erbfarm

Has anyone used the P-Rocket XM-L 850+ Lumens Compact LED Flashlight from Shining Beam? I really need a superbright light for riding on very dark bike paths at night and through a very dark park. I don't have good night vision to begin with and I need to be able to see ahead of me as well as to the sides as much as possible (some parts of the path have lots of brush growing into the path). IN other words, a floodlight would be great! I've head good experiences w/ Shining beam products, just wondering about this new one. thnx

seeker333

I haven't used it, and probably no one else has either since it's only been available for about a week. I do own the predecessor to the P-Rocket. It's practically the same body and uses a MCE emitter. It's used on my bike as a spot light. Since then, this light has been revised three times with SST-50, XPG, and now XML emitter. You can read more about the P-rocket here (SB's only normal sales thread on the internet AFAIK, besides their website). If you read carefully and register, you may even save a couple bucks on your purchase.

https://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sho...LED-Flashlight

Email him - he'll reply the same day with intelligent answers.

colleen c

I came very close to buying one. I have the p-rocket sst50 and the p-rocket xpg r5. The sst50 is bright but lack throw while the xpg has good throw but little close range flood. If the body is identical, then that XML version should have some throw while retaining some flood.

Instead I just purchased a Yezl T9 which has adjustable zoom and a large reflector which should have a very good throw. If needed, it can be a flood. Quality may not ne as good as Shiningbeam but I"ll soon will see. I still may get the XML P Rocket from Shiningbeam.

Richard Cranium

What happened to BC 40?

I got my Solarforce M8 - I can see now that the TK41 is an albatross.

I do think I figured something out - all emitters being equal - get the light with the massive reflector.

The M8 out "throws" the TK41 - using a single 18650 - and has a much "whiter" emitter as well.

It looks like a waste of money now - the P rocket is probably "good enough" and 25 bucks cheaper to boot. However, the M8 will edge it out with the extension tube and the "tactical" switch is a bonus.

All in all I'm in love with Solarforce temporarily - the tail cap swap out features- all kind of cells - the reflector is beautiful.... Search no farther**********

colleen c

Still got and still using it. I love the throw from the BC40. I was a step away from doing the chop chop of the body to as short as possible, tig weld back the tail cap with another brand and run external battery to it. That was until last Friday when I saw a single 18650 with a 40+ mm head and one that can adjust in beam pattern. The head of the Yezl is about the same as the Jetbeam BC40 and hoping it will be the same throw.

At $27 Yezl compare to $70 for the Jetbeam, guess I will play with the Yezl first before cutting up the Jetbeam

Richard Cranium

I can't say without some kind of light meter - but the hot spots of the TK41 and BC40 were nearly identical - but the Solarforce is way more focused - and i have not tested it out in the field yet - but I suspect the M8 is going to be even more "spot" down the road....

mechBgon

I have the P-Rocket XM-L 850, but haven't used it to ride with yet. At 2800mAh current draw on high, it's not going to run for very long, so I was actually planning on using it on Medium as the norm, which I suppose would be good for about 2 hours.

Anyhow... was there a particular question you'd like to have answered? Based on your usage description, you should actually not need as much light, because in complete darkness, your night vision gets to adapt. It's in "busy" environments that you'll need the most over-the-top lights to punch through the interference and actually see the road surface, or so I've found.

erbfarm

like I said, my night vision is not good to begin with so while you may think I shouldn't "need as much light" I really know that I do need as much as possible and as a female riding alone much of the time, believe me, I want as much light as I can get. So I'm just asking if the new P rocket XML would be a good choice for someone who does need a lot of light. I don't need a long run time, but at least an hour would be nice.

colleen c

Yeah I know your feelings. Being out before 4am with minium light and being female can get pretty spooky. I started with about 500 lumens and felt uncomfy with that and now I am at 2000+ lumens. The advantage of having that much light is that people will be more aware of you even from a distant. Chances of getting mug is slimmer when everyone within blocks can see you with the extra amount of lights.

I cannot say if the new P Rocket XML will be enough but since it is driven at 2.8 amps, it will provide lots of lights. However, even if it does, I strongly suggest a second backup light such as a helmet mounted light. Get one that has more runtime in case the primary light goes dead. Something like a P-Rocket XPG R5 450 lumens or the smaller lighter S mini from Shiningbeam will work fine with the XML P-Rocket on the handlebar. The two combo will yeild over or at least close to 1000 OTF lumens.

seeker333

For the P Rocket XML, you will not get an hour on High from a single 18650 cell - you'll need 2 cells to go an hour. Just so you know.

Also, if you run it on Medium to get longer run time, you'll get about 375 lumen, based on SB's spec of 1000ma on Medium, and the Cree XM-L datasheet, page 5 (flux vs. current chart).

https://www.cree.com/products/pdf/XLampXM-L.pdf

It's still a lot of light for the money, from a reputable supplier.

The next step up in output and run-time would be a dedicated bike light.

I agree with Colleen, in that more light is probably safer. Motorists are conditioned to look for output typical of car headlights - which is about what Colleen is giving them.

Richard Cranium

Well we went down this dark road before...... how much light you need is never dependent on any single factor.