This is a great light. Here are my first impressions of it: It has a great big fugly head (some-one else’s opinion) - which has the best cooling effect of any of my 20 torches, it also houses the biggest ‘single emitter type’ smooth reflector that I have seen in my short career! I think the torch is putting out 18W and I took it for a walk around the park tonight. It ran at high output for half an hour and was only luke warm to the touch…Congratulations to Mr Ric for the outstanding ventillation.
The torch is very bright and the beam is long, similar to my fenix TK-75 but a little less spread. The fenix cost me $220 Australian but this one only cost $70!!! I compared it to my Ultrafire C12, Yezl Y3 and the Sky Ray King XML2 triple, - the Yezl and Fenix are in the same paddock and leave the other two contenders in the back-blocks. When I shon the beam onto a nearby wall the pattern was different to the other (XML’S) I have. In the centre of the bright spot there is an impression of the four separate emitters mounted on the XHP die, and this impression seems to be pinkish (I’m colour blind but it’s an odd colour). When I look at the impression on the wall I can see that two of the emitters are much dimmer than the other two and I have seen this phenomena on another torch that I had repaired, with three XML’S in series. It was originally driven with only six volts instead of nine - the first two emitters shon brightly but the last one only flickered dimly. However this observation could just be a coincidence and it is only my opinion that the BTU STR-01 could be driven a bit harder. Further study of the Cree datasheet and some experimentation could reveal more information over the next near few months. I have absolutely no intention of modifying this torch because it already punches above its weight.
The BTU STR-01 is a very lightweight torch considering the size of the head and when the extension tube is used (the XML2 version has an ‘optional’ extender which I strongly recommend purchasing for a few bucks) it fits comfortably into one’s hand. I’m afraid it is very uncomfortable with just one battery/tube as there is not enough room for a large hand. One further observation of the tubes is good news because the standard 26650 battery fits perfectly both lengthwise and in the diameter, i.e. the batteries don’t rattle.
One thing I don’t like all that much is the tail end switch. The action is very tight. The modes are changed somehow but there are no instructions - I just use it on high. The tail cap switch housing is made from a material unknown to me, it appears to be galvanized iron but could perhaps be a sand-blasted piece of aluminium, but either way it is a grey colour instead of black like the body or chrome like the ring on the head. Of course this is just cosmetic and doesn’t worry me at all because I’m a rough and tough outdoors type bloke!
The threaded parts are difficult to get started but once the parts engage the threads are of a good smooth fit and finish and tighten well. The seals on the battery tubes are red and the first time I threaded them I pinched one as it skewed itself out of the seat.
Batteries do not need to be anything special, I used some red ones that are marked as 7200mAh but yield about 2000mAh mine are the protected type that you can buy from China for about $5 Australian. I cant tell you how long the light will burn for, because I haven’t owned the torch long enough.
I was motivated to say a few words about this light because I heard a bloke knocking the design on aesthetic grounds on another forum. I thought his/her comments were trivial considering the working potential of the torch.
I received mine after three weeks - which is more ‘hare’ than ‘turtle’ these days. I am really happy with my purchase form EDC Flashlight and in one foul swoop I have just superseded 70% of my LED torch collection. I give the torch a score of 7.5/10 and a value score of 9.5/10