Raysoon TD-398 (XM-L T6 | 18650)
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary:
Battery: | 18650 |
Switch: | Tail switch, Reverse clicky |
Modes: | 3: High, Low, Strobe |
LED Type: | XM-L T6 1A (CW) |
Lens: | Plastic |
Tailstands: | Yes |
Price Payed: | $23.30 |
From: | dx.com |
Date Ordered: | October 2012 |
Pros:
- Good uniform flood when zoomed out
- Bright
- Well spaced modes
- No PWM (or actually 7.5kHz = totally unnoticeable)
- Tailstands
- Good build quality
- Nice deep carry clip
- Almost as tacticool as SK68 ;)
- Headband included, works well as a head lamp in full flood position
- Comes in a nice tacticool box, suitable for gifting!
Cons:
- Next-mode-memory
- Hollow pill
Features / Value: ★★★★☆
The light comes in a nice big & tacticool looking box:
..which contains the light itself, headband, and adjustable light holder for the headband.
Features are ok: Two modes with ok spacing (about 550 and 175 lumens OTF) + strobe in case you should need it.
UI is pretty normal: Reverse clicky tail switch, the light starts on a random mode (last used or next after that) and mode can be changed by short half-clicks in order High->Low->Strobe. The memory takes very long time to engage, creating a feeling of the infamous next-mode-memory.
There is no parasitic drain as the power is turned off by a mechanic tail switch.
Threads are not anodized, so it's not possible to lock the light out by unscrewing the tail cap. However, this is not needed, because the tail cap switch is well recessed and doesn't turn on accidentally.
Included headband with light holder with adjustable angle is a very good addition, which significantly adds also to the value for money.
Value for money: Good.
Design / Build Quality: ★★★★☆
Design is nice. Almost as tacticool as it's role model Sipik SK68, but I like it. Knurling is not aggressive at all, but fluted cooling fins and smaller diameter battery tube allows good grip in multiple ways. Deep carry clip is just suitably firm and works fine. It also doubles as anti-roll device. Tail cap is larger & easier to open than the one in SK68, good!
Anodizing is flawless in my sample and feels quite durable too.
Here's the light in zoomed in position:
Well centered emitter:
Let's start disassembling the light. First thing is to remove the tail cap. As I said earlier, the tail cap is larger & much easier to open than in SK68. Threads are not anodized, but well machined and very smooth.
Let's take a closer look to the tailcap. Spring is hidden and O-ring feels thick enough:
Next thing is to disassemble the head. First unscrew the bezel, then pill, and finally the zooming part. Note that the body tube is manufactured from one piece:
Driver side of the pill. Also here the threads and O-rings are good.
The business side of the pill. Emitter star is kep on place with a plastic retaining ring.
Retaining plastic ring & emitter star removed. As we can see, the pill is hollow. The light is reasonably driven and I'm using it mostly on low, so I haven't noticed any thermal problems so far. However, minus one star. I'm planning to fill the empty space with some suitable piece of metal. Easy mod, which should elongate the emitter life.
Driver. Says "CX-5120-05"
Here is one more photo of the whole light disassembled:
Close up of the knurling. Not aggressive at all.
One more photo about the silky smooth threads:
A look into the tube:
Clip and fluted cooling fins:
A look to tailcap body threads:
Some measurements:
Length: 116.2 - 127.2mm (zoomed out - zoomed in)
Head diameter: 29.9mm
Body diameter: 23.1mm
Tail diameter: 29.8mm
Tailcap diameter: 22.9mm
Lens diameter: 20mm
Weight: 133g with cells (= ready to use), 86g without
And the bottom line in the quality: Nothing to complain, except the hollow pill! Otherwise very good.
Battery Life: ★★★★☆
Ok. The light is reasonable driven, not direct drive on high as some of the clones.
I measured the current at tailcap and got results of 2.10A on high and 0.35A on low.
This would give over 1h runtime on high and over 7h on low. Good.
Light Output: ★★★☆☆
For a light this small, I would classify it as "reasonably bright". According to the ceiling bounce figures & compared to other well known lights, the output is estimated to be about 550 lumens on high and 175 lumens on low.
The low mode has a very high, totally unnoticeable PWM of 7.5kHz. Very good for a budget light!
Some white wall beamshots (1/400s, f/4, ISO80, WB: Daylight)
High, zoomed out:
High, zoomed in:
Low, zoomed out:
Beam angle, zoomed out:
Beam angle, zoomed in:
Summary: ★★★★☆
This light has its flaws, but the unique combination of high PWM, long runtime on low, wide uniform flood, and very handy adjustable angle headband, has made this light one of my favorite in-house lights.
Verdict: Recommended!
The End (pun intended):
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