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The Dereelight LED flashlights are available in a wide variety of configurations to suit individual preferences. Things such as the number of output levels, type of batteries used, and brightness bin of the LED are all variable. While this configurability is a fantastic feature of the Dereelight line, it can also be very confusing. Hopefully this guide will help you select the version that best fits your needs!
Before we start, let's go through some common flashlight terms:
Throw - How far the beam shines. The more throw, the better that distant objects can be illuminated. Throw is measured in "Lux".
Hotspot - The very center portion of the beam. When the beam is shined on a flat surface, the hotspot is the small circle of very intense light at the center. The hotspot is what illuminates objects that are out of reach of the beam's "spill".
Spill - The portion of the beam just outside of the hotspot. The spill is less bright than the hotspot, and it illuminates a wide area around the hotspot. The spill is what illuminates the immediate vicinity.
Tint - The tint is the side of the color spectrum that the LED's beam leans toward. All of the LED flashlights here put out brilliant white light, but some are "warmer" tinted, and some are "cooler" tinted.
Lumen - A unit of measure of the total light output. If you could gather all of the light emitted from the flashlight, and package it into a box, that's what lumens would measure. Don't confuse the lumen rating with how far the light will shine. Lumens will give you an idea of how well the flashlight will light up a room.
Lux - A unit of measure of brightness. Actually lux is more involved than that, but we'll keep it simple here. When you see lux measurements, the number tells you how bright the brightest portion of a flashlight's beam is. It doesn't measure the whole beam, just the brightest spot... usually in the center of the beam. Lux tells you how far the beam will shine (throw).
Pill - Also called an LED module, driver, light engine, etc. For the Dereelight flashlights, the pill is a small, threaded brass module that serves as a heatsink and contains the circuitry to power the LED. The LED is factory mounted on top of the pill. To change the pill in a Dereelight flashlight, simply remove the head of the flashlight and unscrew the pill from the bottom of the reflector. Install a new pill and reinstall the flashlight's head... it's that easy!
1) Determine how you want to use your flashlight. Do you need to spot objects at great distances, or do you want something for indoor and backyard use? How small do you want the flashlight to be? In general, the farther a flashlight throws, the bigger and deeper the reflector will be... this translates to a larger flashlight.
The DBS V3 with the XP-G R5 LED will throw the farthest out of all the Dereelight flashlights. The DBS MC-E will have the most overall output, but will only throw half as far (its beam is more floody).
The CL1H is great for medium distance work, up to a couple hundred feet away. It's not quite as focused as the DBS, and its hotspot is larger. It is much smaller, however, about the size of a Surefire 6P. It still out-throws most other lights in its size range... a fantastic performer! It's a great light for belt carry, or clipped to a jeans pocket.
2) Determine how many output levels you want. Dereelight flashlights (and pills) come in versions that have either three output levels (High/Medium/Low), or only one output level (High). The C2H is by itself, it has four levels. The three output level versions are nice because you have the option for full bright when you need it, and the lower two levels for when you don't need as much light. The lower two levels will conserve battery power, allowing for longer runtimes. The single level versions are great for tactical work (law enforcement) or any other time you want the flashlight to come on at max output every time.
If you want three output levels, pick a version that has a "3" in the designation. For example: 3SM or 3SD.
If you want only one output level (High), pick a version that has a "1" in the designation. For example: 1S or 1SM
3) Determine what type of batteries you want to use... CR123 non-rechargeables, RCR123 rechargeable Li-Ion, or 18650 rechargeable Li-Ion.
3SD and 1S versions: One 18650 battery ONLY
3SM versions: 2 x CR123 or 2 x RCR123. With the optional extension tube, can also use 2 x 18650 or 3 or 4 CR123 non-rechargeable batteries (depending on the max input voltage listed)
1SM-2 versions: One 18650 battery, 2 x CR123, 2 x RCR123. With the optional extension tube, can also use 2 x 18650, 4 x CR123, or 4 x RCR123.
Here are a few examples:
DBS V3 3SD XP-G R5 = Three brightness level version of the DBS V3, takes a single 18650 battery only, and features the Cree XP-G R5 LED
CL1H V4 1SM-2 XP-G R5 = Single brightness level version (high only) of the CL1H V4, can use multiple battery choices, features the Cree XP-G R5 LED
For reference:
1S = Single brightness (High only), single battery (18650 battery)
1SM-2 = Single brightness (High only), multiple battery choices... 1 x 18650, 2 x CR123a, 2 x RCR123. Or with the appropriate extension tube, either 2 x 18650, 2 x 18500, 3 x CR123a or RCR123, or 4 x CR123a or RCR123
3SD = Three brighness levels (High/Medium/Low), single battery (18650 battery)
3SM = Three brighness levels (High/Medium/Low), multiple battery choices... 2 x CR123a or 2 x RCR123. Or with the appropriate extension tube, either 2 x 18650, 2 x 18500, or 3 or 4 x CR123a or RCR123 batteries may be used, depending on the max input voltage listed (the 3SM XP-G can use 3 or 4 CR123a batteries, but not 4 RCR123 batteries. The 3SM MC-E versions generally have a lower max input voltage, so check the label on the back side of the reflector, some versions have a 9 volt limit, so three CR123a batteries would be the max allowed).
