Tag: Tactical Flashlight Review

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Astrolux WP1 Review (A rebadged LEP thrower from Jetbeam?)

Today I have the Astrolux WP1 LEP flashlight. It’s capable of 250,000 candela, and 480 lumens out of the included 21700 Liion battery and it’s UI is a control ring. If you have seen my review of the Jetbeam RRT M1X Raptor you might notice a few differences more on that further on in my review. Thanks to Banggood for sending this light to me and providing a discount for my viewers. 

 

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Other Flashlight Deals from Banggood https://ban.ggood.vip/XSaQ

 

Packaging & Accessories

The Astrolux WP1 comes in a large plastic case with a handle, on the front is a large sicker showing the light and listing a few headlining stats. On the back is another sticker showing a runtime chart and links to various social media platforms. 

As far as accessories the light comes with an unbranded 5000mAh, 21700mAh battery with MicroUSB recharging onboard, A basic lanyard, an extras bag with 2 red orings, and spare tail cap, manual and a basic holster.

 

Construction

Astrolux brought out 2 LEP style flashlights earlier in 2021 that appear to mirror the Jetbeam RRT M1X and  M2S WP-RX, in physical appearance and closely in performance with the main difference being the engraving on the body. I suspect the parent manufacturer for Astrolux is Jetbeam. The anodizing Jetbeam useses is a somewhat distinct gray in the flashlight industry, and it’s being used here as well. Side by side they look the same anodizing wize.

Starting at the tail you have a forward click mechanical switch and 2 tails where you can attach a lanyard. It will tail stand but it’s not very stable. There is minimal knurling on the tail and body tube that add some grip. Threads are square cut, nicely greased and anodized.

You do have a rubber tactical ring which is nice to allow you to cigar grip the light if you wish. The body tube has flats milled in for the labels and a little added grip. The body tube is also removable from the head, but not reversible. I was able to swap around the head, body, and tail from the Jetbeam RRT M1X as well. The orings on the WP1 are the same distinct red color as the Jetbeam.

The head features the rotating ring controls, with a total of 5 detents that are just over 180 degrees in total movement. They feel ok, not super crisp but not mushy either. I like rotary control on a light like this, they are simple and they work great with gloves on which is important this time of year. The bezel of the light is non removable. It does stand proud of the “lens” and the cuts in the side allow for some light to leak when head down.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 158.3mm, minimum diameter at 24mm on the flats of the body, and maximum diameter of 36.7mm on the control ring. Weight with the supplied battery is 230g. The light is IPX8 Water rated. Here are few photos of similar lights or competitors that I own.  

 

Retention

Retention options with the WP1 are the included lanyard which can be attached at the tail cap and then the holster. The holster has a velcro front cover and is made with a neoprene lined ballistic nylon. On the rear it has a belt loop that’s attached with a button and velcro. 

 

Emitter & Beam

So instead of an LED, the WP1 uses a LEP or Laser Excited Phosphor. Astrolux calls this the WP-T2 LEP (Same as Jetbeam). LEP’s work by using a blue laser emitter on a layer of phosphor to create a “whitish” beam that is then sent through a convex lens. 

The result is a beam that’s extremely concentrated. At 8ft it’s less than a 5 inch circle, it also has basically no spill like your traditional flashlight does. This concentrated beam does spread out a little at distance but it’s not as much and my night shots show that. When I compare it to my Jetbeam RRT M1X the beam here is larger, in shorter distances, but still quite small by LED flashlight standards. The tint here definitely has a blueish tint to it. There was no visible PWM to the eye or camera.

 (Astrolux on the Left, Jetbeam on the Right)

 

Heat & Runtime

I expected that this light would produce more heat because of how intense it was but it doesn’t Maximum heat I saw was about 36C during testing, and that’s a regulated temp. With the smaller body it does get about 4 degrees warmer than the larger Jetbeam model. It does seem to have a timed stepdown, to 40% relative output after 3 minutes. Compared with other LED based throwers I have this is good, given the other LED based throwers generally produce a lot more heat. 

