[Review] Astrolux K1 keychain flashlight supplied by Banggood

The light was supplied by Banggood, no compensation other than the light itself was received for this review

The lights are on sale with *14.95-16.45*Mad Max will announce a coupon later

This light was supplied by Banggood for a review, I am honest and will judge the light as it is with its pros and cons

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Manufactory specification:

Product name: Astrolux K1 Stainless Steel 250LM USB Mini LED Keychain
Brand: Astrolux
Model: K1
Emitter Type: XP-G3 + 365nm UV LED+RED LED
Light temperature: 6000-7000K
Light color: Cool white
Material: Stainless Steel
Total Emitters: 3x
Mode: Group1:Turbo,High,Mid,Low (click>1.5seconds)
Group2:High,Mid,Low (double click)
Special light: UV Light, Red Light
Lumens: 250LM,210LM,150LM,40LM (Group1)
Runtime: 55min,1h15min,4h,10h (Group1)
Battery Configurations: Built-in 500mA rechargeable li-ion battery
Switch Type: Clicky
Switch Location: Body side of the keychain
Peak Beam Intensity: 940cd
Impact Resistant 2meters
Max Output: 250lumens
Range: 60meters
Waterproof: IP65 waterproof
Color: Black, Silver, Blue, Colorful
Weight: 36g
Size: 60mm x 25mm(length x width)

Features:
-Utilize a XP-G3 + 365nm UV LED+RED LED, max output 250lumens
-High quality stainless steel keychain light
-Extremely lightweight, compact and portable
–2 groups brightness levels with 365nm wavelength ultraviolet led and red light for special use.
-UV light good for money, identity cards detection, verification mark reading and fluorescence activation
-Red light ideal for wildlife observations, astronomy and night photo
-Direct access to turbo mode, can lighting the UV/Red light with white light by click both switches.
-Light indication displays battery percentage, turning red when battery percentage <20%
-Built-in li-ion battery(500mAh)
-USB rechargeable with on board charging circuit
-Built-in power indicator
-Dual switch design
-Rear suspension ring suit for hanging on the keys or necklace
-Impact resistant 1.5meters
The parcel arrived after 12 days shipping with to Germany which is fast from China.

Package and content:

The lights box came packed well with a wrap around and in a plastic bag, typical for Banggood

The light comes in a Box, the light itself is in a plastic inlay




Photos of the light



Comparism and teardown:

Size compared to other Keychain lights the K01

Beam color is cold around 6500K with a Cree XPG3, the beam very floody because of the shallow small reflector

The beam color has a tint shift towards green in the corona, but overall the hotspot has a pretty pure white
compared to it the BLF Q8 or 348 looks very rosy tinted

The UV and red LED are small and not very bright



The LED is reflowed on a normal PCB which has almost no connection to the body

The internal battery has 500mAh

from left to right the lights get cooler, picture taken @5000K camera setting
Nitecore P12 XML2 U3-3D 5000K, BLF 348 Nichia CRI92 5000K, Jetbeam Jet-1 MK XPG2 6500K, Astrolux K1 6500K

The light can be taken apart nothing is glued


The lens is AR coated, the coating is good

The light is not waterproof, the USB socket has a protective plug, but the light has no o-ring or other sealing

The switches have a good feeling and pressure to activate them

The light has green and red LED to show battery level and charge indicator

The tail cap has 2 rings for a lanyard

Driver and Battery


The light has no visible PWM, but in falling water drops there is a PWM visible about 20kHz

The light charges over micro USB port with 0.5A

The mode spacing is OK, the moonlight has about 5 lumens

LED lux @1m for the modes

Will add this later

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UV Test
I tested the light compared to a Convoy S2+ UV 365nm and a 385nm 700mA LED in my MELD RGB+UV light

The first picture show the real brightness with manual exposure settings
first 385nm light

Astrolux K1


Convoy S2+ UV 365nm

Now the K01 with auto exposure

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Modding:
There is not much mod potential, it might be good to pot the LED board to the lights body

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User Interface

I don’t like the UI with long press for on and off, but for non flashaholics this is acceptable

On/OFF
Long press the power switch to turn on the red light or UV light, long press to turn it off.

Modes:
Astrolux K1 comes with two group modes depending on the user preferences on the white light.

Modes switching:
Group1:Long press the mode switch to turn on Turbo, High, Middle, Low, then High, Middle, Low recycle, long press to turn off.
Group2:Double click the mode switch to High, Middle, Low and then recycle ,long press to turn off.

It is odd that the square switch turns on the auxiliary LEDs not the main LED
The user Interface is listed on BG website, but no manual comes with the light.

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Conclusion
The overall Build quality is average, especially that the light has no designed heat path from the LED to the body is negative
The UV LED turns out to be true 365nm, but as most of the UV is absorbed in the plastic lens its very dim

Positive:

- the body has a nice finish

- AR coated glass lens

- real 365nm UV LED

- build in battery

  • proper LVP and low battery warnings

Neutral:

  • the UI is not nice with long press for on and off

Negative:

- There is not much heat path from the LED board to the body

  • UV LED is very dim, you have to get very close and it better be dark where you use it

good review, shame they didnt push more lumens 250 is a bit low compared to nitecore tip and mecarmy :frowning: and yea the UV seems waste then i prefer the manker lad with 2 red diodes…

Poor heat sink.

I dont think they can push this any more else it will cook LED :smiling_imp:

Nice review, thanks! :smiley:

Does this light (the XP-G3 or the Nichia version of the Astrolux K1) use PWM for lower modes?

Thanks for the review mate!

I took apart my Nitecore TIP to see the mod potential and it has a similiar set up for the LED heat sink but the driver sits in a different position. Could maybe sneak a thin bit of alloy between.

The nitecore TIP has way better heat path, the LED board is aluminum and has 2 direct points resting on the body with thermal glue connecting it to the sides which act as heat sink
Also the thermal glue connects from MCPCB to the reflectow which touches the shell

This one has normal no metal PCB which not even touch the body at all
The white gleu doe not touch the body at all

The middle part of the TIP is only plastic? The LED has no contact to the body except maybe through the reflector. Ill take some pics for you. The pic quality is bad sorry.

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if he TIP is glued good the side of the aluminum MCPCB sticks to it as well as the shell, so 1mmx15mm on both sides has contact through the thermal glue
and you are right in the TIP the reflector is part of heatsinking

The TIP has a metal board the K1 not