Lumintop Tool AA - Quickie

The spring on the magnetic tailcap looks a little jinky, and why two different colors on the tailcap springs? I like the looks of the knurling a lot
…… purple lanyard?

… not that I’d ever use the lanyard or magnetic tailcap anyway.

Nice review! I haven’t used mine a lot yet, but I like it (despite the things that could be improved of course)!
But its nice too see the distance it reaches :wink:
For these shots, were you using Li-Ion cells, Ni-MH or alkalines?

This pictures were taken with a standard Eneloop Ni-MH cell.
The springs in both tail caps are pretty sturdy.
The magnetic cap has a provision for a lanyard similar to the clicky cap.
The lanyard is indeed purple and not the nicest thing in the world but definitely not the worst one I’ve seen.

Vs. Sunwayman V11r

Vs. Tool AAA

Vs. Tool AAA Ti

Vs. Olight S1

gif pictures site

Thanks A-MAC!

Thanks A-MAC! If with Ni-MH it goes that further, with Li-Ion it will probably go even further in illumination :wink:
And that lanyard…it really makes a colour contrast with the flashlight :smiley:

Get it for $17.50 with code: 27f826

Mine just arrived today, along with a Utorch UT01 and Klarus Mi7. Purchased the UT01 for myself, and the Lumintop and Klarus as gifts. My reasoning was that I liked the neutral white option on the UT01, but the combination of an e-switch (making parasitic drain a concern) and inability to use protected 14500s made it a poor gift choice. So I got the Lumintop and Klarus for Christmas gifts, as they both support protected batteries, making them a little safer for people inexperienced with Li-Ion batteries.

Anyway, here are some quick comparisons:

Thanks A-MAC for the code. I can confirm it’s still active. Now I’m giving five away, and getting one for me, only a couple dollars more!

Personally, I’m a really big fan of the Tool-AAA’s reversible pocket clip that allows me to put the light on the brim of my hat for an instant headlamp. The Tool AA, being heavier, may require a more sturdy hat-brim. I’ll find out pretty soon.

Just to confirm, Are the recommended batteries 14500 protected button-top ONLY? Or will un-protected flat-top work as well?

Correction! Six with a coupon code is the exact same price as five without a coupon.
It’s a buy-5-get-one-free code!

I assume the answer is YES the AA Tool has PWM like the AA Maratac.
(I hope someone qualified to do the test, proves my assumption mistooken)

disclaimer, I have not yet seen anyone report having tested an AA Tool for PWM
(many people don’t care, or don’t know how, in fact some people don’t even know what it is)

Post #145 in this thread seems to confirm PWM in the Tool AA.

Thanks!
Yes PWM On the toolAA:

Despite being confirmed, already:

LOW > MID > HIGH

Nice review, and thanks for the code!

thanks! very nice work capturing the PWM… I have added the Tool AA to the
List of Lights with PWM (and Constant Current lights with PWM like pulses, such as Zebralight)

MascaratumB, how is the PWM comparred to the Sofirn SF12 and SF10? I find the SF12 to be very slow and very bad (even audible). Lumintop doesn’t seem bad as I have never read anything really bad about it, but I’d like to know if they are close or the Lumintop is far better

Hum, can’t compare them until Monday as I don’t have the SF10 with me!
I can tell you that the LT Tool AA can be heard (at least with Sanyo 14500) on Low and Medium, if you put the hear reaaaally close to the head of the light! But can’t make the comparison bewteen those now, I’m sorry :frowning:

In a while I will post some comparisons with the Tool AA and the SF14 on the thread DOUBLE 1 AND ½ "REVIEW": Sofirn SP10A and Sofirn SF14 *[added night / distance shots].
PWM, night shots, distances…

EDIT : Posted DOUBLE 1 AND ½ "REVIEW": Sofirn SP10A and Sofirn SF14 *[added night / distance shots] - #19 by MascaratumB .
SF14, despite having PWM, is not audible. LT Tool AA, it is! SF10, as far as I remember, it is too, and PWM is slower, you’re right Persechini!

Yesterday and today I’m noticing my Tool AA is flickering on Low mode (other modes have no flicker)! It is not the “lines” of PWM, but real flickering of the light!

This is happening in 1 of my 14500 cells. I put another used 14500 battery and the effect disappeared, and also on a AA alkaline there was not flicker at all!

I don’t know (and can’t confirm today) if it is due to drop in battery voltage (the battery is unprotected and the Tool AA has no LVP).

I wonder if on a protected 14500 this would happen, or if it can have something to do with LVP.

And I wonder if there is anyone else with this kind of issue, under the same circumstances!
:+1:

I was asking a similar question a few posts ago.
It’s starting to look like Tool-AA should be used only with protected 14500. (or eneloop AA, or alkaline AA)

A-MAC, I hope you don’t mind if I post here some things on the Lumintop Tool AA :wink:

So, after my post yesterday, I made some experiences with the Tool AA!
As I mentioned, with a 14500 cell (Sanyo, unprotected), it was flickering on Low (not PWM, really flickering), but not on Medium nor on High. Also, those modes were not lower in brightness than usual.

By suggestion of jon_slider, today I measured the battery Voltage level and for my surprise I found that it is on 3.91V :open_mouth:
So, this is not a drained or depleted battery.

I also used it with other 2 Li-Ion (unprotected) batteries, one with 3.80V and another with 4.06V. It didn’t flicker with none of those 2 batteries. Also, it didn’t flicker with an AA alkaline nor with an AA Ni-MH battery I used.

I tried all the 5 batteries with the tail switch and with the magnetic tailcap, and it only flickered on that specific battery (so far). So, I’m getting a bit intrigued and don’t know what to think :person_facepalming:

Can it be something related to the battery and not with the flashlight itself?
Or can it be something related to the specific Voltage level (3.9V) that makes that flickering?

@ delusional: with this kind of situation, I’m not even sure anymore if being protected and unprotected has importance on these situations. Maybe it has on draining and protection, but flickerings and other behaviours…I ain’t sure…

In any case, I will use another battery on it to see how it performs (if it flickers again) and also because that flickering annoys me a bit. :rage:

Another thing I noticed was that using the magnetic tailcap (instead of the tail switch) increased the audible noise on Low and Medium modes (due to PWM), on 14500 and Ni-MH cells. On AA Alkaline, the noise is lower than on the other cells!

Just wanted to share what I’m having here and try to see how the ones from other members are performing! :+1: