I’m no professional diver, but I am good at throwing stuff over the edge of my kayak in a lake intentionally and unintentionally. Now that I’ve made that clear lets see what goodies come inside the box.
You’ll get the standard spare O rings, manual, warranty card, a clip to mount the light to a mask, and a surprisingly strong and comfortable lanyard.
This light oozes quality. I can’t find any flaws in the anodizing, threads, or any other part of the build. It has a well centered LED, nice orange peel reflector, is double O ring sealed, thick walls, has only one area where it comes apart, and can tailstand. The mask clip seems to be made of good quality plastic. It isn’t so stiff to where it feels like if it were to get cold it might snap.
The light can power its Cree XM-L2(U4) LED by either a AA battery (180 lumens, for a stated 85 min, at 73 meters, and 1320 cd), or a 14500 battery (630 lumens, for a stated 60 minutes, 119 meters, and 3520 cd). All distances are measured on land per Orcatorch. It’s drop rated to 1 meter, 3.62 inches long x .78 inches wide x .94 inches at the head. The lights temperature is probably withing the 5200 to 5500K range. It’s on the neutral side but very slightly cool. It’s rated to 150 meters underwater, judging by the build I believe it.
I’ts interface is incredibly simple. Put in a battery and twist the head on or off. This should make for a very reliable double O ring sealed light. Now for some testing….Here’s a couple links for some run time tests.
With a AA Eneloop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMoEXc-QAdQ
With a Nitecore 14500. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1qUJfIbuv4
I’ve got to say I was very impressed with the 14500’s runtime. The Eneloop was no slouch either.
Water tests. My standard for testing a highly waterproof light is to throw it over my kayak in a lake attached to some para cord with depth markers and pray I don’t lose it. I nearly did with this test. After letting it sit 25 feet on the bottom of a lake for 20 minutes (I wanted to do longer, but the distant warning thunder told me to get off the water) it became snagged. I can attest to the strength of the lanyard. It withstood my yanking and tugging for about a full 3 minutes. Absolutely no water immersion in any part of the light.
Lowering it down.
Getting nervous.
Pulling up and thankful it was still attached.
Looking it over and paddling quickly to shore.
Dry.
From my previous tests I’ve learned that the weakest point of a flashlight when it comes to water immersion is the head. I’ve tested IPX-8 rated lights that failed in just a few inches of moving water. So now I only test those lights in standing water. Not this one though. With its specs it should be able to withstand moving water right? Lets see.
Throwing it in a flowing creek for 30 min.
It’s attached to my dogs’ lanyard. I didn’t want to be the only one having fun.
Dry.
Tossing it in this not-so-pretty creek.
Hello Spider.
Dry again.
The beam is pretty floody with a large hot spot. I used it to walk at night and it provided a good reasonable wall of light in front of me.
Looking at a row of trees at 30 yards. My camera didn’t quite pick up what my eyes saw. It’s usually good at this, but for some reason not this time. My eyes perceived slightly more light that what showed up.
AA
14500
I firmly believe that this light would make a great supplement to any diver, caver, boater, or fisherman. Pretty much anyone who needs extreme waterproofness in a small form factor. Because when it’s wet and dark you can never have enough light.
great review, thanks.