That's a fair point!
Yes. Not going to do an antman again…
I like the size of Antman, but the output is clearly not there.
An Antman with a boost driver and higher output laser module could be excellent.
Another Lumintop LEP: Titanium Ant Man
(From Lumintop on Facebook)
I like the styling except for the brass bit, looks odd. Functionally I do not understand it: the laser needs cooling, more so than a led, and the fins that could help the cooling are not in the brass but in the bad heat-conducting titanium section and so there they do nothing except looking pretty.
I wonder if they updated the driver on this one
Please no! Don’t tell me I have to buy this in an even more expensive version! : D
Meh, don’t care for the body or the tail cap. Too busy imo.
I understand the other LEP’s have the same style and they match but they should have done the same as the Tools, same exact body just different materials.
I like that. Link broken. More info anywhere?
Amutorch BT55:
2898 meters range 210kcd. I think they mean 2100kcd!
I believe Maxtoch and Amutorch are related somehow, so this should be good.
MAXTOCH XSWORD LA60 Rotary focusing LEP Flashlight
Does anyone have experience with one of these? I’d like to have an LEP for long distance photography so good cri would be appreciated.
Thanks
Current LEP collection
@Dave1010: Neal used to have it in stock, but it was soon gone. This one is only available in China as of recently. Not sure if they will be sold in any popular online store.
And @fourbyfive; yes, I reviewed it. I don't think you want an LEP with rotary for photography!
25 LEPs! Surely 20 is enough for 1 person 
oh... hmmmm.... maybe 20 is enough :D
24 is ok but 25…that’s waaaay too much. You can send me one. That way you’ll free up some space.
Right place, right time...
I am very fortunate to have the unobtaniumAmutorch BT55 Focusable LEP I got from Neal's on Nov 4th, the moment it appeared... and just 2 days before it vanished without a trace even from the Amutorch homepage... I fully expected a cancelation apology refund but 10 days later I was thrilled to actually receive it!It is so much more compact than my Acebeam W30, but the build quality is very high and performance at tightest focus actually superior by a margin.
It is a shine-through LEP module with almost no lumen loss through the full limited focus range.It is as I can tell a rebranded single 21700 cell version of the Maxtoch LA60S. For half the price, $345 versus $186 shipped!
I don't have expensive meters, but it is specced at 600L on high and 2.1 Mcd, 2890M range and in direct comparison with my Acebeam W30 appeared 15% brighter in ceiling bounce and outdoors.
A year ago my Acebeam W30 completely astonished me with its zero spill light saber tight beam and range, and even more fun underwater as it's rated as a dive light to 30M!I knew this LEP technology was a giant leap forward, but I desperately wished for the ability to widen the beam for near field practicality. A diffuser was a disappointing band aid solution, negating the magic ultra intensity character.I wanted considerably more than sub 500 lumen and a two degree beam, like the uberexpensive $10k 175W HID Megaray of yesteryear, which LEP is making an affordable reality now.. but the Megaray and Peak Maxabeam both had a motorized wide focus range, to enable close range flood to greatly increase its practicality.
Time passed and Acebeam announces my LEP dream come true... the W50: not only still unaffordable at $2k but legally restricted against sales to the US general public. I saw the Asian market demo videos and desperately wished for its focusable ability and pow,er...Now with the BT55 and LA60S, by virtue of their adjustable focus, they transform LEP into far more than a one trick light saber pony, although it may be an acquired taste for some.
Being able to widen the beam makes it barrels of FUN when used outdoors and in. Inverse of a conventional LED reflector centered Hotspot, when wide focused the BT55's outermost third of the circumference of the beam carries 80% of the dazzling LEP intensity, with the interior a completely even pale blue. The outermost edge is quite yellow, with the dazzling outer third a neutral white.This is apparent at close range white wall hunting, and surely traumatizing for tint purists. Yet outdoors its much more subtle, and I actually enjoy it.
Three full turns of the head is the entire focus range, and nearing the tightest third of the range the aberrant +colors merge into a brilliant neutral white pinpoint, similar to the color temp of my W30.
It has a robust reverse clicky tail switch with 3 output levels and mode memory, approx 150 lumen low, 300 mid, and 600 high, with approximately over 2 hrs on high and over 4 on medium. This with a 21700 5000maH 50E cell.
Temperature is well under control with the head barely warm to the touch after long intervals at med and low, and at least 10 minutes on high before it reaches 55degC and regulates it, although with no noticeable decrease in output.
In total, the BT55 exceeded my expectations and most unexpectedly provided a level of FUN in real world use with its zoom range I couldn't have predicted, since normally I strongly dislike the ocean of low quality LED "zoomies" that flood the eBay market, etc.
Here are a few images : W Lumintop 9XL
Fully zoomed out, the fun factor comes from 80% of the blazing intensity is around the outer circumference of the beam, opposite of an LED/reflector Hotspot... the center is a pale even light blue. The colors are quite exaggerated in the photo (white wall hunting) and I found them not troublesome outdoors in the green foliage.
It is a genuine mystery why it appeared and disappeared so very suddenly; maybe it was decided to restrict it to Asian markets only. It's performance is on par with the upper tier of LEP offerings, and it's incredibly low $186 price and variable focus make it a stellar value that I hope returns to the US market so many others can experience it for themselves, considering it's an identical rebranded Maxtoch LA60S ($345). PLEASE Neal bring back the BT55!
What an amazing review. I have the W30 and I’m debating about whether to buy the “best” high end LEP or wait for the next big thing
That BT55 looks amazing for the price.
I’m still waiting for a LEP with a lense at least 80mm wide, that’s significantly higher cd than anything else I have.
Many Thanks Photon Master for your kind words!
Since I was a very early adopter of LEP with my Acebeam W30 2 years ago, I was flabbergasted with its beam quality and range and knew this would be an exciting future path for flashlight design... it was true beyond line of sight range for $300!
By the way, the W30 is factory sealed so well it is dive rated to 30 meters and nothing is more fun than playing with it underwater in a swimming pool! The light saber effect of its incredible beam is not only astonishing but creates instant permagrin! Highly recommended, as I believe the W30 is the only submersion rated light.
The W30 set the high benchmark, and only a few recent models like the Weltool W4 significantly surpass it. I was about to buy another W30 a few months later when it was suddenly discontinued by Acebeam and the few remaining stock were being ridiculously gouge priced for over $600. I was heartbroken!
Many meager performing compact LEPs emerged, but it wasn't intil June of 2000 that a full size (large lens extreme range 2300M) Jetbeam M1X ($289) became my second LEP that met or surpassed my W30, albeit without the submersion rating or tank like solid build quality.
I desperately longed for a model which could significantly widen those defacto 2 degree LEP beams to radically improve their practicality for near to mid range (150M) use, and significantly more than 450 or so lumen on high...
Then a year ago Acebeam granted all my wishes and announced their unobtanium W50 model: 1400 lumens, 3.9Mcd (almost 4km!), 8x 18650 power, and sweetest of all a motorized zoom to cover a 1.7 degree spot to a 24.8 degree flood... for a staggering $2299 AND a restriction to all US sales for military or enterprise search and rescue ONLY, no private citizens.... heartbroken again!
SHOCKING UPDATE: just checked the Acebeam site and the W50 has had a tiny price adjustment: $5299 (!!!) .... 2.3x increase in price just to put it out of reach for almost all, very sad. The W50 is now the modern 175W HID Megaray (almost $10k)
Yet there is a tremendously exciting development on the way from Lumintop:
The THOR PRO 8X LED + LEP Hybrid
Read about it here:
Photon Master,
I believe the upcoming THOR PRO Hybrid is exactly the "next big thing" you should be considering obtaining instead of a top gun high end conventional LEP.
I'm really excited about this light, but wonder what compromises will accompany an affordable price point. Using 4x 18650, I have runtime concerns with the huge current demand of the LED array plus the LEP... and thermal management is an even bigger concern. I can't wait for details and specs.
Dave,
The BT55 has a 60mm lens. I agree with you a minimum 80mm lens would be desirable, just so happens to be the lens size of the $5.3k Acebeam W50.
By the way, many thanks for your excellent Tech Reviews articles. Keep up the great work!