Review: Astrolux MH10

Astrolux MH10 Rechargeable Flashlight

The Astrolux MH10 Rechargeable flashlight. Banggood's newest addition to the Astrolux line-up. I was fortunate to be chosen to receive one of the four production samples that Banggood sent out.

The most notable specs are as follows:

  • Genuine CREE XPL-Hi Emitter on Copper MCPCB
  • SMO Reflector
  • 1Lm to 1000Lm Output
  • Infinite brightness adjustment via ramping
  • Hidden blinkies (Strobe, SOS, Beacon)
  • Touch controls
  • LCD for Battery Level and Lumen setting
  • Wide voltage driver allows for 1x18650 Li-ion or 2xCR123 batteries
  • Built-in Thermal regulation to prevent overheat
  • Built-in Micro USB charging
  • 365m Beam Distance
  • 14600 Beam Intensity
  • Low Battery warniing
  • Anti-roll head only 32mm
  • Length only 109mm with standard 25.4mm body
  • *** 18350 and NW emitter option available within a month

First Impressions:

At first glance I was surprised to see that this was not much bigger than a Nitecore EA11 or a SK-68. Very clean appearance with the only brand markings located on the tailcap. A plus for those that like the unbranded look. The second thing that I noticed was how discreet the switches were. I have never has a light with switches like these so it was going to take a night of playing to see to if I liked them.

Some size comparisons...................

L to R: X6SS, Fenix PD35, EE X5, Astrolux MH10 (center), SWM G25C, Nitecore EA11, Manker T01

If one looks closely they will see 2 recesses in the body for a clip (not included with the package)

Usage:

Never having had a flashlight with discreet touch controls, I felt foolish having to wait for a day to contact Banggood and tell them that I believe that I had a DOA light. Fortunately I was wrong, although I lost one of my days available for review and writing. In order to activate the light one must double tap the button about the LCD. I just kept touching once and of course nothing would happen. I guess reading the included and well written English instructions would have helped but who reads them? Anyhow, the "double tap" is a nice feature to prevent accidental activation when handling.

First start brought the Astrolux MH10 straight into Max. Touching the switches below the LCD will lower the output, all the way to 1 Lm if desired. The LCD adds a great mount of convenience to see the output setting and battery voltage. The LCD is also a great learning tool but more on that later.

The UI:

Turn on - "Double tap" upper (most forward) switch

Turn off - "Single tap" upper (most forward) switch

Adjust up - Touch and hold upper (most forward) switch

Adjust down - Tough and hold lower (most rearward) switch

Enter blinky modes - "Double tap" upper switch while on.

This UI utilizes last mode memory. Aside from blinky modes, wherever turned off is where it will restart. If a person likes to start in low then they must turn off in Low. The same applies for those that like to start in Max.

The UI will not cycle in a loop from High to Low or vice-versa. Once at Max you must reverse to go down and the same applies with Low. When entering the blinkies, a single tap will cycle through each blinky until you reach the prior original steady output setting. I did not see a shortcut that brought me back to the original steady setting without cycling through.

The LCD:

Comparing the output settings to my other lights (I do not have a light box), the LCD of this Astrolux MH10 appears accurate. The LCD is also accurate for battery voltage with one caveat. The battery voltage shown is the actual operating voltage. What this means is that if a battery suffers from voltage sag (like the 18650B that I used) it will show a lower voltage. Unfortunately I do not have any 30Q button tops (yet) to see what happens.

(NOTE: Protected batteries are recommended. I seldom use protected batteries but I monitor my tools and equipment. I have to agree that most should use protected batteries. Due to the reverse polarity protection scheme (similar to Nitecore) button tops batteries must be used. )

Note that the driver has a post instead of a spring and the blade to the side it raised above the post for polarity protection

Freshly charged 181650B (4.2V) shows 4.1V on the LCD at Max and quickly falls to 3.8V. That is not a bad battery nor a bad LCD reading. It shows what is really happening. When the operating battery level gets to 3.1 V the LCD will begin to flash and show a symbol of an empty battery. If people pat attention to this then there is virtually no way to damage a battery.

Remember when I said that this LCD can be used as a good learning tool or teaching tool? Not only can we see what happens with batteries and those of different types but we can also see the effective visual differences between different output levels. For example, one can see the difference between between 200 lumen and 1000 lumen but it is not so easy to see the difference between 700 and 1000.

