Tag: EDC Flashlight

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Wuben X-2 Owl Review (3X LH351D, 1800 Lumens, USB-C)

Wuben is back at it with another Kickstarter project, this time with a smaller version of the side by side X series light using 2X 14500 batteries and 3 LED’s. Wuben sent me this early production prototype to take a look at and help them promote the Kickstarter campaign for the light. The Kickstarter ends December 1st 2022, so if you are watching this before then make sure to check out the link in the description below, and if not ill try to find some links to where you can get it after.

 

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Link to the Kickstarter

Check out the Kickstarter for the Wuben X-2 Owl at http://bit.ly/3ErUEHf

 

Packaging & Accessories

Since this was a prototype it didn’t come with a box, or any of the accessories. If you buy one I would expect a full retail box, charging cable, and lanyard at a minimum. 

 

Construction & Design

The looks of the X-2 Owl is similar to the X-1 Falcon that I took a look at a few months ago, but smaller. It’s the same design language as the X-1 headlamp that Wuben also debut in 2022. So more squared off, sharp angles, and kind of a cyber space-aged type look.

The light is made from aluminum and is being offered in 3 color options, a standard black anodizing, a gradient ramp that’s a white fading into blue, and then the “white” MAO version I have here. I’m becoming a fan of the Metal Arc Oxide coating look even though it’s not the most durable finish around. The front and rear pieces are black and I think this is smart as it should help with durability. There are also going to be copper versions, and 4 different anodized titanium versions too. The light is offered in two LED options, the Samsung LH351D, and an Osram P9. Not every LED and body material/color combination are available currently.

The lights are held together with several screws, my Wera Hex Plus 1.5mm keys were able to unscrew them, and there was no thread locker that I could find. The rear specifically says “Do not disassemble” but I had to at least take a peak inside. What I found was a pair of what I assume are 14500 batteries in a pack, labeled as 2000mAh, 3.7v.. I couldn’t fully remove the battery pack so it must be attached to wires inside to the switch and charging port circuitry. I’m guessing removing more of the screws would get this to a place you could actually replace the batteries if you wanted to, but it would be a somewhat complicated process and may involve a soldering iron. Most consumers are not going to do this, even most flashlight enthusiasts.

Edit: I did go ahead and remove some more screws and the battery has wires coming out from it that are soldered directly to the circuit board. Totally replaceable if you should choose to, you just have to work a bit and solder. 

 

 

 

 

The button section appears to be the same as what Wuben used on the X-0, it’s a hatch system that covers the button and the USB-C port cover. It’s an interesting design, and while it doesn’t offer much water protection for the port, the port itself is waterproof. I will note, that because of this design using lockout is a must as this large switch is easy to press when carried in a pocket or bag. The hinged lid for lack of a better word is magnetically attracted. There are 2 sprung silver-colored magnets that it rests on. There was definitely some engineering that went into this. 

 

Retention

My prototype didn’t come with any of the retention options that Wuben is promoting on the campaign page. It looks like it has a lanyard option that attaches at the rear on one side with a metal clasp. This lanyard looks like it doubles as an integrated USB-C charging cable too, which is neat. 

 

My light did ship with the large improved clip that’s on the rear of the light. This is a very large clip that takes up the entire rear of the light pretty much. I don’t see myself carrying this in my front pocket, due the size. You could in theory put it in your rear pants pocket (In lockout mode), but I think for many people this will be a light they put in a bag and this is what Wuben shows in their material. The clip works well to fit onto molle webbing, which you might have on a bag or vest. Unfortunately, the clip is facing the wrong direction to clip this on to the top of a hat, the lights a little heavy for that too IMHO. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the light at 3.35” long, 0.80’ wide, and 1.55” thick. I measured it as 4.33oz with the clip installed. The light is IP68 water and dust rated. 

 

LED & Beam

There are two LED options for the Wuben X-2 Owl. There is the Osram P9 which produces a few more lumens and I believe is a cooler white and the Samsung LH351D emitter which is a more neutral white and high CRI. Each version has 3 of the same LED’s, in a linear setup, each with optics. I have the Samsung LH351D version, and on my Opple Meter I measured the CCT at 4468K, and 96Ra (CRI). DUV was right in the middle, with no green tinge which was nice. The beam here does have a profile that mimics the shape of the physical light at shorter distances, at longer distances it diffuses and is unnoticeable. There is PWM here in all the modes, it’s pretty fast and I can’t see it with my eyes or camera.

 

Night Shots

Night shots can be found on the video. 

 

Outputs

Below are the outputs I got at the 30 second mark in terms of outputs and the percentages of claimed outputs with the Samsung LH351D emitter

.

  • Turbo – 1750 – Lumens – 97.2% of Claimed
  • High – 312 – Lumens – 78% of Claimed
  • Medium – 80 Lumens – 80% of Claimed
  • Low – 7 Lumens – 140% of Claimed (Take this with a grain of salt)

Wuben’s official Outputs.

https://i.imgur.com/LSgRi5c.jpg

 

Heat & Runtime

I did my testing with my Owl here that has the Samsung LH351D LED’s. I did this in the default output levels for each mode (they are adjustable). Turbo lasted about 90 seconds and after stepdown was about 600 lumens. This was then very consistent out to 1:17:00 when the light turned off. Max heat during this time was about 43C (Uncooled), at the 40-minute mark. 

I also did runtime comparisons with 3 modes, Turbo, High, and Medium. Turbos total runtime was 1:17:00, High was 2:50:00, and medium was out to just shy of 11 hours.

 

UI

The interface seems to be the same as the X-1 Falcon, so here is what I had written up for that. My light arrived in Lockout mode, so 4 presses of the button unlock or lock the light. Single press to turn on, long press once on to cycle through the 4 main modes. Double press from anywhere to get to turbo. The light does have blinking modes that you can get to from anywhere by triple pressing. Triple press again to cycle between strobe and SOS modes.

 

The unique aspect of this light is the programming mode, It allows you to adjust the preset value of the 4 main modes by one on Clicking and holding and the light will ramp up slightly and blink when at the top of the range. Just stop when you reach the brightness you want and it will memorize it. There are upper and lower bounds on what each mode will do too. Consult your manual to see the exact ranges and directions.

 

Recharging

As mentioned before there are two 1400 Liion batteries internally witht a total capacity of 2000mAh according to Wuben. These are non user replaceable. I did my recharging testing by first running the light untl it shut itself off. I then hooked it up to my tester and in this case used an Xtar 45W USB-C power source (With my own cable rated for 100W), and the light charged in 2:37:00. Max amperage during this time was right at 1A. The charge curve here I felt like was a tad harsh at the beginning, many lights tend to ease into it at the beginning while they are sensing the battery’s charge level, this did’t do that, just straight on with as much as it wanted. I did some subsequent testing and had no trouble charging via USB-C to C, or with chargers supporting USB-C PD. The light will work in Low, Medium, and High while charging. The light will still operate on low, medium and high while charging too.

 

Conclusion

The X-1 Falcon was a pretty large light, so making a smaller version is a logical step to take. The X-2 Owl I think will be a size that ends up being a better fit for people and a good combination of output with runtime. I’m not sure the switch version here makes a tons of sense, it make the use of lockout mandatory whenever the light is in a bag or pocket. While neat and different accidental activation is really easy if not using lockout modes. 

I like that Wuben is offering this in so many colors and materials from the beginning nearly. While I’m not a huge fan of established companies using Kickstarter, this does give them a good method to determine the demand for more specialty materials, or emitters. The LED choice here is good with the LH351D seeming to be the default choice for most lights, it’s a good neutral white, high CRI option. The beam profile is decent despite the emitters being in a line. Too bad here though that the batteries are not more easily replaced, it seems like that would be a fairly simple thing to do, even if you had to use a screwdriver to do it a few years down the road. So overall a solid option, if you want a form factor that’s a bit different or a flashlight that doesn’t look like your typical round light.

The Kickstarter campaign here runs through the end of November 2022, so if you are interested in looking more at it and picking one up check out the link below in the description on where you can find this one. It looks like they are expecting to ship these out pretty soon, in January of 2023, so you won’t have to wait very long.

Link to the Kickstarter

Check out the Kickstarter for the Wuben X-2 Owl at http://bit.ly/3ErUEHf

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Wurkkos TS10 Review (Inexpensive, High CRI, 14500, EDC Flashlight)

The Wurkkos TS10 was a light designed with input and feedback from forum members at BudgetLightForums (BLF) and the company. The idea ended up being an inexpensive triple-emitter flashlight with auxiliary LED’s powered from a 14500 battery to maintain a slim profile. Thanks to Wurkkos for sending me the black light here, I liked it enough, I bought this white MAO (Metal Arc Oxide) version myself when it was available for a brief time.

If you are watching this review around November 11th make sure to check the description below for links to where you can pick the light up for around $20 on AliExpress. If watching after no fear I will have links and any discount codes too, this is an affordable light, but might was well get it for less by using my links right? 

 

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Links to Purchase

Wurkkos Direct https://www.wurkkos.com/search/?Keyword=TS10

AliExpress Store https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803886988095.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_promotion.promotePruductList_2003993329748.4&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US

Amazon

TS10 Silver: https://amzn.to/3NXNsGS

CODE: USTS10BSR  20% OFF +10% coupon on the Amazon Page

 

TS10 Black : https://amzn.to/3E2gxg0

CODE: liquidre       20% OFF +10% coupon on the Amazon Page

 

TS10 Red? https://amzn.to/3E2gxg0

CODE: TS10USBSR    20% OFF +10% coupon on the Amazon Page

 

Packaging & Accessories

The light comes in a Retail Wurkkos orange and white box. The only identifying info is a sticker on the side showing which model and options you have. Inside it comes in a plastic tray, and the accessories include a lanyard, clip and optional Wurkkos 14500 battery (recommended), as well as the manual. 

 

Construction & Design

The light is made from aluminum mainly (There is a brass version too) with a number of configurations. The bodies come in 4 main body colors, Black, Red, Silver, and Green, with two LED tint choices 4000k and 5700k, as well as 4 aux LED colors, red, orange, ice blue, and green, and the final option is with or without a battery. I have the Black, with 4000k tint main LED’s and Ice Blue Aux here. Then I have this limited run of MAO finish that Wurkkos did with 4000k tint main LED and Orange Aux that I bought. The MAO finish looks great but isn’t the most durable as you can see from some of the marks and scratches on it. 

The design itself is quite small at only 2 and 6/8ths inches long. I have AAA lights that are longer. The tail features a metal disk with rings for texture covering the button On both of my lights it’s gray, not body color which is a little disappointing. The tail is glued to the body tube for reliability I assume. In the hand, it works reasonably well for a cigar or pinch grip. There is no texture on the body so in some conditions it could be a bit slick. The head is simple with some milling for grip and style. There are a few too many markings on the light for me, with a warning, brand, and model number as well as a CE, ROHS, nonrecyclable symbol on the back, and a battery polarity symbol on the tail. There isn’t a serial number that I can find on the outside of the light. 

 

Retention

Retention is where I deduct a few points for this light, and that’s mainly for the double-direction pocket clip. If I am going to EDC light, I use a pocket clip so it’s an important feature for me. The clip here could be deeper carry in the pocket in my opinion, it leaves about a ½” of the top of the light sticking out. It’s the pocket clip from the Sofirn SC21 and I had similar complaints there. The top hoop of the clip itself needs a bit more space for the material to maximize that deep carry ability, in my experience, it’s not enough to fit onto my jeans. Lastly, there is a bit of a shelf when putting it into your pocket for material to catch in prematurely. There are a few alternatives that the community has found fit, like the Olight Baton 3 clip, or Lumentop E05C clip that both carry deeper. There is also the option to attach a lanyard at the tail, but as you guys know that’s not really my thing.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length of the light at 71.3mm, and a diameter of 21mm at the head. Weight with the included battery and clip at 1.79oz. The light is IPX8 water rated.

 

LED & Beam Profile

The TS10 is using 3X LatticePower CSP LED’s as its primary LED’s, and they are available in 4000k, and 5800k variants. There are also 3 secondary LED’s of various colors depending on what you order, these don’t have a brand mentioned. The colors available are Red, Orange, Blue, and Green. On the two examples, I have blue is brighter than Orange, and that’s not unexpected.

With my Opple Light meter, I measured the primary LED’s at 4152k and 96ra (CRI). DUV was good in my opinion and has an ever-so-slight orange tint. The beam profile is pretty good out of a triple LED light with an optic, it’s not perfectly round, and a larger hotspot for such a small light. As expected with an Anduril light, there is PWM here but it’s fast and not noticeable to my eye or camera. 

 

Here are the outputs I measured on my lumen tube at the 30 second mark. 

  • S1-NA
  • S2-7 Lumens
  • S3-52 Lumens
  • S4-300 Lumens
  • S5-1070 Lumens

Runtime & Heat

For my runtime tests I ran with the thermal configuration as the light arrived to me with the included Wurkkos battery for most of my tests. It was reported by others that the the light’s thermals were pretty accurate from the factory, and let’s face it most probably won’t be recalibrating this but know that you can, and that will improve how long it can sustain higher outputs. I also tested mine in a ramping mode which might explain why I didn’t see any step up in output like I would expect.

Turbo produced about 1250 peak lumens but within about 45 seconds stepped down to 150 lumens or so because of heat. Heat peaked at about 42C during this run, and this is factory setting. This is warm to the touch but quite safe. I probably should set it a bit higher and I will be messing with that after my review here. Total runtime was 2 hours 5 minutes at this lower output. 

I tested the battery as well, It’s a claimed 900mAh and I tested it as 836mAh on my Vapcell S4 Plus charger. I then did my runtime graphs with a Vapcell H10 and had only minor differences, with the Vapcell battery recovering a little better and producing more light in the first 5 minutes of runtime but overall getting down to that lowest output at the end about 6 minutes earlier. 

 

UI

This light uses Anduril 2 firmware. I won’t go into great details on how to operate it because I have done that on other videos but know that it can do nearly anything you want.

All that said the original version of the light shipped with a buggy firmware version (2022-02-08-0614) that meant the auxiliary LED’s stayed on during use of the primary LED’s, the larger problem was that the Auxilary LED’s had no Low Voltage protection. This would allow the light if the aux LED’s were on in high to drain the battery in a matter of days, potentially damaging the battery if it had no protection. Another thing the fixed firmware does is allow the lowest mode to be lower output. 

The good news is this bug has been fixed on lights shipping the past 2 months, so if your buying one today especially from Wurkkos direct the light you receive should be fixed. If not I created a video on on how to flash the firmware with Android since the light does have exposed pogo pins. I will flash this black light here after filming the video. 

 

Recharging

The light has no build in recharging. To recharge you will need an external charger. I have reviewed several here on the channel that would work well,

 

Conclusion

The Wurkkos TS10 is a really nice small EDC light in my opinion. It has a lot of the features that you typically have to step up in price to get, like auxiliary LEDs, high CRI in a slightly warm tint, a triple LED driver. It has enthusiast firmware that’s easily modifiable due to the exposed programming pads. It’s also relatively easy to do LED swaps on since the front bezel piece unscrews and gives access. There are a few Redditors that do this as a service for people wanting LED swaps. 

As with most triples High and Turbo produce a lot of heat and don’t last very long. This isn’t surprising but like most people, I wish it would last a little longer. The clip is a disappointment all around, I suspect they used parts bin part to save cost, but I would gladly pay a few dollars more for a purpose-built clip here that worked better. 

Overall it’s really a great value, with normal prices around $25 with battery, and if I get this video out soon enough you can even catch it for $20 on Singles day 11-11-2022 on Wurkkos AliExpress Shop or Wurkkos Direct. Any other coupons or deals I have I will put in the description below as well. I am sure some of you guys have this light already, so let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

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Reylight Pineapple Mini Seigaiha Edition (Nichia 519a LED, Titanium)

Urban EDC has created an exclusive edition of the Reylight Titanium Pineapple Mini flashlight by milling a seigaiha wave pattern into the body tube. It’s available in a bead-blasted titanium or a stonewashed finish like I have here. Thanks to Urban EDC for sending this to me to review and show everyone. Links to their website are below in the description.

 

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Buy the Reylight Pineapple Mini Seigaiha Edition at https://bit.ly/UrbanEDCLR

If UrbanEDC is sold out I am told they will be restocking in a couple of weeks so make sure to check back!

 

A history lesson on Seigaiha

A little history lesson here first, The Seigaiha pattern first appeared sometime in 6th century Japan. It symbolizes waves, power, and resistance, which are key elements of Japanese culture. It’s also come to symbolize “surges of good luck”. In recent years, the pattern has increasingly become popular in the EDC community. I think it’s classic and elegant. Something that could be used daily, or on special occasions while at the same time adding a very functional grip to the flashlight, pen, or knife. 

This also ties in nicely with Urban EDC’s recent brand identity updates to its compass logo that now incorporates the seigaiha waves too.

 

Brief Bit on the light design and function

As far as the light itself this is mostly a standard Reylight Pineapple Mini I have reviewed before, with a few updates. I like the Pineapple Mini and own several in different colors, materials, etc, and carry one often, due to its slim size, lightweight, and appealing tint.

For those unfamiliar with the Pineapple mini, let’s look at a few of the high points. Starting at the tail there is a 1.5 x 6mm tritium slot in the tail button. Underneath is a reverse clicky switch. The clip sits below that, held in place by the tail cap. That space is required, if you prefer to go clipless Rey sells a spacer or there are ones you can 3D print too. The clip itself is deep carry and has a reasonably large hoop at the top to easily accommodate jeans. The clip is not reversible. 

The body tube is the start here on this Seigaiha model, it adds texture that in the hand feels good, not too aggressive on the skin but is more aggressive on your pocket than the standard pineapples. So not only does it look good but it’s functional too. Threads are fine and standard. Mine could have used a bit more grease but that’s an easy fix with some Superlube grease. The head is largely plain with minor styling. Up front there is no crenulation, the AR glass is inset slightly, surrounded by an orange peel reflector. The stonewashed titanium model here weighs 1.37oz with the battery and clip. 

 

LED & Beam Shots

Urban EDC lists the light as having a Nichia 219b LED, but based on the many Reylight Mini’s I have, the 519a Mod’s I have done, and after talking to Rey I am pretty certain these have Nichia 519a LED’s. Reylights 219b’s tended to be around 4500k, and this 519a is closer to 4000k. In my shot below the grey titanium on the left is the 519a, and the brass 219b is on the right. This updated LED is a good thing in my opinion as the 519a has more output than the 219b, still high CRI, and has a nice rosy tint which I prefer myself. It’s the most popular LED at the moment due to it’s great characteristics. 

On my Opple Light Master Pro I measured the light on High with a liion and got 3896k, at 97Ra (CRI). DUV was slightly orange, with no green in the beam which I like. On High there is PWM but it’s very fast. The beam profile with the 519a LED is a larger hotspot, this is partly due to a slightly revised reflector I think too. It’s a nice beam pattern for a non TIR EDC light in my opinion.

 

Outputs

While the light will a AAA alkaline or NiMH battery all my testing was done with the 10440 Liion it ships with. For me this is the only way I run any of my Reylight lights, performance is quite a bit more, but you do trade runtime. In general

With a 10440 battery, I got the following outputs in the default mode.

