REVIEW OF THE MEOTE FM1 COPPERHEAD EDC

This is a short review on the MEOTE FM1 LH351D/SST20/XPL-HI 4980LM LED EDC FLASHLIGHT COPPER HEAD, $55.99 US, from Neal’s Gadgets. First it is necessary to explain how this review came to me. After the 8th annual BLF/O-L contest, I won a flashlight from Neal’s Gadgets. He sent me the MEOTE FM1 for review as a gift. Neal is doing better and restoring his reputation. I wish him success and his customers happiness in the future.
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Now this EDC is absolutely Beautiful in blue/copper. I am very impressed with the machining Quality, anodizing in rich blue, and the copper looks to be clear coated to prevent dulling from corrosion. The tail cap button and clip are stainless steel. The lens is AR coated. I am not sure which leds are in this one, but the light gets warm on turbo, but that is normal and the copper gives it as much runtime as possible. It has 4 leds and is a flooder. The RGB auxiliary lights blink rainbow. There is a black battery tube that connects the tail cap mcpcb directly to the driver that goes inside the outer battery tube. The battery is inserted into the black tube and is then inserted into the flashlight.This gives a good connection and eliminates any bad connection from oil or grease on the threads.The Andúril software is very flexible and adjustable to set for your needs. It is challenging to set, but for those who like playing, you can spend hours setting it up to your preferences.
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Here is some info from Neal’s Gadgets website: MEOTE FM1 LH351D/SST20/XPL-HI 4980LM LED EDC Flashlight Copper Head – Nealsgadgets
Firmware: The FM1 uses free software called Andúril,
distributed under the terms of the GPL v3. Code is available from
~toykeeper/flashlight-firmware/fsm : files for revision 492 and reference pic at Flashlight User Interface Cheatsheets
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User interfaces:
[1] By default the FM1 is set to use SMOOTH RAMPING.
Instant access to TURBO mode is also provided.
[2] A more conventional STEPPED RAMPING UI is available if you
like discrete modes level. You can choose how many steps you want.
[3] MOMENTARY mode is useful for signaling purposes or rapidly/briefly
lighting up targets. To exit this mode, physically disconnect power
[4] MUGGLE mode uses a reduced output.
[5] It has an electronic LOCKOUT for safety, but acts also as momentary
low light.Other functions: Battery check, sunset, beacon,
tactical strobe, party strobe, bike flasher, candlelight, lightning storm
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Package Includes:
1 x MEOTE FM1 Anduril UI LED EDC Flashlight
2 x Spare Waterproof O-rings
1 x Holster
1 x User Manual
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~toykeeper/flashlight-firmware/fsm : contents of ToyKeeper/spaghetti-monster/anduril/anduril-manual.txt at revision 492
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Flashlight User Interface Cheatsheets
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In my opinion, this light is under priced. The Quality is first class.
This is my first review and there was no need for run graphs or lumen output, the basic description is sufficient, imo.
If you are into EDC lights, this one will not disappoint.
Happy Shining
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I like it. Nice review.

Thanks for the review.

Two things i hate about this light are: shitty clip design and poor electrical contact.

I hope there is an after market clip to replace this.

In my experience the clip is not tightly hold in the pocket and slip out several time partly due to heavy copper head ….

They should also consider mat finish for better holding grip as I found it’s slippery to hold sometime.

This has a resemblance to the FW3A, so of you like one, you will like the other.

Well, I almost got one of these, but the hit and miss quality control and other issues disuaded me. There are just too many other better options out there for around $50-60 (KR4, FW4, D4v2). I will say it looks amazing though

Samsung LH351D.

Edit: Ah, just now I realized what FM stands for :smiley:

Thanks for showing!

There is an updated version for FM1 last year.

Which quality control issues do you mean?

In terms of design, this light is absolutely beautiful. In my opinion, the prettiest of the 3 or 4 emitters single cell lights we’re seeing since about 2 years.

There were many issues when this light came out. Maybe they have solved them, maybe not.

Is the switch still loud?

There were issues with the optic fitment causing really bad focus and beam pattern, driver connection issues (flickering), issues with modes, problems with the switch, and low output on some models. Some of those issues were fixable if you were handy with modding, but on a brand new light? I don’t know if those have been mostly fixed, but with other tried and true 3 and 4 emitter lights out there I’d still be hesitant to buy one, even if it looks awesome.

Nice review CNCman. The one thing i didn’t like about this light was the pocket clip required a gap or it would mark up the body from screwing/unscrewing the tail cap.

Thanks for this, I didn’t know this light, but it looks pretty nice.

It’s a nice looking flashlight.
I just wish that it has triple LED version as well.

Guess my 3 months worth of effort is not wasted after all.

I ordered one yesterday, will report back one I get it.

I ordered this from FreeME’s pre-order group buy before.

The main issues I encountered:

1) there are beam artifacts (multiple-LED flashlights might have beam artifacts, but I have a few other quad-LED including 4x XPL-Hi of the Meote FM1 but the FM1 shows the worst-looking beam artifact out of the 4x XPL-Hi flashlights I’ve tried (eg. Emisar D4v2 (4x XPL-Hi variant), Astrolux S43 (4x XPL-Hi variant))

2) at max brightness, for some reason, the FM1 is less than those from the same class of flashlights (ie. using ceiling bounce / light meter), the FM1 registers notably less brightness compared to the D4v2 or S43)

3) connection issues - need to tighten really tight or there may be flickering (which indicates some poor contact).

I wonder if the first issue (beam artifact) has been solved or not?
Regarding the 2nd and 3rd issue - I usually don’t need max brightness, so a slightly lower Turbo mode brightness may not be that much of an issue to me, assuming I just use the low to middle levels.
Tightening the body tube properly seems to solve the flickering issue most of the time for me…

But the beam artifact (noticeable even when not shining in a “white wall”) may be a bit distracting to me personally…

I’d say overall it’s a nice-looking light, maybe a tad bigger than the D4v2/S43 but still OK.

The worst beam I have seen is in the Astrolux S43. Completely out of focus.

Which LED type did you get? So far I’ve tested the Astrolux S43 with these LEDs: Nichia 219C, XP-G3, XPL-Hi & LH351D. I didn’t recall them being that out of focus, but will need to review beamshots I took before for each model… I think the S43 may not have exactly that good beam pattern compared to say one with the genuine Carclo (eg. Emisar D4), but are “passable” considering the price range of the S43, which is less expensive than the FM1 or D4…

I bought a orginal FM. It was horrible. Gave it away 2 days after having it. Won’t try another for all of the reasons listed above. Great looking light, so I guess it’s like a pretty girl who can’t kiss.