WowTac A4 V2 //26650 COMPACT Thrower // Full Review

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

This is the Wowtac A4 V2. A compact 26650 thrower utilizing the XHP35 HI.

Light can be found on the Amazon / WowTac site ……… Amazon.com

The A4 V2 is not listed on the main WowTac site at the time of posting this review , but should be showing up there very soon ………. http://wowtac.com/
(Links are NON affiliated)

There is also a discount code starting from December 20th, 2019 for 1 month and it is good for 20% off on this light for that time.
The code for the 20% discount is………… 20A4robo819

For anyone who may want a better look at any of the pictures that appear in the GIF’s throughout this review (just for djozz ;), here is the link to all the still pictures of the light and also the beamshots………

The A4 V2 came in a larger Amazon box with the Wowtac box inside that , padded in large bubble wrap.
The contents are the light itself , the 5000mAh wowtac branded cell , USB charging cord , 2 extra o-rings , 1 extra USB port cover , the instruction mauual and the Thank You card.

This is a pretty compact light to be a 26650 powered light , but still has some great throw to it. Pictured below beside the Thrunite Catapult V6 (left) and the BLF D80 (right). Also the light pictured alone.
The reflectors on these lights measured at the inside edge pf the bezels is……A4 V2 / 41mm …… D1S / 43mm ….and the Catapult V6 50mm. As you will see in the video footage (if you watch that) the little A4 V2 holds it own well against the larger V6 and has a little better throw than the D1S to my eyes.

The branding / etching is done well on my sample as is the anodizing , with it having no pin pricks , thin spots or any other blemishes that I could find. The Switch button and USB port sit nicely in the body of the light.

The knurling is a square pattern , instead of the usual diamond shape on most lights (although we are getting more with different knurling now days) The square knurling is much like I have seen on the Olight products , although slightly different at the same time. It does have a very nice look to the knurling and also it has a really good feel in hand
.

The reflector on my sample is also made very well and had no blemishes or dust of any kind right out of the box. The AR coated lens was almost invisible right out of the box also. The XHP 35 HI emitter sits perfectly centered in the reflector.
Although I forgot to take pictures when I had the MCPCB loose , it is all copper and of course I also forgot to check if it is DTP. I will try to do that after the holidays and update at that time.

For those who like to mod , or just might happen to decide you want a different emitter (although what is in the light does a great job), the head of the light comes apart fairly easy to get inside. Also the smooth bezel makes for a good beam pattern with NO artifacts or weird shadows around the edges.

The tailcap has the lanyard eyelet that sits on the side of the tailcap , so if using the included lanyard , the light will still tail stand without the lanyard getting in the way. There are also double springs in the tailcap to help maintain better contact and decrease the amperage draw that comes with a single spring.

The threads are all very well cut and came lightly lubed on my sample. All the threads are very smooth to operate also.

The switch button has indicator lights of different colors to show different things. The “Power” indicator will be BLUE during normal operation. Once the cell is starting to deplete the “Low Voltage” indicator light will turn to RED. When charging the light these are reversed , with red showing the light is charging and blue showing a full charge. If there is any kind of problem when charging the “Improper Charging” light will show (bad cell , reverse polarity etc.) the indicator light will then be Purple.

I will mention this light was put through more testing than I usually do with my review lights and also KUDOS to WowTac for requesting more “aggressive” testing on the review. The light was subjected to water testing , drop testing (5 feet or 1.5 meters) and dropped 3 times and also put in the freezer until it was at or below the freezing point and then tested for operation. All those test are in the video footage and the times will be listed right above the video , as to where each segment can be found in the video timeline.

The beamshots……….

3 feet from garage door …… Moon / Low

70 yards from garage …… Medium / High / Turbo

75 yards from gate ……. High / Turbo

100 yards from gate …… High / Turbo

155 yards from barn …… Turbo

175 yards from trees …… Turbo

approximately 98 yards from deer in field (measured with Google) … Turbo

Same picture of deer cropped / enlarged……

My tested run time , lumens and tail amperage charts……

Overall my opinion of this compact light is that it does a great job in the throw department , and the build quality and overall performance is exceptional , especially for the price point and what you get in the package. Just a great little light as far as I am concerned.

For those who do not want to see the whole video , but may want to see the comparison footage with the Emisar D1S and the Thrunite Catapult V6 outside , that footage starts at 22:35 of the video timeline. The Freeze testing starts at 9:29 of the timeline. The Water testing starts at 10:24 of the timeline and the drop testing starts at 15:14 of the video timeline.

Video followed by listed specs (from Amazon site)

AMAZING THROW DISTANCE: Covers an intense bright white beam of 1854 feet, powered by a 5000mAh 26650 battery
• EXTREME BRIGHT: Max 1895 lumen LED flashlight CREE XHP35 HI LED bulb producing an intense beam of bright light
• QUALITY & RELIALBE: Premium AL T6061-T6 made, waterproof to IPX-8 for all weather condition, 1.5 meters impact resistance tested
• VERSATILE MODES: Intelligent Low / Medium / High / Turbo / Strobe / Firefly light modes, makes A4 V2 the perfect EDC flashlight for hunting, camping, fishing, indoor and outdoor activities
• 2 YEARS WARRANTY: WOWTAC offers a hassle-free 30 days money back guarantee and 2 years after-sales service. We always serve you after the sale!

Six Dfiferent Modes

3 Daily Mode

Low Mode (28 lumens /89 hrs)

Medium Mode (208 lumens /12 hrs)

High Mode (1058 lumens/8 mins + 150 mins)

3 Special Mode

Turbo Mode (1895 lumens/3 mins + 148 mins)

Strobe Mode (1200 lumens /200 mins)

Firefly Mode (0.5 lumens /208 days)

Waterproof & Impact Resistance

–2 meters depth of waterproof resistance,preventing accidentally falling into water.

-Safety for 1.5 Meters drop, suitable for various extreme environments.

2

Nice extended review! I find the design a bit odd but the results are great, much better throw than I would have expected! Between the build quality, beam profile and strength, and the completeness of the kit… may have to pick one of these up!

Thanks robo (I think)

3

Thanks Dale………

The little light may not have the prettiest head design , but it does what it was meant to do , throws well , performs well and it DOES have a good feel in hand.

Better grab one in the next month if you want to use the code (first part of OP)….don’t know if you noticed up there but 20% off from December 20th for 30 days.

4

I fail to see the throw numbers…

5

Right below the video in the listed specs…………1854//// feet or about 610 to 620 yards.
I have not taken any throw measurements myself.

6

That would be 80 kcd / 565m.
One could hope for more….
Anyway, thank you. :slight_smile:

7

From a fairly shallow 41mm reflector I thought that was pretty decent really.

8

This is 91% of reflector diameter of D1S. Which does roughly 130 kcd with XP-L HI.
So this should do about 115-120 kcd with XP-L HI. And 100+ with fairly well driven XHP35 HI (which it has).
Shallow? I didn’t take it into account. This reduces throw somewhat but still 80 doesn’t seem too good…

9

Already has a huge hole in the reflector, bet one could stuff an MT-G2 in that beast. I love 26650 compact lights, not as compact as the JM20 but not bad.

I have good 26650’s in good numbers… wish I could buy the light bare.

10

OK I had to go do some measuring…….

The reflector on the D1S is 43mm wide x 41mm deep and I am measuring 111cd from the D1S for 666.33 meters of throw.

The A4 V2 reflector is 41mm wide x 24mm deep and I am getting 100.25cd from the A4 V2 for 633.25 meters of throw.

So really for the differences in the lights and reflectors really the throw numbers are not that different.

EDIT: these numbers were tested at 5 meters
EDIT:2 I got the D1S reflector seated well enough in the A4 V2 to get a measurement on the Lux and throw……I got 788 meters using the D1S reflector in the A4 V2 and then I had 155.25 KCD with the D1S reflector in the A4 V2

11

That’s much better, thanks for checking. :slight_smile:

12

Got mine in today and I was quite impressed. Much smaller than the Catapult V6 so it’s even more handy. I went ahead and ordered another to mod with a 3500 or 4000K emmiter. I lean toward the warmer tints. This light may be my go to on the nightstand. Great review by the way.

13

Thanks……yes I have used mine pretty frequently since I got it also. Really liking this one.

14

I’ve had my eye on this light lately. Thanks for all the good info along with great video. Much appreciated.

15

Glad to do the review and thank you also.

16

I just ordered one from Amazon using a 20% off code. It will arrive on Tuesday. Yay Amazon!