Lumintop EDC18 Flashlight Review
Lumintop had great success with the FW series, and expanded it greatly. They also went a different directly – a more standard light but with an e-switch on the side. That’s the EDC18, and here’s my testing of it!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the official product page.
Versions
There’s just one body of the EDC18, but it’s available in three emitter choices: Cree XP-L HI (5000K or 6500K), Nichia 219CT (4000K) or Luminus SST20 (4000K).
Price and Coupon
The EDC18 usually retails for around $49.95.
Short Review
I liked the FW series lights, and I like the EDC18 at least as much. It’s a completely different, exactly the same experience. I have to say that I definitely lean toward this EDC18 because it seems much more robust – that’s at least in part because the head-e-switch doesn’t require the inner sleeve that the FW lights require. That sleeve caused a bunch of issues, which will never be a problem in the EDC18!
Long Review
The Big Table
| Lumintop EDC18 | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XP-L HI (5000K) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $42.99 |
| Cell: | 1×18650 |
| Turbo (no temp calibration) Runtime | High (no temp calibration) Runtime |
| LVP? | Stepdown |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (A): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 2800 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 872 (31.1% of claim)* ^ |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 200 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 265lux @ 4.07m = 4390cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 132.5 (66.3% of claim)* ^ |
| All my Lumintop reviews! |
* Measurement disclaimer: I am an amateur flashlight reviewer. I don’t have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment. I test output and such in PVC tubes!! Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).
^ After stepdown, 30s.
What’s Included
- Lumintop EDC18 Flashlight
- Lanyard
- Spare o-ring (2)
- Split ring
- Glow ring
- Pocket clip
- Glow diffuser
- Manual
Package and Manual
Standard Lumintop package. Also standard Lumintop manual. Both of these are good things.
Actually I’m going to go out on this manual and say it’s not just typical, it’s exceptional.
Build Quality and Disassembly
This light feels quite hefty and substantial for a single 18650 light. It is by no means extra but it does have some body weight. And of course the head has a bump out for the switch. Still it’s a very small 18650 light!
Lumintop includes this glow gasket, which should be easy to install (I can do a video on that if anyone needs it?) Just unscrew the bezel (use a kitchen gripper or something) and then drop out the optic, and drop in the gasket).
This gasket is surprisingly flexible, and not at all like the other gaskets I’ve had and installed.
The head has these cutouts which I have a feeling could be used for tritium vials, but they’re not the typical shape (they’re more rounded out, and shallower). But I think they’d work.
Also note the cooling area on the head. You have to think how much output this light has, and how much mass – there are certain realities about lights like this that are (with current technology) unavoidable. The light will heat up fast. That heat has limited places to go. The light will lower output in an effort to deal with that head. It is what it is.
The threads on this triple are very smooth. They’re square cut and fairly fine, long, and anodized. You might want to lightly unscrew the tailcap like I do, to mechanically lock out the light.
The tailcap has a magnet, too.
The cell tube is completely removable (making way for an easy 18350 version?) Also the cell tube is not reversible, and the ideal way to swap cells is through the tailcap end.
I love the knurling on this light. Just love it. It’s just right. Grippy enough, but not the least bit sharp. Exactly what I wanted the Wowtac A6 to be, regarding knurling.
Head and tail both have springs. So using any type 18650 in this light shouldn’t be a problem, though it’s going to pull quite hard on those protected cells – protection could be an issue. A flat top unprotected cell will be best.
Size and Comps
Weight: Approximately 76.5 g without cells
Size: 27.8 mm Ø head x 93.9 mm length
Importantly, here’s how it stacks up against the FW3A.
Retention and Carry
Included with the EDC18 is a steel deep carry friction fit pocket clip. It’s a plain clip, but very effective and useful. It just barely brushes the head, when the head is being unscrewed. But like I said, don’t do it that way – remove the tailcap to swap cells.
The clip can go on head or tail end of the cell tube. As pictured above is the “deep carry” direction.
Also included is a lanyard, which attaches only on the tailcap hole, seen below. The pocket clip does not have any holes for connection of the lanyard.
Since the clip is reversible, the EDC18 can technically be used on the bill of a cap, though it might be a little heavy.
Power and Runtime
The Lumintop EDC18 is powered by a single 18650. I’ve used a Vapcell H25, which is a high current, lower capacity flat top unprotected cell for my runtime tests.
The cell goes into the body with the positive end toward the emitters (as usual).
I performed three runtimes. Two – Turbo and High without calibrating the thermal properties of the light. And finally a turbo run after calibrating the thermals to have a very broad range.
Surprisingly the calibrated run doesn’t really seem all that much different or better. There are two possibilities – one the light is properly calibrated from the factory (preferable, but less likely). Or that the light is going to step down quickly anyway because massive output like this creates massive heat, and that heat needs a place to go. If it can’t find a place, the body heats up excessively, and output steps down.
I didn’t really observe LVP on bench power. But in the runtimes, as you can see above, the output steps down so dramatically that you won’t miss the fact that your cell is low. And the stepdown happens at or above 3V, so your cell is generally protected.
Modes and Currents
This is the stepped output group.
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | – | – | 872 (3810 @0s) | [FET] |
| 7 | – | – | 580 (905 @0s) | 2.30 |
| 6 | – | – | 691 | 1.40 |
| 5 | – | – | 406 | 0.80 |
| 4 | – | – | 198 | 0.38 |
| 3 | – | – | 103 | 0.18 |
| 2 | – | – | 38 | 0.07 |
| 1 | – | – | 1 | 0.01 |
PWM
There’s PWM on all modes but the top two. It’s not very bad PWM, though.
For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. And here’s the worst PWM light I have ever owned. Also one of the very first lights I ordered directly from China!
User Interface and Operation
A side e-switch is utilized in the EDC18. There’s a green emitter behind the switch, which is black except for a clear Lumintop logo.
The UI here is ToyKeeper’s Anduril, which at this point is very well covered. I’ve reviewed other lights with it, too. Here’s ToyKeeper’s UI graphic:
Here’s a UI table anyway!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Hold | On (Low) |
| Off | Click | On (Mode Memory) |
| Off | Click 2x | Highest Hybrid Mode |
| Off | Click 3x | Blinkie Mode Group |
| Off | Click 4x | Lockout |
| Off | Click 5x | Momentary |
| Off | Click 6x | Muggle |
| Off | Click, Click, Hold | Strobe Group (Mode Memory Strobe) |
| Strobe Group | Click 2x | Strobe Cycle (Candle > Bike Flasher > Party Strobe > Tactical Strobe > Lightning Storm) |
| Blinkie Mode Group | Click 2x | Blinke Cycle (Sunset > Beacon > TempCheck > BattCheck) |
| On | Click 3x | Switch between Stepped and Smooth Ramp |
| On | Click 4x | Ramp Configuration |
| TempCheck | Click 4x | Thermal Configuration |
| Beacon | Click 4x | Beacon Configuration |
| Lockout | Click 4x | Off |
| Strobe Group | Click | Off |
| (Basically) On | Click | Off |
| Candle | Click 3x | 30 minute timer to off |
| Strobe Group | Hold | Heighten selected mode (Make faster or brighter) |
| Strobe Group | Click, Hold | Lessen selected mode (Make slower or dimmer) |
| On | Click 2x | FET Turbo |
| Ramp Configuration | [Wait for Single flash] Click N time for level N. | Selection of the “Low” you like best by clicking 1, 2, 3, etc. where 1, 2, 3, etc are different levels of low. |
| Ramp Configuration | [Wait for Second flash] Click N time for 1+Turbo-N. | Selection of the “Ceiling” you like best by clicking 1, 2, 3, etc. where 1, 2, 3, etc are different Ceiling levels. |
| Ramp Configuration | [Wait for Third flash] Click for how many steps you want in Stepped mode. | Sets Number of Steps. |
| Thermal Configuration | [Wait for First flash] Click for N times for N degrees C. | Displays Current Temperature. |
| Thermal Configuration | [Wait for Second flash] Click for N times for 30C + N. | Sets Temperature Limit. |
| Beacon Configuration | [Wait for First flash] Click for N times N seconds per flash | Sets Beacon Speed. |
If you want to see how to calibrate the thermals, see this part of the FW1A review.
LED and Beam
BangGood kindly asked me what emitters I’d like and I chose the Cree XP-L HI. For a couple of reasons. First, they’re usually a little more expensive, and I wanted to see if they’re worth it. Secondly, I happen to really like Cree XP-L HI emitters.
The optic is just called a “standard optic” but is easily replaceable for others if you like, or even a tritium leg optic. With the Cree, I think a narrow optic would be ideal.
The glow diffuser fits easily, and even can be pressed all the way over the head.
These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.
Tint vs BLF-348 (Killzone 219b version)
I compare everything to the Killzone 219b BLF-348, because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Preferable build characteristics over the FW series
- Very nice build quality
- Nice use of Anduril
- Emitter choices
What I don’t like
- A bigger mass head would be good, to deal with all the heat
Notes
- This light was provided by BangGood for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!