This is both a video and photo review of the no name clone of the Darth, from Tmart.
Here is the Video
Specs from the Tmart page. I think they are a wee bit off.
Specifications
| Lumens | 3800 Lumens |
| Power | 18W |
| Bulb Quantity | 3 |
| Light Color | White |
| Lightbulb Lifespan | 100000 hours |
| Lighting Distance | 100m |
| Runtime | 2-3 hours |
| Switch Type | Clicky |
| Switch Location | Tail-cap |
| Lens | Coated Glass Lens |
| Reflector | Aluminum Smooth / SMO Reflector |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Color | Deep Gray |
| Dimensions | ( 5.43 x 1.85 x 1.85 )" / ( 13.8 x 4.7 x 4.7 ) cm / (L x Head Dia. x Body Dia.) |
| Weight | 11.43 oz / 324 g |
| Battery | 3 x 18650 Battery (not included) |
| Voltage | 3.6-12.6V |
Here's the photos and the text to go with it.
The light came in a white box with the manual. That's all there was. It sits in foam padding formed to the light.
The first thing I noticed was the total lack of any markings on the light. No name, no "3 XM-L U2", no markings for the modes on the magnetic ring, no nothing. I was very surprised at that. No way at all to tell what light it is except the Darth manual.
Speaking of the Darth manual, it does appear that is is original Black Shadow, but all the contact information on the bottom of the manual has been blacked out with a marker.
Purported to be 3 XM-L U2 leds. Well, they are XM-L for sure and they are cool white.
The tail cap has a clicky. It's called "tactical". To me, it's a lockout switch.
Inside the tail cap is a retaining ring that holds the boot in.
All the threads on the light are smooth, without nicks or ragged edges. They all need some lube. Everything was dry as a bone.
Stock clicky switch and notice that one of the screws in missing that holds the contact plate in. The hole is stripped out.
Looking inside at the contact plate.
Again, the threads are cut well and smooth.
The driver is held in with an Aluminum ring that is screwed down. I like that over the normal retaining rings that are threaded.
The glass lens may be coated, but I don't think it's both sides, nor is it AR coating.
A single toroid and FET, so this would mean the leds are in parallel and all fed thru a single circuit? I hope there's a way to do a resistor mod on this driver, as it's weak on high, but I will explain after the beam shots.
The reflector has a good plating layer on it.
The leds are glued down and they have these isolators over them. It's just sticky paper isolators. The center screw holds the reflector in.
Beam Shots.
As you can see, the light does not pass on the 125 yard range. It's limit is about 50-60 yards. At the far end of the pond, it does not illuminate well enough to show any real details.
HIGH - 4.2 Amps at the tail cap.
MEDIUM - 2 Amps at the tail cap.
LOW - 0.6 Amps, (600mA), at the tail cap.
Overall, it's a well made light and the finish is very good. Threads are good too and they just need lube. The magnetic control ring is just right. Defined clicks, not a lot of play and not too tight either. Where this light falls out is the power, or lack of it on High. 4.2 amps parallel to 3 leds means only 1.4 Amps per LED. That's just plain weak. I know one reason is heat. The light gets warm fast enough on high as it is and if it were pushed to 3 amps per led, it would overheat very quickly, but I would have liked to see a turbo mode. As is, it's just the Mfg playing safe, which I understand, but don't agree with.
So, who made this light? The more I look at it, the more I feel that it was definitely made by Black Shadow, probably in their own factory. It's possible they were made for a customer and never sold, then sold at discount, or maybe it's just another way for a Mfg to sell more lights, by leaving the logos off and selling them cheaper, for more overall profit from volume. I just don't think these were ripped off from Black Shadow. Maybe, but it does not seem that way.
Thanks Tmart, for providing the light for review.
