Amutorch AX1 a quick look with a disappointing finish.

I received an Amutorch AX1 today that I ordered from Banggood with a discount code I got here.

I doesn’t have double-click to Turbo, as Freeme originally thought it would, but my quick take is that it’s a great 18650 tube light, or it would be, if the surface finish on the one I received wasn’t glaringly uneven.

The surface texture on the blue head and tail pieces is visibly, glaringly, uneven. It’s really obvious when you are holding it, but I had trouble photographing it. The picture above captures the essence of the problem, though. When I first saw it, I thought/hoped that it was some surface schmutz. It isn’t, it’s the metal.

It looks like it was supposed to receive some sort of uniform finish, like bead or sand blasting, but some areas were barely touched, so the machining marks are obvious. It doesn’t seem very even over the length of the head either, nor is it consistent around the axis. The problem is most obvious on the head of my light, but the tailcap also has similar but more subtle problems.

If you are interested, there are more impressions and photos in my Amutorch AX1 blog post.

Thanks for posting this. I was just a few minutes away from ordering one. Only because I liked the looks of it. If it looks like hell it will just be another tube light that I won’t use.

Thanks again.

It looks great, until you notice the flaws. Amutorch seems to have a good rep, so it’s hard to imagine that what I got is the norm. It does seem to be a significant QA screwup, though.

Unfortunately, Banggood isn’t ready to step up and make this right, at least not yet. Their response to my request for replacement parts or a replacement light was to offer me 200 banggood points worth a whopping $2 — well less than that since I can spend $2 anywhere, and I can only spend Banggood points on some items on…Banggood.

The last time I went down this path with them, it took days of back and forth before I finally settled for a 50% refund. They sent a cool white Eagle Eye X2R, when I’d ordered, and paid more for, a warmer tint. I didn’t want a CW light, but everything else was fine, so I figured I could do an emitter swap.

We’ll see how it goes this time.

Yes, if it’s that bad I would think a full refund or a new light should certainly be in order. I had a issue with a DQG light that came missing parts. Banggood gave me a kind of run around. I contacted DQG directly and they got Banggood to send me the parts I needed at no cost. I don’t know if Amutorch has someone who could help you out with that. I know Amutorch has a store on AliExpress, maybe log in there and shoot them off a quick email and see if you can get anywhere that way.

Finishing is definitely not A+ grade like Olight, but feel that it is acceptable for its discounted price. Price aside, I would personally give it a B- or C+ for its build quality.

As for UI, Banggood has already listed the final version on their website. Here is an abstract from their page:

"Operations:
Heavily press the tail switch: Turn on / Turn off.
Half press the tail switch: 4Files dimming: Low, Middle, High, Turbo
Half press twice quickly: Adjust the hidden flash mode: Strobe "

I’d be happy with the finish if it were consistent, it’s not.

Whoever the imbecile was who did the surface finish after machining and before cleaning and anodizing couldn’t even manage to apply the texture all the way around the circumference. And then the imbecile, or every other imbecile that handled the part, managed to miss or ignore the result at each of the multiple remaining steps between surface treatment, through anodizing, assembly, and, finally, slipping it into a bubblewrap pouch before packing it in its box.

Every other budget light I have has a finish that is orders of magnitude more even and consistent than the AX1 I was sent. That includes some no-name ~$3-5 POS zoomies with otherwise ugly, cheap, repellant, finishes.

On the flip-side, the styling is superior to pretty much every other light I own. Some are odd pastiches, but many have a pleasing, functional minimalism. The Convoy L2 design makes an, I think, successful effort to establish a unique aesthetic for its functional minimalism. The AX1 blows it, and everything else out of the water.

If I were the designer of the AX1, I’d be livid if I knew that such a botched example made it out the door,

Cheap brand trying to crack the market with premium price.

Feel sorry for people purchased these lights and not knowing much :person_facepalming:

And now Bangood is saying they don’t see the problem, and so I’ll have to make do with the 200 point offer. I’m going to send them video, which might make it more obvious.

Freeme, can you reach out through any contacts you have to Amutorch and Banggood and see if you can get them to take my issue seriously? I’m either an extreme outlier, in which case I’d think they’d want to make me a happy customer, or they have some big problems that they will want to take care of, or they really don’t care. At this point, it’s not clear which it is, but I think it’d be good for all of us to shed more light on this.

Thx.

I am sorry to hear that this flashlight has those issues eas :frowning:
I have one on the mail sent for review and I’ll check if it has the same “shift” as yours. Next week I’ll be able to tell you.

If I can suggest one thing, I would tell you to contact Amutorch store in AliExpress.
I normally contact with them when I have some question or issue related wih their lights and I think that - despite it was bought in Banggood and it is them that will have to solve the problem - they can be of some help to you!!

BTW, I own 3 Amutorch S3 and 1 Amutorch AM30. The next will be the AX1, and I can assure - at least for those I have now - , that they are great lights, specially the AM30 that probably competes with “great manufacturers’ ” products.

They were once in the market associated or under the name of Shadow, and they are not rookies, despite they are trying to implement their products now through other stores (BG and others eventually). So I guess they will help you in some way :+1:

Also, thanks for your report on this light :wink:

Are you referring to the matte texture of this light? I'm don't get what you mean by glaringly when the light has a matte finishing?

When you said uneven, the texture is almost consistent throughout the entire light. I am pretty sure this is an intended effect by Amutorch designer.

May I ask which brand new premium 18650 flashlight models are sold under $20?

My AX1 clocked insanely high at 3.9A, definitely well over 1100lm in stock form. I haven't got the chance to examine my AX1 thoroughly. I thought of give it more test to ensure its reliability, but i was held up by all those group buys.

Glad you have noticed that.

You sure about that, Nicolicous, or are you just talking out of your pouch?

For one thing, the prices, while not as low as other quality budget lights like Eagle Eye and Convoy’s tube lights, they aren’t particularly premium, either.

Then, take a minute and look at what users here have said about other Amutorch lights. People seem pleased with the quality and value.

It’s perfectly reasonable that I expect to get a decent light.

At this point, my beef is with Banggood, who seem to think my complaint is trivial, and that I should be happy with the handful of wooden nickels they are offering me.

Todd & MascaratumB, thanks for the reminder that they have an AliExpress store. I think I’ll write them there once I submit more evidence to Banggood.

MascaratumB, I’ll be interested to know whether the finish on your AX1 is uniform.

Well Amutorch isn’t really reliable IMHO…
Okay, I only got one of their flashlights and it’s the old JM70 XP-L HI thrower.
Banggood said that the UI was ‘A’, a review made by a BLFer said his was ‘B’ UI and mine was a third different version ‘C’…
This isn’t really reassuring to me… nor was the dust under the glass…
That said, I din’t paid the premium price (around 60$ !) but only 35$… which largely enough for what ended as a host.
I had to swap the driver, which was weak (for a superb TA with Narsil).

That said, the AX1 is really tempting aesthetically… on pictures

Freeme, the problem is that the matte finish is not uniform.

These are the follow-up photos I sent to Banggood after their initial response.

Compare the differences between the two sides of the lines I’ve drawn on each photo.

In the topmost photo, there are also smoother patches in the rough region, though still rougher than the region on the left of the line.

In the second photo, the smooth region has a bit of added texture, but the machining marks are much more obvious than they are in the rough region. I’d estimate the individual craters caused by the blasting medium are 1/10th to 1/20th as dense as in the adjacent roughened region.

Freeme, when I wrote that there were “glaring” problems with the finish, I was being, in part, idiomatic and metaphorical. I less idomatic description is that there are “obvious” problems with the finish.

However, those problems are obvious, in part, because the smoother areas do, literally, glare because they reflect light in a more directional manner, making them look brighter than the surrounding regions.

That would certainly irritate me also. The “style” of ano could be other than expected glossy, matte, dull etc. But it should always be uniform on a 10 dollar+ light.

Yeah. it’s just messed up. I think the anodization itself is fine, but whoever was responsible for the surface treatment blew it.

Well, I received my flashlight yesterday! And…unfortunately I don’t have good news about my flashlight as well. It suffers from similar problems for those eas mentioned. On the head, on the black tube, and on the tail.

I sent a message to Shirkey through AliExpress and mentioned some points that are not so good in this flashlight - for me - and the finish/anodization is one of them!
The colours are really nice, and it gives a “fresh” look to the flashlight! However, there are some issues with the finish.

My phone is broken and I had to use a not so good one to take pictures, so only in some days I will be able to show some things regarding to this, when I write the review for it!

As I mentioned, I reinforced this situation with Shirkey and will be looking for what will say!
Despite the issues mentioned by - X3- and other members in this and other threads (related to other flashlights), I still put my trust in Amutorch as a good manufacturer! However, we all know that s**t happens, either by design or by later work!

Let’s see what the answer to this…

I am a bit speechless. You guys really have high expectations nowadays.

Sorry for the low quality images, but still it can be seen that there are some issues with the finishing!


freeme, like you I do believe and acknowledge on Amutorch’s quality, but I also thing that we must be honest with ourselves and try to help the manufacturer to improve.

Amutorch, Convoy, Jaxman and Sofirn (and even Lumintop and Astrolux) are manufacturers that we all appreciate around here and that normally have good quality lights in low budgets.
We all found failures on any their lights during the way, and I guess that we provided them feedback to improve. Some are just personal preferences, while other are”quality” issues, minor or major.

The one with these 2 flashlights (mine and eas’ one) is certainly a minor issue. If it wasn’t a reputable brand / manufacturer’s flashlight, we probably wouldn’t be here discussing this. I wouldn’t complain on a Yupard flashlight as example…

But it is, and knowing that they can improve those small things, as well as the UI and the heat dissipation, it worths th presentation, discussion and clarification!

I am very thankfull for having received the flashlight for review and will not complain about it, and will do a fair review because it is a good light!
But I guess it is also my duty 1) to contact the manufacturer and let them know what I think, and 2) not uncover the small issues this light has!

This is my perspective, of course :wink: