The Elite M1B is now the third of Lighten7's products I've had the pleasure of reviewing. It is similar to the M1A except that it features a more conventional control ring that can dial-up four output levels along with Strobe and SOS modes.
MFG SPECS
MSRP: $95 USD
PACKAGING / CONTENTS
Like the M1A, the M1B comes in a nice plastic presentation case:
Additional items included were:
- lanyard
- 1 x black o-ring
- shared user manual for M1A/M1B
DESIGN / FEATURES
The M1B could be construed as the fraternal twin to the M1A, seemingly similar yet uniquely different. It features the same fundamental theme that starts at the head with a removable crenelated SS bezel and a removable top portion (featuring a lens retaining ring within):
...that provides access to the reflector and LED:
(as with the M1A, there isn't a centering mold but future batches will have them)
...followed by cooling fins and the control ring:
The output levels and mode indicator are laser engraved and there is a grooved notch on the control ring to denote its position (which is affirmed by detents).
There is a pentagon shaped collar that has a clip affixed to it with two hex bolts and there are two flat sides on the battery tube of which one features the company and model name that was laser engraved:
The clip is peculiarly placed given how far back it sits aft of the head thus causing it to look and feel unbalanced. It's also not particularly long and thus didn't inspire a lot of confidence that it'll stay in place during heavy activity. I feel it would've made more sense had this been reversed and placed towards the tailside to carry the light bezel down. Here's a quick photochop to illustrate the point:
[PIC]
Save for the tailcap, there is no knurling or texture and the M1B has a very sleek and smooth finish to it. The tailcap features an attachment point on one if it's three prongs to be used with the included lanyard:
There is enough room between the prongs to position the lanyard clip so that the M1B can tailstand. Alternatively, one can also use the included small steel ring for easier mounting/removal of the lanyard.
The tube is pretty long but in spite of that was able to accomodate both my shortest cell (AW IMR 1600 @ 65.2mm) and longest (XTAR 18700 @ 69.2mm):
There are nice square cut threads.
The tailcap has a forward-clicky and features a spring in which case there is also a small nodule that is spring loaded in the head allowing the use of flat top cells:
SIZE
L to R: RL3100 | FoxFury Rook CheckMate | ThruNite TN11 | Dereelight DBS V2 | Lighten7 Elite M1A | Lighten7 Elite M1B
The M1B and its brethren the M1A, are the largest 1x18650 sized lights in my collection. However, the M1B isn't difficult to hold with either an over/underhand grip:
The control ring can be easily adjusted with two fingers although using just the thumb may be problematic. Also given just how smooth the light is overall, use with certain gloves may be a problem (especially trying to adjust the control ring).
FIT & FINISH
[to come]
UI
The M1B's 4 output levels, and two modes are all selected by the control ring. With the tailcap pointed towards oneself, they are arranged in sequential order (clockwise) as follows: Dim, Low, Med, High, Strobe & SOS:
The tail switch's sole function is to turn the M1B on/off. This allows one to select an output or mode before turning on the light and signaling can be done without fear of changing output level/mode.
MEASURED PERFORMANCE
Lighten7 has quoted the following values for the four levels: High - 800, Med - 580, Low - 380, Dim - 100
However, the review sample has not had its driver optimized and thus I got the following:
High: 521lms | Med: 351lms
Low: 202lms | Dim: 37lms
BEAMSHOTS
Beam angle
Full: ~62 deg. | Spot: ~24 deg.
Whitewall Hunting
Shutter speeds clockwise from top left: 1/25, 1/100, 1/800, 1/1600 (@ f2.9 on AWB). Light is ~.4m to wall / camera ~.59m.
As can be seen in the shots above, the chunky crenelated bezel creates some artifacts around the outer edges of the beam.
Indoors (5m)
High
Med
Low
Dim
For details of the above indoor shots and comparo vs. many other lights, please check Epic Indoor Shots Trilogy
RUNTIME
The relevant battery stats are provided above each runtime graph along with:
- Voltage of the battery at the start and end of the test
- Current draw as taken right before the test
- Actual runtime using ANSI FL1 (first in HR and then in M so for the AW 2600 read this as 3.9hrs OR 231min)
- Also for High, I captured the temperature: ambient, the head at start and the max it reached (fan was used for all bats)
MORE TO COME...
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Elite M1B provided by Lighten7 for review.