Most EDC flashlights are built to flood a room or light up a trail ten feet ahead of you. A thrower is a different animal — it's built to punch a tight, bright beam hundreds of yards out, so you can identify what's moving at the tree line, check the far end of a property, or find something you dropped in a parking lot two blocks away. If you've maxed out what a compact EDC light like the Convoy S2+ can do for distance and you want more reach, this is the category you're looking for.
We carry three Convoy throwers that cover this need at different price points and output levels: the C8+, the 3X21A Monster, and the 4X18A Monster. Here's how they actually differ and which one fits your use case.
What Makes a Flashlight a "Thrower"
Throw distance comes down to two things: a deep, well-focused reflector and a small, intensely bright emitter sitting at its exact focal point. That combination concentrates light into a narrow hotspot instead of spreading it wide, which is why a 1,200-lumen thrower can out-distance a 3,000-lumen flooder without breaking a sweat. Manufacturers measure this in candela (peak beam intensity), not lumens — candela is what actually tells you how far a light will reach before the beam falls apart into darkness.
All three Convoy lights below use deep reflectors and cool-white high-CRI-capable emitters tuned for distance, and like every Convoy we sell, they're built on the same moddable platform as the S2+ — swappable drivers, replaceable emitters, and a machined aluminum body that's easy to work on if you ever want to upgrade the internals down the line.
Convoy C8+ — The Entry-Point Thrower
The C8+ runs on a single 18650 cell and is the most affordable way into serious throw distance. It's noticeably longer than an S2+ because that extra body length houses the deeper reflector, but it's still light enough to carry in a bag or truck door pocket without thinking twice about it. If you want a light that can flood a backyard and then reach out to the fence line when you need it, this is the one to start with — it's the same idea as the C8+ being an "EDC thrower," splitting the difference between carryability and reach.
Good for: property checks, camping, a glovebox light that can actually identify something far away, and anyone who wants a first thrower without committing to a bigger investment.
Convoy 3X21A Monster — Triple-Cell Long-Range Beast
The 3X21A Monster steps up hard. It runs three 21700 cells in parallel, which means significantly more sustained current to the emitters and a beam that reaches well past what the C8+ can do. This is the light for genuinely long distances — scanning a tree line, searching a field, or any situation where "far" isn't far enough. It's bigger and heavier than the C8+, and that's the tradeoff: this isn't a light you forget is in your pocket, it's a light you bring specifically because you need the throw.
Good for: land management, hunting prep, search-and-rescue-adjacent use, or anyone who's used a single-cell thrower and wants noticeably more reach.
Convoy 4X18A Monster — Quad-Cell Balance of Output and Runtime
The 4X18A Monster takes a different route to serious output: four 18650 cells instead of three larger 21700s. The result is a light with excellent sustained runtime at high output alongside strong throw, since four cells in parallel spread the current draw and keep voltage sag down during long high-mode runs. If you need a light that can stay on a high-output setting for extended periods — not just a quick blast of throw — this is the one built for that.
Good for: extended search sessions, anyone who runs their light on high or turbo for long stretches, and users who'd rather carry more cells than a couple of larger ones.
Picking Between Them
Start with how far you actually need to see and how long you need to run the light at high output. The C8+ covers most backyard-to-mid-range needs at the lowest cost and easiest carry. The 3X21A Monster is the move if raw distance is the priority and you don't mind the bigger form factor. The 4X18A Monster is the pick if you need that output to hold up over a long session rather than a quick check.
All three run on cells from our 21700 and 18650 lineups, and since they're Convoy platforms, the same driver and emitter mod knowledge that applies to the rest of the Convoy lineup carries over if you ever want to tune output or swap in a different LED. Whichever one you land on, make sure you're running matched, quality cells — a triple or quad-cell thrower is not the place to mix old and new batteries, since imbalanced cells in parallel can drain unevenly and shorten pack life.
If distance isn't actually your bottleneck and you just need something more pocketable for daily carry, our Convoy S2+ lineup is still the better starting point. But if you've hit the limit of what a compact EDC light can throw, one of these three will get you there.