Convoy Flashlights

Buying a Convoy usually means choosing parts as much as choosing a model. Hong Kong Convoy Electronics sells complete lights alongside the LEDs, drivers, reflectors, springs and switches that go into them, and most of its hosts come in a long list of emitter, color-temperature and driver options. The L21B alone is offered with more than a dozen emitters. That is why the same model name can describe a floody high-CRI light or a tightly focused thrower, and why Convoy is the default host for people who modify lights.

The S family is the pocket range: the 18650 S2+, which owners say has been sold for over a decade in a huge matrix of variants, and the 21700 S21A, S21D, S21E and S21F. The M21 lights (M21B, M21H, M21K) are larger 21700 hosts. For reach there are the C8+, the L21A and L21B, the triple-emitter 3X21D and the L8, which runs a 26800-size cell. The H4 is a 21700 headlamp and the T3 a small AA/14500 light.

Value and machining come up before anything else. The S2+ is called unmatched at its price, L21A owners call the build tank-like with deep, well-lubed threads, the C8+ is the usual answer for the cheapest thrower worth buying, and the S21D's quad Nichia 519A beam gets called epically beautiful, though owners warn it is pure flood and runs hot on turbo. The recurring complaints are practical. The S2+, C8+ and M21B have no onboard charging, the M21B has no lockout, and the L21A accepts only Samsung-dimension cells.

The cell and the charger are the two things to sort out first. On cells, the S21D page asks for an unprotected 21700 no longer than 71mm and ships without one, so a protected or button-top cell may not fit. On charging, the S21E, S21F, M21H, M21K, H4, L8 and 3X21D have USB-C, while the older hosts need a separate charger. Convoy's own store takes returns within 14 days of delivery and pays return shipping, but warranty questions go to its email, and owners describe a claim as negotiating with an overseas seller.