Category: EDC

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Astrolux FT03 (Best value large thrower of 2019, Coupon Available)

Astrolux has a new lare thrower the FT03. It features a large deep reflector and a SST-40 LED to to give it throw. It’s mated to a 26650 battery tube (but it can accept 21700’s and 18650’s (With an adapter too) and features USB-C fast recharging. Thanks to Banggood for sending this too me. They do have a pretty aggressive coupon available for this if your interested.

 

Pickup the Astrolux FT03 SST40-W at http://bit.ly/31CYUzb and use Coupon Code: BGAFT03 to get the light for $29.99 USA ONLY

 

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/vVoqpxz

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Packaging

The light came in a white sturdy cardboard box with minimal info on the outside. The light was packaged in foam on the inside. The included accessories were minimal, with a lanyard, spare orings, manual, and an adapter to fit 18650 batteries. No charging cable comes with this light.

 

Construction

The light is made from aluminium and has smooth anodizing, in a fairly mat finish. Starting at the tail cap the light does tail stand very well, thanks to the notch cut in it’s side to allow the lanyard to go through. It has an octadecagon milled in for grip. On the inside it has dual springs inside the simple tail PCB.

The body tube is directional (Threads and anodizing are different on each) with 12 panels of knurling. It has to flats milled on each side and a grid pattern milled in too. It’s a nice feel in the hand without tearing up your skin or clothing.

Moving up to the head section we have the e-switch with LED’s under that act as a way to find the light in the dark and as a charge status indicator when charging. It has minimal heat syncing milled in to the sides. Opposite the button is the USB-C charging port with a silicone cover that fits well and flush. It doesn’t get in my way. The bell of the light is smooth as is the top part of the head. The deep bezel piece has large shallow crenelations on it that allows a bit of light to spread when face down.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 170mm, Maximum diameter in the head at 70mm, minimum diameter in the body at 32mm on the flats. Weight with a 26650 battery was 396.7g.

The FT03 fit’s pretty well in my hand. To me the 26650 tubes feel pretty natural and I like the length and where my fingers and thumb fit. Ergonomics are good.

A bit of comparisons with the Thrunite Catapult V6

LED/Runtime/Beam Profile

The FT03 comes with a clear domed SST-40 LED in Cool or Neutral white. Mine is a NW example. It’s surrounded by a fairly smooth reflector that is deep and helps this light throw. The reflector leaves a decent amount of space around the LED, about ¼”. The lens is glass and double anti reflective coated. It’s using the Texas Star FET driver.

The beam profile is that of a pretty typical thrower. Small hot center where 90+% of the light is focused and then a spill. I don’t see any real undesirable traits. You do notice if there is anything on the lens that’s dirty or causes distortion.

Runtime

Since this is a FET driven light, a high drain cell is recommended for most performance. That means a high drain 18650 like a Sony VTC6 or Samsung 30Q would be good choices, or for a little more runtime a 21700 sized cell. I ended up going with a Sony VTC6 (3000mAh) for my runtime tests. Turbo steps starts stepping down after about a minute, until the 5 minute mark where you see the aggressive output step down to about 30% relative output. It held this for about 140 minutes. At this point it did more pronounced steps down to almost nothing at the 175 min mark. The light at this point is still on but only in moonlight mode, I left it for another 100 minutes and stopped the test, since it was clearly in need of a recharge. With larger capacity cells I would expect the time after the initial step down to be longer.

I didn’t do a lot of formal heat testing with this light but I can tell you that even with the fairly aggressive turbo stepdowns the head section of the light gets warm to touch as does the body. Nothing dangerous but it’s definitely normal.

 

UI

The Astrolux FT03 is using the enthusiast developed NarsilM Firmware V1.3 along with an e-switch which is great. By default it ships in the ramping mode which is what I like, it also has a stepped mode you can switch it in to if you want. It’s highly configurable and can be a little complicated depending on what you wish to do. The good news is there are lots of guides on Youtube and various cheat sheets on BLF forums that I will try to link to as well. A couple shortcuts I find myself using is double clicking to strobe.

NarsilM 1.3 Firmware Guide http://liquidretro.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NarsilM1.3.pdf

 

Recharging

This light does have USB-C for recharging, but it won’t charge batteries that are at 4v or above which is a little strange. So if you need to top up a cell after a brief use you would need to take it out and use a charger. Frustratingly the light also won’t charge from a USB-C to C cable, it requires a USB-A to USB-C cable or a microUSB to USB-C adapter. When recharging the LED’s under the E switch turn red, and then go green when charged. Maximum charge rate I saw was 1.9A so pretty close to the 2A that’s advertised. This means charging speed is pretty quick even on larger 26650 and 21700 batteries. Terminal voltage was 4.149v.

Pro

  • Fantastic value thrower especially with USB-C recharging
  • Fit’s a wide variety of Batteries, 26650, 21700, 18650 (With included adapter).
  • Good LED and I appreciate the tint choices at this price range
  • NarsilM Firmware

 

Con

  • Only will charge via USB-A to USB-C cables, no C-C cables allow for charging.
  • Won’t recharge cells if they are above 4.0V
  • Not a small light, but that’s to be expected with most throwers
  • Aggressive turbo step downs but this can be modified with the firmware.

 

Conclusion

At this price point, especially with the coupon I have here, the Astrolux FT03 is the best value thrower of 2019 that I have tested thus far. It’s using the great NarsilM firmware that’s highly user configurable, it has onboard recharging via USB-C (Even though it’s not capable of C-C charging), and is available in Neutral White or Cool white for whichever you prefer. The short of it I recommend this one if your looking for a larger thrower light. Don’t forget to click that link in the description and check it out over on Banggod.

