Hello my friends!
this review will be a little different....
because there are some great reviews already done - and i do not want to bother you with already published numbers and high quality pictures.
mhanlens great video review (worth a look - i love his style)
lets start with my review:
the first wave of Lights imalent sent to the reviewers have been "not perfect" and imalent took the chance to adjust their product to the recommendations from the reviewers.
BIG THANKS for that!
i try to show you what they have done (at least the part i am allowed to show you ;))
some other things i want to share with you:
the old tailcap has a shorter spring which prevents unprotected flat tops from working
(i used a 2mm magnet to run the lights with Samsung 30Qs)
see the left is arided?
the dustcap over the charging port (open is carefully):
a view in the front:
since i found NO electronics there i post some pictures:
nice aluminium reflector and a good clear lens
thick, but nonDTP Al MCPCB
with enough thermal paste under it
but the centering ring is also very thick...
maybe i try to sand it down a bit
at one point when i played with the lights i felt a hot sensation on my table....
the lockout is a nice feature IF you use it (which is boring)
and this happened also:
i tried to show it a bit better:
explanation: the PWM (pulse with modulation) imalent used to dim the LED simply switches it OFF/ON very fast...
but in that case in the new version the PWM is "slow" - so the camera sees the single flashes
(which, as you can see, are not less intense then the steady light)
the new strobe can also be seen in the long exposure pictures:
(new one on top)
it strobes within the strobe - which makes it the first strobe which makes me feel sick!!!
lets look at some numbers i took:
some are made in "experimental setups" with flying clamps and (thin) wires / Lumen are corrected "FenixLumens"
light out of the box | DM21 V1 | DM21 V2 |
imalent @ 4,10V | 44 - 640 Lm | 11 - 740 Lm |
Samsung 30Q @ 4,09V | 45 - 680 Lm | 11 - 764 Lm |
cell direct to head | ||
imalent @ 4,10V | 800 @ 3A | 810 @ 3A |
Samsung 30Q @ 4,09V | 856 @ 3,45 A | 920 @ 3,7A |
tailcap/driver running a XM-L2 ( setup draws 4,1A / 1300 Lumen DD with 30Q ) | ||
51 Lm @ 0,17 | 10 Lm @ 0,039A | |
950 Lm @ 2,8A | 1024 Lm @ 3,0A |
i think there is some resistor/electonic in the head.... i will find out!
my conclusion:
- I really love the ideas imalent used to build that flashlight and holster!
- the dial wheel (which can easily be operated with one hand) is as simple as perfect
- the sensor instead of a clickie is gorgeous! (in theorie)
- Imalent once again showed us that they do not fear to try new ways to change the way we use our flashlights.
- the build quality and used materials are very good (beside the holster ;)) and at the high standard we are used to see from them.
- a A+ for the fact they heared what the reviewers told them and they changed according to our recommendations!
but in my personal preference there are some things why i will not EDC this light / holster ...
- the holster is still "meh" - full of great ideas, but not perfect (i think it will not last very long - but time will tell)
- the fix of the "high low" was to use slow, annoying PWM - a step back in my opinion
- the adjustment of the brightness has little, noticeable steps (nitpicking - it works nice)
- the power switch is still too sensitive!
- the added electronically lockout is not useful - in fact you would have to tap 4 times to switch the lights ON or OFF, because the lockout has to be active while you wear the light
- according to the manual the holster may not be used outdoor (would be better called "not in wet conditions")
- the power indicator could give us values
feel free to ask any question or measurement you miss! i will try to ad it..
i tried to keep my review short and on the spot - maybe i failed already ;)
€dit took a video to show the Lumen range where the PWM is noticeable: