# If you had to choose...



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

Which spotlight would you prefer as a hunting light? Left or Right?


----------



## Scotty D. (Feb 23, 2012)

Right....No wait, left... Never mind....LOL :teeth:

Preference is based on the halo by some...Some hunters like a small center w/ more halo (left)--others prefer the larger center..

Personally, the right seems to have a more consistent light distribution outside of the center, but it's hard to tell, without seeing the way it lights up a cornfield... :teeth:


----------



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

It looks to be brighter (right)


----------



## Weasel (Jun 18, 2012)

Right


----------



## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

I agree with Scotty, would have to see the down range results. When I hunted at night as long as you could verify your target when in range is all the brightness you needed.


----------



## fr3db3ar (Aug 6, 2011)

Either of those would work for me.


----------



## Cheez (Dec 12, 2011)

If you want to send them to me I will try to get you some detailed results :mrgreen: , if not then I would go with the one on the right based on the pic.

What are you using it for though? Kill light, gun mounted or scanning light?


----------



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

I think I dated her !! :mrgreen:


----------



## birdginski (Mar 19, 2010)

I'll go with the right.


----------



## Nitehunt (Feb 8, 2013)

What lights are these? What distance are these pics shot at?
The right looks identical to the "throw" on our light
The left looks like a EWT light, or another with the older LED that the majority of the LED lights on the market still are using.

Just curious? Brands in the picture?

See your from NewYork, you by chance in WNY?


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

If I could only take one..... It would be the one on the right.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

What lights are these? What distance are these pics shot at?
The right looks identical to the "throw" on our light
The left looks like a EWT light, or another with the older LED that the majority of the LED lights on the market still are using.
Just curious? Brands in the picture?
See your from NewYork, you by chance in WNY? 

PM sent NiteHunt.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

Here's a few more taken last night.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

And some more.


----------



## Scotty D. (Feb 23, 2012)

Definitely the right :teeth:


----------



## Not_Fur_Friendly (Feb 23, 2012)

Right.


----------



## sneakygroundbuzzard (Nov 1, 2012)

Right side would be my choice


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

I decided to take some light away from the spill area and have an even tighter, brighter center beam.









Thoughts?


----------



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

It's really a crapshoot for us to tell the difference in a picture, they both look almost equally bright but the right one seems like a wider beam and maybe a little brighter. I'd take them outside and test them in the real world, you should have a pretty good idea if one is better than another.

Are you planning to pick one to hunt with or are you deciding which to market ?


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

Youngdon, both. I'm looking for what would work best out on the field and am looking for the experience of the veterans that have used these lights to tell me what they prefer. So far, almost everyone likes the beam and field comparison of the one on the right, that's a start!

Now I'm trying to see how much more I can squeeze out of the already tight beam on the right.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

Cheez, I'm looking for the best gun-mounted kill light ATM. Would you use these as scan lights as well?


----------



## Scotty D. (Feb 23, 2012)

So, your prototype has an adjustable bezel?? Or are you using different bezels to tighten your beam??? :teeth:


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

So, your prototype has an adjustable bezel?? Or are you using different bezels to tighten your beam??? :teeth: PM sent.


----------



## Antlerz22 (Apr 18, 2011)

Definitely right , it lights up around the center focused beam, as well giving you a "lead" if somethings not standing still etc..


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

Thanks for the excellent feedback.


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

I like a flood style light for scanning. I don't have to move as much with the wider beam. As long as it is not Spilling so much as to light up me legs or the person next to me or my gun. I use a more concentrated beam for a gun light. I see the eyes coming and once I'm ready to shoot I use the more concentrated light if I need it.

If I could only choose one. I would take the one on the right in your last photo. It seems to sharp contrast between the rings in the halo. I like that as it offers visual reference to where your halo is. It would make a good scanning and shooting light in my opinion.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

ItzDirty, that was an excellent comparison of the beam patterns. I really appreciate you taking the time to give me that feedback. 

It's pretty clear that the majority of folks prefer the beam pattern on the right more so than that of the left. That's very encouraging to hear! 

I'll be testing batteries next for minimum run-times and such. Initial testing shows about 2 hours and 45 minutes on high power continuous with the red LED.


