Review: Fandyfire Knight - the laser and light
The Fandyfire Knight is a unique beast. It emits over 1400 lumens of light into the distance with it's two XML emitters being fed easily by three 18650 lithium batteries running in parallel. That, however, is not the unique part of the light. The unmatched feature it possesses is it's unmatchable long throw, but not to illumiate an object, but rather to throw a small green speck of light onto it. It has a green laser built in! Let's see how it performs without getting into too much mischief....
Discalimer: this light was provided free by DX for review.
Where to purchase:
http://dx.com/p/fandyfire-knight-2-x-cree-xm-l-t6-950lm-3-mode-flashlight-w-green-laser-golden-silver-3x18650-178577
Manufacturer's specifications
Dimensions: 5.91 in x 1.97 in x 1.97 in (15.0 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm)
Weight: 10.16 oz (288g)
Emitter Brand: Cree
LED Type: XM-L
BIN: T6
Color: Cool White
Number of Emitters: 2
Voltage Input: 3.6-4.2V
Battery Configuration: 3 x 18650 (not included)
Circuitry: 2.8A
Brightness: 950lm
Runtime: 2-3 hours
Number of Modes: 3
Mode Arrangement: Hi > Low > Fast Strobe
Mode Memory: No
Switch Type: Reverse clicky
Switch Location: Side
Lens: Glass lens
Reflector: Aluminum Smooth / SMO
Strap Included: Yes
Beam Range: 100 meters
Laser Wavelength: 532nm
Laser Color: Green
Continuous 2 clicks button to switch to laser mode
Accessories:
Strap (40cm)
O-ring
THE STATS:
Aside from the laser, the Knight holds it's own as a flashlight very well. The light uses three 18650 batteries in parallel so they should give good runtime. Here is a breakdown of the output:
High: 1407 lumens
Low: 336 Lumens
Lux: 16380 cd
As you can see the light puts out much more than the manufacturer stated 950 lumens. I question if the emitters are really T6 but rather U2 bin. At any rate it throws out much more light than any single xml torch could. The low mode is still very bright, and works very well when tailstanding in a dark room to light it up. Perhaps it could use a much lower third level more suitable for indoor use instead of the strobe.
The throw is pretty good. Just think of two xml lights each at 8000cd side by side. The hotspot is pretty even, but the spill is strange, as we will see later.
Mode arrangement is High-Low-Strobe like it's cousin the Skyray King (though the King has both higher high and lower low). The light is turned on by holding the button for about 1 second, and turned off in the same fashion. Switching modes is accomplished by short clicking the button while the light is on. It always starts in high mode.
The laser was measured at 26 lumens. I have no way to measure laser power, but it is higher than a 2xAAA operated 5mw laser I have which measured between 8 and 14 lumens. It is also much brighter on the wall.
Knight on left, Green laser pointer on right
At this point I had better mention that lasers over 5mw cannot be imported into some countries. I am in the US, and they are off limits here. These types of lasers often do not filter the UV some wavelengths of infrared and can be harmful to your eyes. I have no way of measuring any of that but you should always be careful, especially indoors where the laser is glaring bright. Also, it is illegal to shine the light at aircraft. I mean they will come and take you to prison for doing so, it blinds pilots and is very dangerous. So be careful with these, they are fun but don't treat it as a toy.
Size Comparison:
Left to right: Skyray King, Fandyfire Knight, Thrunite TN11S, UF 502B (p60), Zebralight SC600
The Knight is about as thin as it can get for a 3x18650 light, but it is taller than a single battery light. The reason for the height is the laser I would assume. It shorter than my 2xAAA laser pointer, though obviously much wider and cannot clip in my shirt pocket.
The King has the battery contact plate recessed below the threads, while the Knight threads over the head and the plate goes down into the tube as it is screwed on. I'm guessing the laser module makes this necessary.
Here's a height comparison with just the King.
The construction is fairly straightforward with the battery tube screwing into the head. The electronic switch is located on the side of the light, and has a rubber covering. At the head of the light a stainless bezel protects the glass lens. The rubber switch has a nice feel to it and seems unlikely to get accidentally activated (even more so because of the one second delay when holding the button to turn on the light).
