4Sevens Maelstrom S18 (SST-90, 6xCR123A/RCR) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS and more!

[Got Lumens?]

The switch is not that large, somebody has dismantled a S18 tailcap here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...Tailcap-W-Pics
But maybe the switch on the S18 just activates an electronic switch?

Thanks HKJ! Your reply has helped me
AveragGuys post above clearly shows that it uses a forward clickie switch
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[selfbuilt]

UPDATE AUGUST 21, 2011: I have now done 100-yard outdoor beamshots, in the style of my earlier 100-yard round-up reviews.

[Claireandtim]

I haven't been keeping an eye on all of the S18 threads, so if this has already been discussed please forgive the re-hashing...

I wanted to advise every e what I've been getting for runtimes using Trustfire 16340's.. With a fully charged set of batteries the S18 will run for just about 15 minutes on high. The light will then just completely shutoff. Most of the time I can wait about 5 minutes and get the light to come on, on low. I can then kick it into medium for a few minutes before shut down, however trying to step into high results in full, immediate shut down.

I have no idea as to if AW cells would perform much better. I have done this test with 2 sets of the mentioned 16340's and results have been similar. Not that it may be of surprise but worth noting, my runtimes on the 4sevens primary cells were noticeably better. I didn't time those cells but am positive on the runtime being longer. Again, the capacity of the primaries is a lot higher so I expected results like this. Also, when running he primaries, the light would begin to blink as a warning when the juice was almost dry... No such event on the 16340's. From a cost perspective I really like the 16340's but they come at a price, fairly soft runtimes in my opinion... So I carry 3 sets of the TF's with me in case I start liquidating cells.

[Claireandtim]

Sorry about the typos.... iPad is not the easiest to type sometimes.

[ti-force]

I haven't been keeping an eye on all of the S18 threads, so if this has already been discussed please forgive the re-hashing...

I wanted to advise every e what I've been getting for runtimes using Trustfire 16340's.. With a fully charged set of batteries the S18 will run for just about 15 minutes on high. The light will then just completely shutoff. Most of the time I can wait about 5 minutes and get the light to come on, on low. I can then kick it into medium for a few minutes before shut down, however trying to step into high results in full, immediate shut down.

I have no idea as to if AW cells would perform much better. I have done this test with 2 sets of the mentioned 16340's and results have been similar. Not that it may be of surprise but worth noting, my runtimes on the 4sevens primary cells were noticeably better. I didn't time those cells but am positive on the runtime being longer. Again, the capacity of the primaries is a lot higher so I expected results like this. Also, when running he primaries, the light would begin to blink as a warning when the juice was almost dry... No such event on the 16340's. From a cost perspective I really like the 16340's but they come at a price, fairly soft runtimes in my opinion... So I carry 3 sets of the TF's with me in case I start liquidating cells.

Your run time on RCR Li-ions is very poor, and not like my results at all. I would guess that the poor quality of your cells is to blame. I didn't test mine with RCR's because I don't have 6 of them, however, I did test with 6X AW IMR 16340's, which actually have a higher capacity than RCR's, even though RCR's are rated as having higher capacity. You can revisit my S18 review to see my results on AW IMR cells. The light was still going strong at 30 minutes into the run time, but I shut it down to test cell voltage at the 30 minute mark (this was before I knew for sure that the light would shut off before damaging the cells, since 4sevens doesn't actually advertise the use of IMR cells). I only buy and use AW brand Li-ion cells (with the exception of 4sevens' 26650 Li-ion's). If you test again with higher quality cells and your results are similar, then I would look at the light for possible problems.

[Got Lumens?]

Your run time on RCR Li-ions is very poor, and not like my results at all. I would guess that the poor quality of your cells is to blame. If you test again with higher quality cells and your results are similar, then I would look at the light for possible problems.

Hi Ti-Force & ClaireandTim,
I have 6 AW RCR123As 750mAh, and six more will arrive tommorow. I will see what I get for run time on them today and post back. Should be late this afternoon.
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[xtestifyx]

I wanted to advise every e what I've been getting for runtimes using Trustfire 16340's.. With a fully charged set of batteries the S18 will run for just about 15 minutes on high. The light will then just completely shutoff.

Are you aware that TrustFire's cells are UltraFire's factory seconds?

[Got Lumens?]

Are you aware that TrustFire's cells are UltraFire's factory seconds?

I was not, Thank You for sharing that tid bit of info .
I have some no brand Blue cover LC 16340's that are labeled 1300mAh(Ya Right) that seem to work very well that were purchased off Ebay about a year ago. I will try a test with those as well as the AW 750mAh's.
GL

[xtestifyx]

I also wanted to point out that most if not the majority of "UltraFire" branded batteries on online shops such as DX and KD are counterfeit.

I spoke with UltraFire(Wa Fat) and they are not distributing their products through KD or DX, there's also counterfeits of their flashlights that are slightly modified and then sold as a different model that does not exist, crazy ain't it!

[Got Lumens?]

Deleted per Selfbuilt's suggestion

[selfbuilt]

I recommend battery discussions be taken to the electronics/batteries included subforum, as there are many there with a great deal of experience of the various brands.

In your case Claireandtime, I agree with TiForce that the problem is likely the cells. My runtimes on standard AW protected RCRs are given in the review runtime graphs (e.g. 36 min on high before shut-down)

[andromeda.73]

good job!

[TEEJ]

I have an inbound S18, but no batteries for it. I can find 3.0-ish volt batteries with 800-900 mAh, and 3.7 v with 750 mAh ratings. (Looking at rechargables)

For the S18, what would the higher or low volts due for me, and would the added voltage compensate for the lower mAh? (Better brightness/less run time?)