 

Pickup the Astrolux FT03 SST40-W at http://bit.ly/31CYUzb and use Coupon Code: BGAFT03 to get the light for $29.99 USA ONLY

 

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Olight PL-Pro Review (1500 Lumen Weapon Light & Comparisons with the PL-2)

Today I have a review of the Olight PL-Pro Weapon light. This is a version of the PL-2 that came out last year but the Pro offers Olights built in magnetic recharging system, an optional remote pressure switch and a neutral white LED. Thanks to SkyBen for sending this to me to take a look at.

 

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/JN1FJoD

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YouTube Version of this Review:

Packaging

Packaging follows Olights recent trends for 2019. A white high quality box with a photo of the light on the front and information on all sides. Inside the light pulls out from a tray. Below is all the accessories including the picatinny insert (Glock insert comes preinstalled), extra screws, Torx driver, MCC1A USB charger, and the manual. Skyben also included a battery holder (Even though this light doesn’t have replaceable batteries).

I also got with my light the RPL-7 magnetic pressure switch which came in a small zip top bag. It includes the remote pressure switch itself, and then an adapter so that the switch can be mounted or zip tied to a picatinny rail section.

Construction

The body itself is made from hard type anodized aluminum. The battery compartment is contoured to match the PL-2  that had removable batteries where as the PL-Pro has an internal non removable cell. The PL-Pro carries over the mounting system from the PL-2RL by having a metal rail piece. Out of the box this came with the Glock sized rail preinstalled, but you get a 1913 rail piece in the box as well as an allen wrench to change it. The quick detach mount is very sturdy, and requires no tools to attach to the light. It has tension on the mounting system even in unlocked so it won’t drop free without pushing in from the side, I like this two step open option, as it makes sure the light won’t fall off if accidentally bumped or the unlock lever gets reversed.

The rear switches and battery cover look the same from the PL-2, the only exception is that on the PL-Pro they don’t open. On the bottom there is the magnetic charging pad. There is a slightly raised up section

The RPL-7 remote pressure switch fits onto the bottom of the PL-Pro perfectly. It’s a stronger magnet then the charger which is good because it’s not something you would want to fall off. The cable is a similar flat siliconized cover. The button itself is plenty long. My only semi complaint would be the way it attaches to your rifle, I would prefer a mount that screws into Picatinny rail or that Olight would offer a MLok adapter.

Size & Weight

Size wise the PL-Pro is basically identical to the PL-2. The only difference at the bottom there are little extra nibs on the Pro for the recharging base making it a little thicker. I don’t have a way to test this myself but I suspect some holsters that fit the PL-2 will also fit the PL-Pro or could with a very slight modification.  Weight of the PL-Pro is actually about 13 grams lighter. The PL-Pro is IPX6 rated.

 

PL-Pro PL-2
Length 81mm 80mm
Height 32.4mm 30.5mm
Width 36.6mm 36.6mm
Weight 103.4g 116.1g

 

Mounted Photos

LED/Runtime/Beamshot

The Olight PL-Pro is using a Cree XHP 35 HI NW. This is the same LED as the the PL-2 but in a different tint. My PL-2 is in a cool white, and the PL-Pro right now is only coming in neutral white. While I applaud Olight for offering a neutral white (Usually my preference) the bin they chose here has a good amount of green in it, and it’s most noticeable in lower output modes. In my comparison shots here it’s noticeable which is cool white and which is neutral white.

The beam is identical to the PL-2 due to the same reflector and LED being used with the difference being the tint of the LED. The light has a medium sized hotspot that throws pretty well out to 100 yards or so.

 

PL-2 On Left  —  PL-Pro on the Right

PL-2 on the Left — PL-Pro on the Right

In my runtimes were pretty accurate with what Olight saw. The internal battery is rated for 900mAh. On the full 1500 lumens the light lasted for 1.5 minutes, past that it saw a 60% relative output decrease where it ran for 35 minutes. Now this sounds like a big drop and it is but this was still quite a bit of output at 300 lumens. Next the light saw a step down to right at 20% relative output where it ran for another 10 minutes before shutting off. Step downs at the beginning are timed and then voltage controlled from there on out. Step downs are sudden and sharp. It would be nice to add a couple of flashes at the end of the runtime giving one last warning before the light shuts off.

Recharging of the built in 900mAh battery is accomplished with Olights MCCA1 charging system. It’s compatible with other older charges from Olight, except for the one for the PL-Mini. I saw a complete recharge in 1 hour and 18 minutes at a max charge rate of 0.9A.

UI

UI is a little different but similar on the PL-Pro. The light has 2 modes, a low power 300 lumen mode and a high power 1500 lumen mode. It’s pretty easy to switch between them, Just double click on one of the paddles to jump up into high or medium mode, similar to how you get to turbo on other Olights. Low Power mode is more of a lockout mode so it won’t burn a hole through you bag accidentally. To activate it with the light on press one of the paddles for 3 second then press and hold the other till the light shuts off. At this point it’s in a low power 100 lumen mode Olight is calling Lockout. To reverse this just do this process again.

In either mode the light a quick press of a paddle locks the light on, a longer press gives you momentary, and pressing both together gives you strobe.

 

Pro’s

  • Rechargeable is really convenient and cheaper to run if you are going to use a lot of hours on it.
  • Nice integration with a remote pressure pad as an option, gives this light the ability to mount on a rifle as well.
  • Neutral white, but that green tint kind of kills the deal here for me
  • Some holsters that fit the PL-2 may fit the PL pro as they are similar in dimensions. Your luck may vary

 

Con’s

  • LED choice resulted in a beam that has a green tinge.
  • Battery isn’t user replaceable thus it’s a consumable light.
  • Timed step downs for turbo.  

