Category: Reviews

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Klarus WL1 Review (550 Lumen, LED Worklight, White & Red, 180 degree rotation)

Today I have a new light from Klarus the WL1 Work light. This is a COB LED light with white and red LED, on an arm that rotates and pivots to allow you to place the light where you need it while working. If you have an old “trouble lamp” this is the 21 centuries answer, it’s battery powered, and USB Rechargeable. Thanks to Klarus for sending this to me. If you do any type of work on your car or house you will definitely want to stick around and watch this one. 

Pickup the Klarus WL1 Worklight from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3oXYhuR


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Packaging &  Accessories

Packaging here is nothing special, it’s a lightweight cardboard box designed for hanging retail. A nice photo of the light is printed on the front along with some detail all around. Inside the light is held in a plastic carton that’s fit to the light itself. Accessories include the light itself, a USB-A to Micro USB cable and a manual. 

 

Construction

The WL1 is made from plastic, and it’s in very Makita-like colors. It’s a solid feel but there are mold marks in various places and there doesn’t feel like there is a lot of glass reinforcing inside. The back has a rubberized grip that houses the switch, LED indicators, and above the USB port cover. The top’s silver plastic house 4 screws that I assume has some metal inside to reinforce the hinge mechanism.

 

The light bar itself is made of black plastic and folds out a full 90 degrees. It then is able to rotate clockwise 90 degrees so that the COB LED’s face outward when it’s in its most compact form. It can hold any position between this and does so with friction, there are no detents. The clear lens here is plastic.

On the bottom you have a fairly strong magnet that is more then capable of holding the weight of the light in any position. The sticker here that covers the sticker on mine is pretty easily scratched.  There is also a metal hanger that works well to hang it on a branch, wire, rope, or ledge. There is also a hole to allow the spot on the end of the light bar to poke out to use kind of like a normal flashlight.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 151mm in the folded position, and  the length in the unfolded position of about 325mm. I measured the weight at 171.6g. I don’t have another light thats similar to this to really compare it too but I did put a Convoy S2 for size comparison. The light is IPX5 water rated. 

 

Retention

On the bottom you have a fairly strong magnet that is more then capable of holding the weight of the light in any position. The sticker here that covers the sticker on mine is pretty easily scratched.  There is also a metal hanger that works well to hang it on a branch, wire, rope, or ledge

LED & Beam

The Klarus WL1 has 2 LED sources on this. First you have the main COB LED’s that provide your area lighting. No specific LED is mentioned here but the tint is 6500k, and produces a maximum of 550 lumens, with the other modes coming in at 220 and 22 lumens each. This same COB also has a red mode and produces 30 lumens which is fairly bright. Lastly there is a red blinking mode which no output is given but i would guess it’s the 30 lumens. Both in red and white modes the COB LED is quite even light, but the beam itself is more an ellipsis beam pattern. You do have a hard cutoff at the edges and there is distortion in color at the very edges. Neither are fantastic but for a work light I didn’t notice it during actual use. 

 

The light also has a single 5mm LED on the end of the boom, no data is given here and it’s not very bright. 

 

Heat & Runtime

The light has an internal 2000mAh battery, no size is mentioned but I would guess it’s an 18650 just given the size of the light. If so it’s a little disappointing it’s kind of lower capacity. The white light has 3 output modes, I did my first runtime test in high or 550 lumens, and the light was able to hold t his for about 5 minutes before stepping down to 90% relative output slowly. From there it stepped down again to about 50% relative output and then was pretty linear with the battery decline out to 2 hours of total output. Medium mode it was able to sustain 80% or greater out to 2:15:00/ Total runtime was 3:46:00. 

 

Red outputs were stable throughout, there was a small amount of almost continual design through the curve here. The light was able to sustain 80% relative output or better for the first 5:30:00 of runtime. Total red runtime was 6:45:00. Heat during both types of light was not worth measuring. 

 

UI

UI here is ok with some room for improvement. The button ison the rear of the right and flash with the grip. From off the light turns on in medium mode, a quick press again goes to high, pressing it again goes to low. Pressing it again goes to red, then to blinking red. Then back around. There is no memory so each time the light is off it will reset to medium white. If you long pres from anywhere the light switches to the LED on the end of the boom, and it has 2 modes. I think this could be improved by making red a double click, and have the light be L,M,H. 

 

Recharging

Charging on the WL1 is accomplished via a microUSB port on the back of the light just above the button. It’s a really linear curve, and not the typical charge curve I see for a battery. Total charge time of the internal cell was 3:58:00 so a fairly low charge rate. The first 20 minutes or so started out at 0.85A but then decreased from there. 

 

Pro’s

  • Priced around $30 at the time of filming
  • Built well for the price
  • Useful amount of area lighting
  • Magnetic base with hanger

 

Con’s

  • UI here could be a little better, I would have preferred the white light start with L, M, H. 
  • Cool white only
  • Could be a higher capacity battery or user replaceable.

 

Conclusion

If your current work light is a light bulb in a cage on an extension cord, or old school halogen bulb on stands the WL1 is a nice portable replacement. I found it really helpful when I did an oil change both under the car and in the engine bay. It’s not the best beam or tint but it’s a work light and it does a nice job at a pretty affordable price with a 1 year warranty from Klarus. 

I think this would make a nice Christmas gift if you have someone who likes to work on cars in your life, or likes to do projects around the house too. The portability to attach it magnetically to surfaces and then twist the light to exactly where you need it is nice. 

Pickup the Klarus WL1 Worklight from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3oXYhuR

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Olight Olantern Review (360 Lumens, Flicker Bulb, Olight Fan Request)

Olight Olantern Review (360 Lumens, Flicker Bulb, Olight Fan  Request)

Today I have the Olight OLantern, before you change to the next video, this isn’t a boring battery powered lantern. It’s the result of numerous requests to Olight, so lets see if they delivered what the fans really want or not. Thanks to Skyben on Amazon for sending me this to look at and allowing me to tell you the truth on it. 

 

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Pickup the Olight Olantern from Skyben on Amazon.

Green: https://amzn.to/3lQkiKh

Gray: https://amzn.to/2VXfb0x

Red: https://amzn.to/2VMjQlL

XANAD Case: https://amzn.to/2KABHqb

 

Packaging & Accessories

Olights packaging is the nicest in the production flashlight world, it makes me wonder how much extra goes to packaging. The lantern is a big heavy duty cardboard box with photos of the light on all 4 sides. Very little information is on the exterior. It opens up throughout the bottom and is a tight fit. It sit’s on the box of accessories which include the manual, a microfiber cleaning cloth, an extra long MCC3 charger capable of up to 2A, and the flame flicker bulb. 

 

Construction

The lantern itself is made from a polymer front top top bottom. It’s available in a gray, red, and the green you see here. A rubber texture has been applied to a few areas for extra grip, the top cap, and bottom tail cap. The middle section is a hard thick, dense polymer. The lens or globe is a clear acrylic and while it will scratch it seems to be reasonably scratch resistant. It has a bit of a reflector built into the to help distribute light. This globe twists off from the body to allow you to swap out the emitter from cool white to the flickering flame, and there is a oring around this connection. Inside around the emitter is aluminum as is the blue ring around the exterior.

The electronic button is in the front and and has a slight backlit edge. This servers as a power indicator and helps you find the light in the dark. The light is motion sensitive so once you pick it up it comes on. 

The bottom rubber piece is scalloped and relieved internally to allow the light to charge while standing up with ease. There are 3 screws in the bottom that allows the light to come apart fairly easily. While the battery isn’t designed to be user replaceable it is quite easy to remove it. It connects to the circuit board with spring loaded pins. There was some debate early on if this was a rebranded product or an Olight original design and after looking inside I am confident it’s an Olight design, as all the circuit boards do have Olight copyrights on them. Internally its pretty simple design. 

 

Size & Weight/Competition

Length with the handle folded in was 135mm, with it unfolded 191mm, maximum diameter on the base was 65mm. I measured the weight at 346.5g. Water rating is only IPX4. So it can handle splashes from all angeles but no more.

A lot of people will compare the Olight Olantern to the BLF/Sofrin LT1 because the lights end up being near the same price. The Olantern is lighter, and smaller, with less features, a more simple but less useful UI, and longer charging time. The two are in different leagues really. The Olantern is probably better to hand to a non enthusiast and in terms of weight but in almost all other aspects the LT1 in my opinion is the better lantern. 

 

Retention

The lantern has a handle that is a metal hanger and coated in the same rubberized coating, at the top it has a plastic piece with a dip in it. This looks a little funny but is actually really useful, as it allows you to hang the light on a wire or rope and not have it fall off. I could see this being used in a tent, or with a rope strung between a few trees while camping etc. 

I do enjoy a case for my BLF LT1, and the OLantern will fit in the one I have for my LT1 here but with a good amount of extra space leftover. The XANAD case does double duty well.

 

LED & Beam

The Olantern has 2 LED Modules, first the primary is a cool white module with 3 output settings. No emitter or tint data is given for either. It’s quite cool white my guess is 6500k or cooler. The beam is pretty even but if you wanted to diffuse it even more I have seen people put thin paper inside the globe for more diffusion. 

The other is the flame module, it’s 1 mode only and flickers, and is quite warm, with an orange tint. I really wish this had more output and 3 modes like the main module did. 

 

Olight lists the official outputs as the following.

  • High 360 lumens
  • Medium 120 lumens
  • Low 30 lumens
  • Flaming Module 1 Lumen

 

Heat & Runtime

I tested runtime on the highest output on the main cool white module, and got 6:55:00 so a little better  then what it’s rated for. During this time it decreased in output ever so slightly but ran this entire time at 90% of relative output which is good. It does get a little warm during use, especially around the blue metal band, with peak temps in my uncooled environment at 39C. This was around the 2 hour mark.

 

My flaming module runtime test fell a tad short of the claimed 80 hours of runtime. I recorded only 46:42:00, due to the length of time this took I didn’t run this one again to see if my results improved. 

 

UI

The UI here is very simple. Single press turns the light on to the last mode it was used in. Long press to go to the next mode, and mode progression is L, M, H. There is no short cut to the highest or lowest output. The flaming module has only one mode, so it’s just on or off.

 

One kind of neat and useful feature is the illuminated halo around the side switch, it reacts to motion to help you find it and to save power, so if you bag was to move it was in or you pick it up but can’t find the button in the dark it will start glowing a dim green so you can find it. 

 

Recharging & Power

This light runs off of a proprietary battery pack consisting of 4x 1900mAh 18500 batteries for a total capacity of 7600mAh. This is a custom battery pack and is designed to be non user replaceable. As mentioned above it’s quite easy to get into the light however though so if Olight made this battery available as a replacement I think it’s something the average person could replace. Recharging is done via the Olight magnetic MCC3 charger you get on recent Olights. It will operate while charging, and has the standard green when charged, red when charging. 

 

Charing time here is very long, from empty where the light shut off I measured it taking a full 8:30:00  to recharge, Peak charging speed I saw was 1.38A. This is a pretty conservative recharge rate. If you were charging off solar power it would be best to top up then expect to get a full charge in a day in most places. Comparing this to my BLF LT1 which had a capacity of 12,000mAh but charged in 10:15:00. This is still along time but also a battery that’s 4,400mAh larger.

 

Areas for Improvement

I see 3 major areas that olight can make improvements to on the next Olantern. The first is the waterproofing, this is only rated for IPX4 which means it can repel splashes from any angle but more then this may cause problems. This means it’s ok in the rain but isn’t to be submerged. The lantern only has one Oring between the globe and module, this surprised me for the price point the lights at, and Olights usual good build quality. 

 

LED Tint – This shouldn’t surprise anyone if you know Olight you know they like that cool white tint. They might say that’s for the best performance, or most amount of lumens but in this case neither are the most important, quality of light and runtime are the big things you want for area illumination. With the replaceable “bulb” design Olight could easily come out with an addon or have given people the choice. Even better make the tint variable like the BLF LT1. 

 

LED Storage – The flaming “bulb” is fun, but it’s output doesn’t make it super useful for more then just ambiance. The problem I see is there is no way to attach the extra blub to the light, or store it, so I see it is more likely to get lost. Hopefully version 2 corrects this. 

 

Conclusion

Lanterns are not something you think you need, till you have one and then if you are like me you will find yourself using it more and more. It’s great for camping but also if you lose power frequently or live in an area with storms. This is great for those areas getting hit by tornadoes and hurricanes or this time of year blizzards. 

 

At first I wasn’t impressed with the design here from the photos, I didn’t find the light attractive and was kind of put off by the mostly polymer construction, but once I got it in hand it felt better built than I was expecting. That said this is a space that has competition in it, not only from other lantern or lantern like products but also from silicone cones to put on top of your existing flashlights to act as a diffuser. All of those make the normal asking price here hard to swallow in my opinion. It’s a useful amount of light and it feels solid in the hand but I just had higher expectations for the normal asking price.

I don’t think this is the light that the hard core Olight fan was asking for but it’s not a bad place to start. Hopefully Olight decides to make some revisions and come out with a version that is has the ability to shift the tint, swap in other bulbs, is more water resistant, and is a better overall value. If they do that I think it will appeal to more enthusiasts and be the light that the hardcore fans really wanted. Until then you have a pretty well built light for the mainstream at a high price point when it’s not on sale. 

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Nitecore MH12S Review (1800 Lumens, USB-C PD, 21700)

Today I have the Nitecore MH12S, this is a new model in a long light of MH series lights from Nitecore. It’s marketed as multitask hybrid series light. It produces 1800 lumens, contains a 21700 battery that’s included and is USB-C PD rechargeable. Nitecore did provide this light to me to review.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

The MH12 comes in a typical Nitecore retail package in the trademark black and yellow color scheme. Something that’s a little different is it doesn’t have the typical runtime chart on the back, only a long list of features, and on the side a list of use cases and accessories. Accessories included with the light itself is a 5000 Nitecore (non proprietary) button top 21700 battery, a 18650/CR123 Battery magazine, tactical holster, USB-A to C charging cable, lanyard, 2 spare o’rings, and a pocket clip, along with your normal paperwork. 

Construction

The MH12s is made from aluminum and anodized black. Machining & fit and finish are good, with no obvious problems detected. At the tail cap there is a quiet tall mechanical switch that protrudes and it takes some effort to actuate. The lanyard attachment point is on the rear tail cap and decent sized hole. Inside there is stiff springs at either end, and threads are anodized, fine and well lubricated. 

 

The body tube has minimal knurling but does have some on each end, you have 3 areas in the middle for the clip or tactical finger loop (not included) should you want. The body tube is glued to the head. There is a minimal anti roll ring at the front, it’ has limited effectiveness with anything but a flat surface.

The button (eswitch) on the head is aluminum as well, with a hole in the middle for power indication status, the button is relatively small and hard to find at night by feel alone, especially with gloves. There is minimal fins for heat dissipation. Opposite the button there is the USB-C charging port, the silicon cover here is well integrated and stays put without trouble. 

Up at the front there is a minimal bezel that does allow light to escape when standing on its head, it protects the anti reflective coated glass lens, and smooth bezel underneath. 

 

Size and Weight

I measured the overall length at 141mm, max diameter on the head at 29.5mm, minimum diameter on the body at 25.5mm. Weight with the included battery was 149.2g. The light is IP68 water rated and submersible to 2M along with the standard 1M of impact resistance.

It’s a long long light but within 5mm of the Thrunite TT20 and Olight M2R Pro, but narrower then both. 

 

Retention

The MH12S has quite a few retention options. It comes with a pocket clip, lanyard and a tactical hostler but is also compatible with a tactical ring that Nitecore offers separately. The pocket clip can attach facing either direction on any of the 3 ribs in the middle of the light. It’s not a deep carry clip as a good ¾ of an inch sticks op out of your pocket when put in the lowest position. My clip was slightly out of spec and doesn’t make contact with the body of the light. A little modification with some pliers should improve this situation but is a little disappointing to see on a brand new light. 

You also get a plastic belt holster that the light can be pushed into. You can put it in heads up or heads down, and it’s a tight fit. If done correctly at allows you to mount to access both the side buttons and top button from the holster. The lanyard attachment point should you choose to use that is on the tailcap. 

LED & Runtime

The light features a Luminis SST-40 W LED in cool white at 6500k. The good news here is that it’s not as blue as some older Nitecore lights which I appreciate. On ultralow and low power modes I get a slight green tinge but this disappears at higher power levels. The beam itself is small defined hotspot in the center and a large spill of less light. True to it’s name this is a nice all around beam, good for walking the dog, hiking, or more tactical uses if you wish. 

There are a handful of battery options here, the light comes with Nitecore 5000mAh 21700 battery, which will be most users primary cell, but with the battery magazine (Spacer) the light comes with it will also run 18650 and 2x CR123A batteries or RCR123. A battery capable of 8A discharge or more is needed to be able to access Turbo’s 1800 lumens or you will be limited to High’s 1050 instead. No PWM was present in this light, and I did verify this with my oscilloscope. 

 

Official outputs are listed as the following. 

  • Turbo – 1800 Lumens
  • High – 1050 Lumens
  • Mid – 300 Lumens
  • Low -50 Lumens
  • Ultra Low – 1 Lumen
  • Strobe/Beacon/SOS – 1800 Lumens

 

Heat & Runtime

I did my runtime and heat tests with the included 5000mAh Nitecore battery in uncooled conditions (More realistic). Turbo had a pretty quick step down from the 1800 lumens within the first minute and a half but it was a gradual step down and continued this trend from the 0:43:00 mark to 2:46:00 it was quite stable at 40% relative output, before it did it’s LVP warning and stepping down to 5% relative output and shutting off at 3:23:00. Max heat I saw during this time was 46C at 0:10:00.

I also ran a runtime test under the same conditions but only going to high mode, and here the light was able to sustain a much higher output for longer in comparison to turbo. Around 80% relative output or better for 3:26:00, with at total runtime of right at 4:00:00. So if you don’t need turbo this is the best mode to use for sustained output and runtime. 

 

UI

The light has 2 modes, first the daily mode which is the lights default and how I tested and then a tactical function. When in daily mode the light does have a memory function for all modes except SOS and Beacon. When in tactical it will only memorize turbo or strobe. 

 

For daily mode the light turns on with the tail switch, and then you use the e switch up front to change modes, and it cycles through all 5 non blinking modes. There are no shortcuts to jump to turbo or turn on ultralow when off. If you press and hold the mode button when on the light will go to strobe instead of cycling through modes. It’s a little different from many lights but is easy enough to understand but might be hard to remember if switching to many other lights.

 

Recharging

The MH12S has onboard USB-C charging, thats capable of being charged via USB-C to C and USB-C PD, another nice change to see. USB-C to C is finally going mainstream on flashlights. I charged the included 5000mAh Nitecore battery (non proprietary) from LVP at 2.947V to full at 4.198V in 3.5 hours. Max charging rate I saw was 1.9A at the 1:30 mark. The charging curve here looks a little funny with a lot of drops to near zero as detected by my meter, this also caused it to cut a little short the graph. I don’t think this is a problem for charging the cell just a bit different. The light will also charge 18560’s with the adapter if you want to. 

Pro

  • Simple interface but lacks shortcuts to moon or turbo.
  • Good all around beam
  • Not as cool white as past Nitecore Lights.
  • Wide selection of compatible batteries (21700, 18650, CR123A, RCR123A).

 

Cons

  • Seems long
  • Pocket clip did not make contact with the body without modification and it’s deep carry
  • Only one LED and tint option
  • UI has no practical shortcuts, requires cycling through brighter modes to go lower. 

 

Conclusion

The Nitecore MH12S is a solid general use light. I like that NItecore has taken a step away from ultra blue emitters but do wish they would offer a more neutral or warm tint option, in the MH series of lights since I believe these better represent the multifunction roll the lights were designed for. 

This isn’t a light I will probably EDC in my pockets due to the clip design and relatively long nature of the light, I do like it’s slim nature though. I think this is a better jacket pocket light or utilize the holster it comes with. The UI here isn’t my favorite but I can live with it. Overall I like the beam profile here of the light, and with the 21700 it has a great runtime, and it’s super great to see USB-C being implemented with full support and PD support. 

