Armytek XHP-50 Headlamp 1600 lumen

[Woods Walker]

https://youtu.be/Ou0y0ZgVWIY
Wizard receives a whipping from its apprentice
Armytek batteries
Nitecore next.

Why is the switch flashing red on the tester's light? With the A1 that means minutes from step down etc etc etc so he must know what that means given claimed ownership and comparison testing. I wonder if he noticed the battery was nearly dead?

edit. In fact I can watch it change right in the video from green to yellowish then red. All in a few seconds. In any case I am not going to buy one as happy with the A1.

 

[harro]

It's not mathematical harro, but to simplify a complex thing, apply this rule: 4x the lumens = 2 times the perceived brightness to the human eye. It will vary, but it's a starting point. Personally, I also find a brighter hotspot fools my eye into thinking that there is more lumens.

So you are correct, it is not linear. You will see a difference but big lumens offer diminishing returns to our perception of brightness.

Thanks SG Hall,
I knew it wasn't linear, but I certainly wasn't sure of how it worked exactly ( eg; My Acebeam K60, 3500lms - 5000lms, appearance to my eye, VERY small increase in output ).

:thumbsup:

 

[Woods Walker]

Another armytek customer
https://youtu.be/Uy6cFT6H7Kg

I agree. That looks messed up. Oddly AT demands people make a video for their (hassle free ) warranty unless I am mistaken. Odds are they keep shooting themselves in the foot with that demand as they get posted on Youtube so people can show AT.

https://youtu.be/FQdrwdZgriQ

Simple maths in high modes comparing a Tiara A1 which has a max rating of 420lumens and the XPH50 2300 Lumens.

So you should be able to see 5 and a half times increase in light.

Doesn't work like that.

 

[highenergyted]

No they certainly don't. The little a1 is nearly beating it in some of the videos with same lens.
Take into account we used to sell their previous v2 1000 lumen light. That light did looked like 1000 lumens compared and we spent time comparing with the Sparks and A1.
The wizard xhp50 looks exactly like the v2 with these batteries in terms of similar light performance and exact physical appearance of the headlamps. Except for a sticker on the box with XHP50 on it.
I would have greatly preferred them to work as described.
They didn't so they went back to china not Canada. They received them on the 24th . Delivery in 4 days.

P.S. It cost me half the cost for freight back to china than they charged to us.

 

[Woods Walker]

No they certainly don't. The little a1 is nearly beating it in some of the videos with same lens.
Take into account we used to sell their previous v2 1000 lumen light. That light did looked like 1000 lumens compared and we spent time comparing with the Sparks and A1.
The wizard xhp50 looks exactly like the v2 with these batteries in terms of similar light performance and exact physical appearance of the headlamps. Except for a sticker on the box with XHP50 on it.
I would have greatly preferred them to work as described.
They didn't so they went back to china not Canada. They received them on the 24th . Delivery in 4 days.

P.S. It cost me half the cost for freight back to china than they charged to us.

I was referring to your statement that 5 times the lumens should look 5 times brighter. It doesn't work that way. Either way I am not buying this headlamp.

 

[highenergyted]

Is there any fairly precise enoughperceived light ratio.
On this scale 2300 lumens over 420 what should the increase look like?

Not action so far out of armytek
NZ POST tracking number EP424030691NZ

 

[scs]

Short of having an integrating sphere, it's relatively more objective to do a ceiling bounce test with a lux meter to compare differences.

Is there any fairly precise enoughperceived light ratio.
On this scale 2300 lumens over 420 what should the increase look like?

Not action so far out of armytek
NZ POST tracking number EP424030691NZ

 

[Woods Walker]

Is there any fairly precise enoughperceived light ratio.
On this scale 2300 lumens over 420 what should the increase look like?

Not action so far out of armytek
NZ POST tracking number EP424030691NZ

I do ceiling bounce test comparing lights of known output. That said an experienced flashlight user tends to know when a light is underperforming the manufacturer's claims if the amount is wide enough. People are probably complaining for a reason.

 

[clemence]

Agree, perceived brightness from small/big - tight/flood focus point light sources are different to our eyes even though the lumens are the same. Ebay/Amazon sells lux meter from as low as USD 10.
For comparison purposes, the cheap stuff still do the job much better than the eyes.

 

[SubLGT]

FYI, Calvin at illumn.com has organized a group buy on this headlamp, over at BLF in the Commercial Sellers Spot forum. Calvin did not post the price.
I would give a link, but it probably violates one of the many rules here.

 

[tops2]

I posted this on the other forum too..

Pretty awesome light and I like it a lot as my first headlamp. I ended up getting the warm white version.


So far I like most things about it. Its plenty bright and provides a nice floody beam which is missing from my collection of lights.


The light is pretty light weight. The size isn't too large (but a little longer than I expected). I like the feel of Armytek's anodized surface. For now, I've put the clip on and can see the versatility of a headlamp as an EDC. I'm getting used to holding it though as a handheld as I have to angle my hand differently.


I'm so used to the Zebralight UI so the Armytek UI takes a little adjusting to me. In some ways, I like how you can "quickly" switch/use each of the levels in each group (firefly/main/turbo/strobe) instead of having to programming it like in Zebralight. But then switching to different groups requires more clicking vs just long press in Zebralight. So far, I'd say one isn't better than another..just different style.


The only minor grip I have is the warm white is a little too yellow..but its "pretty"/comfy after I turn it up to main 3 (500 lm) or higher. The cool white looks a little too cool to me. But this was only noticeable when I compared them side by side. What swayed me was shining both versions on hands and seeing the color difference.


Also, main1 (100 lm) seems too close to main 2 (210 lm) to me as the light difference isn't that big to my eyes.


Otherwise, fantastic light. I'm glad I gave Armytek another chance.






Forgive me if its mentioned already... I found a "primarily" manual for this version while randomly browsing and visiting links to different forums regarding this light. I also found the manual via googling Armytek Wizard Pro v3 manual.


Regarding the blinking and voltage indicator.. I'm not exactly sure if this is correct, but its what I'm inferring from the text and the diagrams.


When the battery is from 50%-100%, it'll blink green every 5 seconds.
When the battery drops to 50%, it'll blink yellow every 5 seconds.
When the battery drops to 25%, it'll blink orange every 2 seconds.
When the battery drops to 10%, it'll blink red every 1 second.


But I guess there can be some confusion since orange and red is used for high temperature indication too.

 

[MX421]

Anyway, FYI

Finally received mine. First Impressions ... pending longer runtime tests - pure basic function test at this point.
BE VERY AWARE OF ...

The issues to be AWARE of BEFORE you buy so that you prepare for it. IF you plan it is NO PROBLEM, but if you don't plan due to the lack of information of their website or manual, then you will get in trouble quickly.

We all expected this, so it is not a complain and found a solution, will my pre-existing 18650 batteries work?:

(A) Eagtac 3400mAh which are PROTECTED at 4-6A.

a.1 EXPECTED RESULT1: As reported in this forum, but now confirmed now in person, works fine to all modes but the MAX2 (the 2000+ lm) - that trips the protection after 1sec. If they documented this on their website and manual, I would not have a problem with it.
AT, come on, the above, although not unreasonable given the fact MAX2 needs more than 4A, in my opinion should be WARNED in their website and in their manual as not all users have a MS in EEE.
a.3 BIG UNEXPECTED WARNING: Here is the issue that you NEED TO PLAN BEFORE HAND, and on that I will not give AT a pass as I did above: WARNING!!!! After you trip in MAX2 a non-optimum protected battery, you have to unscrew all the way and back ... but here is the real problem - the light gets stuck in the last mode of MAX2 ON! Why is that a problem? well, maybe I am missing something, but after my first tests got the expected MAX2 tripping the battery protection, you are STUCK in MAX2 Turned On in the light the moment you reinsert and screw in the battery which means that unless you have an unprotected battery or a high drain protected at hand, you CANNOT get the light long enough to use the UI to toggle back to MAX1 or other working modes. Maybe there is some secret UI thing, but really you will never get that far to use the UI so ... that is a BIG NO NO ... as if your only battery at hand is the one you used, then you are dead in the water ... They should correct that by detecting battery driven power cut and not memorizing the last mode in such condition by switching to a different mode maybe .. no excuse. Still, if you know this, you just use a different battery ... but this is going to catch a lot of people and will make them fume in forums while they get the right battery. Of course we need and like auto-memory but only if NOT power tripped last.

NOW THE GOOD NEWS

(B) Fortunately, expecting the Eagtec to be borderline for protection based on reports on this forum, I had ordered Orbtronics 3500mAh featuring higher 10A protection circuit.
b.1 I inserted one and was able to support MAX2 no problem, and finally use the UI to switch it down. Then I could use it again with the lower drain batteries if I wanted, ... but will never do that since you run the danger of getting into MAX2 and getting stuck. So basically, never use any other batteries that high drain with or without protection.
b.2 I have not run them for a long time, but all looks that you can run this PROTECTED batteries as a perfect partner for this light MAX2 because they are rated at 10A protection. Still, let me run a full run test next week and I will confirm that the battery model is the right choice, but they look like they are after running them for few minutes.

FIRST IMPRESSION/CONCLUSION

GREAT BEST OF CLASS light, ... if partnered with the right battery (only 10A protection or unprotected). I prefer the extra safety of using protection at subcomponent level. Still, having a user case in which you can get stuck with no way out by simply using a slightly less optimum battery... makes any battery other that the 10A protected or unprotected NOT suitable to use. They should state this IN BOLD RED in a new manual and in the website.

At least I did my home work and got the batteries that seemed to fit the need. So I am A-ok.

Anyway, for me, with Orbtronics batteries (by the way - I am impressed: they shipped PERFECTLY, with a perfect storage box ... great company - they just won a customer for life). If they work in longer run tests next week will report here - PERFECT flashlight, but it is a petty that for not documenting the above and having a use case that could get stuck in MAX2 they don't get 10 of 10 score, if the above is fixed, then I will give them 11 of 10.

Great choice, but BE AWARE of getting the right battery at home BEFORE you received it.

Will report how well it runs with long use and confirm or not 100% that the protecting orbtronics are the right match.

I bought one of these to compare with a v3 XP-L i got earlier that seemed okay (am aware of Armytek QA issues so was wary). I mainly use some lower capacity (ie 2000 to 2500 mAH) unprotected cells, but i also have a few good protected batteries of varying capacities. Anyway, I was using both light to put some (okay allot!) light on something i was working on after dark (I had both on turbo). The XHP50, kicked down in output pretty quick, then went lower and lower until at about medium. The v3 XP-L, may have kicked down to high, but was double the brightness of the XHP50. The XHP50 seemed to be struggling to get back to high and kept cycling in between the medium and various versions of high.

I bought from Andrew and Amanda thinking i was covered from the horrible "hassle free" Armytek customer service i've heard so much about. Unfortunately, they shifted me to Armytek who blamed the battery.

Since then i did a side by side test (with matched unprotected batteries) which resulted in the XHP50 again lowering its output at around 3 minutes (i measured the temperature at around 127 F where the XP-L was at 125 F)). This time the XHP-50 stayed at around medium (it looked about half as bright as the XP-L) where the temperature was at 125 F. The XP-L kicked its butt staying in high (at around 125 F) for a 50 minute duration when the XP-L finally shifted down to a lower mode (like most of the lights i had). The XHP-50 shifted to low at about the same time. I called the test over at that point and reloaded batteries.

Then i went to the pool and tested the lights along with a couple of Zebralights. Unfortunately i forgot to use like batteries in the Zebras, so i couldn't compare them in kind. BTW, this time i used some AW protected cells in the Wizards. Anyway, both the V3 Wizards went for 25 minutes in the water without shifting down to lower modes. At that point i took them out and within a couple minutes, the XHP50 shifted down to a lower mode (probably around mid high mode). To me, this told me it was the XHP50 heat management system.

I emailed my results, but AT seems to think its a "feature" of the light to do this. If it stayed at a higher mode, I'd tend to agree with them, but for it to be so much dimmer than its XP-L brother, i think the heat management system they have on this light is pretty crappy. Anyway, FYI for those in the market. Its still not over for me since it was bought from A&A, however, AT's stance on this so far pretty much sucks.

 

[start90a]

None has outdoor beamshots for Wizard XHP50 CW against the NW (that seems to be WW, with a yellowing tint) or other lights? Cause I've concluded that NW version is too warm for me, but not sure about the cool one would be enough neutral.

 

[gyzmo2002]

Wizard Pro XHP50 CW at highest mode (turbo2)

 

[start90a]

Tanks a lot Gizmo, but without a comparison I cannot get the real feel of the tint

 

[mdocod]

Hey guys,

I just received one of the new XHP50 Pro Warm Wizards as a warranty replacement for a V2 that developed a problem. (suddenly lost access to main mode group after a year of fairly heavy use).

Like I did with my original V2, for curiosities sake, I did some electrical measurements so that I could have more precise run-time estimations for each mode. From power consumption and cree data sheets and estimations of driver and optic efficiency, we can also estimate torch lumens.

Results: (run-time estimation based on NCR18650B)

FF1: ~0.0026W. ~200 days. a fraction of a lumen.
FF2: ~0.014W. ~36 days. ~2lm
FF3: ~0.05W. ~10 days. ~7lm
M1: ~0.6W. ~20 hours. ~80lm
M2: ~1.2W, ~10 hours. ~160lm
M3: ~3W. ~4 hours. ~350lm
T1: ~8W. ~90 min. ~700lm (initial output may be higher).
T2: ~19W. ~30 min (cumulative from intermittent runs). ~1400lm. (initial output may be higher)

T1 appears similar to the old XM-L2 V2 model's turbo mode in use, but comes with improved efficiency that makes this mode more practical for actual use. T2 is pure novelty and is even more impractical than the turbo modes on previous generation Wizards. FF1 is subjectively dimmer on the XHP50 model than on previous generation wizards. Reduced driver efficiency is suspected at this drive level. (for those who are always looking for a dimmer firefly mode, this is a nice change).

I wish MainMode 1 were a little dimmer and a little longer lived. The gap from FF3 to MM1 is a lot wider than I would have picked.

Overall, I like the new XHP50 version. It will work just fine for my many use's.

 

[davidt1]

mdocod,

Nice work on the run time tests! Maybe I am slow, but that's easier for me to read and understand than the pretty graphs shown in the light review section. Not an Armytek owner, but want to say thanks nonetheless.

 

[SubLGT]

A brave person over at BLF has sacrificed his new Wizard, and disassembled it, and posted some photos.
See post #162: http://budgetlightforum.com/node/45819?page=5

 

[scs]

Hey guys,

I just received one of the new XHP50 Pro Warm Wizards as a warranty replacement for a V2 that developed a problem. (suddenly lost access to main mode group after a year of fairly heavy use).

Like I did with my original V2, for curiosities sake, I did some electrical measurements so that I could have more precise run-time estimations for each mode. From power consumption and cree data sheets and estimations of driver and optic efficiency, we can also estimate torch lumens.

Results: (run-time estimation based on NCR18650B)

FF1: ~0.0026W. ~200 days. a fraction of a lumen.
FF2: ~0.014W. ~36 days. ~2lm
FF3: ~0.05W. ~10 days. ~7lm
M1: ~0.6W. ~20 hours. ~80lm
M2: ~1.2W, ~10 hours. ~160lm
M3: ~3W. ~4 hours. ~350lm
T1: ~8W. ~90 min. ~700lm (initial output may be higher).
T2: ~19W. ~30 min (cumulative from intermittent runs). ~1400lm. (initial output may be higher)

T1 appears similar to the old XM-L2 V2 model's turbo mode in use, but comes with improved efficiency that makes this mode more practical for actual use. T2 is pure novelty and is even more impractical than the turbo modes on previous generation Wizards. FF1 is subjectively dimmer on the XHP50 model than on previous generation wizards. Reduced driver efficiency is suspected at this drive level. (for those who are always looking for a dimmer firefly mode, this is a nice change).

I wish MainMode 1 were a little dimmer and a little longer lived. The gap from FF3 to MM1 is a lot wider than I would have picked.

Overall, I like the new XHP50 version. It will work just fine for my many use's.

I was informed that the spec'ed output for M1 was supposed to be around 40 lumens, but the driver whined, so AT increased the output.

 

[Woods Walker]

I wasn't going to get it but now considering one. Any major issues or complaints? How is the tint on the warm.