I promised a review to show the good, bad and ugly. That review with pictures will be forth coming but for now I’ll give the initial review.
As in the specs it claims to pull 3 amps. My two meters show with a single INR or ICR King Kong 26650’s it draws 2.94 amps on high, 0.83 on medium and 0.17 on low. At its highest it can only give 1,000 lumens total from both led’s. The led’s are XM-L2’s Cool White with no hint of odd purple, green or other undesirably colors. Fit and finish are good and blemish free however the body tube is slightly darker than the head.
26650’s can sustain a much higher amperage. I believe they should try that 2000 lumen goal as this head is slightly larger by a few mm’s in length than the Shadow BL20 which seems to handle 2.40 amps at 8.4 volts quite well. The original to this trio is the Shadow TC-750X which draws 1.88 amps at 8.4 volts.
Having a slight parasitic drain from the electronic switch a slight turn of the body tube will lock out the battery. When the tube is seated deep enough the switch battery indicator flashes once. Switch is a little stiffer than most keeping accidental on from happening. No rubber boot, instead a stainless steel plunger switch.
Have not had a chance to test the waterproofing.
As is, and if advertised as a 1,000 lumen light it is worth the price. As advertised as a 2,000 lumen light I feel they missed the mark. More review coming in the next few days.
The light unscrews at the head/body junction. The tube is a solid affair without a tail cap. The head unit is sealed, the circuit board holding the spring will not budge. It has no visible retaining ring, it looks like its glued/epoxied shut. Bezels unscrew but the lenses even refuse to come out.
New 10-26-2013
Have turned the light on high and left it sitting on a book. Light does get very warm but not too hot to hold. I’ve done this twice and on the second time monitored the battery indicator. On low and medium the indicator is about right on true battery capacity remaining. For high setting it tends to go Orange after only a few minutes of run time, however a quick mode change down to low or medium will quickly give you a true indicator. Light blinks for low battery at 3.33v when on high, 3.26v on medium and 3.25v when running on low.
DX21 throws exactly as a XM-L P60/D26 dropin. Reflectors are exactly the same diameter and depth of the P60/D26 reflectors. Both leds are perfectly aligned with no sign of beam diversion from each other. Being a double instead of a triple the light lays flat in the pocket. Pocket carry is as easy as a straight 26650 light.
Unfortunately I’ll be working all weekend and into next weekend so pictures will be posted as I get time. It will be spending two full days at the bottom of a 7’ pool to test its waterproofing, starting tonight.
I’m still favorably impressed by this light, how long ago would many think a small 1000 lumen light wasn’t possible?
New 10-29
I pulled the flashlight up late last night from about 50 hours of immersion. Light worked nice and bright. The light was then wiped down with a towel first then tissue paper. Afterwards it was opened up, no water was found inside. Battery compartment was dry, lenses showed no signs of water. When I mentioned that the threads were tight I meant that the threads showed absolutely no play. Threads tighten with only a little extra effort and all I believe due to the well matched body to head and tight o-ring.
What would I change? 1. Clarify the advertised lumen output and offer a divers (2000 lumen) output version for the true enthusiast out there. 2. Use a silicon o-ring instead of the current one as they tend to be more resistant to getting pinched or ripped in such tight fits.
10-30-2013 with pictures
Updated with a phone, real pictures Friday.
http://i.imgur.com/iGRCE05.jpg
To give a little size perspective.
http://i.imgur.com/Hei1z2t.jpg
Only opening on the whole light
http://i.imgur.com/IVBFFbe.jpg
Open ends with a 26650
http://i.imgur.com/agPWSPd.jpg
Really bad photo, I hate my phone.
http://i.imgur.com/RUZDth2.jpg
A little size perspective along with the family line up. Shadow TC750X, Shadow BL20 bike light head, DX21 Searchlight, Shadow JM07 Pro, SolarForce L2.
