Today we are going to present a new Lumintop model. A very versatile keychain flashlight. Lumintop has given me this model, in order to make a review, without any other compensation than the flashlight, and with complete freedom to make the criticism it deems appropriate. In the next few lines I will go through all that I consider relevant about the model.
PRESENTATION
The Geek luminop comes in the usual cardboard box simulating a "jewel-gift" box from the Lumintop brand. Outwardly it has a good presence and includes engravings of the brand in its previous part. On the back there are technical data of the model, and of the factory. Inside the box is very well conditioned, with foam material fitted to the model and accessories. On one side we find the lanyard and under the lantern we find the other accessories. In general, the presentation is good and taken care of.
Inside we find the curious GEEK, along with its accessories (board, instruction manual, lanyard and notice documentation).
CONSTRUCTION QUALITY
The first thing that will get our attention from this keychain flashlight is its design designed as "car key". It is a compact and multifunctional model as we will see later. It is made of aeronautical grade aluminum. It has two zones of illumination, one frontal like other models of the segment, and the novelty is a second zone of lateral illumination multiled. The details of each lighting area we will see later.
In its upper part there are the two buttons, the on / off button and a second button called as a function button. Below the push buttons under a bevelled lens there are 6 High Cri Nichia LEDs with neutral tint that serve to make a focus function with the Geek. The mark appears engraved next to two longitudinal strips. In the lateral zones on one side we find the USB charging bay protected by a rubber stopper. On the opposite side under a semi-transparent plastic material we find the RGB LEDs that have functions linked to the level of charge of the batteries. In the lower part there are basically decorative engravings of the model, brand and different stamps. In addition we appreciate the screws that allow us to access the interior of the lantern. The back has a double function. On the one hand it serves to anchor the lanyard, and in turn allows Tailstand. The front part houses a cold dyed XP-L HD LED under the TIR lens of the bee panel. It is also remarkable that all the edges of the lantern are bevelled and polished.
We proceed to remove the screws to see inside. When removing the screws we can proceed to remove the lower cover. This cover has an O-ring to preserve the tightness, just as there are small joints in the holes of the screws for the same purpose. Inside it has a rubber-eva sheet or equivalent to hold the internal battery. If we look inside, we see a clean and orderly distribution of the parts. It does not seem like a flashlight that is difficult to modify or update. The led is on aluminum. It has a 530 mAh battery (of the best in its segment today). In short, I really liked its construction.
SIZE AND WEIGHT
We can not say that this is the most compact and lightweight model of the segment (excluding models such as the tube within the segment), but more or less is equivalent, and offers us other options of use and more comfortable access to the UI.
USER INTERFACE
The Lumintop UI are usually very simple. However, the Geek is complex, not because it is difficult, but because it offers many options. Basically we can summarize it in:
Front Light: It has ML, low, medium and high modes.
Front Light (special modes): Strobo, SOS, Beacon.
Side Light Group 1: Low, medium and high modes
Side Light Group 2: Low, medium and high modes.
It also has lock function and mode memory. The factory comes in lock mode, which is also suitable for use whenever we carry a keychain, it allows you to illuminate if you keep the button pressed. One of the things that I liked the most is that due to the width and touch of the push buttons, its handling is very simple.
In order to explain how it works, I attach the diagram of the UI, but it is more complicated to understand that if we see the first minutes of the video that I have uploaded to my YouTube channel in which it is appreciated that the use is more than simple
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/iaz8gxc22C8?origin=https://www.forolinternas.com&rel=0&loop=1&modestbranding=0&showsearch=0&egm=0&enablejsapi=0&showinfo=0
As for the battery indicator led we find a RGB led indicator that is progressively illuminated during charging to let us know the level of the battery as explained in the image. We can also know the level of charge if the flashlight is off by pressing the function button (mode change). In discharge, it will notify us with the red LED in intermittent mode when the battery status is critical. The maximum load speed measured is 0.45 A which decreases as the load reaches 100%. When the charge ends, the three led remain on.
POWER, RUNTIME AND REGULATION
The Geek in my opinion is the most powerful segment (of my collection). The TIP can give more light on demand, because you have to keep pressed to have the active turbo. In the Geek you can use similar power freely and for almost 30 minutes in my model. The distribution of modes in the XPL seems appropriate, very similar to the Tip more or less, something lower in the middle, it has high instead of turbo. My figures are similar to what Lumintop specified.
As for the Nichia I think they could have extracted a little more power. The truth is that the 50 lumens give a lot of itself, but also having two groups of modes as it has, a height of 100 lumens with that neutral tint and that total flood projection, would be fantastic. I would have left something like 15-50-100, and in the mode two group of the sidelight, I would have set a mode of 5, 1 and 0.2 lumen. In any case to be 6 modes of the sidelight is difficult to lack something appropriate to the use we need.
The runtime is quite good and approaches my model much to the specified, but it also lowers to a minimum when the battery is low and good, after many minutes as seen in the graphics, still was giving birth. In medium mode it has better runtime than the TIP (although with less light intensity) and K1 v1 (it is swept by it).
PROJECTION
We are facing a model that has an XPL under a TIR with front lens in bee panel, and Nichias under another lens nuanced. We have a flooding projection, and a second more than flooding projection. In the video posted above there are some images and footage of the projection. I put some of them below.
Projections against the wall in holders.
Projections in garage hallway. 6 meters wide, 4.5 meters high and 95 meters long .
CONCLUSION
The first impression that occurs to you when you open it is that you will have a very cool keychain flashlight, but something big. When you use it, you understand that it has many possibilities for daily use. My conclusion is that I like it, and I see it as a success, because it is also a product that differs from the competition in a clear way. On the other hand is a flashlight that goes beyond a keychain lantern, with its three hundred and fifty lumen for half an hour it serves you if you need to walk through the field for some reason. With a Tip you have to take it 150 or not to release the turbo button.
What would be better?
I, and this is something personal, would modify the two groups of lateral light modes, leaving one more mode for normal use 15-50-100 and one mode for special occasions with low and ultra low modes.
Another thing, if the flashlight had some type of magnet incorporated in the back, the side light would be super useful.
I would have put a carabiner more than a Lanyard, and a more specific place to place it.