 

Conclusion

The Olight PL-Pro Valkyrie continues to show what Olight has learned when making weapon lights. The little refinements like making a low power (still 300 lumens) lockout mode to prevent the light from literally burning a hold in your bag is a simple, smart idea. I like the integration of the remote pressure switch as well being magnetic, meaning it can break free with sufficient force if needed without damaging things. It’s easy to reattach too. Olights tint choices for LED’s continue to confuse me. My only thought about the choice of going with neutral white here was to aid hunters who are more likely to use the rechargeable version of this light to save runtime costs over the CR123 version, over the PL-2 being more designed for a tactical role, better shelf stable batteries etc. The downside of neutral white at least here is more green tint then I would like to see.


Overall if you liked the PL-2 you will like the PL-Pro, and if your interested check out Skyben’s listings on amazon, to get it super fast if you have prime shipping that is.

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Folomov C2 Review (400 lumens, 98CRI, Super small, 14300 battery, Summer EDC)

The Folomov C2, is a very small EDC light with a very high CRI (98CRI) warm beam, magnetic tail cap, and USB rechargeable battery. It might be a just about perfect little summer EDC. Thanks to Folomov (Affiliate Link) for sending it to me to take a closer look at and show to you guys.

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Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/CKowYeZ

Youtube Version of this Review: 

Packaging

Instead of a box, the C2 comes in a small tin with foam inserts. The top cover is laser engraved with the name and brand. It would make a nice gift box. Included with the light is a pocket clip, battery, extra orings, manual and micro USB charging cable.

Construction

The light is made from aluminum and hard anodized a satin black. Starting at the tail it’s magnetic, and flat, so it tails stands well. The tail cap sides have just a little milling in them to add style and a slight amount of grip. Inside threads are anodized and square cut. The body is tiny at only 19mm in diameter, It has 2 flats where the minimal labeling for the light is (Just the brand and model name).

The button and clip segment grow in diameter slightly, similar to the Olight Mini series of lights. Folomov choose a gray button that has 2 LED’s underneath to give a bit of a charge indication. They are green when the battery is charged and turn red when the battery is low. The head section has small teardrop areas milled in. The bezel is a polished aluminum. The glass lens sits recessed a little and underneath is a orange peel reflector.

The clip is fixed in a tip up position and fixed rotation, this allows you to mount the light on the bill of a hat if you wish to do so. The bad part about this clip is the bend at the top is just too tight, there is only about 1.5mm of space at the top of it, so it’s difficult to fit over the brim of most hats, and even pants or shorts pockets are usually thicker than that at the seam. The result is it just doesn’t carry as deep as it could, but it still carries better then many lights.

Size and Weight/Comparisons

This is a seriously small light, I measured length at 55mm, max diameter near the switch at 19mm, minimum at 16mm. Weight only comes in at 31.7 grams with the battery and clip. The light is IPX8 Water rated as well.

The C2 does share a lot of design features with the Olight SMini series of lights, but is about 20-30% smaller. It’s not a revolutionary design but one that works well. For me the C2 has proven to be a great summer carry, as I am wearing shorts more, I want smaller and lighter weight things in my pockets and the C2 fills that gap while still having quite a bit of power. The magnetic tail cap just add to it’s utility. It does only have tip up carry which some people will love, others will hate.

LED/Beamshots/Runtime

The little Folomov C2 is using a Nichia 21A LED. The tint is 3000k and an exciting 98 CRI. The beam has a hot center that covers about 30% of the beam and then a minimal amount of light in the spill. I like warm high CRI beams, I will admit the warmer tints can take some time getting used to especially if you have a lot of cool white low CRI lights now. For me I always will take high CRI if I can get it as I just prefer colors to look natural and it’s good for any photography too.

Folomov rates the light at a maximum of 400 lumens in turbo, 160 lumen in high, 50 lumen on medium, 10 lumen on low, and ½ lumen on moonlight. It also has strobe, SOS and bacon all at 160 lumens.

Runtime is nothing outstanding, due to the 14300 sized battery at 250mAh. It’s just a really small battery in terms of capacity, part of this is to fit the microUSB charging circuit on which barely fits. So in my runtime tests the light was on for 65 minutes. Turbo is really only good for about a minute, before stepping down pretty significantly. The next 30 minutes you get a usable amount of light. The last 30 minutes is just above moon light mode modestly.

Low voltage protection kicked in at 3.08V. The light does have reverse polarity protection and some thermal protection. Parasitic Drain was measured at 2.0uA.

 

UI

The UI is straightforward and logical in illumination mode.  Low, Medium, High, and then it repeats. Direct access to low is available by long pressing from off, and a double click takes you to turbo. Low, Medium and high are available for memory as well. There is lockout mode which you can activate by pressing the button 3 times quickly, and you do the same to unlock. This mode is very similar to Olight’s UI, so if you know it you will catch on quick.

There is a tactical mode which I think is a little silly on a light this small but it does have it. To go between the two you click the light 7 times from off. It makes the side switch a momentary turbo if pressed and held. If the button is pressed quickly it locks turbo on,and if you double click the side switch you get strobe.

The light ships in the default mode which is where I think most people will want to leave it.

 

Recharging and the Battery

Recharging the 14300 battery is easily accomplished with the MicroUSB port on it’s side. The USB charging circuit sits on top of the battery and has red/green LED to indicate charge status. Full Battery Voltage was measured at 4.207V. Total recharging time took just 1 hour and the maximum charging speed I saw was 0.3A which is appropriate for a cell of this size.

