Review: Tank007 E07 BLF Edition 3 Mode AA/14500

For review : I have the Tank007 E07 BLF Edition 3 Mode AA flashlight .

This light came about @ Budgetlightforum , a BLF Admin and Manafont Collaboration , and is the 2nd such light to be made available to Budgetlightforum.com members .

I would like to thank Manafont for making this light available for review so quickly .

You may notice something different about the emitter , its a Osram with neutral tint , the E07 is 3 mode , High - Medium - Low and has memory . It has a smooth reflector , tailstands , and supports the 14500 Li-ion [ to be verified latter on ] . The light comes with a wrist strap and a BLF monogrammed lanyard which is actually quite nice [ nice taught carbiner ] .

On removing the light from the shipping package I was a little surprised the light was so well made , the UI [ User Interface ] was very easy to get used to , to operate the light , there is a twisty tailcap , twist clock wise to turn on the light . Once the light is on , you can twist the tailcap anti clock wise , and then clock wise quickly to change modes . Or if you wish you can twist the body in a similar manner to change modes , if your more comfortable doing it that way , the good thing is , you can do either way [ or both ways as the case may be ] .


Lets check the performance on AA batteries :


Nimh cells = I used 4 different batteries here , Kodak - Eneloop - GP Recyko - and a Rayovac 4.0 , and the performance on all cells was so close as to call the results the same ...


High - 70Lumen - 1.95A , Medium - 23Lumen - 0.64A , Low - 2L - 0.05A


Next I tried one of those HK Lithium cells that were cheap enough , High - 68L - 1.75A , Medium - 22L - 0.61A , Low - 2L - 0.05A

Then came a Alkaline cell , High - 69L - 1.85A , Medium - 23L - 0.63A , Low - 2L - 0.05A

And just for the heck of it a Dry cell , High - 46L - 1.3A , Medium - 15L - 0.44A , Low - 1L - 0.05A



Time for some white walls :




Tank007 BLF Edition white wall ...




Maratac AA for comparison

Some more pictures for you :













Ultrafire M2 - Jetbeam BK135A - Tank007 - Maratac : From left to right .


Lets start at the tail end , the tail cap is threaded into the end of the battery tube and locked in with a brass screw [ I wont bore you with how I got it back ] , and there is no spring to take up battery slop [ should you end up using shorter than normal batteries ] , also if you use longer than standard batteries then screwing down the head all the way will turn on the light . All my Nimh batteries fit just fine , but the Alkaline and dry cells were a little different and being longer than the Nimh cells , I found that with the tailcap in the off position I was able to use the light just fine by twisting the body and head just like the Maratac . I guess all those cheap Dry cells and Alkaline's I have just aren't built to as high a tolerance as the Nimh cells .

Nice even anodizing

Glass lens

Osram Golden Dragon Emitter

PWM - low frequency

Modes 3 , if the light is on for 4 seconds or more it will turn on again in the same mode , no matter how quickly you turn the light of and on again .

As long as you turn the light of and on again within 3 seconds you can change modes .

Well cut threads

Head and body fit well

Well sized for AA

Tailstands

Excellent Knurling

Time for some AA beam shots :




Control shot




Low mode [ 2 Lumen ]





Medium mode [ 23L ]





High mode [ 70L ]



Next ill try the 14500












14500 Measurements .


High - 123L - 0.68A , Medium - 39L - 0.21A , Low - 2L - 0.01A


The 14500 Flame Trustfire fit with no issues [ protected ] , and ran really well , I was expecting a lot more heat from the head on the Li-ion , but its a cool night out tonight so the light got barely warm in the two or so minutes I ran the light on high [ I was being careful ] .


Conclusion


I was very pleased with the overall build quality , the threads were very cleanly cut [ I should have cleaned the threads before taking pictures , cos after cleaning them , they were flawless ] . The output in each mode worked well for me , I really liked medium , 23L on a AA and 39L on the 14500 really hits the spot for me , and the efficiency on the 14500 is good , unfortunately on the AA its not that great [ efficiency ] . The output on High is again good , 70L with the AA is good enough , but on the 14500 it was excellent for the current draw . Low mode was right on the money @ 2L with both the AA and 14500 , Im sure this will make a lot of folks happy , and after using the light for a while now I was able to turn on the light and change modes one handed [ it wasn't that hard ] .


The Tank007 E07 BLF Edition overall is an excellent little light , supports AA and 14500 batteries , is well made , outputs a usable amount of light , is easy to carry and use , and is equipped with the Osram Golden Dragon emitter .. There are no annoying blinky modes , there was nothing that needed fixing or teaking and the performance on a 14500 is very good , and with the pill being such a nice hunk of brass I can see why it ran cool on high [ even though it was a short run ] on the 14500 . I ran the light for several minutes on high on the AA and the light only got warm , again I think thanks to the hefty brass pill .

I have to score the light 8 out of 10 , but this light really shows potential to compete with the likes of Nitecore or Jetbeam , The head is put together really well , and the battery tube is excellent , the light shows what Tank007 can do , and the only thing that let it down for me , was the tail switch , I just didnt think it did the rest of the light justice [ even though its perfectly functional ] . If tank007 made this light with a clicky switch , I think it could be legendary , it has the potential .

Great review! I will have to buy one when they are back in stock.

Thanks for a great review!

Wow. Now I can't wait to get mine. Sounds fantastic, especially the 2-123 lumen modes with 14500!

I wish it was brighter on 14500, but otherwise it sounds like everything turned out well. it looks like the brass pill is bigger than on the standard version. The original version, without a battery in it, you could tighten it all the way down where the Brass was no longer visible. Even with a nimh, there was just a sliver of the brass showing through at the joint.

Thanks for the review so quickly!

A lot of positives, but two negatives for me:

1. No clicky switch. I don't understand why they chose twisty when it doesn't really shorten the length much.

2. It's not that bright on 14500

Of course, I knew this before purchasing :)

Thanks for the review Old4570!

Nice review, Old! This should make a fine EDC torch. One question though...what's with the second hotspot at 11:00 in both wallshots?

nice review! can't wait to get it. ill get the updated 1 when it comes.

Nice detailed review. Can't wait for mine to arrive.

Reflection of the flashlight on the wall that has a glossy finish would be my guess.

Thanks for the fast, great review. Looking forward for the light.

I guess that too, since that seems to be the angle of the camera.

If i see the beamshots on hi that are around 120 lumen, i would rate my KD C8 i received yesterday only 400-500 :o

You know photos aren't to be trusted only if the comparison was done with the same photo specs. Well that includes same focal length and others.

indeed, bit stupid of me

Thanks for the review old!

Thanks again for a great review, old4570.

That's probably not too far off for the OTF values.

So what, Tank007 E07 BLF has 120 OTF lumens ?

Wow, that light turned out... really good. The low current draw is just phenomenally good for the output. Definitely need to pick one up when they become available again.

Some sort of Mirage ... [ Reflected light from the paint on the door , or simply the angle of the picture and a lens effect ]

Either the lens , or maybe a smooth spot on the paint on the door . Its the whitest white surface I have .... The wall gives a green tint [ used before ] which does not reflect the true tint of the beam ...

What are the run times (or at least estimated guess)?