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Armytek Wizard Pro XHP50 V3 field use review.
- Thread starter Woods Walker
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I agree
PhantomPhoton
Flashlight Enthusiast
This is my personal favorite flashlight for now.
It has been to the top of several mountains and peaks, literally into an ice crusted alpine lake, across the Mojave in July, canyoneering up a river, through the NYC subway system, on patrol and SAR... no failures yet.
The blinky button light has not bothered me a bit even when waking up at 3 am in the tent to crawl out into the cold and relieve myself.
Having that much output is incredible for helping a couple buddies scale rock cliff to get down to a the Deschutes river at 10pm or to find a campsite marker hidden by 3' of snow. The warm tint makes it far easier to find dog droppings on the wet Oregon forest floor while out camping in the rain.
18650s are easily recharged by solar in a day with a lightweight panel on my backpack and the magnetic mount makes it easy to stick on most things to get some extra light.
The UI is even decent, I really can't ask for much more in a light.
Well worth every penny for serious/ professional light users and adventurers. And with a 20-30% discount that has happened with a couple websites it's a steal.
It has been to the top of several mountains and peaks, literally into an ice crusted alpine lake, across the Mojave in July, canyoneering up a river, through the NYC subway system, on patrol and SAR... no failures yet.
The blinky button light has not bothered me a bit even when waking up at 3 am in the tent to crawl out into the cold and relieve myself.
Having that much output is incredible for helping a couple buddies scale rock cliff to get down to a the Deschutes river at 10pm or to find a campsite marker hidden by 3' of snow. The warm tint makes it far easier to find dog droppings on the wet Oregon forest floor while out camping in the rain.
18650s are easily recharged by solar in a day with a lightweight panel on my backpack and the magnetic mount makes it easy to stick on most things to get some extra light.
The UI is even decent, I really can't ask for much more in a light.
Well worth every penny for serious/ professional light users and adventurers. And with a 20-30% discount that has happened with a couple websites it's a steal.
Just wondering. How long does it last in the brightest turbo mode before the brightness drops...if you run it in front of a small fan. And does it drop to the next lower mode? I was thinking of using it as my helmet light went I go bike riding in the woods.
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Woods Walker
The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Honestly I don't know as don't use that mode for long as it gets hot and is so much brighter than I need. I don't do indoor testing of gear for the most part on religious grounds. LOL! not really just don't believe the results would be reflective of field usage. Who walks around with a fan blowing on their headlamp in the lower 70's outside of CPF. No body, that's who though have no issue with those who do as more info isn't bad. Tell you what. I am going for a night run now and will use it on max and will report back. Per siri "brr it's 35 f outside" though that doesn't impress me nor will it slow down the run.
Woods Walker
The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Per my digital postal scale. XHP50 Wizard Pro V3 with naked 3500 mAh 4.9 ounces, without battery 3.6. Tiara Pro V2 with 840 mAh protected keepPower 3.2 ounces, without battery 2.9 however keep in mind the Wizard has an over the head strap as well.
Woods Walker
The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
How long can it hold high without dropping. Went for a 7 mile street/dirt road jog tonight. It was 35F out. It says 9 but really already had two miles walking before the run.
Ran it on Turbo 1 for 30 minutes before I got tried of blinding cars on the road. Had to look away from on coming traffic as I swear it's brighter than car headlights on high. Also the reflective light off the signs was too much. Once again proved animals simply don't care if someone shines a bright light at them. Nearly 2000 lumens didn't impress an aggressive dog or shy coon. My crazy Hungarian antics did impress the dog who finally thought better of it's chances. Near as I could tell 30 minutes on the max turbo showed no reduction in output. When switching to Turbo 2 could see the same shift in output as always. Another 5 minutes on that before getting tired of too much light then down to Main mode 3 then finally Main mode 2. It was hot on Max but somehow felt maybe a bit less then when using it stationary. I never run the Max Turbo this long as don't have any need. I don't think the light really should be run that high all the time. The mass is kinda low for that IMHO.
This is exactly how the output appeared to my eyes on road running on Max Turbo.
The selfie!
Paved road.
It's just too bright. LOL! The camera did a good job of capturing how it looked to my eyes.
Dirt road.
Ran it on Turbo 1 for 30 minutes before I got tried of blinding cars on the road. Had to look away from on coming traffic as I swear it's brighter than car headlights on high. Also the reflective light off the signs was too much. Once again proved animals simply don't care if someone shines a bright light at them. Nearly 2000 lumens didn't impress an aggressive dog or shy coon. My crazy Hungarian antics did impress the dog who finally thought better of it's chances. Near as I could tell 30 minutes on the max turbo showed no reduction in output. When switching to Turbo 2 could see the same shift in output as always. Another 5 minutes on that before getting tired of too much light then down to Main mode 3 then finally Main mode 2. It was hot on Max but somehow felt maybe a bit less then when using it stationary. I never run the Max Turbo this long as don't have any need. I don't think the light really should be run that high all the time. The mass is kinda low for that IMHO.
This is exactly how the output appeared to my eyes on road running on Max Turbo.
The selfie!
Paved road.
It's just too bright. LOL! The camera did a good job of capturing how it looked to my eyes.
Dirt road.
WigglyTheGreat
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Nice review as always Woods Walker. I have been watching this light since it was first announced. I always go for neutral whites in headlamps and the warm version looks nice with an excellent beam profile for all around use. I would like to see armytek put out a version without the honeycomb lens and just a clear lens for increased throw. It would make for a nice cycling helmet light if it had more throw. Better yet, give it interchangeable lenses or a clear lens and include a diffuser that attaches. I also think they dropped the ball in not giving it a ~70 lumen mode as that is a mode I would use the most hiking at night. Hopefully Armytek improve their quality control too as there has been some concern over it lately.
Thanks for the review!
🙋
Thanks for the review!
🙋
WigglyTheGreat
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blindedbythenight
Enlightened
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I have a bone to pick with you....you and your review were the reason I got myself the nitecore HC30....now after reading and watching this...I want one!
It is now your job to stop me spending money and convince me that the armytek is no better than the nitecore....
How much wider and fuller flood are we talking compared to the nitecore? And I'm guessing the nitecore still wins in throw?
Come on man...think of my bank balance....stop tempting me. Haha
It is now your job to stop me spending money and convince me that the armytek is no better than the nitecore....
How much wider and fuller flood are we talking compared to the nitecore? And I'm guessing the nitecore still wins in throw?
Come on man...think of my bank balance....stop tempting me. Haha
Tachead
Flashlight Enthusiast
This light uses the Cree XHP50 which is a quad die emitter with rather large spacing between the 4 dies similar to the XHP70. I don't think you see a clear lens version of this light as the emitter would likely have some beam anomalies without some kind of diffused lens.
Woods Walker
The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
LOL! Thanks! The Nitecore has more focused beam than the Armytek Wizard or Tiara. In fact it seems to work better in the mist and rain so take the HC30 when night trail running in those conditions. Still overall prefer the AT headlamp beam pattern for the majority of conditions. I should do a field test smack down for the Fenix HP12, Nitecore HC30 and AT Wizard XHP50 as their beam profiles are different and they all bring something good to the table. I want to say the HC30 throws more however the power of the XHP50 is so mind boggling it could be a player despite the headlamp having a floodier beam. This takes nothing away from the HC30 which IMHO is shockingly bright given the size and low low mass. I just got in from a 5-mile night run through the hills so don't have the HC30 but could check them side by side ASAP for throw then report back.
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Woods Walker
The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Not sure what would be involved in making a Wizard with throw but who knows. The 70 lumen mode is nice on the Tiara but then again it can't be held for the required length of time for a good hard to follow hiking trail outing. Sometimes I hike into the night till 1 am to camp. I like a light that can run on 6 hours for a good medium mode so don't need to change on the fly. Had a few mid rock scampering changes that I could have done without. So was happy to see the Tiara adding a 30ish lumen mode as the 10 was too little and 70 ran down too fast. The Wizard can hold the Main mode 2 which is around 160ish for the required time or least so far that's been the case on the trail but yea the 70 was a great mode so kinda agree.
Not sure I ever answered this clearly. Mine does that as well but it stops so doesn't distract from the firefly. Wish there was a way to turn it totally off. Not really a problem as it's on my head.
I got one of these when they first came out and love it. In my job I find myself working in attics, drop ceilings, or under homes at times. This thing turns those areas into daylight! The tint is also great for determining the color of the wires I'm working with as a phone man. Great light. Great review.
blindedbythenight
Enlightened
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I thought you might say something like that....fine...I'll buy one....just no more tempting torches.......at least not this side of Christmas hehe. Cheers mate
iamlucky13
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I have to apologize for raising some confusion here. I was mistaken about this. On further review, my particular Tiara pro (XM-L2 emitter, which I think makes it a v2) has the battery indicator flash all the time (once every 5 seconds) in the main modes only. In Firefly mode, it flashes 5 times, which was long enough that I had covered it any time it mattered, and as a result not noticed when it stopped. I can live with this.
I don't see anything in the manual about turning this off. Maybe I'll check the Wizard manual.
Interesting. Given the heavier weight of the Wizard headband and battery, I think your measurements do support Armytek's specs that for the light alone (no battery or headband), the larger model is lighter than the smaller model.
Woods Walker
The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
It would not surprise me if the empty Tiara was heavier. The side walls on my Primes AA are thicker than the CR123 models. I think they use the same stock but bore out more for the 18350/18650. I think the Wizard head is more rounded as well.
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dc38
Flashlight Enthusiast
Darn you all! I should have one on the way from Illumn shortly...
WigglyTheGreat
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Thanks, I forgot about the xhp50 quad die. I guess I was thinking along the lines of the way Zebralight does theirs. They use a different leds on their current models xhp35 on the mk iiis it seems.
