Category: Flashlight Reviews

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Jetbeam PL-190R Review (Full Color Photography & Video Light, USB-C)

Today I have the JetBeam PL-190R on my review table. It’s a photography and video fill light that’s capable of full spectrum colored light as well as white light. The fill light also features a 5000mAh battery that can be as a power bank as well. Thanks to Jetbeam for sending this to me to take a look at and review.

YouTube Version of this Review:

Packaging

Packaging here is pretty minimal, it’s a clear folded plastic box, the light sits inside a try, and the only accessories that are included are the manual, and a USB OTG cable for allowing you to plug in another cable to use the fill light as a battery power bank as well. 

 

Construction

The PL-190R reminds me in shape and build quality to a modern smartphone but thicker. On the front you have a diffused plastic panel with some orange peel to help diffuse each LED. Around the edges you have a metal frame, it has ¼ 20 threads that enable you to mount the light in the portrait or landscape profiles. When mounted in a landscape format your jog wheels are on the left, and your mode and power button end up on the top right. In the lower right hand corner on the bezel you have the USB-A and USB-C connections. The back is made of glass and has a fairly small OLED screen in the top left corner.

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 129mm, width at 72mm, and thickness at 15.5mm. Weight was 216.4g. It’s roughly the same footprint as the previous model but thicker. 

LED | Runtime

The PL-190R has a lot of LED’s onboard, 220 to be exact. 120 of those are for the white light, with 60 being a warm white, and 60 being a cool white LED. When combined together you get a tint of between 2500k and 8500k. The remaining 100 LED’s are larger RGB LED’s used for the color.

 

The screen has a built in runtime estimator on it but I found it to not be very accurate. I did a test where I set the light to 4000k and 100% brightness. The estimate showed about 2 minutes 50 second, but the light goes on for significantly longer. My only guess is that estimate is before any change in brightness. Total runtime in this mode was right at 200 minutes. The first 50 minutes or so are at 90% relative output, and 170 minutes are above 80%. After the 50 minute the mark output becomes a little unstable with it stepping up and down slightly. This isn’t noticeable to the eye but could be in photo and video settings probably.

 

UI & Modes

Instead of buttons to change modes, and brightnesses the PL-190R is using dials which I prefer. It’s easier and quicker to use the dials then a button, once you understand the UI it’s pretty induative. The brightness wheel rotates continuously where as the mode dial allows you to rock the wheel up and down and click. I only had problems here with the brightness wheel at very low power, it’s sensitive enough to make the light almost flicker when down at 1-2% if shaken or vibrated too hard. 

This light has 3 modes of operation.

 

In white light mode, the light uses it’s 60 warm and 60 cold LED’s to make a mix of light to reach the desired tint. IT ranges from 2500k to 8500k in 100k increments. Brightness is controllable in 1% increments and the light is rated for up to 650 lumens at 8500k, and 570 lumens at 2500k. 

RGB mode is similar, but using the 50 RGB LED’s. It’s measuring tint in degrees of color gamut, and isn’t quite as fluid as as the white LED’s since everything is being done on each die vs a combination of 2 or more LEDs. It’s also adjustable for 0-100% intensity. The other rocker allows you to adjust the color, and then saturation level as well. Think of color as the course adjustment and saturation as the fine adjustment. I don’t have the equipment needed to give a lumen level for colored light, but generally RGB’s don’t put out as much light as the equivalently sized white LED. Personally I see this as being more of a photography or video fill light to light a tabletop scene and you will see in my night shots it puts out a decent amount of light.

The light also features a couple of modes that are programmed in. Practically for a filming/photography reason I don’t see these being super useful but it didn’t take any more space to do and it’s a seperate mode so I guess no harm is done including it. There are a total of 9 scene mode available including Lightning I, Lightning II, SOS mode, Club simulation, Color chase, Candlelight, Police car, Red and green flashing, and Blue and green flashing. These are fixed modes and its’ not capable of speeding up or slowing down the change, but you can control the brightness.

 

Recharging & Powerbank Functions

The PL-190R has a 5000mAh battery built inside. This is used to power the light but can also be used as a power bank. Impressively the light is capable of delivering upto 18W in powerbank mode, up to 12V or 3A appropriately. Unfortunately it doesn’t charge via a USB-C to C cable, so a A to C cable is required for modern devices. 

Charge time via the USB-C input was just under 3 hours and it charged at 2A no problem. 

 

Conclusion

The Jetbeam PL-190R is an interesting take on a photography fill light with the addition of color it becomes more capable as a video fill light as well. While not the only name in the game, it’s probably one of the better known flashlight companies doing this. There are other similar products from some other Chinese companies but none quite as bright or as many features.

For me I will probably use this as a photography fill light, for some supplemental lighting. If you don’t follow my instagram make sure you follow because this is where you will probably see this in use first. I will keep my original Jetbeam fill light as my video light since it’s smaller and I don’t need the color features for video work like this review. 

 

If you are interested I will have a link below to where you can find it on Jetbeam’s website and for a few US retailers I can find. 

 

Full Image Gallery https://imgur.com/a/wySE6Md

 

Purchase the Jetbeam PL-190R at BatteryJunction at https://www.batteryjunction.com/jetbeam-pl-190r-photography-light.html 

See more information on Jetbeams website at http://www.jetbeamlight.com/products_show308.html

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Olight M2R Pro Review (1800 Lumens, 21700 Battery, Neutral White, Faster Charging)

Today I have up for review the Olight M2R Pro. I have been critical of Olight in recent reviews with Pro models because they are not much different from their non Pro lights. However the M2R Pro is the first “Pro” model I think that’s worth of the “Pro” name. Thanks to SkyBen Trading for sending this to me to take a look at and review. I will have a link to their shop in the description below. Make sure to check it out. 

