TK's Emisar D4V2 review

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
441

For some it’s not 95~~99 but 65~~>69 due to the light being used with 18350. But anyway…

If we limit the scope of the functionality additions to those that actually affect length, I clearly wouldn’t say that for me it’s worth it.

What do I like in Alu v2, compared to v1?

  • screwed-down MCPCB
  • rotated LED pads
  • Andruil with no-memory option
  • firmware flashling pads
  • fixed reverse polarity protection

In titanium V2 I’m going to also like RGB blinkies, in Alu I’m not sure.
Here I’m assuming V2 Ti will be realeased eventually - which I can only guess is true.

I’m not sure about fixed reverse polarity protection but none of the others adds any space. And this one likely doesn’t either. So all the size-increasing features have either no value to me or (reverse polarity protection) - barely any.

So…I have early Alu V1. A late V1 (which already had some of the new features) would be an improvement over it. But for me V2 is not, I value the size difference more than the new features.
OTOH I didn’t buy a Titanium V1. RGB blinkies may be just the feature that makes me get one. But then I’m going to ask Hank if he still has some V1 caps because that’s just better for me.

I do see that some are going to like the lanyard hole or the magnet. Hank chose to make the light better for those people at the expense of making it a little worse for the others. I view this as OK tradeoff in general.

But I’m among those for whom the V2 tail is a regression and I want it to be heard.

ADDED:
For me the core value proposition of D4 Alu is performance to size, coupled with good overall quality.
v2 made performance to size worse but increased overall quality. For me - it doesn’t add up. The difference is very minor but the size increase is larger than quality increase. To make myself clear: I view the size difference to be minor. And the overall value decrease to be minimal. But still that’s a decrease.

For me the core value proposition of D4 Ti is performance to size plus bling, coupled with good overall quality.
v2 performance to size worse but bling is better. I wish there were more colours to chose from so I could finely tune the tint to match my garment - but that’s an improvement for a later variant. And flashling pads may enable fixing that with a flash. :wink:
Anyway - yeah, here the tradeoffs are different and so is my valuation.

442

“The button still sticks out like the original D4, which makes it easy to press.”

Has this been changed? Mine arrived last week, the button is nearly flush with the body. Can’t activate it by pressing against a flat surface, which is a good thing imo.

443

I guess you are still carrying an extra battery with you in another flashlight. Why not just the battery and not the extra weight?

While your flashlight is internally charging, isn’t it mostly out of commission when a battery swap would get you moving again? Even if you want a freshly charged cell every time you start out, I would bet I could swap in a new cell faster than you could plug in your flashlight to charge. Furthermore, don’t you have to remember to charge your light ahead of the time you will use it? If you forget, you will need that backup and hope it it was already charged. If you only have a single cell, then internal charging would be the way to go. But most of us have more than a single cell for each light. I keep several batteries charged and ready to go. Battery swapping then is quick, convenient, and portable without being connected to a plug. That’s just my opinion.

444

Thanks for the updated Anduril sheet, now I can print a proper manual.

Eh? What mode is this?

445

When in battcheck color mode, I have blue color(good batterie voltage), but after 7H I got blue again?I should expect red?

446

If you do 7 clicks+hold from off it should cycle the Aux LEDs through the all modes.

447

Perhaps, you selected blue color mode rather than battery check color mode. When doing the selection (6 clicks +click-Hold) cycle through the different colors until you get to rapidly changing colors, then let up on the button. Slower changing colors precedes this in the rotation;so get ready then to let up on the button when rapid almost flutter color changes follow.

448

A small charger such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5KU97Q/ isn’t much bigger than a magnetic charging cable for a flashlight if you need an ultra portable way to charge a battery. Or you could make your backup light one with integrated charging, and swap cells if you still want to use your main light

449

Well, after almost a month worth of building excitement.. the time has come. I've just received the D4V2 about an hour or so ago.

First thing, didn't "POST".. I thought I've got a DOA - few screwing on and off the head later my D4V2 finally "POST'ed" (one blink and then the aux lights stayed on in rainbow I think it was)

Did some settings like changed the memory mode to manual, aux lights color/intensity, etc. then locked the light and stuck it into my pocket just until I've got to my back yard to light a cig.

Then the real problems started: My Light was on constant Moonlight and not registering any inputs - I've been playing back and forth with it since, for the last half an hour and it's just acting crazy..