Thermal Protection:

The Astrolux MH10 comes with thermal protection that will kick in at 55c. When/if the light reaches 55c the LCD will start to flash to tell you to drop the output. I had tried to see if the light automatically regulated itself and cut back on the output. At the moment I am not sure BUT I do believe it does until it gets overridden by the user. To further explain, I had turned on the light and left it at Max output. 20 minutes later when I checked the light it was still at 1000 lumen. When I checked the light at 3o minutes it was still the same but at 35 minutes the light had reduced output to 600 without any user input. The light was evenly warm but not hot (for me) and did show very nice thermal transfer. I was immediately able to bump the output back up to Max without any issue. I never did see the flashing warning and do need to test it further (just to know). Mind you, I am not Mhanlen and therefore do not have that very nice video surveillance for the flashlight run times etc. ;) (BTW - I think Mhanlen has a cat for home security...video is for the ever more important flashlight stuff. Hehe. Yes - I am envious of his video.).

Output and Beam:

I do not have a light box but I do use certain known lights that II have to compare outputs. The LCD does show the ability of a 1 lumen level. I assume this is correct because it is very low yet brighter than ToyKeeper's Sub-lumen Moon in here A6 and Bistro UI's. Max is rated at 1000 lumens. I presume this to be correct because it compares to my my Fenix PD35. Of course with this nice ramping UI every other level in between is possible.

I usually do not like ramping UI's because of the "stepping" up and down. This UI is virtually stepless. One would have to look very hard to see the steps and output goes up or down. This UI is also very fast going up and down. Most I have tried before have a very painfully long pause before anything happens. Not so here.

The beam of the Astrolux MH10 produces a small hotspot that is approximately 4 inches smaller than a Fenix PD35 or Nitecore P12 from a wall distance of 3 feet. The Astrolux MH10 still produced a faint but pleasing and usable spill. It is claimed that this Astrolux MH10 will reach 365m. From my driveway to the end of the street is approx 960 +/- feet and this Astrolux MH10 does actually hit the subdivision wall. I attribute this to the larger and deeper reflectors that this MH10 comes with as well as the XPL-Hi.

The version that I have is equipped the CW. I do not know what bin was used but I can say that I do not see any troubling blue or green. That is somewhat subjective as women can see more than men so I reserve the "to my eyes" and the statement that the color is "clean".

The stated run-time at Max seems to be accurate and possibly even a little understated using a Panasonic 18650B (which has the approximate same usable capacity as a Samsung 26F to 3V **see HKJ's site for further explanation)

Built-In Charging:

I do not have an inline meter to measure the charge rate, no did I do the approximate calculations, but I can say that this Astrolux MH10 has a charging system that I would feel comfortable with. I charged (4) different batteries and all of them stopped right at 4.2V according to my Fluke. While charging the LCD does not show a numerical value. Instead the LCD shows a battery similar to what you would see on a cell phone.

Summary (as of now):

Let me preface this summary with the following. I only put forth effort to review flashlights that I like and feel are worthy of my time. This was a sample version that was sent to me by Banggood BUT IN NO WAY should be construed that I am or feel obligated to write a favorable review. I could care less. Lousy product equals no review from me. Therefore since I am reviewing this Astrolux MH10 it should stand to reason that I believe that it is a good product that deserves a look. With that said........

It is nice to see some nicely built, easy to use, and fun to carry lights becoming available. 1000 lumens is ample for most and a level of 1 should satisfy even those that like or need lower outputs. The incredibly small host (and soon to be smaller) is nice to hold and EDC and the newer reflectors that are deeper and wider are nice. Add this to the convenient built-in charging this light easily starts to become a winner. I still have more playing to do and intend to put 40+ hours of usage on this Astrolux MH10 by this weekend. I do not think that I or my fellow testers will be disappointed. I will update this review as time goes on. It takes a lot to get me to like a flashlight nowadays. I have admittedly become spoiled but I do like this Astrolux MH10.

I do know that NW lights are in production as are 18350 tubes. Banggood is offering the inclusion free tubes for the first 100 pre-orders of this Astrolux MH10 at $35USD which really is an affordable good deal.

Nice review. Thank you :slight_smile:

@bugsy36, I don't know you personally, but I know enough to know that you're a very active member here and maybe even a veteran of the forum (too lazy to go stalking your profile right now)....so I hope I don't get banned for asking this....or incur your wrath in some fashion....but....

what exactly does this mean above?

"The Astrolux MH10 still produced a faint nut pleasing and usable spill. It is claimed that this Astrolux MH10 will reach 365m."

I mean....I could guess....but I just don't wanna......

But in all seriousness....thank you for the awesome review! Been curious about this light!

the dread autocorrect

Nice to have a new review to read today. Thanks Bugsy36!

CDJaney :)

It is called FFS.....Fat Finger Syndrome. Thank you. I see I have some typos to fix. LOL

Glad you took it in fun! Made me LOL….for real. And, being a bit on the older side, I don’t use that “term” easily or flippantly.

:smiley:

Hi Bugsy36

Nice Review - thanks

Might jump on the presale at BG

What other protected battery would you be looking to replace the NCR18650B with… Or would you say not worth buying different batteries (I’ve got a few of these Panny B’s)

What’s it like at closer range (say 20metres) - is there useable flood ?

Regards

I consider my age as well seasoned and a veteran of sustained conflicts. :wink:

Nice review. Waiting for the nw tint.

Looks like a very cool little light. It’s a rebrand of the new Imalent DN11. Did yours come with a holster? I saw another review where it had one included. Not sure how Banggood sells this light so inexpensive as the Imalent version sells for $21 more. I need to get my hands on one of these. Would be cool to see how accurate the lumens display is compared to what comes out the front.

Great review!
Can you somehow compare throw with Manker T01?

I have mesassured 21.000 lux at 1 meter (21.000cd).
I think is usable in a good range of meters.

Thank you for checking.

For reference (I do not know if my new lux meter is very reliable), I have meassured 3 lights; 21.000cd Astrolux MH10, 13.000 cd with Manker U11 and 28.500 cd with Nitecore MH20GT

Nice review, thanks.

Too bad you seasoned flashlight connoisseur do not review lights that you do not like, not only would that be very helpful but now I have to assume lights you did not review are not good enough (so please vendors and manufacturers send the man lots of lights to review so we know what can be bought :wink: )
Maybe a thread where you say what lights you have turned down with a few words why to guide us better?

Thanks for review. I’m disappointed the UI, no quick access to turbo & moon light mode!
OLED display more like a gimmick to me; it can’t function as location indicator when in the dark environment……just my own opion!

I’m sorry, should you are very disappointed with the 99% of the world flashlights models that do not have function as location indicator …… :smiley:

I am disagree with the other 99,999% lights that have not information on a display about Voltage, lumens, alert for “temperature”…… :slight_smile:

Great review, thanks I didn’t know about this one yet.

Is this the “budget” answer to the Nitecore MH20GT?

Sure looks similar, different switch and UI but pretty much the same shape and size:

MH10:…………109mm x 32mm
MH20GT:………111mm x 31.8mm

Strange too that they named it the same as a different Nitecore model (Nitecore MH10)

What are the “lock / unlock” icons on the lower (most rearward) touch switch? That button is only used for ramping downwards?
I like the smooth bezel, but it doesn’t look shiny like stainless, what’s it made of?

………………….

I’m not sure how much I like this UI. No quick way to just change modes? Better would have been having at least 2 click-able presets (low & high) plus a click-able shortcut to the highest output without ramping or having to rely on memory.

Plus I think they got the on/off backwards - better would be single tap ON / double tap OFF, isn’t turning a flashlight on quickly more important than turning it off?

A real interesting light though, a lot of great attributes.

………………….

NOTE: The $35 price was only for the first 50 orders, not the first 100. (There are currently 65 orders, so now it’s up to $37) :frowning:
I’m happy to see the neutral tint is available for pre-order, hopefully they’ll have a pocket clip for it too.

side switches can easy make a light go on in ones pockets.
The double click is clever way to avoid accidental turning on since a rapid double lick is much less likely to happen.

No, I won’t expect all flashlights have functioned as location indicator, but IMALENT DN11 have OLED build-in, it should not too diffcult to add location indicator function. I guess I expecting too much from IMALENT’s OLED disply & UI! :stuck_out_tongue: