Review: LePower 9T6 (XM-L/26650)

LePower 9T6 XM-L Flashlight

* LePower 9T6 provided for review courtesy of LePower

LePower has two different specification paragraphs on their product page with some conflicting specifications...

Specs:
Brand: LEPOWER
Model: LEPOWER 9T6
Color: Black
Lasting lighting: 1-1.5H
Bulb life: 5-10W hrs
Irradiation: 300-400M
Modes: High > Mid > Low > Strobe > SOS
Tail Cap OutPut: 2.56a / 30 watts
Battery: 26650 or 18650 Li-ion PCB Battery Recommended
Weight: 639 gram (without battery and package)
Head Diameter: 77mm
Length: 255mm(2 cell), 324mm(3 cell)
Material:
- Aluminum alloy casing
- Coated Glass Lens
- Aluminum alloy reflector

Product Page: Amazon
Current Price: $62.99

To skip the details and head straight to my final opinions and thoughts on this light scroll to the bottom of the page.

To view the details and nitty gritty let's start with a closer look at the light...

^ The LePower 9T6 arrived in a large, sturdy box with minor crush damage to the exterior due to the it being shipped in the box. Even though it sells through Amazon it still ships from China.

^ Inside the box is a form fitting interior made of very dense closed cell foam. All parts are held tightly in place. The LePower 9T6 comes with an extension tube for a third cell as well as three 18650 adapter tubes.

^ The etching is clean and solid. The two flats on the body are laser etched. One with "LEPOWER" and the other with "10000 LUMENS". When will these companies realize that gross exaggeration of lumen output like this only hurts them in the long run. At least they are aware of this and

^ This is a standard Ultrafire/Trustfire body which most likely comes from the same OEM manufacturers that make the majority of this style of light. The 77mm head has a clean , smooth reflector. The 74mm*2mm lens is not AR coated.

^ Six XM-L emitters sit around the perimeter of the face in 22mm wide and 18mm deep reflectors. The three center emitters give more flood due to the smaller reflector cups with their overlapping edges. The LePower throws a pretty tight, clean hot spot.

^ Out of the box there were some adhesive residue on spots about the head of the light. These were easily cleaned with Windex and a paper towel.

^ The anodizing is the usual shiny black found in this model of light but is consistent in color and the light itself has little to no blemishes, dings, or scratches.

^ In three cell configuration the LePower 9T6 is a very long "toilet plunger" style of flashlight that people either love or hate. The body is free of any knurling and while it should be on the slippery side, the variations in diameter throughout the body make for a secure enough grip. The series 26650 cell diameter is nicer than 18650 lights of this style and offers a more comfortable grip and its proportions look more balanced and less anorexic.

^The 16.5mm switch boot feels sturdy but it does stick out past the tail cap enough to make tail standing an iffy proposition. Don't bump the table if it's tail standing.


^ Not to single out the LePower 9T6 in particular, my criticism of it's length applies to all toilet plunger type torches. In a tactical hold, where the thumb is over the tail cap for power and mode control, it's just too damn front heavy to hold for long without fatigue. A flashlight should feel balanced in the hand in any grip with switch access an easy and comfortable accommodation. All long, series cell lights like this should have a soft switch right behind the head of the light for mode changes. In two cell mode it not only feels a bit more balanced but it looks much better as well.. Fortunately the LePower is nearly as bright on two cells as it is on three cells. The third cell only adds extra run time for those longer outings and camping trips.

^ I think it looks pretty sweet in 2 cell configuration.

^ The LePower breaks down into 3 main parts plus an extension tube for a third cell.


^ None of the threads in the light are anodized except for the bezel threads. Average machining on all the threads makes them neither rough or smooth. They are right in the middle and par for the category of light it is. None of the threads came prelubed from the factory. While not really a major issue, considering the LePower 9T6 sells at a higher price than it's equivalent competition it should at least come prelubed as an extra touch.

All O-rings on the light, except for the bezel O-ring, are too thin and don't seal well if they seal at all. Again, for a premium price compared to the same light under different branding, proper sized O-rings are expected.

The aluminum bezel is fully anodized and has the nicest threading on the light. The 2mm thick lens could be a bit thicker but serves its purpose. It is not AR coated and I'm doubting it's made from ultra-clear glass.

^ A single machine screw anchors the reflector to the head from behind. It is access from inside the pill. It has pretty good mass but has a completely flat base. The tall LED centering rings keep the reflector from shorting out on any of the soldered emitter wire connections.

^ The nine XM-L emitters are connected in series with a decent gauge wire. I've seen thinner wires used on other budget lights. 16mm MCPCBs are attached to the 6mm thick emitter shelf with a Fujik type thermal paste. It's pretty liberally applied but the MCPCBs appear to be pressed tightly against the inside of the head.