I suspect the battery being used here is really more like a 14200 sized sell with the last 10mm, being the USB recharging circuit. You can see the line in the battery. 14200s are also much more available then 14300s, that said I am not finding any 14200’s that match the capacity here. While I understand why they went with USB recharging especially for such a small cell, it does hurt capacity as it takes up valuable space.

 

Pro

  • Warm White high CRI. 98CRI is just fantastic on an EDC this size.
  • Small size, this was smaller than expected and carries really nice
  • Easy to use UI that’s what you would expect

Cons

  • The pocket clip is narrow, meaning anything but very thing pockets won’t ride all the way down in the clip.
  • Not a common battery size, Folomov says they will at some point have additional batteries for purchase.
  • Low capacity battery at only 250mAh.

 

Conclusion

For me the Folomov C2 is a hit. It’s enough light to get me through an office or light duty EDC use, but has enough power to do a few other small tasks. For any larger tasks I would want a larger light nearby in my home, car, or office. It’s not a light I would go camping with or use for extended times due to the small battery but it’s more useful than most keychain lights without being too big in a pocket. I love the high CRI warm LED, this is what sets it apart from the competition that typically prefers cool white LEDs. My only main concern is the availability and cost of replacement batteries. Folomov has said they will be available but hasn’t said when or at what cost.  Overall it’s a nice light, with a straight forward UI for a pretty affordable price. I recommend it for a very small light weight EDC.

 

Save 20% on the Folomov EDC C2 now through June 13th at https://amzn.to/2MCjAE5 (Affiliate Link)

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Klarus XT21X Review (4000 Lumens, 21700, XHP 70.2 P2)

Klarus has introduced a new Tactical flashlight with the XT21X, producing 4000 peak lumens, active thermal controls, and 21700 battery. It’s nice to see 21700 batteries taking off in 2019. Thanks to FlashlightZ for sending the light to me to review. Make sure to check them out.

Just a reminder to everyone to make sure you join my Facebook page for the YouTube channel and my reviews, where I try to post a few days a week, new arrivals etc, and take a look at the Patreon page I have setup for the channel as well.

 

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/Ho37Wj7

YouTube Version of this Review:

Packaging/Accessories

The light comes in a white high quality retail box with a tactical soldier on the front as well as the light. Per the usual you have lumens and other facts around the box and the one that got me the most excited was the Intelligent Thermal protection.

Included with the light are the light itself, a pocket clip, lanyard, Oring, MicroUSB charging cable, a button top protected Klarus 21700 5000mAh battery (Rated for 15A max) and a branded black nylon holster with plastic D Ring on the back. The holster is a nice design as it has a plastic cup on the bottom that the light clicks into for a more secure hold.

Construction

The light is made from Aircraft grade aluminum and is hard anodized a fairly glossy black. Starting at the back of the light taking a look at the tail switch, this is the dual function switch that Klarus has used on a few other recent lights. You have a rubber booted mechanical button that serves as on/off, and then a paddle that can activate strobe or low mode depending on the mode your light is in. Not much grip on the sides but enough to get the job done with dry hands. Inside are stiff dual springs.

On the body tube threads are ACME cut and unanodized. The inside of the body is a dual tube design. The clip fits on in one position only but does rotate. It’s allows a decent amount of the light to stick out of a pocket or pouch. The knurling on the body tube itself is a horizontal pattern of knurling, but then has some large diamonds milled into it. I like this, but it does seem to attract dirt easily. The body tube is fixed to the head of the light.

The head itself is similar in layout to the other newer Klarus lights this year. The same electronic mode button with the ST15R I reviewed last month. Opposite the button you have a very similar silicone door covering the MicroUSB charging port. Up front there’s a little more aggressive bezel that does unscrew. The lens is anti reflective coated, and the reflector below has a nice orange peel.

Size/Weight/Comparisons

I measured overall length at 162mm, maximum diameter at the head at 41mm and minimum diameter at the body at 27.5mm. I measured weight with the clip and battery at 228.6g. I did some comparison with my Olight Seeker 2 Pro which is the only other 21700 light I have at the moment, and while the lights have somewhat of a different design ethos in mind, the Olight is smaller in pretty much all dimensions. Diameter of the tails and boy are very similar between the two, but the Klarus has a larger head and longer body.

LED/Beamshots/Runtime

This light is using a Cree XHP 70.2 P2 LED in cool white. No tint temperature is given but it’s a fairly warm cool white, more to neutral then cool. The beam pattern is good, nice hot spot in the center to give the light throw and a smooth transition to the spill with no negative artifacts or rings.

Runtime on this light is good but also a bit disappointing. The 4000 lumens of turbo is only good for 1 minute, uncooled, because of thermals. That said the light does have active thermal controls that we see working for the first 130 minutes of running. It’s a smooth fade from 50% relative output to about 18%. After the 130 minute market the light went into energy conservation mode and ran at almost moonlight mode for another 175 minutes. Total runtime from full to empty was 300 minutes. Low voltage protection kicked in at 2.88V, and working voltage of the light is 2.5V to 6.4V.

Parasitic Drain was measured at 3.3uA. I measured thermals during my runtime test at a maximum of 111F at the 5 minute mark.

 

UI

The flashlight has 2 UI modes, Tactical and Outdoors and the light ships in Tactical by default. In Tactical mode a half press on the primary switch at the tail gives you momentary on. If you give it a full click you get turbo. Using the paddle in momentary you get strobe only. Tactical isn’t my favorite mode because the light starts on high and strobe is too easy to get to. I will put up a photo of the manual that has a nice diagram showing each mode.

