Raysoon RS-F17 (1x18650, XM-L U2)
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★½☆
Reviewer's Mod Host Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary:
| Battery: | 1x18650 |
| Switch: | Tail, Reverse-Clicky |
| Modes: | H 100%, M 50%, L 20%, Strobe, SOS, next-mode memory |
| LED Type: | Cree XM-L U2 (est. 1A or 1B tint) |
| Lens: | Standard Glass |
| Tailstands: | Yes |
| Price Paid: | Review sample from DX, reg. price was $22.90 |
| From: | DX |
| Date Ordered: | N/A |
Pros:
- comfortable to hold, fits well in the hand, compact
- Good heatsinking
- Large pill, lots of room for emitter star and driver
- Nice protective accessory case
- Includes a headlight strap (see cons)
- Excellent reflector, good design
- Good machining overall
- Perfectly centered emitter (see cons)
- Good mod host
Cons:
- Uses cheap direct drive 5-mode driver with next-mode memory
- Poorly spaced modes; Med and Low are both too bright
- PWM is audible but not visible
- Workmanship issues with O-Ring and machining slivers
- cheap looking clip, not very secure
- Light clip on headband is to easy to rotate
- Emitter centering spacer is too thick, blocks a lot of light, emitter held too far out of reflector
Features / Value: ★★★★☆
Design / Build Quality: ★★★☆☆
Battery Life: ★★★½☆
Light Output: ★★½☆☆
Overview
In the 1x18650 'tactical' flashlight market, there are a lot of options. From cheap knockoffs that have lots of shortcuts internally and externally, to expensive durable examples that most of us would love to own. The space in between is a smorgasbord of clones, copies, and originals that can surprise or disappoint. The Raysoon RS-F17 leans toward the former, especially when you consider the price.
Let's start with the exterior. The machining on the light is very good. No sharp edges and there are only hints of machining marks on the tailcap. The anodize is just OK, with no dings or scratches when received. The quickly changed near the heatsink area, after just regular handling. Those edges are showing a few spots of missing ano. Nothing major, just noticeable. Note, in the image below, the mark on the nameplate was on the host before anodizing.
Tailstand is not a problem here.
From the front, we see the perfectly centered, yet poorly spaced emitter. The emitter is held too far out of the reflector, and the spacer protudes into the reflector which can be seen in the reflection. This translates into lost lumens.
The tail end features two cutouts for easier button-pressing, and two lanyard holes. The switch boot is barely GITD and has an 'X' pattern on it. The button feels good when pressed, not squishy.
As a 1x18650 'tactical style' light, the handling is good. It fits naturally in the hand, a bit too small for my larger hands though (I find myself reaching for 26650 lights).
The light comes apart at the tailcap, and between the body and the head. The clip is cheap looking and doesn't wrap around the hos enough to provide a very secure connection.
The tailcap threads are well cut, trapezoidal, but not overly deep. They came almost dry, but once lubed they are really smooth. They are anodized, allowing for tailcap lockout.
Tearing down the tailcap results in the typical parts. It seems adequate, but that spring should be braided to increase current flow.
Onto the head end. There are two sections here, reflector and pill. Notice the reflector has a retaining ring, an uncommon feature. This makes candle mode feasible, since removing the bezel does not result in loose parts everywhere.
Starting with the reflector section, when disassembling, I noticed that the lens O-ring was pinched. Fortunately the O-ring is intact.
Here are the parts laid out. The leftmost piece is a machining sliver that got stuck in retaining ring for the reflector. The ring was not tightened down enough so the reflector rattled when I received the light.
On to the pill section, we find the usual standard items. The pill is solid with enough room for some driver options. There was a ring on the battery side of the pill, presumably to hold the pill in place. It has no tightening holes, so I did not reinstall it. The pill can be tightened down all the way without a problem, so it appears to be vestigial. Another workmanship issue is apparent here; many small machining slivers are present on the pill.
The star did not have any thermal paste under it. The emitter wires are thin, but adequate for this driver.
The driver is one of the waeker points of this light. Unregulated direct drive, next-mode memory, and audible PWM (not visible) in medium and lowmodes.
Accessories
Most lights I get come with a chintzy wrist strap I'll never use. Considering the price, this light comes with some useable accessories. First, it comes in a nice travel/storage case.
Opened up, as shipped.
And after removing the redundant bubble-bag.
The accessories include a paracord wrist strap with lobster claw, and an elastic headband with side-mount light holder.
The headband is what caught my eye with this light. I wasn't expecting a serious everyday headlight, but more of a "I wish I had three hands" kind of occasional use headlight. Here is the only fashion model I could convince to wear it.
It does work and adjusting the light angle is quite easy, almost too easy. Fast head movements could change the light angle. I doubt any active use would be possible. For stationary work it is useable.
Beamshots
Here are some white wall beamshots, 1m distance, high, med, and low. The hot spot is well defined with a typical XM-L corona. There beam is very smooth.
Camera settings the same for all three; 1/20s, f/8, ISO400, Daylight.
High:
Med:
Low:
Measurements
Dimensions:
- Overall Length: 140.5mm
- Bezel/Head Diameter: 33.5mm
- Body Diameter: 25.5mm
- Tail Diameter: 25.5mm
- Reflector Inner Diameter: 26.4mm
- Reflector Outer Diameter: 29.5mm
- Reflector Depth: 21.4mm
- Reflector Emitter hole Diameter: 6.9mm
- Lens Diameter: 29.8mm
- Lens Thickness: 1.56mm
- Emitter star diameter: 20mm
- Driver diameter: 20mm
- Pill inner diameter: 19.0mm
- Pill inner depth: 13.3mm
- Pill outer diameter at threads: 23.8mm
- Pill outer diameter before threads: 22.1mm
- Pill outer diameter at driver flange: 21.9mm
- Head inner diameter at pill threads: 23.2mm
Weights (without batteries):
- Overall: 114g
- Head: 36g
- Body Tube: 58g
- Tailcap: 20g
Performance (stock, Panasonic NCR18650PD, 4.1V, uncalibrated test equipment):
- Light Output: ~ 485 lumens at start, ~447 lumens after 30 seconds
- Beam Intensity: ~8.9kcd
Power Source Options: 1x18650 unprotected or protected cells, raised or flat positive caps.
Switch type: tailcap, reverse-clicky
Modes: High (3.3A), Medium (1.7A), Low (0.42A), Strobe, SOS
Mode Memory: Next-mode, does not appear to timeout (left for several days)
Conclusions
The Raysoon RS-F17 is a decent light that is let down by some critical issues. I has a decent finish, very nice reflector, and an overall nice design. The cheap driver, poor output partly resulting from the emitter spacer, and some workmanship issues. The accessories are nice, and the light is priced for the budget-minded.
As delivered, cautiously Relic Recommended, for those willing to disassemble and check for some of the workmanship issues.
As a mod host, Relic Recommended. For the modder who can clean up the workmanship problems, swap the driver (or at least remove next-mode memory), add thermal compound, and fix the emitter spacer, this should be a decent flashlight with very respectable output. I intend to find out for myself.
Thanks for reading! searchID8934
