New Wolf Eyes Champion - Review w/-pics

[KeeperSD]

Well here it is the new Wolf Eyes Champion.

There was a thread on here a while ago that announced the Champion, but not sure if any of them have reached the hands of CPFers yet. Since mine arrived yesterday I thought I would start a new thread with a bit more info and some pictures as everyone loves. I will post some beam shots soon, hopefully later tonight, if I get out to taking them.

First up here is the Champion, I know I am biased, but I think it is a fantastic looking light. The clip is very similar to the clip that is on the Wolf Eyes Angel series of lights, but a bit longer. It is about the same length as the Sniper, however much narrower. While I have never used a 2 cell light with a clip I find this clip quite useful, have carried it for the last two days and the clip helps it sit in the pocket very well.

The clip is removable as can be seen in the picture below; removing the tail cap the clip is held down by an O ring. It does take some work to get the clip off, but when it is in place it is very secure and the clip is held down tightly when the cap is screwed down. I was a little surprised at the size of the Champion, I knew it was going to be thinner than the Sniper, but was still wasn't expecting the size it is. It is comparable in width to the E1 but around the same length as the Sniper. The Champion runs on either 2 x CR123's or 17670 (LRB-168B).

The LED module is a 21mm reflector, with a cree Q5. The reflector is quite deep, deeper than the Sniper, however obviously it is of a smaller diameter. Similar to all Wolf Eyes reflectors it has an OP finish. When the bezel is screwed down the brass on the LED module sits flush down into the body of the light.

The tail cap is a forward clickie, my light is a three mode light, with 100, 20 and 2% and then it has a hidden mode that contains SOS and strobe. The Strobe is slower than the strobe on the Sniper, but couldn't actually say what the frequency is. The feel of the switch is a touch heavier than the typical WE clickie, but provides a good feed back and a solid feel. The complete cap is quite long, however even if it was shorter i doubt it would make the light any shorter due to its design. The tail cap is of a larger diameter than the body and allowing the light to be held in a cigar fashion if that is what is preferred.

Thus far i am a big fan of the light, i really like the aesthetics of the light and the overall feel of it. There is plenty of output from the light and being a Wolf Eyes it should be a reliable light, and to top it off it runs on rechargables, which for me is a must.

Thanks go to Quarterflash as usual for my new purchase and lightening the bank account.

 

[KeeperSD]

So here are the first of the beam shots, these were taken from 5 metres.

First up is the Champion

and for comparison here is the Sniper with the Q5 drop in.

more to come

Here are a few more, these are from 20 metres, the Sniper and Champion are taken from the side and seem to acentuate the darker ring around the hot spot. As can be seen in the third picture, which is the champion from directly behind, the dark ring isn't nearly as obvious in the flesh (I actually can't see it until looking through the camera), but I couldn't seem to get the exact resemblence in the pictures, so these are the best i could do.
Sniper Q5 - 20 metres

Champion Q5 - 20 metres

Champion 20 metres (directly behind the light)

lastly, an up close, white wall hunting beam shot. I am not a fan of white wall hunting shots, but regardless it does point out an interesting beam characteristic of the Champion, which isn't seen in the field.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

Thank's for sharing! Looks like a neat little light.

 

[cernobila]

Thank's for sharing! Looks like a neat little light.

+1 here. As mentioned here before, this light looks like being in response to the SF E2E size lights. I guess this could become one of the better EDC lights.

 

[LedZep]

Thanks KeeperSD!

I was looking for some real world information on this light. The outdoor beamshots are very helpful. It looks like it compares well with the Sniper. Do you have any other lights that you could compare to (beamshots not necessary, a description is fine!)? :thumbsup:

 

[KeeperSD]

Thanks KeeperSD!

I was looking for some real world information on this light. The outdoor beamshots are very helpful. It looks like it compares well with the Sniper. Do you have any other lights that you could compare to (beamshots not necessary, a description is fine!)? :thumbsup:

I have a few other lights, but most vary in size, i am not really one to collect a lot of the same configuration and my collection is predominantly Wolf Eyes. What sort of lights were you looking for a comparison with? (If you were thinking E2DL I can't help with that one.)

I have used it for the last two nights in and around the yard, haven't been working so no chance of taking it with me just yet. There is plenty of output from this light, it doesn't have the spill that the Sniper does, but that can be seen in the beam shots. I haven't had a chance to see how much throw it has, best around suburbia i can do is out to 50 metres, which is does without any problems. Regardless of the narrow spill it still lights up a back yard without a problem.

I am looking to take all of my lights for some beam shots in the coming weeks, so should be able to get some more distance.

If the mods think it is suitable perhaps they could move this thread to the review section, so it doesn't get lost in the fast moving LED threads.

 

[LedZep]

KeeperSD -

thanks for the quick reply - you answered my question about throw - I'm happy to hear it's effective out to 50 meters. I'm looking for something with that kind of throw for outdoors, but still enough spill to light up a yard. It's got to be small enough to edc, and rechargeable is perfect. I hear Wolf-Eyes quality is excellent and am tempted to get the Sniper, but the Champion seems like it can put out almost as much light in a smaller package. I may go that way instead!

 

[KeeperSD]

+1 here. As mentioned here before, this light looks like being in response to the SF E2E size lights. I guess this could become one of the better EDC lights.

It is definately high quality, it has some tough competition with the rave reviews of the E2DL, but i wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, it is quickly becoming one of my favourite lights, the size is perfect.

You might have to add one to your collection Cernobila??

 

[Glen C]

Keeper, excellent review, I just noticed it. Your pics are great. Good to see your grass does slow down a little over winter

 

[cernobila]

You might have to add one to your collection Cernobila??

Yeah, right........hang on........darling, can I just b..............sorry, sorry I know, you are right.

Does that answer your question?

 

[KeeperSD]

Yeah, right........hang on........darling, can I just b..............sorry, sorry I know, you are right.

Does that answer your question?

Live life on the edge, thats my motto, that or i just don't mention the new acquisitions

I see that PTS now has the Champion in store too for any US buyers, price looks very attractive too :thumbsup:

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/products/product.aspx?pid=6570

almost forgot the aussie buyers
http://wolfeyes.com.au/wolf-eyes-champion-p-119.html?osCsid=ln6qpl0h87uero72js28vspku1

 

[andylondon]

Thanks for the review. Have you tested the regulation?

 

[KeeperSD]

Thanks for the review. Have you tested the regulation?

I don't have the instruments to test the regulation like some of the reviewers on here, sorry.

I have had the light run continously for over 1.5 hours, it appeared to have started to dim somewhat, but as i said i can't confirm that. One thing i will mention is that the light barely got hot, it warmed a little but once it is in your hand the warmth dissipated very quickly.