Sometimes, after a power cut it starts working fine for a minute, then it starts ramping by itself, click would sometimes also switch ramping direction, sometimes after the power cut it'll start in Moon and start ramping straight away and blink something like the "Candle Mode" but without registering any input from the switch, sometimes it just blinks, jumps all the way to "Turbo" and so on and so forth...

Tried loosening the head and tightening it back, tried different cells.. no change - At some points, after a minute or two of cooling to room temp it starts functioning normally again, but just for a few seconds, then it starts acting up again.

I don't know if I've got a dud, or what it is and if I can fix it, but.. really, not impressed with my first Emisar.

I think this is my first dud ever so far and I've got cheap 3 ~ 5 $ lights that just worked.. :|

My E07/E01, both ran rock solid for ex. my first lights of that brand - that got me to trust leaving them in my pocket with only the soft lock at times.

I don't think I'll ever have the guts to leave an Emisar in my pants without unscrewing the tail cap. That is if it's actually working to begin with.

That said, I don't think this is fair.. I use to break these lights myself, on my own terms.. What now :| ? What remains for me to break... ?

Soo.. anybody would have any suggestions ? Maybe I am missing something, maybe it's just a loose wire, a cold solder joint... ?

I really hope that I can fix this light.. So I could eventually break it again myself ofc..

450

Problems with Emisar lights were very rare before they got the dreaded anduril.

451

You should just get a refund and go back to buying single mode lights instead of piggybacking on every unrelated post.

452

LoL
Bless you :stuck_out_tongue:

453

There are other lights running Anduril just fine, as I was mentioning before, FF E01/E07 - rock solid, no issues whatsoever since they've left their boxes (well.. haven't actually even used the E01 very much, but.. )

Also I love Anduril.. Moreover, it's still getting support and updates (Cheers! TK)

So, I'd take any further advice in fixing this light if possible, regardless of the Anduril/Emisar combo reliability. Maybe it's just something simple that I'm missing.

That reminds me.. Even tho I've had to screw/unscrew the head quite a few times and used a bit of considerable force to make it work, I still find the gap between the head and the body a bit too much..

It's like about ~1mm or so. That looks a bit more than in the photos TK has in her OP.. might be mistaken, but I can nearly see the o-ring at an angle. So, idk, maybe the driver isn't seated well or something... ?

I've sent an e-mail to intl-outdoor contact e-mail and I'd rather wait for a reply before opening the thing up. I am quite confident that I can screw up the thing even further, I'm quite apt in that regard, but if I can help myself, I'd rather not.. Not until I'm getting something back from Intl.

454

I got mine today, love it! Anduril in an advanced format… ecstatic! I have a dozen or more Anduril lights, from 1200 lumens to 23,000… absolutely my favorite UI no contest!

455

I'm dead!.. :))))))))

456

That thing’s amazing…almost 3500lm in a 18650 light for $45.00? You won’t find something as bright in a package like that for cheaper. I wouldn’t get one for carry. Here’s why…Super high output, small package/thermal mass, you know that it’s going to get hot, but why would I carry something in my pocket that can set my pants on fire if I turn it on accidentally other than a lighter? I like the option to run it at 2500-2000lm. Even then it’s maybe 30 seconds on turbo?

457

That's why it has not only one but three ways to lock out the light (lockout mode, muggle mode, tailcap lockout) to prevent this.

If you set your pants on fire with the D4v2 it's entirely your own fault. ;-)

458

4 ways: you can mechanically lock it out by unscrewing the head or the tailcap. :wink:

459

That’s some sort of physical issue with the switch or the switch wires, making the switch short out while it’s not being pressed. It’s not a normal thing for these to do. You’ll probably have to contact the vendor to get it replaced. :frowning:

Can you see any difference in wear on the driver’s contact surface, like one side having marks but not the rest? With the issues you described, I wonder if it could potentially have a wire squished between the driver and the shelf the driver rests on. That would cause the switch issues, and could also cause the wider gap between parts and the initial difficulty getting it to respond to power.

460

You like the D4S though, right? I got that impression from this post…

I hate to be the one to deliver bad news, but the D4S firmware is Anduril, and always was. The D4S ships with RampingIOS V3, which is a copy of Anduril with some minor edits to remove a few modes and remap a couple button presses.

The D4v2 runs the same code that the D4S used, only without the extra features removed.