 

YouTube Version of this Review: 

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

Pickup the Olight M2R Pro from Skyben Trading on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YP6P91F

 

Packaging & Accessories

Olight has quite a nice compact box for the M2R Pro. It’s white with a picture of the light on the front and throw and lumens numbers. On the back are more features, details and a spec table. The box itself is a magnetic side folder, that once inside you see the yellow warning card telling you to remove the battery protector. Once inside you see the light protected by it’s belt holster along with the accessories. 

Accessories that ship with the light are the Olight proprietary 5000mAh 21700 battery. It has the positive and negative as well as a plastic spacer on one side. You also get the dual direction pocket clip, standard Olight lanyard. The holster looks very similar to what came on the standard M2R. It’s pretty high quality, lightly padded, and has a plastic clip to secure the light, a hole at the bottom and a belt loop with a button. Lastly you get the new Olight MCC Charger that’s variable charge rate is capable of up to 2A. More on the charger later on in the review.

 

Construction

I am going to do some compare and contrast of the differences in the M2R and M2R pro for this section of my review. So if you haven’t seen my original review, make sure you check that out too. They are definitely similar but have differences as well. 

 

Size – The biggest difference between the standard and Pro M2R is the size. The standard light is using a standard button top protected 3500mAh 18650 battery, and is 130mm in length and about 25mm at the head in diameter. The M2R Pro is using a proprietary 5000mAh 21700 battery. As a result it’s grown in length to 136mm, and grown in diameter to 26.6mm in the head. Weight is up slightly to 180g a difference of 25g. 

 

Both lights are made from black anodized aluminum and share very similar styles. Starting at the head, the M2R Pro features a much more aggressive bezel. The points actually come to a point, more like a strike bezel. I wouldn’t want to EDC this bezel in my pants pocket because I think it would fairly easily rip the lining of the pocket. I have a few concerns about the longevity of the included holster as well. Thankfully the Bezel does screw off fairly easily, now all we need is for Olight to make a less aggressive model for people who want it. 

The lens on the M2R Pro is also different. Gone is the orange peel reflector and glass lens on the M2R. Instead a deep, plastic TIR type optic is in it’s place. This is a reflector and lens combo, that has no glass lens over the top. It means you can’t see the LED underneath either. The result on the beam pattern is a very focused hot center, and very minimal spill. 

Further down the head on the Pro we see similar but larger tear drops milled into the bezel. As we get to the switch area there is a similar anti roll ring except it has no milling on it like the M2R Standard had. Buttons are very similar but not exactly the same. The Pro is slightly shallower and silent when pressed unlike the Standard.

Bodies have another larger difference, the M2R Pro is more aggressive, each of the bars for lack of a better term are actually triangles that the points are slightly rounded. This really locks in better on your hands with or without gloves yet it’s small enough to still fit on the rifle mount that fits on the M2R. Internally Olight has went to a single tube design on the M2R Pro vs the dual tube design on the standard. They can get away with this due to that custom battery. 

The tail cap is also different on the Pro. Internally it’s contacts are different, and the battery goes in with the positive side facing the head, which is the opposite of most other olight’s including the M2R Standard. Externally they are similar, but the pro has a more beveled edge on top. On the very top the Pro features a revision of the button. The new button and charging surface is much more raised, the center is taller and has 3 prongs protruding from it. This makes it easier to actuate with gloves on. 

LED | Beamshots | Runtime

The Olight M2R Pro is using a Cree XHP35 in Neutral White, same as the M2R used, except in this application it’s driven a bit harder. Tint is pretty neutral white but does have a bit of green especially on lower power.

Olight lists the official output as the following. Outputs are thermally regulated.

Turbo – 1800 – 750 – 250

High – 750 – 250

Medium 1 – 250

Medium 2 – 60

Low – 15

Moon – 1

Overall Turbo is where you see the most difference with the modes on the M2R Pro about 300 more lumens, and 50 more on high. What I do like is that Olight is telling the step down progression and approximately how long each lasts on the box. Not a lot of brands are as up front as Olight is on this one. I applaud them for their honesty here. Heat on the M2R Pro was pretty well controlled. I measured for 10 minutes on Turbo and the hottest I saw at the 10 minute mark was 97F.

The beam pattern on the M2R Pro is pretty different then the Standard light. It’s got a hot centered beam with a much sharper cutoff and minimal spill which results in more throw. For a tactical light or one you mount on a weapon the Pro is the better choice due to that tighter beam and longer reach. Olight claims 300 meters on the Pro. 

For the first time that I can remember Olight is being upfront about runtimes and their progressions on higher level modes. My testing showed this was pretty accurate as well. Starting off on Turbo we cana see it lasts for just over 4 minutes, this is a gradual step down during that time. It then steps down to 750 lumens for what olight is saying is 145 minutes which agrees with my testing, then another 45 minutes before it shuts off. So total runtime from Turbo is 200 minutes. Lower modes obviously last longer.

 

UI

UI on the M2R Pro is similar to the M2R. The biggest difference I can see is in how the tail switch works. Now when you half press the button, you get medium 1 about 250 lumens, and then turbo 1800 lumens when you full press. This is in configuration 1, In configuration 2 the tail switch goes to turbo on half press and strobe on full press. 

 

UI is similar to other Olights but with some differences. Long press from Off to go to moon light mode, Double click to go to Turbo, and Triple click to go to strobe.There the front eswitch is mostly used as a mode switch but can be used to turn the light on and off from off as well. 

 

Recharging

The Olight M2R Pro features Olights new faster charging system. It’s capable of charging at 1A, 1.5A and 2A. This new magnetic charger looks almost identical to the old but it can be differentiated by the red background on the inside and new markings on the outside. This system is supposed to be smart and charge all your existing Olights (With the exception of the two pistol weapon lights that require slower charging) at optimal speeds. Getting the maximum speed out of the charger requires you got get the position just right I found out. It will start charging at pretty much any angle but it seems to be a little sensitive on the exact position rotation wise for maximum charging speed. If you really care about this get a in line USB voltage meter to monitor what’s going on. I have several that I have reviewed here on the channel if you need any suggestions.

 

I charged charged the included 5000mAh 21700mAh battery that came with the M2R Pro using this new charger. LVP on the battery kicked in at 1.84v and then I put it on the charger. I saw my charge time take 6 Hrs 15 minutes at 1.82A max. Charging seems to start slowly as it analyzes the battery, then ramp up, and then slow down at the end of charging. This is typical of Lithium ion charging and a good sign to see.

Pro’s

  • Much more user friendly to disassemble the head, but no glass lens on top.
  • Neutral White returns again.
  • Faster Charging system! 
  • New button on the rear is easier to operate and locate with gloves and has a more pronounced half and full step.

 

Con’s

  • Unfortunately Olight has replaced the standard battery configuration with a proprietary one. Using a normal 21700 with a magnet won’t work either.
  • I would love to see a less aggressive bezel be offered as an accessory or option.
  • No glass lens on top of the optic which means scratches will stay with the light.
  • Magnet still isn’t strong enough to hold the light in a horizontal position

 

Conclusion

The Olight M2R Pro is the first Pro series of light from Olight that I think deserves the name. It’s has some pretty significant differences from the standard M2R yet remains a similar light. I was a fan of the original M2R and I am a pretty big fan of the Pro as well. While I think the move to a 21700 battery was smart, I am disappointed Olight went to a customized proprietary battery version rather then keep the pretty standard button top 18650 they had in the M2R. I understand from a monetary reason why they did this and it allowed them to simplify the design of the light and minimize the size increase which maximizes compatibility with other accessories such as the rifle mount but it’s still disappointing to see standards be used. 

 

That said I am a fan here, I think the Pro version is a nice revision. I love the more aggressive milling on the body of the light, and the new smart charging system but that it remains compatible with the older accessories. The tail switch is nice as well and revised UI makes sense. I like how you can get half power with a half press and full turbo with a full press and lock on. The larger size of the light still remains compatible with the rifle mount and pressure switch as well for you guys looking to mount this one your firearms. The new beam shape gives you a better spot at distance. It’s nice to see they stuck with Neutral White here too. Overall I quite like the M2R Pro. 

Pickup the Olight M2R Pro from Skyben Trading on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YP6P91F

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Lumintop EDC18 Review (2800 Lumens, Triple LED, Side Switch) & 11.11 Sales

The Lumintop EDC18 is Lumintop’s newest EDC style light. It borrows very heavily from the FW3A that was designed by the BudgetLightForums but built by Lumintop. It features the same light engine, similar optic and similar ideas. Lumintop however has refined some of the qwerks of the FW3A to gear it a little more two a consumer oriented EDC market. Thanks to Banggood for sending this too me to look at and review.

A quick word that if your watching this video shortly after it’s made live, Banggood is having huge 11.11 day sales on tons of things in their store including flashlights and other goodies. I will have links in the description below to where you can find the sales and the Lumintop EDC18. 

 

Pickup the Lumintop EDC18 at Bangood for $39.90 at http://bit.ly/2MXLwjR with coupon BG18

 

Banggood 11.11 Flashlight Sales (Limited Time) http://bit.ly/32tSnpO and Main Venue Sales: http://bit.ly/36jJylo 

 

YouTube Version of this Review: 

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

 

Packaging

Packaging of the Lumintop EDC18 is the brown cardboard box that the FW3A had too. The outside slipcovers are different with corresponding photos of the light and the emitter on the outside. Not much detail on the outside, which makes sense. Inside ithe light is protected in form fitting white foam. The EDC18 came with a few more nice extras. It includes a lanyard, a deep carry pocket clip, magnetic tail cap, and glow in the dark silicone diffuser. 

 

Construction

The EDC18 is made from aluminium that’s anodized in a smooth eggshell black finish. Machining was good with no problems but mine did have a slight anodizing flaw on the heatsink that you can see under good lighting and then inside where the tube makes contact with the head it looks like some masking failed during anodizing. I will fix this after my review with a little sandpaper, neither are deal breakers and easy fixes. 

Starting at the tail cap, it’s flat and contains a strong magnet that can easily hold the light of the weight up in a horizontal and vertical position. There is a small hole in the back for a lanyard. Knurling on the tail cap and body are very shallow and no aggressive. I have found this type of knurling on other Lumintops to pick up and hold dirt easily. 

The clip is deep carry which is nice, it fits quite tightly but does rotate around the light. It does have a small shelf on it which I tend to not like but I have not found it to be a problem here. It’s reversible to either end of the light and at least on mine retention is good in the pocket but it’s not flush against the body when mounted at the rear of the light. I will make note that a deep carry clip is also available for the FW3A now too on NealsGadgets and I need to pick one up.

The head is where the largest differences are. Lumintop decided to give the EDC18 a little more mass in the head which is good for heat dissipation without much additional size. It’s got some milling to dissipate heat and add style. The only UI button is also found in the head. It’s a silicone button with a clear rabbit (Lumintop’s logo) and a green LED underneath, so when it’s got a battery installed it’s a glowing rabbit which is kind of cool. The switch underneath is an electronic switch and takes a decent amount of force to press. I didn’t have trouble with it in my pocket. 

The front of the head features a recessed lens with a polished aluminum flush bezel. Underneath is the bare carillo style optic. No glass lens is sitting on top like on the FW3A making this EDC “lens” more susceptible to scratching. This also isn’t a genuine Carillo optic, but instead a Chinese domestically made version. Performance wise they are very similar, it does look like mine has a slight flaw in it though. 

A quick note about the modality of the EDC18. The FW3A was a modders dream with no glue and built to change but this made the light a little finicky at times. The EDC18 takes a little different approach, it has retaining rings in the head and tail to keep parts aligned and a single piece body tube to make it more reliable. The bezel does unscrew so that you can swap out the optic, put a glow gasket in, or replace the opic with one with tritium etc. While the light is still moddable it’s less so then the FW3A.

 

Size & Weight

I measured length at 94mm, minimum diameter at the body tube at 25mm, and maximum diameter at the head at 27mm. Weight with included clip and my Sony VTC6 battery is 120.9g.

 

In comparison the FW3A in aluminum with the same battery and it’s clip it weights 98g. The FW3A is just a hair shorter and the head and tail are very similar in diameter. The biggest difference is the taper in the body on the FW3A. In my time carrying the light it makes a difference in how comfortable it is.  

LED/Beamshots/Runtime

My example of the EDC18 is using the Nichia 219C LED’s in about 4000k. For me this is one of my favorite LED’s and tint’s. It’s high CRI,  and just a slightly warm neutral color. That said it’s a “hot” LED and doesn’t produce as many lumens as the other LED’s being offered. The other choices available are SST20, Cree XP-L HI in Neutral White or Cool white. If your looking for all of the 2800 lumens here, go with one of the Cree emitters. For me I will happily trade a little performance for that preferred tint.

The beam here is nice and useful for EDC, it’s a fairly diffused light, not a thrower, and what we would expect from a Carclo style optic. 

Runtime on the EDC18 was very similar to the FW3A which makes since because it’s basically the same emitter engine. I did 2 runtime tests, the first being just showing the first 4 minutes in the highest output mode and as you can see this light heats up super fast and almost immediately starts to reduce it’s output. By about 4 minutes the light is stable and it runs here for well over 200 minutes. I stopped the test so the graph would be readable but let the light run and it was still at this output when I woke up the next morning. LVP kicked in about 2.87v.

 

As with the FW3A this light works best using the ramping firmware to bring it up to the level of light you need and not more, to maximize runtime and minimize heat. Thankfully that’s easy to do with Andril.

 

UI

This light is using Toykeeper’s Anduril UI. It’s currently one of my favorites available as it has a ton of options and neat little easter eggs that commercial UI’s don’t include. By default the light comes in ramping UI which is where I left it. The ramping is fast and logical. A stepped mode is available that you can configure as well if you prefer. 

The light has thermal controls, you can configure beacon mode, as well as 5 types of strobe including candle mode, party strobe, and lightning storm. You access these with 2 taps and a hold, and then two taps to change modes inside this group. Candle and lighting mode are my personal favorite. How practical these are could be a point where one could argue, but I like that they are present and it just makes things fun. Due to how you access these strobe modes I would not call the light a tactical UI or tactical light as you have to remember a series of presses and pauses to get there. 

 

For instance 4 clicks gives you lockout, and another 4 clicks unlocks the light, or you could just unscrew the head a tiny bit. If you activate momentary, the only way to clear it is to unscrew the head to do a full reset. 6 clicks from off gives you muggle mode which limits the lights output and output for a less complicated interface. 

 

Personally I find the UI to be easy to use for what you want to do most often, but a little more complex to get to those modes you don’t use very often. This is a UI where you should take a look at the manual or at least the graphical manual for the UI and spend some time playing with your light to get the most out of it.

 

Pro’s

  • Andril Firmware
  • Great extras’s are included like the deep carry clip, and diffuser
  • Magnetic Tail
  • More Reliable, less fiddly
  • Button top cells work here in addition to flat tops but no protected batteries

 

Con’s

  • Less modifiable then the FW3A, but this means more reliability
  • Larger profile makes it a little less pocket friendly.
  • Knurling is pretty smooth and minimal

 

Conclusion

My conclusion on the Lumintop EDC18 is that this version is a version of the FW3A that’s designed a more for the mainstream consumer. It trades ultimate compactness and modality for a slight increase in size, and a little more reliability. What this means is it’s less likely to have problems out of the box but your not going to be able to modify it like what people are doing with the FW3A. It would still benefit from everyone doing a thermal sensor calibration. 

 

The biggest difference is really if you want a tail or side switch because that’s the biggest difference for me. I honestly like both. I think for EDC I prefer the feel of the FW3A in my pocket because of it’s slightly tapered body (and deep carry once I get my deep carry clip) and slightly smaller size. That said there have been times I miss having a magnet in the tail, especially when at work. So for me it’s really hard to pick just one, I don’t think either are bad choices for a compact hot rod triple light. So I would if you can get the emitter you like in both, go with where you like your switch best, FW3A for tail switch, or the Lumintop EDC18 for a side switch. 

 

Pickup the Lumintop EDC18 at Bangood for $39.90 at http://bit.ly/2MXLwjR with coupon BG18

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Olight Seeker 2 Review and Comparison (3000 Lumens, 21700, 3x Osram LED)

Today I am taking a look at the Olight Seeker 2. Now a few months ago I looked at the Pro version of this light, the one I am looking at today is similar but has a few differences to it. If you have not seen that review I will link to it and recommend you check it out as this is going to do a lot of comparisons and contrasts rather then a full review. Thanks to Skyben trading for sending this to me to take a look at. 

 

YouTube version of this Review:

Pickup the Olight Seeker 2 from Skyben on Amazon https://amzn.to/2nZR2sC 

 

Packaging & Accessories

I will quickly touch on packaging. It’s on par with the Seeker 2 Pro, same white box with a nice photo of the light with lumen and throw specs up front. On the back you have a runtime chart and some details about the light. 

Accessories with the Seeker 2 were less then the Seeker 2 Pro. You get the light itself, the same proprietary 5000mAh Olight 21700 battery (ORB-217C50), a standard Olight Lanyard with the helpful threading needle, and then a MCCA1 charger with the standard length cable. The Pro version of the light came with everything before and the L Dock, much longer charging cable, and a holster. 

 

Construction

The construction of these two aluminum lights are very similar. Here are the major differences that I see.

  • The anodizing is different on the Seeker 2 Standard. Rather then being the hard slick finish that most aluminum lights are the Seeker 2 Standard uses a mat almost chalky anodizing. It’s very similar to what you find on Armytek lights. It marks up fairly easily but usually rubs or washes off pretty easily.
  • The Seeker 2 doesn’t have the molded silicone grips that the Seeker 2 Pro has. This isn’t a huge deal to me, at least with dry hands the different anodizing kind of makes up for it. 
  • The front side switch is different between the two. On the Seeker 2 Standard the switch is more like recent Olights, it’s a more plasticy slicker feeling. It has a hole in the center for an LED for battery status indicator. The Seeker 2 Pro has nicer feeling rubber/silicon button as well as 4 LED’s on each side for battery power indicator and brightness status indicator. While these are really nice features I have no trouble with the standard button. 

Size & Weight Comparison

Length of the Seeker 2 came in at 126mm vs the Pro’s 128mm. Diameters of the head were identical at 35.4mm, the body tube at 27mm. Both lights roll around very easily when on their sides

I was a little surprised at the weight difference between the two lights. The Seeker 2 Pro weight in with battery at 197g while the Seeker 2 standard came in at 186.5g. 

 

LED | Beamshots | Heat

The Seeker 2 Standard is using a triple configuration of Osram LED instead of the Cree XP-L HD’s used Seeker 2 Pro. Olight doesn’t give us the model of Osram used in the light unfortunately according to official literature. Tint wise the Seeker 2 Standard has a tint that’s a bit whiter especially at lower power where as the Seeker 2 Pro is a little warmer/rosy tint. Beam pattern on the Seeker standard has a more defined hotspot and appears to be more focused. 

Seeker 2 on the left

Seeker 2 tint

Seeker 2 on left, Seeker 2 on Right

 

Runtimes on the Seeker 2 are also longer due to the different LED. Total runtime was more then 250 minutes for the Seeker 2 Standard. Turbo seemed to last slightly longer as well. The Seeker standard ran in high for just past 100 minutes, very similar to the Pro, but then it saw 2 pretty major decreases in the next 50 minutes but then ran on low power that was usable for over that 250 minutes mark. The slight differences in output are not that noticeable and I will trade it for more runtime. LVP kicked in at 2.958V

 

Outputs are listed as the same for all modes except turbo with the differences being only 200 lumens.

Moonlight  – 5 Lumens

Low – 50 Lumens

Medium 300 Lumens

High 1200 Lumens then 600

Turbo 3000 Lumens then 600

 

UI

UI on the Seeker 2 Standard is is very similar to other Olights and the same as the Seeker 2 Pro, 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 pretty much the exact same as the Seeker 2 Pro. The Seeker 2 Standard is using Olights MCC1AL magnetic charging system..  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 pretty slow, very conservative charging speed for such a large cell. Good for the overall lifespan of the cell if you can wait but Olight’s competitors lights that are using the same battery are generally charging at 2A which is plenty safe for this battery. The battery stopped charging at 4.135v.

 

Pro’s

  • More affordable without much sacrifice of features.
  • Increase in runtime and throw with the Osram LED
  • Relatively small sized light for a 21700 battery
  • Triple LED lights continue to go mainstream in 2019

 

Con’s 

  • 1A charging is pretty slow on a 5000mAh battery. 2A is still under 1C charging speed for this battery and what this lights competition is all doing.
  • No Change in the magnet, it’s still relatively weak only really sufficient for charging or holding the light perfectly horizontal.
  • No official word on exactly which LED is being used here, just the manufacturer is given.

 

Conclusion

The Seeker 2 is extremely similar to it’s Twin brother the Seeker 2 Pro. The 200 lumens difference in peak performance on turbo isn’t significantly different to the eye. The other physical differences are fairly minor or not deal breakers for me. 

 

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. 

 

Personally my recommendation would be to go with the standard Seeker 2 here, and save the roughly $30 difference. While I like the rubber grip and battery and power level indicators I don’t think those two things are significant enough to warrant the price, thus making the Seeker 2 the better overall buy. With that $30 you could easily buy another battery for the light. Overall the Seeker 2 is a pretty good light and a better value then the Seeker 2 Pro in my opinion. 

 

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/g1BXxQn

Pickup the Olight Seeker 2 from Skyben on Amazon https://amzn.to/2nZR2sC 

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Jetbeam Jet T2 Review (Jetbeam’s First Pistol Light)

Today I have Jetbeams’ first attempt at a pistol light, the Jet-T2. Thanks to Jetbeam for sending this one to me early to check out. An excuse to go to the range to test a light is always a good one. 

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YouTube Version of this Review:

Packaging

Packaging on this light is a clear hanging retail box with the light prominently displayed in the middle. Some limited information is on the back. Accessories are pretty limited as well, you get the included Jetbeam branded 700mAh USB rechargeable 16340 battery, and a MicroUSB cable to charge the battery directly, and some paperwork such as the manual, warranty card, etc. 

Construction

The light is made from anodized aluminum and is generally rectangular in shape but it has been lightened where possible. The sides have a deep milled area in the sides, and the bottom the corners are well rounded. Starting at the head it features a double anti reflective coated lens, with a smooth fairly deep reflector. The head has small scallops for style and grip. The head is removable for battery recharging and replacement. There  are springs at each end of the light. Inside there is a dual wall construction so unfortunately a battery larger then a 16340 like an 18350 won’t fit in this light. 

On the bottom of the light there is the electronic switched used to lock out the light. It’s large but out of the way and pretty flat. On the back of the light there is a plastic and rubber molded piece that has the switches. It’s almost a different shade of black then the aluminum and not a great match at least on my example. There are switches on either the left or the right side. They only work under the molded rubber bar which took some getting used to and isn’t my favorite design. 

The mount features a insert with 4 slots to allow the universal rail section fit your firearm. The key I had no trouble fitting in a Glock rail or standard 1913 rail. For my Glocks (19 being the smallest) it fit best for me in the furthers forward position. This unfortunately isn’t enough travel for my S&W Shield but I didn’t really expect it to fit here either. The screw used to tighten it down on your firearm is silver in color unfortunately, I really wish it was black instead to blend in better. It has a large straight slot to allow you to tighten it down with a coin. I miss the Olight Quick detach system that I have gotten used to on their weapon lights here. 

Size/Weight & Competition

Length is about 65 mm, Width is 29mm, Height is 36mm. Weight with battery came in at 92.8g, and it’s IPX7 rated.

While similar to the original Olight PL Valkyrie I in layout, I compared the light to the Olight PL Pro because size wise it’s somewhat close. The Jetbeam T2 probably compares best to some of the smaller Streamlight’s like the TLR-7 but I don’t have one here to compare it to. Anyways it’s a medium sized weapon light, larger then the Olight PL-Mini but operates more like a full size light in a medium packaged size. 

 

It fit’s fine on my Glock 19 and 22, but even with the adjustable mount it doesn’t fit on my S&W Shield with the rail attachment. 

LED | Beamshots |  Runtime

The LED being used here is the Cree XPL-HI in cool white. The reflector is decently deep and smooth so for what it is it has a good amount of throw. It’s rated for 120 meters and I found this to be pretty accurate. Beam profile is a fairly hot center and a good amount of lighter spill, a good profile for a pistol light in my opinion.

Runtimes on this light were a little disappointing, at least for high. In high mode it’s good for 520 lumens, and runtime is about 3-4 minutes before it steps down over the next 7 minutes to about 70% relative output. This decline is slow so you don’t notice the sudden dip. The next 10 minutes is pretty stable. The light then flashes a bit to let you know power is lower, and then steps up a decent amount before running till LVP kicks in on the battery. The battery didn’t want to give me a voltage at the LVP cut off point till I charged it a bit. 

Low mode is good for 160 lumens, and runtime is about 105 minutes. This is an odd graph as well, because the light actually increases slightly in output over the first 50 minutes, before stepping back down and then slowly increasing till LVP kicks in. Output till the end gets a bit unstable. 

 

UI

The light has buttons on the left and right, These are button pads that look longer then they really are, you have to get right up under the bar to make them function. A quick press of either button gives you a constant on mode, a longer press give you a momentary mode, Jetbeam calls this tactical mode. To access strobe, double click other buttons.

 

The light has 2 modes, a high and low, 520 or 120 lumens respectively. To switch between them, just long press both side buttons together and the light will come on and adjust it’s output. This setting is memorized. In my experience I had better luck if I pressed and held one button and then the other quickly vs at the same time. Having the light on makes it easier. 

 

The light also has an on/off switch on the bottom that is it’s lock mechanism. To set the lock, long press on the bottom button, and the light will slow flash 3 times. To unlock long press on the bottom button and the light will slow flash 2 times.

 

Recharging

Recharging is accomplished on the included Jetbeam 700mAh 16340 battery via the USB port on the side of the battery. This is the same battery we saw on the Jetbeam RRT-01 Review I did earlier in the year (Great light if you have not seen it). It has 2 LED indicators on top, red when charging, green when charged. Charging speed was very conservative at 0.4A meaning charging a low battery to full (4.17V) took 2 hours, 5 minutes. 

0.4A.

Conclusion

The Jetbeam T2 is Jetbeams first Pistol light that I can find and it’s pretty good for a first go at it. For me the output should be a bit more smooth and regulated, with more emphasis on the high output without step down. The buttons on the sides should have a larger area to enable them to be used more easily. I don’t find the switch on the bottom that useful for lockout because of the UI that takes too long. I would much rather have a simple mechanical lockout via a ¼ turn of the bezel because it’s simpler and faster. 

 

That said I like the shapes here, and so far this has proven to work pretty well. Even though the mount isn’t a tool less design it works well and should adapt to most full size and sub compact model pistols. The XP-L high is a good emitter choice here and the results are alight that throws pretty well which is important for a pistol light. Overall it’s a good first design with room for improvement in the future. 

 

Purchase the T2 on Jetbeam’s Website https://www.jetbeamworld.com/en/product/Jetbeam-JET-T2-Compact-LED-Tactical-Pistol-Light-CREE-XP-L-HI-520-Lumens-Includes-1-x-3.7V-700mAh-RCR123A-80.html or from Battery Junction https://www.batteryjunction.com/jetbeam-jet-t2.html 

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Thrunite TT10 Review (21700, USB charging, XHP70.2)

Today I have a review of the Thrunite TT10, a tactical light using the Cree XHP 70.2, a 21700 battery, and with onboard MicroUSB charging. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this to me to take a look at. Let’s dive in.

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/BVl8EKA 

Youtube Version of this Review: 

Packaging & Accessories

Packaging is typical of Thrunite, it’s a brown cardboard box, elegant printing of the model name of the light, a wire outline, and then on the sides the emitter tint. Inside the box the light is protected in die cut white foam, and housed in a plastic bag. Accessories include the Thrunite branded protected flattop 21700 5000mAh battery, a microUSB charging cable, manual, holster, extra button covers, and lanyard. The holster is like other Thrunites, decent quality Nylon with a plastic Dring.

Construction

The light is made from aluminum and anodized in a smooth semi gloss black. Starting at the rear, you have the tail which has ample room for the lanyard on each side. In the center you have 2 buttons, a larger mechanical switch that gives you direct access to turbo, and then a smaller square e-switch to give you direct access to strobe. Rear threads are raw, anodized and ACME cut. The light features a dual wall design to make the combination of switch, and tail switches work with the onboard microUSB charging and the inner double springs stout.

The body has a rectangular frag pattern milled into it. All of the edges are nicely rounded and as a result, there isn’t a ton of grip on this light. For a tactical light that’s a little disappointing.

The head has an anti roll ring where the front E switch lives and the MicroUSB charging port, both opposites of each other. The switch is very much like we have seen from other Thrunite models, with a silver metal button surrounded by a silver bezel. It’s low mounted and the button has a LED in the center used for charging indication. Further up the light has minimal heatsinking. The bezel on the TT10 is aluminum and has aggressive and sharp crenulations. While I understand this for a tactical light it would be nice to include a bezel that the user could swap in that’s less aggressive. The bezel is easily removed. Underneath is a anti reflective coated glass lense and a fairly deep orange peel reflector.

Size and Weight | Competition

 I measured the overall length of the Thrunite TT10 at 138mm, diameter at it’s maximum at the head is 33mm and minimum on the body at 27mm. Weight with the battery installed 190g. 

 The Olight Warrior X is similar dimensions to the TT10 but the Olight is running the smaller 18650 battery, different emitter, and a optic designed more for throw. The closest direct competitor I have is probably the Klarus XT21X as its running the same LED, Battery size, and has a similar tactical role. The Klarus has more throw due to the longer smooth reflector vs the smooth more shallow reflector in the Thrunite TT10. 

LED | Beamshots | Runtime | Heat | Output

This light is using a cool white Cree XHP 70.2 (70B) LED. A neutral white version is offered as well unfortunately I have the cool white version here. That said this cool white has some green too it when I compare it to my Klarus XT21X and looks more natural then cool. The beam pattern has a large hot center that gradually fades into spill. The light doesn’t have a hard cutoff on the edges and the edges get a bit blue/purple tint.

Thrunite lists the official specs as:

  • Turbo 3700 lumens stepping down to 1100 lumens
  • High at 1750 lumens stepping down to 1100 lumens
  • Medium at 300 lumens
  • Low at 28 lumens
  • Firefly at ½ lumen.

I will note that other reviewers have not been able to replicate these output numbers, with actual results being 20-30% less then stated on the higher modes. This isn’t common for Thrunite as they typically tend to have results pretty close to what reviewers see. I am in the process of building my own testing rig for output and hopefully I will have something done later this year. Mode spacing could be a little better, it’s a huge jump from 300 lumens in medium to 1715/1100 in high. Once high steps down it’s a little better but I feel like there should be an additional mode in between medium and high.

 

Overall runtime of the light was just shy of 120 minutes. Turbo is a timed step down after 2 minutes and takes about 30 second to complete going from 3700 lumens to 1100, it’s a gradual and smooth step down at least to my eye. After the light reaches the 1100 lumen mark (about 50% of relative output) it operates here pretty consistently for 115 minutes before low voltage protection kicks in and shuts off the light. I measured LVP at 3.095v. 

Heat during my runtimes were about as expected, the light gets warm but not too hot to touch. 

  • 1 Minute 94F
  • 5 Minutes 107F
  • 10 Minutes 111F

 UI

For a light with 3 switches it really mainly operates with the front e-switch and the 2 rear switches are direct access to tubro and strobe. The front switch is fairly straightforward and the manual does a good job of explaining it. From off, long pressing on the front switch gives you moonlight mode, single press again to turn off. A single press from off starts the light out in the previous used mode (low by default), to increase in brightness long press. You only have access to low, medium, and high. To get to turbo double click, or triple click to strobe. The light also has electronic lockout.

The UI on the tail switch has direct access to turbo mode with the large round mechanical button. It also has direct access to strobe with the smaller rectangle button.

There is no complete mechanical lockout on the light, if you unscrew the tail slightly this just disables the tail switches but not the e-switch upfront. Since the light starts on low hopefully that won’t result any melted holsters or bags.

 What would have been nice is to see Thrunite offer a non tactical mode for this light as well, similar to what Klarus did with the XT21X. I think this makes a light designed for a tactical role have a wider appeal to more people. 

Recharging

This light does have onboard microUSB charging. The small LED in the front E-Switch serves as a charging indicator, going red when charging and blue when charged. The silicone flap is pretty well secured when closed and sits flush and stays out of the way. Charging speed started and stayed right at 1.96A for the duration of the charge pretty much. That’s nice to see on such a large battery. Overall charging time from LVP to full is right at 2 hours.  A full cell measured 4.18v.

Pro’s

  • Side switch has a “locator” function that blinks every 4 seconds or so to help you locate it in the dark. This is pretty dim which I prefer.
  • Both Cool White and Neutral White LED’s are offered. Cudos to THrunite for continuing to offer both.
  • The UI is easy despite there being 3 switches on the light. Not much different than if you already own other Thrunite lights.

 

Con’s

  • Still rocking MicroUSB instead of USB-C for recharging. While the full 2A speed is nice to see it’s time for USB-C to be the standard on new lights in this price category in 2019.
  • Not much grip on the body of the light.
  • No non tactical UI modes.

 

Conclusion

The Thrunite TT10 is designed as a tactical light and that shows throughout with emphasis on short duration of high output. I like it’s small size and fit in the hand but wish that it’s grip was a bit more aggressive, especially if you were going to use it with gloves. It’s nice to see a brand offer a tactical light in Neutral white as well. The UI here is not well optimized for the additional buttons and it makes lockout kind of awkward. I really wish Thrunite would have offered a way to switch the light to a non tactical mode so it’s more dual purpose. I find Thrunites name of this light to be a bit confusing as it’s too close to other TT models but is a different function. While Thrunite typically offers a high value I feel like the price of this light is a bit high when compared to it’s peers at current pricing. With a coupon this becomes a better value though. 

 

Pickup the ThruNite TT10 on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2NKwcI9 Make sure to click the box to save $20

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Sofirn SP40 Review (Best Budget 18650 Headlamp of 2019)

Today I have a review of the Sofirn SP40 budget headlamp. Sofirn continues to bring out affordable products and take feedback seriously. I have had this one for a while and have been using it for various things around the house. Thanks to them for sending this to me to take a look at review on the channel. Let’s take a closer look at it. 

 

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YouTube Version of this Review: 

 

Packaging & Accessories

Sofirn’s packaging is very basic and I am ok with this as more money is going to the product and accessories then the packaging. Inside the basic brown cardboard box the light is protected with some foam and bubble wrap. Included accessories are the headlamp itself with the Sofirn branded 3000mAh 18650 battery preinstalled, pocket clip, 18350 tube, headband, and spare orings.

Construction

The light is made from anodized aluminium. Machine and finish are good for the price range here. The tail is flat, and non magnetic. The light comes into 3 pieces with the other spare body tube being the 4th. There is standard diamond knurling on the tail cap as well as the body. It’s a little more on the aggressive side and I expect it will pick up dirt over time. 

The headband is a 3 piece design, and while functional, the straps do feel a bit more lightweight and thinner then other headbands I have from Olight, Armytek, and Klarus. That said this light is a lot less expensive. The headband has 2 silicone loops in front to slip the light into. On the 18650 tube there are 2 areas milled in without knurling where these rest. For the 18350 tube you kind of just have to make it work, and for me the loops ended up sitting on the knurls. There is also a press on friction fit pocket clip thats included on the light. With the 18650 tube it can be oriented either direction. With a head up carry a lot of the light sticks up from you pocket so a head down would be the only way for me. On the 18350 tube the clip really only fits on in one direction to remain on the light. This isn’t my favorite EDC because of how it carries but I am glad they at least include it. One last thing to note is that you should remove the clip prior to putting on the head strap. 

The head is fairly flat but with rounded corners on the emitter side. The rear is rounded and there is minimal milling for heat and weight dissipation on the sides. The USB charging port is opposite and below the emitter but still on the head. ON top is the button for controlling the light, as well as being a charger status indicator. Red is charging, green is charged. It’s a clicky e switch covered with a translucent silicone cover. 

 

Size/Weight and Comparisons

I measured Length at 107mm, Body Width at 22mm and maximum head width at 27mm. 

Weight with the included battery is 105.4g, with the headband and battery it’s 141g. 

The Sofirn SP40 looks like other headlamps we have seen for the most part. Today I am going to do some quick comparisons with the Armytek Elf C2 I have here because it’s one of my favorites, is similar sized, and has USB recharging onboard. Length wise the Elf C2 is a bit longer but it’s tail is magnetic. It’s head is also a little wider, probably due to the button being on the side instead of  the top. The clip is a lot better for EDC in my opinion and is heads up, vs the SP40 would be best as a tail down carry. Both fit in their respective headbands in a similar way. 

LED/Beamshots/Heat/Runtime

The SP40 is using a XP-L LED in cool white but not super cool tint. I would guess something like 6000k. While I wish it was a neutral white this is ok for the price. The beam is pretty standard, with no major artifacts. ItThe reflector has orange peel and the lens is clear anti reflective coated. Since it doesn’t have a diffuser or TIR optic it does have a hot spot in the center and isn’t super even. The light does have PWM and I don’t notice it on any of the modes. 

Heat here isn’t too bad. During my runtime tests I measured the light at several intervals and found the following temps. 1 minute was 93F, 5 minutes was 115F, and 10 minutes was 111F. 

Official output is listed at the following

Low – 5 lumens

Medium – 90 lumens

High – 450 lumens

Turbo – 1200 lumens

 

UI

The UI is pretty simple, and straight down to business. From off and you turn it on and the light starts on low, if you long press while the light is on it will move up to the next brightest mode. If you hold it down the light will cycle between low, medium, and high. The light won’t go into turbo without a double click while on. The light does have memory for all modes except turbo. Lastly there are no blinking modes. 

 

Recharging

The light does have onboard micro USB charging on the head. From an empty cell at 2.76V where LVP kicks in, I charged the light to full in 4.8 hours at an average of 0.9A. This is an acceptable charge rate, and should be safe for any 18650 that’s installed inside, but you won’t be winning any charging races here. For an 18650 it’s safe but probably a little higher then I want to charge mine at typically. I have no complaints with the included 3000mAh Sofirn branded 18650 battery.

Pro

  • Great included accessories including the 18350 tube and 18650 battery
  • Fantastic value for what your getting with the kit, including the battery, USB recharging, etc

 

Con’s

  • Head Strap is a bit thinner than other brands.
  • Current regulation isn’t the best.
  • No tint choice available.

 

Conclusion

For the price, flexibility, and fast shipping if purchased from Amazon, I am not sure if there is a better value 18650 headlamp available for less money that includes USB charging. There are other headlamps I rate as overall better, but their prices are significantly more. The Sofirn SP40 provides a good amount of working light for most jobs in most situations, has onboard charging for convenience, and includes optional extras like the 18350 tube instead of making them an optional extra. This would be a good option for someone looking to grab a bunch of headlamps for work, or to loan out, or give as gifts as it’s a complete kit and easy to use.

Headlamps are something I think everyone should have as they are extremely useful around the house, and anywhere you are working on something where 2 hands are preferred. If none of that applies to you, this still makes a decent right angle EDC in the pocket too.

Get the Sofirn SP40 for $23.19 by using code D3BUSFJM at https://amzn.to/2ZrEY44