[Review+Update #9 post] Armytek Wizard Pro XHP50 NW

Yeah, so you again mentioned my lack of equipment. :stuck_out_tongue: I have to be creative instead, thank you! :partying_face:

Probably WW would be better, so Iā€™m a little sad to have NW, it is not the best in forest patch, so in my main use. :frowning:

I havenā€™t tried with winter hat or helmet, but this head mount is on max diameter and fit perfectly, and my head is 59 cm circumference (not diameterā€¦), uch itā€™s so annoying when I buy everything S or XS and everything on my head is XL.

By expensive I mean basic Armytek price, but if you can get one in price of two, then itā€™s good deal.

Anodization is bad though, I put it in my bag with keys, and it got scratched. :weary:

If it had ~ 4500K, little more throw, then it would be my dream light.

Thanks for the review. I have been thinking about buying this lamp for some time. But I think I'll think about it a little bit more. There are a few things that I don't like and the price is high.

I zmień to "Zawartość opakowania" na j. angielski.

:laughing: (nie zauważyłemā€¦ dzięki :person_facepalming: )

I may get WW, so I will tell something about that tint. And again, it depends on usage. I prefer more throw for hiking, and warmer tint. But Iā€™m pretty sure if you need it for other, indoor things, and it is for 60% of the Armytekā€™s page price, then it will be good choice. I heard it was that cheap, 2 days ago, but the promotion hasā€¦ended. :frowning:

Update 23.09.2019

My 58cm head + thick winter hat + this Wizard Pro is not the best combination. It fits, but tight and I feel strap's pressure. Maybe they updated straps too and it's more tight too... This strap fully released fits perfectly to my bare head, so I expected it to be tight with winter hat

Yesterday I went for a short night walk in the woods with couple of my flashlights and a Wizard Pro.

Conclusions:

  1. Slightly cold tint like 5500-5700K is not perfect for forest walk, green color rendition is not the best, and green looks a bit pale. It is not as bad as 6500K, just slightly too cold. Wizard on the left. M3 has nice pleasant neutral tint good for green color rendition.
  2. Honeycomb TIR optics with that much flood is not perfect for forest walking too. It shined everything near me pretty well, but I prefer to have more throw, I want to see what is far ahead. Something with OP reflector and maybe slightly frosted lens would be fine for me.
  3. This tint and flood is good for indoor use or in camping, in every close use purpose
  4. Wizard Pro warm white could be too warm for that kind of forest trips, because everythink would look more yellow than green.
  5. So much modes, and the first, Firefly 0.15lm is just perfect for sitting with a cup of tea near the railway that goes through the forest. Try it! This neutral white looks similar to moonlight.
  6. And remember that colder tint helps you keep alerted and awakened, soooo maybe this "neutral" white is a way to go for long night trips. Warm tint is more calming and relaxing.

So neutral white is too cold, and warm white is too warm. Tough decision and I just can't make it!

Handheld or change the TIR lens to a narrower one.

I will be certainly more pleasant in the forest then the CW version, low-cri cool white light washes greens to gray.

That depends more on the tint than on the CCT. The ~3700K Wizard Pro WW and the 3000K Wizard XM-L2 Wizard HCRI both have a (very) greenish-yellow tint, meaning the ground and wood will be yellow-greenish and the greens very yellow (however it will still look waaay better then with the CW).

I used a Wizard Pro from Clemence (virence.com) modded with the Nichia E21A 3000K 97CRI slightly rosy duv emitters. While using it in the woods, the contrast between green leaves and brown wood and forest litter is very pronounced, and absolutely not yellowish as while using the xml-l2 Wizard HCRI or PRO. I like it more then the 4000K Nichia 219C 95CRI which used to be my favourite emitter for using in the forest.

Just ram a Nichia E21A dropin module with D220 flux bin leds, not the greenish d240 ones, in it at the desired CCT

BTW the Wizard Pro costs around 60 USD in Poland now during ā€œpermanentā€ discount.

Oh, I told you! They are giving Wizards Pro for free :laughing:

Like in my review, and you even can get Wizard for free by buying batteries. A lot of batteriesā€¦

I knew it will happen sooner or later! :smiley:

Hi Mocarny, thanks for the review, it was nice to read it :slight_smile:

I love the Zebralight Headlamp but about 4 years ago I bought my first Headlamp Armytek Wizard (not Pro)

I bought it as a lamp for friends when I went hiking, then later I used it a lot in my daily life.

When the Magnet USB version came out, I bought many of them as a discount, later also many ELF C2s to make gifts. (between ā€œstandardā€ XP-L and ELFC2 Wizard I may have bought approximately 16 pieces)

None of them has failed so far, I am very happy with these Armytek Wizards have proved robust, all with a good neutral tint, they handle the heat well even if used for a long time with the turbo, they have a good battery supplied with light (the LG MH1 you mention in your nice review)

Happy with the basic Wizard in mid-2017 I bought the Wizard Pro version but I sent it back to the seller after 24 hours.

It was disappointing (compared to the basic Wizard) it did not have the declared performances (much lower)
I didnā€™t use any tools but Iā€™m sure it didnā€™t have the 1600 lumens promised on the Turbo 2 level
Turbo 1 was also very low :frowning:
I did a test in the woods with my basic Wizard and the Pro version and the Pro version was less bright. (absurd! I was really unlucky)

This morning I saw the Wizard Pro Warm on offer (60 euros) and I decided to try again I hope to be luckier.

