Imalent LD70 - First Impressions

(stock picture from Imalent… mine is the blue one).
My Imalent LD70 arrived. Here are my first impressions:

  • Output - This light is very bright. I don’t have an integrating sphere, but comparing to other lights I think output really does look to be close to 4000 lumens. Well done! I haven’t tried a runtime or temperature test so can’t comment on the runtime or heatsinking. The light has a cool-white Cree XHP 70.2 emitter and is powered by a non-replaceable 1100 mAh 18350.
  • Beam pattern - almost complete flood. Floodier than many of the small quads and triples around. This makes the light great for up close. On turbo you can light up a whole street. But this light does not throw, so if you need a long distance light this is not a good choice.
  • Tint - cool white as expected. Not greenish, which is good.
  • Size - despite the marketing this is not a keychain light. This is really more of an EDC-size. It’s similar in size to a Jetbeam RRT-01, and just a bit smaller than an FW3A (about the same width, but shorter). It’s definitely not the smallest 18350 light around. Others like the Thrunite T1 or FW3A/Emisar D4 with 18350 body tube are much smaller.
  • Hand feel - very unusual high-tech looking shape. Feels decent in the hands, but the grip is a bit slippery due to lack of knurling. On the upside, if used as a bedside light, the squarish shape means it won’t roll around. The light tailstands.
  • Interface - click for on/off. Click and hold from on to cycle modes. Double-click at any point for turbo. Triple-click for voltage. Quad-click for lockout. The UI is fine except the lowest mode is only 20 lumens. In my opinion, an EDC light like this should have a moonlight or at least a very low mode of 2 lumens or less. This doesn’t have that. Interface is very much like Olight except for the lack of any shortcut to the lowest mode. It would be good if they add that and a moonlight mode in the future (best option would be long-press from off activates lowest mode).
  • Switch - The button has a fairly soft-touch. This is not a good thing in EDC lights like this since it means a high likelihood of the button accidentally turning on in the pocket. This makes using the electronic lockout is mandatory, which I don’t like, since it means you can’t just whip the light out of your pocket and get instant light. A stiffer switch would have been better in my opinion.
  • Oled Display - very cool feature. The display is crisp and clear. Nice to have the voltage and output readout. My only criticism about the display is it is very small and if you’re like me and need reading glasses, the display is hard to read without them. I would prefer a larger display.
  • Charging - cable attaches easily and seems to work well. the cable contains a strong magnet. The contacts in the light contain a weaker magnet.
  • Modding potential - It’s not obvious how or even if this light can be disassembled. Modding it to swap to a neutral emitter or replace the battery might not be possible. However, I read that extra o-rings are included (I haven’t double-checked), which suggests at least the bezel comes off.

Pros

  • Unique look and feel
  • Oled display is well done, if a bit small
  • Impressive output
  • Tailstands
  • Anti-roll
  • Available in different body colors
  • Shortcut to Turbo
  • Comes in slick packaging. Almost like an Apple device.

Cons

- Built-in battery

- Magnet in tail of light means you probably should not store it in same pocket as your credit cards.

- Use of electronic lockout is mandatory due to soft-touch switch

- No moonlight or very low mode.

- No shortcut to lowest mode.

- No pocket clip

- Marketed as a keychain light when it is clearly in a different size-class. This is an EDC light, not a keychain light. It comes with a lanyard. It does not come with a keychain or keychain attachment in the box.

  • Does not appear easy to mod

I just saw this over at BG. Looks interesting (mostly because of the Oled display). I don’t think i’ll buy it though. Thanks for the review :beer:

I have one as well, nice light and i can only confirm your thougths

Output is quite high, probably close to 4000 Lm
Floody
Size it is too big for an 18350 light, but hey, it has magnetic charging, a boost driver for the XHP70, an OLED display and an e-switch which all add up in size
Hand feel, techy, slippery
Interface is not good and not bad, it has no real low mode and you have to cycle through all modes, why don’t they use a longer click for reverse like the BLF/EE A6 ?

i don’t like the built in battery
I don’t know how to open it without damaging, probably by unscrewing the screwed-in bezel
it’s a fairly big light, its at least 1 cm taller and wider than a 21700 cell

Thanks for the review!
I guess there are too much cons to consider it :neutral_face:
For that size, it could almost have a 18500 inside :stuck_out_tongue:

Great Review thank you.

The Imalent LD70 is the brightest Keychain Flashlight with 4000 Lumen.
Nice body in black,green, brown or blue.
Specialprice by Gatzetec.de

https://www.gatzetec.de/bilder/Imalent/ld70.jpg

Regards Thorsten

flashlights for Friends

Because small size is a main attraction, a picture of this flashlight with a small, common object would be helpful to show its size. Picture of the flashlight without reference object does not show the size of the flashlight. Can someone post a picture of this flashlight with a set of keys?

If anyone is interested in one, i am willing to get rid of mine for a low price

Small size !

Regards Gatzetec

Gatzetec, seeing that you are a seller, I guess it would be better for you to create a thread with the deals you have to offer in your store :+1:

If, one the one side, it is more correct and follows the forum rules for commercial sellers, on the other side, you could more adequatly place the deals, answer questions from interested buyers, etc . :+1: