Wattnot
Enlightened
Hi All and welcome to a very exciting comparison review of yet another "performance envelope pushing" new set of lights: The EagleTac M2 series. Yes, I have ALL THREE here and beamshots are below. If you can't wait and want to zip right down to the photos, I understand. Just please come back and read all of this stuff because there's more to these lights than just the singeing of my house and trees!
First I would like to thank Mike at PTS who sent me all THREE lights for this review. I appreciate the confidence he has in me to carry out what I'm sure is a heavily anticipated review. Seeing all three perform in my back yard will be a great help to all who will have (or are having) trouble deciding. Of course in the spirit of CPF I have to say at least once . . . Buy all THREE!
TK40 - M2C4 - M2XC4 W - M2XC4 C - 2C Mag with extender
Manufacturer's features and specifications (from PTS's site):
EagleTac M2C4
Bezel - 2.4"
Body - 2.0" x 1.1"
Length - 6.3" (M2X) 6.5" (M2)
Included accessories:
Para cord lanyard with position lock
Rigid Nylon holster with adjustable mounting for different belt sizes
Spare o-ring
Optional accessories:
- Filter Kit (Red/Blue/Green/IR)
- Diffuser Kit
- Window Protector Cap
- 123A Battery Magazine Holder, efficiently loads CR123A lithium batteries compatible with M2 battery tray
- M2 Additional Battery Tray custom fit for 18650 and CR123A batteries with gold plated copper contacts
EagleTac M2XC4 cool white (6000k)
EagleTac M2XC4 natural white (4300k)
M2C4 - Warm - Cool
Initial Impressions:
"To boldly go where no light has gone before." That's my first impression. This light could easily be used as a prop in a Star Trek movie! Don't get me wrong, this IS a compliment. It is a very cool looking light! Its' looks say rugged and it's not kidding. It feels very stout and strong. It's compact too at only 1 inch longer than my Surefire A2. The head may appear large but it's only slightly larger than my 2C Mag. When you place them lens to lens, the Mag head fits snugly inside the good looking stainless steel bezel. It will take a minute to get used to the grip (especially with the clicky tailcap option installed) but if you keep your thumb on the control ring, your hand will find a natural feeling position in short order.
In my TK40 review I commented on the thin-ness of that light's metal and how the TK40 wouldn't make a good duty belt light. Well the M2 (They are identical in many ways so I'm going to say M2 for when it doesn't matter which one I'm talking about) seems the opposite with regards to the heft and thickness. It's not as thick as some of the Wolf Eyes and SF offerings but to give you an idea, the much shorter body of the M2 weighs 2.8 oz and the body of the TK40 weights 2.4 oz. The odd shape would make this a poor duty belt choice for our LEO friends (unless someone made a fancy kydex retention holster just for the M2). But like the TK40, the M2 would make a great "trunk bag" light. I'll get into the details on the UI next but this light is slightly higher on the tactical totem pole than the TK40, but our small but vocal pool of strobe haters is going to flip out on how easy it is to accidentally get it into strobe.
The EagleTac M2 has a forward clicky (as an "included for now" option) with tactical momentary. Except for the plastic control ring and SS strike bezel the M2 is HAIII hard anodized. There are two instances of knurling, one large "fin" type on the rectangular body and a fine crosshatch on the head and I consider both to be non-aggressive. It weighs 13.9 oz empty and 16.5 oz with 2 18650 protected batteries. It is a little top heavy, even with the batteries installed. The head weighs 9.4 oz and the body (including batteries) weighs 7.1 oz. However, this imbalance isn't very noticeable, probably because of the short length. The fit and finish and threads are all excellent. As for "O" rings, the tailcap on the stock light (not the clicky) is a screwed on plate with a single O-ring. The head has one but it's difficult to see under the plastic control ring, directly beneath which the head comes off. The output is incredible and yes, I'm going to say it again, especially for it's size.
UI:
The user interface on the M2s is very simple. After installing the batteries, you simply rotate the plastic control ring. It is smooth and has no stops or detents or clicks. Looking INTO the light (this is NOT recommended!) it rotates counter-clockwise. So holding the light and looking down at it, you would turn it to the right. It's an excellent one handed operation by the way. Low comes first, followed by medium, high, turbo then strobe. It's very smooth and the level changes come fast. In a way it is similar to the much loved Surefire A2/L1 as it comes on low first but you can zip right to turbo by rotating less than ¼ turn. The problem for me is that right after turbo, BAM, you're into the strobe mode. Do a search and you'll see I always stick up for strobe. I like it and I feel it has its' uses and its' place. On this light, however, I wish they would have found some other way to activate it because it's way too easy to get to it while trying to get to turbo. High is extremely bright so you actually may find it difficult to tell the difference between high and turbo, at least at first. So if you slam it on all the way with a quarter turn, you'll be "strobin." I know it would have added cost and complexity but here is where a click or detent in the control ring would have gone a LONG way. Perhaps even a manual sliding stop at turbo that could keep it from going into strobe mode could be an inexpensive option? I'm starting to understand why Surefires cost so much but then again a SF light like this will probably cost two or three times as much (if SF can ever get something new off the glossy brochure and into the stores, that is!). As with anything, it takes some getting used to. I wrote this having played with the lights for a mere hour or two. This is by no means a deal-breaker. As for the tactical aspect, yes, you could call this UI tactical in that it makes no significant sound and can be operated with one hand (in the stock config) but in a stressful situation, you will probably slam it right into strobe. That could be a good thing but there doesn't seem to be a way to slam it into turbo without diverting more attention to what you are doing. So for that I'll leave the tactical aspect up to the tactical user. It has the capability, but some practice would be wise.
UI continued, the optional clicky:
I installed the clicky tailcap and battery holder on one of the lights. It has some advantages and some disadvantages that I see. First, I had some trouble installing it. It was tedious. The screws are miniscule. I was afraid to touch them because they're so tiny I thought they were going to be absorbed through my skin. The oval shaped O-ring seems a tiny bit too big for the half a channel you have to put it in. The other half of what should be a channel is merely a tiny ridge that runs along the top of the hole area where the switch goes into the cap. I finally got it after a good 20 minutes. The switch comes attached to an included battery holder that replaces the stock one. Once you get that all put back together, you're ready to go. Set the ring to your favorite setting and when you hit the clicky, you get your light. You also end up with a double disconnect for storage when you have the ring in the off position AND the switch in the off position. The downside to that is now it takes TWO switches to light it up. You lose tailstand ability as well. The grip gets a tad less comfortable but that will differ with each person, I'm sure. In my opinion the clicky switch is a give/take option that I will probably not use myself.
Logistics:
The light only opens from the middle. Both the stock tailcap and the optional clicky tailcap are permanently attached by the 4 tiny screws. A gentle, inverted shake drops the battery carrier in your hand. There was no battery rattle except when I held the head and shook the handle hard (why would you do this?). Bare CR123's will work but with all of the extra room in there I would use the CR123 sleeves just for piece of mind. They're listed as an option but came with all 3 of mine. The petite battery carrier is well designed and solid even though it may not appear that way in the photos. I see no time saving or convenience advantage to owning more than one so don't worry about buying extra battery carriers. There is no clip but the light comes with a very nice holster and a para-cord lanyard. The light rides bezel down in the holster. The holster offers options itself. It has a piece with both Velcro AND a snap that you could use to slip it over a belt you are already wearing. To make it even sturdier you can loop your belt behind a second piece of material next to the snap/Velcro piece. To top it all off it has a D ring as well. For all this light already offers I found the included holster a very generous addition. Aftermarket holster makers . . . don't waste your time! After my experience installing the clicky tailcap, I got suspicious and found I could blow a little air through the body. (NOTE: see post 2 for update to this) That's when I found the four small screws on the head side of the body tube loose on all three lights. After tightening them the airflow was much harder but I still blew some through (blowing through a breathalyzer is much easier than this . . . don't ask me how I know). I got more curious and found I could blow through the bodies with the stock tailcaps too. I won't be dunking this in water. To be fair, I did not try this on any of my other reviews but I attribute this to the oval O-ring design.
