RUSTU RX-40 4 x Cree XM-L T6 (1x26650/18650)
*Provided for review by DealExtreme.com
DX SPECIFICATIONS
| Brand | RUSTU |
| Model | RX-40 |
| Color | Black |
| Material | T6063 T6 Aluminum |
| Emitter Brand | Cree |
| LED Type | XM-L T6 |
| LED Color Bin | Cool White |
| Number of Emitters | 4 |
| Number of modes | 5 |
| Mode Arrangement | Hi > Med > Low > Strobe > SOS |
| Brightness (lumens) | 1360 > 980 > 750 > 1200 > 900 |
| Switch Type | Reverse Clicky |
| Switch Location | Tailcap |
| Mode Memory | No |
| Runtime | 4 hours (Hi mode) |
| Beam Range | 300m |
| Lens | Optical Glass |
| Reflector | Aluminum Smooth (SMO) |
| Battery Configuration | 1x26650/18650 |
| Strap included | No |
| Clip Included | No |
| Waterproof | IPX-7 |
| Anodizing | HAIII Hard Anodization |
| Head Diameter | 75mm |
| Body Diameter | 35mm |
| Tail Diameter | 40mm |
| Total Length | 180mm |
| Packing list | 1 x Flashlight, 1X 18650 battery adapter |
| Price | $48.70 USD |
MY NOTED & CORRECTED SPECIFICATIONS
| Number of Modes | 5 |
| Modes arrangement | Hi > Hi > Low > Strobe > SOS |
| Brightness (H/H/L) | 1303 / 1303 / 459 |
| Memory | Yes (Last Mode) |
| Waterproof | No (O-rings too thin) |
| 18650 Battery adapter | No |
| Pill Depth | 29.5mm |
| Driver diameter | 20mm |
| Head diameter | 74mm |
| Reflector Diameter | 66mm |
| Individual reflector diameter | 24mm |
| Lens diameter x height | 69.62 x 2.47mm |
| Battery tube I.D. | 27.05 |
| Battery tube O.D. | 33mm |
| Tailcap diameter | 38mm |
| Switch boot diameter x height | 16mm x 8mm |
PROS
- Extremely comfortable in the hand
- Beam pattern is very good.
- Reflector is a massive and heavy chunk of aluminum.
- Threads are average but super smooth. Came lubed.
- Some modding potential
- Extremely fast PWM
CONS
- Low output
- No medium mode (High and "Medium" are both the same)
- Finish is just average for a budget light. A number of dings on the light from the factory.
- O-rings on battery tube too thin to be waterproof
- Under driven
- Low mode is far too bright
- No 18650 battery adapter
- One-piece head has great heat sinking potential but machining grooves and anodized surface ruin it.
- Farr too expensive for what it is. Should be $25 tops.
PERFORMANCE
| Mode | OTF Lumens |
| High | 1303 |
| Medium | 1303 |
| Low | 459 |
| Lux @ 2m | 5330 |
| Lux @ 1m (corrected) | 21,320 |
| Throw in meters | 292 |
Output is very low for a 4 emitter light. Just 1303 OTF lumens. The beam pattern is pretty impressive though. The hotspot is very focused and the spill is super smooth. If you saw just the white wall shots of the beam you would think it was a single emitter light. There is no scalloping of the spill edges like there is with most multi-emitter lights.
There is no medium mode, just a repeat of high mode and the low mode is far too bright at 459 lumens for anything but outdoor use. PWM is very fast and barely shows at all on the ceiling fan. At least they got one thing right with the output.
CONSTRUCTION
I will go over the construction and build quality as I show you the pics below. I will note that this light feels very good in the hand. All edges are slightly rounded and not sharp anywhere. It simply feels good in the hand when held.
The RX-40 arrived in a custom corrugated box that was a little worse for wear from shipping in it's padded envelope.
Inside the box is a heavy bubble sleeve that had nearly all bubbles intact.
There was no battery adapter sleeve in my sample. As you can see form the pic below, there are several nicks and gouges in the head and a couple in the tail that were made before the anodization. The ano is heavy but doesn't feel like HAIII to me. More like HAII.
Decent looks and ample finning for heat dissipation. Unfortunately much of the light doesn't get the chance to be wicked away by the fins.
The reflector is made of 4 small, complete reflectors. They offer better performance than I expected. They are nicely polished and pretty much free of blemishes. and arrived very clean.
The head reminds me of a huge C8 head.
The tail is very solid and wide. it tail stands great and has a single, large lanyard hole that looks like it would accommodate 550 Paracord.
Overall head diameter is 74mm.
Individual reflectors are 24mm in diameter.
Here you can see the bezel, lens and thick O-ring
The lens is roughly 70mm x 2.5mm
The O-ring is the thickest I've seen in a light at 3mm.
The reflector is a very heavy and solid slab of aluminum. The plating is actually very good as is the polishing.
The machining on the non-visible backside of the reflector s nowhere as nicely machined but does it's job. All 4 emitters have plastic centering bushings.
The head is actually a one-piece design and has potential for excellent thermal capability. What ruins it is the heaving machining rings in the surface of the emitter base. It means that the only thing filling in the massive amount of space between each emitter's MCPCB is Fujik thermal compound. This surface should be ground smooth for maximum metal to metal contact between the emitter MCPCBs and the mounting base for them. The anodizing adds further to the heat sinking issues as anodized aluminum does not transfer heat as well as bare aluminum. The emitter stars (MCPCB) are 16mm in diameter.
At the back of the head, a thick aluminum disk threads into the back and makes ground contact for the driver. It also holds the press fit driver into place.
The driver sits in a ledge that is only half as deep as the drivers PCB is thick. This makes the outer ground ring of the driver fully contact the threaded retaining disk.
The driver measures 20mm in diameter
here you can se the components that make up the driver circuit.
There is a ton of room inside the pill. The hollow inside is about 40mm across and is 29mm deep. Lots of room if you wanted to mod the light with a larger driver.
The walls of the battery tube are very thick
The battery tube will accommodate a cell 27mm wide and will take all protected 26650 cells. Thanks to springs on both ends, a flat-topped cell will work just as well in the RX-40 as a button topped cell.
Knurling in the body is average. but not as thin as many other budget lights. The laser etching is crisp and solid.
Threads aren't anodized but they are very smooth. O-rings on either end of the battery tube are too thin to protect the light form anything but rain. I would not feel safe submersing this light.
The tailcap has a large brass contact bushing. n Threading is deep and clean.
Here you can see all the usual tail switch components removed from the tail cap.
The GITD switch boot is thick and provides good feel. It does not interfere with tail standing.
Here you see the light tail standing. It's a solid standard due to the wide base.
Here you can see the tight hot spot. It's a little smaller in person than in the pic. The camera makes it look bigger than it is. The most interesting thing IMO is how perfectly round the outer edge of the spill is. No flowering or scalloped edges like there is with most multi-emitter lights. The beam pattern looks like it's a single emitter.
CONCLUSION
The RUSTU RX-40 is just an average light. If it was priced around half of what it is it would be a fare deal. For the $48 it sells for I cannot recommend it. There are far better lights that put out far more light and have way better quality for less money than this light. Lights like the SRK should completely divert your attention form this one if you are looking for a compact multi-emitter light. As more of a direct comparison, a Shadow SL3 can be had for just a few dollars more and is an exceptional light for about the same money as the Rustu RX-40.
To me the RX-40 is a miss and I cannot recommend it.
