Is it an upgrade? It depends. Let’s go point by point:
The size of D18 vs M43 is six of one, half a dozen of another. One is a little longer, the other is a little wider. Overall volume is similar.
But let’s measure it anyway…
- M43: ~242 cm3 ((40.5 x 63) + (57.4 x 50.7))
- D18: ~213 cm3 ((43.0 x 58) + (59.5 x 46.1))
So… I’d say the D18 is about 13% smaller.
Depends on what you’re measuring:
- Energy capacity: With 4 cells, the M43 has more energy capacity than the D18’s 3 cells. All other things being equal, M43 should have 33% longer runtime.
- Overall efficiency: M43 is more efficient on medium modes, and thus should have longer runtime. However, D18 is more efficient at the lowest and highest modes. I don’t know where the graphs intersect, but I expect M43 has longer runtime at most levels except for maybe 20 lumens and below. Its low-mode efficiency is pretty bad.
- Maximum runtime: The M43’s longest-running mode lasts about 35 days. The D18’s longest-running mode lasts about 8.5 months.
- Standby time: The M43’s standby drain is more than twice as high as D18, so it has shorter standby time.
I’m not sure if this refers to current regulation or thermal regulation, but I’ve measured both.
In my testing, the M43 was not stable at any level… even low modes. It sags while it’s in regulation, and then it sags more when the cells are too low for regulation. But the D18 maintains mostly steady output in its regulated modes until the cell voltage is lower than emitter Vf.
To compare directly, I tested the current regulation in both lights. I set them to an easy level which any battery should be able to handle — about 120 lm. Then I connected them to a bench power supply and turned the dial to change the voltage, and I recorded the lumen output over time. Voltage went from 4.2V to 3.0V. Here’s how that went:
In terms of thermal regulation, the M43 I tested had pretty unstable output. The D18 isn’t completely stable there either, but it seemed at least a little less volatile than the M43.
I tried running both lights on turbo, to measure the thermal regulation. This is how the D18’s graph looked… It stayed at about 45 C throughout the test:
… and this is how the M43’s graph looked. It was about 60 C to 65 C during this test:
Both lights require high-drain cells to get full turbo output. Neither light requires high-drain cells for low and medium modes. Both are completely fine with old low-amp cells, as long as you don’t want more than a couple thousand lumens.
The boost driver is certainly fancier. It’s more efficient by a few percent, except on very low and very high modes. It balances output better across emitters of slightly different Vf. It doesn’t have PWM. However, it also has drawbacks… like increased price, more difficult thermal management, increased size, decreased efficiency on very low and very high modes, a smaller output range, etc. Both are good, but in different ways. I consider it another “six of one, half a dozen of another” comparison.
A good boost/buck driver is a wonderful thing. I really like DEL’s buck driver in the BLF GT. I love how steady my Zebralights are. I can’t really say the M43 has a good boost driver though… it has really unusual behavior.
This may be a cultural difference, but in much of the world, simple is good. It is not “simple” as in “simpleton”, meaning unintelligent… simplicity is robust and elegant. Complexity is a negative trait, to be avoided when possible.
I’ve tried to make the firmware simple and easy to modify, even for people who don’t normally write code. The best possible code is that which, when someone reads it, they immediately understand it. Ideally they should even go “Duh, why didn’t I think of that?” because it’s so obvious. This isn’t always possible, but it’s a good ideal to strive for.
The M43 is a clear winner here. I was hoping the D18 would have a button light, but it doesn’t. However, the driver has pads to connect one, and the firmware supports it… all that is needed is to physically add the light and connect it.
Huh?
Compared to the M43, the D18…
- … is throwier.
- … has a wider output range, going both much lower and much higher.
- … is less likely to activate by accident.
- … is easier to use.
- … has a bunch of extra modes and firmware functions.
Yeah, that is an accurate description which in no way misrepresents anything.
I measured my M43 and D18. The M43 made about 4950 lm, while the D18 made about 14500 lm. But these numbers are probably not very accurate; I should have some more accurate measurements in a few days.
Not really. The M43 does not have a reputation for being mod-friendly.
…
So… Is the D18 an upgrade? Depends on your personal preferences. For me, it’s an upgrade.
The M43 was good. I liked the M43 enough to buy it at full price. It was stubby and cute and solid and bright. But I didn’t like its Carclo 10507 beam shape, the driver never really worked well on mine, and I really disliked its UI. The UI in particular held back the M43; it was probably the thing people complained about most.
The D18 fixes all these things.
On a related note, has anyone else noticed that Inferion recently made a linear driver with a ramping UI called Indigo v2.0 Lite? It looks interesting.