3 in 1 review. At the end there will be a summary for those who like only particulars, in each topic I will bold the key sentences for those who read a little more, and a long waffling for everyone else. Enjoy!
For VERY large photos: click -> on the photo page right click -> "Open image in new tab"
Simon, Convoy owner, was very kind and send me this flashlight for this review. You can buy it in official Convoy store:
Table of Contents:
-General parameters
- Package content
- Appearance, parameters
- UI, runtime and charging
- PWM
- Waterproofness
- Light pattern, tint
- Beamshots
- Usage and my experiences
- Summary
Material: aluminium alloy
LED: Osram KW CULPM1.TG
Low voltage protection (LVP): Yes (flashlight turns off at 2.8V)
Reverse polarity protection: Yes
Lens type: AR-coated glass lens
Reflector: smooth, SMO
Memory mode: Yes
Tailstand: Yes
Contains a battery: No
Required type and number of batteries: 1x unprotected Li-Ion cell 21700
Driver: 12 groups, maximum output 8000 mA, thermal protection
Length / diameter: 179 mm / 64.5 mm
Weight: 353g flashlight itself, 420g with battery
The package was standardly packed with the flashlight itself, without any other additives. The box was solid and the flashlight was well protected by foams.
Looks like a thrower. And that's exactly what it is, if any flashlight would deserve to be called a full-blooded thrower, that's the one.
All right, let's start with the front:
- Quite an aggressive tactical bezel, aluminum
- SMO recflector - smooth, long throw
Now take a moment to appreciate how beautiful it is. Perfectly smooth. If I were to compare it to other flashlights, the difference in quality is clearly visible.
- Osram diode KW.CULPM1.TG - not as popular as for example XHP50 - will also reach a smaller audience. As you can see, it is very small, which makes it shine with very focused light (not as concentrated as in flashlights from Chinese Aliexpress offers: "Mega focused good light, gift, fun, shines for 2km, army, children, holidays" and you get some glowing poop - it really is focused here
- Head with significant fins to help dissipate heat
- On the driver's side, instead of the spring, there is a metal pin, which helps in electric contact, on the back side there is a bridged spring - high level.
- The threads are trapezoidal, the one next to the switch is anodized, which allows the flashlight to be locked mechanically by slightly unscrewing the cap at the back.
- Reverse-type switch - lighting up after an audible click, changing modes by pressing lightly. Space for a leash.
The L21A has been in different diode configurations and the host itself is not new, but I've always wanted to review this flashlight and I can tell you that I'm not disappointed with it so far.
UI
A 12 group mode driver, also known as Biscotti. Each group we can select and use has several modes, so everyone should find something suitable.
Runtime
I tested the High mode, that is 35% brightness - 680lm. In this mode, it was lighting up for 132 minutes, that is more than 2 hours until it was fully extinguished, and as you can see on the graph (a lot of vertical bars) it warned with flashes of low charge of the cell. The flashlight has LVP, which turned off at 2.8V - this is good news for me, I don't like when the flashlight turns off at 3.1V for example
I also tested Turbo, 100% brightness, ~ 1300lm for 10 minutes. It burned lightly in the hands at the end and the temperature in the warmest spot was 50°C.
Assuming that everyone will use 100% power only on the outside, the flashlight should reduce the brightness even more gently.
Charging
The flashlight has no built-in charger. In my opinion it is a plus.
I have not observed any on the lowest mode
I threw it into my aquarium, it was supposed to be there for 2 hours, but I forgot about it and it lay there less than 5 hours.
After some time, quite a large pile of fish gathered there.
Results? It was shining all the time, and there was not a drop of water inside. The depth wasn't big, but 5 hours under water is a lot - some of the flashlights I tested at a similar price didn't last 10 minutes.
Osram diode KW.CULPM1.TG, light towards cold, brightness max 1390lm in the first flash, after about 5 seconds ~ 1290lm. Cold tint.
As I have already mentioned, it is a flashlight for a narrow audience. And they are:
1. people who collect flashlights
2 People who really need a flashlight which for some reason will light up something that is 400 meters away.
ISO200, t2s, f/3.5 sunlight white balance
A picture of how a forest looks
Flashlights photos:
The enlarged version shows that even the 1% mode with a brightness of 28lm is enough to illuminate a pole 65m away. With 10% power and 235lm you can see a second pole 190m away. Impressive.
Comparison of this thrower with M21C-U, SMO reflector with XHP70.2 diode, i.e. small diode and narrow light vs big diode and wider light
Left player with a brightness of 3500lm will not light up even half as far as his opponent with only 1300lm. As you can see, every flashlight is good for something else and you can't have a 600m throw thrower with a wide beam of light.
A short story of my life: Long, long ago, behind the mountains, behind the woods there was me. Even as a little boy, I wanted to have a flashlight, which shines on a kilometer. On the Internet I used to watch films about people shining with big heavy headlights over long distances. I would fall asleep, dreaming about something like that (although it was pointless, because it is a kind of spotlight like from a prison guard). Then I bought myself a zoom from Aliexpress for 4 $. It wasn't as good as they assured from China. Then I started to review the flashlights and found such specimens as Convoy M21C with SST40 diode. It lit further than the zoom. Then I found Mateminco, whose name I don't remember, such a thrower with a big spotlight and SST40. "This is it", I thought. Really, it shone narrowly and far away. But then I found this flashlight - with a smaller spotlight - and completely forgot about this Mateminco whose name I can't remember any more. Now I know that I found my only one.
And besides, it's a nice flashlight, it shines so far and such.
Using the foggy aura
Now I'm going to melt this car! Buahahahaha
The Convoy L21A with Osram diode KW.CULPM1.TG has been designed to fit my tastes perfectly. It will also fit into the tastes of the eternally greedy for throw people. The quality of manufacturing is at the highest level.
Do I recommend it? Definitely yes, for the price ~ 45$ it is worth it.
Pros:
+ General quality of manufacturing
+ Very good throw
+ Waterproof
Cons:
- What?
- What cons?
About host - threads, knurling o-rings and so on
Rating: 10/10
About light - UI, tint and so on
Rating:9/10
1 - very bad flashlight hurts to look at, terrible quality, not worth any (even very low) price
5 - average flashlight, at a reasonable price - for the average person "great". Or better flashlight, but overpriced
10 - flashlight meets all my expectations in a given category (e.g EDC, headlamp, thrower), it's durable and neatly made, perfect light tint, worth its (even slightly inflated) price - just pure perfect, so I doubt any light can get a 10 from me