The switch does not stick out very far, but is easy to find by feel.
The four squared cutouts are not just for show, but also act as anti-roll stops.
The cutouts on the sides are many lanyard attachment points and help with grip, as there is no knurling on the light. The slight cooling fins on the head are as much for show as heat dissipation.
The button has the Black Shadow logo on it! :-O Since this is a direct clone (or relabeled I should say) of the Black Shadow Knight, it is not surprising. By the way... this may not be the place for it, but the Black Shadow Knight green laser was rated as a 20mw. That may explain why it is brighter than my laser pointed....
Fandyfire Knight labeling - like it or not - is clear and legible.
Be careful, the surface may get hot! I'm still not sure why they have these labels. Who is going to sue Fandyfire for getting burned??
The tail of the light is flat. It tailstands very well for it's height.
Just your normal triangular threads of sufficient depth. They came unlubed. There is a nice fitting white oring below the threads, but I wouldn't dunk this light in water. The switch does give much more confidence around water than the Skyray King's metal button. Threads are not annodized and there is no way to lockout the light. I have no idea of the standby current necessary for the electronic switch. With three batteries in parallel I'm not too overly worried about it.
Here is the backside of the head. The batteries rub the contact plate when screwing the head on, so you may want to make sure there are no sharp edges sticking up on your batteries that would scratch up the surface when replacing your batteries.
The batteries are inserted directly into the body of the light. There is no battery carrier to remove. It has some nice looking springs at the end, and all my batteries fit well. You need to use raised top batteries to make contact with the top plate.
Even the long Xtar 18700 batteries fit fine. The threads of the body are cut away slightly where the batteries are inserted.
The head is nearly as tall as the body.
The two xm-l are side by side in two narrow but fairly deep reflectors. They are well centered. The bezel is pretty deep which blocks some of the light. Not sure if this is to better protect the lens or what.
Here is a closeup of the emitters. I suspect they are U2 bin as the Black Shadow Knight states. My cell phone camera picks up no trace of PWM on high, it may be direct drive. There are lines shown on the low mode. It doesn't seem to be extremely bad though.
There are four other small holes in the reflector aside from around the xmls. Three are decorative, and I think they look pretty nice. The other one is for the laser. It is centered well, but it's not like it needs a reflector...
I think the reflector on this light looks pretty darn cool with all the circles.
Just don't look in it when the laser is on!
Especially in the dark! (ok I'm just having fun now).
Yes, you can see the beam indoors with the lights on, and easily see the green dot outdoors in direct sunlight. It was hard to get a good picture of for some reason, though I'm not the best photographer. My favorite shot comes at the end of this review.
The cool part is, you can turn on the laser while the light is on! You can be shining the light outdoors and then turn on the pointer, or you can be using the laser and then turn on the light. Pretty cool!
There are negatives to the light. It's size is just long enough that it doesn't fit as comfortably inside a jacket pocket as the much wider Skyray King. Also you can't clip it in your pocket like a traditional light. Also the lack of a lower low, combined with always starting in high make it less useful as an everyday around the house light. The biggest thing for the picky white-wall hunters though will be the beam pattern. You can just look at the light and know it won't have the prettiest beam, and you are right. I couldn't get my camera to get a good pic on the wall for some unknown reason, but I'm sure you can see the beam isn't uniform fairly easily.
There is surprisingly very little wrong with the hotspot, which makes the beam appear pretty good outdoors. The main corona however is egg-shaped. Add to that the two lighter areas of spill forming "ears" on the beam and it's pretty ugly. Turn it upside down and it's just as bad. Like I said it doesn't look as bad outside, but it doesn't totally disappear either. A small price to pay for having a laser at your disposal!
Conclusion:
In the end, this light isn't for everyone. But for those that think it sounds cool, go for it! It is a lot of fun, and you can't have a better "thrower" 
. It performs very well and is a nice size even without the novelty of the laser. I give it four stars out of five on it's own merits, but really there is no alternative like it. It's functional to use and great to show off. It really is a "dazzling" light.
