Armytek Predator Pro V3 XP-L Hi Quick Take

[pomp92]

Received my PP LE warm two days ago...
PP v2.5 warm (XP-G2) on left
PP V3 LE warm (XP-L HI) on right
Picture taken at 5m.
The beam seems totally out of focus. Nothing like the previous version. The spot seize is much smaller on the LE if checked at 0.5 m but increasing distance the spot enlarge quickly. Something like if the beam is focused on a 0.5m distance instead of at infinite.

 

[CelticCross74]

ah yes! This is a perfect example of two excellent medium size "throwers".

The v2.5 in either CW or NW is STILL a benchmark profile for its output class. I managed to score a BNIB(!!!)v2.5 PP CW that had sat in somebodies inventory for a decade! I am the only person to have ever even OPENED the box it came in after it left the factory. The v2.5 PP UI compared to the V3 PP LE UI is to be honest just like trying to solve a rusted iron Rubiks Cube. Yes I always have lots of fresh Nyogel on hand for all my multi point contact head twist UI lights. The MAIN v2.5 PP full output beam profile is XPG2 perfection to many.

The V3 PP HI LE has the THICK CORONA on purpose. Why? The AT V3 Predators be they Pro or not have that specific profile because over LONG DISTANCES it is much easier to see to the naked human eye. Yes that beam profile is NOT out of focus. It actually is IN focus. That is explicitly why AT designed them like that. It DOES work!

But these lights throw SO FAR now...unless one lives out far enough to use these photon blasters over 400 yards they seem to be expensive very bright and unfocused against most suburban/city environment.

The more expensive AT's have very unique beam profiles. If AT says it is designed to throw...the reflector design is 100% for the farthest beam distance possible out of whichever PP, DP etc. That is why the AT beam profiles over many of their products are so UNIQUE and yes designed to look like that for that purpose.

The v2.5 PP is still the best XPG2 medium output thrower in the eyes of an awful lot of people though. The v2.5 PP does NOT have the super thick corona. But of course the max lumen wars began and have still yet to subside.

 

[eh4]

When they work, they are wonderful lights, I love the Predator design.
I'm under the impression that if the light is going to fail due to a manufacturing error or faulty component, that it should do so sooner than later if pushed to the edges of its range, stress testing in other words... so if you get an Armytek and are planning on using it for serious purposes where the issue is not
"does it have a warranty?"
but
"I'm stuck in the dark, so now what what am I going to do?"
-then stress test that light!
Run down a few high drain batteries in the max setting, get the light hot, manually switch strobe the light on max, switch modes a bunch, run it from strobe (head loose) to max (head tight) a bunch of times... make sure you've got a reliable one.

Both of the two that I have had their failures early on while pushing the capabilities of the light.
I love my XB-H warm Predator v3, it's failure was the loss of strobe, and i liked that so much that i never got it fixed, it's been perfectly reliable otherwise.
Good luck!

 

[CelticCross74]

wow! I also have TWO XB-H warm Predators. One Pro one non Pro. They are one of the most unique PP's ever made. The beam profile is still the V3 thick corona beam profile though but it does not bother me at ALL. The tint of the NW XB-H to my eyes is unlike anything I have seen before. It looks like well...a "hot NW" is the only way I can explain it.

Despite pushing an average of just over 500 lumens out the front it STILL throws extremely well. That specific V3 thrower beam profile with the thick corona is still present on the XB-H versions which is just fine. Remember the whole point of the thick corona is to make what you are trying to see over long distances better. Without that thick corona the hotspot would "disappear" over long distance. With the thick corona it makes what you at shining the light at over long distances much easier to see.

That BNIB v2.5 CW PP became a family heirloom the moment I realized just how LUCKY I had just gotten when I found out I was the only person to have even opened the box let alone use the light. The main max output beam is about as good an XPG2 thrower can get. The v2.5 was before the medium size moderate output proven lights suddenly got copied all over the world.

The V3 has vastly better UI despite the fact AT seems to go out of their way to hide what they are capable of

 

[CelticCross74]

The Olight M23 is outstanding. But the M23 and any PP are two totally different animals. The UI is different. The M23's nice wide tail switch is very easily to manipulate with gloves on. The beam profile is like the PP just without the thick corona. M23 beam profile does not have the thick corona. M23 UI is much easier than almost any AT. 3 output levels plus strobe. Nice fat hotspots, very well built. Even the spill portion of the beam is very useful.