I hesitate to post this because E had such a hard time with the driver swap on this light, I don't think he'll be doing any more. Anyway, remember this gorgeous girl . . .
I bought this flashlight last February because I liked how it looked and for no other reason. It was an okay performer. I was hoping for a little more than the 2.20 amps it pulled, the tint didn't do much for me but other than that, there wasn't much to complain about. What I really wanted was for its output to match its killer good looks.
Enter E.
It's not dark yet here in the land of Foy but I will very shortly show some beam shots of this unbelievable torch, as bright as some of the strongest lights I have. It is now the equal and maybe a tad brighter than my tired 980L and it's nearly as strong as my Cyclone.
It pulls a steady 3.45 amps on turbo with an unprotected Tenergy 18650 but even more amazing is the moonlight. There is some slight PWM but it has got to be the absolute lowest low I have ever seen. My lame DMM reads .00. Actually, I thought there was something wrong with it the first time I turned it on. It was really bright in the afternoon and I honestly thought it had an empty mode.
This last shot is with the camera touching the bezel. You can press the bezel against your eye socket and look directly at the emitter. The most incredible moonlight I have ever seen.
This Crelant V9 is now the wow kinda better light I knew it could be. I hope my beam shots will demonstrate its power. <<nope>>
Yeah that light will haunt my dreams for many years, what a nightmare getting it apart. It took a cordless drill and a dent puller to finally get it apart. It has the strangest designed pill I have ever seen. There is a copper or brass insert pressed into the pill with a dummy board on one side for the battery and the driver on the backside by the LED. Anyways the deed is done and hopefully it will stay together. The super moon low is .002amps so with a 3100mah battery you should get roughly 1500 hours of run time. It has plenty of mass to handle extended runs in the 3.5 amp turbo mode and a great reflector for decent throw. All in all a nicely designed light, but don’t buy one if you plan on changing the driver.
No PMs about modding this light please I don’t ever want to see one again thank you.
Yup Eriks moon-candle is THE SICKEST in the industry. Pair it with a 26650 and it’ll run forever with a .002A draw. Thanks for doing these Erik!!
Heres my HD2010
“One of these things is not like the other…” The retina scorching incan is a mag solitare, and the brightest LED on the far right is a Quark AAT “moon”. The Erik-moons are the two on the far left.
It wasn't until later in the evening that I finally turned the light around and saw that it was on. I kept clicking past that mode thinking there was nothing.
Okay, umm . . . well . . . despite what my damn light meter suggested and what I was bragging about, this flashlight is not quite as bright as my 980L. It's a hell of a lot brighter than it was but, I'm dedicated to the truth.
I have tried with this light. I really have. I love it but it's not the dragon slayer I thought it was. The good news is; I'm pretty sure nobody cares so, hopfully this thread will die a quick death.
I honestly think it’s a very impressive light. It has great build quality and such a nice tight beam the reflector works awesome plus the build quality is top notch. Really if it was just driven harder it would be a real winner.
It is a winner and I love it. I just feel dumb bragging about it before I ran it through its paces. I was surprised tonight how well it throws.
Also, did a run time test with the new driver:
unprotected Tenergy 18650 charged to 4.21 volts
time
Foyometer
:06
140
:10
134
:20
135
:30
132
:40
130
:50
123
1:00
98
battery at 3.34 volts
At the begining, outside temperature at the base of the cooling fins reached 140º so, I periodically wrapped a damp rag around it so I could leave it on.
I got 1:12 run time with the original board, barely pulling 2.20 amps. 4 minutes shy of an hour with the new driver and I let it discharge too low but still, didn't give up a lot of run time for a whole lot more light.
Hm, interesting. What was your Foyometer result for 980L?
Anyway, 4.5A (980L) vs. 3.5A… If I remember well, up to 5A, there will be a diff in brightness.
Well, I need to remember to use the Foyometer just for my own reference. When the light arrived from E, I turned on my light meter and pointed each light individually at the ceiling, standing them in the same spot. The 980L does not tail stand so I'm trying to aim it the same . . . it's just to get a quick idea about any new light's relative brightness. When I did it with the V9 vs 980L, the V9 read a little brighter. When I did a ceiling bounce later that night, the 980L was clearly brighter. Of course that was after I had excitedly told Erik and mouthed off about it being a dragon slayer.
I forgot my reporter training/basics. Verify all "facts" and challenge all assumptions.
Even so, the light is a stunning performer. It's just that, when I say something is amazing, I want to be believed and that won't happen unless it actually is amazing.
I don't think anything is ever going to beat your 980L, Foy, but keep on trying as we do enjoy your reviews. I think the V9 is a gorgeous light, but the khaki version is even more stunning in my eyes:
madecov had that khaki version and I want that so bad. Nice to see I'm not the only person that thinks this light looks awesome. For some reason, I'm just rocked by the looks of this torch.
It is a great looking torch and with a nice regulated 3.5A I’d still take it over the 980L for overall reliability, more useful modes (with E’s driver), and shear looks. It’s a beaut!!
If you like the v9t6, why not the 7g5v2? Looks the same, except with a gitd ringed battery extrensions if you want to put it in. Otherwise, looks exactly the same. Well, very similar, cooling fins get hot on mine too. It’s supposed to drive about 3a to the emmiter, but fins doa great job as I said, I’ve taken swims with it too, pretty sure you can do that with the v9t6 too. Nothing like watercooled lights :).
It is kind of expensive though, I don’t know why the v9t6 is half the price, when the 7g5v2 only has a battery extender, and that’s pretty much it. It should be only like $65, if it was, tons more people would buy it.
