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Author's Statement for Transparency and Disclosure
The test sample/s featured in this article have been provided for technical testing and review by the manufacturer. Test samples are retained by the reviewer following publication of the completed review for the purposes of long term testing and product comparisons.
All output figures and test results published in this review are the sole work of the reviewer, and are carried out independently and without bias. Test results are reported as found, with no embellishments or alteration. Though best endeavours are made to maintain the accuracy of test equipment, the accuracy of these results is not guaranteed and is subject to the test equipment functioning correctly.
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Author's Statement for Transparency and Disclosure
The test sample/s featured in this article have been provided for technical testing and review by the manufacturer. Test samples are retained by the reviewer following publication of the completed review for the purposes of long term testing and product comparisons.
All output figures and test results published in this review are the sole work of the reviewer, and are carried out independently and without bias. Test results are reported as found, with no embellishments or alteration. Though best endeavours are made to maintain the accuracy of test equipment, the accuracy of these results is not guaranteed and is subject to the test equipment functioning correctly.
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It is not a new light, but the Lumintop Hunter T5 has been sitting quietly in the Lumintop line-up just getting on with business. Not much talked about, but a strong steady performer, and a light that can give serious Red/Green throw.
Taking a more detailed look:
The Hunter T5 is a special package of the T5 for hunting.
The Hunter T5 comes with a white LED, but you can get the optional Red and Green LED modules (which I would recommend).
The T5 has had its white emitter updated to an XP-G2 R5 LED.
The Hunter edition kit includes everything you need to rail mount the T5. There is an offset Picatinny rail mount with Allen key, two-spare O-rings, a spare switch boot, remote pressure switch tail-cap, lanyard and ring holster.
The T5 arrives with a pocket clip fitted.
For gun mounting that clip has to come off. Also note the tail-cap has a removable bezel which doesn't affect any seals if removed. For stealth this reflective bezel should be removed as it is polished stainless steel.
The tail-cap switch with bezel fitted.
And bezel removed. Note the switch on the side of the tail-cap used for mode changes.
The head has a spring contact for the positive terminal and a though there is a gold ring contact on the PCB, this is not used, instead the threads complete the circuit.
The head end of the battery tube has bare aluminium square cut threads.
At the base of the head are two banks of cooling fins.
The tail-cap has a sprung plunger negative contact.
The tail-cap threads are an unusual asymmetrical shape where one side is square cut and the other trapezoid.
Fitting the remote tail-cap switch involves a complete swap of the tail-cap.
A detail of the remote switch cable entering the tail-cap.
Ready to go on the gun, the T5 with rail-mount and remote switch.
As standard, the T5 has the XP-G2 R5 LED in a large reflector.
The depth of this reflector is what gives the T5 its good throw.
Ready for a change, here are the Red and Green modules.
A closer look at the Red module.
And the Green module.
Of course, both have identical contacts.
Swapping modules is simple and does not require any tools. First unscrew the front of the T5's head. The reflector will come out attached to the bezel.
Then unscrew the modules from the base of the reflector. Try to avoid dirty/dusty environments as at this point dirt can get into the reflector.
An opportunity for a close look at the white module that we have just removed.
The Red LED is now fitted.
For scale, the T5 is next to a protected 18650 cell.
The supplied holster has a double ring, and the T5 fits into it like this.
The beam
Please be careful not to judge tint based on images you see on a computer screen. Unless properly calibrated, the screen itself will change the perceived tint.
The indoor beamshot is intended to give an idea of the beam shape/quality rather than tint. All beamshots are taken using daylight white balance. The woodwork (stairs and skirting) are painted Farrow & Ball "Off-White", and the walls are a light sandy colour called 'String' again by Farrow & Ball. I don't actually have a 'white wall' in the house to use for this, and the wife won't have one!
Starting indoors and swapping modules, this set of images are all at the same exposure to show relative White, Green and Red beams. In all cases the beam is tightly focused into a small hotspot.
At outdoor ranges the T5 is an impressive thrower and has some of the strongest coloured beams I've used.
Modes and User Interface:
The T5 has three steady output levels and strobe. The control is the same regardless of module.
There is a main tail-cap forward click switch and a second mode switch on the side of the tail-cap.
From OFF, pressing and holding, or fully pressing, the main switch turns the T5 onto the last used output (including strobe).
When ON clicking the side switch cycles through Low -> Medium -> High -> Low etc.
From OFF pressing and holding the side switch activates Strobe. Release the switch to turn OFF.
From ON pressing and holding the side switch for 1s activates strobe. To exit strobe press the side switch.
When using the remote switch the operation is different. The remote switch has a wide momentary pressure pad and a smaller button. It does not have the button on the side of the tail-cap.
Using the pressure pad you have access only to High and it is momentary only.
Using the button, the output will latch on, again only High is available.
Batteries and output:
The T5 runs on 1x18650, 2x CR123 or 2xRCR123.
To measure actual output, I built an integrating sphere. See here for more detail. The sensor registers visible light only (so Infra-Red and Ultra-Violet will not be measured).
Please note, all quoted lumen figures are from a DIY integrating sphere, and according to ANSI standards. Although every effort is made to give as accurate a result as possible, they should be taken as an estimate only. The results can be used to compare outputs in this review and others I have published.
___________________________________________ | ________________________________ | ________________________________ |
Lumintop T5 using 18650 (unless otherwise specified) | I.S. measured ANSI output Lumens | PWM frequency or Strobe frequency (Hz) |
___________________________________________ | ________________________________ | ________________________________ |
White High using RCR123 | 419 | 1170 |
White High | 413 | 1170 |
White Medium | 101 | 1170 |
White Low | 7 | 1170 |
Red High | 132 | 1170 |
Red Medium | 33 | 1170 |
Red Low | 5 | 1170 |
Green High | 144 | 1170 |
Green Medium | 39 | 1170 |
Green Low | 5 | 1170 |
* Beacon and Strobe output measurements are only estimates as the brief flashes make it difficult to capture the actual output value.
White Peak Beam intensity measured 39000lx @1m giving a beam range of 395m.
Red Peak Beam intensity measured 9800lx @1m giving a beam range of 198m.
Green Peak Beam intensity measured 19100lx @1m giving a beam range of 276m.
(I suspect the Lux meter is not as sensitive for Red as the intensity reading is lower than the beam's appearance would suggest.)
There is parasitic drain at 64.8uA meaning a 3100mAh 18650 would take 5.46 years to become fully discharged. All modules were the same as the control circuit is in the tailcap.
All modules are shown here, all run with a 2600mAh 18650. The white is much brighter but does not appear to be regulated. The Green module also appears not to be regulated and does not have much more runtime than the white, showing a much lower efficiency. The Red module however does seem to run at a well regulated output and appears to be a similar efficiency to the White LED as the total runtime is doubled.
To better see what happens at the start of the trace here is the first 5 minutes. All modules have an initially higher output which is stepped down at just over the three minute mark.
Troubleshooting
This is a new section I am adding to mention any minor niggles I came across during testing, in case the information helps anyone else.
No issues were encountered during testing.
As per the description of this section, this information is provided in case anyone else finds a similar 'issue' that might be fixed in the same way.
The Hunter T5 in use
Despite having other throwers and other coloured output lights, the T5 has firmly made a place for itself in my hunting line-up. Right now it is using the Red module and is gun mounted. No other coloured light I have has the excellent throw of the T5.
The T5 gives you that excellent flexibility of changeable LED modules colours with the uncompromising performance of a single emitter dedicated thrower.
With that large deep reflector, the T5 is not the most compact light especially when gun mounted, but you don't get that throw without a bigger reflector. It is a burden I'm willing to bear to get that increase in range.
View through a scope can be limited as the beam is tighter than a general purpose scope's field of view, but it gives you excellent illumination, and allows for higher power scopes and longer ranges.
The double ring holster is fiddly to use and feels like an afterthought. There are other throwers with large heads that have much better holsters. If you gun mount the T5 this is not an issue.
Even though the T5 uses PWM, the frequency is high enough not to be visible. I haven't noticed any PWM effects.
The Hunter T5 kit is great if you have a rail mount on your gun. If you need to scope mount then not so good, but you can easily get scope/Picatinny rail fittings. I use a Picatinny barrel mount fitted towards the front.
Being a simple interface (where you generally select your output level and stick with it) and a dedicated thrower, there is not much more to say. Know your colour preference (for my quarry, they appear to be blind to the red) and select/fit your module, and you are set.
You will find stronger throwers (in white) and brighter outputs in white, red and green, but you will struggle to find a stronger coloured thrower or a dedicated thrower with the ability to swap LEDs as easily.
Review Summary
_______________________________________________ | _______________________________________________ |
Things I like | What doesn't work so well for me |
_______________________________________________ | _______________________________________________ |
Powerful throw | Holster not easy to use |
Easy swap modules with White, Red and Green options | Unregulated white output |
Rail mount included | |
Remote tape switch included | |
Simple interface |
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