If I just go by the volts and mAh, can I assume that CR123a and 16340 RCR are exactly the same/synonyms for the same battery?

[selfbuilt]

I have an inbound S18, but no batteries for it. I can find 3.0-ish volt batteries with 800-900 mAh, and 3.7 v with 750 mAh ratings. (Looking at rechargables)
For the S18, what would the higher or low volts due for me, and would the added voltage compensate for the lower mAh? (Better brightness/less run time?)
If I just go by the volts and mAh, can I assume that CR123a and 16340 RCR are exactly the same/synonyms for the same battery?

CR123A designates the primary lithium battery (i.e. non-rechargeable). 16340, RCR, and RCR123A are all synonyms indicating a rechargeable form of lithium-ion.

There are a number of different chemistries for Li-ions, but the most common is lithium cobalt oxide (i.e. LiCoO2, or ICR). Unless specified otherwise, most 16340/RCR batteries are ICR chemistry and are 3.7V nominal voltage (~4.2V fully charged). Other popular variants are lithium manganese oxide cells (LiMn2O4, better known as IMR) and lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, sometimes called IFR). IMR cells typically have similar voltage ranges to ICR, but LiFePO4 batteries are lower (i.e., likely those 3V nominal cells you were referring to).

Each chemistry has specific advantages/disadvantages that you can read up on in the batteries sub-forum. In this multi-cell setup (that accepts both 3V CR123A and 4.2V ICR), it really comes down to overall capacity for a given chemistry. Unfortunately, you can't easily equate rated capacity specs between different chemistries. The runtime graphs here will you give you an idea how a typical CR123A and common ICR-RCR will perform. For more information on the other battery types, I suggest you check out the batteries sub-forum.

[TEEJ]

oops, left off the R in front of the RCR123A

[Scenic]

Just picked up one of these for on sale for only 151$. Seems like a great price for such a powerful light. I think there sales on select 4sevens lights because they are changing their logo and these ones still have the old logo, but otherwise same light. Can't wait to get this in the mail. My goal was to find something that could out-shine my current king: TN11.

[Claireandtim]

Yes... I had talked to Kyle @ GG today and he advised that they were blowing through them pretty quickly but that they had received about 16 more in stock today.. the light used to be $250 @ GG, that means that its 40% off right now.. nuts! Plus GG has free shipping and those guys are awesome to deal with (no I don't work there, etc..) You know, another thing about the S18 for $150 is that the light has a 10 year warranty... I don't recall what everyone else offers but if I remember correctly, the warranty of the foursevens lights is longer than my Nitecore, Jetbeam and Spark lights, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that.

[Brianmp929]

Got the last S18 from GG. Light has been amazing thus far

[Tete]

Got this a while ago from 4Sevens with the 30% discount. I'd been wanting this light since it came out, but waited to get the price down a bit, because I knew I have to pay the 23% VAT when getting it through customs.
I'm very happy with it and like the UI very much. Only downside is that the Xtar RCR's I have, don't fit to the battery holder..
But thankfully the 4Sevens CR123's aren't all that expensive...

[TEEJ]

Got this a while ago from 4Sevens with the 30% discount. I'd been wanting this light since it came out, but waited to get the price down a bit, because I knew I have to pay the 23% VAT when getting it through customs.
I'm very happy with it and like the UI very much. Only downside is that the Xtar RCR's I have, don't fit to the battery holder..
But thankfully the 4Sevens CR123's aren't all that expensive...

Better stock up fast on cells, the shipping bans' about to go into effect!

[anthony lumens]

Got this a while ago from 4Sevens with the 30% discount. I'd been wanting this light since it came out, but waited to get the price down a bit, because I knew I have to pay the 23% VAT when getting it through customs.
I'm very happy with it and like the UI very much. Only downside is that the Xtar RCR's I have, don't fit to the battery holder..
But thankfully the 4Sevens CR123's aren't all that expensive...

Eagletac rcr123s Also fit in this light

[Tete]

Better stock up fast on cells, the shipping bans' about to go into effect!

So, what is this exatly? Is it going to be impossible to order lithium cells from anywhere? Because one U.S. place I tried to order some lithium AA's replied saying they can't ship them via airmail, so they don't ship them outside U.S. at all... And from couple other places, i.e. 4Sevens, they do?

Eagletac rcr123s Also fit in this light

Maybe I have to try them then.. They seem to be quite reasonably priced too.

[TEEJ]

The ban, when it goes becomes active, will stop legal shipping of lithium cells overseas...until it kicks in, of course, some suppliers will still ship, while others have already stopped in anticipation.

[Tete]

Damn! Here for example the CR123's can cost up to 6 euros a piece, so it has been quite good way to aquire them...

[Labrador72]

Damn! Here for example the CR123's can cost up to 6 euros a piece, so it has been quite good way to aquire them...

From what I read the shipping ban is from the US to overseas: you can buy them from many EU countries from 1.5 to 2 euros each depending on the brand.

[snoopy8622]

It will be even nicer, if it can take 2x 26650 battery instead of 6xcr123. I will definitely get one for such a great light with good throw.

[tobrien]

does it make sense to buy this light nowadays? it's only about 1.5 years old as a model (came out in August 2011 right?) so not too bad. is it worth spending the cash on?

[TEEJ]

does it make sense to buy this light nowadays? it's only about 1.5 years old as a model (came out in August 2011 right?) so not too bad. is it worth spending the cash on?

I was wondering that the other day.

It is a great light...but, as with all LED lights now a days....progress marches on.

[tobrien]

I was wondering that the other day.

It is a great light...but, as with all LED lights now a days....progress marches on.

yeah man, i'm just stuck between this and a Malkoff triple XP-G2 Wildcat as my next high end light. dang