[Review] Armytek Wizard Pro Nichia - The best headlamp ever!

The Wizards and Tiaraā€™s from Clemence use CRI 9080 LEDā€™s, so the colour rendering is higher especially in the reds.
The Armytek 144am probably uses a CRI 9050 LED. So the R9 (red) is CRI 50 minimum, vs the 9080 will have an R9 CRI of 80+.

Yea I always wanted to buy the Wizard Pro with E21A from Clemence but it was always sold out. That would have been better than this for sure but Iā€™m also very happy with the E21A Tiara Pro because it has a more efficient driver and I rarely need to use the high mode anyways because it is plenty bright. I just wanted a Wizard Pro HI CRI for my collection.

According to Maukkaā€™s tests Nichia 144AM 9050 has CRI R9 = 76
https://www.virence.com/product-page/nv4l144am

But there is 144AR though, I donā€™t know if it changes something or any differences at all between AM and AR versionsā€¦ :frowning:

Yup, minimum of R9 50 often means quite abit more, and in this case, 76 which is great for an R9 value.

In comparison, the Nichia e21a 4500K CCT 9080 LED has a CRI of 97, and R9 value of 91!

The jump from CRI 70 to 9050 is already huge, but the 9080 is even better :slight_smile:

Good review. I know youā€™re comparing it to what you have, but a better comparison would be to the WW rather than what armytek calls the CW and you refer to as NW. Iā€™m a big fan of the WW model but Iā€™m not convinced that I need this.

No, Zebralight H600Fc Mk IV - The best headlamp ever! :smiling_imp:

Best UI ever!

Tiara looks cool and if you say so, maybe Iā€™ll buy a modded oneā€¦ If not, 90 CRI and 76 R9 is a big jump for me from previous Wizard Pro NW. :partying_face:

Thank you :slight_smile: True, I donā€™t have Wizard WW, but Armytek promised to send me one. :partying_face: If so, I will update you with new comparisons in some time.
Actually, they call it ā€œWhiteā€, because there are two options: Warm and White, so I call it Neutral - it is still more neutral than true cool 6500K

Looks cool. Priceā€¦uch.

Sadly, Zebralight is not cooperating with me :cry:
Maybe one dayā€¦ but I donā€™t expect it to happen.

It is indeed an excellent headlamp, both lighter and more compact than the Wizard, with fantastic UIā€¦ BUT!

The XHP50 high CRI LED in the H600Fc is noticeably green in tint compared to the Nichia 144AM and other Nichia LEDā€™s that are on the BBL line.
As the primary purpose of a flashlight / headlamp is to emit light, I give a slight edge to the Wizard Nichia for better quality light.

And I can fully admit it! I noticed zero greenish tint, and 4500K is better value for me than 4000K. Just warmer than Skilhunt H03 Neutral, and just colder than Nicha or SST20, both 4000K.

The light is absolutely not small and light. In fact itā€™s one of the biggest right angle headlamps and itā€™s weight is on the edge of being uncomfortable.

The Nichia Wizard is only around 100lm dimmer then the 1400lm Wizard Pro WW, very good result.

Finally someone points out the fact the o-rings get displaced too easily when tightening the tailcap.

Timed stepdown is a major flaw for a ā€œpremiumā€ headlamp.

The AT UI is 1000 times more usable in a headlamp them Anduril.

The virence.com Wizardā€™s are indeed better, simply due the fact of the higher R9 and being modded PRO models thus heaving thermal stepdown.

Zebralight H600Fc Mk IV is crap and I used to be a ZL fanboy. Horrible tint and a whole barrage of hidden bugs.

Thatā€™s because I and my friends bought all of them :sunglasses:

Unfortunately 4 of them have the d240 4000K E21A. That means they are basically a Wizard Pro with 4 SST-20ā€™s in themā€¦ :person_facepalming:

I wouldnā€™t buy a headlamp with anduril, when I want to use a headlamp I want it to stay at the brightness I set it at , I canā€™t be doing with a firmware stepping the light down for me especially if it doesnā€™t step back up to where itā€™s suppose to be , thatā€™s why I use zebra lights.

I dontā€™ understand. Are you saying the Virence.com Wiard Pro models donā€™t have thermal step down or timed step down? Isnā€™t this Nichia 144A version also the Wizard PRO? I thought the only difference between this new model and the older Wizard Pro model is just the LED. The driver and everything remains the same.

The D240 looks better than the SST-20 at low modes though but high mode is just on the BBL. You should be able to reproduce the D220 4000K tint by mixing the D220 3500K and D220 4500K. Both of these are tested to have negative DUV. Though I donā€™ have the Virence.com Wizard Pros, Iā€™m extremely happy with the Virence.com Tiara Pros and I prefer the Tiaras because of the more efficient driver. I value driver efficiency and good regulation alot because I use these lights on a daily basis and ceiling bounce them often so the Tiaras are better tools than the Wizard.

Yes, but o-ring in my older Wizard now seems to hold in place much better than it did at first. This is a drawback, though.

Iā€™m pretty sure this Wizard Nichia has thermal step down. Will check to be sure.

You mean Tira C1 Pro has more efficient driver? I thought there is no difference between those two drivers in term of efficiency.

PRO has thermal stepdown
Nichia seems to timed stepdown

Yea I havenā€™t tested it myself to confirm. I donā€™t even have the Virence.com Wizard Pro. However thatā€™s what Clemence told me. I think the 3V buck driver in the Tiara C1 is more efficient than the 6V boost driver in the Wizard Pro. Personally, I love how well the Tiara regulates output and with 18650 optional tube, it last a very long time for my use so I think it is pretty efficient. I know the Olight, Nitecore, and Fenix have even more efficient drivers though but their emitter options suck and they usually lack the useful moonlight/fireflies mode.

Wizard Pro is 12V actually. Donā€™t ask me why.

that may be a con for one who understand all the results of this.

ability to turn light on and on on max brighntess in case of need. and possibility to burn insides )

anyway, surprised Armytech did something good. at least it seems so from review

most of feedback i met about Armytech was that they produce crappy things. and almost zero reviews of flashlights from such large and known brand (here at BLF) also feels like people dont want to mess with armytechs

What does ā€œLimited Editionā€ mean for this headlamp? Is Armytek going to discontinue it very soon?

No, I donā€™t think soā€¦ :smiley:
It is too good to be limited