Current draw:
All current draw measurements were done with a fresh set of Wolf Eyes 18650s. Keep in mind these are measurements of what the light draws off of the batteries, NOT what the driver feeds the emitter. These batteries are in series so the driver is getting 7.2 to 8.4 volts which gets cut in half (or so) before it's fed to the LED. Dropping the voltage raises the current by ohms law, minus component losses. Chances are the emitter is getting half the volts and 1.5 times the amperage figures below (I'm rough guessing that last part and trying to keep this simple – experts, don't attack me!).
M2C4
Low - 42ma
Med - 180ma
High - 590ma
Turbo - 1.5A
M2XC4 cool
Low - 42ma
Med -210ma
High -600ma
Turbo - 1.6A
M2XC4 warm
Low - 46ma
Med - 220ma
High - 600ma
Turbo - 1.6A
Again, do NOT look at those numbers and think the emitters are only getting a total of 1.6 amps on turbo. I don't have a way to measure the current delivered to the emitters but I have no doubt it's what EagleTac's claims.
In the hands of "babes:"
I took a little walk over to my "non-flashaholic" neighbor's house. He's a mechanic but to him a good flashlight is (or was) a stock Mag. I'm slowly converting him but there is no "passion" there. This makes him a great subject to hand a light to for an opinion. His overall impression was positive but the first thing he said after finding all of the modes was that there should be detents in the selector ring. In trying to find turbo he kept hitting strobe and high. He didn't like the grip with the stock tailcap too much but felt he could get used to it. He liked the grip with the clicky tailcap even less and did not feel he could get used to it. He did otherwise like the clickly tailcap. His favorite beam was the M2XC4 warm. He was going to go with the cool at first because but after a few seconds he decided he liked the warm better. A friend of his caught a glimpse of it and wanted to buy one on the spot. He's another lifelong Mag user.
The beam and white walling:
Bravo EagleTac. I don't know how you did it but you got 3 emitters to appear as a near perfect circle on my wall! The beam from the single P7 emitter of the M2C4 is flawless except for a barely perceptible dark spot in the center. The other two exhibit the customary Cree ringy-ness but are still very nice. The only way you're going to be able to tell it's a tri-emitter is if I tell you it is and you search hard for the outline. Very well done. The 4300K looks very nice and I like it a lot. I will most likely choose this one for myself. I put it up on the wall on medium, alongside my A2. It seems to fit between what we're used to from an LED and the A2. In fact, it was slightly over the halfway mark, closer to the A2 than a run-of-the-mill, white LED. I have a feeling this one will be the most popular among flashaholics. The color seems very natural; not forced or faked as if a yellow lens were on the front, if that makes any sense.
Auto exposure of TK40 - M2C4 - M2XC4 warm - M2XC4 cool
Severe under exposure of TK40 - M2C4 - M2XC4 warm - M2XC4 cool
PWM:
Using my highly scientific test method (pointing it into a fan) I discovered no discernable PWM on ANY power level. How are they doing this? Is the PWM so fast that even the fan doesn't show it or are they using some other technology?
Outdoor Beamshots:
M2C4 100 feet
M2XC4 Warm - 100 feet
M2XC4 cool - 100 feet
TK40 left - M2XC4 cool right
M2C4 150 feet
M2XC4 warm 150 feet
M2XC4 cool - 150 feet
TK40 left - M2XC4 cool right 150 feet
M2C4 200 feet
M2XC4 warm - 200 feet
M2XC4 cool - 200 feet
M2C4 - warm - cool - 200 feet
M2C4 - 300 feet
M2XC4 warm - 300 feet
M2XC4 cool - 300 feet
M2C4 - warm - cool - 300 feet
Conclusions:
This has to be the most unique looking light and one the most powerful LEDs (the cool version) that I've seen in person or on CPF (custom and boutique lights excluded – I'm talking big factory stuff here). I like the look of some of the new 2x18650 offerings and I wasn't sure if I was going to like the "side-by-side" form factor but I do. The grip is almost like a tennis racket so it won't take long getting used to . . . and the more I look at this thing, the more I like it. For those of you with non-flashaholic friends, but who are curious about your lights, this will change everything. When you let them play with this thing, you will find them signing up on the board shorly after!
