ArmyTek Barracuda V2

I just got my second ArmyTek light today, the Barracuda V2 with XP-L emitter and the redesigned smooth head with silver SS bezel. As expected, the heavy matte anodization is simply wonderful! This light has no knurling, no grip aid to speak of at all, relying instead on the grippy tendency of the heavy matte ano. I like it! :slight_smile:

The reflector is waaaaaaay deep, like twice the depth of the new MaxToch M24 Sniper I just got. But, alas, the XP-L is not exactly centered and the beam profile suffers for it. And they seem to have glued the thin bezel on, it won’t budge. (yet)

I got this because I’ve always wanted a Barracuda, always loved the finish on these ArmyTek lights. And also because of the constant current driver. I’ve got loads of FET drivers that die as the cell does, so I thought a nice thrower with constant current could come in handy. Well, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be apparently.

They rate it at 1470 LED Lumens for 675M throw, also they state 114,000 candela. I get 1110 lumens in my light box, 72.75Kcd for an extrapolated 539.44M throw. pretty weak, huh? By contrast, the new Sniper at much less monies does 256Kcd for 1012.42M throw. (This with a de-domed XP-L V6 1D, I killed the HI it came with, oops! The Sniper is still stock though, other than the emitter)

ArmyTek did send a single cell tube with rubber cigar grip that is removable, so that’s pretty neat, and it looks pretty awesome in that single cell format with it’s larger long head. Wonder if it’s more efficient on one cell? Hmmmm……

Anyway, I’ll get some pics later and post them up, get a beamshot tonight. And if I get inside, I’ll show that as well. :wink:

Edit: Couple of revealing pics

Gotta show the exquisite ano and labeling first

And now a look at the emitter inside the ultra deep reflector

Closer look at the reflector itself…

Pretty sure the machine marks in the reflector are not conducive to a thrower. When I get the bezel off, I’ll hand polish this out in a top to bottom direction, or across the lines, I’ll use sandpaper first and graduate up to the Mother’s Polish that works so well. I’m betting the output and throw will show a marked increase at that point. We’ll see in a couple of days…

My Predator Pro v3 XP-L HI is way under Armytek’s promised specs as well. They’re awesome lights in just about every other way, but they just don’t seem to perform as promised. Not sure what’s going on with that…

I just want to see if you can get that sucker open…

I have been toying with the idea of picking an Armytek for a while. But I have to say this has put me off. As nice as they are, and they are nice, I would be pretty annoyed to receive a light that was 25% short on the lumens it promised.

Have any of you guys asked armytek about the problem?

Ordering a watch case back removal spanner wrench from Amazon that goes up to 60mm, 3 point, that should do the trick. :slight_smile:

Yeah Amrytech have the best anodization that i have seen, unfortunately Barracuda V2 is maybe the most mod unfrendly flashlight in existance

The besel isnt glued, it just have kinda thicker o-ring and lotsa sillicone on the threat…just wait when you start removing the reflector :smiley: …mine came glued to the mcpsb……insane eh?

The one cell option is great and it should give arround 3-5-3.8 tail amps, after dedome mod, spring and wires its as good as M2x
It could be a good flashlight if it wasnt so hard to get it open and mod cause by default its nothing special realy, yet the ano is great

Another great Armytek V2 thing is its AR glass: lovely

Mitko, is your reflector polished mirror smooth? Mine shows the machine lines from when it was cut, big time, which totally kills decent throw.

And with one cell, it simply won’t do worth a darn. In my light box it CAN show 483 lumens but it will only flash it, then immediately drop to 265. It works fine with 2 cells, gotta figure this out on the one cell thing. Something’s not right.

Also, do you see a parabolic curve to the reflector or do the walls seem cut fairly straight? It’s such a deep reflector it’s difficult to get it to show in a picture…

Hello,
i had Predator XP-L HI a few days at home. Output was terrible for max, around 600 lumens I guess. PD35 Tac flashed out Armytek although they are such a different flashlights. Sure, throw was much more spotted with Armytek, but the brightness wasnt good. Finally, Armytek stopped working, output went down to zero point and finished. Thats just a small comparison. Great potential of XL-P HI, but a lot wrong with flashlight. Big disappointment.

MOD it! :bigsmile:
Dang sure thing that’s what I’ll do if I have any more issue with it, I’ll put an FET driver in it and make it SING!

Hm, strange….mine worked fine at 3.6 with a single cell, i actual got 3 on a promo localy ( bought them for 50% of their retail price)

The reflectors came perfect, not even a single machine line or even a single dust particle: i opened it with a number 41 socket wrench which in my case fitted very nice- on 2 of them, the third had a bit smaller ring so i left if for future tunning… your post actualy surprice me greatly, well i was thinking that Armytek are hard to mod but always have great quality…it seems it aint true, or maybe you have a different revision…or i dont know what exacly

I still got one for myself( i will mod it when i have the time) and will keep it mainly for the anno and the reflector plus its lovely green AR glass

Since yours are kinda different revision lets hope the reflector isnt glued to the PCB- if i didnt saw this myself i wouldnt believe it

I just tried an amperage reading and got 2.31 at the tail with 2 cells, stuck the single cell tube on and tried again and got a whopping 6.19A!!! It stepped down to 5.33A within about 20 seconds after going completely off then blinking a couple of times.

...Thanks God. I received my Armytek. They even provide a CREE Color Chart on da banana box.

I love Canada brand !

HERE IS MY BEAUTIFUL DOBYMANN XP-L HI (LimiTeD EdiTion R)

Lovely...

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I put it on the lightbox while taking a tail current reading. It only did 1090 lumens while pulling 6.33A at the tail. Messed up stuff right there, at that tail amperage it should be making 1600 lumens easy. It’s over riding that high current, stepping down quickly. If I put the tail cap on and try it, it flashes a high but immediately drops output.

No... You don't understand. Please, check back your tool. I am sure that your tailcap's reader is a poor made in China tester. Trust me... They are Canada'dry professional.
Read the Truth:
"We decided to implement in our products only the best LEDs and cutting-edge electronics made in Japan

and USA to obtain the revolutionary and unprecedented results.
You are able to throw almost all our flashlights from 10th-floor height and submerge them at 50 meters. Why? We’ve just put in such great margin of safety.
10 years no-hassle warranty.
We bust myths.
No more compromises. NO MORE! NOOO MOREE!!!
Forget everything you’ve known about flashlights before.
(God Bless China)

Sorry, I use a good Clamp Meter with a 12 Ga Turnigy wire for a loop. It’s accurate.

Perhaps you should slow down on the coffee….:wink:

Hmm it doesnt seem right, maybe somehting is shorting the driver out

JungleCoffee sounds like someone that had a very bad time with that brand :slight_smile:

Keep us updated pls, it seems you have a different V2

...I think, they should "slow down" on their bla-bla marketing crap.

Dale? What happen to human kind? How such a huge and ridiculous amount of merchandising bullshit can be just accepted as a standard?

Well. Let's focus on politically correct topic. Led and Flashlight...

SB4 or 5B1? Is the V6 really that better than the V5? Is this possible to fry eggs on 20x 8C3 feed on 300A?

Its Friday night and I’ve had a couple of beers and a glass of wine, but this thread has me beat! I’m not sure what’s going on anymore. Jungle coffee is not helping tbings .

I know, right? ANSI ratings and all that, ArmyTek is SUPPOSED to be a top brand. I’ve wanted a Barracuda for a long time but wouldn’t pay full price. Finally, Black Friday gave me the opportunity, and now this. The reflector is just ridiculous, never seen it’s like even in a cheap budget light. The machining lines, ugh. And now it won’t function properly on a single cell either. I don’t know if I should return it or mod it. But the big attraction is in the driver, it’s supposed constant current capability. I guess I’ll talk to the supplier and see what they have to say.

Well, I’m not really into frying eggs on a light, but some of them can de-solder connections so that’s plenty hot to do it!

I like white light, neither blue nor green nor fire orange. That’s just me. Show me that emitter and I’ll stock up on em…

OH yeah... 99% transparency, so you can spot that awesome best in the World finish

33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove vinyl record Reflector style... Throwing crap...

Oh... I guess it's some limited edition vintage stuff...