^ The 25mm driver board is secured in the head with a threaded aluminum retaining ring. The brass anode center post is isolated with a nylon spacer ring.

^ The hair thin spring soldered to the face of the driver offers little to no movement to the anode contact. The center post should just be soldered directly to the driver face for less resistance.


^ Driver leads are super long. It does make it easy to work on the driver but also adds extra resistance. The extra deep driver cavity in the head has lots of room for any driver modifications you might want to make to the light.


^ The driver should be easily modded with resistors for increased output.

^ The tail cap is a beefy one and is assembled no differently from any other tail cap. The extra long cathode spring and brass contact cap do add extra resistance.

^ Crenelations in the bezel allow light to show to indicate if it's left powered on.

PERFORMANCE & OUTPUT

OTF lumen output is measured to ANSI standards @ 30 seconds.using my calibrated Integrated Sphere. Lux readings are measured after 30 seconds from a distance of 8.89 meters and converted back to 1 meter. Throw distance is calculated to 0.25 lumens.

OTF Lumens:
Mode 2 Cells 3 Cells
Low_________226.5_______243.8
Medium______1337________1395
High @ 30s___2655________2642
High @ 0s____2943________3318

Lux & Throw Measurements (3 cells):
Lux @ 1m________________26,079cd
Distance to 0.25 lux_________322.98m

Amperage Readings (measured at the tail)
Mode 2 Cells 3 Cells
High____________4.23A_______3.12A
Medium_________2.15A_______1.36A
Low____________0.397A______0.290A
Driver on High____8.46A_______9.36A

In spite of the focused hotspot, this light is still a flooder with only average distance of over 300m. Throw on the LePower 9T6 is comparable to that of an SRK or other multi-LED flashlights that put out around 2500 lumens. Sarah, the LePower rep I dealt with, apologized and warned me ahead of time that the output of the light would only be around 2400 lumens. She underestimated the light by a fair amount but explained that the light is driven for decent output, low heat, and good run time.


^ PWM on Low and Medium output is very noticeable, especially in low. If you are sensitive to PWM then this isn't for you.

PROS:

  • Solid light with good heat sinking and lots of modding potential
  • Very nice packaging
  • Even anodizing and no scratches or blemishes.
  • Clean reflector.

CONS:

  • Higher price than the same light with different branding.
  • Bad PWM, especially in low mode.
  • No AR coating on lens.
  • Thin O-rings and poor seals.
  • Not waterproof.
  • Dry threads.
  • No knurling anywhere on the light for grip.
  • Won't tail stand. Switch boot too tall.
  • Low output for a 9 LED light. Not even a third of the advertised lumens.
  • No spare O-rings, lanyard, or user manual.

CONCLUSION:

If you can get a good deal on this light it would be an excellent candidate for some heavy mods. Left stock there are far better choices for the money. Below average performance and bad PWM hurt what could be a far better light. A long, heavy light with no knurling for grip makes for a difficult extended carry. There are many other choices for less money that meet or exceed the output and quality of the LePower 9T6

Thanks for the review JohnnyMac. These long lights should at least be updated with side switches.

Thanks for the review, but that looks seriously underpowered
Are you gonna crank a few more amps from it?

Hello, i have the same light but a non-branded one. Mine has 15 emitters and to mee ik looks like below 5000 lumen.
i would like to mod it but i am a complete beginner. Can you tell me how you accesed te head insides?

thanks

Bart

Hey tLDM (really like your screen name by the way). The TR-15xT6 (or clones) comes apart real easy. Just unscrew the driver cover, drop the driver and snip or unsolder the LED Leads (just one + and -). The LED are on one mcpcb (See pics below).

One problem you will have is that your light's emitters are "wired" 5S3P. Your light has a very wimpy boost driver. Not the same type of driver as in the OP here. I will be cutting modifying the traces on mine to rewire as 3S5P. Your tube has the options of 2 or 4 cells. If you put in a cell spacer and go 3 cells, you can go with a linear or direct drive driver.

If you go 4 cells, you will need to swap in a buck driver like I intend to do.

Hope that helps. Prrobably should post any other 15xT6 questions/comments in this thread.

Nice review JohnnyMac, but at $63 I think that turkey needs gravy. :wink:

Nice job on the review JM!

That’d be a steal if it had a better driver. Thanks for the review!

Looks like junk.

All it needs is the kaidomain driver swap to goose it up from 30 watts to the mid-50 watts output. Very easy to do on this light. It’s just to bad they stopped making that higher output driver that would output nearly 100 watts.