MTE SSC P7 quick review.

[Jay T]

Well the DX light arrived today.

First impressions, smaller than I expected. Build quality, not too bad. It doesn't impress me with super quality, but, I'm not laughing at it's cheapness.

Very easy to scratch not HA.

Three levels, strobe and SOS. The strobe is decently fast. In fact this is the first time I have felt any effect from a strobe. In a dark bathroom I did feel funny after 15 seconds or so. I guess that if you shinned this thing on an attacker for two or three minutes he might fall down!

The beam is more of a flood like a Lux V light. To me it's more of a useful beam than the popular thrower light.

As for it's overall output time to take it into the bathroom with a lightmeter and some friends for some ceiling bounce tests.

We have a Romisan RC-T5 powered by 3 RCR123s.

A Mag with a Terralux TLE-300M 3xK2 powered by 2 D LiIons.

The MTE P7 with an AW 18650 at 4.18V

A 6P with a Malkoff M60 2 x RCR123

One of Mac's 1000 lumen Ostar Mag mods.

And a Firelion 3 x P4 powered by 1 x 18650

For each power level I measured the following lux during the bounce test.

Well the MTE dosn't quite measure up to the 1000 lumen Ostar. It's output seems to be in line with the Terralux which claims 600 lumens. Not as bad as I feared, but, not as good as many had hoped.


Edit to add:
Anybody want to see the 1m lux test? Here it is.

 

[Gladius01]

Mine just arrived today. Good flashlight for the asking price. For those who don't want to spend lots of money and want abit of quality and a bright flashlight, this is the one flashlight which make you smile.

The battery doesn't rattle when you shake the flashlight.:thumbsup:

 

[forrest]

Seems to me that the rom. t-5 is a better light all in all, so is there ant reason to get the mte p7 over the t-5???

 

[Jay T]

Seems to me that the rom. t-5 is a better light all in all, so is there ant reason to get the mte p7 over the t-5???

Well the MTE has a head about half the size to the T-5 so it is much easier to pocket carry. It's only a little larger than a 6P or a Dereelight.

 

[Jay T]

How about some quick indoor beamshots? (i know I know you want outdoor, should be coming later)

All shots taken on "M" at ISO 100, 1/5 Sec, and F4.

First the MTE P7

Next the Ostar Mag

The RC-T5

The Terralux (yes the beam is that funky)

The Firelion

A fenix P3D Q5

The Malkoff

and a Jet 1 Pro

 

[xcel730]

JayT, great review ... great post. Thanks!!!

 

[cheetokhan]

I like beam from the Ostar Mag the best and the P7 is the closest match to the Ostar.
The RC-T5 may be brighter, but I really like that smooth, wide beam from the P7.

 

[lctorana]

2 questions:

1. How does it compare in size to the "Golston 7W" of 18 months ago? The body looks rather similar.

2. What modification(s) do you need to make to turn it into a single mode?

 

[neoseikan]

I like this review.

 

[BMF]

Does your light have memory? Some people at DX said it does but mine doesn't. No matter how long it's been off, few seconds to few minutes, it jumps to the next mode when I turn it back on.

 

[WadeF]

Great review! It doesn't seem to have a much WOW as some as us may have hoped, but it's beating the Malkoff pretty well, so I'd suspect it's putting out at least 400 lumens. For $45 that's not bad.

I wonder if these could be modded to increase the current to the P7?

Or in a month or less we may see other P7 lights on DX, etc, that actually drive the P7 at full capacity.

 

[BMF]

I just ordered the other P7, same as the custom one at Kai as people posted, with only 1 mode C-bin for $44.97. The beam shot looks like a thrower with a bigger head.

Great review! It doesn't seem to have a much WOW as some as us may have hoped, but it's beating the Malkoff pretty well, so I'd suspect it's putting out at least 400 lumens. For $45 that's not bad.

I wonder if these could be modded to increase the current to the P7?

Or in a month or less we may see other P7 lights on DX, etc, that actually drive the P7 at full capacity.

 

[Jay T]

Does your light have memory? Some people at DX said it does but mine doesn't. No matter how long it's been off, few seconds to few minutes, it jumps to the next mode when I turn it back on.

Mine has a properly functioning memory that remembers he last mode. Most of my playing was done on high and it never jumped to strobe unless I wanted it to.

 

[I came to the light...]

Seems to me that the rom. t-5 is a better light all in all, so is there ant reason to get the mte p7 over the t-5???

am I reading the review wrong? 49 vs 55 - the p7 is brighter too.

Thank you for this review! I can't wait for more P7s

 

[Brozneo]

Runtime? Would be interested to see it

 

[Jay T]

Runtime? Would be interested to see it

Unfortunately I am too lazy and my attention span is too short to watch a light dim. Hopefully one of the guys with a logging light meter setup will fill in my gaps.

I can tell you that the current draw at the tail cap is .22/1.12/2.25 amps for the three brightness levels so an AW 18650 should last for a little less than an hour on high and twice that on medium. (rough approximations)

am I reading the review wrong? 49 vs 55 - the p7 is brighter too.

Yes the P7 is putting out more total light than the T-5. Some people place more importance on 1m lux readings, in that test the t-5 is the king of this test. (edit to add: oops except for the TLE)

 

[LGCubana]

Thanks for the review.

Looks like the small head makes it more useful for everyday use. As most of my daily use requires more flood, than an intense hotspot.

 

[LEDninja]

Memory is fine but I have trouble switching modes on mine.

 

[uluapoundr]

I got mine too yesterday. Put it up against my UF C2 Q5, the Q5 has a much tighter beam, MTE more of a flood, but lots of light for a relatively small light with small head. The body design is nothing to brag about. The 5 mode is a little tricky, click once to turn on, then tap the clickie to cycle through the modes. It may not be putting out 900lm but for $45, still a great light. P7s are awesome!

 

[Derek Dean]

VERY nice review Jay. Lots of good information. The comparative beamshots were well done and quite helpful.