review: imalent DM21 and 3in1 holster HMD10

Hello my friends!

this review will be a little different....

because there are some great reviews already done - and i do not want to bother you with already published numbers and high quality pictures.

mhanlens great video review (worth a look - i love his style)

review by viperxp

review by freeme

lets start with my review:

the first wave of Lights imalent sent to the reviewers have been "not perfect" and imalent took the chance to adjust their product to the recommendations from the reviewers.

BIG THANKS for that!

i try to show you what they have done (at least the part i am allowed to show you ;))

some other things i want to share with you:

the old tailcap has a shorter spring which prevents unprotected flat tops from working

(i used a 2mm magnet to run the lights with Samsung 30Qs)

see the left is arided?

the dustcap over the charging port (open is carefully):

a view in the front:

since i found NO electronics there i post some pictures:

nice aluminium reflector and a good clear lens

thick, but nonDTP Al MCPCB

with enough thermal paste under it

but the centering ring is also very thick...

maybe i try to sand it down a bit

at one point when i played with the lights i felt a hot sensation on my table....

the lockout is a nice feature IF you use it (which is boring)

and this happened also:

i tried to show it a bit better:

explanation: the PWM (pulse with modulation) imalent used to dim the LED simply switches it OFF/ON very fast...

but in that case in the new version the PWM is "slow" - so the camera sees the single flashes

(which, as you can see, are not less intense then the steady light)

the new strobe can also be seen in the long exposure pictures:
(new one on top)

it strobes within the strobe - which makes it the first strobe which makes me feel sick!!!

lets look at some numbers i took:

some are made in "experimental setups" with flying clamps and (thin) wires / Lumen are corrected "FenixLumens"

light out of the box DM21 V1 DM21 V2
imalent @ 4,10V 44 - 640 Lm 11 - 740 Lm
Samsung 30Q @ 4,09V 45 - 680 Lm 11 - 764 Lm
cell direct to head
imalent @ 4,10V 800 @ 3A 810 @ 3A
Samsung 30Q @ 4,09V 856 @ 3,45 A 920 @ 3,7A
tailcap/driver running a XM-L2 ( setup draws 4,1A / 1300 Lumen DD with 30Q )
51 Lm @ 0,17 10 Lm @ 0,039A
950 Lm @ 2,8A 1024 Lm @ 3,0A

i think there is some resistor/electonic in the head.... i will find out!

my conclusion:

  • I really love the ideas imalent used to build that flashlight and holster!
  • the dial wheel (which can easily be operated with one hand) is as simple as perfect
  • the sensor instead of a clickie is gorgeous! (in theorie)
  • Imalent once again showed us that they do not fear to try new ways to change the way we use our flashlights.
  • the build quality and used materials are very good (beside the holster ;)) and at the high standard we are used to see from them.
  • a A+ for the fact they heared what the reviewers told them and they changed according to our recommendations!

but in my personal preference there are some things why i will not EDC this light / holster ...

  • the holster is still "meh" - full of great ideas, but not perfect (i think it will not last very long - but time will tell)
  • the fix of the "high low" was to use slow, annoying PWM - a step back in my opinion
  • the adjustment of the brightness has little, noticeable steps (nitpicking - it works nice)
  • the power switch is still too sensitive!
  • the added electronically lockout is not useful - in fact you would have to tap 4 times to switch the lights ON or OFF, because the lockout has to be active while you wear the light
  • according to the manual the holster may not be used outdoor (would be better called "not in wet conditions")
  • the power indicator could give us values

feel free to ask any question or measurement you miss! i will try to ad it..

i tried to keep my review short and on the spot - maybe i failed already ;)

€dit took a video to show the Lumen range where the PWM is noticeable:

I think I understand this… So in the PWM photo up there… the one on the left (your right hand) is the old version and the one on the right is the new version? So to get down to 11 lumens they added PWM on the low end of the scale? I don’t remember any visible PWM on my version on any of the output modes.

There is PWM on my "pre-production" unit. Frequency is very high, but still visible with the help of fast moving blades. PWM is not really an issue for this light imo.

Thanks! I my (video) camera didn’t pick it up, nor did my eyes, so I didn’t mention it and didn’t do any further testing on it. I always make a note if my camera or my eyes see it, but if I can’t see it then I don’t consider it a real issue. It looks like it’s been slowed down to the point of visibility for the new version.

the PWM on V2 is picked up in the video and the pictures (made with my phone) and can be heared (i am really dumb on high frequencies…) also by me.
on V1 it is not noticeable and does not bother me there

@freeme: did you had the chance to compare both versions head to head?

Thanks for this answer!

I did not request from it. I rather have a DM20 or DM22 to compare with.

Thank you for the very nice review Martin.
The holster not being waterproof is a bit of a worry though. Hate to get a shock in the gonads. :nerd_face:

I think the Nitecore MH20 should fit in the holster?

Uhoh. Noticeable PWM. Mine still hasn’t come, and I’m already regretting it, haha.

Nice review. Those pics demonstrating PWM are quite informative and educational. Thanks :)

thank you :slight_smile:

I only detect the PWM with equipment, not with my eyes…
as in many other of my flashlights …. perhaps I’m not too sensitive about that.

€dit took a video to show the Lumen range where the PWM is noticeable:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/fRz66-B1giw

IF one is sensing it can matter a lot

some get headaches or a "strange feeling" from PWMed light...

(i had once a epileptical attack and can "feel" some lights)