iTP R01 USB charging Flashlight

[maxilux]

I cant find anything here about the new iTP R01 Flashlight, i have it for some days and i am very impressed.
Very nice Beam in my opinion, very small, good price.
Some points are not so good , you cant change the battery, must send back to iTP.
Only one Output level.

Here is a little review:
http://www.schiermeier.biz/html/itp_r01_usb__akkulampe.html

Update with more pictures comes tommorow.

Are there other user with iTP R01?

 

[maxilux]

No one have seen the R01 ?

now new pictures.

 

[jk037]

Nice idea, if it had a low mode I might have considered one of these for use at work.

The USB charging is neat - means it can be charged just about anywhere without carrying a charger around - but would be better if it were possible to swap the battery. (Judging by the pictures, it looks like the head and/or tailcap should simply unscrew, so are they just stuck with threadlock? In which case a gentle tweak from a pair of strap wrenches should open it up)

Also, how long does it take to fully charge from an empty battery? Reason I ask is that USB is limited to 500mA at 5V i.e. maximum of 2.5W power output, and a 2400mAh 3.7v 18650 cell will hold 8.8Wh of energy. So even if could be charged at 100% efficiency it would still take 4 hours to fully recharge.

This, combined with the apparent inability to change the battery, could be rather inconvenient if the battery runs out before you're finished with the light!

Still, this is no doubt something that iTP can revise with future versions of the light; make the battery replaceable, add a low/med/high driver (a la the Eos lights) and maybe change to an XP-G R5 emitter for 300lm+ output...

 

[shipwreck]

I saw an ad for that this week - interesting light...

 

[MattK]

I'm really impressed with this light and am surprised it hasn't gotten more attention - the price/performance is amazing and the USB rechargeability is very cool.

Charge time from empty is advertised as 6 hrs on the package. The main limitation is the USB interface.

 

[Jannis]

I'm really impressed with this light and am surprised it hasn't gotten more attention - the price/performance is amazing and the USB rechargeability is very cool.

Charge time from empty is advertised as 6 hrs on the package. The main limitation is the USB interface.

Hi Matt, how is the throw on this one, compared to fenix tk20?
Heard it should be quite good.

 

[Fichtenelch]

Is it possible to swap the battery?

 

[maxilux]

Is it possible to swap the battery?

No, it is not allowed to do this, only iTP Sevice.
But i think it is not a big Problem, when you buy an Shaver with batteries, you cant change too. Or look at othwer things.

@MattK, yes you are right, never seen a Flashlight with rechargeable Battery with this good performance for this price.

 

[Razorhog]

No, it is not allowed to do this, only iTP Sevice.
But i think it is not a big Problem, when you buy an Shaver with batteries, you cant change too. Or look at othwer things.

@MattK, yes you are right, never seen a Flashlight with rechargeable Battery with this good performance for this price.

Very interesting light. Being a computer network admin, this might be a good EDC for me. Not having a replaceable battery might not be a good thing, but maxilux is right - a lot of things come with batteries that you can't change. Portable Apple products (even the new Macbooks) don't have replaceable batteries.

Just really wish it at least had a low option to preserve battery.

 

[MattK]

Throw is very good - even surprisingly good. I've not tested it againts a TK20 though.

 

[jhc37013]

I just seen the R01 on your website Matt and if it had a low(er) level I would be in for one for sure. Maybe you can pass that info to iTP. Now days I try and charge whatever I can from my laptop like my phone and going on trips when I always take my laptop the R01 could be very useful and easy.

I am still considering one even without the low, how is the beam?

 

[Ray_of_Light]

I just received one, I like it. It has the "right" size and weight in my hand.

The beam is very good.

I checked the battery. It is not a 18650, but a 18500 with an extended protection and charging circuit. The battery, as matter of fact, has three connections.
The combination of flashlight tube diameter and battery is so that the latter cannot be inserted backwards.
Should one day the provided battery fail, it would be enough to remove the proprietary protection/charging circuit and glue/connect it on a standard 18500.

The negative terminal of the battery is facing toward the head of the flashlight.

In a pinch, the R01 can operate with a standard 18650, but the negative end has to be inserted first: the circuit (ZXC300 plus MOSFET) is a basic buck converter circuit without any polarity reversal protection.

The smooth reflector is a good metal one, not cheap plastic. The head of the R01 is fixed in place with blue loktite, therefore is easy to remove with standard tools (leather strap wrench) after heating it. The "pill" is not loktited and unscrews easily.

There is room for a converter upgrade. I'm going to place a GDuP in my R01.
The LED is mounted on a little star and can be easily replaced with an XP-G. The star is not glued to the pill, there is only some heatsinking compound between the star and the pill body. The reflector, by keeping pressure on the star, ensure the necessry thermal conductivity. It is a good idea to put some AA in there.

Hope this helps.

Anthony

 

[Monocrom]

No, it is not allowed to do this, only iTP Sevice.

That's pretty much what killed it for me when I first saw that model. Liked what I saw, but then realized you can't remove the battery. I can do that with all of my other lights. Just seemed odd to have a captive battery.

 

[Ray_of_Light]

The tailcap of the R01 unscrews like the tailcap of any other flashlight. The battery (which yes, looks odd) comes off like any other 18650. When you put everything back, it will keep working fine.

Limiting the removal of the battery to the manufacturer service is, therefore, tied to their warranty liabilities, I guess.

My R01 runs regularly on a standard protected 18650, fitted backward. Do not recharge the light with the provided cable when a standard 18650 is fitted.

I may have lost the warranty by doing so; but I lost it in any case, once I opened the bezel with strap wrenches and heat gun.

I highly recommend this light, it is very good value for the money.

Regards

Anthony

 

[Hill]

Reviving an old thread here...

Just got this light as part of the ITP solar travel charger kit.
Very nice indeed.
Size is nice and compact.
Knurling is adequate.
Emitter is XPG S2.
A3 Titanium S2 included
Solar power/USB charger included

One problem I have is the solar charger is not recognized by my PC when I plug it in to charge. It is looking for a driver. Nothing is mentioned in the documentation about this. I figured it was just plug and play. It does charge from the solar cells fine. Just not sure why it is not working from the USB port. Not really a big deal, but would be nice if it worked.

 

[moshow9]

One problem I have is the solar charger is not recognized by my PC when I plug it in to charge. It is looking for a driver. Nothing is mentioned in the documentation about this. I figured it was just plug and play. It does charge from the solar cells fine. Just not sure why it is not working from the USB port. Not really a big deal, but would be nice if it worked.

Don't have the solar charger connected while charging with a PC and you should be fine. Just run it straight from the light to the PC.

 

[srfreddy]

I think he meant the solar charger itself, it has a built in battery.

 

[Hill]

Don't have the solar charger connected while charging with a PC and you should be fine. Just run it straight from the light to the PC.

I think he meant the solar charger itself, it has a built in battery.

Thanks for the reponse. Let me rephrase that.

Can the solar charger be charged via USB port, i.e., separately from using the solar cells?

 

[srfreddy]

Thanks for the reponse. Let me rephrase that.

Can the solar charger be charged via USB port, i.e., separately from using the solar cells?

You should be able to...

 

[Forward_clicky]

I also was considering this light recently but when I looked at the pics and read up on it I dont like the fact the user cant replace the battery.
I understand other products that dont need that replaceability but its a flashlight!