This light was provided by Lumintop for review
Website: http://www.lumintop.com/ (link is external)
Amazon store: http://amzn.to/2421r4t (link is external)
Gearbest link (affiliate)
http://bit.ly/2nLePHr
Factory Specs:
Brand: Lumintop
Model: Torpedo 007
Lamp Beads: Cree XP-L V5
Beads Number: 1
Lumens Range: 500-1000Lumens
Luminous Flux: 520LM
Luminous Intensity: 1930cd
Power: 4W
Color Temperature: 6500-7000K
Switch Location: Tail Cap
Feature: Lightweight,Tail Stand,Tritium Tube
Function: Camping,EDC,Hiking,Household Use,Night Riding,Walking
Battery Type: CR123A,RCR123A
Battery Quantity: 1 x CR123A battery (included)
Mode: 4 (High; Mid; Low; Moonlight)
Waterproof Standard: IPX-8 Standard Waterproof (Underwater 2m)
Working Voltage: 2-4.2V
Reflector: Aluminum Textured Orange Peel Reflector
Lens: Toughened Ultra-clear Double Glass Lens with Anti-reflective Coating
Impact Resistance: 1.5M
Beam Distance: 50-100m
Body Material: Stainless Steel
Runtimes:
.5 lumen - 25 days
15 lumen - 40 hours
100 lumens - 7 hours
520(320) lumens - 1.5 min / 100 min
Performance:
The advertised lumens and runtimes are consistent with the factory provided times. My sample really outperformed on the turbo mode by putting out closer to 700 lumens while using a 16340. Hopefully when more reviews come out we can see if it is a fluke, or if they all are that powerful with a 16340.
CR123 - 100 minutes the light started blinking. I shut it off around 102-103 minutes.
16340 - The light abruptly shut off at 47 minutes. The battery tested at 3.50V immediately after removal.
The test battery was the included 1500mah CR123 battery and an Olight 650mah 16340
It should also be noted that this light gets extraordinarily hot! After about 2 minutes it’s really uncomfortable to pick up, and it stays really warm throughout the duration of the runtime test. I did not use any cooling or fans whatsoever. I directly measured the lux via the hotspot for runtime.
Construction:
Sorry for not removing my fingerprints. I didn’t think they would be so obvious in the pictures. As usual with Lumintop the light is built very well. It has really nice smooth threads, flawless stainless steel body, and a double AR glass lens. It comes with 2 extra o-rings and a keychain. There is also a tritium insert in the tailcap. I was unable to get a successful picture of it. It is very hard to see unless you are in a really dark room. In complete darkness you can easily see the tritium from 8-10 feet away. I was unable to get the bezel off, and didn’t want to use tools and scratch the finish before I was able to take pictures. The inside of the tube was clean and the light operates as expected. The tail switch does extend the slightest bit beyond the tail. The light is still able to tailstand, but it is wobbly. Not a big fan of that.
User Interface:
Ok, so I got a problem with this. This light utilizes a next mode operation between the 4 modes. So unless you have a really great memory your never going to be certain what mode the light will default to when you turn it on. That can make for alot of clicking to make it into the mode you want. I would really just love to see this light have a normal forward/reverse clicky so that you can cycle through the modes much quicker and with more accuracy. There are no special modes such as strobe or beacon to worry about. There also appears to be some sort of time function that makes the light start on medium mode. However, I can’t figure out the timing of it. But if you do leave the light off long enough it does default to medium. Mine seems to be inconsistent. Perhaps the switch is just skipping modes? I wont know until other reviews come out. Regardless this is my least favorite user interface.
Ergonomics:
I normally don’t put this section into a review, but this light needs it! The light is a very slick stainless steel. Handling this with wet hands can be very tricky. Furthermore there are no protrusions on the light whatsoever so trying to switch between modes when this light is wet can be a bit like trying to pick up a wet watermelon seed. I would have made the lanyard cutouts a hair bigger so that you could get a slight grip in the cigar hold. The included keychain, is nice, but the light is a bit heavy to run on a keychain. I really would have much rather seen this light have a short stubby pocket clip. Once again with bigger lanyard cutouts you could get some gutted paracord in there for a pinky lanyard. It could probably be done, but you would have to melt the paracord and squish the edge completely flat before it hardens again.
Beam Shots:
The xp-l v5 seems to be more of a neutral white to my eyes.
It’s a nice pleasant beam, with a fairly diffuse hot spot. This makes this light really good for close up work. The OP reflector was a nice choice for this light.
Here is the Thrunite Archer 1a v3 (bottom left) vs the Torpedo 007 (upper right). At close distances you can see that the Archer has a much tighter hotspot. I arranged the modes so that they were similar brightness.
My Youtube Review:
Conclusion:
This light is built very well. It’s a big heavy block of stainless steel with a copper insert for better heat dissipation. The runtimes were impressive and it is definitely competitive with lights like the Olight S1. The light also looks terrific. The stainless steel is flawless, and the “gold” fire insert also looks great. This flashlight complements a Parker Jotter pen perfectly. The beam is very pleasant to look at and I’m not seeing any sign of PWM at the lower modes (I’m not very sensitive to it however). The light suffers from 2 flaws. First is that it’s not easy to EDC this light. I feel like it’s too heavy for a keychain, but it really doesn’t have any means to comfortably pocket carry the light. I did put this in the 5th pocket of my jeans a few days, but it could be quite difficult removing it when your hands are even the slightest bit damp. It’s also too heavy to carry in a front shirt pocket, or even to wear as a zipper pull My second complaint is the user interface. I really really really want this light to have a reverse clicky.
So is this light a home run? Not in my opinion. It’s built well, it performs great, and it looks great. The two issues I have with the light may not be an issue for you at all, so don’t think of this as a deal breaker. This light will probably end up in my desk at work for EDC use there. It looks great, which is always a plus for any office EDC equipment, and it will be safe and not get dented, scratched or ruined there. Currently I have a thorfire TG06 in my desk with a energizer lithium battery. I think that Thorfire would make a better light to keep in the EDC rotation, and the Torpedo would make a better show piece at my desk. And let’s be honest, office EDC can get pretty competitive amongst guys, and I think this light will definitely turn some heads. And lets not forget that tritium insert will be nice if there ever is a power failure. Those interior office spaces with no windows get crazy dark without power, and that tritium is very noticeable in an entirely dark room.
This is definitely a light for a person who appreciates form over function. This is a show piece, but also performs as good as it looks. This is not a light to bring into your construction job, or to gut a deer, or even something to take backpacking. I hate to steal another person’s analogy, but there is another reviewer out there who compares flashlights to cars. And this flashlight is a foreign sports car. It looks great, it’s fast and sexy, but it’s not a car your going to bring to a old muddy dirt road with lots of potholes.
So the million dollar question… would I buy this light. I have to say no. Not because there is anything wrong with the light, in fact the performance is fantastic, but because I’m a hard use guy. It’s tough for me to accept that flashlights can be sexy and look good. I’m a guy who puts function way before form, and for me I strongly prefer a tough as nails Jeep Wrangler steel of flashlight. Lumintop does make great lights in that category. The Worm and Tool are both great lights and I carry them very frequently. But I do have to say… put a pocket clip on this light and a reverse clicky and I would buy this light in a heartbeat!
