Amutorch AX3

Cereal_killer · 2019-01-26T19:13:06.000Z

Hello BLF, if you’re here looking for an awesome review get ready to be dissapointed…
I’m not good at reviews, I don’t like doing them and (as you’ll see) my pictures are usually very low quality.

I’m making this thread cause, best I can tell this light doest yet have a dedicated thread, infact there’s literally almost zero mention of it anywhere around here. I purchased it on a recommendation and while I was waiting began searching and found precisely zero info on it, the ONLY mention of it is in Fin’s BG discount thread!

Basically this is just my subjective thoughts on it before I tear it apart (I bought it specifically as a mod host).

Physical attributes:
It’s a short light at just 93mm bezel to tail, shorter than my ZL SC62 even. Two colors with a black body tube and silver (anodized) head, brushed stainless bezel and red [hard plastic] button on the head very near the bezel.
Switch is retained with a metal press-fit retainer ring.
SMO reflector is behind a non-AR glass lens, neither appear to be especially high quality and infact I received the light with a fingerprint on the inside of the lens, at first I mistakenly thought it was on the reflector it’s self so atleast that was a relief!

Print on inside of glass lens (I was able to clean it of upon opening the head)

Head and tail threads are trapezoidal and both ends came lubed!
Bezel to head threads are very poor and I will do my very best to have to open the bezel as little as possible, I’m not sure it’ll hold up to much more tampering (they wernt glued so I’m guessing the lathe used to thread the stainless bezel just didn’t make clean cuts).

Ano appears thick and well done, both the black on the body and the silver/clear on the head but I don’t want to purposely try to damage it and the light won’t get used for a while (very in-depth mod including custom driver) so I won’t be able to make observations on that aspect. I actually like the owl logo on the tailcap and the only writing on the body is “AX3” and “Amutorch.com”.
The body tube is very thick and feels extremely sturdy, I’m talking Nitecore good here, not typical of a ~$20 new brand of light! All same material interfaces thread together very well, it’s only that SS bezel that’s no good.
IMO poor design of the tailcap spring and thinking about it I’m not sure my tail current measurement below will be accurate IRL cause I’m not sure the spring can support that high of draw.

UI:
I was surprised here, there’s no written description anywhere so I had to figure it out. The light has 2 UI’s, one ramping and one with 4 discrete levels.
Double click always jumps to turbo and a single click from there returns you to the last mode (be it off or back to any other mode).
To access ramping you hold the button, it comes on at the last used (ramping) level and turns off with a single click. Do note the debounce routine seems a little slow and if you are in the middle of ramping, let off and immediately hold again it can miss the reverse command and pick back up ramping the same direction it was already going.
Unlike our BLF ramping FW’s there is no time out on the ramp reversal, what this means is if you’ve last ramped up it does not matter how long you wait, the next time you ramp it will be going down and vise-versa (opposite behavior of our BLF FW’s which reset the ramp reversal time after a moment so you’re almost always going up). Not a negative, just making an observation.

Descrete mode on/off behavior is opposite, a single click turns the light on at the memorized descrete mode level (independent of the memorized ramp level) and a hold shuts it off. There are 4 levels and I wouldn’t consider any of them a true low, more like M1,M2,H1,H2. Double click to turbo functions as above.

The ramp is not visually linear however it is smooth, there seems to be two delays around the 40% mark and again around the 75-80% level. I imagine if you measured output it probably is still ramping during the “delays” however its a very noticeable delay. There’s never a step, it does remain smooth, it just takes “a while” at those two specific spots. It does this behavior going up or down.

On a fresh off the charger 35E I’m measuring 7884Cd (measured @ 3 meters and converting) and 3052Lm. Tail draw is 6.78A. As you can imagine the light gets hot extremely fast at max output (a good thing). Not sure if there’s any sort of timed or temp based step down.

The quad mcpcb is DTP, the 2 LED’s are reflowed on opposite corners so they fit the reflector. Interesting centering rings are used (they are on the led’s in this pic, they’re just very thin and very clear) I’ll edit a photo of them in here when I disassemble the light later down the road.

22mm driver is glued and judging by the amount of glue will likely be destroyed removing it. The head and emitter shelf is electrically isolated from the driver which only makes ground contact with the body tube.

It came in a real box but as mentioned there are no instructions. A lanyard attachment point comes installed but the only use I have for something like that is to help me identify the switch location by feel but since the attachment is able to swivel around its not helpful for that purpose so I ditched it right away. The edges of the hard plastic switch are a bit sharp. Not enough to cut you, it’s plastic afterall, just noting. I’ve noticed no other sharp points or lips or edges anywhere.

Design of reflector makes it so reusing the factory MCPCB will definitely be the best bet.

tundraotto · 2019-01-26T19:44:56.000Z

Thanks - What about the light output? How is it? Great-Shitty? Floody-Throwy? Cold-Warm?

Cereal_killer · 2019-01-26T19:57:20.000Z

I chose the NW option and the tint didn’t dissapoint, no equipment to measure but by comparison to known bin emitters it should be around 5000-5200k. The beams from the dual reflector cups converge within a few feet and the spot on a white wall from anything more than arms reach is perfectly round. I actually find it better than the nitecore CR6 reflector from which the 2 beams never fully converge into a single circle (but the nitecore isn’t designed or intended to do so).

My phone is to old & cheap to take beam shots and it’s near zero after the sun sets for the next week anyway however if I get around to it I will setup my real camera and try to take a few white wall shots sometime before taking it apart for its build (itll be getting much more interesting emitters than crees)

VrestoTaylor · 2019-01-26T22:18:30.000Z

I gót it too and all important is poste on banggood eshop. Also ui. Before tailcap was blue. Now shitty Red… But its amazing Light. Very bright. Gót nw too. Sadly no USB board… But so small thats sure one of the shortest. Thanks for the review.its very floody.

Petr_J · 2019-01-26T23:32:29.000Z

Cereal_killer:

On a fresh off the charger 35E I’m measuring 7884Cd (measured @ 3 meters and converting) and 3052Lm. Tail draw is 6.78A.

My Amutorch AX3 has a maximum current of more than 9 Amps. I am using a fully charged SONY VTC6.

chadvone · 2019-01-27T03:01:19.000Z

Wow, this is much smaller then I thought.

Petr_J · 2019-01-27T10:26:37.000Z

She is tiny. Just a few millimeters larger than the Astrolux S43S on the 18 350 battery.

SSSmodlight · 2019-01-27T11:07:32.000Z

comparing my ax3 side by side with emissar d4…
almost same size diameter, length

VrestoTaylor · 2019-01-27T20:18:45.000Z

SSSmodlight:

comparing my ax3 side by side with emissar d4…
almost same size diameter, length

Ánd the brightness? Do you háve xpl emisar or?

Tom_E · 2019-01-28T14:47:50.000Z

One of my favorite EDC lights, so had to mod it up:

It's a classic stock FET+1, but wait, that's our BLF FET+1 design in a production light! Different MCU, but even using the "good" 7135:

This is the new driver for it:

This light just had to get my favorite tint LED's:

Really like'n this light, running NarsilM v1.3 of course, using a 3 channel driver but configured in firmware as a FET+1.

VrestoTaylor · 2019-01-28T15:26:52.000Z

WHAT WILL BE CHANGED with the new driver?

Cereal_killer · 2019-01-28T15:59:07.000Z

Here’s my mod:
Used a 22mm TA driver, it’s slightly small but pressure from the tube holds it in place.

Grab the wear ring off the factory driver. I also recycled the FET and 7135 and caps off the factory driver too (reusing 0.1¢ resistors isn’t worth it to me).

Cut a couple Cu disks from 22Ga sheet

Triple Luxeon V2 5000k’s and a red Olson SSL-80 for super moonlight (from the single 7135).

Tom_E · 2019-01-28T16:42:32.000Z

Ohhh, that's a nice mod CK! Like the dual channel output with the red LED in there.

Cereal_killer · 2019-01-28T16:50:18.000Z

Thank you Tom.

Probably need to swap to a red Cree or something, the red spot from this guy is a freaking pencil beam. The SSL-80 is the most efficient throwing emitter you can get when used behind a TIR (killing even the flat black)!

tundraotto · 2019-01-28T17:39:50.000Z

WOW - those are some thoughtful improvements!

Tom_E · 2019-01-28T19:13:04.000Z

vresto:

WHAT WILL BE CHANGED with the new driver?

Sorry, is this question for me? If so, the main thing is the nice UI in NarsilM. I'm not sure if I got more power or not, but at least I'm using a known good FET and can update the firmware as I like for this light, etc. Also, probably could update to Anduril but may have to tweak the FET+1 I/O pin settings, not sure.

Actually the same applies to CK's mods, except he took it further with support for 2 independent outputs - 3 white LED's or 1 red.

MascaratumB · 2019-01-28T19:22:31.000Z

For me, what you’re doing folks, it’s black magic

chadvone · 2019-01-28T19:23:17.000Z

Beam shots???

Tom_E · 2019-01-28T20:00:41.000Z

For my mod, I don't have beamshots, but for a dual XPL HI, you have to be closer than about 12 inches to see a slight oblong shape, closer in, like 1 inch, there's 2 distinct hot spots, but further than 12 inches, looks like a nice single, fairly large hot spot of perfect tint. These are tiny reflectors, so you are not gonna get great throw from it. Sorry, I did take lumens/throw #'s but don't have them with me.

chadvone · 2019-01-28T20:32:14.000Z

Thanks Tom E. I was wondering how it looked with the 2 reflectors. This is a neat looking light. I just wish the switch was recessed more.

How much pressure to activate ?

Edit, can the lanyard ring be removed ?
It reminds me of a soloforce clip, ouch.