Wiseled Tactical Review

I received a Wiseled Tactical light from Mike a Pacific Tactical Solutions to play with and must say for the short time I had the light I'm impressed.

Specifications

7 LED's behind a 5 Degree optic
Li-Ion rechargeable battery 4400ma
Runtime
100% 100min
70% 300 min
35% 600 min
Dimmable 12 steps
Submersible to 300 Feet
Anodized Aluminum body
Weight 31oz

Optional Tail Light is available in Single and tri LED. (Tri LED white only) Single LED is available in white, red, green, blue, amber, yellow, UV and Infrared utilizing a 4 degree optic or 360 Degree optic (UV & Infrared unavailable in 360 degree optic)


The Wiseled Tactical ia slightly larger than the standard MagLite 2d variety. The light is well balanced and overall is very comfortable to carry. The center portion of the light has a "grippy" rubber sleeve or rubber type coating. The Exterior is anodized but is unknown at this time weather is type II or type III hard anodize.

The user interface for basic function works well but definitely could be improved. You control the light via 2 metal magnetic buttons. The functions work as follows

Button A (Top Button)

Press and release: On/Off (Returns to last brightness level selected)
Press and hold down: Strobe

Button B

Press and release: Boost Mode
Press and hold down: Continuous dimming control (loop)
Press and release twice: Tail Light on (optional feature)
Press and release 4 times: SOS

Button A need to be activated (light turned on) before button B functions.


Many people where inquiring about the boost mode. Initially when the light is turned on boost mode is enabled. The light automatically throttles down the output approximately 30% (from maximum) in 5-6 minutes continuously on. The ambient temperature was 62F.

Light off Head temp: 61F
3 minutes in Boost mode: 64F
5 minutes in Boost mode: 75F
15 minutes in Max continuous mode: 90F
(After 6 minutes of boost mode)

When the light automatically throttles down the output simply by pressing the "B" button returns the unit to Boost mode. I only had a couple days with the light so this review is somewhat limited.


I ran some LUX tests which measure the throwing power of lights using a MeterMan LM631 light meter.

Mag 3x17670 powered Tri-Lux III, UWOK LEDS, 20mm IMS reflectors driven at 1amp each LED. 11,500 Lux

Surefire U2 (very good copy 1000lux brighter than my previous 2, U2's) 3900 Lux

SuperFlashlight III WYOS 2,020 Lux

Wiseled Tactical Lowest 4,000 Lux

Wiseled Tactical 50% 13,000 Lux

Wiseled Tactical Boost 21,040 Lux

Wiseled Tactical Tail Light White LED 4 degree optic 3340 Lux


The next light measurement test I tried was a light box test with a light box I made that was replicated from www.flashlightreview.com. This test will give you a general idea of overall light output. The following measurements where recorded.

Surefire U2 388 total output

SuperFlashlight III WYOS 430

Tri-Lux UWOK 1190

Warrior 10 watt HID 1409

Tri-Lux XX1S 31mm reflectors 1amp 1607

Wiseled Tactical N/A (Max Meter reading 2000)


The Wiseled tactical in this test instantly maxed my meter out.


Pros

Super Bright LED light brightest I have ever seen
Waterproof to 300 feet
Plenty of Tail Light options
Nicely built
Rechargeable
Completely variable brightness levels



Cons

User interface could be slightly improved.
Strobe level should be slightly faster though I heard they are updating this feature
Optics are exposed and can scratch easily. You can remedy this on the main LEDS by installing a lens. A MagLite lens is slightly to small so sourcing a lens may be a problem.
No pause when the light reaches the Minimum or Maximum brighness levels in adjustment mode.


Mike at Pacific Tactical solutions will be offering a group discount on this light at 15% off the regular retail price with Free Shipping for a total of $477. This is a great price for a light of this caliber. Mike can be contacted via E-Mail at [email protected].



10/6/06
Update from the VP of sales at Wiseled

Thanks for the review - it seems as our product so far is doing OK !

I have read through the review and the questions - so hereby some additional info !

We can supply the 3LED with any colour or IR/UV
The flashlights come with only an autocharger - if you want a charger aswell - you will have to buy one.
Besides 1 LED 4/360 degree we also supply a 90 degree Lens (for directional light).
The flashlights are actually made to go down to 600feet (we just don't signal with this ). We supplied the light for the www.500feetdive.net .
We can change the Strobe level to whatever the market (or specific customer) may want. The same goes for the idea of pausing at maximum and minimum level - we are already considering doing this.
We use Luxeon K2 LEDs where we get a special selection of the higest possible bin. Over time the output will increase significantly (we originally expected 1360LUMEN for the Tactical - but had to settle for lesser power since production issues at Luxeon postponed deliverytime for our chosen bin).
We will be looking into the issue of the lense.
The time running the light at 100% level (Boost) will depend upon the external conditions. Besides going down to 70% after a couple of minutes, the flashlight simply turns down the light when temperature reaches a specific level. It checks at a set time frame and adjusts the light down one step - until the temperature is below the set level. If you don't hold the flashlight in your hands it will turn down the light quicker since we use the whole flashlight (via our patented Heatrod) as coolingdevice and the hands will help cooling down the flashlight.
The light can't be disassambled without breaking the guarantee (and the waterproofness).

Last if you could help me clear up a bad mistake. ! The specifications on our website stating 233Watt - is to give normal people something to compare with. We should have written "like a 233 watt light bulp" but is was shortened by our webdesigner of design reasons.... Sorry. I will make sure we atleast put the 233Watt in "".

If you have any questions or any inputs on how we could make even better flashlights just let me know.

Thanks for your interest so far.

Have a nice week-end



Best regards


Kåre Jacobsen
VP - Sales & Marketing


On to the pictures


Tactical with white 4 degree Tail Light



Optic close up





Tail Light





Tail Light removed



Size Comparision with a Standard 2D MagLite



Wiseled tactical with the 3xUWOK Tri-Lux



Next to the Surefire M6





Wiseled Tactical with the Tail LED removed



Charging Indicator



Charging Indicator 90% Recharged






Beamshots

All shots are shot in full manual mode with the same exact exposure for each light.


Surefire U2 Max



Tri-Lux UWOK



Surefire M6



Wiseled Tactical Tail



Wiseled Tactical





75 Yards to Tree's

Base Photo



Surefire U2



Tri-Lux UWOK



Surefire M6



Wiseled Tactical

Man, that's one bright son of a *****!!!
Now I fully understand the reasons behind its price... European craftsmanship at its finest plus that insane brightess and extra features. This is like the Bang & Olufsen of the flashlights. Way to go Denmark, it was about time... Now let's see if the chinese can clone that! LOL

Thanks for this awesome review.

Great review cmacclel

Looking at the close up of the optic, I'm pretty sure those are luxeon k2's. I can see the hexagonal profile.

Can you confirm any of those runtimes?

monkeyboy said:

Great review cmacclel

Looking at the close up of the optic, I'm pretty sure those are luxeon k2's. I can see the hexagonal profile.

Can you confirm any of those runtimes?

Click to expand...

I didn't have the light long enough to complete runtime tests sorry.

From what I can see through the optic it looks like no LED I have ever seen.


Mac

Awesome, thats incredibly bright.

clipse

Are these light regulated Mac?

Mac,

Thank you for the review! :goodjob:

A couple questions:

1) What kind of charger came with the light? AC? DC? How do you use it? Plug in? Remove battery?

2) If using the light on Max setting (lets say for 15 min), can you step up to Boost or is the light too warm at that point?

Thanks!

Thanks for the review!!



Very tempting indeed!




Benny

blahblahblah said:

Mac,

Thank you for the review! :goodjob:

A couple questions:

1) What kind of charger came with the light? AC? DC? How do you use it? Plug in? Remove battery?

2) If using the light on Max setting (lets say for 15 min), can you step up to Boost or is the light too warm at that point?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what the default charger is that comes with the standard package maybe Mike can chime in here. The unit I received came with an AC adapter that plugs into the tail of the light. The connector is underneath the metal tail plug shown in the pictures.

Even after the light throttled down I was able to activate boost mode. How long will stay in boost mode after the light throttles down then boost mode is re-activated I do not know.

The Light is bright enough that you do not have to use boost mode. The Lowest setting of this light surpasses most 5 watt lights as is.

Mac

Great review Mac, Love the beamshots!

Mac,
Thank you for taking the time to review this amazing light for everyone. Nice pictures! :twothumbs

Originally posted by blahblahblah
A couple questions:

1) What kind of charger came with the light? AC? DC? How do you use it? Plug in? Remove battery?

2) If using the light on Max setting (lets say for 15 min), can you step up to Boost or is the light too warm at that point?

Click to expand...

WiseLED flashlights come with a DC charger, there is no converter box, you plug it strait into a cigarette lighter socket. I tried to get WiseLED to furnish the flashlights with AC chargers but they would not although we will have AC chargers in stock for those of you that want one. The Tactical is a sealed unit and the batteries cannot be removed. To charge the light you would plug the charger cable into the socket where the tail light goes.

Boost mode will always come on even when it's hot but will throttle down the output in about a minute. So you can have a lot of light in a pinch if you need it but it's not recommended to use boost mode constantly.

Good review!

I still say this is a great candidate for a pass-around!

Yes, dito, thanx for the review!

No lens and being waterproof to deep-sea levels sound a bit like a contradiction to me. Did you have the time for a closer look about this?

Can the light be disassambled ?

bernie

Thanks for the review. Looks impressive. I'd love to see a head-to-head test with Elektrolumen's K2 Stunner: http://elektrolumens.com/K2-Stunner/K2-Stunner.html

joema said:

Thanks for the review. Looks impressive. I'd love to see a head-to-head test with Elektrolumen's K2 Stunner: http://elektrolumens.com/K2-Stunner/K2-Stunner.html

Click to expand...

Your comparing apples to oranges with these 2 lights. There for 2 different markets. The Wiseled is state of the art where the K2 Stunner is an all out direct drive light.


Mac

Kiessling said:

Yes, dito, thanx for the review!

No lens and being waterproof to deep-sea levels sound a bit like a contradiction to me. Did you have the time for a closer look about this?

Can the light be disassambled ?

bernie

Click to expand...

The Light is sealed. The optic is the lens. I would prefer a lens over the optic to protect it.

Mac

cmacclel said:

Your comparing apples to oranges with these 2 lights. There for 2 different markets. The Wiseled is state of the art where the K2 Stunner is an all out direct drive light.

Click to expand...

I agree if you're SCUBA diving the Wiseled is best.

However, they are both powerful multi-emitter lights. Most potential consumers in this segment aren't SCUBA divers, nor care about details of internal electronics, but want the most powerful LED light available. They're going to cross-shop whatever LED light gives that output level and runtime. From that standpoint, the comparison is both logical and obvious.

As the old saying goes, "there's more than one way to skin a cat". In both cases the end product is a high output multi-emitter LED light, just two different paths to achieve that.

I wish we could get some hard facts about the runtime. CAN it really sustain the high output without overheating and without throttling down?

Jan

***IMPORTANT - READ THIS***

I just tried to order a wiseled tactical via the online shop. After inputting all of my details, and clicking "submit order", the website crapped up and displayed an error message so I'm not sure if the order went through or not. I have contacted the support team and I'm awaiting a response.

I suggest that no one else try ordering from the online shop until this issue is resolved.

EDIT - I'm talking about the manufacturer's website:
http://www.wiseled.com/index.aspx?articleid=916&shopCId=9&menuid=916009

JanCPF said:

I wish we could get some hard facts about the runtime. CAN it really sustain the high output without overheating and without throttling down?

Jan

Click to expand...

Did you actually read the review? I explained how the light throttled down from 100% to approximately 70% output after 5 minutes.


Mac