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Acebeam L35 Review (5000 Lumens, 480M Throw, 21700, TIR Optic)

Today I have Acebeam’s new L35 Tactical Thrower. The one I have here has a Cree XHP70.2 LED capable of 5000 lumens with a throw out to 480 meters. It has a big TIR reflector in it’s short head to create a real wall of light that you will see in my night shots. It’s powered by a 21700 battery too. Thanks to Acebeam for sending this to me and providing a discount if you are interested in this light. More info on that will be in the description below.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

The L35 comes in a cardboard retail top hanging style packaging. The front shows the light in 1:1 scale with Acebeams black and orange theme. The box has a lot of information on the side and rear panel. There are two versions of this light, one with a Cree XHP 70.2 LED and the other with a LatticePower P70 that isn’t widely available yet (New LED). The light also comes as a kit version with a 21700 battery with onboard USB-C or not. Other accessories that come with all lights are a box of spares (2x O’Rings, 1x tail button), non branded lanyard, standard paperwork and a holster. The holster on mine had a pretty crumpled end, it’s just nylon, no additional padding inside. It’s a fairly tight fit for the light, making me think this isn’t a holster made specifically for this light but one that’s repurposed from another model. 

Construction

The Acebeam L35 shares a lot of characteristics and good build quality traits with the Acebeam L17 I reviewed earlier in 2020. It has the same mat anodized aluminum and nice machining. Starting at the tailcap you have a raised branded Acebeam button, underneath it is a mechanical switch for a full actuation it does require a decent amount of force. A quick 1/8 turn on the tail cap does disable the tail button and side switch. There is a small amount of knurling thats pretty aggressive on the tail. Inside there is a single very stiff spring.

Threads on this light are anodized, square cut, nicely greased and very smooth as a result. Some of the best in the production light category. The tactical ring is aluminum and completely round, it’s removable but you first need to remove the oring in front of it. Below that is a removable pocket clip. The body of the light is glued to the head. It has a milled grip pattern into it and it’s very mild for a tactical light. I do like the look though as it’s kind of a spiral. 

The head has 3 steps before reaching it’s final diameter at the front of the light. There is minimal branding, just the brand, model number and at the back. The side switch is polished and a very tight fit. It’s fairly sensitive but flat. To the left of this at the 9 oclock position there is a LED for a battery indicator and status indicator. The head then grows with the reflector. It’s quite short for it’s diameter and there is the aggressive diamond knurling. At the very front is a pretty aggressive tumbled stainless steel strike bezel. Underneath is a glass lens over top of the TIR plastic reflector. I can see a small molding marks inside inside the reflector but these don’t show on the beam. The center is diffused as well. 

 

Size & Weight

Overall length of the light came in at 152mm. Minimum diameter on the body was 25.42mm, maximum diameter on the head was 54.1mm. I measured the weight with the clip on but without a battery at 166.2g. The light is rated for a 1M drop and is IPX8 rated to 5M. 

 

Retention

As mentioned previously the light does come with a nylon holster that’s Acebeam branded. Mine was kind of crushed at the end in shipping but still works fine. It has very little padding which is ok. There is a dring and fixed belt loop. I question if this holster was made for this light as the velcro doesn’t have full engagement. 

There is also a removable pocket clip on the light that fits below the tactical ring. It’s not fixed and rotates with moderate pressure, I would expect it to rub on the anodizing over time too. The pocket clip here is less for EDC carry in a front pocket but more for clipping on to a vest or something like that. There is a lanyard and the main attachment point is on the tactical ring.

 

LED & Beamshots

My L35 here is running the Cree XHP 70.2P LED in a neutral white at 5000k. Mine has a green tint that’s more noticeable at lower powers and in the corona and spill. Not very surprising to have tint shift on this Cree LED. It’s rated for 5000 lumens, a beam distance of 480 meters at 57,600 candela. There is a LaticePower P70 LED option for this light that is a slight decrease in lumens but an increase in throw by 90 meters. I will be interested to hear more about it when it becomes available as it’s a new LED. You do need a high drain (At least 20A or more) 21700 when running this light to get maximum performance. If batteries are not as high drain the light will start to blink when in turbo mode and step down quickly. 

Mode spacing is pretty good here, as you can see from the table below. It’s nice to see it have a 1 lumen moonlight mode. The jump from high at 1500 to turbo at 5000 sounds like a lot and it is quite a bit. There is no PWM with this light.

 

Heat and Runtime

For my runtimes tests I used an Xtar 4200mAh battery with a max amperage rating of 45A. This light requires a battery capable of 20A or more in order to see it’s top performance. In turbo the light ran for 1:15 before stepping down to about 38% relative output. This was a bit disappointing how fast it stepped down as the difference of 5000 lumens to 1500 lumens is substantial. Here it ran for another 1:10:00 before shutting down with LVP kickin in at 2.966V. I did the same runtime test but only ran it on high and got slightly longer runtime of 1:19:00. This curve was very flat. So at these higher outputs the light has a fairly limited runtime, but the good news is the cure is flat after the initial step down.

Heat was interesting, I had trouble keeping my thermal couple attached to the light, with the small shelf the tape didn’t want to stay attached as well as I hoped in my 3 test. Maybe it’s time for some high temp tape. Max temp I saw before step down was 43C, but during the longer runtimes heat continued to rise to about 55C before it looks like the thermal couple came loose during the last 15 minutes. 

 

UI

The UI is simple to use, you have 2 controls, the eswitch at the front and the instant access to turbo via the mechanical switch in the rear. If you turn the light on with the rear switch, the front switch doesn’t work at all. With the front switch you can simply press to turn on, and then press and hold to cycle between the normal outputs. Double press to go to turbo, and triple press to go to strobe. To lock electronically press and hold for 3 seconds, and the same to unlock or just slightly turn the tail cap. 

 

Pro’s 

  • I like they replaced the eSwitch from the L17 with a Mechanical switch here on the tail.
  • The hotspot is large, not a super long distance thrower.
  • Relatively small and short head given it’s performance.
  • Simple UI. 
  • Takes a standard battery

 

Con’s

  • Strobe isn’t utilizing all the lumens here which is a little odd.
  • Quite a bit of tint shift. 
  • No tail standing
  • Turbo runtime is quite short at just 1:15. 

 

Conclusion

The Acebeam L35 with the Cree XHP 70.2 LED and TIR reflector is an interesting light. It looks tactical, and and with the tail cap only working for turbo it is. It’s a little odd to not find strobe on the tail cap though but it’s not a feature I personally miss. The beam here is interesting as it’s not the throwiest for its, size or power, instead you get a large intense hotspot that goes 480 meters. The LatticePower P70 LED is a little less on peak lumens but throws another 90 meters.  It’s compatible with a remote pressure switch too should you want to run it on a weapon. 

To me it’s not quite a thrower, but definitely on the side of a more tactical then most long distance thrower lights. The beam is pretty useful, since it is larger not nearly as focused as the L17 was. It is on the expensive side but right now for Black Friday Acebeam is running a 30% off sale on this new light to help with that, and that brings it more in line with its competitors. 

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Astrolux FT03 Mini Review (Thrower, 4200 lumens?, USB-C, Aux LED)

Today I have A recent light from Astrolux the FT03 Mini, it’s the smaller version of the FT03 I tested last summer. The Mini has some different LED options, and runs off an 18650 or 18350 battery and has RGB Auxiliary LED’s. Thanks to Banggood for sending this too me to review.

 

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Pickup the new Astrolux FT03 Mini at Banggood https://ban.ggood.vip/Vf5l Use code “BGAU1101” to get the light for US $35.99.

 

Packaging & Accessories

The astrolux packaging is a heavier cardboard box with a line drawing of the light on the front, and a sticker on the side showing the specs you received. Inside you g et the light itself, a 18350 tube, 2 spare orings and a smaller lanyard. You get a manual too that’s fairly long, but the diagram for Andruil is pretty small.

Construction

Overall construction of the mini is pretty much identical to the original except scaled down to fit the 18xxx profile batteries instead of the 26650’s. Threads are anodized and ACME cut, the tail still includes stiff heavy duty dual springs. 

 

 

The body tube has 4 milled flats instead of 2 but that’s about it. It’s nice they include the 18350 tube here too instead of making it an add on. The button looks and feels the same, and it features the same LED indicators underneath. A slight difference is the charging port cover and how it attaches to the light itself.

To me the diameter of the head looks to be slightly smaller than proportional to the rest of the dimensions, this doesn’t surprise me as it makes the light more carryable. You still have a lightly crenulated bezel, and an anti reflective coated lens with a smooth reflector. 

 

Size & Weight

Maximum length is 145mm, maximum diameter was 44mm, minimum diameter was 24mm.The weight with a Sony VTC6 is 181.6g, compared to the original with a battery was 397.7g so less than half the weight. The light IPX7 water rated but Astrolux makes sure to note not to submerge it in water. 

 

Retention

Not much to say here on retention, due to the head size it’s not a light i would EDC in a pants pocket but it does work well in a jacket. The light has a lanyard attachment point on the tail cap. No pocket clip is included or designed to fit here.

 

LED & Beamshots

There are a couple different LED and Tints offered with this light, there is a SST40 option, and Cree XHP 50.2 at 5700k or 6500k, I have the warmer tint XHP 50.2 model here. The driver in use is the Texas Ace Avengers driver, with aux capability, so in practice the light is actually different from the full size FT03. The beam is tight but not like the lights with the flat top LED’s like the Acebeam L17 or Lumintop GT Mini, it’s a more broad beam which I think isn’t bad, I think it’s a more useful beam for most cases.

 

There are 4 very small RGB LED’s around the main LED inside the light, By default the light comes in Rainbow mode like you see here with low output, I have it in high output here so it shows a bit better. Through the UI you can set it to a constant color, rainbow or volts mode. 

 

Runtime

I did my runtime test with a Sony VTC6 battery, and a Vapcell 1100mAh for the 18350 test. I tested directly out of the package without adjusting the thermal configuration since this is a bit of an advanced feature and I don’t think many people will actually do it. That said for best runtime you should.

 

Runtimes with the 18650 were a bit unstable but pretty repeatable. With both batteries it gets about 3.5 minutes before stepping significantly down to about 5% relative output but then as it cools off output steps up again as you can see from the graph. Most of the output is under 20% though, so on this one only keep it as bright as you need it to maximize runtime and output. The total fon the 18650 was 1:42:30, and the maximum runtime on the 18350 was 0:32:30. Heat wasn’t a major factor with this light while in use with it’s fairly aggressive thermal throttling.

 

UI

The FT03 Mini features Andruil UI and by default ships in ramping mode which is where I leave it. Stepped mode is available and easy to switch with a trippple press. Double press to go to turbo when on. Andruil is a good UI but complex for a beginner as it has a significant number of modes and options. The manual that’s included does a decent job of explaining things but is very small text. I would encourage you to go take a look at the full Andril diagram and study it if you pick up this light. If you are interested in a more detailed overview of Anduril check out my review on the Lumintop/BLF FW3A. 

 

Recharging

The light does have USB-C onboard in the head for recharging. It does require the use of USB-A to C cable for this to work. I did my recharging tests with a Sony VTC6 battery (3000mAh) and saw max charge rate at 1.65A, with overall charging taking 2:02:00 minutes. I ran the same test with a VapCell 1100mAh battery and saw the same charge rate, overall charge time was 0:42:00. I had no issues with using onboard charging for the 18650 batteries but for an 18350 this is faster then I prefer to charge mine so I recommend using an external charger like the VapCell S4 Plus to do this and choosing a slower speed more closely in line with 1C for overall battery life.

 

 

Pro’s

  • It’s just fun with the 18350 tube installed, but much less practical in terms of runtime
  • Andruil UI is highly flexible but also not really easy to use.
  • Nice selection of LED, Tints, and Body Colors

 

Con’s

  • I think the claims here of 4200 lumens are probably optimistic at least on my copy when I compare it to other lights I have. 
  • Aux here is more of a cool thing rather then super useful as it’s fairly dim. 

 

Conclusion

I loved the original FT03 and still do think it’s a great value large format thrower. The mini shares a lot of similar features and somewhat similar performance but overall I am just a bit less excited about it. The Aux LED’s here don’t do a ton for me, they are neat but not that practical. For the money if size isn’t a factor I would go with the larger FT03. If you want the smaller size it’s not a bad light if you want aux and onboard charging, if neither of those are important I would check out my review on the Lumintop GT Mini and consider it as well. 

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Wurkkos HD20 Review (LH325D, 5000k, USB-C PD, 21700, Headlamp)

Last year I did a review on the Wurkkos FC11, and that light has gone on to become one of the most often recommended lights over on /r/flashlight for good reason. Well today Wurkkos has the new HD20 headlamp. It has 2 emitters including high CRI with neutral white, a 21700 battery for long runtime and USB-C charging that supports PD, all for an affordable price. Thanks to Wurkkos for sending this to me to review. 

 

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Pickup the new Wurkkos HD20 on Amazon at https://amzn.to/38IennG 

Discount: Use the code 3F8GNFJO for 20% off also there is a 5% coupon on the page, for a combined 25% off the list price!

 

Packaging & Accessories

Packaging is a plain and simple orange box with just Wurkkos name on it, I suspect this is one they use with other models too as it’s just slightly too small for this light and there are no descriptors on it. Accessories include the light itself, a 4800mAh 21700 button top battery, elastic head strap, 18650 battery adapter, pocket clip, bag of extras including wrist strap, and 2 spare orings, USB-A to USB-C cable, and a manual.

Construction

The Wurkkos HD20 is made from aluminum, and anodized in a semigloss black. I found no issues with the machining on the light. The tail cap is flat and has a strong magnet that allows the light to safely attach on to any surface I have tried it on. There is a lanyard attachment point on the tail cap as well as some straight knurling. The spring inside is short but stiff.

Threads on the body section are square cut and dry. The body tube itself has ripples for grip and reminds me of a larger version of the Prometheus Beta series. There is a place for the clip to attach at both ends and this also where the straps for the head mount live. 

The head itself is quite long and has a good amount going on, the side has a few areas milled out for design, weight reduction and heat dissipation, including a large milled area in the back that’s a bit unique, as is the knurling on the back side of the head. This does give a bit of grip to turn when  mounted up. The USB-C port is covered by a large silicon cover that does fit the contour of the light well. On top is an Eswitch with translucent silicone cover and LED’s under to give an power level reading. It has a blue ring similar to Olight around the switch. This button does sit proud so it can’t headstand.

 

At the front you have the two emitters, The top being the spot, and the bottom being the flood. Both have aluminum bezels around them that look to be screwed in. The top has a TIR optic with glass over top and a flat front. The bottom uses a diffused lens. The light is IPX-68 rated

 

Size and Weight

Maximum length of this light is 122.5mm, maximum diameter at the head is 30mm, minimum diameter on the body is 26.7mm. Weight with the light, battery, and head strap is 202g. For comparison the Acebeam H30 (Also a 21700 light is) 190g. So it’s in the ballpark but a bit heavy.

 

Here are a few comparison pictures with the Acebeam H30.

 

Retention

The strap is made from a silicone material, it’s the loop type that holds the light in place and allows it to rotate up and down. Attached to this is a basic 3 way elastic band. It’s a less expensive headband which is ok for the price here but functional. I found it only moderately comfortable, the entire setup isn’t’ lightweight, so you need it reasonably tight to keep it in place. I found a bit more comfort if I tightened the top strap to let it carry a majority of the weight. 

A pocket clip is an option on this light, but not one I think will be used very often. It can mount on the top of bottom of the battery tube, head down would be the only way I would attempt to carry it due to how much of the head sticks out if mounted the other way. You could use this to mount to a hat with the 2 way clip but I don’t think this will be used much due to the weight and the fact that it’s a right angle light. To me the pocket clip is pretty much useless but nice that it’s included I guess.

LED & Beam

This light uses 2 LED, for 2 different purposes. First you have the Floody beam of the Samsung LH351D in 5000k at 90CRI. This is the bottom emitter on the light and is rated at 700 lumens. The beam it creates is a smooth even flood, it’s everything its described as. Looking inside it looks like it has a TIR style optic with a diffused lens.

The other LED in use here is the Cree XPL HD for the spot emitter. It’s also in 5000k but only at 70 CRI. It’s the larger emitter on top of the light and has a TIR style optic that creates a spot style beam. The spot is reasonably large, with very little spill. Maximum output here is 1300 lumens.

When used together you get a blend of both worlds. The tints here for me matched well enough I couldn’t tell which emitter is which in just tint. The beam shape isn’t perfectly round which isn’t unexpected. If being used as a headlamp it’s a wider than it is tall.

There is PWM in all modes on this light other then moon and Turbo. Below is a sample of what my oscilloscope showed for both emitters on all modes, and then a sample of what each single emitter showed on medium. I don’t notice it with my eye.

 

 

Exact outputs vary with each emitter, the LH351D topping out with 700 lumens, and the XPL HD at 1300. Combined they make 2000 lumens. Here is the runtime chart showing the different outputs for each mode and emitter. 

 

Heat and Runtime

I ran both emitters with the included 4800mAh battery on maximum brightness, and turbo output held peak output for 2 minutes before stepping down to 20% relative output where it cooled down and then began an oscillation with it’s aggressive active thermal controls of regulating the light between 18% relative output and 40%. This goes on for nearly 3 hours, before the last 30 minutes the spike is larger 15% to 70%. The last hour is a linear decrease to zero. Total runtime was right at 4 hours. Max heat was 42.5C at 2:50.

I then did runtimes with each emitter independently. Both were very linear non regulated input for the most part. The flood emitter which is less bright over all (700 lumens) lasted 10:10:00. The spot emitter lasted an impressive 14:31:00. 

 

UI

The basics of this light work like you think, click to turn on, long press to cycle through it’s 3 normal modes. Double press to go to turbo. When off, long pressing turns on moonlight mode. The blinking modes require you first to go to turbo then double click again, double clicking each time to cycle then between strobe, sos, and beacon. A single click exits any of these. A triple click allows you to check battery status via the switch on top. 4 fast clicks enters and exits lockout. 

 

Switching between the LED’s is describe in the manual as when the light is on just hold + click + hold. It sounds easy but in practice I have struggled with getting it right the first, second, or third time when I want to switch, it’s frustrating to say the least. 

 

There has been some talk of minor firmware bugs with memory on BLF threads with this light, to me they have not been obvious enough to spot without reading about them first. It’s not uncommon for a manufacturer to update the firmware without telling anyone on the next production run. The FC11 got a revised firmware very quietly. 

 

Recharging

The light has onboard USB-C charging on the back, and the most exciting part is it’s compatible with USB-C to C and USB-C PD. This is the first headlamp I have tested that’s this way, and it’s fantastic. It only took till late in 2020! 

My recharging test was with the included 4800mAh 21700 battery, This is a standard battery I charged from LVP at 2.737v to Full at 4.123V in 3:21:29 which isn’t too bad for this large of cell. The light charged at 2.1A for the first 1:30:00. 

The light can also be used as a powerbank on some phones. I didn’t log any data when trying this but I can tell you that my Samsung Note 8 charges fine with this light and a C to C cable, but my ipad doesn’t recognize it as a power source. 

 

Pro’s

  • Great value, budget friendly, but good quality, full kit.
  • Neutral white with both emitters and high CRI with the flood, Now only if they would go high CRI with the entire light.
  • Supports USB-C to C charging with PD! First headlamp I have tested to do this. 
  • It also acts as a powerbank for some phones.
  • Strong magnet that has no problem holding up the weight here

 

Con’s

  • Pretty heavy, not small
  • Nice that they included a pocket clip but for me it’s pretty much useless here.
  • Switching between LED’s seems to fail at least 50% of the time, this could be me or just a UI that should be better.
  • The head strap could be higher quality.

 

Conclusion

I think Wurkkos has another hit on their hands with the HD20 if weight or size isn’t a big factor in your decision to buy a headlamp. This ticks a lot of my boxes for a headlamp, the biggest being a neutral white light with a pleasing tint, and at least one high CRI option. The long runtimes here are nice too, but you pay the penalty in size and weight from the 21700 and large head.

The biggest areas I see for improvement is a higher quality head strap that’s a little more comfortable. This isn’t a small headlamp so you notice the weight after a while. After I adjusted the straps to take more weight over my head it got a little better. 

 

It’s so nice to see true USB-C support here, it charges via USB-C to C and USB-C PD. You don’t see a speed increase with PD but that’s ok. Not many flashlights at all price levels support this, and as a result it can even be used as a powerbank if needed. 

 

At the time of filming this is right around the $40 price mark, thats a lot of value and I can recommend the Wurkkos HD20. Right now this is my pick for the best large headlamp to buy for Q4 2020. Wurkkos has offered a 20% discount on this light if you buy it on amazon with the code that’s in the description so make sure you check that out to save a few more dollars. 

 

Pickup the new Wurkkos HD20 on Amazon at https://amzn.to/38IennG 

Discount: Use the code 3F8GNFJO for 20% off also there is a 5% coupon on the page, for a combined 25% off the list price!

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Olight Warrior Mini Review (1500 Lumens, Dual Switch, Tactical, EDC, 18650)

Today I have Olights new smaller form factor tactical light the Warrior Mini. It’s capable of 1500 lumens, runs on an 18650 battery and is available in 3 colors, black, a splatter camo, and the desert tan that I have here. Thanks to Skyben for sending this to me to review, please make sure to check them out in the description below.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging is no big surprises from Olights the past year or so, it’s the white high quality sleeve over a plastic tray inside that houses the light and all the accessories. On the rear of the box you have details about the light and a runtime chart. Accessories include the light itself with the clip pre installed, Proprietary 3500mAh 18650 battery, MCC2A USB charger, Olight branded lanyard that attaches on the clip, and the manual. No extra orings on this light, but in most scenarios your opening it up to charge so it shouldn’t be a wear item, still a little 

 

 

 

Construction

The Warrior mini shares similar construction to a combination of other Olights, like the Baton Pro and the Warrior Pro. Quality is fantastic for a production light. The tail is a one piece design with the body tube, so batteries go in only from the head side. The button on the rear is all metal exterior construction and features the tri lug design we have seen on other recent Olights. It’s also magnetic and strong enough to hold the light horizontally. The button itself is spongy, and fairly stiff. It’s a two stage actuation which I like quite a bit from a UI perspective but it’s sometimes hard to know how hard to press to get into that first lower output mode. 

The texture on the body is aggressive but not sharp in the hand. I really like the feel of it, and hope we see it on future Olights. The downside is it’s aggressive enough to tear up pockets with pulled in and out during use. Threads are smooth, square cut and nicely greased. 

The head internally has a single short spring in the center, and then a ring with pogo pins for making contact with the proprietary batteries negative terminal on the top. This is a little different design than we have seen in the past but seems to be very compact. On the exterior the clip is captured. The button is the same as Olight has used in recent models with the LED underneath. 

The top of the head has a TIR style optic, with no glass lens over the top. There have a been a few reports online of this lens melting during extended periods of use, I didn’t see that on mine with normal stepdown. There is also a press fit plastic bezel. It has very small raised sections to let light out if standing on it’s head.

 

Size and Weight

I measured the overall length of the light at 107mm, maximum diameter at 23mm, minimum diameter is the same. The weight with the battery and clip is 104.8g. For comparison the warrior mini is between the Baton Pro and S2R Baton length wise. Diameter wise they are all within 1mm of each other. The light is IPX8 water rated.

 

Retention

As an EDC I found this carried well, I carried it in a front jeans pocket for a week every day and found it to be comfortable. I don’t mind Olights dual direction clips, they leave enough from for jeans but they can catch on things like a seat belt. This is a heads up carry, so if the light activates in your pocket, and there have been a few user accounts of this online, it has done damage to people’s clothes by melting them. For that reason I strongly recommend using lockout on this one. 

 

LED & Beamshots

The LED being used in the Warrior Mini is the SST40 in a 6000-7000k tint. It has a little green tinge on the lowest modes but once you apply more power that fades substantially.  I have no problems with the SST40 LED but wish one of the neutral tint bins was used here. 

The beam is nice through the TIR optic, but I wonder if something has changed with the material being used here from older lights as there are several reports of burnt or melted lenses with this it seems. So far mine is fine after extended runtimes. Overall the beam here is great for EDC in my opinion with a medium to large hot spot and quite a bit of spill, good for close up and medium to far range. With the tail switch this would be a good option to do a one handed grip of your weapon and have the light nearby in the opposite hand (Harris or Chapman style) if you wished. 

 

Olight lists the official output modes as:

  • Turbo – 1500 – 500 – 170 Lumens with step downs.
  • High – 500 – 170 Lumens
  • Medium – 120 Lumens
  • Low – 15 Lumens
  • Moon – 1 Lumen

 

Heat & Runtime

The light is able to maintain 98% of relative output until the 2 minute mark (Timed) before stepping down to 32% relative output. At this point the output is very flat for 3:34:00. From there you get another hour at about 12% relative output before stepping below. FL1 output runtime total was 4:18:00. If you let it continue going the light will run out to 8:33:00 suggesting there is no LVP. It shut off at 2.735V which I suspect is where the battery protection kicked in. Max heat I saw was 46C at the 10 minute mark. 

 

UI

The UI on the Warrior Mini is the same that’s was on the Olight M2R Pro. It has 2 buttons for operation, first the two stage tail switch which is the more tactical operation, and then the standard silicone button up front for normal uses. It follows Olights basic UI for the most part. 

 

When you half press the tail button, you get medium in configuration 1, and then turbo 1500  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. If you plan to use this for EDC in a pocket make sure you know how lockout mode works too.

 

Recharging

The Warrior Mini comes with Olights newest MCCA2 charging system which is faster and denoted with the red ring inside. The magnetic charging system is convenient and easy but does require a proprietary battery (3500mAh in this case) and the Warrior Mini is no different. The proprietary Olight battery goes with the positive terminal facing the head in this light though which isn’t always the case. 

I saw total charging time take 2:35:00, and as usually my charging monitoring system doesn’t like the drops in current that the MCC chargers do so my graph is incomplete. Max charge rate I saw was 1.3A at 1:16:00 mark. Once full the battery measured 4.3145V.

 

Pro’s

  • Big fan of the desert tan color
  • Great fit and finish for production lights
  • Turns out to be a nice pocket EDC for 18650 size.

 

Con’s

  • Plastic inner bezel, more prone to scratching then metal.
  • Seems to be melting lenses if activated in an enclosed space, make sure to use lockout mode.
  • Proprietary battery, but this one will charge in a traditional charger

 

Conclusion

The two words I would use to describe the Olight Warrior Mini is “Practical Tactical”. Sure you can use it tactically, the rear tail switch despite being a bit mushy and a tad hard to predict works well, and I find myself using it in an EDC roll too, the two stage switch is so much better then just a one mode straight to turbo switch like you find on other tactical lights at least in my EDC style usage. The UI here is the same as other Olights too so you don’t really need to learn a new UI for just this light. The Olight TIR’s are my favorite too for single LED lights. 

Something’s don’t change though, that proprietary battery that’s required here means you have to use the Olight battery and pay a premium for it. It also has the cool emitter which is Olights standard MO. On a tactical light it might make more sense but on a light that does great as an EDC I would prefer neutral white strongly. 

Overall the Warrior Mini is probably my favorite recent EDC/Tactical light, and I can recommend it if your ok with the cool white and proprietary battery. I wonder what special edition color Olight will come up with next on this light.

Pickup the Olight Warrior Mini from Amazon via Skyben at the following links.

Black: https://amzn.to/2GHtORu

Desert Tan: https://amzn.to/3p72YU2

Cammo: https://amzn.to/32nI6OK

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Acebeam TK18 Review (3000 Lumens, LH351D, Triple Emitter, EDC Flashlight)

Today I am taking a look at the Acebeam TK18 in Aluminum. This is triple LED light thats powered by an 18650 battery and is available with 3 different LED options in 3 different materials. Today I have the Aluminum light with the Samsung LH351D LED’s. Thanks to Nitetorch for sending this to me to look at and review.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging on the TK18 is a nice white pull out box with a line drawing of the light on the front. On the side it has all the LED options and materials on it marked with small stickers. Inside you get an assortment of things, such as the light, an optional Acebeam ARC18650H-310A 3100mAh battery, 2 spare orings, button cover, branded lanyard, and a USB-A to MicroUSB charging cable that has a optional area to plug in another cable to say charge your phone if needed.

 

Construction

The TK18 is available in 3 different materials, Aluminum which I have here, a raw copper, and a titanium. The anodizing here is a flat black that reminds me kind of Armytek since it’s a little chalky. Starting at the tail as always the only button on this light is a nice contrasting gray silicone, and recessed. It’s an electronic switch so it doesn’t take much pressure to actuate, and it’s non magnetic. The lanyard attachment point is on the tail cap as well.

Inside the threads are anodized, square cut and nicely greased. There is a inner tube in this light which is a little surprising with it’s small diameter. In the tail cap there is a short spring as well. The body tube has small rectangles for grip, these are short and everything is nicely chamfered, it’s similar to a frag pattern but smoother and less harsh. The pocket clip only attaches near the head of the light on the body tube and is non captured. More on that in a minute. The front of the body tube does have a retaining ring in it so the battery can only slide out from the rear. 

The head features a spring as well inside, on the outside it’s pretty basic and has minimal heatsinking. The front bezel does have crenulations and has a nice patinated copper color. The edges of it are a little up, especially considering this is a bezel up EDC. Underneath is a carillo style optic, with a glass ARC lens on top. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 105.27mm, minimum diameter on the body at 22.28mm, maximum diameter on the head of the light at 25.19mm. Weight with the clip and the Acebeam 18650 battery was 109.1g. The light is IPX8 water rated. Here are a few pictures of similar lights so you can see a size comparison.

 

 

Retention

The Acebeam TK18 comes with a dual direction pocket clip that attaches on the front side only of the body of the light. It’s a pretty long clip in comparison to the light and it’s fairly deep carry with about 9.5mm sticking up out of your pocket, but the retention to the light could be a little better. I also didn’t care for the bezels sharpness here when EDCing it in a front pocket, my hand caught it once or twice. The clip does also allow for you to attach it to a baseball hat if you want, that side is fairly stiff.

 

LED & Beam

The LED’s in use on my light are the Samsung LH351D in cool white. At this point I think I have all major tints of the LH351D, and unfortunately cool white happens to be my least favorite just because of the tint mainly. In the TK18 you do have that carillo style optic which puts out a pretty even beam like most triple LED lights. It’s fairly floody but can throw at the higher powers, great for EDC and this is a smaller diameter light then a lot of triples. No PWM was observed. 

Stated mode spacing with the Samsung LH351D CW Emitters and a 20A 18650 in Power Mode.

  • Ultra Low – 3 Lumens
  • Low – 80 Lumens
  • Med – 200 Lumens
  • High – 1000 Lumens
  • Turbo – 3000 Lumens

 

Stated mode spacing with the Samsung LH351D CW Emitters and a 20A 18650 in Eco Mode.

  • Ultra Low – 3 Lumens
  • Low – 80 Lumens
  • Med – 200 Lumens
  • High – 630 Lumens
  • Turbo – 1450 Lumens

 

Heat & Runtime

I did all my runtime tests with the included Acebeam ARC18650H-310A 3100mAh battery. You need a battery capable of at least 20A sustained to get close to the rated outputs. The light will also run off 2 CR123A batteries with about half the normal outputs in high and turbo but similar overall runtimes. My tests were unknowingly done in Eco mode, read the directions guys. I will put some graphics of what Turbo mode looks like at the end. 

 

In Eco I was able to hold turbo 1450 lumens for 5:30 before stepping down and this was pretty good. Step down was 55% of relative output where it held till the 2:17:00 mark. Starting at 2:00:00 the light starts flashing, dropping output down near 20% then back up to 55% to let you know the battery is getting low. This continues as the light does it’s last major step down to 6% relative output for the remaining hour. Total runtime in Eco from Turbo was 3:15:00. I saw max temps of 52C at the 10 minute mark in Eco. 

Here are 2 graphs of what output was like in Power mode with the same supplied battery. 

 

UI

You have 2 main UI groups with this light, an Eco and a Power mode, by default the light ships in Eco mode. To switch between them you have to lock the light (From off press and hold for 5 seconds), While locked click 10 times and the light will go from low output a higher output and this will mean the light is in power mode. It’s a similar action to go back to eco.

 

Normal operation is a short press to turn on where you last left it (Not for ultra low or turbo) then press and hold to cycle through each mode steps (Low, medium, high). Double click at any time to get to turbo, triple press to get to strobe. It’s a fairly simple UI thats similar to many other lights. Just read the manual for switching between eco and power.

 

Recharging

My light came with the Acebeam ARC18650H-310A 3100mAh protected button top battery. It has a MicroUSB port on the side for charging and is pretty long a 69.95mm in length. It also has an LED indicator on the positive terminal side, it’s always green when charged, but does turn off when fully discharged.I charged the light from LVP at 2.961V tyo Full at 4.168V in 2:31:35. Max charge rate I saw was 1.1A. The charge curve started off slow as I like to see then increased substantially and then trailed off. No issues here other then it’s a bit slow. 

 

Pro’s

  • I find this as a good looking light with the copper colored accents
  • Small diameter for a dual tube, triple LED light.
  • On the pricey side for not having a battery that comes with all packages. Aluminium is fairly affordable.

 

Con’s

  • No tint data for the LED choices are given, the LH351D’s here are cool white, quite floody.
  • Doesn’t seem to hit 3000 lumens when compared to other lights, this is supported by a few other reviewers. 
  • Front bezel needs to be toned down a little for a head up EDC light.

 

Conclusion

The Acebeam TK18 is an interesting light overall. Visually I like most of the look here, the aged copper colored accents are nice, I wish the clip didn’t have the Acebeam website on it, because I think that’s a little distracting. It’s pretty thin for a triple LED too, which helps it cary well in the pocket. It’s as narrow as many of the competitors single LED lights. That said I don’t care for the semi aggressive bezel when carrying. 

 

While I typically love the Samsung LH351D emitters, here I would probably recommend you go with the Nichia 219C instead to get high CRI and hopefully a warmer emitter. You give up some output but I am ok with that. The UI here is easy to follow but I don’t care for the Eco and Power settings, it adds unnecessary complexity. It’s nice to be able to use CR123A too in a pinch, it’s not something you see that often anymore. Overall if you were looking for a small diameter triple and wanted something a bit different with LED options that was reliable this would be a solid choice, just make sure your using a very capable battery for max performance.