StefanFS
Flashlight Enthusiast
This review sample was provided to me free of charge, courtesy of EDGE TAC, for review purposes. I was approached by EDGE TAC who asked if I could do a review of their product, after some consideration I accepted.
Some notes and caveats about my review. I made a selection of lights to compare the Spear with, it means I did choose those lights I perceive as it's main competiton (from the lights I happen to have). I also selected a few other lights to provide a broader scale on which I could try to show the Spear's capabilities. I'm just an ordinary person and I don't own every conceivable new throw light on the market, but I do have a fair selection of high performance led throwers. I think these will provide enough information. So please don't ask me to compare the Spear to lights I don't own or have access to. If you want me to compare it to a light I don't own, feel free to send that light to me. The fact that my outdoor beamshots are taken with 8 second exposures is a meaningless fact, other cameras might provide similar exposures with shorter exposure times etc., it's more likely that the camera software play a bigger role concerning night shots. The most important point is this: It's very difficult to tell these powerful throwers apart when it comes to throw capability. They are within 10 000 Lux of each other in throw, the most powerful approach (or break) the 30 000 Lux barrier. To the naked eye it's difficult to see a difference between a light that throws 19 000 Lux or another that throws 25 000. The whole throw king debate is a bit pointless, all these lights (Spear, Tiablo A8/9, DBS & MRV) are high performance throwers and some are slightly more powerful. Other factors are more important to me than this weeks highest Lux count; good ergonomics, build quality, finish etc. All LiION cells used in this review come from AW.
Here it is in the box. A very good manual is included, two spare o-rings, one spare rubber boot for the clicky switch and a warranty card.
Different angles/sides of the Spear.
Broken down in the main components. The head doesn't separate from the light engine part, it seems to be glued. The lanyard hole in the tailcap is chamfered.
The top end of the battery tube. Very good machining and finish. When screwed down tight the tube touches the driver in the head and the light is on high. A slight counter clockwise turn and contact is broken = low level. The top end threads are coated. Lower end threads are anodized to facilitate lockout by loosening the tailcap a bit. The tube is anodized on the inside surface.
The tailcap disassembled. The switch module is brass and seem to be of very high quality. It's not possible to disassemble more than this. The part of the spring touching the battery was rough on my sample and it scratched the 18650 cell. I took some very fine sanding sponge to it and now it's very smooth.
Other side of the clicky switch.
To access the lens and reflector screw out the lens retaining ring over the lens, then use the holes in the head to push out the reflector. A note on changing reflectors/disassemling the reflector from the head: It's important to make sure the lens retaining ring is screwed down all the way as it will affect throw and hotspot size if it isn't fully tightened. If you leave the retaining ring a tad 'untightened' the hotspot will be a bit bigger and throw decreases.
Looking down into the head at the driver and battery spring. Very good workmanship and fit/finish. On low level the driver emits a very very low high pitched tone, I have to hold the light to my ear to hear it.
The head disassembled. Lift/shake out the lens and remove the o-ring between the lens and reflector. The reflector can be lifted by using the holes in the head, push it upwards.
The reflector with the two o-rings for waterproofing.
Inner diameter is 36 mm and depth is 38 mm. Tiablo A9 has 36 mm deep reflectors and MRV 32 mm.
The massive 3 mm thick lens. Diameter of the lens, measured at ten points around the circumference, is between 40.05 mm to 40.14 mm at the widest point.
Looking down into the head at the brass light pill. It unscrews by using long tweezers/a pointed pair of scissors or pliers.
The heavy brass pill/light engine. This makes it easy to upgrade the Spear with new emitter pills or just modding the existing pill with new emitters and/or drivers. Diameter of the pill over the threads is 21.90 mm. As a comparison a D26 dropin pill is ~19.8 mm. So it's considerably larger than the standard D26 led drop in pills.
Some pictures of detail work, very nice finish/fit and machining on this light.
Here with it's smaller sibling, the Nitecore DI.
A size comparison with some common objects.
I have no problems operating the Spear with or without gloves. But I have big hands, size 12 in gloves. With smaller hands I think it would be harder with the flared tailcap.
EDGE TAC's features and Spec's from the original sales thread.
It can be found here:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=171684
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Features:
Designed and tasked for Self-Defense and Law Enforcement use;
CREE Q5 WC high efficiency LED (Light Emitting Diode);
Maximum Output 250 lumens; about 22000Lux at 1M;
Two preset brightness output levels, can be switched easily through rotating the light bezel;
Compact size and light weight, suitable for EDC (Every day carry);
Patented ThermoflowTM heat sinking design;
Excellent high-efficiency circuit;
Prominent runtime;
Tactical forward clicky switch;
Super light-gathering metal reflector;
Impact-resistant optical lens with Dual-CoatingTM technique;
Made from rugged military grade aluminum alloy;
Mil-Spec Type III Hard Anodized finish in Black;
Impact Resistance to drop tests in accordance to US MIL-STD-810F;
Waterproof to IPX-8 standard;
Optional Accessories: Tactical Remote Tailcap Switch and Weapon Mount.
Specification
Dimension:
Bezel Diameter: 45mm
Body Diameter: 25.4mm
Tail Diameter 36mm
Overall Length: 158mm
Weight: 203 g (without battery)
Battery: powered by one 2400mAH 18650 Li-ion battery;
Output & Runtime
Maximum Output 250 lumens, for about 110 minutes (with brightness declines to 50%)
Minimum Output 5 lumens, for about 200 hours (with brightness declines to 50%)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White wall beamshots.
All shots at 0.5 meter. f/2.8, ISO 100, white balance on daylight/sunlight, 0 EV. Exposure time 1/80 sec for the bright shoths and 1/800 sec for the underexposed.
First the beam distribution on high level, 1/80 sec.
Beam distribution on low level, 1/80 sec.
Spear and Tiablo A9 on RCR123.
Spear and Tiablo A9 on 18650 LiION.
Spear and MRV on RCR123.
Spear and MRV on 18650 LiION.
Outdoor beamshots at 50 and 95 metres.
The lights used for the outdoor beamshots.
Number one, RaidFire Spear. CREE Q5 WC. Stock version. 24 600 Lux in throw at one metre on high. one AW 18650 LiION cell.
Number two, Tiablo A9 stock version CREE Q5 WC. 21 700 Lux in throw at one metre with two AW RCR123 LiION cells. 16 820 Lux in throw at one metre with one AW 18650 LiION cell.
Number three, MRV with CREE Q5 WG, stock driver. 19 350 Lux in throw at one metre with two AW RCR123 LiION cells. 14 720 Lux in throw at one metre with one AW 18650 LiION cell.
Number four, Tiablo A8 modded. CREE Q5 WG, FluPic at burst 1200 mA, UCL-type lens. 30 380 Lux in throw at one metre with one AW 18650 LiION cell.
Number five, 3D M*g with SSC P4 USOXH and three mode driver with max at 1200 mA. UCL lens. 22 010 Lux in throw at one metre with NiMH cells.
Reference shots of the first setting, 50 metres
A note about the beamshots. Cameras seem to favour the warmer WG tint CREE Q5 used in the MRV. It is weaker than both the Spear and the Tiablos on all cell configs. I judged it to be ill advised to use another white balance setting for the MRV as it would compromise the complete beamshot effort. Due to the severe weather with subzero rain and fog at the 200 metre site I had to scratch that for the time being. If time and weather permits I might do that later.
First setting at 50 metres
Second setting at 95 metres
Due to the debate whether certain emitter tints works better than others in rain or fog etc. I'd like to point out that all beamshots in this review were shot in rain, pretty much rain even. As usual I didn't notice any differences in the ability to project light at distances ,or that one would be better than the others at colour rendering. Some of my lights have yellowish CREE WG emitters and others have blueish SSC P4 USXOH.
Runtime on AW18650 2200 mAh LiION
Excellent runtime on 18650 on high level. At 92 minutes the light starts to flicker when th low voltage warning cuts in. A few seconds after the flicker starts the light abruptly goes out. I haven't done any runtimes on low since that would be going on for at least a week if I'm to trust EDGE TAC's own figures. For this test starting voltage was 4.20 V and stop voltage was 2.9 V. Note that EDGE TAC used the Sanyo 2400 mAh cell for testing, using that cell might improve runtime somewhat.
Runtime on low
It is 6 days and about 10 hours. I got about 160 hours on one AW 2200 mAh LiION cell. No graph for this one. It starts at ~420 Lux and after a day or so it continues for the duration at ~350 Lux in throw.
Other findings
Battery draw
On high: 1.2 A.
On low: 20 mA.
Output
The Spear on one 18650 LiION cell outperform both the stock Tiablo A9 and the MRV on RCR123 cells, both on paper and in real usage. Spill area is smaller but considerably brighter.
Throw at one metre and spill in Lux. Throw/Spill
RaidFire Spear
High: 24 600/305
Low: 422/12
For comparison
Tiablo A9 stock version:
21 700/210 (RCR123)
16 820/150 (18650 LiION)
MRV CREE Q5:
19 350/175 (RCR123)
14 270/115 (18650 LiION)
Weight with one AW 18650 LiION
Spear 240 grams
Tiablo A9 197 grams
MRV 228 grams
Reflector design
The Spear has a deeper and slightly narrower reflector compared to Tiablo A8/A9 and the MRV. Inner diameter is 36 mm compared to the others that are 38 mm. Depth is 38 mm (as far as I can measure it) compared to the Tiablo's 36 mm and the MRV's 32 mm. This gives the Spear a narrower and brighter spill area as well as a tighter hotspot. Without having the Dereelight DBS and only going by beamshots by others, I would venture to say that the Spear resembles the DBS beam profile.
Conclusion
The Spear seems to be of exceptionally good quality. Machining is flawless and all moving parts operate smoothly. I had to lubricate o-rings and threads since they were dry. Finish on my sample is outstanding, no nicks or marks. No visible machining marks at all. I had my doubts about the appearance and design, but I find it quite appealing when actually using it. I'm unclear about the issue of heatsinking holes in the head, whether it actually helps heatsinking or not. The holes do add to the appearance of the light but they will attract dirt and dust over time. The tailcap could be a little less flared to accomodate people with smaller hands, for me the tailcap works well and it improves grip. The reflector and lens (which do have AR coating) are of very high quality and the lens retaining ring is easy to remove on my sample. Since the head and light engine are glued together (on my sample, I don't know if all are glued) it will make upgrading the emitter a little harder. Changing the pill is not difficult at all, all that is required is that the lens and reflector are removed. Hopefully EDGE TAC will offer upgrade 'pills' when newer emitters arrive.
Output is very good on high, up with the best throw lights available today. The Spear on one 18650 LiION outperform both the stock Tiablo A9 and the MRV on RCR123 cells! Output on low level is very very low, that insures that I have emergency lighting for a long time. On high the light actually exceeds the manufacturer claim of 22 000 Lux in throw with several thousand Lux! That's a first for me. On the other hand the runtime is not as long as claimed, 92 minutes versus the 110 minutes claimed by EDGE TAC. However, I used AW 2200 mAh cells for the runtime, EDGE TAC used Sanyo 2400 mAh cells for their runtime. That might be the reason for my slightly shorter runtime.
Regulation on high level is very good, it's a virtual flat line for 90 minutes. About 90 minutes is about what can be expected from a light running an CREE Q5 at a level exceeding 1 A. The stock driver seem to be able to boost the voltage from a single 18650 LiION cell to ~4 Volt which maximises the output from an CREE Q5 driven at 1 A or higher. The only other flashlight I have seen that is capable of doing this is the Regalight WT1. This implies that the Spear has a boost driver specifically designed for 18650 LiION. MRV gen 2 and SE (not the new digital driver MRV, that I don't know anything about) and the Tiablos all have lower output on 18650 compared to CR123 or RCR123.
The Spear is a very solid flashlight, it's heavier than both the Tiablo A9 and the MRV but it's built more massively. This flashlight should be able to take a lot of abuse. Apart from the solid construction it has springs at both battery terminals, that should make it impervious to sudden impacts, and the 3 mm thick glass lens which is set deep in the bezel should be pretty tough to break. Heatsinking is very good, largely due to the solid construction and the massive brass light engine ' pill' for heat transfer to the body.
This is a very nice light that I'm not ashamed to recommend. If the styling happens to agree with you and you need a good bright light, get it. As always there is some room for improvement, a better lanyard attachment, less laser etching (Strong light!) and the flared tailcap (my opinion only, since it works). But that's minor things considering this is a high quality really powerful package.
Stefan
Some notes and caveats about my review. I made a selection of lights to compare the Spear with, it means I did choose those lights I perceive as it's main competiton (from the lights I happen to have). I also selected a few other lights to provide a broader scale on which I could try to show the Spear's capabilities. I'm just an ordinary person and I don't own every conceivable new throw light on the market, but I do have a fair selection of high performance led throwers. I think these will provide enough information. So please don't ask me to compare the Spear to lights I don't own or have access to. If you want me to compare it to a light I don't own, feel free to send that light to me. The fact that my outdoor beamshots are taken with 8 second exposures is a meaningless fact, other cameras might provide similar exposures with shorter exposure times etc., it's more likely that the camera software play a bigger role concerning night shots. The most important point is this: It's very difficult to tell these powerful throwers apart when it comes to throw capability. They are within 10 000 Lux of each other in throw, the most powerful approach (or break) the 30 000 Lux barrier. To the naked eye it's difficult to see a difference between a light that throws 19 000 Lux or another that throws 25 000. The whole throw king debate is a bit pointless, all these lights (Spear, Tiablo A8/9, DBS & MRV) are high performance throwers and some are slightly more powerful. Other factors are more important to me than this weeks highest Lux count; good ergonomics, build quality, finish etc. All LiION cells used in this review come from AW.
Here it is in the box. A very good manual is included, two spare o-rings, one spare rubber boot for the clicky switch and a warranty card.
Different angles/sides of the Spear.
Broken down in the main components. The head doesn't separate from the light engine part, it seems to be glued. The lanyard hole in the tailcap is chamfered.
The top end of the battery tube. Very good machining and finish. When screwed down tight the tube touches the driver in the head and the light is on high. A slight counter clockwise turn and contact is broken = low level. The top end threads are coated. Lower end threads are anodized to facilitate lockout by loosening the tailcap a bit. The tube is anodized on the inside surface.
The tailcap disassembled. The switch module is brass and seem to be of very high quality. It's not possible to disassemble more than this. The part of the spring touching the battery was rough on my sample and it scratched the 18650 cell. I took some very fine sanding sponge to it and now it's very smooth.
Other side of the clicky switch.
To access the lens and reflector screw out the lens retaining ring over the lens, then use the holes in the head to push out the reflector. A note on changing reflectors/disassemling the reflector from the head: It's important to make sure the lens retaining ring is screwed down all the way as it will affect throw and hotspot size if it isn't fully tightened. If you leave the retaining ring a tad 'untightened' the hotspot will be a bit bigger and throw decreases.
Looking down into the head at the driver and battery spring. Very good workmanship and fit/finish. On low level the driver emits a very very low high pitched tone, I have to hold the light to my ear to hear it.
The head disassembled. Lift/shake out the lens and remove the o-ring between the lens and reflector. The reflector can be lifted by using the holes in the head, push it upwards.
The reflector with the two o-rings for waterproofing.
Inner diameter is 36 mm and depth is 38 mm. Tiablo A9 has 36 mm deep reflectors and MRV 32 mm.
The massive 3 mm thick lens. Diameter of the lens, measured at ten points around the circumference, is between 40.05 mm to 40.14 mm at the widest point.
Looking down into the head at the brass light pill. It unscrews by using long tweezers/a pointed pair of scissors or pliers.
The heavy brass pill/light engine. This makes it easy to upgrade the Spear with new emitter pills or just modding the existing pill with new emitters and/or drivers. Diameter of the pill over the threads is 21.90 mm. As a comparison a D26 dropin pill is ~19.8 mm. So it's considerably larger than the standard D26 led drop in pills.
Some pictures of detail work, very nice finish/fit and machining on this light.
Here with it's smaller sibling, the Nitecore DI.
A size comparison with some common objects.
I have no problems operating the Spear with or without gloves. But I have big hands, size 12 in gloves. With smaller hands I think it would be harder with the flared tailcap.
EDGE TAC's features and Spec's from the original sales thread.
It can be found here:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=171684
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Features:
Designed and tasked for Self-Defense and Law Enforcement use;
CREE Q5 WC high efficiency LED (Light Emitting Diode);
Maximum Output 250 lumens; about 22000Lux at 1M;
Two preset brightness output levels, can be switched easily through rotating the light bezel;
Compact size and light weight, suitable for EDC (Every day carry);
Patented ThermoflowTM heat sinking design;
Excellent high-efficiency circuit;
Prominent runtime;
Tactical forward clicky switch;
Super light-gathering metal reflector;
Impact-resistant optical lens with Dual-CoatingTM technique;
Made from rugged military grade aluminum alloy;
Mil-Spec Type III Hard Anodized finish in Black;
Impact Resistance to drop tests in accordance to US MIL-STD-810F;
Waterproof to IPX-8 standard;
Optional Accessories: Tactical Remote Tailcap Switch and Weapon Mount.
Specification
Dimension:
Bezel Diameter: 45mm
Body Diameter: 25.4mm
Tail Diameter 36mm
Overall Length: 158mm
Weight: 203 g (without battery)
Battery: powered by one 2400mAH 18650 Li-ion battery;
Output & Runtime
Maximum Output 250 lumens, for about 110 minutes (with brightness declines to 50%)
Minimum Output 5 lumens, for about 200 hours (with brightness declines to 50%)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White wall beamshots.
All shots at 0.5 meter. f/2.8, ISO 100, white balance on daylight/sunlight, 0 EV. Exposure time 1/80 sec for the bright shoths and 1/800 sec for the underexposed.
First the beam distribution on high level, 1/80 sec.
Beam distribution on low level, 1/80 sec.
Spear and Tiablo A9 on RCR123.
Spear and Tiablo A9 on 18650 LiION.
Spear and MRV on RCR123.
Spear and MRV on 18650 LiION.
Outdoor beamshots at 50 and 95 metres.
The lights used for the outdoor beamshots.
Number one, RaidFire Spear. CREE Q5 WC. Stock version. 24 600 Lux in throw at one metre on high. one AW 18650 LiION cell.
Number two, Tiablo A9 stock version CREE Q5 WC. 21 700 Lux in throw at one metre with two AW RCR123 LiION cells. 16 820 Lux in throw at one metre with one AW 18650 LiION cell.
Number three, MRV with CREE Q5 WG, stock driver. 19 350 Lux in throw at one metre with two AW RCR123 LiION cells. 14 720 Lux in throw at one metre with one AW 18650 LiION cell.
Number four, Tiablo A8 modded. CREE Q5 WG, FluPic at burst 1200 mA, UCL-type lens. 30 380 Lux in throw at one metre with one AW 18650 LiION cell.
Number five, 3D M*g with SSC P4 USOXH and three mode driver with max at 1200 mA. UCL lens. 22 010 Lux in throw at one metre with NiMH cells.
Reference shots of the first setting, 50 metres
A note about the beamshots. Cameras seem to favour the warmer WG tint CREE Q5 used in the MRV. It is weaker than both the Spear and the Tiablos on all cell configs. I judged it to be ill advised to use another white balance setting for the MRV as it would compromise the complete beamshot effort. Due to the severe weather with subzero rain and fog at the 200 metre site I had to scratch that for the time being. If time and weather permits I might do that later.
First setting at 50 metres
Second setting at 95 metres
Due to the debate whether certain emitter tints works better than others in rain or fog etc. I'd like to point out that all beamshots in this review were shot in rain, pretty much rain even. As usual I didn't notice any differences in the ability to project light at distances ,or that one would be better than the others at colour rendering. Some of my lights have yellowish CREE WG emitters and others have blueish SSC P4 USXOH.
Runtime on AW18650 2200 mAh LiION
Excellent runtime on 18650 on high level. At 92 minutes the light starts to flicker when th low voltage warning cuts in. A few seconds after the flicker starts the light abruptly goes out. I haven't done any runtimes on low since that would be going on for at least a week if I'm to trust EDGE TAC's own figures. For this test starting voltage was 4.20 V and stop voltage was 2.9 V. Note that EDGE TAC used the Sanyo 2400 mAh cell for testing, using that cell might improve runtime somewhat.
Runtime on low
It is 6 days and about 10 hours. I got about 160 hours on one AW 2200 mAh LiION cell. No graph for this one. It starts at ~420 Lux and after a day or so it continues for the duration at ~350 Lux in throw.
Other findings
Battery draw
On high: 1.2 A.
On low: 20 mA.
Output
The Spear on one 18650 LiION cell outperform both the stock Tiablo A9 and the MRV on RCR123 cells, both on paper and in real usage. Spill area is smaller but considerably brighter.
Throw at one metre and spill in Lux. Throw/Spill
RaidFire Spear
High: 24 600/305
Low: 422/12
For comparison
Tiablo A9 stock version:
21 700/210 (RCR123)
16 820/150 (18650 LiION)
MRV CREE Q5:
19 350/175 (RCR123)
14 270/115 (18650 LiION)
Weight with one AW 18650 LiION
Spear 240 grams
Tiablo A9 197 grams
MRV 228 grams
Reflector design
The Spear has a deeper and slightly narrower reflector compared to Tiablo A8/A9 and the MRV. Inner diameter is 36 mm compared to the others that are 38 mm. Depth is 38 mm (as far as I can measure it) compared to the Tiablo's 36 mm and the MRV's 32 mm. This gives the Spear a narrower and brighter spill area as well as a tighter hotspot. Without having the Dereelight DBS and only going by beamshots by others, I would venture to say that the Spear resembles the DBS beam profile.
Conclusion
The Spear seems to be of exceptionally good quality. Machining is flawless and all moving parts operate smoothly. I had to lubricate o-rings and threads since they were dry. Finish on my sample is outstanding, no nicks or marks. No visible machining marks at all. I had my doubts about the appearance and design, but I find it quite appealing when actually using it. I'm unclear about the issue of heatsinking holes in the head, whether it actually helps heatsinking or not. The holes do add to the appearance of the light but they will attract dirt and dust over time. The tailcap could be a little less flared to accomodate people with smaller hands, for me the tailcap works well and it improves grip. The reflector and lens (which do have AR coating) are of very high quality and the lens retaining ring is easy to remove on my sample. Since the head and light engine are glued together (on my sample, I don't know if all are glued) it will make upgrading the emitter a little harder. Changing the pill is not difficult at all, all that is required is that the lens and reflector are removed. Hopefully EDGE TAC will offer upgrade 'pills' when newer emitters arrive.
Output is very good on high, up with the best throw lights available today. The Spear on one 18650 LiION outperform both the stock Tiablo A9 and the MRV on RCR123 cells! Output on low level is very very low, that insures that I have emergency lighting for a long time. On high the light actually exceeds the manufacturer claim of 22 000 Lux in throw with several thousand Lux! That's a first for me. On the other hand the runtime is not as long as claimed, 92 minutes versus the 110 minutes claimed by EDGE TAC. However, I used AW 2200 mAh cells for the runtime, EDGE TAC used Sanyo 2400 mAh cells for their runtime. That might be the reason for my slightly shorter runtime.
Regulation on high level is very good, it's a virtual flat line for 90 minutes. About 90 minutes is about what can be expected from a light running an CREE Q5 at a level exceeding 1 A. The stock driver seem to be able to boost the voltage from a single 18650 LiION cell to ~4 Volt which maximises the output from an CREE Q5 driven at 1 A or higher. The only other flashlight I have seen that is capable of doing this is the Regalight WT1. This implies that the Spear has a boost driver specifically designed for 18650 LiION. MRV gen 2 and SE (not the new digital driver MRV, that I don't know anything about) and the Tiablos all have lower output on 18650 compared to CR123 or RCR123.
The Spear is a very solid flashlight, it's heavier than both the Tiablo A9 and the MRV but it's built more massively. This flashlight should be able to take a lot of abuse. Apart from the solid construction it has springs at both battery terminals, that should make it impervious to sudden impacts, and the 3 mm thick glass lens which is set deep in the bezel should be pretty tough to break. Heatsinking is very good, largely due to the solid construction and the massive brass light engine ' pill' for heat transfer to the body.
This is a very nice light that I'm not ashamed to recommend. If the styling happens to agree with you and you need a good bright light, get it. As always there is some room for improvement, a better lanyard attachment, less laser etching (Strong light!) and the flared tailcap (my opinion only, since it works). But that's minor things considering this is a high quality really powerful package.
Stefan
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