Review with X-ray image: Emisar D1S

Disclaimer


The Emisar D1S was purchased from M4DM4X/Neals Deals.
Link: https://m4dm4x.com/neals-deals/


Introduction


The Emisar D1S is the third light from the Emisar brand after the floody pocket rocket D4, and D1. The D1S is a true 18650 thrower, with claimed 1300 lumens and impressive 130,000 candela peak beam intensity. This is double the peak beam intensity of the popular Convoy C8 (which until recently, was one of the better C8 thrower style lights). How does the Emisar compare to other compact throwers?



Packaging


The D1S arrived in a foam lined cardboard box, packaged in another cardboard box for shipping. A sticker on the front of the box denotes the model, colour, and emitter choice. There were no accessories in the packaging - no instructions, no spare O-rings, nada, nothing. This was disappointing as this is fairly standard for lights half the price these days. At least the instructions for the user interface are easily available online.



Construction


The D1S is well constructed. The anodisation is an unusual texture, quite grippy, but attracts dust. The threads were very well lubed.


There is a relatively large head for an 18650 light, required for the impressive peak beam intensity. The Cree XP-L HI emitter was well centred, and the smooth reflector flawless. The head has fins to improve heat handling, and the side switch is below the head. The tail cap can be unscrewed to insert the battery, and the battery tube also screws into the head. As the connections are anodised, unscrewing either of them mechanically locks out the light. If they are not tight, the light will not work.


The light only fits unprotected 18650 batteries. Springs at both ends allow flat top batteries. The light requires around 6A (much less than the 20A-ish Emisar D4), so the high capacity Sanyo/Panasonic NCR18650GA can be used with only around 5% less output than high drain batteries (Sony VTC6, VTC5A, Samsung 30Q). Button top unprotected batteries (66.5mm long) only just fit - I would recommend using flat top unprotected.


Reverse polarity detection has been reported to not prevent damage to batteries - I decided not to test this! Whilst the battery orientation is the usual way around (+ve to head), the lack of instructions or indication increases the risk to flashlight newbies, writing off an 18650.




Note: Tailcap is slightly unscrewed on x-ray image. Battery is Sanyo NCR18650GA.





User Interface


The Emisar D1S uses RampingIOS v2. This is a fairly simple(ish) eSwitch user interface. Holding the side switch increases, or decreases the brightness. Unlike some ramping interfaces, you need to let go and press again to change direction - this is not an issue. The light will memorise the previously used brightness. A double click will go straight to maximum output, with subsequent double clicks toggling between memory and max.


3 clicks is for battery check, 4 clicks for momentary mode, 6 clicks for lockout, 8 clicks for beacon, 10+ clicks for thermal management. A similar number of clicks is required to exit momentary and lockout modes. I really like the momentary mode, which goes to maximum only the switch is being pressed.


Initial thermal management settings were very conservative, with the light reducing output within 60secs. After re-calibration (10+ clicks, hold until getting too hot to hold - it will flash first before moving to max) thermal management was impressive, with minimal regulation required due to good thermal design if the head.


A strobe mode is an odd omission for this user interface. I've used strobe mode on a C8 to successfully move on some annoying wildlife, so it is useful for this type of light. I would also like to have the option of discreet mode levels (as well as ramping) as per NarsilM UI on the BLF Q8, as it allows for a better idea of output and thus prediction of runtime. Whilst other user interfaces can be re-flashed, this requires the necessary equipment and soldering, and is thus only an option for keen flashlight enthusiasts.


Beam, Output, and Runtime


The large head (for a single 18650 light) , smooth reflector, Cree XP-L HI emitter, and relatively high lumens output for size, results in an impressive peak beam intensity for this category of light. My tests matched the claimed 1300 lumens (@30s) and peak beam intensity of 130,000cd with Sony VTC6.


The beam is very similar to the Convoy C8, though with a slightly narrower and more intense hotspot. The beam is very artefact free, and my 1A tint light had a "perfect" pure white tint.


As the light is direct drive, the output will drop gradually as the voltage decreases. Runtime will be variable upon battery used and thermal management. The light blinks and drops brightness at 3V to warn users of impending darkness. There is low voltage protection at 2.8V when the light turns off.

Left - Emisar D1S, Right - Convoy C8


Outdoor beam shot - 100% output, 3secs, f/8, ISO800



Conclusion


Things I liked:
Impressive size to peak beam intensity ratio
Impressive size to lumens ratio
Impressive heat handling (after re-calibration)
Good build quality
"Interesting" grippy anodisation
Low voltage warning and protection


Things I didn't like:
No discreet mode level options
No strobe
No instructions or spare O-rings
Risk of damaging battery if inserted wrong way around (and no polarity indication)
Very conservative heat handling by default (easily re-calibrated)


This is an impressive light in its compact thrower class, with the double the peak beam intensity of 8*7135 C8 lights, and excellent heat handling. I like the ramping user interface, but would like strobe and discreet modes as well.


I'll also add the the shipping time from China to Australia with Neals Deals was very impressive at just 11 days!

So many Thanks. X-ray always so penetrating. Some of us are totally fine without strobe. Animals will move off with maximum brightness where we live.

Perhaps you received an early model and later ones will have instructions for the uninitiated.

Hopefully you will report back with your perspective on the user interface in practical use; Don't quite understand your discreet mode level concern. How would you benefit from that option? Seems like continued use will give you an idea of runtime. I guess for me the amount of needed brightness is what is important and not the number of how many lumens it is. Perhaps I am missing something.

Great review, thanks for sharing Love the Xray pic, very cool The 4000k xpl HI is tempting me, just not very sure on this gripy coating.

Grippy is good for some of us, yes?

I looked at the link for the Neals deals, then went to international outdoors (intl-outdoors?) and ordered a 5000K (partly on your appreciation for the user interface, ven) then checked mountain electronics (mtnelectronics). Richard will ship in about a week. Looking forward to this. The UI may suffice quite nicely.

KITROBASKIN said:

Grippy is good for some of us, yes?

I looked at the link for the Neals deals, then went to international outdoors (intl-outdoors?) and ordered a 5000K (partly on your appreciation for the user interface, ven) then checked mountain electronics (mtnelectronics). Richard will ship in about a week. Looking forward to this. The UI may suffice quite nicely.

Click to expand...

Congrats, no doubt you will love the UI. Regarding the coating, yes grip is good for sure. However this coating does not seem that simple. Reports of a weird feel, easy dust/dirt collector along with wearing very easy. It looks cool, but if its coming in contact with grease,oil(dust!) then it does have some negatives. From what i have read, pretty mixed feelings, from no issue to cant touch the light without a shiver going through them(think nails on a chalk board). It also makes the threads feel rough till it beds in a bit. Still for $40, its pretty much the throw bargain of the year! "get a grip, wear a glove " i hear :laughing:

I will bite no doubt, just hoping some of the d4 ano will be introduced...................

Let's me honest, you will not be able to find a better deal in terms of a pocketable thrower than this light right here. 100k + lux is insane for an XPL-HI in a host this size.
I have been very impressed with all the Emisar products I have used to fee and I think the trend will continue when I purchase this light.

KITROBASKIN said:

Don't quite understand your discreet mode level concern. How would you benefit from that option?

Click to expand...

Humans are pretty bad at guessing the lumen output of light. Thus if you don't know the approx. lumens (which you would with discreet modes), you can't accurately guess the runtime. (e.g if you thought the light was at 30% output and it was actually at 60%). This may increase the likelihood of running out of juice prematurely.

DIPSTIX said:

Let's me honest, you will not be able to find a better deal in terms of a pocketable thrower than this light right here. 100k + lux is insane for an XPL-HI in a host this size.
I have been very impressed with all the Emisar products I have used to fee and I think the trend will continue when I purchase this light.

Click to expand...

Agree!!! Emisar(noctigon)have brought some amazing lights out

Thanks for your articulate reasoning, stephenk.