In outdoors mode the paddle, starts the light off in moonlight mode, in momentary. You can long press on the paddle to lock the light on then, continue to use the paddle to move up in modes. While on the side switch goes in reverse, So if you are in low that you turned on with the paddle, and the light is still on, if you press the side switch once, you go to turbo. The primary switch acts like a shortcut to turbo. You can also double click the mode button to get to Strobe.

Klarus lists the output and modes at, Turbo at 4000 lumens, High at 1200, Medium at 400, low at 100, and moonlight at 5 lumens. Strobe is rated at 4000, and SOS at only 100.

Recharging

This light has onboard charging via MicroUSB. It’s quite unfortunate that they didn’t go with USB-C, on this new design, in 2019. In my opinion it really should be the standard for lights of this price range. The good news is charging via MicroUSB was relatively quick, I saw it taking 3.3hrs for a full charge and most of this time was at 2A speed. A full cell when recharged inside the light stopped charging at 4.12V.

Pro

  • Relatively easy to switch between Tactical and Outdoors modes
  • Positive retention in the Holster, with the Click in.
  • True active thermal controls, but Turbo mode is still pretty short at just a minute.
  • Less Cree Rainbow on the P2 version of the XHP70.2 then others I have tested.

 

Con

  • Micro USB for recharging, It’s 2019 and on a light of this price, they should have USB-C.
  • Moonlight mode is brighter then I prefer at 5 lumens.
  • A bit large.

 

Conclusion

I like that for a tactical light, Klarus gave the light an outdoors mode, that if not being used in a tactical setting is better for general use. Most of my lights don’t get used in a tactical scenario, so being able to not have the paddle on the tail switch makes it a much more useable light. It’s nice to see a 21700 in this light, as well as activer thermal controls. The bad is that we are still stuck on MicroUSB instead of USB-C for the recharging in 2019 for a premium light. Overall it’s a solid tactical light, I just wish Turbo mode lasted longer.

As always make sure you check the description to where you can find more about this light and purchase it from FlashlightZ. If your not joined already, make sure you go join my Facebook page, follow me on Instagram and Twitter as well as check out the Patreon page. Thanks for reading and I will catch you on the next review soon.

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JetBeam RRT01 Review 2019 (Rotary EDC Almost Perfection?)

Jetbeam has reintroduced an updated  RRT01 for 2019. This an exciting EDC light because it has a infinitely variable control ring meaning it’s a new affordable rotary light. It comes with a USB rechargeable 16340 battery but also takes 18350’s. Thanks to Banggood for sending this to me to take a look at.

 

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Packaging

Pretty standard packaging from Jetbeam on this light. It’s a retail blue and black hanging box, with a picture of the light on the front. Banggod has kindly placed a large sticker and a piece of yellow tape on mine. On the back you get the features and specs. Included accessories are the light, a Jetbeam branded 16340 700mAh battery that is USB rechargeable, a decent lanyard, extra oring and small hex wrench for removing the clip, and small MicroUSB recharging cable.   

Construction

The light is made from aluminum and anodized a dark gray with the control bezel being a silver. It’s nice to see something that’s not black. Machining is very good. Starting at the tail, it’s flat, with 3 places for 12mm long tritium vials, it’s flat so the light will tail stand provided it doesn’t have a lanyard attached. There is a place for the lanyard in the side but doing so makes it not sit very flat anymore. The body section of the light has knurling around it with 2 flats with the minimal labeling on each side. The light then grows to match the size of the head and control ring.

The rotary control ring has some areas milled into it to give grip. It has a detent on both ends of the control area. From 0 to 100% is about 150 degrees of rotation. The detent in the control ring isn’t super crisp, but a little mushy, it also takes a decent amount of effort to get over the detentes but once over them it turns easily but has enough resistance to stay where you leave it. The rotary really allows you to dial in the exact amount of light you want very quickly.

The head has a aluminum bezel with shallow crenulations. It is not glued in place and is easily removed. I think this will be an easy and popular light to modify because of that. The glass lens is double anti reflective coated and it has a deep smooth reflector.

Size/Weight/Carry Comparison

While not the smallest 16340 light on the market for me this makes a really nice EDC. A big part of that is a good pocket clip, and while the stock one is decent, Jetbeam wisely decided to make this compatible with a wide variety of aftermarket clips such as, Steelflame, Okluma, Oveready, and others. The stock clip for me had just a little to much upward flare on the tipI measured the length at 81mm, maximum diameter at 26mm, and minimum diameter at 20mm. Weight with the included cell and clip was 93g.

LED/beamshot/Runtime

The RRT01 is using a Cree XP-L HI LED in cool white. No tint data is given but it is cool white, with no undesirable tints (green). The beam is has a slight donut that you notice with lower power levels. Around the hot spot there is a thin reflection an additional small artifact in the beam that’s brighter. It’s noticeable but not a deal killer given all the lights other strengths.

I did 2 uncooled runtime testes, one with the included 700mAh 16340 and the other with a 1200mAh 18350. With the 16340 the total output on the highest output lasted a total of 24 minutes. During this output decreased slowly and pretty linearly, before the LVP on the battery itself kicked in. The runtime using the 1200mAh unprotected 18350 was a similar but different story. Output was a little more stable at the top, and total output increased to over just under 40 minutes (Technically longer). Outputs were pretty smooth and similar but at the 30 minute mark we saw lots of very little steps and then at the very end the light flashed to let you know the cell was very low. However then instead of cutting off output the light continued to run since the light itself has no LVP. My recommendation would be to run this with a protected battery or just charge frequently to avoid damaging the cell from ultra low voltage running.

