YLP Gryphon G180 ( 9 x XPG-2 4000K , 3 x 18650) - Testing Output and Thermal Regulation, Outdoor Beamshots

The Gryphon G180 was sent to me by YLP for review.

Official Manufacturer Specs:

LIGHT OUTPUT 3200 LM
MAX DISTANCE 228 M
MODES 3200 LM / 2000 LM / 800 LM / 200 LM / 10 LM
RUNTIME 2 / 2.5 / 5.5 / 22 HOURS / 10 DAYS
LED 9* CREE XP-G2 NEUTRAL WHITE, 4000К
OPTICS CARCLO OPTICS (TIR)
BODY MATERIAL AIRCRAFT-QUALITY ALUMINUM WITH HA III
SHOCK RESISTANCE 1 M
DIMENSIONS LENGTH 115 MM; HEAD DIAMETER 51 MM; BODY DIAMETER 43 MM
WEIGHT 201 G




The flashlight arrived is a hard cardboard box.



The box includes a user manual, two replacement o-rings and an adjustable wrist strap.



Additionally, the flashlight also comes with a very nice EDC Pouch.



The back side of the pouch has double belt loops, while the flashlight is mounted in the front portion.



The flashlight comes with flat black anodization and is e-switch operated.



The e-switch boot is translucent and has an indicator LED installed under it.



Here's how the switch looks while using the flashlight.
(Green > 30% , Red < 30%)



Of course, the main attraction of the flashlight is its triple - 3 x XP-G2 setup.
The emitters sit inder Carclo optics and produce 4000K tinted light.



The body and tail is a unibody piece. Since the tail is completely flat, the flashlight can tailstand.



The head houses the driver which is secured into place via 3 screws and a metal plate.
The overall construction is very robust!



The threads are square cut and anodized, which allow the user to mechanically lock it out.



The flashlight is using a 3 x 18650 battery carrier.



The cells are connected in series. Both protected and unprotected cells fit with no problem.



The carrier can be inserted both ways. The middle pad is always the positive, while the metal plate is the ground.



User Interface
The YLP G180 is using a nice and simple UI.
Here's all the actions supported by it.

Turn on/off: Single press.
Mode cycle: Long press (Low > Mid > High > Turbo > Low > ...)
Turbo: Double press (from either on or off).
Moonlight: Long press while off.
Strobe: Double press and hold (from either on or off).
Memory turn on/off: 10 sec long press from off.


Output and Regulation
I took my output measurements using 3 x Samsung 18650 26H cells.
The current was measured using the RD DPS5020 Bench PSU.

Here's the luminance per mode, the current draw and Lumen/Watt:



Turbo's output is 200 shorter than the manufacturers' rating, but it's still impressive.
I measured the parasitic drain at 81μΑ.

Here's an V/A graph I created in order to test the Power Regulation of the flashlight.



And here's the respective V/W graph.



What we can see from the graph:
  • Turbo is regulated down to 9.9V (3.3V per cell).
  • High is regulated down to 9.3V (3.1 per cell).
  • Mid and Low is regulated for the whole span of the battery's life.
  • Low Voltage protection kick in at 8.7V (2.9V per cell).

As seen, the flashlight is fully regulated which is very impressive!

And here's a Thermal Regulation test for Turbo.



What can be seen:

  • Turbo is sustained for ~ 8 mins.
  • After the 8 min mark, the output steps down to 1500 Lumen.
  • The stepped down brightness is fully regulated for the whole span of the battery's life.
  • Using 3 x Sasmung 18650 26H cells, I got 1:59 of runtime in Turbo.

Again, the flashlight proves that its power and thermal regulation is excellent!

Outdoor Beamshots

Grass at 7m



Tractor at 12m


Red rooftop at 25m



House at 35m



Tree at 35m (Don't be fooled, the tree is humongous :D )



As you can guess, the Gryphon G180 is another solid flashlight from YLP!

Those power curves are super interesting, great data to have!

I had looked over this model and the G18. Seemed very well built with a no-nonsense UI. Unfortunately, using G2 emitters which I feel are outdated. With SST20s you would double the lumens and still have a great beam quality.

Using 3 x Sasmung 18650 26H cells, I got 1:59 of runtime in Turbo.

I assume you mean a cumulative time of 1 hour 59 min? And what are these Samsung 26*H*?

the sst-20 has greenish tint at low level, i still choose xp-g2 if it’s not been for lumen

I’m awaiting a shipment of SST20, GB w/ BlueSwordM. They’re 4000º K and below the BBL (95 CRI). Will test them and if to my liking, this may be an adequate host.

I really do like the XP-G2; clean thorough whites, not energy hogs.

Yes, I was referring to total time that I got on Turbo (8min for 3000lm + the rest for 1500lm).

The cells I am using are the Samsung ICR18650-26H, which are some normal performing 2600mAh cells.

Great review. I’ve owned one of these for about a year now, but I haven’t done any formal tests of any kind on it. This is a real work horse light in my humble opinion. I’ve been quite rough on it backpacking and had no issues. It’s certainly no hot rod, but I find myself grabbing this light often just because of the feel of it and simple UI. I use Samsung 35e in it. Great value for the money. The belt case/holster is of decent quality and functional.

@ bilakos10:

Yes, I was referring to total time that I got on Turbo (8min for 3000lm + the rest for 1500lm).

The standard practice is to re-click the light when it falls from turbo to bring back up. Then the cumulative time in turbo mode is posted.
This clarifies that the unit doesn’t deal with heat as ATR where the flashlight can return to max levels with cool down periods.

The cells I am using are the Samsung ICR18650-26H, which are some normal performing 2600mAh cells.

I never have never heard of a Samsung 26H. The standard Sam is a 25R in these parts. Most probably similarly the same with a little different chemistry.

Great review :+1:

Ah, now I understand what you meant by cumulative :slight_smile:

As for the batteries, they are some old school ICR cells.
The 25R are top performers, while these are more subtle.

Well, the review is very comprehensive. Kindled a fondness for this industrial design. And as I had said, the G180 is on my radar. The price is steep though - translates to $100 CDN.
If I could get some discount coupons, that would incline me more.

Try using code BLF-1. It should provide 20% of discount according to this thread:

EDITED: deleted misunderstood part!

Apart from the price, and despite the discount, this light will be under sight! Thanks for the review bilakos10!

no-nonsense -> makes sense [complimentary remark]

Sorry, my bad! I guess I overlooked the “non”!! Will edit part of my post! :person_facepalming:
Thanks for the remark :wink:

@ MascaratumB;
Was attracted by the design and wondering if this light could be boosted in lumens. Most probably a combo of buck/boost driver or proprietary 12v. Off the top of my head was thinking of some SST20s but after some number crunching, at the rated amps* would not give much benefit. Would have to re-work the entire driver I suppose?
*Reversed engineered, would have some 1.15 amps per emitter - too low to optimize a swap.

Honestly, I am not able to give you an answer as I am a Big Zero in terms of everything you mentioned :smiley: :person_facepalming:
I don’t know, maybe using using other kind of LEDs would help?
Honestly, I will not even scratch an attempt to answer you mate, as I would probably mess up ! Maybe some other folks here can help on this? :face_with_monocle:

At this power level the XPG-2s are performing just fine. To my eyes, the G180 is a more of a tool than a show off flashlight. :slight_smile: