Review: MaxToch Mission M12

LED Flashlights ā€“ General Info 26650 Flashlights
147

Hey The Miller,

I appreciate the compliment andā€¦ā€¦ā€¦
not trying to go into a big debate about it at allā€¦ā€¦

I think the Convoys are great lights also and good quality , especially for the lower price for most of them , I have a number of Convoys too.

I just think the Maxtochs are a little better in the quality department with most of them and I am willing to spend the little extra for that , even if it means getting 1 light instead of 2 lights or something of that nature.
It depends on the light you buy as to the price though really and what you are wanting out of it to begin with. An example of that would be the Maxtoch 2X which comes in at just under $100 and will throw like crazy right out of the box with NO mods needed and will run full brightness without a step down for 75 minutes or more on two 18650 cells. I donā€™t know of another light that will touch it , WITHOUT mods and under $100 out there right now.
I donā€™t know if you have been through the thread of the 2X or not , but there are beamshots in there at like 800 and up to 1041 yards with the 2X lighting the target good enough for the camera to show it. Granted it is larger objects but still I donā€™t have another light in there (out of about 100) that comes close to the throw and quality of the 2X (other than the M24ā€¦lol) with the factory dedomed XM-L2 U4 1A and that is counting even the modded ones I have.

Also agree with you that no one should have a beef with T18. I think he already knows I am not griping at him one bit with mine , but simply stating whats on my mind with my comments.

148

yes I am in need of a real thrower, and really need, so for daily actual use of lighting our big island, I have a few spots where no trees block the view, and it starts at 150-200 meters.
So I have seriously thought about the Maxtoch, but as you write, spend more once to get something good and well going for a serious thrower at a serious budget I figured better go for the TN42 for it is the current king of throw and would be nice to compare the future GT with (ā€œsee honey, I need it for the GT project and how cool it is to light up the castle at 820mā€ :wink: ) ah reminds me to email M4DM4X for code :wink:

And about ano, shiney, lots of expensive lights have black shiny ano. lots of cheaper too, the better ano stays on there when it is dropped. cheap poor quality chips or gets damaged easy, no matter mat. shiney, rough or smooth. I trust Maxtoch to be good quality so who cares what the look is, in the darkness it is the beam that matters and is seen :wink:

149

Ummmm but waitā€¦ā€¦arenā€™t you gonna have the GT to match the TN42 or at least the 2X coming out soon?..ā€¦ā€¦lol

150

Isnā€™t the new 2X not even designed yet ?

151

The lastest 2X was designed in 2016 (the one I did the GB on) ā€¦ they stopped production because of some crumby drivers the company they were dealing with was turning outā€¦. They went to a different company now for drivers from what I understand and the 2X should be back up on the Aliexpress (Maxtoch) site soon.

152

Good to know , thanks :wink: I thought it was a totally new version .

153

Heheh despite progress the GT will take a while, too long for I want a thrower yesterday :smiley:

154

Finally got movement on tracking for the new M12 from BG. In NY last night, moving this morn, maybe couple days now...

Now if only the Eagle Eye X9 from AliExpress will start moving...

Amanda - again, we've has these discussions before on pricing, but this is a pretty close competitor to the M12 XHP70 for us typical buyers, not law enforcement.

E.E. X9: $61 shipped here

M12 XHP70: $100 shipped here

Same:

  • SS bezel
  • exc. AR coated lens
  • type III hard anodizing (EE says "premium type", Maxtoch says Mil-Spec type)
  • LVP indicator on switch
  • maybe approx. same output (need to verify, EE claimes higher at 3800 lumens)
  • full length equal
  • lockout feature

M12 + Features:

  • dual switch input - added dedicated switch for strobes
  • larger head diameter (66 vs 63 mm)
  • lighter: 334g vs. 350g, if listed accurately
  • tripod mount

So it's $39 more for the M12, 64% higher price. It's a big markup for two lights that are very close in specs, features and quality. Granted if the prices were in the same ballpark, I'd buy the Maxtoch because of the features and higher quality, but would I pay $39 more or 64% higher to have those features? It's a tough buying decision for many. Personally I'd go to $75 maybe $80, but $100, sorry but no.

I do believe your type III ano is superior to the Convoy or Eagle Eye ano, it's just that it's hard to test and prove, and for selling it, it all sounds exactly 100% the same.

So before you shoot down the group buy deal or deals, think about the market you're up against.

155

Wait.. Am I goin bonkers? The XPL HD and HI models are list at $75 now on the Maxtoch Ali store: aliexpress.com/MAXTOCH-Mission-M12- XPL HD.

Were they this cheap before? If so, didn't realize. Banggood's prices are higher. The M12 XPH70 is listed at $80, which is pretty darn good now.

Did they listen or was I totally ignorant? Maybe a bit of each?

156

I got the XPL HD version in today. I have to say I have a different impression - it's gorgeous! Way improved design over the old one, and I'm comparing them side by side, one in each hand.

What I like:

  • crazy stock power in lumens: 1,282 @30 secs on one cell (LK) and 3.44A tail on clamp DMM, 1,550 @30 secs on 2 cells (EVVA protected) and 2.55A tail on clamp DMM
  • shorter overall length than the old M12 (thanks to the e-switches), more stable tailstanding with 3 points rather than 2
  • nicely done SS bezel
  • I like the finish and grip - feels grippier than the old M12, and the etchings look fine to me
  • switch UI is fine with me. Really like the feel of the metal SS switches - nothing cheap here
  • the head feels like one mass of metal. Didn't put it on the scale but you can feel it and see it. They must have added weight to better balance it with two cells, because it does balance very well with the extension.
  • really like the added tripod mount. Can be used for other accessories as well.

