Wicked Laser's Torch - Don't do it!

I just got this in the mail and excitedly charged up the battery; I couldn't WAIT to use it. 30 minutes later, the indicator light turned green, I popped out the battery, unplugged the charger (if you can even call it that, super cheap) and twisted off the back of the light. Right here is where I had my first doubts about the light. It squeaked SO LOUD that my dogs both ran and hid. But hey, a squeaky end cap, no big deal right? So I popped in the battery, aimed the light at an adjacent wall (maybe 30 feet away), squinted my eyes in preparation and pressed that button! I looked in my hand thinking that I MUST be holding my dad's old maglight. Nope. It was the Torch. The beam was terrible, there was a gaping hole in the middle and it wasn't even that bright. I quickly pulled out my PD30 for a comparison, and while the Torch had a warmer, larger beam, the PD30 was nearly as bright. Grumpily, I turned it off, grabbed some loose leaf and headed outside. I held the paper about six inches away and let it rip. Nothing. I moved the paper closer. Nothing. I put it ON the lens. Nothing. I went in to grab some newspaper, leaving the other paper on the lens while I was gone. Nothing. The newspaper wasn't much better, it smoldered, yes, but fire? No. Dried leafs? No fire. I couldn't even see the beam 10 feet away at 5PM in the evening.
This light is garbage. Don't even THINK about wasting your money on it. There's not a chance in the world this is 4100 Lumens. I'd place my bets around 410 (Ok, more than that, but 1000 would be pressing it).
(That being said, if anyone is looking to buy one... :laughing
:shakehead

I'm pretty sure there is something wrong with your Torch. I've never seen one personally, but if it is working properly it should absolutely crush a PD30. I had a Mag85, and it spanked every single LED light I've ever seen, and the Torch is 4x as bright as a Mag85.

Maybe some of the Incan pros can give you some help.

Yeah, something is wrong with your light. Even unfocused it should blow away the fenix. Here is a beamshot of my 4400 lumen mag623, it is basically the same light.

Well, the beam was much bigger than the PD30 (I guess it's a flood and the PD30 is a throw?)
And I can't really think of any reason why it would only light up to partial brightness (I'm new to this, maybe that does happen?), but it seems to me that it would either light up or not, but I could be mistaken :thinking:

The Mag623 is crazy bright but the Wicked Laser version is a letdown.

They cut too many corners IMO.

I would think that your battery pack was not fully charged. Try charging it overlight again.
Either that, or you got some voltage drop somewhere.

Its not an elegant way to produce light, but the sheer amount of watts flowing through the bulb should make it WAY brighter than any single led flashlight could be.

Should I measure the voltage from the battery? Or would the drop be happening somewhere else? I can charge my battery then take some pictures of the beams once it gets dark.

Is it normal for the batteries to charge up in 30 minutes?

I watched a video guide that said to not let them charge any longer than that. Although the manual did not mention it, so I'll let 'em sit a little while longer.

Fresh out of a charge, my battery measured 17.56V. Is that safe from a 14.4V battery pack?

magician13134 said:

I watched a video guide that said to not let them charge any longer than that. Although the manual did not mention it, so I'll let 'em sit a little while longer.

Fresh out of a charge, my battery measured 17.56V. Is that safe from a 14.4V battery pack?

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that seems reasonable. even a bit high, imho. Would more like expect 17.0 or so.
Hm. Then there is to be a problem somewhere else.
Just think about it that way: high power incan bulbs are virtually short-circuits. so even tiny contact resistances can up a lot.

Ok. So. I charged up the battery and took it outside for some beamshots. You guys were right, I don't know if it was the further distance, the darkerness, or what, but it blew my LEDs away.
Here they are:
4 D-Cell Maglite:

PD30:

XTAR P7-C2:

Torch:


Then, I was even able to light a strip of newspaper on fire, I was feeling pretty cool

But! Then! After having it on for maybe three minutes, I hear a little *tink*. So I immediately turned it off and let my eyes adjust to the dark again.
What do you think I saw?

Yeah... So, at least there's a 6 month warranty. Should I deal with a replacement, or just try to get my money back?

*Sigh*

I'd try to get a replacement. It sounds like your light has had issues from the start, perhaps an all new one would have fewer issues.

Alright, I'll give it another shot. Do all HIDs have a nasty hole in the beam?

If you really love the thing, call up their warranty dept and get it fixed, or see if it's cheaper to fix it yourself by getting some Borofloat glass from Flashlightlens. If you can remove the window and they carry your size a couple new lenses would likely be less than the shipping to get it serviced. If it's just getting on your nerves I'd get a refund if possible, when a toy becomes more of a headache than fun (and that's what a Torch type light is really) then it's time to get rid of it.

Edit: HIDs. No, it all depends on how the reflector is designed. It's sort of like cree rings or lux5 donuts with smaller flashlights, it's definately possible with a bit of care to design them out.

It really depends on the reflector. The "torch" seems to have a light orange peel reflector. If they gave it more of a texture, it probably would have a nicer looking beam.

Mjolnir said:

It really depends on the reflector. The "torch" seems to have a light orange peel reflector. If they gave it more of a texture, it probably would have a nicer looking beam.

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that and someone else mentioned that the reflector is camless, flood focused...so forget throw

Ok, and my dad got home and I wanted to show him, I figured ten seconds with a cracked lens wouldn't do any harm (I know, it's stupid, but nothing bad happened there), and I really don't get it. It was no brighter than his maglite! I had taken the battery out right after taking those pictures and hadn't used it again until now! I could (and did) look STRAIGHT into the light without even hurting my eyes! It wasn't hot or even warm around the bulb. Does the battery just... leak that much power sitting around? It can't... Is my Torch serioursly messed up?!
I think that this is probably going to be more of a headace than anything... I need some sleep now, we'll see if I can get a refund tomorrow, then I'll just enjoy the lights I have for a while (we'll see how long that lasts )

Grrrr....

The lens is definitely not supposed to break, especially with a 300 dollar light. You could be having problems with both the battery and the lens. You should really return it before your luck runs out and it blows up on you.

Hi There ,there is nothing wrong with your Torch. The battery is shipped dead.The battery must be charged for 24 hrs. Put it on the charger until the green LED light comes on,unplug it,let it cool a bit,plug it back in.Repeat this cycle throughout the day then leave it on the charger overnite. After this initial charge you will be able to complete the charging in a normal manner. There is nothing wrong with your lite,charger or battery. There is lots of misleading info about the torch and a lot of it comes from people that don't even own one.
The beam is adjustable to get rid of that doughnut hole. The reflector is smooth so you get throw and spill lots of both.The torch should not have been advertised as most powerful there are always more powerful or biggest or strongest.What is should have been billed as "A Tactical Light Without Peer For Its Size"
I have 2 torches and have used them for 2 years and I also own several Surfire M6's and when the torch is lit next to AM6 you don't even know the M6 is on. Both torch do not have long run times. being used as a tactical light not a duty light this shorttime doesn't mean very nuch and heat build upis not a problem.I know several torches in use in the Middle East for sweeps and dwelling searches for insurgents. When used in a sweep the whole perimeter is lit up with no need to "HUNT" with a light with much less power like M6.When entering a building the occupants are disoriented from all that power and those massive amounts of lumens has stopped many firefights before they can start. This light has proved itself and is repected.The light is built from the ground up to take all that votage and wattage and is not converted from a lesser light. Don't test the light while its initial charging or run the battery down to rock bottom. After its charged completely you'll be very impressed.

magician13134 said:

Alright, I'll give it another shot. Do all HIDs have a nasty hole in the beam?

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It's not an HID, and no. Many other HIDs have great beams. Many other hotwires also have great beams.

The Torch has a 60% duty cycle: three minutes on, two minutes off. It WILL overheat and crap itself if abused.

Also, I think you need to grab the bulb with a lens-cloth, and adjust the focus that way while everything's cold - I've only had a minute or two with one, and the focus was for poop. My ROP handily outthrew it and outran it (30+ min vs. four 2-minute burns), even if I could barely singe newspaper. :shakehead