For us, using a thrower in conjunction with an area light in the other hand, the spot is used only occasionally to look ahead and into the forest edge for wildlife, therefore it is multiple nights before a recharge is required. Then the battery check comes in handy in order to keep track of the state-of-charge. Your honesty and experienced perspective are valuable (as well as the splendid x-ray images).

A quick perusal of the intl-outdoor site did not reveal just how the battery check indicates. Is it 4 flashes for full, etc.?

The mtnelectronics website writeup for the D1S goes into more detail regarding the advice for not leaving the battery bass ackwards in the flashlight.

Thanks ven for the explanation regarding the grainy finish. Curious to know how it works out in the field. We are so dry here; so dry and dusty with these mild temperatures.

So hoping the acquiring of the switch from a holster and in-hand are efficient and reasonably intuitive.

The battery check blinks whole volts, pauses, and then blinks 1/10th's of a volt in a repeating pattern until you click three times again to exit battery check mode. That's how my D1 and D4's work, and I assume the UI hasn't changed.

You can also click once to turn off from the battery check, and then click again after a .25+/- pause and be back at your last used level.
A rapid double click however, while in voltage check, will switch the light over to temperature check, where the first flashes will be 10x digit centigrade, with single digit centigrade after the pause... five flashes - pause - seven flashes = 57C.

Really appreciate the information. That method of state-of-charge is so much better than the four flash-is-full indicator.

Is that temperature check reading for the current temperature of the driver (?), or the setting for the max temperature before the driver lowers output?

KITROBASKIN said:

Really appreciate the information. That method of state-of-charge is so much better than the four flash-is-full indicator.

Is that temperature check reading for the current temperature of the driver (?), or the setting for the max temperature before the driver lowers output?

Click to expand...

Temperature check is how you set the max temperature for thermal regulation. You just hold the switch until the light gets hot enough.

KITROBASKIN said:

Really appreciate the information. That method of state-of-charge is so much better than the four flash-is-full indicator.

Is that temperature check reading for the current temperature of the driver (?), or the setting for the max temperature before the driver lowers output?

Click to expand...

Three clicks to get to x.x voltage check (x.x Volts), two clicks while in voltage check takes you to current temperature at the thermal sensor... (x.x Celsius).

Read current thermal limit by clicking ten times and holding while the current thermal limit (x.x Celsius) flashes.
If you let go of the switch before the rapid strobe finishes, there won't be any resetting of the thermal limit, you only have read the flashes preceding the strobe to see the current thermal limit.

If I'm not mistaken, releasing the switch After the strobe has finished but Before the thermal calibration has gotten started will reset the thermal limit to the maximum temp (70C?).

Momentary only mode makes this UI a decent defensive light imo, four clicks from on or off and you've got full power, momentary only, - not disabled by battery lockout (unlike the 6 click "lockout", a fraction of a second with the battery disconnected and the lockout is gone...
With The four click monetary/high activated...
one click to target, second click to target squarely in the eyes...
-but don't do three rapid clicks or you'll inadvertently be in voltage check mode!
Double taps only.

What great information! High hopes for this one.

Received grey D1S today. Very favorable impression. Quality build and finish. Minimal labeling only on tailcap. Switch is short throw with a precise feel.

Had unexpected behavior in the field with fully charged VTC6 battery. Will research further. Could be user unfamiliarity. The 18650GA works fine but not Eagtac or Soshine protected.

2 spare o-rings supplied in box. Excellent 5000K color temperature, just excellent. The corona is so clean, little tiny bit of faint yellow in center of hotspot when shining on white surface at room length distance. Very natural rendering of our soil and dogs. Delightful.

The body texture feels very close to 600 grit emery paper. In fact, just made a direct comparison a few minutes ago in the Utility Room. When a fingernail rubs on the body, a little bit of fingernail residue remains, yet it is easy to remove with brief rubbing. Thinking many people will be OK with it. Time will tell.

User Interface is great. Ramps kind of like the iconic Freedom circuitry in the old LRI Photon but seriously better. Ramp speed seems perfect; easy to reverse. Minimum and Maximum are straightforward and efficient to achieve. Some will find the last mode memory near ideal. Others are bound to want it a little different. There is a brief flash at minimum and maximum (like the Photon) but also somewhere near the middle. Anyone know what that is about?