----------



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

I can save you some time on batteries if we are talking 18650 lithium. Sanyo or Panasonic. Good batteries make a big difference from what I can tell. They are worth the extra coin in my opinion. Bad batteries frustrate me. I don't want to change them in the middle of the stand. Once I have the light on.... I don't want to turn it off.... Especially to change a battery.

This stuff is all fresh in my head. I gave up night hunting 10 years ago, until this year, as I grew tired of lugging the huge lights and batteries around. The real kicker was they did not last much more than an hour. These new lights and batteries have renewed my interest. Light weight, portable, and good run times is all I was asking for. Lol.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

I can save you some time on batteries if we are talking 18650 lithium. Sanyo or Panasonic. Good batteries make a big difference from what I can tell. They are worth the extra coin in my opinion. Bad batteries frustrate me. I don't want to change them in the middle of the stand. Once I have the light on.... I don't want to turn it off.... Especially to change a battery. 
This stuff is all fresh in my head. I gave up night hunting 10 years ago, until this year, as I grew tired of lugging the huge lights and batteries around. The real kicker was they did not last much more than an hour. These new lights and batteries have renewed my interest. Light weight, portable, and good run times is all I was asking for. Lol. 

I've been looking at the Sanyo and Panasonic. Their rated run-time is around 3 hrs on high. I just tested a budget battery that lasted 2:46 on high. Not too shabby for a cheapy.


----------



## kevind43 (Jan 22, 2013)

just want to add a little bit when it comes to batteries. battery capacity is rated in milliamphours(mAh). run time is dependant on how nuch current(amps) are being drawn from the emitter. for example if the emitter is being driven at .5Amps like alot of less expensive lights are. then a panasonic 3400mAh(best and latest li-ion technology) driving the led at .5 amps would have a run time of 6.8 hours. the sanyo 2600 mAh battery would have a run time of 5.2 hrs. the actual capacity of the above batteries is about ten percent less than advertised, so the run times would actually be ten percent less. there are a few "budget style hunting lights" that are driven at .7 amps. the run times(and light output) would be lower in these lights.

I have personally tested the cheaper plain green, plain blue, and ultrafire batteriesand original kill light batteries. i can tell you this, they may say 3000mAh on the side but they are no where near that. the ones i tested had an actual capacity of 1200-1400 mAh! any battery labeled xxxfire is a recycled, rewrapped, rejected laptop battery. they have very low quality protection circuits in them, that fail quickly or don't work at all. these rejected laptop batteries are avaliable by the zillions and chinese retailers are scooping them up and rewrapping them with xxxxfire wrappers and selling them. in fact you can buy the wrappers and cells and make them yourself....the parts are out there.

make sure you buy protected batteries.

sanyo 2600 UR18650FM protected are very good batteries.

panasonic 3400 protected are the best you can get but not cheap.

do not buy the sanyo UR18650ZT they don't get full capacity unless charged to 4.35 volts. most likely the charger you have cannot charge these.

by the way shawn i like your beamshots!

would you mind sharing the distance that the shots were taken at and the camera settings(f stop, iso...)?


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

Kevin, pm sent.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

I just got done testing another battery. Continuous run-time on high was 2 hours and 29 minutes. Battery was rated 2200 mAh. In pretty impressed and happy with these batteries.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

I made some minor changes, here's all three together.

View attachment 8371


View attachment 8372


View attachment 8373










I've added the one all the way to the right for a tighter, brighter center.

What's your thoughts?


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

TapaTalk crashed while uploading. Here's a few more.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

Based on the trio picture, here's a better view of the middle vs the right.


----------



## X-Calibur Lighting Systems (Feb 10, 2013)

Hi folks. Just wanted re-visit this thread and thank everyone for their very helpful feedback.

I also wanted to take the mystery out of the different lights, and say that the beam pattern on the right is the light I've been working on for the past few months. I'm thrilled to finally have them available. As a thank you to all that took time in writing, please mention this thread when ordering and I'll take an additional $10 off on you order with us.

Thanks again!

X-Calibur Lighting Systems
http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems


----------



## 220swift (Mar 2, 2011)

thanks for the update.............


----------