In the woods I adore the Armytek neutral color (about 4000 K) I find that it reflects the true colors, the forest with a cold tint may seem even more fearful ā€¦
The cold colors of the past 6000 / 6500K were terrible, 5500/5700 K is already acceptable but I prefer warm colors between 4000 and 5000 K.

I will have to wait for January to see this Wizard Pro I hope this time things get better.

Sorry for bad translation

Your translation is very good :wink:

I donā€™t have basic Wizard, only this version. My 5700K version is too cold to be used in a forest, so I just donā€™t use itā€¦ :frowning: But for indoor use is great. I think the Warm version is too warm, and the Neutral is too cold. Maybe this Nichia version would have just right tint.

Strange that your Pro is less bright than standard version. Mine is very brightā€¦
You can also wait for Nichia version and give up on Pro Warm, it should be available in two weeks.

Yes I admit, forest during a night is fearful. Just get headphones and listen to your favorite music when walking in a forest, it should help :wink:

Thanks for the info, I didnā€™t know about the Nichia version.
But the Warm version is fine for me, I have always found good colors, I only hope the Wizard Pro is without bugs and has the 1600 lumens mentioned by the manufacturer.
I have two Zebralight Hi Cri (H600Fc and H604c) as vision they are the most beautiful lights I have (but I use them only on big occasions)

Hi

I received my Wizard Pro v4 and after a week I realized that my battery was completely discharged ā€¦ Without using the lamp. So I tested a new battery and also asked a friend who has the same model as mine to test my original battery. One week later, the new battery was discharged (without using the lamp) and the one I had lent was still fully charged. The observation of these manipulations, under the advice of the person in charge of Armytek, leads to question the lamp itself ā€¦ The solution proposed by Armytekā€™s warranty service was to ask me to ship my lamp to the factory in China in the city of Fosanā€¦ at my own expense.The email from Armytek implied that as soon as they proved the lamp was shipped correctly, they would send me a similar model as a replacement. After this shipment, I received another email telling me that I would have to wait until the lamp arrived in China and was checked to receive a replacement. Living in a small island in the Indian Ocean (Reunion Island), the delay of reception in China could exceed 40 days, not counting the supposed return of the repaired lamp? I imagine that if I had the chance to live in the USA, the replacement would have been almost automatic. Anyway, has anyone had a similar problem in terms of warranty and what were the answers?

Thank you in advance

Hi, sorry to hear about your problem :frowning:
For example, recently my Zippy ES mount broke and I emailed Armytek. I have their branch in my country though. When they received my broken headlamp, they sent me a new one + a $10 gift as a compensation for the shipping cost. They let me choose from variety of products under $10 and I chose Handy C1 charger.
Overall I am happy with Armytek customer service. I think you will be able to choose a gift too, only problem is you have to wait longer.

I also found a parasitic discharge on my Wizard Pro XHP50.
It is not excessive but it exists.
The Dutch seller is willing to replace, even Armytek has also been available for a replacement.
For the moment I keep it, the shipping would cost me 13 euros (I paid for the light in the special offer 60 euros) and then Iā€™m afraid that the new light could have other problems ā€¦ (tint, output power)
If the parasitic discharge remains as it is now I can live with this but it could also happen that it increases.
In the many years that I have bought lights this has only happened twice (both in 2020), once with Wizard Pro and shortly before it happened with Zebralight H600Fw IV (it discharged a battery in a few days, initially it discharged slowly but then the weather got worse)
With the Wizard Pro I always keep the cap loose to avoid self-discharge, I use it and when Iā€™m done I immediately loosen the cap.
This is bearable and the magnetic charging is comfortable to top up the battery without opening the light.
I bought many ELF C2 and many ā€œstandardā€ Wizards (XP-L) none of them had self-discharge problems.

How quickly it self discharges?

@Mocarny
Now I donā€™t remember exactly.
I have done some testing in the past, maybe something like a drop from 4.15V to 4V in a week.

Pretty much.
It is up to you if you want a replacement - maybe they can agree to replace it with a new C2 Pro Warm with a surcharge? It would be cool

For the moment I keep the Wizard Pro, I didnā€™t know the C2 Pro had come out, Iā€™m not following the world of lights (so I save money :wink:
Keeping the tailcap loose there seems to be no self-discharge, the light works well, after using it I put it back in charge.
I am using the Wizard Pro only for a walk at dusk.
It is annoying to loosen the tailcap every time, but after outdoor use for home and garden I use an Elf C2 or other Zebralight headlamp.

Does anybody know if the Wizard/Tiara non magnetic basic tailcap fits on the Wizard Pro and Tiara Pro USB models?

Can someone explain to me why you need to unscrew the tailcap 1/4 turn to charge this flashlight. Itā€™s annoying.
I like ArmyTek, but does any of their flashlights have a lockout?

Hi, you can mechanically lock out it by unscrewing the tailcap, as you mentioned. About charging, I donā€™t know :frowning:

Yes. The Wiz among many, if not all, others.

The tailcap makes two contacts to the battery tube. One is permanent, one exists only when screwed down. This way AT lights can use standard batteries.

Compare this to Olights needing proprietary batteries.