Review: SolarStorm T4 { image heavy }

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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Solarstorm T4 XM-L U2 3x18650 REVIEW

[Updated: 18/8/2014]
Brand Solarstorm, www.solarstorm.hk
Model: T4
Price: USD $33.99 $29 | Coupon: "ST4" BG
Battery Type: 3x 18650
Emitter: 4x XM-L U2 Cool White CREE LED
Brightness: 3200 lumens*
Throw: 330m*
Features: Mulit-emitter, compact size flashlight
Delivery Ordered: 8/8/2014 | Sent: 12/8/2014 | Arrived: 15/8/2014
Sponsored by: Aurabuy.com (closed)
Produced for: BLF & FreeDailyDeals
* Manufacturer's specifications

At First Glance

Arrival of Solarstorm T4

Solarstorm T4 packed inside standard DHL packaging, wrapped with 2 layers bubble sheet to protect the box.

Flashlight well protected with foam padded brown corrugated box. Spare O-ring and lanyard are included. Manual is missing, they could at least provide a Chinese version.


T4 unpacked from it packaging. Unit is in very good condition. No dents or scratches found at the exterior. Cannot wait to power up this baby.


360 view of Solarstorm T4


FL1 Standard HIGH MEDIUM LOW STROBE
Lumens 3200 1500 300 2600
Runtime (3x18650) 1h 10min 2h 35min 4h 10min 2h 50min

Manufacturer's specifications.

Detail Views
T4 has much deeper reflector than SPK. Slight mis-alignment for top left corner LED but it is not going to affect the output.

T4 Driver
Thinner body diameter makes it much more comfortable to handheld, especially if you do not have a big hand like. Weight distribution is good and it feels really solid and grippy in hand.
On the other hand, SPK/KUNG has rather sharp edges design on body tube which make it uncomfortable after long period of usage.
Square thread was lightly lubricated when it arrived. Well position aggressive knurling pattern, facilitates break open process. Thick translucent o-ring prevent water or moisture from entering carrier.
Nice gold plated springs.
Tailcap looks "removable", but definitely will be PITA as there is not much of a place to grip. I will leave it as it is for the moment.
Battery carrier loaded with 3x 18650s.
I was rather worry with the initial report, regarding it bluish tint for cool white. However, it turn out very usable in my opinion. There is not much of blue hue, it is more like 7000-7300k (close to XM-L2 1A) to me.

User Interface

HIGH (~0.5s) on single click. Press and hold for >1.8s to full turn on.

HIGH > MEDIUM > LOW,

Hidden Strobe with double click

Beam Profile

Projected from a distance of 50cm away from wall. You can see uqiue beam profile, comprise of 4 overlaying concentric beams of light. Edges of the spill will diminish rapidly when you move further and further away from the wall.

Outdoor Shots

Partially lit pavement beside busy highway.

Baseline
Solarstorm T4 (HIGH)
Modified XINTD X3 (~3.8A) (HIGH)
I have forgotten that I have removed the "addon" spring and unit no longer take flat-top cell. I end up using regular NCR18650A (protected) instead. This XINTD X3 is capable of 4.2A with high drain 18650.

Measurements

Recorded values from my cheap DMM with 3x Panansonic NCR18650A 3100mAh Protected cells on HIGH (10sec).

Recorded values from my cheap DMM with single Samsung INR18650-20R 2000mAh high drain cells on HIGH (current should be measured from LED end instead).

1xINR18650-20R 3xNCR18650A
HIGH 10.22A 9.23A
MED 4.22A 3.97A
LOW 2.68A 2.63A
Highest measured lux value is 2840lux at 3m, that translates to 25.56KCD. My lux meter is usually on the lower end. I will probably check the value again.
These are just some rough values then from my uncalibrated setup. This is to give a rough idea of what the flashlight is capable of. Actual values may vary.
Pulse-width modulation


A quick wave of T4 in front of my DSLR with 5sec exposure (top). Example of PWM with SK68 at medium mode using same setup (bottom).


Side-by-side comparison with SK68. Screencap of video shot at 1/1250s shutter speed.
PWM is not observed from camera. Either freq is high or PWM is not present. I do not have an oscilloscope to test with.

Form factor

Solarstorm T4 beside a soda can.


Solarstorm T4 compared to few of my 26650 models. It looks really dwarf among them, yet so much power is packed in it.


Solarstorm T4 - Pros and Cons

Pros:
  • Very bright and floody beam.
  • Relatively inexpensive for a well-driven 4x emitter flashlight.
  • Mode spacing is very good.
  • Compact size and comfortable to hold.
  • High quality machining and black anodizing finishing.
  • LED indicator.
Cons:
  • Press and hold to turn ON maybe inconvenient for some.
  • HIGH on first mode. Accidental blinding may occur if no careful enough.
  • No option for latest XM-L2 or even XP-L CREE.
  • No option neutral white tint.
  • Teardown is not straightforward. Some skill and brute force are required.

Conclusion

Coming soon
~Need to use for longer period~
== Many thanks to Aurabuy for making this review possible ==
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More Outdoor Shots

Construction site at approximately 120m (393 feet)

Treeline is about 75m (246 feet) away.
I quickly started packing when several wild dogs emerged from the dark and barked at me.

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nice review. I was waiting for someone to review this light before i purchased one. I wonder how the beam profile outdoors compares to the SRK and Warrior ? (especially the throw)

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Group buy for this.

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Thanks DenBarrettSAR. Let me get my batteries charge up again. I will bring it out for some night shot and Kcd readings. Unit tear down can be found in M4D M4X's T3 review.

6

Excellent review…and I really think the profile of this is so much better than the SRK…no sharp points (don’t get me wrong…I like my SRK’s but this just looks a bit nicer)

I wonder if a larger diameter innertube cut and wrapped over the smooth portion would help grippiness

otherwise…awesome light and nice that it has a high frequency PWM so it’s not noticeable

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FT has it for $33… I doubt a GB will get it much lower than that.

It is a nice light for the price, but the ui leaves much to be desired imo.

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Great pictures. Your lighting work makes it really nice to watch/read.

Dangerous, FT is not the cheapest place. Here are is a list of the best prices I know of. (Im not even going to bother putting the Aurabuy price on the list since its so high)

Here is my teardown, mod info and various measurements and impression of the T4 in case anyone is interested in more info.

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Great review

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Thank you freeme for the review. I am thinking which multi-emitter light to buy next. :slight_smile:

Did you check the PWM pattern in medium and low mode? Normally we won’t see PWM on high mode.

Up to 10A current draw on high is nice, that means 2.5A per emitter, and you got about 2500 lumens without modding needed.

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Thanks for your kind words. Both my eyes and camera did not detect any PWM. My previous SC01 is rather obvious.

BG has the lowest price at the moment. Aurabuy is negotiating for lower price from their supplier. I will include a coupon over here when it is ready.

Thanks RaceR86, I am flattered. Always trying to figure out how your lighting setup too. Single source, ceiling bounce? Haha.

I enjoyed reading your reviews very much, especially on the technical aspect and crazy lumens mod. J)

Thanks for dropping by Downlinx.

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Demo was filmed at lowest output for T4.

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Thanks for the review, one question, How good is the heatsink?

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PWM on low and medium is 15.45KHz. (seen in the post I linked to in my previous post)

I just do on camera ceiling bounce with a single strobe. Often, the black background is my computer screen. I just hold the thing I want to photograph right in front of me. There is really no advanced lighting technique or skill to the majority of my pictures. Absolutely zero seconds used for preparation. I do have the equipment to do fancy lighting. But Im generally too lazy to put in the work you have done in this review. I mostly just do a sharp evenly lit document approach. Often I just place lights where it suits me. Boring but effective.

Its nice to see some good and creative lighting from time to time. Its quite rare in reviews. :)

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Thank you freeme and RaceR86. 15.45KHz is really good for light at this price. :slight_smile:

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Solarstorm T4 now selling at $31.99! :bigsmile:

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Where at ?

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Aurabuy has listened to BLFers’ feedbacks and adjusted their pricing. Updated links can be found at OP.

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Your beamshots are amazing!

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at banggood: - 31,27$ with BLF Coupon (Special code “ST4” 29:money_mouth_face: