Review: APEX 5T6 (5 x Cree XM-L T6 | 4 x 18650)

No I haven't. I don't usually test the water resistance. :(

But judging by the O-rings and the quality of threads, I'd bet this is fairly well water resistant.

About the tailcap color: Lightning conditions in some of these photos might make it look different, but it isn't.

Oh one more thing… it should also be noted that this light has a 120 Hz PWM for its MED and LO modes. It can be very bothersome for some folks. I find it most irritating with close-range tasks. Out in the field at farther distances (path-lighting…etc) its much less of a problem.

Mine was very tight as well. I had to use leather gloves and twist hard.

This is the review I've been waiting for, the bonus was the side by side pictures of the King and the Apex 5T6, thank you _the_.

I did already mention it in cons.

Did you measure the frequency? I estimated it to be about the same as in King, which should be about 200Hz.

I tried now to estimate it with my camera and figured out that it's about 125Hz. Thanks for pointing this out! I stand corrected.

Ugh... 120Hz... they actually go downhill more and more. You would wonder why those cheap drivers can do so much better PWM than a $100 light.

Seriously, PWM frequency is just how you program it, one time job. You pick high frequency and you're done forever, and thousands of that flashlight owners will be happier. But... *sigh* gotta save that few minutes of programming time huh...

really? it’s just a driver program? this makes low PWM that much more unacceptable…

Yes, PWM frequency is part of the EPROM program.

Since PWM is just rapid ON-OFF-ON-OFF cycles, it appears to my Fluke as an AC square wave. My Fluke 179 measures AC Hz so I just set it to measure tailcap current, but hit the button to read Hz. Its a ball-park estimate I think until someone hooks theirs up to a scope to really get an accurate reading. But it is visibly low though…. bummers.

Excellent review =the=, and thanks for the detailed photos of your dis-assembly!

Great to see the individual reflectors and fairly accessible driver board. If CN Quality Goods don’t release any optional accessories for these (e.g. narrower long-throw reflectors, or different driver boards) then I’m sure someone will come up with some mods soon.

The reflectors look “p60 sized” … could one find different reflectors or even collimator optics and simply thermal-paste them over the LEDs? I don’t have any ideas or solutions yet (don’t even have my 5T6 yet), but given the amount of space in the body of the flashlight I envision some great mod ideas!

Cheers for now
Andrew

I’m surprised that you only got 2100ish lumens (i know NW will have less output) but comparing mine to my tm11 (which has a confirmed 2000 OTF) it’s easily brighter by 50% no problem….

I wonder what batteries your using? I’m using pink LG’s, she certainly goes like she’s on steroids :slight_smile:

Well. I don't have a integrating sphere, so I need to estimate based on ceiling bounce figures. It's hard to give accurate values..

I'm using XTAR 18700 2600mAh both in my King and APEX. But in 4P config the cells shouldn't matter that much.

Here's my 10min ceiling bounce comparison of some high lumen lights (indoors, with no cooling)

I didn't mean to publish this, as it's not scientific at all. Different cells etc. So please take it with a grain of salt.

Thanks for posting your findings the
Batteries do have a little to do with output. According to HKJ’S battery test the pink LG’s have low internal resistance and are one of if not the best for high drain demands.
I mostly only go off using my lights on the job (real life) and I live in a cold climate too - maybe I got a harder driven one by accident yahoooooo! :slight_smile:

Very nice review! How big are the reflectors? I’d guess around 20mm and no way 26.5 (p60). Build quality looks really nice but I have to admit your review makes me even happier with my King and $100 richer. :wink:

Thank _The_. Very nicely done!

I'm with JohnnyMac here on the King. I know this is Apex's thread, but I can't help but awe at the King's steady light regulation. And temp peaks at 58C too with no cooling, not bad at all for something that small.

I'm so glad I chose this one :bigsmile:

I seriously don’t like idea of an empty hole at the heatsink. It will be real great to have a solid heatsink instead of a thick board glued to the side, less surface contact area…

… which is why the host doesnt get that hot. The heat generated is unable to transfer from the mPCB to the host through the thin aluminum contact area. Arctic Alumina will give a small boost in thermal transfer, but not enough to circumvent a poor design. Thank you for a great review. Like others, Im still happy to have my King.

The LEDs on the apex are close to the edge of the disk so heat does transfer - the reason it doesn’t get supper hot is the xml’s are driven closer to spec so they are more efficient also the walls on the head and the cooling fins are thick/deep on the apex, as apposed to the king their 3 LEDs are way over driven and that’s why it gets so hot - how long realistically can the king be run on high without cooking the LEDs?
It’s just physics, they both have the same LEDs - if you drove all the five xml’s in the apex to the same amps as the king then of course it would have to be brighter having 5 Vs 3 leds but it would only be good for 3 maybe 5 min like the king is.

I’m not dissing the king, I dont have one but I know it is a rip off of the TM11 that is better made and not as driven hard and it still stepped its self down after about 8 min to protect the leds.
it’s just funny how the owners stick up for what they have bought without thinking about the math - also to me there is more to a light than just the wow factor, I use mine as a tool for work and can run the apex for half an hour at a time without worry of cooking it.

Sorry Glen, but that just isnt the case… look again:

The graph clearly shows the Apex suffering from thermal sag while the King does not. This is attributable to insufficient heatsinking, not battery sag.

Also, do some research and you’ll discover that the TM11 is the least bright of the 3 lights you just mentioned… confirmed by those that own and directly compared the the TM11 to the King, not manufacturer ANSI lumen claims.

Its also interesting to note that I have at least 40 continuous +1.5 hour discharge cycles on my king while ran in high mode with no signs of failure or degradation.

Funny? Even more funny is that you didnt seem to take note of the reply the OP left for you in post 15, explaining that the same cells were used in both lights… with another image of the same graph I re-posted above.

Great review, beautiful light. Thanks, _the_.