I recently got a KR1 with the NTG50 4200K emitter and Lume X1 driver. And I’d done some tests of the E75 and E07x in the past with a Samsung 40T. So I got curious, now that 4000mAh 18650’s exist, how does it stack up? The target lumens was whatever the E75 made on the high level (or whichever level is ~1000 lumens). Scaling the E75 and KR1 to match isn’t an exact science, and since the output resets when removing the battery, I couldn’t spend too long tweaking it as it is running down the battery which will be tested. I think they are close enough.
I have a Texas Ace lumen tube that I use to check the output, then I use a cardboard box, android phone, and ceiling bounce to record the runtime, scaling it to the measured output. So there’s a bit of room for error there. I use a PC fan to circulate air across the lights, as I’ve found some lights behave oddly with very throttled output otherwise. Anyway, here’s how they stack up:
(Note: I stop the test whenever I notice it has dropped a ton, so don’t read into where they stop, one with a longer tail just means I didn’t notice as quickly, I don’t run until they shut off)
The KR1 makes ~2750 lumens with a Molicel P28. Which is pretty decent, though it’s also a ~40W driver. I’m quite pleased with the light in general. At ~500 lumens it measured 3950K and -0.0082 Duv. Sometimes it looks a little pink/purple around the edge of the hot spot but mostly it is fine. I like lights slightly below BBL, I don’t necessarily love them way below.
The beam is just on the tight edge for a “normal” general purpose beam. On a low level holding it at my waist going for a walk, the hotspot on the ground will be a little narrower than my width. So a slightly less focused beam, especially when it can get pretty bright, might be a tad nicer, but this is quite nice. Honestly it reminds me a lot of the Malkoff M31/61 w/ the 4000K 219b. Except with a much nicer UI and the ability to get significantly brighter. But the beam pattern and general pleasing nature is similar.
(Note I raised the KR1 floor to
5, I don’t recall if I raised the E07x or not, but I suspect I did)