Disclaimer: I bought the Convoy L6 with my own money. I don’t receive anything from writing this review.
Table of contents
Price and versions
The Convoy L6 is available on Aliexpress. [Link Aliexpress]
There are many configurations to choose from.
I got it with the XHP70.3 HI 4000K LED and included Liitokala Lii-50A cells.
Build and looks
The Convoy L6 is a flashlight of considerable size and weight. It uses two 26650 batteries. You control it using buttons located on the side as well as on the back.
The build quality is really good. The flashlight gives an impression of being sturdy and durable.
(In the photo below, the flashlight is wet from the snow.)
With the flashlight, you also receive a tactical ring. There’s a spacer that’s screwed onto the tube by default. To mount the ring, you unscrew the spacer and screw in the ring. I really appreciate that it’s screwed in and not just pushed onto the tube.
The ring let’s us use the flashlight in a “cigar grip”, this way you can operate the rear switch with one hand. However, it’s not as easy as with smaller flashlights because the L6 is long and hefty.
Size
| Lenght | ~255 mm |
| Head diameter | 72,5 – 75 mm |
| Diameter on the tube | 35 mm |
| Weight w/o cells | 555g |
| Weight w/ cells | 749g |
Compared to other lights:
Emisar D4K | Convoy S2+ | Convoy M21E | Wurkkos TS30S | Wurkkos TS30S Pro | Convoy L21B | Convoy L6
(I need to wipe down my monitor :p)
Switch and UI
The UI is fairly simple, similar to what other double-switch flashlights use.
Switch in the rear turns the flashlight ON & OFF, while the side button toggles through 4 brightness modes.
UI table:
Legend
OFF – flashlight OFF
ON – flashlight ON
RS – Rear switch
SB – Side button
Half-click – Lightly pressing the button, but not fully
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| OFF | Click RS | ON (last used mode) |
| OFF | Click SB | Nothing happens |
| OFF | Half-click RS | Momentary ON, for as long as we hold the button |
| ON | Click SB | Switching between 4 modes (1% -> 10% -> 35% -> 100%) |
| ON | Double-click SB | Strobe |
| ON | Click RS | OFF |
What I like about this UI
- With the control divided into a button and a switch, it’s hard to make a mistake. Also, turning ON the flashlight with the rear button is quite intuitive.
- Simple UI, with no unnecessary features to distract you.
What I’m not a fan of:
- The lowest mode is 230lm and I’d say that’s too bright for me. I’d enjoy it to be lower, about 50lm would suffice.*
- Unfortunately, you cannot check the battery level directly from the flashlight. The button on the flashlight only lights up red when the batteries are close to being fully discharged.
* – From what I understand, the L6 now uses a constant current driver, which is different to the one that the L7 uses. The L7 has a dimmer 1% mode (60lm), with the rest of the modes being very close to how bright they are on my L6.
Emitter and beam
My L6 uses the CREE XHP70.3 HI 4000K R70 LED. The OP reflector (orange peel) additionally smooths out the beam, at a cost of a tiny bit of throw.
Here’s how the beam looks like on a white wall:
I choose a warmer 4000K tint, as I overall enjoy this color temperature. It also has a benefit of less backscatter, compared to a colder temperature light.
Backscatter is where light bounces from the air, causing you not to see what you’re shining at.
There is a slight tint shift between the hotspot and the spill (a shift in color from green to pink in the beam).
It doesn’t really affect much when used outside, but there are people who have preferences about this. I heard that the High CRI version of this emitter has a nicer tint.
Opple Light Master measurments:
| Mode -> 35% | CCT | Duv | CRI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotspot | 4050K | 0.0061 | 68.1 |
| Spill | 4141K | 0.0015 | 70.8 |
Beamshots
Compared to other flashlights:
Runtimes and measurments:
The manufacturer only provides a 5200lm specification for the XHP70.3 HI LED, but this is most likely for the 6500K variant. Mine has a 4000K LED, resulting in lower maximum brightness. Although I doubt if even the 6500K version could hit that lumen target.
Below are my measurements.
Standard ANSI FL1
Standard ANSI FL1 describes how companies should measure flashlight specs. For lumen brightness, the measurment is supposed to be taken 30 seconds after turning the flashlight on. Runtime is measured by the time it takes the flashlight to reach 10% of the original output.
Learn more about the ANSI FL1 standard in this article.
| Tryb | Kandela | Zasięg | Szacowany realny zasięg* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tryb 4 – 100% @ 30s (ANSI) | 166872cd | 817m | 270m-410m |
* – Wyjaśnienie
The throw/range of a flashlight is defined by the ANSI FL1 standard. It defines the range of the flashlight as the distance at which it illuminates a surface to an intensity of 0.25 lux, which is the brightness equivalent to a full moon.
In most cases, however, it may not be bright enough to see clearly what is being illuminated. Therefore, I have added an estimated maximum range that we can expect from the flashlight based on the ANSI range.
| Mode | Brightness (0s) | 30s |
|---|---|---|
| 4 – 100% | 4250lm | 4140lm |
| 4 – 100% (at 3.7V charge) | 3720lm | 3500lm |
| 3 – 35% | 1624lm | X |
| 2 – 10% | 652lm | X |
| 1 – 1% | 234lm | X |
| Model | cd/lm |
|---|---|
| Convoy L6 XHP70.3 HI | 40 |
Candela/lumen ratio explanation
A good way to determine the beam profile of a flashlight is to divide its candela (cd) by the lumens (lm) it produces. In return, we will get the cd/lm ratio. Here’s an approximate scale of what those values mean:
- 0.1 cd/lm: light bulb
- 1-3: flooder
- 5-15: balanced EDC-style beam
- 30: compact thrower
- 100: dedicated thrower
- 500+: extreme thrower
- 10000: laser
Runtime grapths
The driver sustains a steady brightness, up until the cells are discharged. The 100% mode is sustained for 4-5 minutes, and the flashlight itself doesn’t heat up quickly. Additionally, the driver has a temperature sensor, which let’s it know when to reduce brightness to prevent overheating. Even when it does heat up, you can hold the flashlight without burning yourself.
Compared to the Convoy M21E XHP70.3 HI 5000K:
M21E (in black), uses a 5000mAh cell, while the L6 has two 5500mAh cells (1100mAh in total). Something unusual I noticed is that the L6 doesn’t shine for twice as long at the same output, but about 1.5x longer. The only reason I can think is that the driver may be less efficient.
It might be that the L6 uses a constant current driver and the M21E XHP70.3 uses a boost driver, which is more efficient than what the L6 uses.
* – M21E XHP70.3 HI Explanation
In the cooling runtime, the M21E sustains 3000lm without a stepdown, which puts a lot of strain on the cell. The cell voltage during Turbo sags so much, that the M21E prematurely detects it as a dead battery and drops the output (LVP), but when measured, the cell still has about 40% charge.
In the uncooled runtime, the M21E used a Liitokala Lii-50E cell, but in the cooled runtime I used a Samsung 40T cell, because it has lower voltage sag and would drop output later (30min for 40T, 20min for Lii-50E).
After brightness drop, I set the mode to high (3/4) and continued the runtime. At the end, the 40T had 3,2V so I just concluded the test.
When the cell will be close to empty, the switch will start flashing red.
Cells and charging
The Convoy L6 uses two 26650 cells (you can also purchase extensions to use 26800 cells). I purchased my unit with two Liitokala Lii-50A cells included with the flashlight.
Copper button has also been added here to improve the contact between cells and allow the use of non button-top cells.
I attempted to use two 21700 cells, but after inserting them into the flashlight, they protrude 2mm-3mm too high. The flashlight works with a partially tightened head, but when fully tightened, it loses proper contact. I will check whether this cell configuration can work with one extension (when I receive them from China).
To charge the flashlight, you’ll need an external charger with at least 2 slots, as the flashlight itself doesn’y have built-in charging. If you already don’t have a charger, I’d recommend a Xtar SC2 or the FC2 model. They are inexpensive and good chargers.
Competition
- Convoy L7 – It’s a L6, but with a SBT90.2 LED. Throws much further (1370m vs 815m), at a cost of a more focused beam (120cd/lm vs 40cd/lm). Similarly good driver, the lowest mode is dimmer in the L7 (~60lm). [tgreviews.com review]
- Sofirn SP60 – Slightly less expensive. 2×21700 cell configuration. Higher throw and brightness (5700lm & 964m). Lighter (550g vs 750g). Similar head diameter and length. Worse driver, sustains a lower output and the brightness decreases with the cell voltage. The build-in charging also isn’t great. [YT review with comparison to the M21G and TS30S Pro]
- Convoy M21G – A narrower head, 2×21700 cell configuration, and a good driver (probably also more efficient). It illuminates more broadly with a shorter range (4500lm, 660m).
- Wurkkos TS30S Pro – Cheaper. Single 21700 cell. Higher throw (1082m vs 815m), but a narrower beam pattern (~70cd/lm). Advanced Anduril 2 UI.
Pros & Cons
+ Great build quality.
+ Driver sustains a high brightness through the whole runtime.
+ Doesn’t heat up fast.
+ Smooth beam thanks to the OP reflector.
+ The tactical ring is screwed-in.
+ Simple interface.
+ Broad range of configurations available.
+/- Lengthening the tube by about 2mm-3mm and using a bigger spring on the driver side would allow for the use of 2×21700.
– Slight tint-shift in the beam pattern, the hotspot is greenish.
– The lowest mode is 230lm, which is quite bright.
– The driver isn’t as efficient as good boost/buck drivers, reducing the runtime compared to other flashlights with buck/boost drivers and similar or lower battery capacity.
– The weight and size should be taken into consideration by potential owners.
Conclusion
I bought the Convoy L6 in this configuration, as to fill a spot in my collection for a hybrid thrower. Something that would shine more broadly than what I currently own (TS30S Pro, L21B).
Now that I have it in my hands, I can say that it meets my expectations. It’s a very practical flashlight. I like the size, lenght, battery capacity and excellent performance. It surprisingly doesn’t heat up very quickly and even if it does, it won’t burn you. In use, you can feel its weight, but I don’t find that too troublesome.
I think I’d prefer a slightly higher throw, but not like the L6 is lacking in that regard.
(I might try the Sofirn SP60 in the future, as I charge with an external charger anyway and don’t use throwers for extended periods of time. The SP60 is also noticeably lighter.)
I am a bit confused as to why the runtimes aren’t as long as expected, but would still I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a flashlight that throws far, lights up a wide area and has a lot of battery capacity.
Snowman 😀