  • High – 280 Lumens
  • Medium  – 65 Lumens
  • Low – 16 Lumens
  • Moon – 1-2 lumens I would guess, my lumen tube isn’t very accurate this low.

 

With a AAA Alkaline or NiMH I got the following

  • High – 85 Lumens
  • Medium – 45 Lumens

 

Heat and Runtimes

I had a little trouble with my runtime data here, I will insert graphs of what things look like and let them speak for themselves. No issues to report. I will say that on High when running a NiMH is short depending on the resistance of your battery. The 10440 is really the way to go here.

 

UI

The UI here is basic and pretty easy to use. The light does have a reverse clicky switch which means you must press the button all the way in to turn on. Once on you can half press to change the modes. By default, the light does not have memory mode but that can be turned on. The light is programmable into 4 preset modes that vary the output of the low, medium and high outputs. The 4th mode adds a strobe option too. 

Reylight has some directions on their website, and I will try to link to some of them that I made when I gave some mini’s as gifts. This is an area for improvement, Reylight should include some directions inside the package. Make sure to charge that included 10440 battery before use too. Side note you will need to supply your own charger, my recommendations are the Vapcell S4 Plus and Xtar VC4 Plus (VC4SL) both of which I have done reviews on in the past.

 

Final Thoughts

I have 8 different Reylight Mini lights it’s no secret I am a fan of them. The titanium Seigaiha version from UrbanEDC is visually really nice I think. I find the Seigaiha pattern appealing, and I like the history behind it as well. As someone who works in technology, it looks like the wifi symbol too which is fun. 

Functionally the new pattern is nice as well, you get a surprising amount of grip from it in the hand. While it does grip the pocket well, in my jeans, the new pattern does seem to almost grip too much, I would expect it to wear the inside of the pocket material more so than my other Reylight Mini Pineapples I have.  

This isn’t the light that you are going to take camping or expect to put in heavy-duty during a natural disaster, but it functions really well as a small EDC light that you carry in a pocket to have with you for small daily duties. Finding the lock on a door, not tripping over something inside or outside the house at close range, finding the dog in the back yard briefly, extra light to find a lost item in your car or under the couch etc. I find myself carrying a mini quite often because I really like the slim size. 

Remember these come with the Nichia 519a LED too, so it’s more output than older Pineapple Mini’s you might have, but still retaining a high CRI and pleasant tint. It’s a great way to try what’s arguably the LED of the year that enthusiasts are loving almost universally. 

 

Buy the Reylight Pinapple Mini Seigaiha Edition at https://bit.ly/UrbanEDCLR

If UrbanEDC is sold out I am told they will be restocking in a couple of weeks so make sure to check back!

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Acebeam Pokelit Review ($22, 5000k, 95CRI, 550 Lumens)

Today I am looking at the Acebream Pokelit. It’s a AA-sized light, that can run on 14500 lithium-ion batteries or alkaline/NiMH. It features a neutral high CRI Nichia emitter and is very affordable. Thanks to Acebeam for sending this to me to look at and review.

 

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Get the Black Pokelit AA from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3RZxoW9 (10% Coupon on the page)

Get the Orange Pokelit AA from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3xeNkfe

Buy all the colors at Acebeam https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1738751&u=2603230&m=108326&urllink=&afftrack= use code Liq10 to save 10%

 

Packaging & Accessories

The packaging is quite small and compact. It’s a nice retail box with a see-through window. Everything slides out in a plastic tray. Accessories came with the clip preinstalled, optional Accebeam 920mAh 14500 battery with onboard USB-C charging, USB-A to C charging cable, Acebeam lanyard, 2 extra orings, and manual. 

 

Construction and Design

The light comes in 3 available colors as of this review, Green, Orange, and Black that I have here. It comes both with and without a 14500 battery, the version I have is with the battery, and it would be the one I would recommend for most people. 

Starting at the tail, there is a proud button, with a textured grip and hard plastic sides that stick proudly of the light. This is quite a stiff button and is a mechanical switch I believe. The tail cap has straight knurls and is glued onto the body of the light. 

The clip attaches at the rear and is nonfixed in place, more on that in retention. The body is fairly plain with horizontal groves cut into it providing some grip.

The head section is straight with no detail milled into it. It contains all of the engraving of the model name, serial number, brand, and temperature warning. There is a smooth shallow bezel protecting the AR-coated glass lens and a shallow smooth reflector. 

 

Retention

Retention options include the snap-on pocket clip. It’s finished in a glossy blue anodizing. It’s a dual-direction clip that’s reasonably deep carry. A bit of the tail does stick out of the pocket but with the stiff switch, I experienced no accidental activations. Your other option is an Acebeam lanyard. Its only attachment point is the hole built into the clip. Not my favorite attachment method but the clip does fit tightly here. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 3.74”, the diameter at 0.72”. I measured the weight with the included battery and clip at exactly 2 ounces. The light is IPX8 water rated and drop-rated to 2M.

There are a number of competitor lights that I pulled from my collection. The Olight i5T and i5R are probably your two most similar lights, In general, the Acebeam is slightly smaller in diameter, and the two have a very similar button style. The Acebeam Ryder RX is similar in size, although with its stainless steel outer body and bolt action it’s different. The heads here are not compatible with each other. I will throw in a Reylight LAN as well since it’s dual fuel, although it’s in a different price category. 

 

LED & Beam

The Acebeam Pokelit AA uses a Nichia 219F LED in 5000k and 90+ CRI. I measured the light on medium mode on my Oppple meter at 4438 CCT (k), and 95 RA (CRI). It’s a pleasant tint, without any distracting tint shifts. The beam is a medium-large hotspot and a large minimal spill. Exactly what was expected from the medium-depth orange peel reflector. My meter detects PWM here but it’s very fast so my eye or camera can’t detect it. 

 

 

 

Heat & Runtimes

I will hit on a few highlights here and let the graphs speak for themselves. I primarily will run this light with the 14500 Li-ion battery because of the better performance. High came in just short of 500 lumens, and that decreases to 300 after 1:30. Total runtime slowly decreasing is 1 hour. Max heat here is 61C. This does get pretty warm to hold when on in high. Medium mode with the Li-ion battery is a pretty stable output starting at 150 lumens decreasing to about 80 or so out to 2:35:00 total runtime.

I also tested with an Ikea 2450 NiMH and you get about 225 lumens at the start by 2 and a half minutes you are running at about 70 lumens for two and a half hours, total runtime was 2:45:00. Medium mode extends this out to 3:12:00. 

 

UI

The UI here is very simple with the reverse clicky switch. With the 14500 battery, you have 3 modes with memory mode. Click once to come on in the lowest model, if you fully clicked you do need to shut if off and then on again to advance, but if you don’t fully click you can half click to advance, hopefully, that makes sense. It’s a very simple user interface that I think anyone can understand. 