UI

UI on this light is super simple, Instead of buttons and modes it uses a rotary switch in the bezel with a detent on both ends. The detents are a little mushy, and do require some force. As mentioned earlier it’s about 160 degrees full rotation with detents. Low on this light is super low, sub lumen which is nice to see. I find the rotary switch to be faster than ramping UI with a ebutton too.

The light also has strobe if you rotate the rotary to maximum brightness past the detent, then reverse slightly over the denent and reverse again (Twice). Doing this twice gives you strove and then you can decrease brightness to the level you wish. Doing this 3 times gives you SOS. Rotate past the off detent to end the blinking modes.

 

Recharging

Included is a Jetbeam branded 700mAh 16340 battery that has recharging built in via MicroUSB on the battery. Charging speed was 0.4A which is what you want for these smaller capacity batteries. It took right at 2 hours to charge completely. The LED indicator on the battery goes Red when charging and Green when charged.

 

The light will take 18350 batteries too, these fill up the cavity better (Although no rattle with the 16340 that’s included) but if your using a protected 18350 it might not screw down completely flush. This doesn’t harm the IPX8 water resistance.

 

Pro

  • Love that it takes 18350’s including protected cells (with a bit of brass sticking out)
  • Great size and clip for EDC
  • Rotary switch in a small affordable package
  • Easily modifiable emitter
  • Takes standard clips if you want to upgrade.

 

Cons

  • There are some beam artifacts
  • No LVP (Running a protected battery is a good idea)
  • Not a completely smooth beam profile, there are some extra rings around the hot spot.

 

Conclusion

The Jetbeam RR01 2019 edition is a really nice little EDC light. It’s been my EDC since I got it, and that’s saying something. Rotary control rings this small are not common, and I think they should be used more. It allows you to get exactly the amount of illumination you need for your specific application. The RRT01 does a lot of things well for an EDC in my book.

The stock clip is pretty good for a fairly deep carry, and can easily be swapped out to a steelflame style clip from a variety of manufacturers if you would like. The modding potential for this light is big too, there is some talk of someone trying to make a triple in this light too which would be pretty awesome, and something I will definitely be paying attention too. I will probably look into an LED swap here in the coming weeks too, to get something high CRI and a touch warmer. Overall it’s a great little EDC light and I am glad Jetbeam revived the design and updated if for 2019. I definitely recommend it.

Banggod has provided me with a pretty good coupon on this one that I will have in the description and on my blog post so if your looking at getting one make sure you check that out as it does help out my channel/blog if you buy using the link I provide.

Get the JetBeam RRT01 2019 from Banggod at https://bit.ly/2VdivBz for $53.99 with code: BGRRT

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Olight Seeker 2 Pro Review (3200 Lumens, 21700, Triple LED)

Olight has a new light on the market, the Seeker 2 Pro. It uses a triple LED with an optic, and a proprietary 21700 battery, and has the magnetic tail cap with magnetic recharging. Along with this light Olight has included and announced a magnetic L bracket to mount the light and for easy charging of any of the magnetic tail cap rechargeable lights. Thanks to Skyben on Amazon for sending this to me to take a look at and review.

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/hLOrymN

YouTube Version of this Review: 

Packaging

The packaging of the Seeker 2 Pro is impressive at this price range. Olight always does a good job but this might be the nicest packaging under $150 that I have seen. It’s a white heavy duty box that unfolds from the side and is held together magnetically. Inside it had the yellow instruction layer tucked nicely in that reminds you to remove the piece of plastic from the battery terminal and charge the battery before use. All of the accessories are tucked into two small boxes either side of the light. On the back you have the stats and more detailed info on the light.

The included accessories are the flashlight itself, along with a proprietary Olight branded 5000mAh 21700 battery. You get a long MCC1AL charging cable, high quality holster (Very similar to the M2R holster), lens cleaning cloth, and then the new L charging bracket. This bracket is a high density glass fiber reinforced bracket with 2 mounting screws in the side (Screws and drywall anchors included, as well as adhesive). The bracket is designed so that the flashlight hangs from it, and the magnetic charger goes on top (Can be reversed), the power is transmitted through. The cool thing about this is it works with all existing Olights that have the magnetic charging system except for the weapon lights because their polarity is different. Olight is also selling this bracket separately.

Construction

The light is made from aluminium and hard anodized black with an eggshell style finish. Machining is excellent with no sharp edges or tool marks to be found. Starting at the tail we notice the magnetic charging port that looks very similar to other similar Olights. It sits flush and allows for good tail standing. In the tailcap is the place for a thin lanyard to attach as well. The grip on the tail cap itself is straight fine knurling. Based on past experience these will show dirt and dust easily and are a little difficult to clean. Inside the tail cap there is not a spring, just a large brass contact and w outer rings with something bass inside it looks like. I would love to see the deconstruction of this tailcap if someone is willing as most of the charging system is here.

The body tube and head are one continuous piece and is one of the areas where things changed the most on this light. Instead of knurling in the aluminum Olight choose to mill in 2 ares and place in silicone grip panels with molding for your fingers. These appear to be held on with adhesive and on mine are very firmly attached.

For me the finger groves don’t’ fit my hands great, but they are small enough it doesn’t much matter. They provide grip and insulation from the heat when running the light in Turbo. They also wash off pretty easily with just some water, which is just fine since this light is IPX8 rated. They also milled in a flat on the switch side of the light for labeling and indexing purposes which is nice. Threads are small, but square cut and well spaced out. It was easy to thread.

Interestingly there are no springs on the head end of this light, but there is a raised structure the battery sits on. It looks almost like a solid brass cone. On the tail side there is a very small amount of give in the tail cap. There is no rattle or play with the cell in terms of rattle and it passes my non marring drop tests just fine.

The head section had 2 larger milling ares opposite the button. The Seeker 2 adopts the switch that the X9R premiered, with a 4 step led indicator on the left hand side for power level, and a 4 step indicator to the right of the button for battery power level. Thee battery counter ramps up over about a second, and ramps down at the end. Visually I think it’s a neat design apart from the PWM these small LED’s have. These LED’s stay on for about the first 8 seconds or when a button is pressed.  Further up the head as the diameter increases the milling decreases. There is the iconic Olight blue bezel on the Seeker 2 pro, and it does have a crenelated bezel, but it’s very blunt. When face down just a little light shows out, it’s more for looks then function I think. The lens itself is similar to Olights TIR optics but in a triple format.

The light comes with Olights first proprietary 21700 battery, As with other magnetic rechargeable Olights, the cell goes in with the positive facing the tail cap. How they do their recharging is on the positive end they also have a negative end. The 21700 adds a plastic spacer ring around the positive pole for a bit of added safety. More on the battery and recharging system in that section.

Size, Weight, & Comparison to other Olights

The new Seeker 2 Pro is a replacement for the old R50 Seeker series of lights. I have a R50 Seeker that I will be comparing it to, and they line up closer than I thought.

Seeker 2 Pro

  • Length – 128mm
  • Minimum Diameter – 27mm
  • Maximum Diameter – 35mm
  • Weight with the included cell – 197g

 

R50 Seeker

  • Length – 133mm
  • Minimum Diameter – 32mm
  • Maximum Diameter – 42mm
  • Weight with the included cell – 258.9g

So as you can see the Seeker 2 Pro is smaller in all dimensions but it’s not an enormous difference. Largest is definitely in the head, and you feel it in the body size difference as well, more so then what the numbers show I think. Weight difference is noticeable as well. Here is a photo of how it compares to some other recent Olight models as well.

LED/Beamshot/temps/Runtime

The Seeker 2 Pro is using Cree XP-L HD LEDs in CW. Olight doesn’t give an official tint number but I would guess mine is between 5000-6000k.  

The tripled LED combined with the TIR style optics means the beam is pretty smooth and floody. It’s not perfectly round but not something you notice at distance. The TIR optic also does a good job of hiding any obvious Cree Rainbow from the LED’s.

  • Moonlight  – 5 Lumens
  • Low – 50 Lumens
  • Medium 300 Lumens
  • High 1200 Lumens then 600
  • Turbo 3200 Lumens then 600

Runtimes

Turbo’s 3200 lumens only lasts for 2 minutes, and then the light decreases to 600 lumens for over 100 minutes, One more major step down came at the 105 minute mark which lasted then for around 50 minutes before the light stopped it’s output and LVP kicked in. Total runtime was right at 145 minutes.

Temps were well controlled during my uncooled runtime tests. The maximum temps I saw was 45C at the head within 2 minutes. The silicone grips provide a bit more insulation as well.

 

UI

UI is is very similar to other Olights, and that’s great because it’s a simple UI that I like. From off if you long press on the button the light comes on in moonlight, which on this light is a little bright for my liking. When the light is on it starts in low, and then you can hold the button and it will cycle from lowest to brightest, just stop on where you want to be. The light does have memory mode for low through high. For tubo just double click and for strobe just tipple click. The light also features a lockout mode and timer that’s available.

 

Recharging

Recharging is using Olights newer MCC1AL magnetic charging system. Olight does include a much longer cable to go along with the LDock on this light, that was just shy of 4ft long. I observed maximum charging speed of .9A which resulted in a total overall charge time of 6.5 hours for the 5000mAh 21700 battery. This is a conservative charging speed for such a large cell. Good for the overall lifespan of the cell if you can wait. Terminating Voltage for the charge was 4.16V.

As mentioned earlier Olight includes the new Ldock with this light and I think it’s an underrated simple add on. This allows you to mount the flashlight vertically or horizontally to charge on most surfaces and route the cable cleanly either down the back or to the side. It’s compatible with most other Olight’s using the magnetic charging system as well. Better yet Olight is selling these separately , or if you have a 3D printer you could probably whip out one of your own in an afternoon.

Pro

  • It’s nice to see 21700 sized batteries continue to enter the more mainstream market. They are the highest energy density form factor battery currently available.
  • This battery choice allows for a light that’s more slim in all dimensions.
  • I like the X9R style button for output level and battery indicator.
  • Less Cree Rainbow then the R50’s XHP 70 LED.
  • Pretty smooth and even beam pattern
  • Love the L charging bracket and that it’s compatible with older lights.

Cons

  • Proprietary battery is more costly when it comes to needing a replacement.
  • Not a substantial upgrade in performance over the R50, I do like the increased runtime and smaller size though.
  • Only CW non High CRI LED is offered
  • Relatively long charge time for a large 5000mAh battery.
  • A bit on the expensive side

 

Conclusion

The Olight Seeker 2 Pro I feel like is an incremental upgrade over the R50 Pro it takes it’s name from. The smaller form factor, and less weight without reducing performance or runtimes is a nice upgrade. I like the new button and external UI options. Performance wise it’s a nice beam, and 3200 lumens is very bright, but with turbo only lasting 2 minutes and it taking such a large drop to 600 lumens after is a bit disappointing. On this price level of light I would like to see active thermal regulation and not timed step down. I would also be happier with less overall turbo output for longer runtimes at lower output. It’s a little disappointing to see moonlight being 5 lumens here, typically moonlight is 1 lumen or less.

Olights proprietary batteries like other manufactures branded cells tend to be pretty expensive and while I love the 21700 format, it’s proprietary nature and cost ends up being a negative for me. Luckily you should be able to use a standard button top 21700 and a small magnet if you want a less expensive second battery option and are ok with charging on an external charger.