Total runtime starting on high with the included fully charged 5000mAh battery was 5:14:00 with several step downs along the way. After 12 minutes your running at about 30% relative output but you can bump back up manually. When the light shut off I measured LVP at 2.974v. You don’t need a high output battery for this light either with the maximum amperage requirement I measured under 3A. So since this light is using a non proprietary button top protected battery (Long in length) you can choose based off of capacity rather then performance. 

 

UI

The UI here is simple with the rotary switch at the front. It’s 5 position switch with detents at every point, total rotation is just over 180 degrees. Starting from the left most detent and working clockwise you have low, medium, high, strobe, SOS. The switch at the rear is a your on and off control without a momentary mode as it’s a forward clicky switch. Strobe is very fast here, almost to the point of it not being useful as a strobe. 

 

Recharging

Recharging here is accomplished with the included unbranded (My guess is it’s the same battery Jetbeam supplies with their lights) 5000mAh 21700 battery. The battery itself has microUSB built into it, with a small LED at the positive side. Red when charging, green when charged. I would have loved to see USB-C instead here, especially on a premium light. It took a lengthy 7:31:00 to fully charge this battery which is quite slow, the fastest charge rate I saw was .75A, and it only decreased from there for the remaining 6 hours. Fully charged the battery measured 4.206V. 

My recommendation would be to use your own charger like the Vapcell S4 Plus or Xtar VC4SL and charge at a more reasonable rate. This battery can very safely handle a 2A charge rate and that will cut the charge time to more than half. I tested the capacity of this battery with my VapCell S4 Plus charger at 4719mAh. 

 

Pro’s & Con’s 

Pro

  • Simple Name
  • Good size for in the hand use & filters are available to make the LEP more practical for more tasks
  • The control ring is easy to use especially with gloves
  • Beam here is wider and slightly more practical.

 

Con’s

  • Strobe is too fast
  • Wish it came with the optional diffusers to make it more practical
  • Not inexpensive. 
  • LEP tint isn’t great, very cool white.

 

Conclusion

Given this lights apparent similarity with it’s sibling Jetbeams cousins, I would say go with whichever you can find the best deal on. Banggood is known for it’s coupons so it might end up being the Astrolux versions. From a physical and performance stand point I can’t tell a lot of difference. I don’t have both to do direct comparisons on but from reading in the forums and looking at them, and comparing the Astrolux WP1 to my Jetbeam RRT M1X Raptor I think they are likely the same. 

The big difference between the two models are their size of head and a bit of styling. The Astrolux WP1 here is a much smaller design thats easier to fit in the hand 

While LEP’s are really fun, and the performance is incredible, I struggle to find many uses for them in general. The hot spot here is a bit larger then my other LEP’s which makes it better, but realistically this isn’t something most people need and still quite small with no spill. It does work well for that smaller hand held search light application, signaling, and possibly on a hunting rifle at lower settings or with filters but this isn’t something you would want to take camping or be super useful in a power outage. That said it has pretty solid performance, and a LEP is something every flashlight obsessed individual should have in their collection.

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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

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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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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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Jetbeam TH20 Guardian (2020) Review (3980 Lumens, XHP 70.2, 21700, USB-C)

The Jetbeam TH20 Guardian is an updated version of the previous popular TH20 Tactical flashlight. It’s rated for 3980 lumens from a Cree XHP 70.2 LED and a 21700 battery. It features onboard USB-C charging and has a powerbank function. Thanks to Jetbeam for sending it to me to review. 

 

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Packaging and Accessories

Packaging is standard Jetbeam hanging design with a nice photo of the light on the front and stats on the back. Inside accessories include the light, a 5100mAh 21700 battery, a belt holster, wrist lanyard, the USB-C OTG cable for charging and using as a powerbank, and then some nice spare red orings. Paperwork includes the manual, warranty card and COA. 

 

 

Construction

The TH20 is a solid well built light all around. Starting at the tail cap it has 2 large square ears that protect the button and paddles well, and allow for a place for the lanyard to fit. The light will tail stand but it’s not very stable when doing so. The knurled areas on the tail and body are on the smoother side but the milled areas on the light and heatsync give you an area to lock into. 

Threads on the inside are anodized, square cut, beefy and really smooth. Other manufactures take note, this is how it’s done. The tail cap has dual stiff springs, but the head only has a brass post, a little surprising for a tactical light. No issues with vibration though. 

The head section has a section that looks like heatsyncs, I think it’s more style though, The front bezel seems to be glued in place, I can’t get to move, It’s short but has large crenulations allowing light to spill out. The antireflective coated glass underneath is thick and well protected. Under that is the deep orange peel reflector and the large Cree XHP 70.2 LED. 

Size & Weight

I measured the overall length at 161mm. Maximum diameter on the head was 40.21mm and minimum diameter on the body was 29.5mm. The weight I measured with the battery, was 267.3g. This is a large light, no ways around that. See the photo below for some photos of similar 21700 sized lights. 

 

Retention 

This isn’t an EDC light to put in your front pants pockets, instead you have a holster option that the light comes with. It comes with a nylon holster, with a button belt loop and no Dring. The material here is nice but the stitching is all single stitch and it it’s not a premium feel.

LED & Beamshots

This light is using a Cree XHP70.2 LED in cool white. No tint data is given but it’s definitely cool white and has the characteristics of a XHP70.2 LED. So that means it has some beam distortion in the center, of a corona donut and then tint shift across the beam. It’s more a flood but the beam isn’t even, so I would call it on the floodier side of a typical flashlight beam. Definitely not a thrower.

The light has 4 solid on modes and then strobe.

  • Turbo 3980 Lumens
  • High 1500 Lumens
  • Medium 350 Lumens
  • Low 25 Lumens

No ratings are given for strobe but I would guess it’s equivalent to high or turbo.

 

Runtime & Heat

I am skeptical of the claimed 3980 lumens, at least that it can sustain it for any time. In my runtime graph here I see about 20 second before the light has stepped down. At this point it can sustain this mode for about 10 minutes before stepping down again due to thermal constraints with the maximum temp it sustained was 40.5C. Total runtime ended up at 2:26:00 but instead of shutting off the light ran for several more hours at basically moonlight mode. I stopped the test at 5:35:00. LVP kicked in at 2.946V.

UI

UI here is quite simple. You have a large mechanical button on the tail end of the light covered in a large silicone switch, it’s quite stiff, you won’t accidently press it, but it is loud. Next to it on both sides are metal paddles. When the light is off, the paddles give instant access to the strobe/sos mode of the light in a momentary manor. When you press the main button on the light the paddles give you mode options give you mode selections, with memory. The easiest way to lock the light out is mechanically by just turning the tail cap slightly.

 

Recharging

The TH20 offers charging via USB-C, but doesn’t support C to C charging. It features USB-A to USB-C which seems to be all most flashlights offer. Recharging the included the 21700 5100mAh battery from LVP to full took a total of 5 hours even, with peak charging rate 1.87A. The curve is a little abnormal but no big concerns with a battery this size. My one complaint is the LED light that gives the charging status is very close to the port, and combined with the port cover it can be hard to see depending on the cable you’re using. Charging stopped at 4.149V. 

The light can also be used as a powerbank. It comes with a USB-C to USB-A Female adapter cable that can be used to charge your phone or other device from the light. It can also charge a device like my phone with just a USB-C to C cable. I did a discharge at 2A, but when doing this it didn’t seem to step down gracefully like I would expect or it could be my equipment, not many lights do the powerbank feature. 

Pro’s

  • I like the warm gray color of the anodizing
  • Feels well made, and beefy, buttery threads.
  • The battery bank feature is nice in a pinch.

 

Con’s

  • Turbo is too short only lasting about 20 seconds.
  • Definitely has some distortion in the beam from the lens and LED.
  • It’s big, and on the expensive side.
  • While it tail stands, it’s not stable when doing so.

 

Conclusion

I don’t have a ton of use for a light like this in my daily uses. It’s large, heavy and turbo is too short to be useful for me on my example. I do think the tail design is pretty decent for direct access to strobe in a tactical situation but 3 simple light modes plus turbo for your solid modes. I wish turbo lasted longer then 20 seconds, it would be useful in tactical and non tactical situations. 

 

I love the color of the anodizing here, it’s gray brown anodizing, nice to see especially on a tactical light. The light is also very well built from what I can tell. Solid, and the rear switch takes quite a bit of pressure to push. If you need a solid well built tactical light thats in that middle ground between a flood and thrower then this fits that need, but isn’t going to be your best general purpose light in my opinion. 

Take a look at the TH20 Guardian 2020 at BatteryJunction https://www.batteryjunction.com/jetbeam-th20-guardian-v2.html

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

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

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

 

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

YouTube Version of this Review:

Packaging/Accessories

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

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

Construction

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

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

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

Size/Weight/Comparisons

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

LED/Beamshots/Runtime

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

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

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

 

UI

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

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

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

Recharging

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

Pro

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

 

Con

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

 

Conclusion

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

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

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Olight M2R Warrior (NW) Review

The Olilght M2R Warrior is the newest light from Olight and one of the most highly anticipated of the year. The first time we saw it was at Shotshow. The M2R Warrior is designed as a tactical light and includes several features Olight is known for and a few new ones. Thanks to Olight for sending this out to me to take a look at.

Full Photo Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/adoWB
Video version of this review:  

Construction
Olight has put a lot into the physical design of this light. https://i.imgur.com/lUB0yaD.jpg The anodizing is a high quality gloss black. Starting at the top you have a signature blue Olight bezel with some non deep crenelations https://i.imgur.com/BU09nQn.jpg in it. Below that you have the aluminum head and body. There are tier drop cuts in the head https://i.imgur.com/CMIfmPU.jpg for heat dissipation and further down you have more traditional heat syncing . It has a nice polygonal edges to help it 

keep from rolling away. Inside this you have an electronic switch surrounded by a nice blue bezel with an LED in the center that is used for Low battery notification, lockout notification https://i.imgur.com/CMIfmPU.jpgt. Below that you have raised bumps https://i.imgur.com/DE6I2sr.jpg on the body of the light giving added grip and something a little different from traditional knurling. At the end you have the new stainless steel tail switch https://i.imgur.com/GX6Mfdf.jpgwhich has magnetic recharging, as well a second electronic switch which offers a silent momentary mode, and then a full press to lock in power. More on modes in a bit. Labeling is kept to a minimum, with branding near the head is alway done so it can be read from left to light not as you rotate the light https://i.imgur.com/3rpqvWs.jpg . The branding is at 2 and 10 positions when looking head on. The CE mark is opposite the button and the tail clip has a bit on instruction on how the new tail switch works.

Inside this light uses a dual tube design https://i.imgur.com/51p8ddx.jpg which allows for the use of the two electronic buttons and the non proprietary battery. Do not remove this inner tube, it’s held in with an O ring https://i.imgur.com/xP9ObVC.jpgand is hard to impossible to put back in place. The light will still work but lack of it could affect it’s IPX-8 water rating.

Measured weights and sizes with my caliper and scale are below.
Weight with Included Olight battery = 5.43 oz
Length = 129.9mm
Diameter at its widest = 28.53mm
Diameter at its narrowest = 25.48mm

LED
My M2R Warrior uses a Cree XHP35 LED in Neutral White. https://i.imgur.com/BU09nQn.jpg Cool White is also available.

The Lens itself is made of glass and anti reflective coated. The reflector itself is highly polished with a heavy orange peel. https://i.imgur.com/BU09nQn.jpg When combining this with the LED you get a light pattern that’s a little hard to describe. It has a hot center but with quite a bit of flood on the spill. The transition is very smooth. The result is a light the is kind of a do it all. It’s not a true thrower but throws decently, and it’s not pure flood but does that pretty well too.

Heat
High output lights put out heat, this is nothing new and the M2R isn’t an exception. During my 3 hour runtime test I measured the light at the 2 hour mark with an infrared thermometer and the body where you hold your hand was a warm 122F. This radiated through out the light. This is fairly warm for the 2 hour mark. During my standard 1 minute test during turbo it reached 91F.

Runtime chart 

Modes
This light has 2 main modes of operation, a Standard and an Enhanced Tactical mode. I did most of my testing in standard mode because I prefer to have turbo available at the rear switch instead of strobe like in tactical mode. See the manual for how to switch between modes.

In standard mode the light goes up to 1000 lumens in turbo and bumps to 700 lumens after about 3 minutes. From there it has medium 1 at 250 lumens, and medium 2 at 60 lumens, low at 15 lumens and then moon at 1 lumen. In Enhanced Tactical mode all is the same except Turbo is 1500 lumens no matter if you use the rear momentary switch or the side switch to lock in. To me it would be much easier to just have turbo mode be the same level in both modes.

Mode Specs

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 burbo, 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.

The rear tail cap is multi purpose. It’s the charging base and a dual mode switch. It’s a silent switch in both modes but you can feel what’s happening. When in Standard mode the tail switch is a momentary turbo (1000 lumens) or you can lock in turbo. In Enhanced Tactical mode the rear tail switch is momentary tubeo (1500 lumens) or if you lock in you get strobe. It’s a bit of an odd design. Memory mode is available except for turbo and strobe.

Table and Outdoor Shots https://youtu.be/zZF66iL4jEQ?t=9m5s

Charging
Olight has taken a bit of criticism recently with their magnetic charging system. However the M2R improves by making a safer charging system. While the tail cap still has exposed voltage that matches the batteries nominal voltage its amperage is greatly reduced. I measured the amperage at 0.02aH on the new switch.

The biggest improvement in my opinion on the charging system is that this light no longer needs the proprietary Olight batteries https://i.imgur.com/Ee1sVVf.jpg. Now the light will use standard button top or flat top high drain 18650 batteries and charge them. This light is compatible with the included magnetic doc or the Micro-Dok II system. Operation is just the same, as on other Olights, the LED on the charger is red when charging and it goes green when charged.

Packaging and Accessories
The packaging of the Olight M2R is extensive, a lot of work went into the design and execution here. The outside is pretty typical of Olight with the rear having pretty extensive information about the light. Inside https://i.imgur.com/VO32jx0.jpg there is a nice box that’s covered by a plastic cover with directions on how to switch between switch between tactical and normal modes. Inside you get the light, with the battery preinstalled. Below and to the side you have the accessories which include The charging cable, holster, and lanyard. https://i.imgur.com/SkwZxOv.jpg The M2R Warrior comes with a new holster https://i.imgur.com/hCWaXle.jpg for Olight. This holster has a clip in the front that’s protected, in the back it has a snap and velcro. Inside its slightly padded https://i.imgur.com/OqxHv0I.jpg too. This is a pretty nice holster for daily use.

Pro’s
* No proprietary battery needed for the magnetic charging system to work! Flat tops or button tops are accepted and charged. You need a 6A+ continuous discharge for turbo to work.
* The tail switch has a fantastic feel, is quiet/silent and manages magnetic charging too.
* Great beam pattern from the heavy orange peel reflector. Less spotty and more practical.
* Good carry pocket clip.
* Neutral and Cool White LED options

Con’s
* It’s a little longer then I want to EDC in a front pocket in the office, but shorter than other “tactical” style lights.
* Magnet isn’t quite strong enough to hold the light on some slicker magnetic surfaces in a vertical position, but the light will hang just fine.
* A little slower charging system than standard USB through this new tail cap.
* Two different “turbo” modes is confusing. I would prefer one instead.
* No extra orings were included in the package.

The Olight M2R Warrior is a pretty impressive light in my opinion. I like the direction Olight is trending with this light by using a safer charging system and stepping away from the use of expensive proprietary batteries. For me it’s a little larger then I want as an in pocket EDC when sitting at a desk job. However, if I was standing more I think it would work well. The included holster is high quality and another good option for carry. The beam pattern https://i.imgur.com/fujFV5V.jpg makes this a very versatile light for many use cases. I think it’s slightly less Tactical and more EDC Tactical.

I didn’t have any trouble with the two electronic switches. I thought in standard mode the UI was easy enough to use but you’re never going to make everyone happy. I have seen some reviews wishing the light did more, but if so that would further complicate the UI. Right now the UI is similar to other Olights with a few small changes. What I don’t get is why Olight didn’t just include one Turbo mode instead of two for the two different modes. The construction is what I expect from Olight and they have done a nice job on this one. I can definitely see why it was delayed a few times as the engineering really shows through https://i.imgur.com/JCp6syb.jpg . I don’t think there will be any trouble with this light holding up. I am looking forward to seeing if they come up with a weapon mount for it.

You can purchase it at your favorite Olight retailer or on the offical ebay store http://bit.ly/M2ReBayUS