 

Recharging

While the flashlight itself doesn’t have built-in charging, the optional Acebeam 14500 battery does have built-in charging via USB-C. I had no issues charging this via USB-C to C or PD. Charging here is at 0.5C about .45A at the maximum for most of the charging time. Overall charging time is 2:30:00 at which time the LED on the battery itself goes from red to green. The battery itself has LVP built into it. 

 

Final Thoughts

Acebeam is on a streak of listening to consumers and enthusiasts and has been doing great putting out some new models this year with great emitter options. The Pokelit AA is no different. The Nichia 219F LED here puts out a neutral 5000k tint, with no ugly tones, and a nice beam pattern with High CRI. It does run hot when used for extended periods of time with the 14500 battery in high mode, reaching up to 140F. You may have to change your grip on it to be comfortable when it gets hot, holding more at the rear instead of in your fist. 

 

I like the Pokelit AA better than the Lumentop Tool personally because it has a more desirable LED and a better clip. It also comes with a Li-ion battery here (depending on where you order it from), and is very affordable. It’s available on Amazon right now for about $21 in black or orange. Acebeam sells them directly too, but the cost is a little higher. For a basic, high-quality flashlight that anyone can use with an easy user interface, the Pokelit AA is a great choice that I can recommend. 

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Sofirn SC21 Pro Review ($20 Shipped, 1100 Lumens, LH351D, USB-C)

Sofirn has a revision on their SC21, and they are calling it the SC21 Pro. The main difference is that it’s running Anduril 1 despite what the manual says. It still has the Samsung LH351D emitter as the non pro version, onboard charging, and retrains the 16340 battery. Thanks to Sofirn for sending this to me to review.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging is Sofirns standard no-frills box. Inside the accessories include the light itself, a USB-A to C charging cable, pocket clip, lanyard, and Orings. The 800ma 16340 battery is optional but it only increases the price by about $2. Well worth getting in my opinion. The manual has a rather large misprint, saying that this light is running Anduril 2, when in fact it’s running Anduril 1. This makes the diagram and operating instructions different.

 

Construction & Design

The light is made from aluminum, and available in 3 colors, black, red, and the green I have here. The tail cap is magnetic and allows the light to tail stand even with a lanyard. The pocket clip mounts near the tail only and is non-captured. Knurling is a pretty standard diamond knurling of average grip. Threads are anodized, greased, and smooth. Internally there is a tail spring, upfront just a post in the head. There is easy access to the pogo pins to allow you to flash other firmware or different firmware versions if you want to. 

The head itself has the model name and brand engraved on the front and the “required” markings on the back near the charging port. I think the warning hot at the head is unnecessary even though yes it gets hot. The charging port cover is opposite the switch. Sofirn has used this port on other lights. In this case, I find it a little hard to get out of the way and for some reason a little tricky with the cables I had to keep charging. The port does seem to be set back a bit deep. At the top, there is a minimal smooth bezel, with the AR glass lens, and a light orange peel reflector underneath. 

 

UI

Despite what the manual says this light is running Anduril 1. Sofirn tells me that there was a misprint in production and that the manual is created well in advance. Future versions may ship with corrected manuals. I don’t see Sofirn has posted a corrected manual on their website yet, which would be nice to see them do. I won’t go into depth here with Anduril because most of us know it by now. You have the option of a ramping mode and stepped mode, and all the goodies that Anduril offers. It is disappointing though that a light that came out in mid 2022 as a new design and a “Pro” model doesn’t ship with Anduril 2.

 

Size & Weight

For a 16340 light this isn’t the smallest in class, and is a bit on the longer side of things, more in line with my 18350’s almost instead of 16340. I measured the length at 73mm Max diameter at 22.5mm and weigh with the clip and battery at 2.11oz or 60g. It’s IPX8 water rated too. 

 

Retention

I enjoyed carrying this light around on some recent trips out of town. It’s nearly the same size in diameter as my Reylight Lan/Pineapples which I enjoy carrying typically. The light has a dual direction pocket clip that attaches at the back and rotates but is pretty tight. It was a little difficult to get it started when putting it in the pocket due to the tension, but this tension also creates security which is a good thing. It’s a decent pocket clip that’s very deep carry which I like. There is also a place at the tail to attach the included lanyard. 

 

LED & Beam

The light is using a Samsung LH351D in neutral white, and high CRI. I measured 4951k and 96CRI with my Opel meter. My sample didn’t have any green tinge you sometimes see with the LH351D. The beam has a large hotspot, minimal spill, decent for EDC, but they could have used a TIR here and saved some length most likely. There is PWM here, as you would expect with Anduril, but it’s not an issue. The button on the light does have a built-in green LED that can be configured in the UI for low, high, blinking, and off. In low it’s not a huge consumer of power. 

Due to the nature of Anduril, I won’t give specific output measurements since the light doesn’t have defined modes. I will say when I first started the light I saw 1044 lumens, and at 30 seconds I saw 028 Lumens.

 

Runtimes & Heat

I used the optional Sofirn 800mAh 16340 battery for my calibrated runtime tests. Turbo lasted here for about 4 minutes before stepping down significantly to about 250 lumens to cool off. As it cooled it did increase output. The total useable light was 35 minutes, but the light kept running in the absolute lowest mode to 1 hour. Max heat I saw during this time was 63.5C at about 5 minutes. Keep in mind this was after I calibrated the light and raised that temp threshold.

 

Recharging

The light has built-in recharging via USB-C. I had no issues using USB-C to C or PD Chargers here. The port cover is good as mentioned but kind of large for this small light in my opinion. I tested with the optional 800mAh Sofirn battery. I tested it at 734mAh of capacity. The light charged from where it shut off to full in right at 1:06:00. Max charging rate was 0.9A which is slightly over 1C for the included battery. The shape of the charge curve here was pretty normal. 

 

Final Thoughts

There really isn’t much here that’s different on the SC21 Pro vs the non-pro. A 100-lumen difference isn’t going to be very noticeable to the eye. The biggest difference is the firmware where the SC21 Pro is running Anduril 1 which enthusiasts are going to like, and muggles are going to find confusing. 

They kept the exterior design which I think is solid, and the pocket clip here is pretty good. Best of all the LH351D returns in a neutral white and high CRI. Add into that it’s very affordable at $26 with the included battery before any additional discounts. It’s magnetic and available in 3 exterior colors, overall a pretty great value. Sofirn continues to bring in great budget options to the marketplace. In this physical size of light, you can certainly pay more for a light that I don’t think has as nice of an emitter or as good of UI. This would make a nice gift or entry into the EDC and flashlight worlds without breaking the bank.  

 

Purchase the SC21 Pro at https://www.sofirnlight.com/products/sofirn-sc21pro-anduril-1-ui-mini-flashlight-with-lh351d-led

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Wuben X-1 Falcon Review (12,000 Lumens, 3X XHP70.2, USB-C)

Today I am taking a look at a new light from Wuben with the X-1 Falcon. What I have here is a preproduction sample, but the light has now been formally announced. Wuben has been around for a while but isn’t super well known. They are not afraid to try things, and they have done that here with the X-1 Falcon. It has 3 Cree XHP 70.2 LED’s and 2 21700 batteries in a side-by-side configuration in a very rectangular package. Thanks to Wuben for sending it my way.

 

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Packaging & Accessories.

Since this was a preproduction light, mine came in a plastic hard case, with a paracord style lanyard and a USB-A to C cable (Who doesn’t have a ton of these at this point 🙂 ). I was also able to request a copy of the manual. I suspect the full version will have the full retail box, Charging cable, Storage bag (According to the manual), and normal paperwork. I will note the manual I have is a little rough in the translations. There looks to be an optional bike mount too. 

 

Construction & Design

The light is made from aluminum and anodized black. It’s a bit of a unique design being a large rectangle. The corners are angled and have extra milling into them as well as milled channels on the sides, top, and bottom for style. To me it’s a “space age design” and kind of reminds me of something you would see in a Sci-Fi movie or something. 

The most unique aspect of the design is functional too, right under the button the light has a passageway for active cooling with a heat sync under and a small fan on the right-hand side. The fan is thermally controlled, and it only comes on when it gets hot enough and turns off when it cools. You can hear it slightly and feel it too if holding it near the top. I suspect the fan is why I don’t see a formal water rating either for this light and also why I didn’t really want to test this myself. Opposite the fan is the USB-C port with a silicone cover. It’s tucked nicely away.

The light is a very solid feeling in the hand. The button sits at in a pretty natural position, where you want to rest your thumb. It’s not a small light and one I will probably put the lanyard on. It has some harder edges and isn’t the most ergonomic thing, but it’s not uncomfortable either.

While they don’t advertise the batteries are replaceable, it is if you remove the 4 screws on the tail cap. So here is what I found inside.

Up front is the unique shaped lens to fit the 3 emitters side by side. It’s an anti-reflective coated glass lens with a short orange peel reflector where the 3x Cree LED’s sit behind. 

 

Retention Options

According to the manual, the light will ship with a Storage bag that looks like a holster, and a lanyard. Since this is the prototype I only have the lanyard to show you. You guys know I am not a big lanyard user but on this one, I will be installing it. I think with the size and weight here a bit of extra security when in use is a good idea. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 128.4mm, width at 56mm, and depth at 28mm. Weight is 13.42oz or 380.5g. Like I said it’s very solid feeling light, and the heft adds to that. There is no official water rating on this light, I imagine do to that fan. I would imagine it would handle light rain ok, but definitely don’t submerge it. I don’t have a ton of lights like this to compare it to, but here are a few that I choose to give a size reference.

 

LED & Beam

This light is running 3x Cree XHP 70.2 emitters in a side-by-side configuration. With my Opple meter, I measured 5369K tint, and 65Ra. The DUV here indicates it does have some green in the tint, which I tend to see more on lower power output. This isn’t uncommon from these LEDs but not too overpowering. Minimal PWM on lower outputs.

The beam itself isn’t completely round, the hotspot is more oval than round. It’s not pure flood but pretty close, there is a minimal large hot center and a significant amount of spill around. The outer edges of the spill does mimic the shape of the reflector too. 

 

Outputs

Outputs for the most part looked pretty close to what was claimed on my homemade lumen tube with the exception of Turbo. My lumen tube and the different adapter sizes are really designed for round lights, I didn’t custom design a rectangular one for this light, so that may be where part of the losses are. Even with that, it’s about 74% of the claimed max output. I have to also mention this is a prototype so there may be some slight differences in it too. It could also be part of the programming mode which I will explain later.

 

Heat & Runtime

Let’s start with Turbo for my Heat and Runtime tests. Turbo as expected here doesn’t very long, right at a minute and heats up the light quickly to 47C within the same amount of time. From there it steps down to about 2200 lumens where it runs happily for the remainder of the 2 hour runtime. Peak heat ended up being about 55C. I think it may have gotten a little hotter, but my tape stretched and didn’t hold the thermal couple as tightly. 

The small internal fan seems to be thermally reactive, not coming on until it reaches a certain temperature, instead of coming on automatically in certain modes. I can’t say how much of a difference this really makes, but I would guess it helps mostly that middle LED that’s less exposed to outside air, and has a smaller surface area with the casing.

 

I did a comparison testing Turbo, High, Medium, and Low as a comparison between each other. Turbo and High were identical basically. Medium ran out to 5:37:00 just under 1000 lumens, and low for 12:30:00 at 200 lumens or so.

 

UI

My light arrived in Lockout mode, so 4 presses of the button unlock or lock the light. Single press to turn on, long press once on to cycle through the 4 main modes. Double press from anywhere to get to turbo. The light does have blinking modes that you can get to from anywhere by triple pressing. Triple press again to cycle between strobe and SOS modes.

The unique aspect of this light is the programming mode, It allows you to adjust the preset value of the 4 main modes by one on Clicking and holding and the light will ramp up slightly and blink when at the top of the range. Just stop when you reach the brightness you want and it will memorize it. There are upper and lower bounds on what each mode will do too, so I will show you the chart here rather than explain it. 

 

Recharging

The light uses 2 internal 21700 batteries, while not advertised to be user replaceable, they are pretty each to reach by removing the 4 (PH#1 Sized) screws at the tail. The included lights are flat tops, unprotected LG INR21700M50T 5000mAh according to the wrapper and have springs on both ends inside of the light.

On the left-hand side of the light, just behind the grill air exhaust, there is the USB-C charging port protected by a silicone cover. It’s a little different design but works well here and stays out of the way nicely. What’s neat is this light will charge at 9V instead of the lower 5V like most lights. This means a little faster-charging speed if your charger supports it. Completed the charge in 2:44:00 which is impressive considering the light has 10,000mAh of batteries inside it, about 41Wh. I had no issues charging it with USB-C to C or with a PD charger. 

 

Final Thoughts

You don’t typically see a lot of side by side lights, especially larger cells like the 21700’s in this light. This is a hefty package but it feels very solid. I like the space age, Sci-Fi type design here, and it seems Wuben is the only one doing that really.  

The UI here is easy to use, and the programming feature of each mode is kind of cool too, it helps you dial in exactly the mode spacing you want within reason. High, medium and low had impressive runtimes, but I wish Turbo lasted for more than a minute, especially with the fan and the compromises that have been made to accommodate it, like water resistance. 

 

I really appreciate here that the batteries are replaceable with a bit of work. That should lead to a long life, on what I am sure will be a higher-priced light. It’s a unique beam pattern that I found to be just fine during normal use. The XPH 70.2 isn’t my favorite LED, but here it’s not too cool white, and the tint is’t overwhelmingly green so it works. 

So all in all a solid offering, in a different format, with a modern design, and something a little different in the flashlight world. I like that Wuben took the chance with the X-1 Falcon to be different. Let me know what you guys think of the X-1 in the comments below.

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Thrunite TC20 V2 Review (4000 Lumens, XHP 70.2, USB-C)

Today I am taking at the Thrunite TC20 V2. It’s not the newest model but it’s still recent and an update on the Thrunite TC20 V1. It’s running a Cree XHP70.2 LED, a 26650 battery, and has onboard USB-C charging. If you want a light that can sustain 2000 lumens for more than an hour, listen up. Thanks to Thrunite for “accidentally” sending this to me ?.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Standard Thrunite brown cardboard box here with the elastic band, I would call it functional minimalism. Inside is the entire kit with almost everything you need to maintain and use the light for years. You get the light itself, a 5000mAh 26650 Thrunite battery, nylon holster, USB-A to C charging cable, lanyard, a bag of extras including o’rings, button seal, USB port cover, and split ring, a manual and warranty card.

 

Construction & Design

The light is made from Aluminum and hard anodized black. Build quality is always good from Thrunite and this is no exception. The tail cap provides a flat surface that allows for tail standing and has a lanyard hole. The cap is removable and non-magnetic. Inside there is a stout spring on the tail end only.

The body tube has traded knurls for milled blocks in an almost frag pattern. The corners are well chamfered though so it’s not too aggressive. Square Threads on both ends are anodized, smooth, and nonreversible.

The head features the standard Thrunite electronic switch with a metal button on top, and a small battery indicator LED in the middle. Directly opposite the button is the USB-C charging port that’s covered via a silicone rubber flap. It’s decent fitting and does stay out of the way. The light has moderate milling at the top for heat dissipation and weight reduction. The bezel is flat. The lens is AR coated and the reflector has a moderate orange peel. Overall small but positive design changes from the original.


Retention

Retention options include the included nylon holster. It has elastic sides, plastic dring, and a fixed belt loop. It gets the job done but is just of average quality. The light also comes with a branded lanyard and split ring that can be attached at the tail if you wish.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 118.1mm, the diameter of the body tube at 32.6mm, the diameter of the head at 42mm. The weight with the battery is 242.5g. The light is IP68 water rated.

 

LED & Beam

The TC20 V2 is running the Cree XHP70.2 LED that Thrunite says is capable of 4000 lumens. It’s available in Cool and Neutral white, and I have the cool white version here. On my Opple meter, I measured 5737 lumens, 66CRI. The tint didn’t have any green tinge to it and it seems to be a constant current driver. 

You would think this would be a pure floody light but it actually has a decent amount of throw to it at the hotspot that’s fairly tight.

Mode spacing here is less than ideal. I am very happy that it still has firefly at 0.5 lumens, but with 3 main modes to cover 0.5 to 1800 lumens, there are some pretty big jumps there between medium and high going from 350 to 1800. Another mode somewhere around 1000 lumens would be nice at least.

I will insert the output results I got from my lumen tube testing here. 

 

Heat & Runtime

The light is able to sustain it’s 3500+ lumens for 3:45 before stepping down to around 1600 lumens where it will run for 45 minutes, before stepping down to about 1400 lumens to finish out the remainder of it’s 1:45:00 runtime. Peak heat during this time was about 58C. Running on medium nets an impressive 11:15:00.

Where this light really shines in my opinion is the amount of time it can sustain well over 1000 lumens. This light maintains over 1400 lumens for over an hour. I frequently get asked what light can I buy that will stay over 1000 or 2000 lumens for an hour, well here is a good option for you if that’s what your looking for.

 

UI

UI here is Thrunite’s standard. Single press to turn on, long press once on to cycle up between the 3 main modes, double press to go to Turbo, triple press to go to strobe. It’s a very simple interface, and it’s easy to use which is nice but also limiting. A fast ramping interface would work pretty well here too given the limited number of modes and wide range of outputs it must cover. 

 

Recharging

The TC20 V2 has onboard USB-C charging that’s protected by a silicone rubber port cover. I charged the light charged the light from LVP to full at 4.15v in 3:48:00. The curve here wasn’t as clean as I am used to seeing but nothing that I was concerned about. You are able to use the light during charging but only in low and medium modes. It charges via USB-C to C or PD without an issue. While the included battery is officially rated at 5000mAh, I tested mine with my Vapcell S4 Plus at 5500mAh.  

 

Final Thoughts

The 26650 flashlight form factor seems to have kind of fallen out of popularity with the increasing availability of 21700 batteries having similar capacities, but I like the 26650 size in my hand personally from an ergonomic perspective.

One of the best features here in my opinion is probably how long this light can sustain 1500+ lumens before stepdown. That’s a feat that many high lumen output lights just can’t do due to heat and battery fatigue. This does that with ease. That said mode spacing here could be better to give you something between 1853 lumens and 320 which is the jump between high and medium.

This is going to be a good all-around use light, I think it would be a good option for something like camping or emergency prep as it’s good around, has quite a bit of life at higher lumen outputs and size isn’t as critical of a feature.

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Fenix E18R V2.0 Review (1200 Lumens, 16340, USB-C)

Fenix has a new small higher performance EDC with the updated FenixE18R V2.0. This is running a Luminis SST40 and a 1634 battery. Its biggest competitor would be the Olight Baton 3, and I will be using that as a comparison throughout the review. Thanks to Fenix for sending this to me to look at and review, all opinions are my own.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

The packaging here is a nice fully decorated retail-style box. The outside has some of your typical stats on the back. Inside the light is in a plastic tray, but what I really like here is that the accessories underneath are held in place with an extra piece of plastic. While this is minor it really helps to put everything back into the box with ease. If you save boxes and everything that comes with a light like I do this a useful bit of packaging. Accessories include the light itself, preinstalled pocket clip, lanyard, 700mAh Fenix branded battery, USB-A to C charging cable (short), layard, extra orings, port cover, warranty, and manual,

 

Design & Construction

The E18R V2 is made from 6061 aluminum, and hard anodized in black in a smooth semi-gloss anodizing. The tail is mostly flat, and strong magnetic. It tail stands without an issue despite it only having 2 outer wings. The tailcap as very shallow straight knurls on it for minimal grip.

The body has very fine circular grooves milled into it. They provide a minimal amount of grip but on a light this small I feel like the clip help gives your fingers something to lock on to. The threads on the tail are anodized and inside there is a spring only on the rear of the light. The head is glued onto the body tube, and the clip only attaches in one position but isn’t captured in terms of rotation.

The head has a slightly raised area around the electronic switch. The switch has a metal button cover with LED in the center to give the battery and lockout status. The accent colors here are a rosy copper color that I think is attractive. The USB charging port is opposite the button, and the port cover here is very secure as it has an additional hook to hold it in place.  The lens is plastic TIR with a flat top, with no additional cover to protect it. The light has basically no bezel, what bezel it does have is flat.

Lastly, the markings on this light should be mentioned, they are laser engraved, and nicely aligned. I like that they hid the CE mark, and it contains the typical hot warning near the head. What I hadn’t seen before but think is a decent idea is very small directions under the switch to remind you how to lock and unlock the light.

 

Retention

The primary retention method with the light is the dual direction pocket clip. It’s designed primarily as a lens up carry clip which isnt’ my personal favorite method. When carrying this way it leaves about ½” of light sticking out. The same can be said If you flip it over. The clip is also one of the 3 ways to do lockout on this light if you slide it over so it physically covers the switch. 

You also have the two lanyard attachment points on the rear of the light. In hand it’s pretty small, the body design doesn’t aid much in grip but the clip does when installed giving you a place to lock into.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 66.64mm, and the diameter at the head at 21.1mm. I measured the weight with the clip and battery installed at 1.9oz. The light is IP68 water rated and impact resistant to 1 meter. In comparison to the Olight Baton 3, the E18R V2 is just slightly longer. 

 

LED & Beam

The Fenix E18R V2.0 is using the Luminis SST 40 LED in cool white. On my Opple meter, I measured it at 5278K with a 62 CRI. So a fairly neutral tint but a pretty low CRI. There is PWM but it’s extremely fast, I don’t think anyone will notice it. 

The beam profile is pretty typical of a TIR-style optic. A reasonably large hot center with minimal spill and no artifacts. Good for short-range EDC tasks and throws further than you think in the higher output modes when needed.

 

Outputs & Mode Spacing

For my output measurements I tested on my Texas Ace calibrated PVC lumen tube, it’s not professional measuring equipment but usually a pretty good approximation. Outputs here were very close to Fenix’s claim, the only place I saw a difference was turbo and that was only by 30 lumens or so short. 

Mode spacing here not taking into account Turbo is 4 modes from 1 to 350 lumens. They are well spaced inside this, and I appreciate they included a true 1 lumen moon mode here. Turbo on the other hand is kind of off the charts at 1200 lumens.

 

Heat & Runtime

For my heat and runtime shots, I used the Li-ion battery the light came with. Turbo stepped down after 1:45 down to the 600-lumen range. The heat peaked around the 6:00 mark at 46C. The light ends up being very stable at about 11 minutes of runtime around the 400-lumen mark and runs out till 42 minutes before seeing a large stepdown and running in moonlight mode out till an hour. 

I also did a runtime test comparing Turbo, High, and Medium modes that you can see in this graph. 

 

UI

The UI is a little different from many other flashlights, so it might take a few minutes to understand if you’re coming from Olight, Thrunite, Nitecore, Sofirn, and others. To turn it on you have to long press. To increase in modes once on long press and the light will cycle from moonlight mode up through turbo. The light does have memory for all modes except strobe and turbo. If you shut it off in Turbo it will come on again in High next time. There is no shortcut to turbo, you have to incrementally get there. You can access moonlight mode by long pressing from off. If you hold the button too long when turning off the light will also go to strobe. Double pressing is a shortcut to strobe. To turn off you long press again. To lockout, the light double tap when off, same to unlock. You can also unscrew the tail cap slightly or cover the switch with the pocket clip.

Personally, this isn’t my favorite UI, and I would prefer there to be direct access to turbo with a double tap, and strobe is a triple tap. I find myself instead putting the light into strobe when I want turbo. Long pressing to turn off isn’t my personal favorite either.

 

Recharging

The light has onboard USB-C charging opposite the e-swtich on the light. I had no issues charging via USB-C to C or PD. I ran all tests with the included Fenix 700mAh branded battery. I tested the capacity of this battery at 685mAh on my Vapcell S4 Plus charger which I reviewed previously. 

Charging from LVP of the battery at 2.973V to full when charging stopped at 4.163V took 1:21:00. Charging speed was right at 1C for most of the charging, and the charging curve looked pretty typical.

The light is capable of running a few different battery types. The manual notes that it can run a standard button top 16340, but may not be able to achieve peak performance. Same with a CR123a which is nonrechargeable. LiFePO4 16340’s are strongly not recommended due to the lower voltage the charging circuit isn’t designed to handle these.

One thing to note is that the battery level indicator is specified to only work with the Fenix branded ARB-L16-700P battery the light comes with.

 

Final Thoughts

There is a lot to like about the Fenix E18R V2.0. I like the design of the light physically I think it looks pretty good with the bronze-colored accents. There isn’t a ton of grip on the body tube but for me, the clip makes up for that. The tint here doesn’t seem to have any noticeable undesirable green tint. While I tend to like more neutral or warm emitters I understand why they went with cool white here to maximize the number of lumens and because it seems that’s what the segment of the market this light is aimed to prefer and it’s not super blue.

I like that battery here isn’t proprietary, and that it can run on CR123a’s in a pinch but with reduced performance. Another plus is that it uses USB-C for charging instead of a proprietary system.

A few things I wasn’t a fan of either, like UI here with no direct access to turbo, and where strobe is only a double pressor extra long press when turning off. I am not as much of a fan of lens up carry with 1/6th of the light sticking up out of my pocket and the switch being right at the pocket hem of your pants or shorts.

Overall a pretty solid light. If you like Olight but want to try another brand that’s similar but different I think this would be a good place to go. The UI will be a change for sure, but it’s a well-built light with a good beam thanks to the TIR lens and above-average build quality.

Get the Fenix E18R V2.0 at Fenix-store.com and save 20% for first-time orders.