[Review] 17,000 Lumens, 1 x SFP55.2L LED… My review of the Nightwatch N103S VALKYRIE. Featuring 3 x PD Type-C fast charging speeds of up to 45w, 748m beam distance, temperature regulation, reverse polarity protection and a button destined for Niflheimr!
I guess insane is the right word?
Nice review as always. Entertaining!
I have one due in the next few days. I suppose there is little chance of the button issues being sorted in the one that I get.
I shall see, I suppose.
Excellent review as always, thanks. My button was installed loose and I had to screw it back on. Check if yours is loose and see if tightening would make a difference? You could also un-screw the button completely and inspect switch underneath. I use one of those ring pliers and it’s a simple process.
Basically I think the required timing between clicks is just too fast. I have become pretty good with practice with two clicks, but 3 clicks still iffy.
Another “feature” if this fantastic light: you need to click to start charging 
. Don’t know if you’ve mentioned that in the review to prevent new owners’ frustration.
My sample didnt have any issues with the switch, but yes, clicks must be quick! I think its a safety feature.
The PD charging is properly quick…i saw 36 watts on a depleted 26800 battery using a 45W PD power brick and the included c- cable. It actually heated the head up to 41 C during charging! Madness.
Its also properly bright. I haven’t crunched numbers yet, but on the LR2170HP its at least 13,000 lumens. Sustainability isn’t bad either.
I just got mine. The light seems to work fine. It is the middle of the day here, but it seems very bright.
One thing… or maybe two. I can’t get it to charge a cell in the light. I have tried 5 different chargers from 100 watts, two 60 watt, and a couple of 18 watt chargers. I have tried 4 different cables. 3 USB c to USB c and one USB a to C.
I also tried a few cells. A couple of 21700 cells and a QB 26800. Only problem is that they were all recently charged.
Could there be a limit on the charge level being low enough to start charging? BUT, I also tried the power bank function and that does not seem to work either.
Any similar experiences? Ideas that I haven’t tried to troubleshoot the problem?
THX
Blast turbo a few times to drop the voltage to 3.99V.
Tbh it’s probably a QC issue as Nightwatch aren’t great. 3 of my 5 have issues.
I normally don’t use in-light charging. But with the 26800 it would be nice. Otherwise I have to break out one of my hobby chargers and magnets to charge them. The power bank function would also be nice. Especially with the capacity of the 26800.
Of course those things are not normally why I buy a flashlight. So maybe not deal killers. I just hoped someone here would tell me to try something I have not.
But, yeah, I will drain some cells and see what happens.
THX
Well I drained a cell to 3.8 volts. That did not help. No charging.
I thought of something because I read that the Super Valkyrie would not charge with a low power (NON QC2/3) charger.
I have a USB power meter that can force PD, so I set it up to force PD 3 15 volts at 3 amps. Well the light will charge with that setting. BUT, only at the highest level (red lights on switch flashing). I cannot change the charging level by single clicking the switch. It charged a couple of different cells at around 12 watts. It terminated with the cells at about 4.25 volts. A bit higher than I like.
Bottom line is that I think the BMS chip is not properly detecting the protocols that any of the chargers that I used provide.
All support QC 2/3 and 3 of them PD 2/3. The meter will test and show supported protocols for a supply. So I verified that they do.
So now I wonder if it is even worth it to try to deal with Neal on a fix??
I observed the same issue with mine, and I thought it was a glitch, but it seems that it isn’t a glitch. Shame since now you can’t charge the light without uaing a QC power supply. My USB tester showed 5 volts .0084 amps when connected to a standard 5 volt wall wart. I just finished my review, and this light is a bit duplicitous…
Thanks for the confirmation.
Too bad that I couldn’t even charge mine with QC capable supplies. Actually all 5 of those I tested with do support CQ (at least QV 2 and 3) Unless you mean that I have to find a QC ONLY supply. I am not sure that there are any available. Normally they will support multiple protocols.
I would be happy to buy one that we know works just for this light. What brand/model is the one that you used that works?
BTW, I saw the same situation with all of the supplies… 5 volts ~0.0084 amps. (until I forced PD)
Yes I think this is the solution. I have two Quick Charge chargers and both work without any problem. The max I’ve seen is around 18-20 watts on the energy monitor thingy. 1, 2, and 3 clicks all work with appropriate button colors as in manual.
One of the chargers came with my DJI drone, the other one is a nameless cheap “Quick Charge 3” that I don’t remember where it came from. Both state 5v-3a, 9v-2a, 12v-1.5a. This would mean max is 15-18 watts I assume?
THX. I found an old Anker QC 2 charger. Used USB A to C cable. It does charge. But only at the highest level (red lights flashing). Can’t change it. But at least it charges without forcing PD with the other device.
Have you tried the power bank functionality?
I believe red is low, red-blue is medium, and blue is highest. I could see all 3 states in mine. But all 3 in mine read about same 18-20 watts of charge though. Likely because that’s the limit of my charger.
Sorry no I haven’t tried power bank function.
You are right. Red is 4A charge from a 20 watt supply. Red and Blue 6A from 30 watt charger. Blue 8.5A from 45 watt charger.
Because I can’t get anything above an 18 watt charger to work. It kind of makes sense that I only get red. But it is curious that others using the 18 watt charger seem to be able to change the current…
Oh well.
If you get a chance to use USB C to USB C and charge something (phone, tablet, etc.), I would be interested to hear what you find.
No charging of my cell phone that I could see.
Yes I could see the “attempt” to change current with QC3 charger. Indicator flashes red, blue-red, and then blue depending on number of clicks. However, “attempt” because as mentioned the wattage doesn’t seem to change so far that I could see.
Some other lights are the other way round, they’ll not charge on PD/QC outputs. Damn shame.
Current changing did work on my Valkyrie. It takes a while to get to max charging amps per selected level, so don’t measure straight away.
I tried a QC supply that does 5v3A and didn’t work. This was usb A, not C. My light only charged with USB c-c. I was able to get all 3 charge modes, but 4A and 6A were basically the same maxed out at 20v 1.5 A. The 8A got up to 20v 1.8 A or 37 watts, but only on a 45W charger. Pretty fast! Shame that the power bank is deleted on the valkyrie valkyrie since i really like it on the first model.
It seems that the light is real picky about chargers. Out of 5 I tried, only the older Anker QC2 charger (USB A to USB C) worked. Best I got was 18 watts (which makes sense due to the supply capacity). Even at that, I can’t get it to switch to anything but the lowest mode. Not the end of the world. It is just peculiar that it comes with a USB C to C cable, but none of my chargers with USB C outputs would work with it. Including my go to charger that does 60 watts and supports pretty much every charging protocol that is out there right now.
I did take it out with a fully charged P45B in it last night. The thing is bright for it’s size and being a single emitter light. It also gets hot very quickly. Even with it’s problems, I don’t regret buying it.
Thanks everyone for their input on the charging problem!
My 1Lumen review is up. Comparisons with other batteries included (40T3, 26800, and LR2170Hp). Results were interesting and a bit disappointing. In case you’re wondering where the P42A comparo is, I didn’t test a P42A since all of my P42As (i tested 3) all performed worse than the 40T3 by a fair margin (down 10 amps on current). Even bested by the huge 26800. I don’t have any P45Bs, but I think the P42A has been about rendered obsolete at this point for high power applicarions over 35 amps.