So I say pick one, pick two or just go crazy and get all three, but get at least one of these. Like most things it's not perfect but there is little to complain about. I would have liked a better UI. If I was on the design team I would have pushed for detents or click stops on the control ring and some labeling too. The reason is to be able to avoid strobe and to prevent accidental activation (premature illumination?). I would have skipped the clicky altogether but that's just me. On larger lights I would rather have thumb control anyway and the M2 gives you that. The clicky kind of takes it away for me. Here's my rating on a 10 scale (with half points where needed): M2C4 – overall I give it an 8. Output 8. Battery system 9. Fit and finish 7 (would have been 10 except for the O-ring problem). UI 7. Features 7. The M2CX4 Warm gets a 8.5 overall. Output 9. The cool version gets a 9 overall because the output is a 9.5. Their tri-emitter M2XC4 models have much better throw as you can see in the longer tree shots. There is a small trade-off in output for the warm color but the rendition is very nice. I'm having a hard time picking a winner between those two but I'm still leaning toward the warm version even though the cool version is a tad brighter. Even though the single P7 emitter M2C4 has the most lumens, it started flooding out at 200 feet and the throwers took over. It still chucked a bunch of light down the field, but the greater the distance, the more diffused it became.
There are many fine retailers for this light but I recommend www.PTS-Flashlights.com for great prices and great service. CPF members who set up an account receive special pricing on everything they sell.
First I would like to thank Mike at PTS who sent me all THREE lights for this review. I appreciate the confidence he has in me to carry out what I'm sure is a heavily anticipated review. Seeing all three perform in my back yard will be a great help to all who will have (or are having) trouble deciding. Of course in the spirit of CPF I have to say at least once . . . Buy all THREE!
TK40 - M2C4 - M2XC4 W - M2XC4 C - 2C Mag with extender
Manufacturer's features and specifications (from PTS's site):
EagleTac M2C4
- Features:
- Quad die SSC P7 D bin Premium tint LED emitter with up to 900 lumen
- Constant Current Regulation Output C2800 Light Engine
- Gold Plated Copper Contacts for Superior Conductivity and Durability
- ET54 Aluminum Optical Reflector with mild OP finish
- Battery Options: 4 - CR123A or 2 - 18650 Li-ion Rechargeables
- All inOne Digital Rotary Switch with Off Position and Tactical Strobe
- Rotary Switch made in Re‐enforced Polycarbonate with Smooth Rubber Coating
- Output Levels : Strobe > 900 lumen > 420 lumen > 170 lumen > 45 lumen > Off
- Runtime (4x123A): Strobe > 1.2hr > 3.5hr > 9.5 hr > 45hr > Off
- Runtime (2x18650): Strobe > 1.5hr > 4.5hr > 12.5 hr > 55hr > Off
Bezel - 2.4"
Body - 2.0" x 1.1"
Length - 6.3" (M2X) 6.5" (M2)
Included accessories:
Para cord lanyard with position lock
Rigid Nylon holster with adjustable mounting for different belt sizes
Spare o-ring
Optional accessories:
- Filter Kit (Red/Blue/Green/IR)
- Diffuser Kit
- Window Protector Cap
- 123A Battery Magazine Holder, efficiently loads CR123A lithium batteries compatible with M2 battery tray
- M2 Additional Battery Tray custom fit for 18650 and CR123A batteries with gold plated copper contacts
EagleTac M2XC4 cool white (6000k)
- Features:
- 3-R2 Cree LED Cluster for Mega Throw up to 800 lumen
- Output Levels : Strobe > 800 lumen > 420 lumen > 170 lumen > 45 lumen > Off
- Reviewer note: ALL of the rest is identical to the M2C4
EagleTac M2XC4 natural white (4300k)
- Features:
- Neutral white 3-Q3 LED Cluster for Mega Throw & good color rendition
- M2X Neutral White Output Level: Strobe > 665 lumen > 300 lumen > 125 lumen > 33 lumen > Off
Runtime (4x123A): Strobe > 1.2hr > 3.5hr > 9.5 hr > 45hr > Off - Reviewer note: ALL of the rest is identical to the M2C4
M2C4 - Warm - Cool
Initial Impressions:
"To boldly go where no light has gone before." That's my first impression. This light could easily be used as a prop in a Star Trek movie! Don't get me wrong, this IS a compliment. It is a very cool looking light! Its' looks say rugged and it's not kidding. It feels very stout and strong. It's compact too at only 1 inch longer than my Surefire A2. The head may appear large but it's only slightly larger than my 2C Mag. When you place them lens to lens, the Mag head fits snugly inside the good looking stainless steel bezel. It will take a minute to get used to the grip (especially with the clicky tailcap option installed) but if you keep your thumb on the control ring, your hand will find a natural feeling position in short order.
In my TK40 review I commented on the thin-ness of that light's metal and how the TK40 wouldn't make a good duty belt light. Well the M2 (They are identical in many ways so I'm going to say M2 for when it doesn't matter which one I'm talking about) seems the opposite with regards to the heft and thickness. It's not as thick as some of the Wolf Eyes and SF offerings but to give you an idea, the much shorter body of the M2 weighs 2.8 oz and the body of the TK40 weights 2.4 oz. The odd shape would make this a poor duty belt choice for our LEO friends (unless someone made a fancy kydex retention holster just for the M2). But like the TK40, the M2 would make a great "trunk bag" light. I'll get into the details on the UI next but this light is slightly higher on the tactical totem pole than the TK40, but our small but vocal pool of strobe haters is going to flip out on how easy it is to accidentally get it into strobe.
The EagleTac M2 has a forward clicky (as an "included for now" option) with tactical momentary. Except for the plastic control ring and SS strike bezel the M2 is HAIII hard anodized. There are two instances of knurling, one large "fin" type on the rectangular body and a fine crosshatch on the head and I consider both to be non-aggressive. It weighs 13.9 oz empty and 16.5 oz with 2 18650 protected batteries. It is a little top heavy, even with the batteries installed. The head weighs 9.4 oz and the body (including batteries) weighs 7.1 oz. However, this imbalance isn't very noticeable, probably because of the short length. The fit and finish and threads are all excellent. As for "O" rings, the tailcap on the stock light (not the clicky) is a screwed on plate with a single O-ring. The head has one but it's difficult to see under the plastic control ring, directly beneath which the head comes off. The output is incredible and yes, I'm going to say it again, especially for it's size.
UI:
The user interface on the M2s is very simple. After installing the batteries, you simply rotate the plastic control ring. It is smooth and has no stops or detents or clicks. Looking INTO the light (this is NOT recommended!) it rotates counter-clockwise. So holding the light and looking down at it, you would turn it to the right. It's an excellent one handed operation by the way. Low comes first, followed by medium, high, turbo then strobe. It's very smooth and the level changes come fast. In a way it is similar to the much loved Surefire A2/L1 as it comes on low first but you can zip right to turbo by rotating less than ¼ turn. The problem for me is that right after turbo, BAM, you're into the strobe mode. Do a search and you'll see I always stick up for strobe. I like it and I feel it has its' uses and its' place. On this light, however, I wish they would have found some other way to activate it because it's way too easy to get to it while trying to get to turbo. High is extremely bright so you actually may find it difficult to tell the difference between high and turbo, at least at first. So if you slam it on all the way with a quarter turn, you'll be "strobin." I know it would have added cost and complexity but here is where a click or detent in the control ring would have gone a LONG way. Perhaps even a manual sliding stop at turbo that could keep it from going into strobe mode could be an inexpensive option? I'm starting to understand why Surefires cost so much but then again a SF light like this will probably cost two or three times as much (if SF can ever get something new off the glossy brochure and into the stores, that is!). As with anything, it takes some getting used to. I wrote this having played with the lights for a mere hour or two. This is by no means a deal-breaker. As for the tactical aspect, yes, you could call this UI tactical in that it makes no significant sound and can be operated with one hand (in the stock config) but in a stressful situation, you will probably slam it right into strobe. That could be a good thing but there doesn't seem to be a way to slam it into turbo without diverting more attention to what you are doing. So for that I'll leave the tactical aspect up to the tactical user. It has the capability, but some practice would be wise.
