[Review] - Folomov 18650S Nichia 219D 18650 Usb - by Lock

Hello everyone ... today we will see the Folomov 18650S: a 18650 EDC flashlight equipped with a "very warm" Nichia 219D capable of emitting 900 lumens to the Turbo. The flashlight was supplied by Folomov specifically for the review.

Here you can consult the Folomov website and here you can find all the information of the product. The flashlight can also be purchased on Amazon ...here.

Packaging and content

The "Folomov 18650S" arrives in a small pack of colored cardboard. A transparent plastic window lets you glimpse the contents of the box at the front. On the back, however, are printed all the main features of the product. The package includes:

• The "Folomov 18650S"

• Belt clip

• 2x replacement O-ring

• Wrist strap with split pin

• 18650 2600mAh battery with USB port

• USB cable

• User manual

Caratteristiche principali

• Compact and portable flashlight, perfect for everyday use, for outdoor and for sports

• Uses a Japanese LED Nichia 219D (Warm Light) with a duration of 50,000h

• Maximum 900 Lumen output

• Maximum luminous intensity 6940cd

• Maximum distance 167m

• Two modes of use: "Illumination Mode" and "Tactical Mode"

• 6 normal brightness levels + 3 special levels (Strobe, Beacon and SOS) in "Illumination Mode"

• Momentary On and Direct Turbo Access in "Tactical Mode"

• Made of aeronautical aluminum with type III anodization

• Protection against polarity inversion

• Protection against overheating

• Waterproof: IPX8

• Impact resistance: 1m

• 2600mAh 18650 battery with built-in USB port

• Dimensions: 25.4 x 25.4 x 99mm

• Weight: 50g without battery 97g with battery

User interface

The Folomov 18650S user interface has two modes of use: "Tactical Mode" and "Illumination Mode". To switch from one mode to another, simply press the power button 7 consecutive times quickly. A series of flashes (6 quick flashes) will confirm.

Tactical Mode: In this mode the only available levels will be the Turbo and the Strobo.

Access to the Turbo: With a quick click on the power button the flashlight will immediately enter the Turbo level constantly. With a further click the light will switch off.

Momentary On on Turbo: keeping the switch pressed, the flashlight will go into Turbo mode until the button is pressed. When it is released, the light will switch off.

Strobo access: double quick click to access the special strobe level.

Illumination Mode: In this mode the user will have at his disposal for use 6 normal levels and 3 special[

Power On/Off/Level Selection: With a quick click the flashlight will turn on to the last used level. With subsequent clicks the other levels will be cycled according to the order: UltraLow-Low-Middle-High-Turbo. Continuing to click on the switch, the cycle will re-reverse the Turbo-High-Middle-Low-UltraLow. With the light on, press and hold the button for 0.5s to switch to OFF

Direct access to the Moonlight: with the flashlight off, press and hold the switch for 0.5s to access Moonlight mode. With a further click you will go to the last level used

Access to special levels: with the light on and off quickly press the power button twice quickly to access the Strobe. With two more quick clicks you will switch to SOS mode and with two more clicks you will switch to the Beacon. SOS and Beacon levels are not available in "Tactical Mode"

Lockout function: when light off, press the switch 3 consecutive times to lock it electronically. Repeat the procedure for unlocking.

Countdown: The Folomov 18650S is also equipped with a programmable timer for auto switch-off. When the ligh is on, press the switch three times consecutively to set the automatic switch off after 3 minutes. The flashlight will flash once for confirmation. Pressing 3 more times, the timer will be increased by another 3 minutes and so on. The procedure can be repeated 10 times in total, by setting a maximum timer of 30 minutes. Any other operation done with the switch will disable the countdown programming.

The levels of the “Iillumination Mode” are so spaced:

Turbo: 900lm declared (measured 760lm) – 5h

High: 300m declared (measured 250lm) – 7h

Medium: 150lm declared (measured 120lm) – 12h

Low: 50lm declared (measured 52lm) – 30h

Ultra-Low: 10lm declared (measured 10lm) – 200h

Moonlight: 0.5lm declared (measured 0.5lm) – 700h

Strobo: 900lm declared (measured 760lm)

SOS: 900lm declared (measured 760lm)

Beacon: 50lm declared (measured 52lm)

The measured values are to be considered peak, taken in the moments immediately following the switch-on. Furthermore, all measures are made with non-professional tools and may therefore also be deviating from the real values.

Below is the runtime curve on the Turbo level

The body and the materials

The Folomov 18650S is a compact linear flashlight and small size (only 99mm in length) and low weight (only 50g without battery) equipped with a Nichia 219D capable of delivering to the turbo 900 lumens. The color is really very warm with an excellent color rendering.

The body is well made, good anodizing and the knurling present both on the central part of the body and on the tailcap. The flashlight can be divided into three parts: head, body and tailcap.

The lettering is well done ...

The head has deep dissipation fins that allow to disperse the heat produced by the LED at high levels.

The reflector is smooth and shallow. On the bottom we find the Nichia 219D LED with a centraled white color

The bezel is protruding and protects the lens well. The latter is ultra-transparent and with an anti-reflective coating, it also looks good and has a good thickness

The tailcap is not flat but you can still use the flashlight in tailstanding.

The taill switch is electronic, made of rubber and with a fairly short stroke. At the pressure it emits a bright click. Well done and very responsive.

There are two holes for inserting the Laynard.

The belt clip is made of steel, rigid and on the clothes offers an excellent grip. Easy to install and remove.

At the negative pole there is a thin, but rather stiff golden spring, while at the positive pole a slightly protruding button.

The threads arrive well lubricated and are precise and flowing. Tailcap side are anodized, so physical lockout is possible. On the side of the head, however, anodization is not present.

Also included is a 18650 battery with the distinction of having a built-in micro USB port.

Beam, Tint and Beamshots

The Folomov 18650S beam has the right balance between spills and spots. You have a fair shot and you can illuminate well up to 40-50 meters. The spot is wide and well focused, the spill instead not so bright but still exploitable to illuminate the floor plan very well. The color is very warm, I think around 3000k, uniform on the whole beam. Color rendering is good.

Following the nightshots on the short / medium distance

Beamshot #1

Beamshot #2

Beamshot #3

Beamshot #4

Beamshot #5

Beamshot #6

Beamshot #7

Beamshot #8

Beamshot #9

Beamshot #10

Beamshot #11

Beamshot #12

Beamshot #13

Final considerations

The Folomov 18650S proved to be a complete and interesting EDC.

Among its main features there is the presence of a Nichia 219D Warm LED and an interface is simple, complete and with interesting features: we have two modes of use, one for every day and a tactic.

There is direct access to the turbo and the Moonlight level and it is also possible to set a timer for the automatic switch off from 3 to 30 minutes.

The threads are anodized so you can lock the interface physically but electronic lockout is also possible. The switch is responsive, really well done, returns excellent tactile feedback.

The materials are of quality, the appropriate thicknesses and the light weight.

The length is only 99mm, so the flashlight is easily transportable even in the pocket of jeans.

The package is rich: we have a 18650 2600mAh battery with integrated USB port, belt clip, wrist strap and spare o-rings.

In short, a valid product and also economic as it is sold for just over 20 dollars

Yours didn’t turn blue on high? Every mode on mine is fine except “Turbo”. Turns bright white with a hint of a blue corona. I’ve even concidered changing the LED except for the odd mcpcb with the positive post soldered to the bottom of it. It will definately be challenging. Concider ed sending it back.

no, no problem with the color ... maybe your flashlight had a defect on the LED?do you know if anyone else has had the same problem ...

I used the light on Turbo tonight and the tint always seemed the same.
Have you photo of your problem?

Multiple people have had that problem, including me.

On my sample, on a partially depleted cell the light works fine. But on a fully-charged cell (even the cell the came with the light using its built-in charger), on turbo the light would rapidly turn blue-white and then dim to around 100 lumens. The entire process happened extremely rapidly (about 1-2 seconds from turn-on) and was impossible to miss.

I swapped out the 219D for an XPL HI and the problem was instantly cured. I suspect the 219D is very borderline at being able to take the current from a full cell.

Apart from this LED defect, I quite like the light. The interface could be improved though.

  • Tactical mode interface is great… but lacks access to non-turbo modes.
  • Illumination mode has long-press for off. I’m not a fan of that and much prefer short click for on-off.

Folomov is definitely going in the right direction with this offering though. Swap the 219D for a more reliable emitter, and change the UI to allow short-click for off and they’d have a “must buy” winner.

As far as I know, 219Ds don’t come in anything higher than 70 CRI yet, although the website doesn’t list a warm white version at all.

Looks like I will need a hot air station to change the emmiter. Don’t have one yet. Someone said the LED was being over driven on turbo. Haven’t checked that yet.

Nice photo & info review Lock. I just purchased a 18650s in part because of your review and the 40% total discount on Amazon. Hope the 219D in my flashlight can handle high current. I had a nice Jaxman El2 warm tint but never used it because it had no moonlight mode. Just sold it.

Got my hot air station and practiced on this light. After learning what temp worked it was pretty easy. Used an old XP-L HI in 6500k and had no problem. I will put a warmer version in it tomorrow. I think I may like this light now. Doesn’t get hot as fast either. Very happy.