

In retrospect, the SST-50 drop-in has a good mid-mode that can run for over three hours. If you restrict the use of the high mode to only the short-faster sections of the trail you might be able to get 1.5 to 2hrs on one 18650 li-ion cell. The good thing about the SST-50 drop-in is that it has 3 modes, high, mid level and low. No goofy flash modes to haggle with.


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## shrigg (Oct 4, 2006)

Nice preliminary test. I'll add my impressions and results for my Nailbender SST-50 when I receive it!


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

...Some more thoughts....During the test the WF-501B host does warm up a bit. As long as there is air flow it should be fine. This got me to thinking...If someone decides to use the SST-50 with a 3.5A driver they will definitely need a bigger heat sink. I would think something like what you see with most MTE P-7 torches or perhaps bigger. No doubt at 3.5A it is going to get hot. Can't wait to read about the _Nailbender_ drop-in but even more so, I can't wait to read the review on that SST-50 torch with the 4A driver that _Whitedog1_ is getting.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

The snow is almost gone where I live. I went out today and walked around to check out some trails so I could do some beam comparisons. Luckily I did find some clear spots although almost everything is still wet and has some snow. Still, I liked what I was seeing with the SST- 50 drop-in. It should make a fine helmet torch. I can't wait till trails are more fully dry and ready to roll. Maybe another couple weeks if I'm lucky.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Cat-man-do said:


> The snow is almost gone where I live. I went out today and walked around to check out some trails so I could do some beam comparisons. Luckily I did find some clear spots although almost everything is still wet and has some snow. Still, I liked what I was seeing with the SST- 50 drop-in. It should make a fine helmet torch. I can't wait till trails are more fully dry and ready to roll. Maybe another couple weeks if I'm lucky.


it is a known fact Cats dont like water but to wait for the trails to dry , Hell you would never ride in the UK if you waited for dry trails


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

troutie-mtb said:


> it is a known fact Cats dont like water but to wait for the trails to dry , *Hell you would never ride in the UK if you waited for dry trails*


Ha! You might not believe this but I was just thinking the same thing earlier today. I would imagine that if I lived in the U.K. I wouldn't do any night rides unless I was using lights that totaled >2000 lumens. With the damp/wet trails you deal with over there, super bright lights would be a must. Now with that said, we had rain almost every week during the summer last year. More than one occasion I ended up riding on trails that were best left alone. If you live in a condo and don't have access to a water hose you absolutely hate to get mud on your bike. Last year I did way more bucket washings than I care to admit.  Oh how I wish we have a drought this year, I'm sick and tired of rain and mud and snow.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

It's not that bad in the UK, trails are all drying up nicely currently, with patches of horrible sticky mud I'll add.

I rode last week with only @1000lumens with my 5 torches all on medium to save me changing batterys, more than enough when I'm on my own for anything.

You only need 2000lumens when your riding with mates with 1500lumens which kills your night vision, 80lumens from a L1 used to work just fine on my own!!


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