Overall it’s a very capable light that I think people who get one will be happy with as long as you know about it’s cons. I can recommend it with reservations.

If your interested, pick it up from Skyben on Amazon.

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Olight PL-Mini 2 Review (Sub Compact & Compact Weapon Light)

Today I am taking a look at the Olight PL-Mini 2, a weapon light from Olight designed for compacts and subcompact pistols. Thanks to Skyben for sending this Pl-Mini 2 to me to check out and test at the range.

 

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/bfjczyN

YouTube Version of this Review:

Packaging

Packaging for the Olight PL-Mini 2 is much like other recent Olight’s with a white high quality cardboard outer box. On the inside, you have a pull out tray covered by a cardboard cover that contains the manual and a right angle torx key. The light, charger and accessories come housed in a plastic form fitted container. Included accessories are the PL-Mini 2 itself, Olight magnetic charger (Special for the PL Mini lights), a metal 1913 rail piece (Glock is preinstalled), 2 extra screws, and a T6 Torx wrench. Skyben also includes 2 extras, a small little battery case for CR123 batteries, and a USB flash drive sized LED light.

Construction

The light is built from anodized aluminium with a smooth fairly glossy finish. The rear left and right buttons are plastic, and designed to bet pulled down to actuate. Compared to the original PL-Mini the PL Mini 2 is shorter but a bit thicker in height.

The big difference here is the mount. It has the same quick detach lever as the PL2 RL that when unlocked you have to then push on this actuator to expand left and right the attachment point, I like this and it adds additional security incase the quick detach was to come unlatched, the light wont drop off your pistol. The element that the PL Mini 2 adds is that in the unlocked position the mount section then slides forward and backwards allowing you to get the rear end of the light to fit a wider selection of firearms.

For instance the original PL-Mini won’t fit on the rail section I have installed on my S&W Shield, the light is too long, but the PL-Mini 2 I am able to sift the light forward so that it will connect. For those of you wondering I am using a ReCover Tactical SHR9 Rail adapter, and it’s really a nice option for the shield, with super easy install.

One thing to note is that there is No locktight on the screws that hold the adjustable rail section to the light. It hasn’t been a problem through my shooting the light but it’s something I might end up doing to just make sure they won’t ever come loose. I did decide to see if I could pry off the small rail section to see inside, and with a little force I was able. Between the two pieces there is a black silicone gasket, and inside there is a 130mAh battery. I was a little surprised to see the light is mostly potted with a clear silicone type material.

I had no issues with durability, having shot about 300 rounds through it on two outings to the range, from 4 different guns in 3 different calibers, 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 ACP.

Physical Comparisons

PL Mini 2

Weight – 73g

Length (Shortest) – 44mm

Length (Longest) – 52mm

Width – 27.5mm

Height – 32mm

 

PL Mini

Weight 65.5g

Length – 53mm

Width – 28.5mm

Height – 27mm

 

To sum up the numbers the PL Mini 2 is shorter, but has more height and weighs slightly more due to the more complex mount system.

LED/Beam/Runtime

This light uses the Cree XP-L HD LED in cool white. In comparison to the Original PL-Mini the tint in version 2 is a bit warmer, but with a slight green tint in my example. The reflector is a little larger due to the increased height of the light, and it seems to throw a bit larger beam. The light throws pretty well the reflector size, and for a weapon light this is what you want.

600 lumens on such a small platform will have a hard time dissipating heat and this is no different. It’s brightest mode only lasts 2-3 minutes, the good news is the step down is smooth and slow but significant. By the 11 minutes mark, the light is at about 10% relative output. It maintains this steadily for another 35 minutes before decreasing slowly down to almost nothing before it shut off at 100 minutes.

UI

The UI is very basic with essentially no options on this light. The buttons have basically one mode that either lock on if pressed quickly, or act in momentary if held down. There is no strobe on this light.

Recharging

Recharging happens via the magnetic olight charging system. The PL Mini 2 like the original use the special version of the charger, my guess this is to reduce the charging speed due to the small battery. Overall recharge time from shut off point was 52 minutes.

 

Pro’s

  • Adjustable solution that will fit most compact and subcompact pistols with rail support
  • Stepdowns are more gradual and slow, not big steps, but it’s initial 600 lumens only lasts 2-3 minutes.

 

Con’s

  • Holster Support – A few brands announced they will be making holsters for the lights, Olight still has a lot of work to do to catch up to the more established brands in the pistol light market for holster support.
  • Clamp on the left hand side, when mounted easily catches a finger when going to turn it on.

 

Conclusion

The PL-Mini 2 is almost a completely different light from the 1st generation. While they do similar things, the Mini 2 prioritizes it’s modularity to fit smaller compacts and subcompact pistols, and makes design decisions to accomplish this such increasing it’s height, to make it’s overall length shorter to better fit compact and subcompact framed pistols. As a weapon light it works well, I don’t have any complaints there, the magnetic recharging system is very convenient, and works well for the size. My two problems are the quick disconnect lever is a little too long and kind of covers the switch on that side. Left handed shooters would notice this the most or if you trigger the light activation with your off hand for right handed shooters. I think the design could be improved by at least making it round or perhaps coming up with another lever design that is smaller. The other main problem I see is holster support. There are a few manufactures that offer semi custom holsters but not many. Be prepared to be buying custom holsters if you decide to run this light as it’s just not widely supported like some other brands are, especially if you have an adapter rail like I do. As long as you know this going in it’s a nice little pistol light that works well in my testing.

Pick up the PL-Mini 2 on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2Zt1RkL