Noctigon Meteor M43 TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY - OVERALL OPINION

It’s not a light that I would purposely drop in order to test it. I’ve seen a post from on member that needed a new lens because his cracked but I can’t remember if it was from him dropping it or what. I’ve also seen a post from a member where his light activated while still in his holster and it burnt holes in the holster but the light was unscathed. I’ve left mine on turbo for quite sometime and haven’t had any issues with it at all. It does get hot but she was built for it. If I were a betting man, I’d say the body of the TN36 would be able to take more abuse but the I believe the M43 to be a superior light.

Thanks guys, basically the gist that i get form this, is that if you look after your equipment, it will look after you.

Also, currently I have three Eagletac 18650’s

http://eagletac.com/html/accessories/features/et18650_3400mah.html

If I buy another one to make 4, will that work well with the Noctigon?

What cells can you guys recommend for this light?

Thanks :slight_smile:

Try not to mix used with new cells.

I hope you have not missed my post, a 4*18650 light in a small format is not a light weight flashlight to carry every day and neither is an abuse type of flashlight.

Well weight isn’t a problem, I was just fine carrying the TN30 around, I think this would be fine too.

What type of batteries do you think work best?

On intl-outdoor website it says they can ship it with 4 LG INR18650-HG2 High drain batteries

They any good?

Simply very good.

No, your Eagletac 18650s will not work in the Noctigon. They are short enough since they are only 68mm in length but you need a continuous draw of at least 10 amps. The protection on your batteries will most likely kick in causing the light not to work. It’s best that you use unprotected IMR batteries since they will deliver 10 amps and above. I use Efest 2500mah 35A battteries and Efest 3100mah 20A batteries.

Thanks alot for the input, once again, highly appreciated, I really want to get one, I guess I will just have to treat better then i did with the TN30 and look after it.

I love the light. I don’t have the budget for one right now, but was really impressed by it when I had the light for testing. I think the reason you see more thrunite lights is because they give away a lot of free testing samples. I don’t doubt it’s a good light too, but there’s nothing about that light that I interests me over the meteor.

i love my meteor. i have the dedomed xpg2 version. the only flaw it has is that im not able to turn on in turbo with just one click. it requires to hold down switch. unless ui 3 allows it, but honestly, im not understanding how to operate ui 3.

i also have the tn36…vn version (meaning its been modded by vinh) its also a great light. only flaw again, is that im not able to turn it on turbo with just a single click. it requires a quick double click.
the good thing about this light is how it can run on high mode for a very very long time. i own about 6 different soup can lights, and the tn36 can hold its lumens on high for the longest by a long shot.
on high its about 2000 lumens, plenty enough for a dark tunnel.

the tn36 is alot more floody and bigger spill , while the meteor dedomed xpg2 version ha waaaaay more throw, and looks to be just as bright with eyes. the meteor is smaller but feels about the same weight as the tn36.
i dont know how much light is needed for your duty, but if its high mode that you need ….roughly 2000 lumens for the meteor and the tn36, then id go with the tn36 because you will be able to use it on high for much longer period.
for turbo mode, both the tn36 and meteor heat up about the same speed.

fyi, i like my meteor a whole lot more though haha
the looks, the size, and the throw wins it for me. the tn36 is just more usuable and maybe practical for longer time periods.

Thank you for your detailed answer, really appreciate it, I think I will defiantly be going for the M43.

I am absolutely thrilled with my Noctigon Meteor. Shorter than the MM15, which is in turn shorter than the TN36, the Meteor is the most luminous light in its size class.

Anything smaller than it is a lot less powerful, and anything a little bit more powerful is a lot larger. The XP-L dedome is not pure flood; it has some claims to throw.

This light oozes cachet; it is an instant classic.

I have been edcing mine for three months; nothing larger is needed, and anything smaller pales in comparison.

If you are looking for the most power in something this size, you found it.

IIRC the member who needed the lens had dropped it a few times onto asphalt, but agreed that this is a specialized light which was designed for performance like a F-1 race car, not one designed for abuse like a 4WD truck. I’m tough on my worklights and I’d never choose something like this for that job. Plus I’d want something smaller and lighter.

Perhaps a 18650 tube-style light would serve your needs well; small enough to carry without getting in the way, enough cell capacity to last through a work-shift, with tons of options regarding output types, intensities, and modes. It’s a very popular form-factor for a reason :wink:

Phil

I’m on pins and needles here. Ordered one on 9/29 and it hasn’t arrived yet :~ I wish I could help you with your decision. I would think run at low and medium modes it would be about as practical as any other 4X18650 light. Too big to carry all day but nice to have in your vehicle, campsite, desk, etc. when needed.

Yh I think i made up my mind, Sorry to hear that delivery its taking long, China is not that far away from you guys, or maybe they are running low on orders, i messaged Hank, he said they got plenty.

What made this difficult to choose between the TN36 and M43 was this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mOAP9KWBl4 - even though once he dropped it first time you can see in the front of the light the bezel has been compromised the its changed shape, but still works, which is impressive.

Ultimately the TN36 is more expensive, with the batteries.

I think I will still go with the M43, the only thing I am still confused about is the Emitters, which ones should i choose?

These are the options:

Led & Tint———————————-OTF Lumens ————Peak Beam Intensity———Kelvin
CW S4 2B————————————7450lm——————–33,600cd—————————–5700K
NW S3 3D————————————7010lm——————–32,000cd—————————–4885K
NW 219BT-V1 90CRI Min—————4450lm———————20,000cd—————————4885K
NW S2 5A3———————————–6612lm———————30,080cd—————————4000K

But i read somewhere else that the CW S4-2B are not the most powerful.

So which emitters are most powerful for a good combination of throw and flood???

I would say the S4 2B but RMM recently added the option for a Nichia 219C set up. I edited this post because I originally stated that the 219C would probably provide more flood and throw but RMM said that they S4 2B would still be brighter.

I bought mine from RMM. I ordered it on Friday, it was on my door step when I got home. The batteries are charging right now, just waiting to melt the darkness away. Again I literally just dropped $200 on a light. Up until this point $60 was the most I had spent.

I got NW S3 3D————————————7010lm——————-32,000cd—————————-4885K in sandstone. It’s almost like a subtle gold honestly.

Let me know how you like it. I really would like your opinion on the tint.

Will do!

mine’s been great.

some random thoughts.

pro’s:

  • real, real bright
  • real small
  • low mod quite low enough
  • good choices between turbo and lowlow (prefer UI 2)
  • LED button colors and blinkies are fun
  • build quality fantastic, should be a light for life

cons:

  • small
  • gets hot fast on turbo, and the 50 degree thermal stepdown is a bit high as the light can become hard to hold, yet it’s still not stepped the power output down. and turbo is so addicting that you really want to use turbo like it’s medium or something. but then you can’t hold the damn thing.
  • once the light gets hot, it’s hard to cool it off while still using… most every output still at least maintains the temperature of already-to-hot-to-hold.
  • springs in the tailcap smash down pretty quickly, and then the smallest taps or bounces will cause the light to change modes or turn off altogether
  • runtime is still rather low even with 4 batteries, as the light eats a bunch of amps in most modes. you end up with a pocket full of batteries “in case” (but i do tend to run turbo or high a lot)
  • changing through the different modes can be inconvenient depending on which mode you are in and which mode you are after
  • all the clicking to get certain features turned on or off is a bit ridiculous. so the 5th click and hold is for turbo strobe, but what was 4th click no hold? and what is 4th click and hold? this goes on all way up into the teens, and hell if i remember half of them… ends up i cannot turn the LED button off, or turn the blinking on or off… almost need a cheat sheet in the tailcap for the 4 functions you do want
  • it … doesn’t turn on or off instantly. i recognize that’s a fairly small complaint, but when you blow 8000 lumens in someone’s face by accident, you’d prefer to turn that off in a not-ramping fashion. (i thought it something else in the ocean; i didnt’ realize it was some drunk guy who wasn’t particularly thrilled to have ~7 car headlights in his face at maybe 5 meters. who gets in the ocean at night anyway??)
  • this is true on the way up too; i want turbo nao… i know it’s only a milisecond, and it seems cute when switching between modes, the ramping. but on the on/off i would prefer the instant on/off

11/10 would buy again