Throw is very sufficient for our terrain: A two inch reflector on such a compact torch!
Function that defines form is beautiful indeed.

All our field flashlights get shock cord or rubber (RC motor fuel line) tubes for lanyards, making for effective handling with gloves, temporarily holding other items, or scrabbly moments. This side switch is good, and a lanyard can be placed for reasonably quick switch activation. Having a round circumference except flat where the switch is located, shows thoughtful design execution.

Used a double magazine pouch for carry tonight but that pouch is a little deep for this winner.

Thanks again to stephenk, and hoping it's Ok to add another perspective to this fine review thread.

KITROBASKIN said:

Received grey D1S today. Very favorable impression. Quality build and finish. Minimal labeling only on tailcap. Switch is short throw with a precise feel.

Had unexpected behavior in the field with fully charged VTC6 battery. Will research further. Could be user unfamiliarity. The 18650GA works fine but not Eagtac or Soshine protected.

2 spare o-rings supplied in box. Excellent 5000K color temperature, just excellent. The corona is so clean, little tiny bit of faint yellow in center of hotspot when shining on white surface at room length distance. Very natural rendering of our soil and dogs. Delightful.

The body texture feels very close to 600 grit emery paper. In fact, just made a direct comparison a few minutes ago in the Utility Room. When a fingernail rubs on the body, a little bit of fingernail residue remains, yet it is easy to remove with brief rubbing. Thinking many people will be OK with it. Time will tell.

User Interface is great. Ramps kind of like the iconic Freedom circuitry in the old LRI Photon but seriously better. Ramp speed seems perfect; easy to reverse. Minimum and Maximum are straightforward and efficient to achieve. Some will find the last mode memory near ideal. Others are bound to want it a little different. There is a brief flash at minimum and maximum (like the Photon) but also somewhere near the middle. Anyone know what that is about?

Throw is very sufficient for our terrain: A two inch reflector on such a compact torch!
Function that defines form is beautiful indeed.

All our field flashlights get shock cord or rubber (RC motor fuel line) tubes for lanyards, making for effective handling with gloves, temporarily holding other items, or scrabbly moments. This side switch is good, and a lanyard can be placed for reasonably quick switch activation. Having a round circumference except flat where the switch is located, shows thoughtful design execution.

Used a double magazine pouch for carry tonight but that pouch is a little deep for this winner.

Thanks again to stephenk, and hoping it's Ok to add another perspective to this fine review thread.

Click to expand...

The middle blink is the highest regulated mode, which is where the light starts after you screw down the tailcap.

Appreciate That.
When you say highest regulated mode, are you referring to a setting where the flashlight will maintain a certain brightness for an extended time frame, and not gradually reduce in brightness like the higher settings? Great idea.

Also wanted to mention the triangular flat cuts on the head. Initially thought they were just to add design interest until I layed the flashlight down sideways on a table. Turns out it is an attractive anti-roll feature. One needs to slightly roll the torch when setting it down to find the cut-out.
A somewhat stiff lanyard can also aid in preventing rolling off a table.

Middle of the night flashlight use was effective with a slightly extended press to get lowest mode. Even though the hotspot is brighter than, say, a Zebralight on sublumen, pointing the hotspot to the floor directly in front of me gave good, minimal light for movement but did not fill the dark room with light and wake the wife. Just don't look at the dim spot to mimimize light-in-the-eyes.

Nice summary KITRO It blinks at lowest and highest level. The blink in (what appears to be middle but actually near the lower end of around 140lm ish(variable) is the 350ma level. So that is where the regulation ends after that blink(ramping any higher basically).

Stephenk's mention of 'discreet mode level options' makes more sense now, thinking he would like to be able to go quickly back to certain levels instead of ramping to get there; makes sense. As he mentioned, a user can go to maximum with a double click, then go back to the previous light level with another double click.

This is a great flashlight with a terrific user interface and intelligent design.