Armytek Wizard Pro XHP50 V3 field use review.

[Tachead]

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.

Yeah, although the XHP35 is also a quad die emitter, the dies are much closer together so they won't cause beam anomalies like the XHP50 and XHP70. Armytek uses the XHP35 on many other models as well but, they went with the 50 for the new Wizard.

 

[Alfred143]

Can I use regular 18650 non-hi discharge battery on the other non Turbo modes with similar run times?

 

[Woods Walker]

Can I use regular 18650 non-hi discharge battery on the other non Turbo modes with similar run times?

I think so but you risk accidentally going into turbo mode then activating the protection circuit. It would have to be reset but then the next mode the Wizard might come on in the same one it left. The Turbo which would again pop the circuit creating a never ending cycle until you get a battery which would allow you to change modes. Just speculation on my part as did sometime similar with the Tiara. I changed battery modes to lithium ion then couldn't get it to work cuz the 1.5 volt primary wouldn't allow me to change modes. I needed to connect two batteries 1.5 + 1.5 together and use wire to get 3 volts which is over the 2.6 volt cut off on the Tiara set for unprotected lithium ion. Ok not the same thing but the same idea. The pro models can be accidentally user disabled in the field if the wrong battery or setting is selected. A price for the larger pool of options.

 

[scs]

Can I use regular 18650 non-hi discharge battery on the other non Turbo modes with similar run times?

Yes. And if the protection circuit trips, just press and hold the switch to activate firefly to reset it, and use a mode lower than the one that triggered it. Of course you have to be careful, because if the protection circuit is not working, it might be dangerous. Best to always use a capable cell to eliminate an additional problem source.

 

[DuncanHynes]

Noticed on mine the normal mode 1, think it is 30 lumens, it browns out with each flash of the green indicator led...results in a flicker of main led. Not a massive deal as the lower modes dont do this and I found the 150 lumen mode 2 is perfect light and really good runtime with no heat. Great for work. I really like this now better than my Spark, but the Spark 460NW is brighter with no heat due to more mass, just much heavier.

I got lucky that my head size allows the middle strap to fall between the two buckles of the main strap keeping it centered. Since I blacked out the button from the inside and put a tiny strip of electrical tape over the indicator mini led I love the left hand-under button use vs the NiteCore side button. Took the magnet out of mine, saves weight.

 

[dc38]

Still..test out the warranty. It isnt supposed to do that.

 

[Woods Walker]

Noticed on mine the normal mode 1, think it is 30 lumens, it browns out with each flash of the green indicator led...results in a flicker of main led. Not a massive deal as the lower modes dont do this and I found the 150 lumen mode 2 is perfect light and really good runtime with no heat. Great for work. I really like this now better than my Spark, but the Spark 460NW is brighter with no heat due to more mass, just much heavier.

I got lucky that my head size allows the middle strap to fall between the two buckles of the main strap keeping it centered. Since I blacked out the button from the inside and put a tiny strip of electrical tape over the indicator mini led I love the left hand-under button use vs the NiteCore side button. Took the magnet out of mine, saves weight.

I mentioned that in the cons however my perception is a slight flicker rather than a brown out timed with the green indicator light. It seems to appear in the 30 lumen mode. A slight flicker but I didn't see it during outside use. Actually I think it also appears in the Main mode 1 of the Tiara but never actually looked for it till the Wizard and had that light for some time. It's even slighter on the tiara cuz that mode is 10 lumens there. It's very very slight so didn't effect the field use however could be noticed more when the power ran down and white wall hunting. Not sure why that happens.

 

[DuncanHynes]

It is a flicker...described as brown out because it does it when there is the extra 'drain' on the cell from the mini led. I see it when the headlamp is the only light indoors or outside. No biggie, dont use 30 lumens and has a great tint (neutral). Otherwise a fine headlamp. I have box with papers if it goes **** up. Perhaps next version will allow the toggle off of the always on indicator. Maybe just have a locator feature instead as someone mentioned.

 

[Woods Walker]

It is a flicker...described as brown out because it does it when there is the extra 'drain' on the cell from the mini led. I see it when the headlamp is the only light indoors or outside. No biggie, dont use 30 lumens and has a great tint (neutral). Otherwise a fine headlamp. I have box with papers if it goes **** up. Perhaps next version will allow the toggle off of the always on indicator. Maybe just have a locator feature instead as someone mentioned.

Shutting down the indicator would be a nice option. That said I actually turned it on during my last outing so it would flash all the time. Well first put it in "tactical mode" by mistake. LOL! Made it easy to find on the ground near my bag when sleeping under the stars. The tint is really fantastic!

 

[YahFargo]

I recently got my Pro XHP50 Warm, love the tint. I've played with it for a few days and didn't notice a bug until last night. Was fiddling and changing levels around, left it in Low 3 for about 5 minutes and then shut it off. When I shut it off though the button LED turned a solid green and I could not turn the light back on. I unscrewed the tail cap a half turn, the button LED turned off, screwed back on and the green light appeared again, not allowing the light to turn on. I then completely unscrewed the tail cap and that got it functioning normally again without any constant on green light. I attempted to replicate the problem by letting it run in Low 3 awhile and then shutting off the light to no avail. Has anyone else had something like this happen?

 

[Woods Walker]

I recently got my Pro XHP50 Warm, love the tint. I've played with it for a few days and didn't notice a bug until last night. Was fiddling and changing levels around, left it in Low 3 for about 5 minutes and then shut it off. When I shut it off though the button LED turned a solid green and I could not turn the light back on. I unscrewed the tail cap a half turn, the button LED turned off, screwed back on and the green light appeared again, not allowing the light to turn on. I then completely unscrewed the tail cap and that got it functioning normally again without any constant on green light. I attempted to replicate the problem by letting it run in Low 3 awhile and then shutting off the light to no avail. Has anyone else had something like this happen?

I was once able to the the Tiara to fail to turn off when the battery was low. So far haven't had that issue with the Wizard but also haven't run down the battery till the protection activates all that much. The twisting of the tail cap resolved it with the Tiara.

 

[noboneshotdog]

Does anyone know if the new wizard with usb charging has as strong of a magnet at the tailcap as the wizard pro without usb charging?

 

[Glenn7]

Does anyone know if the new wizard with usb charging has as strong of a magnet at the tailcap as the wizard pro without usb charging?

I wanted to know that too.

 

[Umbrosoccer]

I've been thinking of getting this light. Just got a H600W mk iii today but i think its defective. If it is, I think I might pick up an AT wizard pro v3. Do you own both or just the Armytek?

 

[Woods Walker]

I've been thinking of getting this light. Just got a H600W mk iii today but i think its defective. If it is, I think I might pick up an AT wizard pro v3. Do you own both or just the Armytek?

Only own the AT but do have some older ZL. What appears to be the issue.

 

[Umbrosoccer]

My Zl H600w tends to step down at 52 seconds with the pid. I can see it gradually working to cool the XHP35 off. I ran it for about 20 minutes and saw my 18650 drop from 100% to 30%. I'm using a ZL634 18650 which is a panasonic cell B. If it is Defective I will return it and get the Wizard pro warm and see how that goes.

 

[Woods Walker]

Unintentional drop test added to OP. Ok I accidentally dropped the headlamp however unintentional drop test sounds smarter.

 

[iamlucky13]

Here is the setup. I open the passenger side of my truck's door to grab my pack and some papers. However my pack is on top of the headlamp which then gets dragged off the seat tossing said headlamp which promptly bounces off the door hitting the driveway like a comet.

Hehe...I performed a drop test of a $600 camera in a similar manner once. The camera body, which is what actually contacted the ground when it hit, performed well, but the lens suffered some internal shock damage that affected image quality.

I've dropped a few of my lights of various brands onto hard surfaces. So far, I haven't done anything worse than scratch the anodizing.

Armytek claims impact "resistance" up to 10 meters (33 feet), so the one Armytek I own is probably the light I'm least worried about killing.

 

[Woods Walker]

Hehe...I performed a drop test of a $600 camera in a similar manner once. The camera body, which is what actually contacted the ground when it hit, performed well, but the lens suffered some internal shock damage that affected image quality.

I've dropped a few of my lights of various brands onto hard surfaces. So far, I haven't done anything worse than scratch the anodizing.

Armytek claims impact "resistance" up to 10 meters (33 feet), so the one Armytek I own is probably the light I'm least worried about killing.

The door busted on my camera from just 2 feet drop on grass when inside a padded case. LOL! Lucky it wasn't my DSLR. Seems most AT light which die do so from unknown causes not drops or water intrusion or at least from what I read on the forums though not sure if that is reflective of something more. Just commenting on what I actually read. I remember ZL had the recurring issue of drop failures. People would drop them from a few feet and it would just brick. Haven't read too much of that anymore so maybe they fixed the problem. I don't know if the Wizard or Tiara are potted (well what AT calls potting anyways) or if that is just for the Predator and Viking. Anyone out there know?

 

[iamlucky13]

It sounds like all Armytek lights are potted:
https://www.armytek.com/technologies/body-and-durability.html

To ensure functionality in difficult environments, the electronic driver of the flashlight is placed in a special aluminum capsule and is completely covered with a durable compound. This actually protects it from both the environmental impact and from mechanical damage.