Tag Archives: Headlamp

Skilhunt ESKTE H150

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The H150 is a compact headlamp flashlight with a floody beam with excellent colour rendition. It runs on a single included 14500 battery, or a regular AA battery.

  1. Introduction
  2. Manufacturer Specifications
  3. Package Details
  4. Build
  5. User Interface
  6. Circuit Measures
  7. Emitter Measures
  8. Beamshots
  9. Testing Results
  10. Runtimes
  11. Pros and Cons
  12. Overall Rating
  13. Preliminary Conclusions
  14. Acknowledgement

Introduction

I’m still catching up on my backlog of lights. This final version of the H150 was received from Skilhunt early last Fall.

Following on my review of the Skilhunt H300, Skilhunt released a more compact 1×14500 model under the new ESKTE brand name. This small headlamp is very similar, with a comparable user interface and magnetic charging dock. I don’t know if they plan to migrate to the ESKTE name going forward (I personally don’t find it rolls off the tongue very easily).

Like most Skilhunt lights, you can select your own emitter from a range of options. For the H150, you can select between the CREE XP-L2 Cool White 6500K, Nichia 519A Neutral White 4500K Hi CRI>90, or Nichia 519A Warm White 3000K Hi CRI >90.

I opted for my preferred tint, the Neutral White Nichia. As always, when it comes to headlamps especially, I recommend people consider high CRI options whenever possible. But the advantage here is that you can select the emitter option that best suits your needs.

Note that the original release of the H150 had a design issue that had a risk of shorting flat-top cells. That model was recalled, and all shipping H150s have a proper protection feature enabled.

Let’s see how the final shipping H150 does in my testing.

Manufacturer Specifications

Note: as always, these are simply what the manufacturer provides. Scroll down to see my actual runtimes.

FeatureSpecs
MakerSkilhunt
ModelH150
EmitterNicha 519A
Tint5000K (Hi CRI>90)
Max Output (Lumens)480
Min Output (Lumens)0.2
Max Runtime50 days
Max Beam Intensity (cd)2,250 cd
Max Beam Distance (m)95 m
Constant Levels7
FlashingStrobe, SOS, Beacon
Battery1x14500/AA
Weight (w/o battery)33 g
Weight (with battery)-
Length79.8 mm
Head Diameter21.4 mm
Body Diameter-
WaterproofIPX-8

Package Details





The light comes in a fairly standard shelf-presentation style box, with a description of the features and characteristics printed on it. Inside is a professional looking package, with the cover tab under the plastic tray holder.

Inside the box, I found:

  • Skilhunt H150 flashlight
  • Skilhunt BL-108 800mAh 14500 battery (optional)
  • Headband & mounting bracket
  • Wrist lanyard
  • Carrying pouch
  • Pocket clip
  • USB magnetic charging dock (MC-10)
  • 2 Spare O-rings
  • Manual

It’s a very nice package, consistent with other high quality lights in this class. The headband mounting bracket looks particularly good, as it can rotate in discrete steps (and has a one-inch mount opening, compatible with MOLLE setups). It’s good that they included the pocket clip for carry too (although it is the simple press-fit variety). This is a good set of extras.

Note however that the headband mounting bracket cracked and broke the first time I tried to remove the light. Fortunately, I had a spare from the defective first batch of lights that were subsequently recalled.

Build


From left to right: Skilhunt 14500 (800mAh), Armytek 18650 (3500mAh), Armytek Crystal, Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia, Acebeam E70 Mini, Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Max, Skilhunt H300, Skilhunt (ESKTE) H150.








Like its larger sibling the H300, The H150 is a very compact build, with lots of design elements to help with grip (although the concentric rings on the body and tailcap are not particularly sharp). The headband bracket holds the light reasonably well. I like the inclusion of the pocket clip, in case you want to carry it as an angle-light clipped to you, bezel-up. I would say the overall size is pretty compact for a 14500 headlamp – definitely on the smaller size of ones I’ve handled.

There is a raised rubberized switch cover over the electronic switch. Underneath are a pair of red and blue LEDs, to signal various states of the light/battery. Switch feel is good, with a standard traverse/tactile feedback for an electronic switch.

There is a magnetic charging dock on the top of the head of the light (similar to the charging cable in the H300, but specifically rated for this model). One nice thing about magnetic charging docks is that waterproofness is not a concern – the light looks quite splashable/dunkable (although note that I do not test for this in my reviews).

Tailstanding is very stable, thanks to the flat tailcap (there is a side cut-out to allow you to thread the basic wrist lanyard through, if you wanted to carry it that way). Tailcap threads are square-cut and anodized, with good feel. I always recommend you keep a light stored locked out when not in use. Thanks to the anodized tailcap threads, you can do this easily by a simple twist of the tailcap.

There is a magnet in the tailcap, so you attached the light stably to any metal surface. A useful feature in worklight/headlamp model.

There is a standard spring in the tailcap, and a small raised post in head, which holds the button-top cell firmly in place. If you worried about whether or not you have one of the early recalled release, you can check the circuit board in the head for a small “V2” (for the safe version) printed next to centre contact post. And by the way, I respect Skilhunt for the decision to recall all the early samples that had the potential risk of shorting flat-top cells.

Anodizing is a flat gray in matte finish, and looks to be very good quality on my sample with no damage or issues. Skilhunt reports it is type III (hard anodized), and I see no reason to doubt that.

Inside, my sample came with the optional Skilhunt-branded button-top 800mAh 14500 battery.

The proprietary magnetic USB charging dock also comes with blue and red LEDs, to signal charging status. The magnet has a reasonably strong pull (not as heavy as some), and locks into place easily. Note the H150 charger is labelled as the MC-10 (the H300/M300 comes with the MC-20)

And in case you wondering, with the battery installed it is about half the weight of the H300 (i.e., 55g instead of 106g).


My H150 came with the Nichia 519A Neutral White emitter, and features a heavily textured diffusing optic. This produces a nice and even flood light. Scroll down to my Emitter Measures section to see how my sample performs.

The bezel is like the switch retaining ring, allowing you access to the optic and emitter.

Note that despite the charging dock on the top of the head, you can still headstand stably.

User Interface

The H150 uses the latest version of the standard Skilhunt user interface (UI), just like the H300. It has a reasonably good number of modes and features. You get two Low modes, three Regular modes (two Med modes, one High mode), two Turbo modes, and three Strobe modes – organized into those four mode sets.

One comment to make up front – the mode level labels are different from most lights in that the lower number for a given level is actually the higher output (so, for example, T1 is brighter than T2). That means the constant output modes, in sequence, are: L2 < L1, M2 < M1 < H1, and T2 < T1.

The manual doesn’t describe the three strobe modes, but for sake of this review I will refer to them as S3 = Strobe, S2 = SOS, and S1 = Beacon.

Let me break down the full interface for you:

From OFF:

  • Press-and-hold: Turns On in memorized Low mode (L2 or L1).
  • Single-click: Turns On in memorized Regular mode (M2, M1, or H1).
  • Double-click: Turns On in memorized Turbo mode (T2 or T1).
  • Triple-click: Turns on in memorized strobe mode (S3, S2, or S1).
  • 4 clicks: Activates the electronic Lockout mode.
    • Press-and-hold for momentary Moonlight (i.e., lowest Low, L2)
    • While in lockout, the switch indicator light will flash red every second, but that can be toggled off/on with a double-click.

From ON:

  • Press-and-hold: Cycle to the next level within the current mode level set (constant output modes only, doesn’t work for Strobe).
  • Single-click: Turns Off.
  • Double-click: Jumps to the memorized Turbo level (from Regular modes only), or back to Regular modes if already in Turbo (note this doesn’t work from Low modes or Strobe modes)
  • Triple-click: Jumps to the memorized Strobe mode (from Regular or Turbo), or back to most recent Regular or Turbo if already in Strobe mode.

Strobe modes:

  • Triple-click: Turns On in memorized Strobe mode.
  • Double-click: Cycles through the Strobe modes in sequence:
    • S3 – Strobe
    • S2 – SOS
    • S1 – Beacon

Mode memory:

Yes, each mode set retains its own memory for the last level selected in that mode set.

Shortcuts:

  • To Low (L2 or L1): Press-and-hold from Off.
  • To Turbo (T2 or T1): Double-click from Off or when On in Regular mode.
  • To Strobe (S1, S2, or S3): Triple-click from Off or when On in Regular or Turbo mode.

Low voltage warning:

When the battery is running very low (<3.0V according to the manual), the switch indicator light will flash red, and the main emitter will flash every couple of seconds. the light will shut off at 2.7V according to the manual.

Lock-out mode: 

  • 4 clicks from Off: Activates the electronic Lockout mode.
  • Physical lockout is also possible by simply unscrewing the tailcap.

Battery indicator:

Yes. The LED under the switch indicates the battery status for the first ~5 secs after turning on:

  • Solid Blue: >80% Battery power remaining.
  • Flashing Blue: 50-80% Battery power remaining.
  • Solid Red: 20-50% Battery power remaining
  • Flashing Red: <20% Battery power remaining.

These are identical to the H300, and seem reasonable to me.

Reviewer Comments:

Like many of the recent lights I’ve reviewed, I find this UI to be very reasonable, and relatively versatile. Of course, you are never going to please everyone with any given UI (e.g., I would like to see double-click reliably jumping to Turbo, and have the Low modes as part of a regular sequence without having to go through Off first). But these are really minor quibbles, the light does reasonably well.

One small thing I would like is the ability to independently turn on the the blue switch indicator, to serve as an additional “moonlight mode”. This is something the Anduril-based lights allow, for example.

Allowing momentary L2 when in the electronic lockout is a nice touch. But as always, I recommend locking out the light at the tailcap when not in use.

Circuit Measures

No Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM):

Like the H150, there is no sign of PWM on any level – the circuit appears to be fully current-controlled. This is also no sign of high-frequency noise at any level. This is refreshing – although PWM is very rare nowadays, it is not uncommon to see some (visually-undetectable) circuit noise.

L2:
L2

L1:
L1

M2:
M2

M1:
M1

H1:
H1

T2:
T2

T1:
T1

Strobe Modes:

S3 -Strobe:


S3 Strobe alternates between 7 Hz and 10 Hz strobes (1 sec for 7Hz, 3 secs for 10 Hz).

S2 – SOS:
SOS

A fairly typical SOS mode.

Beacon:
Beacon

Beacon strobe is nice and slow 1 Hz signalling strobe.

Charging:

The magnetic charging dock switches from blue (when power is supplied) to solid red when connected and charging the H150. Switches back to solid blue when the charging is complete.

Like H300, the H150 use a constant charging rate regardless of the initial battery voltage. I find ~0.80A to be reasonable for a 14500 cell, and will charge it relatively rapidly.

The 14500 came out at 4.14V fully charged with the magnetic charger. That is lower than typical, but is good for the health of the cell.

Standby / Parasitic Drain:

Given the electronic switch, there is a standby drain when a battery is installed – but I measured this as a negligible 14 uA with the installed 14500. Given the rated 800 mAh capacity, that would translate in 6.5 years before you would drain the cell. For a NiMH AA, I measured the drain as 4 uA. For 2450 mAh Eneloop AA, would translate into a ridiculous 70 years before the cell would be drained.  Either way, these are miniscule and not a concern. But regardless, I always recommend you lockout the light when not in use – either by electronic lockout, or better yet physically by twisting the tailcap.

Emitter Measures

In this section, I directly measure key emitter characteristics in terms of colour temperature, tint, and colour rendition. Please see my Emitter Measures page to learn more about what these terms mean, and how I am measuring them. As tint in particular can shift across levels, I typically stick with the highest stably regulated level for all my reported measures.

As explained on that page, since I am using an inexpensive uncalibrated device, you can only make relative comparisons across my reviews (i.e., don’t take these numbers as absolutely accurate values, but as relatively consistent across lights in my testing).

H150 on T2:

The key measures above are the colour temperature of ~4135K, and a small negative tint shift (-0.0052 Duv) to slightly rose coloured. For CRI (Ra), I measured a combined score of 95 (Hi CRI).

These results are very consistent with other Neutral White 519A emitters, which are known to run slightly rose-tinted. This remains one of my favourite emitters and tints.

Beamshots

All outdoor beamshots are taken on my Canon PowerShot S5 IS at f/2.7, 0.5 secs exposure, ISO 400, daylight white balance. The bend in the road is approximately 40 meters (~45 yards) from the camera. Learn more about my outdoor beamshots here (scroll down for the floody light position used in this review).

Click on any thumbnail image below to open a full size image in a new window. You can then easily compare beams by switching between tabs.


Unfortunately, my modern outdoor camera settings are designed for brighter lights, so the shots above are a little dark. But as you can see, the H150 is not as bright on max initially as the other lights shown above. The beam pattern is equivalently floody. Scroll down to see some actual runtimes.

Testing Results

My summary tables are generally reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. In addition to the links above, please see my output measures page for more background.

All my output numbers are based on my home-made lightbox setup. As explained on that methodology page, I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values to estimated lumens. Note that my lightbox calibration runs higher than most hobbyists today, but I’ve kept it to remain consistent with my earlier reviews (when the base calibration standard was first established). On average though, I find my lumen estimates are ~20% higher than most other modern reviewers.

My Peak Intensity/Beam Distance are directly measured with a NIST-certified Extech EA31 lightmeter.

H150 Testing Results

ModeSpec LumensEstimated Lumens @0secEstimated Lumens @30 secsBeam Intensity @0secBeam Intensity @30secsBeam Distance @30secsPWM/Strobe FreqNoise FreqCharging Current <3VCharging Current >3VParasitic DrainWeight w/o BatteryWeight with BatteryCCT (K)DuvCRI
L20.120.090.09---NoNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g---
L11.51.91.9---NoNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g---
M2131616---NoNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g---
M1809292---NoNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g---
H1250295290---NoNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g4,135-0.005295
T2320400380---NoNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g---
T14806406101,850 cd1,580 cd79 mNoNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g---
S3------7-10 HzNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g---
S2------SOSNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g---
S1------1 HzNo0.80 A0.80 A14 uA34 g53 g---
L2 AA-0.080.08---NoNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---
L1 AA-1.61.6---NoNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---
M2 AA-6.96.9---NoNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---
M1 AA-2626---NoNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---
H1 AA-8080---NoNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---
T2 AA-130130---NoNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---
T1 AA-190190---NoNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---
S3 AA------7-10 HzNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---
S2 AA------SOSNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---
S1 AA------1 HzNo--4.5 uA34 g64 g---

As with the H300, I am finding generally good concordance of published specs with what my lightbox reports on 14500 – although as usual, my lightbox reports somewhat higher output on the high through Turbo modes on my sample.

The one difference is that my NIST-calibrated luxmeter reports slightly lower max beam distance. I’m not at all concerned for a headlamp (i.e., I like a floody beam). I am impressed to see a very low “moonlight” low mode (L2) here, which clocked in around 0.09 lumens in my testing.

I don’t have official specs for AA, but my NiMH results above show noticeably lower output across levels (as you would expect for lower voltage sources).

To view and download full testing results for all modern lights in my testing, check out my Database page.

Runtimes

As always, my runtimes are done under a small cooling fan, for safety and consistency. To learn more about how to interpret runtime graphs, see my runtimes methodology page. Note that on average, my lightbox’s calibration seems to be ~20% higher than most modern reviewers.

To start, I’m showing below how the highest modes of the H150 compares to its larger 18650 sibling, the H300.

Obviously, the H300 is capable of much high initial and sustained output (and runtime). But the key observation for me on the H150 is that both T1 and T2 step down relatively quickly to the H1 levels. And of course, it’s great to see flat-stabilized regulation at all levels.

Here is a blow-up of the first few mins, to allow you to better compare.

Max-extended

Basically, compared to the high (H1) level, the T1 turbo gives you about twice the output for ~1-1.5 mins, while T2 gives you ~40% more output for 3 mins. Personally, I don’t really see the point of of the intermediate T2 turbo level. It seems like they applied the standard user interface from the M300/H300 lights to this smaller form factor, without really considering its functionality.

Here is how the H150 compares to some headlamps I’ve tested:

Headlamps

All headlamps are a trade-off between weight and output/runtime (plus heat). Personally, I find the H1 and M1 levels of the H150 very useful for most typical headlamp tasks. And the flat-regulated one hour and ~3.5 hours of runtime, respectively, lets you plan for your activity. There may be the occasional task when I want an 18650-powered headlamp, but for the most part, the half-weight 14500 model suits my needs.

As mentioned above, the H150 will also run on a standard AA battery. Here is what I found with an Eneloop 2450mAh NiMH. Note this NiMH AA cell is about 11g heavier than the stock 14500.

As shown in my output tables above, the output levels of the lower-voltage NiMH AA are lower than the 14500 on all modes, as you would expect. But overall output/runtime efficiency is pretty comparable (e.g., M1 on 14500 is pretty close in output and runtime to H1 on NiMH AA). The T1 and T2 modes step down to the H1 level as the battery depletes.

Pros and Cons

ProsCons
The light shows excellent current-controlled efficiency across all levels.User interface is fairly sophisticated, and reasonable for the class, but it does have some small quirks and limitations.
Circuit shows excellent regulation, with stable runtimes and generally reasonable step-down timing.There is not much differentiation in output or runtime between the two Turbo and single Hi levels.
Good range low-high output levels, with a true Moonlight mode.Magnetic charging dock performance is good but won't initiate a charge >4.0V resting.
Textured optic provides an extremely floody beam, with no real hotspot.The plastic headlamp mount broke the first time I tried to extract the light from it.
Standard AA batteries will also work in the light (with reduced output).
Very low standby drain.
Very light and compact build with good quality and decent feel.
Includes a bidirectional pocket clip, in addition to headband

Overall Rating

Preliminary Conclusions

The H150 is another great performer from Skilhunt. As with its larger sibling the 18650-based H300, it has a high quality feel, good design and some nice stylistic touches. Switch feel is good, and the user interface is very reasonable for the class. The charging dock worked well in my testing, consistent with others who use this magnetic design. The headband holds onto you head well, and I find this to be to a comfortable 1×14500/AA headlamp to wear and use. Note however that the plastic light mount clip cracked and broke the first time I tried to remove the light from mine.

In terms of circuit performance, it shows the same excellent output/runtime efficiency and regulation as the other Skilhunt lights. However, there is really not much to differentiate the T1/T2 levels relative to H1 level (at least on 14500). As always, it’s great to see the range of lower outputs, including the <1 lumen Moonlight mode here. And it is a great bonus that you can run standard AA batteries in this light – for reduced output, but with good spacing of levels.

The range of emitters offered is good, and I’m glad to have the Neutral White Nichia 519A option – one of my favourite headlamp emitters.

The overall build is comparable to the H300, so it actually makes it convenient if you have both models (i.e., save the H300 for when you need higher output or longer runtime, use the half-weight H150 for typical around-the-house maintenance). Beam patterns are fairly comparable too.

There is really not much else to critique here, it really is a great all-around compact headlamp/worklight. Another very strong option to consider, highly recommended.

Acknowledgement

The H150 was supplied by Skilhunt for review. As always, all opinions are my own and the light received the same rigourous and objective testing as all other lights that I have reviewed. At the time of review, this configuration of the light and battery retails for ~$50 USD (~$68 CDN).

Armytek Crystal Headlamp/Keychain

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  1. Introduction
  2. Manufacturer Specifications
  3. Package Details
  4. Build
  5. User Interface
  6. Circuit Measures
  7. Emitter Measures
  8. Beamshots
  9. Testing Results
  10. Runtimes
  11. Pros and Cons
  12. Overall Rating
  13. Preliminary Conclusions
  14. Acknowledgement

Introduction

This is another mini-review of a pocket-sized headlamp/keychain rechargeable light, the Armytek Crystal. Featuring both a cool white and a red LED, this innovative design lets you strap it to your head with the accompanying band, clip on to a jacket/bag with the built-in pocket clip, strap it to bike frame, or use as a keychain fob.

I won’t be providing quite as much commentary as usual (and beamshots will definitely be out), but otherwise will provide my full suite of testing results so that you can make informed decisions around output, use and performance.

Let’s see how it performs in my testing.

Manufacturer Specifications

Note: as always, these are simply what the manufacturer provides – scroll down to see my actual testing results.

FeatureSpecsSpecs
MakerArmytekArmytek
ModelCrystalCrystal
EmitterLXNZPL696 (White)LXNZPL696 (Red)
TintCool whiteRed
Max Output (Lumens)15030
Min Output (Lumens)0.10.1
Max Runtime50 days30 days
Max Beam Intensity (cd)36 cd7 cd
Max Beam Distance (m)12 m5 m
Constant Levels44
FlashingBeaconBeacon
BatteryLi-Pol 600 mAhLi-Pol 600 mAh
Weight (w/o battery)
Weight (with battery)34 g34 g
Length63 mm63 mm
Head Diameter42.6 mm42.6 mm
Body Diameter14.8 mm14.8 mm
WaterproofIP67 1mIP67 1m

Package Details




The light ships in a colourful cardboard box, with plenty of labels and product details.  Inside, you will find the following:

  • Crystal Headlamp/Keychain light, with built-in pocket clip
  • Headband
  • Adhesive pad
  • Two large black silicone rings (to secure to a bike frame)
  • Simple manual

It’s a basic package, but has what you need to afix the light securely. No charging cable was included, and you will need one with a micro-USB port connector.

Build


From left to right: AAA NiMH, AA NiMH, Wurkkos Keychain SQ05, Armytek Crystal.











One comment to make up front – you can buy the Crystal with various coloured plastic backings. It is currently available in green, blue, red, yellow, or gray. There is also a WRB version, which features a flashing blue/red light, which comes with a blue or gray backing.

Build features a fullly transparent front cover, which allows you to see the bare emitters and the basic circuitry elements of the light. I’m guessing this is to prevent any significant colour distortions in the beam. On that front, most of the colour variations you are seeing above are really just from my camera’s auto-adjust feature, or reflections off my desk. That said, the white emitter does seem to project a somewhat greenish-tint out the edges and sides of the light, likely by reflecting off or through the green plastic backing of my sample.

You can clearly see the main white and red emitters above, on either side of the switch.

You have nice and solid pocket clip on the back, which will hold the light securely to a front pocket. This is actually my preferred way to carry, as it is easy to clip on and go. Alternatively you can slip it into the included headband to use as a headlamp, or use the bike frame securing rings. On the short edge of the light by the red emitter is the keychain attachment point. Overall size is a bit big for keychain carry if you ask me, although I suppose it is not that much larger than a typical car key fob.

The power/mode button is located in the centre of the light. This seems like a bit of an odd placement to me, as it means you will turn the light on shinning in your eyes if you looking down at what you are pressing (makes more sense if you are using as a headlamp). At least it is easy to access by feel. Traverse is good, with a definite but soft click upon activation.

On the short edge of the light by the white emitter is the micro-USB charging port under a rubber cover. I find the cover to be fairly loosely fitting, with a slight hook to hold in place (I wouldn’t consider this very waterproof at all). It’s a shame they didn’t opt for the more common USB-C emitter, but I gather this model has been around for awhile now. According to the manual, the light uses a lithium polymer rechargeable battery of 600 mAh capacity.

One interesting feature – according to the manual, the light can work in “lamp” mode when you plug it into a powerbank or other USB-charging source. I presume that means it runs directly off the power source, instead of the internal battery.

User Interface

As noted in my other recent Armytek reviews, the included manual is actually fairly basic, and just describes the main functions of the light. You can download a more complete manual from their website here.

pretty simple, more a description of the features than an actual set of instructions. Here is a rundown from my testing:

From Off:

  • Press-and-hold the switch. Nothing initially. However, after 4 seconds the Lock out mode is engaged. The white LED will blink once, confirming the Lock out. Press-and-hold for another 4 seconds to re-activate.
  • Single-click the switch: Turns On in last memorized state.

From On:

  • Press-and-hold the switch: Start cycling through the modes of the current colour, in repeating sequence: Firefly > Main1 > Main2 > Main3 > Beacon. Release the switch to select.
  • Single-click the switch: Turns Off.
  • Double-click the switch: Switches between the two emitter choices (i.e., if you are in white light, it switches over to the red LED).

And that’s it, fairly straight-forward and easy enough to remember. That said, I’m not personally a fan of having the flashing mode on the main sequence. But at least it is only a slow flash (i.e., not an obnoxious strobe).

Short-cuts:

No.

Mode memory:

Yes. The light remembers both the the last mode used and the last emitter, and returns to them upon re-activation.

Strobe/Blinking modes:

Yes, there is one beacon mode (available for each emitter).

Low voltage warning:

No.

Lock-out mode:

Yes. Press-and-hold the switch from Off for at least 4 secs to lock/unlock the light.

Reviewer Comments:

This is an OK interface, easy to remember and use (although I don’t like the beacon on the main sequence). I do question the wisdom of a sustained press-hold to lock/unlock the light, but I suppose it removes the risk of an accidental quick-click.

Circuit Measures

Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM):

Firefly:
Firefly

Main1:
Main1

Main2:
Main2

Main3:
Main3

There is no sign of PWM or circuit noise on any level. The light is current-controlled, and fully flicker-free in both white and red modes. 🙂

Beacon

There is a single beacon mode on both red and white modes, which consists of one brief flash every second (i.e. 1 Hz). This is very reasonable as a signaling light, bike light, etc.

Charging:

There a red/green charging indicator LED, near the white emitter. It glows solid red when charging, turning to green once it is fully charged.

Initial charging current when heavily depleted:

After a few seconds:

The initial charging current is ~0.10A, when the battery is nearly fully depleted (i.e., just a very low output from the emitters). As the light charges, the charging current quickly jumps to ~0.30A, and then slowly drops from there as the battery charges fully.

I didn’t time how long it take to charge the light, but Armytek says is 2hr 50 mins to a full charge. Sounds about right, I don’t think it took much longer than 2 hours on any of my tests.

One interesting feature of this light is its ability to serve as a worklight when plugged into AC power or a powerbank. I measured the current drain when fully charged and plugged into the wall. Sequence of the images below is:

Off > Firefly > Main1 > Main2 > Main3

As you can see above, the current drain starts to titch up from zero at the Main 2 level. When on Main 3, the current drain jumps up to an equivalent level as when it is charging from Off.

Standby / Parasitic Drain:

Given the electronic nature of the switch, there must be a standby current at all times. However, without breaking it open, and I am not able to measure it.

Emitter Measures

In this section, I directly measure key emitter characteristics of my sample in terms of colour temperature, tint, and colour rendition. Please see my Emitter Measures page to learn more about what these terms mean, and how I am measuring them. As tint in particular can shift across levels, I typically stick with the highest stably regulated level for all my reported measures.

As explained on that page, since I am using an inexpensive uncalibrated device, you can only make relative comparisons across my reviews (i.e., don’t take these numbers as absolutely accurate values, but as relatively consistent across lights in my testing).

White Main 2 Level:

The key measures above are the colour temperature of ~6140K, and no measured tint  shift (-0.0001 Duv). For CRI (Ra), I measured a combined score of 75.

These values are very consistent with a cool white, and match my visual experience of this light. As mentioned above, I did notice a greenish-yellow tinge to the peripheral spill of the light, but I think that is from reflections off the green translucent plastic base of my sample.

Just out of curiosity, I decided to run the red emitter through my Light Master 2 meter, to see what it said. Although these are not designed for monochromatic light sources, its readings seemed reasonable:

Red Main2 level:

As you can see, the red light is well off the Planckian locus, well into the red end of the spectrum (and so, the CCT and Duv are meaningless here).

Beamshots

Sorry, no beamshots for keychain lights. 🙂

Testing Results

My summary tables are generally reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. In addition to the links above, please see my output measures page for more background.

All my output numbers are based on my home-made lightbox setup. As explained on that methodology page, I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values to estimated lumens. My Peak Intensity/Beam Distance are directly measured with a NIST-certified Extech EA31 lightmeter.

Crystal Testing Results

EmitterModeSpec LumensEstimated Lumens @0secEstimated Lumens @30 secsBeam Intensity @0secBeam Intensity @30secsBeam Distance @30secsPWM/Strobe FreqNoise FreqCharging Current <3VCharging Current >3VParasitic DrainWeight w/o BatteryWeight with BatteryCCT (K)DuvCRI
WhiteFirefly0.10.110.12---NoNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g---
WhiteMain154.94.9---NoNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g---
WhiteMain23635.035---NoNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g---
WhiteMain3150170.0160101 cd94 cd19 mNoNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g6,140-0.000175
WhiteBeacon150-----1 HzNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g---
RedFirefly0.10.040.04---NoNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g---
RedMain121.61.6---NoNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g---
RedMain2121616---NoNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g---
RedMain3304342---NoNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g---
RedBeacon30-----1 HzNo0.10 A0.30 A--34 g---

Estimated output in my lightbox is pretty close to the rated specs across all levels. Indeed, the red emitter reports higher values in my lightbox – but I never calibrated my light sensor for monochromatic sources, so that could be artifactual.

It’s great to see the true moonlight mode here, for both emitters.

To view and download full testing results for all modern lights in my testing, check out my Database page.

Runtimes

As always, my runtimes are done under a small cooling fan, for safety and consistency. To learn more about how to interpret runtime graphs, see my runtimes methodology page.

The white emitter Main3 output is basically direct-drive in appearance, slowly dropping off over 2 hours as the battery drains. In contrast Main2 is regulated over its ~6 hour run, with a slightly staggered pattern as it keeps the output within a narrow range around ~35 lumens in my lightbox.

The red emitter Main3 output resembles the white Main2 in its regulation pattern, and lasts for a little over 2 hours in my testing.

Here is how the Crystal compares to the lower output levels of my 18650 headlamps:

These results are very much in keeping with Armytek’s specs, and seem reasonable for the stated 600 mAh capacity of the built-in battery. Performance is at least an order or magnitude or two higher than the budget keychain model from Wurkkos, in comparison.

Pros and Cons

ProsCons
Good build quality and feature set, suitable as a headlamp, pocket clip or keychain,.Fairly simple design, with power/mode button on front-face with the emitters.
Very good regulation pattern, with constant-current flat stabilization.A bit too large for a keychain light, but works well as a headlamp/pocket clip.
Very floody beam without artifacts, for both cool white and red LEDs
Rechargeable battery built-in, but with older micro-USB connector.
Accurate product specs.

Overall Rating

Preliminary Conclusions

The Crystal is a surprisingly versatile little headlamp/keychain light. It is lightweight and easy to attach or carry in a variety ways. It has both white and red flood lights (the later is particularly good for maintaining night vision, or for not attracting bugs/animals). It has a good range of levels, including moonlight and a signaling beacon for each emitter. And its performance is excellent across all levels on its built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery.

Frankly, there is not much to criticize here. By design, the light is a full flooder, without much throw (i.e., there is no optic to focus the emitters). Other than that, it is mainly small issues that I’ve noted above, like the simple UI, micro-USB port, and front switch location that are not my personal preference. It is also not particularly pretty to look at, with its transparent plastic cover – but I suppose some people may like the honest aesthetic. Personally, I care more about its functional use – and I find it to be a great little headlamp.

Price doesn’t factor into my star rating system, but I find this light to be pretty reasonably priced considering what you get. It is is certainly a lot cheaper (and lighter) than a lot of other headlamp models out there. Of course, it won’t last as longer as larger models with heavier batteries – but the runtimes are perfectly reasonable for what you are getting here.

If you are looking for a budget headlamp that does multiple duty as a front-facing pocket light, bike light, and keychain light, the Crystal could well suit the bill.

Acknowledgement

The Crystal was provided by Armytek for review. As always, all opinions are my own and the light received the same rigourous and objective testing as all other lights that I have reviewed. At the time of review, this light retails for $27 USD (~$36 CDN).

Skilhunt H300

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The H300 is a compact headlamp flashlight with a floody beam with excellent colour rendition, running on a single included 18650 battery.

  1. Introduction
  2. Manufacturer Specifications
  3. Package Details
  4. Build
  5. User Interface
  6. Circuit Measures
  7. Emitter Measures
  8. Beamshots
  9. Testing Results
  10. Runtimes
  11. Pros and Cons
  12. Overall Rating
  13. Preliminary Conclusions
  14. Acknowledgement

Introduction

Following on my review of the Skilhunt M300, I also have their 18650-based headlamp version on hand, the H300. This light uses the same magnetic charging dock as its larger sibling.

Also like that other light, you can select your own emitter from a good range of options. For the H300, you can select between CREE XHP50.2 Cool White 6500K, CREE XHP50.2 Neutral White 5000K, CREE XHP50.3 HI 6500K, CREE High CRI J2 90 CRI 5000K, and Nichia 144ART R9050 sm453 4500K.

Wow, that’s a lot of options. Although I was most interested in the Cree Hi CRI J2 90, I opted instead to go for the Nichia 144ART, to facilitate comparison to the Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia that I previously reviewed. As always, when it comes to headlamps especially, I recommend people consider high CRI options whenever possible. But the advantage here is that you can select the emitter option that best suits your needs.

Let’s see how it compares in my testing.

Manufacturer Specifications

Note: as always, these are simply what the manufacturer provides – scroll down to see my actual testing results.

FeatureSpecs
MakerSkilhunt
ModelH300
EmitterNichia 144ART R9050
Tint4500 K 90 CRI
Max Output (Lumens)1,500
Min Output (Lumens)0.5
Max Runtime150+ hrs
Max Beam Intensity (cd)4,500 cd
Max Beam Distance (m)134 m
Constant Levels7
FlashingStrobe 1/2
Battery1x18650
Weight (w/o battery)54 g
Weight (with battery)-
Length104.7 mm
Head Diameter25.2 mm
Body Diameter-
WaterproofIPX-8 1m

Package Details





The light comes in a fairly standard shelf-presentation style box, with a description of the features and characteristics printed on it. Inside is a professional looking package, with the cover tab under the the plastic tray holder. My sample came with an extra light carrying pouch in a small plastic bag.

Inside the box, I found:

  • Skilhunt H300 flashlight
  • Skilhunt BL-135 3500mAh 18650 battery (optional)
  • Headband & mounting bracket
  • Wrist lanyard
  • Pocket clip
  • USB magnetic charging dock
  • 2 Spare O-rings
  • Spare switch cover
  • Manual

It’s a decent package, consistent with other lights of this class. It’s good that they included the pocket clip for carry (although it is the simple press-fit variety). This is a good set of extras.

Build


From left to right: Skilhunt 18650 (3500mAh), Wurkkos 21700 (5000mAh), Acebeam 21700 USB-C (5100mAh), Acebeam E70 Mini, Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia, Acebeam E70, Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Max, Convoy S21E, Fenix E35 v3, Imalent MS03, Skilhunt H300, Skilhunt M300 V2, Wurkkos TS22.











The H300 is a very compact build, with lots of design elements to help with grip (although the concentric rings on the body and tailcap are not as sharp as the M300). The headband bracket seems to hold the light reasonably well. I like the inclusion of the pocket clip, in case you want to carry it as an angle-light clipped to you, bezel-up. I would say the overall size is pretty compact for a 18650 headlamp – definitely on the smaller size of ones I’ve handled.

There is a raised rubberized switch cover over the electronic switch (replaceable, thanks to the retaining ring). Underneath are a pair of red and blue LEDs, to signal various states of the light/battery. Switch feel is good, with a standard traverse/tactile feedback for an electronic switch.

There is a magnetic charging dock on the top of the head of the light (same charging cable as the M300). One nice thing about magnetic charging docks is that waterproofness is not a concern – the light looks quite spashable/dunkable (although note that I do not test for this in my reviews).

Tailstanding is very stable, thanks to the flat tailcap (there is a side cut-out to allow you thread the basic wrist lanyard through, if you wanted to carry it that way). Tailcap threads are square-cut and anodized, with good feel. I always recommend you keep a light stored locked out when not in use. Thanks to the anodized tailcap threads, you can do this easily by a simple twist of the tailcap.

There is a magnet in the tailcap, so you attached the light stably to any metal surface. A useful feature in worklight/headlamp model.

There are tailsprings in both the tailcap and head, so flat-top cells will also work just find (and the battery should be held in place fairly securely).

Anodizing is a flat black in matte finish, and looks to be good quality on my sample with no damage or issues. Skilhunt reports it is type III (hard anodized), and I see no reason to doubt that.

Inside, my sample came with the optional Skilhunt-branded button-top 3500mAh 18650 battery.

The common M300/H300 USB charging dock also comes with blue and red LEDs, to signal charging status. The magnet has a reasonably strong pull (not as heavy as some), and locks into place easily.




My H300 came with the Nichia 144ART emitter, and features a heavily textured optic. This produces a nice and even flood light, with a brighter centre. Scroll down to my Emitter Measures section to see how my sample performs.

The bezel is like the switch retaining ring, allowing you access to the optic and emitter.

Note that despite the charging dock on the top of the head, you can still headstand stably.

User Interface

The H300 uses the latest version of the Skilhunt user interface (UI), just the M300, and has a reasonably good number of modes and features. You get two Low modes, three Regular modes (two Med modes, one High mode), two Turbo modes, and three Strobe modes – organized into those four mode sets.

One comment to make up front – the mode level labels are different from most lights in that the lower number for a given level is actually the higher output (so, for example, T1 is brighter than T2). That means the constant output modes, in sequence, are: L2 > L1, M2 > M1 > H, and T2 > T1.

The manual doesn’t describe the three strobe modes, but for sake of this review I will refer to them as S3 = Strobe, S2 = SOS, and S1 = Beacon.

Let me break down the full interface for you:

From OFF:

  • Press-and-hold: Turns On in memorized Low mode (L2 or L1).
  • Single-click: Turns On in memorized Regular mode (M2, M1, or H).
  • Double-click: Turns On in memorized Turbo mode (T2 or T1).
  • Triple-click: Turns on in memorized strobe mode (S3, S2, or S1).
  • 4 clicks: Activates the electronic Lockout mode.
    • Press-and-hold for momentary Moonlight (i.e., lowest Low, L2)
    • While in lockout, the switch indicator light will flash red every second, but that can be toggled off/on with a double-click.

From ON:

  • Press-and-hold: Cycle to the next level within the current mode level set (constant output modes only, doesn’t work for Strobe).
  • Single-click: Turns Off.
  • Double-click: Jumps to the memorized Turbo level (from Regular modes only), or back to Regular modes if already in Turbo (note this doesn’t work from Low modes or Strobe modes)
  • Triple-click: Jumps to the memorized Strobe mode (from Regular or Turbo), or back to most recent Regular or Turbo if already in Strobe mode.

Strobe modes:

  • Triple-click: Turns On in memorized Strobe mode.
  • Double-click: Cycles through the Strobe modes in sequence:
    • S3 – Strobe
    • S2 – SOS
    • S1 – Beacon

Mode memory:

Yes, each mode set retains its own memory for the last level selected in that mode set.

Shortcuts:

  • To Low (L2 or L1): Press-and-hold from Off.
  • To Turbo (T2 or T1): Double-click from Off or when On in Regular mode.
  • To Strobe (S1, S2, or S3): Triple-click from Off or when On in Regular or Turbo mode.

Low voltage warning:

When the battery is running very low (<3.0V according to the manual), the switch indicator light will flash red, and the main emitter will flash every couple of seconds. the light will shut off at 2.7V according to the manual.

Lock-out mode: 

  • 4 clicks from Off: Activates the electronic Lockout mode.
  • Physical lockout is also possible by simply unscrewing the tailcap.

Battery indicator:

Yes. The LED under the switch indicates the battery status for the first ~5 secs after turning on:

  • Solid Blue: >80% Battery power remaining.
  • Flashing Blue: 50-80% Battery power remaining.
  • Solid Red: 20-50% Battery power remaining
  • Flashing Red: <20% Battery power remaining.

These are identical to the M300, and seem reasonable to me.

Video Overview:

Please see the video below, which walks you through the common UI and build features of this light and its M300 V2 sibling:

Reviewer Comments:

Like many of the recent lights I’ve reviewed, I find this UI to be very reasonable, and relatively versatile. Of course, you are never going to please everyone with any given UI (e.g., I would like to see double-click reliably jumping to Turbo, and have the Low modes as part of a regular sequence without having to go through off first). But these are really quibbles, the light does reasonably well.

One small thing I would like is the ability to independently turn on the the blue switch indicator, to serve as an additional “moonlight mode”. This is something the Anduril-based lights allow (if implemented, like on the Sofirn IF25A), and some other new UIs (like the Wurkkos TS22).

Allowing momentary L2 when in the electronic lockout is a nice touch. But as always, I recommend locking out the light at the tailcap when not in use.

Circuit Measures

Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM):

L2:
Lo

M2:
Mid

H:
Hi

T2:
Turbo

T1:
Turbo

There is no sign of PWM on any level – the circuit appears to be fully current-controlled. This is also no sign of high-frequency noise at any level. This is refreshing – although PWM is very rare nowadays, it is not uncommon to see some (visually-undetectable) circuit noise.

Strobes:

S3 – Strobe:


S3 Strobe alternates between 6 Hz and 14 Hz strobes (1 sec for 6Hz, 3 secs for 14 Hz).

S2 – SOS:

S2 is a SOS mode.

S1 – Beacon:

S3 is a 1hz slow signalling strobe.

Charging:

The magnetic charging dock switches from blue (when power is supplied) to solid red when connected and charging the H300. Switches back to solid blue when the charging is complete.

In my testing, resting voltage of the cell was ~4.12V at termination. This is lower than typical, but is easier on the cell. Note that the charging dock won’t initiate a charge cycle if the cell is above 4.0V resting, just like the Armytek charging dock.

Resting voltage <3.0V

Resting voltage >3.0V

The M300 doesn’t really have a two-stage charging feature, but it does start off at a lower charge rate when the cell is heavily depleted <3V (1.58A shown above, rises to 1.64A within a minute or so).

Standby / Parasitic Drain:

I measured the standby current as 29 uA. This is an extremely low standby drain, and will not appreciably affect the light (i.e., it would take just under 14 years to fully drain the included cell). Regardless, I always recommend you lockout the light when not in use – either by electronic lockout, or better yet physically by twisting the tailcap.

Emitter Measures

In this section, I directly measure key emitter characteristics of my sample in terms of colour temperature, tint, and colour rendition. Please see my Emitter Measures page to learn more about what these terms mean, and how I am measuring them. As tint in particular can shift across levels, I typically stick with the highest stably regulated level for all my reported measures.

As explained on that page, since I am using an inexpensive uncalibrated device, you can only make relative comparisons across my reviews (i.e., don’t take these numbers as absolutely accurate values, but as relatively consistent across lights in my testing).

H300 on H (Hi):

The key measures above are the colour temperature of ~4350K, and a very slight negative tint shift (-0.0022 Duv) to orange at this temperature. For CRI (Ra), I measured a combined score of 93 – very respectable for Hi CRI.

These values are very consistent with the rated specs for the Nichia 144ART emitter on my sample, and match my visual experience of this light. Like many enthusiasts, I prefer a negative tint shift on a neutral white emitter.

Beamshots

All outdoor beamshots are taken on my Canon PowerShot S5 IS at f/2.7, 0.5 secs exposure, ISO 400, daylight white balance. The bend in the road is approximately 40 meters (~45 yards) from the camera. Learn more about my outdoor beamshots here (scroll down for the floody light position used in this review).

Click on any thumbnail image below to open a full size image in a new window. You can then easily compare beams by switching between tabs.



As expected, the beam pattern is very similar to the Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia, although the H300’s optic is perhaps a touch less floody overall.

Testing Results

My summary tables are generally reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. In addition to the links above, please see my output measures page for more background.

All my output numbers are based on my home-made lightbox setup. As explained on that methodology page, I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values to estimated lumens. My Peak Intensity/Beam Distance are directly measured with a NIST-certified Extech EA31 lightmeter.

H300 Testing Results

ModeSpec LumensEstimated Lumens @0secEstimated Lumens @30 secsBeam Intensity @0secBeam Intensity @30secsBeam Distance @30secsPWM/Strobe FreqNoise FreqCharging Current <3VCharging Current >3VParasitic DrainWeight w/o BatteryWeight with BatteryCCT (K)DuvCRI
L210.350.35---NoNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g---
L142.72.7---NoNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g---
M2252121---NoNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g---
M1115135135---NoNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g---
H330365360---NoNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g4,355-0.002293
T2860990970---NoNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g---
T11,5001,8501,7505,250 cd4,940 cd141 mNoNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g---
S3------1 HzNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g---
S2------SOSNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g---
S1------6-14 HzNo1.55 A1.65 A29 uA55 g106 g---

Like with the M300, I am finding generally good concordance of published specs with what my lightbox reports – although I’m measuring somewhat higher output on the high through Turbo modes on my sample.

And once again, my NIST-calibrated luxmeter also reports slightly higher beam distance measures as well, showing these results are consistent. An impressive showing!

I’m also impressed to see a true “moonlight” low mode (L2) here, which clocked in around 0.35 lumens in my testing. Yay!

To view and download full testing results for all modern lights in my testing, check out my Database page.

Runtimes

As always, my runtimes are done under a small cooling fan, for safety and consistency. To learn more about how to interpret runtime graphs, see my runtimes methodology page.

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Skilhunt shows both excellent output/runtime efficiency and regulation, consistent with a top-quality current-controlled driver.

As you can see above, the Nichia 144ART-equipped H300 performs very comparably to the Nichia 144AR-equipped Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia. The initial output and step-down levels are very comparable, as are the runtimes. If you do an area-under-the-curve analysis, the Armytek model seems to have a very slight edge in terms of overall output/runtime efficiency, but it is pretty inconsequential (and could simply be due to variation in emitter output bins). For all intents and purposes, I would find these models equivalent. It really comes down to which build/UI you prefer. For example, I note the Armytek is slightly heavier and longer (by ~8g and ~7mm). But again, there is not a big functional difference between them.

To better show the Turbo step-down pattern on T1/T2, here is a blow-up view of those first few mins:

Max-extended

Pros and Cons

ProsCons
The light shows excellent current-controlled efficiency across all levels.User interface is fairly sophisticated, and reasonable for the class, but it does have some small quirks and limitations.
Circuit shows excellent regulation, with stable runtimes and reasonable step-down levels and duration.Magnetic charging dock performance is good but won't initiate a charge >4.0V resting, and terminates @~4.12V resting.
Great overall range of output levels, with a true Moonlight mode.
Textured optic provides an extremely floody beam, with no real hotspot.
Very compact build with good quality and decent feel.
Includes a bidirectional pocket clip, in addition to headband

Overall Rating

Preliminary Conclusions

The H300 is another great performer from Skilhunt. As with the M300, it has a high quality feel, good design and some nice stylistic touches. Switch feel is good, and the user interface is very reasonable for the class. The charging dock worked well in my testing, consistent with others who use this magnetic design (e.g., Armytek). The headband works well, and I find this to be to a particularly comfortable 1×18650 headlamp (i.e., it is a bit lighter than some others).

The H300’s circuit shows a great range of levels, and features excellent output/runtime efficiency and regulation. In these regards, it is virtually identical to the Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia (which I also awarded 5-stars). I suppose that isn’t too surprising, since I opted for basically the same emitter here. But one of the great advantages of Skilhunt is that you can select from a quite a number of emitters – it is good to have so many options.

The overall build of the two lights is comparable, although the H300 is a bit smaller and lighter. That makes it more comfortable as a headlamp, but also means it steps down a bit faster on its Turbo mode (due to the lower thermal mass). Beam patterns are fairly comparable too – very even and floody, with a great tint and high CRI (with the Nichia 144ART). And as always, it’s great to see the <1 lumen Moonlight mode here.

There is really not much to critique here, it really is a great all-around headlamp/worklight. Another very strong option to consider – highly recommended!

Acknowledgement

The H300 was supplied by Skilhunt for review. As always, all opinions are my own and the light received the same rigourous and objective testing as all other lights that I have reviewed. At the time of review, this light retails for ~$95 USD with discounts (~$125 CDN).

Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Max

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The Wizard C2 Pro Max is a solidly-built headlamp running on a single included 21700 battery. Features a sophisticated user interface and innovative magnetic charging dock.

  1. Introduction
  2. Manufacturer Specifications
  3. Package Details
  4. Build
  5. User Interface
  6. Circuit Measures
  7. Emitter Measures
  8. Beamshots
  9. Testing Results
  10. Runtimes
  11. Pros and Cons
  12. Overall Rating
  13. Preliminary Conclusions
  14. Acknowledgement

Introduction

Following on my recent review of the 1×18650 Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia, I also have on hand for the testing the larger 1×21700 Max edition of this light. Very similar in design and user interface (some small differences are noted below), this Max model features a truly warm-tinted XHP70.2 emitter. This should produce more output than the smaller Nichia version, but at the cost of reduced colour rendition.

As before, this is an angle head light (i.e., the emitter is on the side of the head). This design is very helpful when carrying the light clipped on you, or as a headlamp. Let’s see how it compares to its Nichia sibling, and the competition.

Manufacturer Specifications

Note: as always, these are simply what the manufacturer provides – scroll down to see my actual testing results.

FeatureSpecs
MakerArmytek
ModelWizard C2 Pro Max
EmitterXHP70.2
TintWarm
Max Output (Lumens)3,720
Min Output (Lumens)0.32
Max Runtime2 mos
Max Beam Intensity (cd)3,300 cd
Max Beam Distance (m)113 m
Mode Levels7
FlashingStrobe1, Strobe2, Strobe3
Battery1x21700
Weight (w/o battery)79 g
Weight (with battery)149 g
Length121.5 mm
Head Diameter34.4 mm
Body Diameter23.6 mm
WaterproofIP68 10m

Armytek doesn’t provide an exact colour temperature for “warm light”, but it is quite  warm in tint to my eye, much warmer than the more neutral white tint of the Nichia model (see Beamshots and Emitter Measures below). I would definitely characterize this light as warm white.

Package Details

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The Wizard C2 Pro Max ships in a cardboard display box with an extensive number of labels and descriptions. Inside, you will find the following:

  • Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Max flashlight
  • Stainless steel pocket clip
  • Magnetic USB charging dock
  • 21700 battery (5000mAh)
  • 18650 battery adapter
  • Headband and rubber headlamp mount
  • Bicycle mount
  • 2 spare O-rings
  • Adhesive tape strip (3M)
  • Manual

It’s a very good package of accessories, identical to its smaller sibling except the addition of the 18650 battery adapter here (a nice feature, if you wanted to swap in a smaller and lighter cell).

As before, the multi-lingual manual is really more of a quick-start guide, and there is a slightly more detailed full manual that you can download from the Armytek website (direct PDF link here). I recommend you download the longer manual in order to take full advantage of all the features and better understand the user interface.

Build


From left to right: LiitoKala 21700 (5000mAh), Fenix ARB-L21-5000U 21700 (5000mAh), Sofirm IF25A, Fenix E35 v3, Convoy S21E, Imalent MS03, Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Max, Acebeam E70, Nitecore P20iX, Nitecore MH12SE, Lumintop D3, Convoy M21F.

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This physical build is basically identical to the 1×18650 Nichia version, just on a larger scale. As I said before, I find it very reminiscent of the early bomb-proof Armyteks – it feels very solid in the hand. That said, is also reasonably compact for the 1×21700 class.

The anodizing looks exactly like the old matte finish of early Armyteks, very grippy (almost feels rubberized in a way).  It appears to be thick and durable – although I find it also marks up easily (i.e., not scratched down to the bare aluminum, but shows handling marks on the surface). I guess its fair to say Armytek sees their lights as work-horses, not show-horses.

The light lacks traditional knurling, but the ridge details cut-outs and grippy finish help produce good hand grip in my view. The pocket clip attaches very firmly (likely to mark upon removal) and helps further with grip (and clip-on carry of course).

The main distinctive feature is the angle-head light source. As mentioned above, this is very helpful as a headlamp, bicycle light or when clipping onto you. It’s also reasonable to carry this way by hand, especially given the large button on the size of the head (i.e., can easily use your thumb to activate the switch). Switch feel is good, with a definite click upon press.

There is a green/red LED under the switch cover that can signal the status of the light. By default, it flashes red once when the switch is clicked (or glows red when doing a press-and-hold). You can configure it to flag a green locator beacon once every four secs if you wish (see UI section below). It also serves as a low battery and heat warning, as also described in the UI section.

The light lacks a USB-C charging port on the body, but there is a USB-based magnetic charging dock that charges the light through the tailcap (scroll down to my Circuit section for more details on how it works). The light uses a standard flat-top 21700 cell (Armytek-branded 5000mAh in this case), so can easily be swapped out and charged in a stand-alone charger. And thanks to the included 18650 battery adapter, you you can easily run 18650 cells in this light.

Note that this charging format means that there are exposed contact points on the tailcap. However, the center contact is sufficiently recessed (and small enough) to avoid any likely problems.

The magnet is located in the tailcap (and is not user-removable). It is also very strong, and so may attract metal objects. Of course that means you can also attach it to metal surfaces to stand it as a worklight.

Max

Max

The light uses a warm white tinted XHP70.2 emitter, under a textured TIR optic. The specs claim a 110 degree hotspot and a 150 degree spill, but there is no sharp demarcation between them – this produces a very even and wide flood light. Scroll down to the Emitter measures section for a tint/CRI discussion.

The head has a flat stainless steel bezel ring.

User Interface

The user interface (UI) of this light is very similar the 1×18650 Nichia version, with a few tweaks. The main difference is that you are missing the ~1.0 lumen Firefly2 mode of that model (the brighter Firefly3 of that model has been renamed as Firefly2 here).

On the whole, I find the Armytek UI a bit complex, and somewhat reminiscent of the second generation of the inaugural model of Armytek, the Predator. Just like that earlier light, you will need to download the full manual from Armytek to learn how to use it fully (i.e., the bundled manual is more just to get you started). The detailed manual is available from the website’s product page (downloadable as PDF here). You can also follow the link from the QR code on the box, which takes you to main product page. I don’t understand why they don’t provide this better manual with the light itself, as you are likely going to find it frustrating trying to figure it out all the features from the incomplete quick-start guide alone.

That said, even the full manual doesn’t do a great job of fully explaining the implementation of the UI (although if you follow the instructions, you will likely figure it out for yourself). But to help you out, let me try to break it all down for you.

Note that if you are more of a visual learner, you can skip to the end of this section for a video overview describing how the UI works.

To start, you can switch between two types of operation mode sets (with different mode groups available) – the General UI and the Advanced UI. To do this, unscrew the tailcap by a quarter turn with the flashlight off. Then press-and-hold the button while you tighten the tailcap. The light is set by default at the factory to General UI.

General UI Operation

The General UI gives you access to both Firefly modes (Firefly1 and Firefly2), all three Main modes (Main1, Main2, Main3), but only one Turbo mode (Turbo2 by default – although you can change this to Turbo1 by going through the Advanced UI, as I’ll explain later). Note the strobe modes are not available in the General UI.

General UI, from OFF:

  • Press-and-hold: Turns On in Firefly1 and cycles through the two Firefly modes followed by the three Main modes, and then continues to loop through the Main modes (you select by releasing the switch). So, sequence is: Firefly1 > Firefly2 > Main1 > Main2 > Main3 > Main1 > Main2 > Main3 > Main 1 > etc.
  • Single-click: Turns On in the last used mode (the specific six constant modes described in the opening paragraph are all available to be memorized, including Turbo).
  • Double-click: Nothing (i.e., just turns On and then Off again – but scroll down to see what happens when already On).
  • Multiple clicks (3 or more): Nothing, the light simply turns Off and back On with successive clicks.

General UI, from ON:

  • Press-and-hold: If you are currently in a Firefly mode, it will cycle through the Firefly modes and then through all the Main modes, with in a repeating loop of Main modes (i.e., the same as press-and-hold from Off). If you are in the Main mode or Turbo mode, press-and-hold will cause it to cycle through the Main modes only.
  • Single-click: Turns the light Off.
  • Double-click: Jumps to Turbo (assuming you are not already in Turbo – in which case, it jumps back to last mode used before entering Turbo).
  • Multiple clicks (3 or more): Nothing, the light will just turn Off and back On.

This is a bit of an unusual arrangement, but it’s not that hard to get used to. I recommend you think of this General UI as fundamentally a press-and-hold interface, with single- and double-click offering access to the last memorized level and toggling to/from the Turbo level, respectively. The main tweak that I would have liked to see is a more consistent implementation of press-and-hold when On (i.e., I would like to have it always cycle through Firefly, not just when starting in Firefly) – but that’s just personal preference.

Note that General UI lacks the Strobe modes and Turbo 1 (although you can switch the default Turbo level by programming in Advanced UI if you want). General UI should work well for most users right out of the box.

Advanced UI Operation

This is not well explained in the manual, although the information is technically all there.  Simply put, Advanced UI gives you access to 4 defined Mode Group sets that you can choose between, as well as the ability to cycle through a larger subset (but not all) of the constant output modes.

Available to you in the defined Mode Group sets are both Firefly levels in the Firefly Mode Group (Firefly1, Firefly2), all three Main levels in Main Mode Group (Main1, Main2, Main3), both Turbo levels in Turbo Mode Group (Turbo1, Turbo2), and all three strobes in the Strobe Mode Group (Strobe1, Strobe2, Strobe3). The various Mode Groups are typically accessed by multiple clicks from either On or Off as described below (except for Firefly modes which are accessed by a press-and-hold, with additional modes).

In addition, when you activate the light in Advanced UI by a press-and-hold it will run through the first six constant output modes from Firefly1 up to Turbo1. Again, this is the only way to access Firefly modes (basically, think of this ramp as Firefly plus Main and some Turbo).

Advanced UI, from OFF:

  • Press-and-hold: Turns the light On, and runs through the first 6 constant output modes in sequence from Firefly1 to Turbo1, on a repeating loop (i.e., no more excluding Firefly modes after the first round, as General UI does). All modes except Turbo2 and the three Strobe modes are on this repeating sequence. When you release the switch on any level, you are now in that Mode Group set if you press-and-hold again (i.e., the light will only cycle through the levels of that Mode Group set now). So, for example, if you release the switch on Turbo1, a subsequent press-and-hold of the switch will cycle between the two Turbo modes in this Mode Group.
  • Single-click: Turns On in last used mode (note that mode memory now applies to Strobe as well as all constant output modes).
  • Double-click: Turns On in the Main Mode Group
  • Triple-click: Turns On in the Turbo Mode Group
  • 4 clicks: Turns On in the Strobe Mode Group
  • Multiple clicks (5+): Nothing (i.e., light will just activate in the Strobe Mode Group)

Advanced UI, from ON:

  • Press-and-hold: Light will cycle through the levels in the current Mode Group only.
  • Single-click: Turns the light Off.
  • Double-click: Jumps to the Main Mode Group (or jumps down to Firefly1 if already in Main Mode Group).
  • Triple-click: Jumps to the Turbo Mode Group (or does nothing if light is already in Turbo Mode Group).
  • 4 clicks: Jumps to the Strobe Mode Group (or does nothing if light is already in Strobe Mode Group). Note this means that you have to double-click or triple-click to exit Strobe modes when On (or turn Off and then press-and-hold when turning back On).
  • Multiple clicks (5+): Nothing, it just jumps Strobe mode and stays there (i.e., acts as 4 clicks).

Note that the light will memorize the last Turbo mode you used (i.e., Turbo1 or Turbo2).  If you revert back to General UI, it will continue to use that memorized Turbo mode. So this is how you can program the lower Turbo1 in the General UI if you wish.

I personally prefer Advanced UI over General UI, for the more consistent implementation of press-and-hold from Off (i.e., repeatedly cycles a wider set of modes, including Firefly levels). However, you have to remember to triple-click for Turbo now. Also, when On, you are limited to only cycling through your current Mode Group with a subsequent press-and-hold. But it’s easy enough to remember to turn Off and start a press-and-hold again to access the other modes.

What I don’t like in Advanced UI is the inconsistent effect of multiple clicks when On. The first time I activated Strobe mode for example, it took me a while to figure out how to get out (i.e., only double- or triple-click will exit, unless you turn off and reset by a press-and-hold as I prefer). This is not entirely intuitive, and at a minimum I would have liked for the same number of clicks to enter a Mode Group also be used to consistently exit it. But on the plus side, Strobes are reasonably well hidden if you don’t want to bother with them at all in Advanced UI. And you can always stick with General UI if you really don’t like it.

In terms of the strobes, I do like the slow signaling strobes here, with both high and low power (especially as a bike light).

Standby Indicator:

As mentioned in the build section, you can toggle on a standby indicator that briefly flashes the green LED under the switch cover once every four seconds. You do this in a similar way to how you switch between General UI and Advanced UI, but with an extra step: loosen the tailcap a quarter turn, hold down the button, tighten the tailcap AND then immediately loosen the tailcap a quarter turn. I haven’t measured the standby drain in this mode, but I suspect its pretty minimal.

Shortcuts:

Rather then go through it all again, please see above for how all the clicks and press-and-holds work in the two UI.  In simple terms, press-and-hold from Off is necessary to first access Firefly modes, and multiple clicks are necessary to access Turbo from either On or Off.

Mode Memory:

Yes. The light remembers the last mode used and returns to it (constant output modes only in General UI, all modes including Strobes in Advanced UI). Memory mode persists, even with a battery change.

Lock-out Mode:

Yes. Simply unscrew the tailcap a quarter turn. Even though the tailcap has non-anodized threads, it does turn Off while unscrewing from fully tight.

Low battery warning:

Yes. The switch indicator will signal the battery status once the cell is <25% (at which  point, it will flash orange every 2 seconds). Once the battery is <10%, it will flash red every second.

High temperature warning:

The switch indicator will also signal a high temperature warning, with 3 orange flashes every 2 secs. If heat is critical, it will flash red 3 times every second, and the brightness level will automatically step down.

According to the manual, the brightness decreases once the light approaches 58 degrees Celsius.

Reviewer Comments:

This is a sophisticated interface, with a lot of extra bells-and-whistles (in terms of mode groupings, standby and battery/heat indicators, etc.). It is a bit confusing to configure initially, and there are some inconsistencies in how features are implemented across UI Mode Group sets (i.e., which modes are included in a ramp, exact number of clicks to access or exit a given Mode set, etc.). And since this is not completely clear in the manual (even the extended manual online), you are likely need to refer the UI instructions here to reprogram.

But that’s really more of a quibble – any sophisticated UI is going to have complexities and inconsistencies that won’t please everyone. Once you decide which interface you want – the default General UI or the Advanced UI, you should be able to get used to things fairly quickly.  And again, I like to think of this light as fundamentally a press-and-hold style light for selecting modes, with the clicks really about shortcuts or group selections.

To help you see how all that works in practice, I’ve posted a video to my YouTube channel (@cpfselfbuilt) demonstrating the UI in practice:

Circuit Measures

Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM):

Main1:
Max

There is no sign of PWM or circuit noise at any level. The light appears to be fully constant-current controlled. 🙂

Strobe:

Strobe3:

Strobe2:

Strobe1:

Strobe3 frequency is a fast 9.7 Hz, at full power (Turbo2). Fairly disorienting.

Strobes1 and 2 are slow signaling strobes, both at 1 Hz. Strobe 2 is full power (Turbo2), whereas Strobe 1 is reduced to the Main2 level.

This is basically unchanged from the Nichia version.

Charging:
Max
Max
Max

The charging dock is identical to the smaller Nichia version of this light – they can be used interchangeably for the two models.

As previously noted, charging this light is a little unusual. The magnetic charging base will snap on the tailcap snugly, and initiate the charge. The power LED glows red when charging, and the battery LED glows green when done (or when the dock is disconnected). The green LED will flash for a few second when first connecting, as it evaluates the charge status of the battery. Note that it will not initiate a charge if the cell is >4.0V resting (i.e., the charging status stays green).

There is also an orange blinking error feature apparently, but I haven’t seen it – it occurs if the charging source is incapable of providing enough power. Solid orange means it is charging at a reduced current.

Note: You need to unscrew the tailcap a quarter-turn, to lock out the light first, in order to charge it. If you try to charge with the tailcap fully connected, you will get a flashing red error light on the charging base. This is a very unusual design.

Resting voltage <3.0V
Max

Resting voltage >3.0V
Max

Just like the Nichia version, the Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Max shows an initial low initial charging current of ~0.13A when the cell is heavily depleted (<3.0V resting), which jumps up to ~1.0A once the cell is >3.0V resting. This two-current charging is a good design, and indicates a safe integrated charging circuit. While this max charging rate is very reasonable for a 18650 battery, I do find it a little low for the 21700 bundled here. But this is another sign they are using very much the same charging control circuit.

In my testing, once charging begins it will fully charge the cell up ~4.19V resting at termination. However, as mentioned earlier (and like the Nichia version) it will not initiate a charge above ~4.0V resting. You will need to use a stand-alone charger if you wish to top-up you cells within the ~4.0-4.2V range.

Standby / Parasitic Drain:

I measured the standby current as 8.8 uA.

Like its smaller sibling, this is completely negligible, and not a concern (i.e., it would take many years to drain the cell). Nevertheless, I always recommend you store the light locked out at the tailcap when not in use, to prevent accidental activation and cut the standby drain. A quarter turn twist of the tail will lock out this light, despite the lack of anodized screw threads. Note the charger feature still works when the light is locked out (indeed, it only works when the light is locked out, which is pretty unique).

Emitter Measures

This section is a new feature of my reviews, where I directly measure key emitter characteristics in terms of colour temperature, tint, and colour rendition. Please see my Emitter Measures page to learn more about what these terms mean, and how I am measuring them.

As explained on that page, since I am using an inexpensive uncalibrated device, you can only make relative comparisons across my reviews (i.e., don’t take these numbers as absolutely accurate values, but as relatively consistent across lights in my testing).

The key measures above are the colour temperature of ~3585K, and the moderately positive tint shift (+0.0083 Duv) to yellow at this temperature.

For CRI (Ra), I measured a combined score of 77.

These values seem reasonable for a warm-tinted XHP70.2 emitter (which tend toward positive Duvs at all CCTs), and match my visual experience of this light.

Beamshots

All outdoor beamshots are taken on my Canon PowerShot S5 IS at f/2.7, 0.5 secs exposure, ISO 400, daylight white balance. The bend in the road is approximately 40 meters (~45 yards) from the camera. Learn more about my outdoor beamshots here (scroll down for the floody light position used in this review).

Click on any thumbnail image below to open a full size image in a new window. You can then easily compare beams by switching between tabs.


It is an interesting beam pattern for these Armytek lights; a very even flood beam. The Max version here has a slightly wider spill than the Nicha version, with even less demarcation from spot to spill. I think it could make a good bicycle light, for general illumination in the immediate foreground.

Testing Results

My summary tables are generally reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. In addition to the links above, please see my output measures page for more background.

All my output numbers are based on my home-made lightbox setup. As explained on that methodology page, I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values to estimated lumens. My Peak Intensity/Beam Distance are directly measured with a NIST-certified Extech EA31 lightmeter.

Wizard C2 Pro Max Testing Results

ModeSpec LumensEstimated Lumens @0secEstimated Lumens @30 secsBeam Intensity @0secBeam Intensity @30secsBeam Distance @30secsPWM/Strobe FreqNoise FreqCharging Current <3VCharging Current >3VParasitic DrainWeight w/o BatteryWeight with Battery
Firefly10.320.30.3---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g
Firefly24.388---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g
Main1424141---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g
Main2140150150---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g
Main3420430430---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g
Turbo11210-8401,4001,350---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g
Turbo23,720-8403,9503,8501,710 cd1,670 cd82 mNoNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g
Strobe1140-----1.0 HzNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g
Strobe23,720-----1.0 HzNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g
Strobe33,720-----9.7 HzNo0.13 A1.0 A8.8 uA82 g150 g

It’s great to see the multiple Moonlight/Firefly modes here, especially the ultra-low Firefly1 at <0.1 lumens (not sure why we have lost the ~1.0 Firefly2 mode from the Nichia model though). Spacing of modes is very good, with a great range of levels across the whole dynamic range.

At 82g/150g (without/with battery), the Wizard C2 Pro Max is noticeably heavier than the smaller Nichia model (which weighed in at 113g with battery). This may an issue for some in using the Max version as a headlamp (although it will translate into longer runtime as a bike light).

To see full testing results for all modern lights in my testing, check out my Database page.

Runtimes

As always, my runtimes are done under a small cooling fan, for safety and consistency. To learn more about how to interpret runtime graphs, see my runtimes methodology page.

To start, let’s see how the 1×21700 Max version compares to the 1×18650 Nichia version:

Hi

Med

Basically, the circuit regulation and performance is identical – although of course the larger Max version produces more output for equivalent runtime (or longer runtime for equivalent output), consistent with the XHP70.2 emitter and larger capacity cell.

And now how the Max version compares to the 21700 competition:

Max

Hi

Med

And here’s a blow-up of the first few mins, so you can see the initial Turbo step-down better:

Max

The Wizard C2 Pro Max shows excellent efficiency and regulation at all levels tested, consistent with its smaller sibling, and exactly in the same range as other XHP70.2 lights with very good efficiency circuits. It shows a very controlled step-down pattern as the battery nears exhaustion. I find this result particularly impressive, given warmer tints tend to show lower efficiency (due to the extra phosphor added compared to cool white emitters).

Note that the Turbo2 level steps down a little sooner than the Nichia version did at around 1min to a ~800 lumen level, compared to the ~1350 lumen Turbo1 level. Unless you really need the super high output of Turbo2 for that short length of time, you may find Turbo1 more generally useful (I know I do).

Pros and Cons

ProsCons
Excellent current-controlled efficiency, with stable regulation in all modes.User interface is a little unusual, with two distinct UIs with differing mode group sets (with some shortcut inconsistencies between).
Textured optic provides an extremely floody beam, with no real hotspot.Charging dock requires tailcap to be loosened, and won't initiate a charge when cell is >4.0V resting.
Great overall range of output levels, with true Moonlight modes.Need to keep tailcap and screw threads very clean, or you can get some flickering on the highest level.
Compact and easy to activate with a single large button, and a number of warning/notification modes available.
Included high-capacity battery with custom USB charging dock (magnetic).

A neutral comment is that the Wizard C2 Pro Max is an angle-head light – which is beneficial when using as a headlamp or clip-on light, but is different from most other lights.

More significantly, the first sample of the Max that Armytek sent me was defective on Turbo2. It had greatly reduced output from the start, and quickly developed a persistent flicker on this level that wouldn’t go away. The replacement sample worked perfectly from the beginning.

Overall Rating

Preliminary Conclusions

This is another strong showing from Armytek. Like its smaller sibling the 1×18650 Wizard C2 Pro Nichia, this is a powerful and versatile flood light, with a lot going for it.

Angled flood lights have a lot of very practical uses, especially for up-close work or in the near field. Of course, this is also a very high-output light, so it can light up a much wider range than typical. It’s a bit heavy for a headlamp, but the headband holds it in place well. The relatively warm tint is convenient for outdoor use – although I prefer both the neutral white tint and the much higher CRI of the Nichia version. Still, I can see this making an outstanding bike light.

Like its junior version, the performance of the circuit was outstanding – excellent regulation and output/runtime efficiency at all level tested. Given the relatively small thermal mass however, it needs to step down quickly on max (Turbo2). So here again, I recommend Turbo1 as a more practical high output level.

The build has the same solid and rugged feel as the Nichia version, with Armytek’s classic grippy matte finish. Switch action is good, and the status LEDs under the switch serve multiple uses. The charging dock is a little unusual in that it needs the tailcap loosened (and won’t initiate a charge >4.0V resting). Note that this is exactly the same dock as the 1×18650 Nichia version –  and hence, the same charging characteristics.

Mode level spacing is good, although for some reason you don’t have the ~1 lumen Firefly2 level here (you still have the <1 lumen Firefly1). The user interface is a bit complex with its General and Advanced UIs and mode sets, but you can quickly get used to it.

I had initially given the Nichia version 4.5 stars, knocking off half a star for the UI complexity and charging dock quirks. But I have since reconsidered that light as a true 5 star, since the UI isn’t that hard to get used to. In comparison, I think this Max version is more appropriate 4.5 light, given the lower CRI, missing Firefly2, and low (relative) charging rate. But it’s still a great light – and may be better suited to you if you need the great output and/or runtime.

Another strong contender in the full flood family of lights!

Acknowledgement

The Wizard C2 Pro Nichia was provided for review by Armytek. All opinions are my own however, and the light received the same rigourous and objective testing as all other lights that I have reviewed. At the time of review, this light retails for ~$95 USD (~$125 CDN).

Armytek is offering a 15% discount code to readers of my website, please use code flashlightreviews15 when checking out of the Armytek.com website.

Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia

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The Wizard C2 Pro Nichia is a solidly-built compact headlamp with excellent colour rendition, running on a single included 18650 battery. Features a sophisticated user interface and innovative magnetic charging dock.

  1. Introduction
  2. Manufacturer Specifications
  3. Package Details
  4. Build
  5. User Interface
  6. Circuit Measures
  7. Emitter Measures
  8. Beamshots
  9. Testing Results
  10. Runtimes
  11. Pros and Cons
  12. Overall Rating
  13. Preliminary Conclusions
  14. Acknowledgement

Introduction

I had tested a good number of Armytek lights in my previous reviewing career, and they had always performed well. Known for very robust builds, I was curious to see what their new models were like. Interestingly, the lights they sent me were both angle lights (i.e., the emitter is on the side of the head). This design is very helpful when carrying the light clipped on you, or as a headlamp.

Although I am generally focusing on the newer 1×21700 class for these first new reviews, I thought I would start with Armytek’s 1×18650 Wizard C2 Pro Nichia. It features a single Nichia 144AR Hi CRI neutral white tint emitter, which is a new one for me. Let’s see how it compares.

Manufacturer Specifications

Note: as always, these are simply what the manufacturer provides – scroll down to see my actual testing results.

FeatureSpecs
MakerArmytek
ModelWizard C2 Pro Nichia
EmitterNichia 144AR
Tint4500K >90 CRI
Max Output (Lumens)1,600
Min Output (Lumens)0.1
Max Runtime200 days
Max Beam Intensity (cd)3,200 cd
Max Beam Distance (m)113 m
Mode Levels7
FlashingStrobe1, Strobe2, Strobe3
Battery1x18650
Weight (w/o battery)65 g
Weight (with battery)115 g
Length112 mm
Head Diameter33 mm
Body Diameter20.4 mm
WaterproofIP68 10m

Armytek considers this a “warm light” in its specs and printed material, but I would characterize the 4500K CCT as neutral white.

Package Details

The Wizard C2 Pro Nichia ships in a cardboard display box with an extensive number of labels and descriptions. Inside, you will find the following:

  • Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia flashlight
  • Stainless steel pocket clip
  • Magnetic USB charging dock
  • 18650 battery (3500mAh)
  • Headband and rubber headlamp mount
  • Bicycle mount
  • 2 spare O-rings
  • Adhesive tape strip (3M)
  • Manual

It’s a good package of accessories, identical to its larger sibling. Note that the multi-lingual manual is really more of a quick-start guide, and there is a slightly more detailed full manual that you can download from the Armytek website (direct PDF link here). I recommend you download the longer manual in order to take full advantage of all the features and better understand the user interface.

Build

20230402_162334
From left to right: ArmyTek 18650 (3500mAh), Acebeam 18650 (3100mAh), Armytek Wizard Pro Nichia (18650), Acebeam E70 Mini (18650), Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Max (21700), Acebeam E70 (21700), Fenix E35 v3 (21700), Convoy S21E (21700).

 

This physical build is reminiscent of the early bomb-proof Armyteks – it feels very solid in the hand. That said, is also quite compact, about the same length as my Acebeam E70 Mini.

The anodizing looks exactly like the old matte finish of early Armyteks, very grippy (almost feels rubberized in a way).  It appears to be thick and durable – although I find it also marks up easily (i.e., not scratched down to the bare aluminum, but shows handling marks on the surface). I guess its fair to say Armytek sees their lights as work-horses, not show-horses.

The light lacks traditional knurling, but the ridge details cut-outs and grippy finish help produce good hand grip in my view. The pocket clip attaches very firmly (likely to mark upon removal) and helps further with grip (and clip-on carry of course).

The main distinctive feature is the angle-head light source. As mentioned above, this is very helpful as a headlamp, bicycle light or when clipping onto you. It’s also reasonable to carry this way by hand, especially given the large button on the size of the head (i.e., can easily use your thumb to activate the switch). Switch feel is good, with a definite click upon press.

There is a green/red LED under the switch cover that can signal the status of the light. By default, it flashes red once when the switch is clicked (or glows red when doing a press-and-hold). You can configure it to flag a green locator beacon once every four secs if you wish (see UI section below). It also serves as a low battery and heat warning, as also described in the UI section.

The light lacks a USB-C charging port on the body, but there is a USB-based magnetic charging dock that charges the light through the tailcap (scroll down to my Circuit section for more details on how it works). The light uses a standard flat-top 18650 cell (Armytek-branded 3500mAh in this case), so can easily be swapped out and charged in a stand-alone charger.

Note that this means that there are exposed contact points on the tailcap. However, the center contact is sufficiently recessed (and small enough) to avoid any likely problems.

The magnet is located in the tailcap (and is not user-removable). It is also very strong, and so may attract metal objects. Of course that means you can also attach it to metal surfaces to stand it as a worklight.

The light uses a neutral white Nichia 144AR emitter (4500K, Hi CRI >90), under a textured TIR optic. The specs claim a 70 degree hotspot and a 120 degree spill, but there is no sharp demarcation between them – this produces a very even flood light. Scroll down to the Emitter measures section for a tint/CRI discussion.

The head has a flat stainless steel bezel ring.

User Interface

The user interface (UI) of this light is a bit complex – and somewhat reminiscent to me of the second generation of the inaugural model of Armytek, the Predator.

Just like that light, you will need to download the full manual from Armytek to learn how to use it fully (i.e., the bundled manual is more just to get you started). The detailed manual is available from the website’s product page (downloadable as PDF here). You can also follow the link from the QR code on the box, which takes you to main product page. I don’t understand why they don’t provide this better manual with the light itself, as you are likely going to find it frustrating trying to figure it out all the features from the incomplete quick-start guide alone.

That said, even the full manual doesn’t do a great job of fully explaining the implementation of the UI (although if you follow the instructions, you will likely figure it out for yourself). But to help you out, let me try to break it all down for you.

Note that if you are more of a visual learner, you can skip to the end of this section for a video overview describing how the UI works.

To start, you can switch between two types of operation mode sets (with different mode groups available) – the General UI and the Advanced UI. To do this, unscrew the tailcap by a quarter turn with the flashlight off. Then press-and-hold the button while you tighten the tailcap. The light is set by default at the factory to General UI.

General UI Operation

The General UI gives you access to the two Firefly modes (Firefly1 and Firefly2), all three Main modes (Main1, Main2, Main3), and only one Turbo mode (Turbo2 by default – although you can change this to Turbo1 by going through the Advanced UI, as I’ll explain later). Note the strobe modes are not available in the General UI.

General UI, from OFF:

  • Press-and-hold: Turns On in Firefly1 and cycles through the two Firefly modes followed by the three Main modes, and then continues to loop through the Main modes (you select by releasing the switch). So, sequence is: Firefly1 > Firefly2 > Main1 > Main2 > Main3 > Main1 > Main2 > Main3 > Main 1 > etc.
  • Single-click: Turns On in the last used mode (the specific six constant modes described in the opening paragraph are all available to be memorized, including Turbo).
  • Double-click: Nothing (i.e., just turns On and then Off again – but scroll down to see what happens when already On).
  • Multiple clicks (3 or more): Nothing, the light simply turns Off and back On with successive clicks.

General UI, from ON:

  • Press-and-hold: If you are currently in a Firefly mode, it will cycle through the Firefly modes and then through all the Main modes, with in a repeating loop of Main modes (i.e., the same as press-and-hold from Off). If you are in the Main mode or Turbo mode, press-and-hold will cause it to cycle through the Main modes only.
  • Single-click: Turns the light Off.
  • Double-click: Jumps to Turbo (assuming you are not already in Turbo – in which case, it jumps back to last mode used before entering Turbo).
  • Multiple clicks (3 or more): Nothing, the light will just turn Off and back On.

This is an unusual arrangement, but it’s not that hard to get used to for the most part. I recommend you think of this General UI as fundamentally a press-and-hold interface, with single- and double-click offering access to the last memorized level and toggling to/from the Turbo level, respectively. The main tweak that I would have liked to see is a more consistent implementation of press-and-hold when On (i.e., I would like to have it always cycle through Firefly, not just when starting in Firefly) – but that’s just personal preference.

Note that General UI lacks the Strobe modes and Turbo 1 (although you can switch the default Turbo level by programming in Advanced UI if you want). General UI should work well for most users right out of the box.

Advanced UI Operation

This is not well explained in the manual, although the information is technically all there.  Simply put, Advanced UI gives you access to 4 defined Mode Group sets that you can choose between, as well as the ability to cycle through a larger subset (but not all) of the constant output modes.

Available to you in the defined Mode Group sets are all three Firefly levels in the Firefly Mode Group (Firefly1, Firefly2, Firefly3), all three Main levels in Main Mode Group (Main1, Main2, Main3), both Turbo levels in Turbo Mode Group (Turbo1, Turbo2), and all three strobes in the Strobe Mode Group (Strobe1, Strobe2, Strobe3). The various Mode Groups are typically accessed by multiple clicks from either On or Off as described below (except for Firefly modes which are accessed by a press-and-hold, with additional modes).

In addition, when you activate the light in Advanced UI by a press-and-hold it will run through the first seven constant output modes from Firefly1 up to Turbo1 (not sure why only those, but it’s two more than the General UI). Again, this is the only way to access Firefly modes (basically, think of this ramp as Firefly plus Main and some Turbo).

Advanced UI, from OFF:

  • Press-and-hold: Turns the light On, and runs through the first 7 constant output modes in sequence from Firefly1 to Turbo1, on a repeating loop (i.e., no more excluding Firefly modes after the first round, as General UI does). All modes except Turbo2 and the three Strobe modes are on this repeating sequence. When you release the switch on any level, you are now in that Mode Group set if you press-and-hold again (i.e., the light will only cycle through the levels of that Mode Group set now). So, for example, if you release the switch on Turbo1, a subsequent press-and-hold of the switch will cycle between the two Turbo modes in this Mode Group.
  • Single-click: Turns On in last used mode (note that mode memory now applies to Strobe as well as all constant output modes).
  • Double-click: Turns On in the Main Mode Group
  • Triple-click: Turns On in the Turbo Mode Group
  • 4 clicks: Turns On in the Strobe Mode Group
  • Multiple clicks (5+): Nothing (i.e., light will just activate in the Strobe Mode Group)

Advanced UI, from ON:

  • Press-and-hold: Light will cycle through the levels in the current Mode Group only.
  • Single-click: Turns the light Off.
  • Double-click: Jumps to the Main Mode Group (or jumps down to Firefly1 if already in Main Mode Group).
  • Triple-click: Jumps to the Turbo Mode Group (or does nothing if light is already in Turbo Mode Group).
  • 4 clicks: Jumps to the Strobe Mode Group (or does nothing if light is already in Strobe Mode Group). Note this means that you have to double-click or triple-click to exit Strobe modes when On (or turn Off and then press-and-hold when turning back On).
  • Multiple clicks (5+): Nothing, it just jumps Strobe mode and stays there (i.e., acts as 4 clicks).

Note that the light will memorize the last Turbo mode you used (i.e., Turbo1 or Turbo2).  If you revert back to General UI, it will continue to use that memorized Turbo mode. So this is how you can program the lower Turbo1 in the General UI if you wish.

I personally prefer Advanced UI over General UI, for the more consistent implementation of press-and-hold from Off (i.e., repeatedly cycles a wider set of modes, including Firefly levels). However, you have to remember to triple-click for Turbo now. Also, when On, you are limited to only cycling through your current Mode Group with a subsequent press-and-hold. But it’s easy enough to remember to turn Off and start a press-and-hold again to access the other modes.

What I don’t like in Advanced UI is the inconsistent effect of multiple clicks when On. The first time I activated Strobe mode for example, it took me a while to figure out how to get out (i.e., only double- or triple-click will exit, unless you turn off and reset by a press-and-hold). This is not intuitive, and at a minimum I would have liked for the same number of clicks to enter a Mode Group also be used to consistently exit it. But on the plus side, Strobes are reasonably well hidden if you don’t want to bother with them at all in Advanced UI. And you can always stick with General UI if you really don’t like it.

In terms of the strobes, I do like the slow signaling strobes here, with both high and low power (especially as a bike light).

Standby Indicator:

As mentioned in the build section, you can toggle on a standby indicator that briefly flashes the green LED under the switch cover once every four seconds. You do this in a similar way to how you switch between General UI and Advanced UI, but with an extra step: loosen the tailcap a quarter turn, hold down the button, tighten the tailcap AND then immediately loosen the tailcap a quarter turn. I haven’t measured the standby drain in this mode, but I suspect its pretty minimal.

Shortcuts:

Rather then go through it all again, please see above for how all the clicks and press-and-holds work in the two UI.  In simple terms, press-and-hold from Off is necessary to first access Firefly modes, and multiple clicks are necessary to access Turbo from either On or Off.

Mode Memory:

Yes. The light remembers the last mode used and returns to it (constant output modes only in General UI, all modes including Strobes in Advanced UI). Memory mode persists, even with a battery change.

Lock-out Mode:

Yes. Simply unscrew the tailcap a quarter turn. Even though the tailcap has non-anodized threads, it does turn Off while unscrewing from fully tight.

Low battery warning:

Yes. The switch indicator will signal the battery status once the cell is <25% (at which  point, it will flash orange every 2 seconds). Once the battery is <10%, it will flash red every second.

High temperature warning:

The switch indicator will also signal a high temperature warning, with 3 orange flashes every 2 secs. If heat is critical, it will flash red 3 times every second, and the brightness level will automatically step down.

According to the manual, the brightness decreases once the light approaches 58 degrees Celsius.

Reviewer Comments:

This is a sophisticated interface, with a lot of extra bells-and-whistles (in terms of mode groupings, standby and battery/heat indicators, etc.). It is a bit confusing to configure, and there are some inconsistencies in how features are implemented across UI Mode Group sets (i.e., which modes are included in a ramp, exact number of clicks to access or exit a given Mode set, etc.). And since this is not completely clear in the manual (even the extended manual online), you are likely need to refer the UI instructions here to reprogram.

But that’s really more of a quibble – any sophisticated UI is going to have complexities and inconsistencies that won’t please everyone. Once you decide which interface you want – the default General UI or the Advanced UI, you should be able to get used to things fairly quickly.  And again, I like to think of this light as fundamentally a press-and-hold style light for selecting modes, with the clicks really about shortcuts or group selections.

To help you see how all that works in practice, I’ve posted a video to my YouTube channel (@cpfselfbuilt) demonstrating the UI in practice:

Circuit Measures

Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM):

Main1:

There is no sign of PWM or circuit noise at any level. The light appears to be fully constant-current controlled. 🙂

Strobe:

Strobe3:

Strobe2:

Strobe1:

Strobe3 frequency is a fast 9.6 Hz, at full power (Turbo2). Fairly disorienting.

Strobes1 and 2 are slow signaling strobes, both at 1 Hz. Strobe 2 is full power (Turbo2), whereas Strobe 1 is reduced to the Main2 level.

Charging:

Charging this light is a little unusual. The magnetic charging base will snap on the tailcap snugly, and initiate the charge. The power LED glows red when charging, and the battery LED glows green when done (or when the dock is disconnected). The green LED will flash for a few second when first connecting, as it evaluates the charge status of the battery. Note that it will not initiate a charge if the cell is >4.0V resting (i.e., the charging status stays green).

There is also an orange blinking error feature apparently, but I haven’t seen it – it occurs if the charging source is incapable of providing enough power. Solid orange means it is charging at a reduced current.

Note: You need to unscrew the tailcap a quarter-turn, to lock out the light first, in order to charge it. If you try to charge with the tailcap fully connected, you will get a flashing red error light on the charging base. This is a very unusual design.

Resting voltage <3.0V

Resting voltage >3.0V

The Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia shows an initial low initial charging current of 0.13A when the cell is heavily depleted (<3.0V resting), which jumps up to 1.0A once the cell is >3.0V resting. This two-current charging is a good design, and indicates a safe integrated charging circuit. The max charging rate is also very reasonable for a 186500 battery.

In my testing, once charging begins it will fully charge the cell up ~4.19V resting at termination.  However, as mentioned earlier, it will not initiate a charge above ~4.0V resting. You will need to use a stand-alone charger if you wish to top-up you cells within the ~4.0-4.2V range.

Standby / Parasitic Drain:

I measured the standby current as 6.6 uA.

This is negligible, and not a concern (i.e., it would take many years to drain the cell). Nevertheless, I always recommend you store the light locked out at the tailcap when not in use, to prevent accidental activation and cut the standby drain. A quarter turn twist of the tail will lock out this light, despite the lack of anodized screw threads. Note the charger feature still works when the light is locked out (indeed, it only works when the light is locked out, which is pretty unique).

Emitter Measures

This section is a new feature of my reviews, where I directly measure key emitter characteristics in terms of colour temperature, tint, and colour rendition. Please see my Emitter Measures page to learn more about what these terms mean, and how I am measuring them.

As explained on that page, since I am using an inexpensive uncalibrated device, you can only make relative comparisons across my reviews (i.e., don’t take these numbers as absolutely accurate values, but as relatively consistent across lights in my testing).

The key measures above are the colour temperature of ~4170K, and the slight negative tint shift (-0.0036 Duv) to orange-rose at this temperature.

For CRI (Ra), I measured a combined score of 94.

These values seem reasonable for a Nichia 144AR emitter, and match my visual experience of this light.

As you go down in output from Turbo through to Firefly modes, the CCT consistently drops. To get an idea of the dynamic range, I measured the Turbo2 mode as ~4500K.  settling down to ~4000K in Firefly1. The Duv is a consistent negative value across all levels, and ranges from -0.0030 through -0.0055 depending on the level (I don’t see an obvious trend across outputs, but it is always within that slight negative range).

So, a very pleasant warmer-end of neutral white tint (most prefer the negative Duv, myself included). It also seems fairly accurate to the specs.

Beamshots

All outdoor beamshots are taken on my Canon PowerShot S5 IS at f/2.7, 0.5 secs exposure, ISO 400, daylight white balance. The bend in the road is approximately 40 meters (~45 yards) from the camera. Learn more about my outdoor beamshots here (scroll down for the floody light position used in this review).

Click on any thumbnail image below to open a full size image in a new window. You can then easily compare beams by switching between tabs.



It is an interesting beam pattern for these Armytek lights; a very even flood beam, with no demarcation from spot to spill. I think it could make a good bicycle light, for general illumination in the immediate foreground.

Testing Results

My summary tables are generally reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. In addition to the links above, please see my output measures page for more background.

All my output numbers are based on my home-made lightbox setup. As explained on that methodology page, I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values to estimated lumens. My Peak Intensity/Beam Distance are directly measured with a NIST-certified Extech EA31 lightmeter.

Wizard C2 Pro Nichia Testing Results

ModeSpec LumensEstimated Lumens @0secEstimated Lumens @30 secsBeam Intensity @0secBeam Intensity @30secsBeam Distance @30secsPWM/Strobe FreqNoise FreqCharging Current <3VCharging Current >3VParasitic DrainWeight w/o BatteryWeight with Battery
Firefly10.10.040.04---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Firefly21.00.90.9---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Firefly34.65.35.3---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Main1344141---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Main290120120---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Main3250310300---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Turbo1750-440900900---NoNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Turbo21,600-4401,9001,9004,490 cd4,110 cd128 mNoNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Strobe190-----1.0 HzNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Strobe21,600-----1.0 HzNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g
Strobe31,600-----9.6 HzNo0.13 A1.0 A6.6 uA64 g113 g

It’s great to see the multiple Moonlight/Firefly modes here, especially the ultra-low Firefly1 at <0.1 lumens. Spacing of modes is very good, with a great range of levels across the whole dynamic range.

At 64g/113g (without/with battery), the Wizard C2 Pro Nichia is noticeably lighter and smaller than other lights in my testing.

To see full testing results for all modern lights in my testing, check out my Database page.

Runtimes

As always, my runtimes are done under a small cooling fan, for safety and consistency. To learn more about how to interpret runtime graphs, see my runtimes methodology page.

18650-Max

18650-Hi

18650-Med

And here’s a blow-up of the first few mins of the Wizard C2 Pro Nichia on Turbo/Hi, so you can see the initial Turbo step-down better.

18650-Max

The Wizard C2 Pro Nichia shows excellent efficiency and regulation at all levels tested, consistent with its larger sibling and other good current-controlled lights. It shows a very controlled step-down pattern as the battery nears exhaustion.

This is my first Nichia 144AR emitter, but it seems to be remarkably efficient. It seems to beat out the 519A emitter competition in terms of runtimes, but that’s hard to say for certain given the differing battery capacities in those other lights.

Note that the Turbo2 level steps down over 1-1.5mins to ~440 lumen level, compared to the ~800 lumen Turbo1 level. Unless you really need the super high output of Turbo2 for that short length of time, you may find Turbo1 more generally useful.

Pros and Cons

ProsCons
Excellent current-controlled efficiency, with stable regulation in all modes.User interface is a little unusual, with two distinct UIs with differing mode group sets (with some shortcut inconsistencies between).
Textured optic provides an extremely floody beam, with no real hotspot.Charging dock requires tailcap to be loosened, and won't initiate a charge when cell is >4.0V resting.
Great overall range of output levels, with several true Moonlight modes.Need to keep tailcap and screw threads very clean, or you can get some flickering on the highest level.
Compact and easy to activate with a single large button, and a number of warning/notification modes available.
Included high-capacity battery with custom USB charging dock (magnetic).

A neutral comment is that the Wizard C2 Pro Nichia is an angle-head light – which is beneficial when using as a headlamp or clip-on light, but is different from most other lights.

Overall Rating

Preliminary Conclusions

I am really impressed with this light. It has a great tint and beam, with my preferred neutral white tint and all the benefits of Hi CRI. The full flood is also very useful in a lot of situations. Armytek obviously considers this a headlamp and a bike light, and I would agree with both assessments. I would also throw in dog-walking. Like for biking at night, I’ve always found the involuntary “follow the bouncing ball” perceptual effect of a hotspot distracting, and prefer full flood. So the pocket/belt clip is also appreciated.

The performance of the circuit was great – excellent regulation and output/runtime efficiency at all levels tested. Given the small thermal mass however, it needs to step down fairly quickly on max (Turbo2) – so I suspect you will find constantly-regulated Turbo1 to be more generally useful.

The build feels sufficiently solid and rugged, with Armytek’s classic grippy finish (although I’ve noticed previously that their lights can mark up easily). Switch action is good, and the status LEDs under the switch serve multiple uses. The charging dock is a little unusual in that it needs the tailcap loosened (and won’t initiate a charge >4.0V resting). But the charging circuit works well, with very reasonable charging rates.

Mode level spacing is good, and I really like seeing all the Firefly (aka Moonlight) modes.

The main issue is the complex and somewhat inconsistent user interface. I had initially knocked off half a star for this complexity, but I have since reconsidered. It’s always hard to have a sophisticated interface on a single switch without some compromises. It certainly has a lot of good features, and you can easily get used to it with a bit of practice. Note they could also improve the length and clarity of the manual in this regard, but the UI section above should you maximize your use of the light.

If you are in the market for a floody light with great tint and colour rendition, and a great range of levels, the Wizard C2 Pro Nichia has a lot to offer. Certainly a top pick.

Acknowledgement

The Wizard C2 Pro Nichia was provided for review by Armytek. All opinions are my own however, and the light received the same rigourous and objective testing as all other lights that I have reviewed. At the time of review, this light retails for ~$95 USD (~$125 CDN).

Armytek is offering a 15% discount code to readers of my website, please use code flashlightreviews15 when checking out of the Armytek.com website.