UI continued, the optional clicky:
I installed the clicky tailcap and battery holder on one of the lights. It has some advantages and some disadvantages that I see. First, I had some trouble installing it. It was tedious. The screws are miniscule. I was afraid to touch them because they're so tiny I thought they were going to be absorbed through my skin. The oval shaped O-ring seems a tiny bit too big for the half a channel you have to put it in. The other half of what should be a channel is merely a tiny ridge that runs along the top of the hole area where the switch goes into the cap. I finally got it after a good 20 minutes. The switch comes attached to an included battery holder that replaces the stock one. Once you get that all put back together, you're ready to go. Set the ring to your favorite setting and when you hit the clicky, you get your light. You also end up with a double disconnect for storage when you have the ring in the off position AND the switch in the off position. The downside to that is now it takes TWO switches to light it up. You lose tailstand ability as well. The grip gets a tad less comfortable but that will differ with each person, I'm sure. In my opinion the clicky switch is a give/take option that I will probably not use myself.
Logistics:
The light only opens from the middle. Both the stock tailcap and the optional clicky tailcap are permanently attached by the 4 tiny screws. A gentle, inverted shake drops the battery carrier in your hand. There was no battery rattle except when I held the head and shook the handle hard (why would you do this?). Bare CR123's will work but with all of the extra room in there I would use the CR123 sleeves just for piece of mind. They're listed as an option but came with all 3 of mine. The petite battery carrier is well designed and solid even though it may not appear that way in the photos. I see no time saving or convenience advantage to owning more than one so don't worry about buying extra battery carriers. There is no clip but the light comes with a very nice holster and a para-cord lanyard. The light rides bezel down in the holster. The holster offers options itself. It has a piece with both Velcro AND a snap that you could use to slip it over a belt you are already wearing. To make it even sturdier you can loop your belt behind a second piece of material next to the snap/Velcro piece. To top it all off it has a D ring as well. For all this light already offers I found the included holster a very generous addition. Aftermarket holster makers . . . don't waste your time! After my experience installing the clicky tailcap, I got suspicious and found I could blow a little air through the body. (NOTE: see post 2 for update to this) That's when I found the four small screws on the head side of the body tube loose on all three lights. After tightening them the airflow was much harder but I still blew some through (blowing through a breathalyzer is much easier than this . . . don't ask me how I know). I got more curious and found I could blow through the bodies with the stock tailcaps too. I won't be dunking this in water. To be fair, I did not try this on any of my other reviews but I attribute this to the oval O-ring design.
Current draw:
All current draw measurements were done with a fresh set of Wolf Eyes 18650s. Keep in mind these are measurements of what the light draws off of the batteries, NOT what the driver feeds the emitter. These batteries are in series so the driver is getting 7.2 to 8.4 volts which gets cut in half (or so) before it's fed to the LED. Dropping the voltage raises the current by ohms law, minus component losses. Chances are the emitter is getting half the volts and 1.5 times the amperage figures below (I'm rough guessing that last part and trying to keep this simple – experts, don't attack me!).
M2C4
Low - 42ma
Med - 180ma
High - 590ma
Turbo - 1.5A
M2XC4 cool
Low - 42ma
Med -210ma
High -600ma
Turbo - 1.6A
M2XC4 warm
Low - 46ma
Med - 220ma
High - 600ma
Turbo - 1.6A
Again, do NOT look at those numbers and think the emitters are only getting a total of 1.6 amps on turbo. I don't have a way to measure the current delivered to the emitters but I have no doubt it's what EagleTac's claims.
In the hands of "babes:"
I took a little walk over to my "non-flashaholic" neighbor's house. He's a mechanic but to him a good flashlight is (or was) a stock Mag. I'm slowly converting him but there is no "passion" there. This makes him a great subject to hand a light to for an opinion. His overall impression was positive but the first thing he said after finding all of the modes was that there should be detents in the selector ring. In trying to find turbo he kept hitting strobe and high. He didn't like the grip with the stock tailcap too much but felt he could get used to it. He liked the grip with the clicky tailcap even less and did not feel he could get used to it. He did otherwise like the clickly tailcap. His favorite beam was the M2XC4 warm. He was going to go with the cool at first because but after a few seconds he decided he liked the warm better. A friend of his caught a glimpse of it and wanted to buy one on the spot. He's another lifelong Mag user.
