Hi all,today Iam really excited to share with you my experience with the new Lumintop Edc18.
As the Lumintop fan followers already know,this is the side switch version of their popular Fw3a flashlight.The Fw3a was an instant sucess due to all the features and power ,the tiny pocket light posessed.But still there was room for improvement as a daily carrier and Lumintop by making the Edc18 have managed to solve many of them.
Compared to the FW3A the EDC18 has ,almost similar dimensions.It is slightly taller than FW3A to accommodate the side switch .
The first thing that, I adore about this light as soon as I put the battery in it ,was the constant glowing "Green Bunny " on the side switch.It looks bright and very beautiful.Lumintop have chosen the green light for the side switch which gives a great appeal to the fully black light .It makes the flashlight very easy to find at dark.
The side switch in my opinion is the best one that Lumintop have made so far.It feels great to touch and the clicks are super crisp, absolutely no squishiness like the other bulged side switches on Odf30 or Edc05c .Just pure firm clicks.
Personally liked the Fw3a tailswitch ,which had great ergonomics.But as everyone knows, its was prone to accidental activation pretty easily,and also the tail switch was in several tiny pieces which comes apart very easily and was easy to loose.So in dark situations ,you must be particularly careful to insert the battery via head portion.Also you absolutely had no way to mechanically lockout the FW3a.In an EDC flashlight ,these tiny things do counts and Lumintop have solved it perfectly using the side switch on edc18 .The side switch is not prone to any accidental activation ,and if you still don't trust it ,you can always mechanically lockout by a slight twist of head or tail cap.The green bunny turns off to confirm the mechanical lockout. Cool right?
One of the first questions which I had in my mind on knowing about this light was ,how much current the side switch green bunny consumes.And I tested it at once I got the light in my hand ,it is very low at just 111.2 micro ampere,which for a 3000mah battery means it will take more than three years for the battery to be fully drained.
The FW3A had lower current drain at 22.4 micro ampere as there was no backlit switch or aux leds
Some manufacturer's specs
Emitter: 3 Cree XP-L HI,Nichia 219CT or Luminus SST20 LED
Optic: Standard TIR optical lens
Flux: ~2800 lm (XP-L Hi)
Intensity: ~10 000cd ANSI throw ~200 m (XP-L Hi)
Firmware: Free software called Andúril
User interfaces: [1] Defaulted SMOOTH RAMPING. Instant access to TURBO mode is also provided. [2] STEPPED RAMPING UI. [3] MOMENTARY mode. [4] MUGGLE mode. [5] Electronic LOCKOUT.
Other functions: Battery check, sunset, beacon, tactical strobe, party strobe, bike flasher, candlelight, lightning storm
Battery: One 18650 cell. An unprotected cell is recommended. Max. length 66mm. Cell is not included.
Driver: FET+7+1 driver. Low parasitic drain while OFF
Body: Aluminum with hard-coat anodizing
Switch: Electronic side switch with back-up light
Ingress rating: Equivalent to IPX8
Weight: Approximately 76.5 g without cells
Size: 27.8 mm Ø head x 93.9 mm length
Others: Magnetic tail cap, reverse stainless steel body clip
The light came in a similar package as to that of the FW3A.
The accessories include ,a flexible glow in the dark diffuser
two spare orings with a keyring ,which I guess is for lanyard attatchment
a lanyard
and a reversible pocket clip
The GITD diffuser is a very useful accessory.This also helps to use the full potential of light like the candlelight or the thunderstorm modes,which are very to use at night.
The diffuser retains its glow even after turning off the light, for quite some time ,making it easier to find at dark,incase you misplaced it
optics is similar to the Fw3a with a three led setup.But unlike FW3A it doesn't have a glass infront of the plastic optic.
Haven't tried removing the stainless steel bezel,as I fear it may scratch the plastic optic. Flashlight is my opinion is not for the modders as ,the head portion is press fitted and with the side mounted e switch, it will be difficult to do any further mods unlike the fw3a ,whose head comes apart quite easily.May be someone more knowledgeful in modding , can give a clearer idea about this.
The tail cap is having a dual gold plated spring setup for better conductivity.
The Edc18 ,unlike the Fw3a is no longer an insane light, although you have the same output levels.
The stepdowns are more aggressive ,to keep everything cool.This does mean ,we no longer have a constant higher modes as ,the temperature controls are more sensitive to heat build up now.On the flip side ,this makes the light more safer to use and gives more confidence to the user.
The flashlight build is very sturdy,it has a chunkier head with heat fins for effective heat dissipation.The whole black anodization is uniform and is in a matt finish.
There are diamond cut knurlings on the battery tube and tail cap giving a good grip to the flashlight.
The head design is very attractive and functional.It has a flat area to accommodate the side switch, which also acts as an antiroll feature to the light.
The Edc18 has a reversible pocket clip unlike the Fw3a which was fixed.This additionally lets you to use it as a headlight by cliping it on a cap.
The flashlight ,also has a lanyard hole ,if you prefer to use those.
Talking about the optics and beam,it is similar to that of the FW3a.I got the xpl hi version in cool white.The cool white does help in brightening the spill area,which is great especially at longer distances.The beam like Fw3a is pure floody beam with adequate throw,perfect for edc carry.
View from a building, ~ 45 meters tall
To sum it up
Pros,
1.Carries on all the wonderful features of Anduril from the FW3a
2.Better designed for edc use.
3.Backlit side switch is really well made.Gives firm clicks.No accidental activation
4.Always on side switch light,makes it easier to finf at night.
5.Reversible pocket clip design,gives additional versatility.
6.Mechanical lockout feature.
7.More sensitive temperature control.
8.Lanyard hole option available.
9.Square cut threads which are well lubricated.
10.Comes with a flexible GITD diffuser.
Cons
1.Still no room for protected batteries.
2.No onbard usb rechargeability.
3.Tailcap magnet is weak in my opinion,not serving the intended purpose.(Problem already resolved in current models as per Lumintop.)
4 Would like to see an option to choose a blinking side switch light as I think will make it even more easy to spot at night .
5 No glass protection for the lens unlike the FW3a.