What is so-so or don't like:

  • throw is under-performing from the specs. I measured 101 kcd at 5m (636m) on one cell, 128 kcd at 5m (716m) on two cells. Close as I could measure the I.D. is the same as the old M12, though the head is measured wider. These are still decent throw #'s for a 63-66 mm class head diameter light. Since I measured throw at 5 meters, you may get 5% or possible as high as 10% improvement outdoors at 10+ meters.
  • the SS bezel is deep, deeper than the old M12 or Manker U21 for example. Not sure if there's an impact, but usually there is - loss of lumens or maybe it effected the throw, not sure.

Just a word about the ano type III finish. I got a U21 in for upgrade/repair and it's finish was pretty beat up - scratches show raw shiny aliuminum, etc. With these Maxtochs, the ano embeds deeper into the metal, hardens the metal so it's harder to scratch and show. The Manker though has the look of better quality, but if you compare smooth surfaces, the M12 is definitely grippier, though is shinier.

157

Thanks for your input Tom. It sounds from the one you got to be a fairly nice light.

158

The price of M12 HI and HD are always usd75.00/pc. There are four options of different accessory combinations. usd98.00 includes 2 batteries and chargerā€¦ :innocent:

159

Any chance these will be coming on sale anytime soon?

Maxtoch M24 Sniper | Max Output 1350 Lumens | Max Beam Distance 1100m |
XM-L2 U3 LED | 2x 18650

Maxtoch Shooter 2x | Max Output 1450 Lumens | Max Beam Distance 1200m
XM-L2 U4 LED | Focused Beam | 2x 18650

160

Of course I couldn't leave it alone. There were obvious candidates for a resistor mod on the driver. The driver is pretty nicely done - thermal pads, thermal epoxy, thick board, sweetest retainer ring I've seen in a while - heavy, large brass.

I could not tell what the limiting resistors are, but there are two large ones in parallel labeled R1. Tried measuring resistance over it, think possible it measured 0.1 ohms, but not sure. So figured I'd try an R100, as shown below:

Well on 2 cells, it sure made a hugh difference!

On 2 protected KP's at ~4.0V, the tail amps on a clamp DMM showed 4.45A, and lumens:

2,050 @start, 1,940 @30 secs

throw: 158 kcd taken at 5m (795 meters)

That's a big bump. In amps it went from 2.55A to 4.45A. It might be a little beyond the peak of the XPL, depending on how much amps is really getting to the LED. 7A to 8A is about peak.

On one cell, it bumped it up but not much. Tial amps went from 3.44A to 3.85A on a LK cell, lumens:

1,350 @start, 1,323 @30 secs

I'm thinking bypassing the springs should help in the single cell configuration, and probably make no difference with 2 cells, where it's well buck regulated.

161

That is interesting Tom, found out that most issues Iā€™m having with this driver only happen while running it with 2 cells, running it with a single cell the tactical turbo will finally stay on as long as I hold the switch, sounds similar to our German friends issues and whoā€™s replacing the driver, I think it was the two cells he was saying gave him problems also. Amanda said they are having driver issues but wouldnā€™t say what exactly so thatā€™s not much help reallyā€¦ ha ha

162

Ok, with two cells, now I'm seeing some flaky behavior, maybe exactly or similar to T18's. The tactical/momentary does shut itself off shortly, other odd behaviors. Mainly the big issue is the flashing red LED that indicates low battery when in fact the batteries are close to fully charged. I'm thinking the false hit on LVP is the cause of all these problems. I can see the output kick down by itself, and the red flashing going from slow flashes to fast flashes, which means the output will be cut down or cut off altogether.

However since I have my light aggressively resistor modded, I can't be sure my problems are related to the mod or not. I'm willing to take the risk, since my long term plan is to replace the driver with a custom one anyway.

Since T18 is describing something similar to what mine does, and he's referencing other unknown owners (German friends?), and said Amanda admits there's a driver problem, I would not recommend this XPL (HD or HI) version of the light until we can find out more

I would like to know if T18, or anyone else is seeing the blinking red LED around the switch when the cells are not low - if so, then I would feel more confident it's the same problem, and not related to my resistor mod.

I would like to see Amanda respond to this issue directly though, or directly quoted.

163

Is it possible to do a resistor mod on Maxtoch Shooter 2x XM-L2 U4 LED also?

164

It is possible yesā€¦ā€¦.I would advise that you donā€™t though unless you are going to put a different emitter in the light.
The reason I say this is that the 2X with the U4 1A is performing at about the best it can the way it is from the factory and the U4 emitters will start frying at just above 5 amps from all I have seen on them. The driver is already making about 4.5 amps as it is so any increase will be putting it at the threshold of what it can handle.

165

I have the old, maybe original 2X and resistor modded it wayyy back. Also did one for jmpaul320 back then. Most likely the new ones could be resistor modded the same way. They will get hot though, and not sure if the Maxtoch's have any timed or temperature step down.

Ohhh - just saw robo's post - true, the original ones were probably U2's so could take more amps. I've blown dedomed U4's before. XPL's would do much better as well. Didn't measure it, but I'm thinking mine is getting 7.5 - 8.5A to the LED.

166

Tom, you and T18 have got me wondering now.

I just ordered a Sniper M24 yesterday.

Do they have these symptoms or known issues?

Oh joy. Both the wife and I are home with an intestinal bug of some sort.