The beam and white walling:
Bravo EagleTac. I don't know how you did it but you got 3 emitters to appear as a near perfect circle on my wall! The beam from the single P7 emitter of the M2C4 is flawless except for a barely perceptible dark spot in the center. The other two exhibit the customary Cree ringy-ness but are still very nice. The only way you're going to be able to tell it's a tri-emitter is if I tell you it is and you search hard for the outline. Very well done. The 4300K looks very nice and I like it a lot. I will most likely choose this one for myself. I put it up on the wall on medium, alongside my A2. It seems to fit between what we're used to from an LED and the A2. In fact, it was slightly over the halfway mark, closer to the A2 than a run-of-the-mill, white LED. I have a feeling this one will be the most popular among flashaholics. The color seems very natural; not forced or faked as if a yellow lens were on the front, if that makes any sense.
Auto exposure of TK40 - M2C4 - M2XC4 warm - M2XC4 cool
Severe under exposure of TK40 - M2C4 - M2XC4 warm - M2XC4 cool
PWM:
Using my highly scientific test method (pointing it into a fan) I discovered no discernable PWM on ANY power level. How are they doing this? Is the PWM so fast that even the fan doesn't show it or are they using some other technology?
Outdoor Beamshots:
M2C4 100 feet
M2XC4 Warm - 100 feet
M2XC4 cool - 100 feet
TK40 left - M2XC4 cool right
M2C4 150 feet
M2XC4 warm 150 feet
M2XC4 cool - 150 feet
TK40 left - M2XC4 cool right 150 feet
M2C4 200 feet
M2XC4 warm - 200 feet
M2XC4 cool - 200 feet
M2C4 - warm - cool - 200 feet
M2C4 - 300 feet
M2XC4 warm - 300 feet
M2XC4 cool - 300 feet
M2C4 - warm - cool - 300 feet
Conclusions:
This has to be the most unique looking light and one the most powerful LEDs (the cool version) that I've seen in person or on CPF (custom and boutique lights excluded – I'm talking big factory stuff here). I like the look of some of the new 2x18650 offerings and I wasn't sure if I was going to like the "side-by-side" form factor but I do. The grip is almost like a tennis racket so it won't take long getting used to . . . and the more I look at this thing, the more I like it. For those of you with non-flashaholic friends, but who are curious about your lights, this will change everything. When you let them play with this thing, you will find them signing up on the board shorly after!
So I say pick one, pick two or just go crazy and get all three, but get at least one of these. Like most things it's not perfect but there is little to complain about. I would have liked a better UI. If I was on the design team I would have pushed for detents or click stops on the control ring and some labeling too. The reason is to be able to avoid strobe and to prevent accidental activation (premature illumination?). I would have skipped the clicky altogether but that's just me. On larger lights I would rather have thumb control anyway and the M2 gives you that. The clicky kind of takes it away for me. Here's my rating on a 10 scale (with half points where needed): M2C4 – overall I give it an 8. Output 8. Battery system 9. Fit and finish 7 (would have been 10 except for the O-ring problem). UI 7. Features 7. The M2CX4 Warm gets a 8.5 overall. Output 9. The cool version gets a 9 overall because the output is a 9.5. Their tri-emitter M2XC4 models have much better throw as you can see in the longer tree shots. There is a small trade-off in output for the warm color but the rendition is very nice. I'm having a hard time picking a winner between those two but I'm still leaning toward the warm version even though the cool version is a tad brighter. Even though the single P7 emitter M2C4 has the most lumens, it started flooding out at 200 feet and the throwers took over. It still chucked a bunch of light down the field, but the greater the distance, the more diffused it became.
There are many fine retailers for this light but I recommend www.PTS-Flashlights.com for great prices and great service. CPF members who set up an account receive special pricing on everything they sell.
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