Today, I find a package in my mailbox, what's inside?
New light! The NexTorch New Star. NexTorch, I feel like they don't get all that much talk. But when somebody does mention their lights, the reaction is quite positive. They seem to be on the high end of the Chinese lights, something like a Fenix or SunwayLED. So, I was pretty intrigued by the NexTorch for a few reasons. It should be a pretty sturdy, reliable light. It's waterproof to 100m (Note: they call it a 'dive light.' I don't know if 100m is typical for divers or not, I thought divers tended to go a bit deeper. I don't dive. I'm not going to use this as a dive light. So this review doesn't really go there. But if this still belongs in the diving forum, make it so…). And it's a simple light, in a lot of ways. Single mode, magnetic switch, just twist on/off/on/off, whatever. This sort of ruggedness and simplicity appeals to me for a light I can take when I'm down at the stream, etc. So, anyhow, I get this package in the mail, what do I do? The dishes, of course!
I had to give it the dunk test. Of course, this is nowhere near 100m. This is basically IPX9 territory, eh? But there was that thrill of turning it on underwater… Like how you aren't supposed to fiddle with the crown even though the watch is waterproof? Well, this was satisfying. And no
! So, the light works, sweet deal. Aside from the fact that I can turn it on in my kitchen sink, you'd probably like to know how it works… Before I go there, I wanted to run it against my E1B, a safe sort of demo light, in my opinion. I also did some tests against my Romisen RC-C6 II Q5, simply because the New Star also rocks a Q5.
The basics:
1: Lens. I could probably have put this in with the head, but this is pretty important to people. It is a plastic, err, polycarbonate lens. This is the one area I feel was skimped a little - but does this have to do with pressure (at 100m)? Anyway, it's not a huge deal, but without much of a lip around it, it will probably get scratched. It has some shiny color to it, which is reminiscent of AR coatings on optics, take what you will from that.
2: Brainpan. Wait, what? Well, it's the head, but NexTorch calls it a Brainpan. I, personally, love that. Anyhow, it's a smooth polycarbonate reflector around a Q5. The tint (on mine, at least) is very nice, fairly neutral, tending slightly toward green, if anything. Not nearly as green as my Aeon, not as green as my E1B either, which I think has a pretty good tint. 3V head is what they say, I don't have any RCRs to test with, nor do I really want to my brainpan. Claimed output is 60 lumens for 160 min. I have no way of testing the light output, but I think it's about right or perhaps an understatement, just in comparing with my E1B. More detail on the brainpan later.
3: Battery tube/body. 1xNT123. Wait, what? Just that old game of taking an existing standard and giving it a new name to irritate people. NexTorch includes a NexTorch branded NT123 (CR123A), which they claim is a 'special' 1400mAh cell. I thought all CR123As were around 1400mAh? Anyhow, I put it in reserve for now and dropped a USA-made cell in instead, not sure how to feel about the Chinese cell. The body (and the head) feel nice and solid, and the anodizing is great. The ano doesn't match perfectly, which suggests that it might be HA-III? It definitely feels better than a lot of cheap ano I've handled. Body is decorated with NexTorch logo on one side, New Star on the other, these parts are squared off. Body tucks in a little, that is, it's slightly narrower than the head and the switch. Feels good in the hand, but I have tiny hands, YMMV. Lockout is done by unscrewing the head, there are lock/no light, unlock/light indicia on the head (see the box photo above), which seems silly but it's actually kind of nice. No knurling/fluting/anything, which might be tricky if you have it underwater…
4: Switch. This part is called rubber in the manual, it feels like plastic, so I'm guessing it's like a hard rubber. The manual also says that if it start to feel rough, to replace the o-ring - to me this means that you can perhaps pop off this part and replace it if need be? But mine certainly doesn't come off easily - I'm not going to force it. It's magnetic. It's also just a single-stage light, so turning it either way makes it go on if it's off, and off if it's on. It's very simple, and while the use of plastic/rubber made me uneasy at first, the nature of the switch means that something could be fabricated to replace it if it cracked, etc. Also, since it's magnetic, having strong magnets up against the tail of the light can turn it on. The detents for on/off are nice and strong, yet easy enough that switching one-handed is possible. I would call the feel of the switch just about perfect! The protrusions help you grab and twist the switch, as well as preventing roll.
5: Split ring. I just wanted to point out that the included split ring (which comes installed) is larger in diameter than the light. This is very odd to me, and it makes switching one-handed tricky, as your fingers tend to get in the way. I have tiny fingers, I would imagine it would be worse for average folk…
6: Nub. I hate these things, but I know a lot of people like their lights to hang dead-center from their keyrings, for whatever reason. So, if you like this, you like it, and if you don't, well… you're stuck with it! As seen in the photo, the light can tailstand on this, but I wouldn't want to actually do it. A 1xCR123A light is too large for a keychain IMO anyway, so I might put it in a TEC clip or something, who knows. It's my least favorite part, not going to lie.
How about some fancy photography?
The beam on the New Star (upper) is kind of funky looking, nowhere near as smooth as the E1B (lower). That's on my shiny white wall, however, and in practical use, the beam is pretty usable.
Again, New Star on top, you can see that hunting around and looking at stuff…*Yeah, you can see stuff! I killed my lights early tonight and have been getting around with it, it isn't bad at all. Lower shot there was done with the Romisen RC-C6 II on flood, which can sweep a room with ease… Regardless, just intended to be more of a control shot.
Tint, compared to my E1B (top) and the other Q5 - the Romisen RC-C6 II. Both shots, the New Star is on left, other on right. Both shots, the photo is white balanced for daylight. I didn't expect the tint to be great, because the tint on my Romisen is kinda nasty. Usable, just a bit purple. But the New Star really is pleasing on the eyes, with regard to tint. Doesn't feel 'off' when I'm using it - something like that Romisen, or my Aeon, have definitely noticeable tints in use.
Some demos of CRI - how do the lights render a wide variety of colors? This isn't intended to be a demonstration of the tint of the light - each of these shots is white balanced for the light in question. Rather, does any part of the spectrum drop out drastically? They all performed about equally, really. Chip chart is a Gretag Mini ColorChecker 50111.
So, final initial thoughts? It's very useful, very usable. It's simple, and I'm pretty confident in its reliability, I will report back if I have any issues. It feels solid, well built, well anodized. It's a decent size - not the smallest single CR123A light, but not the largest:
Runtime is said to be 160 min. I can't really test this, nor can I test current draw (no tailcap!). I also can't test it down to 100m, but it swam around my kitchen sink fine. Personally, I think it's just a good simple light to have in a bag or whatever… and if you have to use it at a lake, or in a heavy rain (and you drop it in a flash flood…) you know it'll be alright. At around $50(USD) it's a solid buy, in my opinion. I might go into the park one of these nights, see how it throws, but that's not my priority. I wish it used an OP reflector (or an optic), I wish it didn't have the nub on the back, and I wish the lens were glass or sapphire. But those are pretty minor points against a generally great light. Oh, also, I left it on while I shot all the photos… 15 min or so? It got warm, not hot. Cheers!
PS, apologies for the photos not all being great. This is due to a few things - my camera is a normal prime lens, so I don't have the liberty of zooming around. I generally shoot macros outdoors, so I don't really have a good setup for taking photos of lights, etc. Finally, I have no tripod here at the moment, nor do I have any furniture. Make do with whatcha got.
New light! The NexTorch New Star. NexTorch, I feel like they don't get all that much talk. But when somebody does mention their lights, the reaction is quite positive. They seem to be on the high end of the Chinese lights, something like a Fenix or SunwayLED. So, I was pretty intrigued by the NexTorch for a few reasons. It should be a pretty sturdy, reliable light. It's waterproof to 100m (Note: they call it a 'dive light.' I don't know if 100m is typical for divers or not, I thought divers tended to go a bit deeper. I don't dive. I'm not going to use this as a dive light. So this review doesn't really go there. But if this still belongs in the diving forum, make it so…). And it's a simple light, in a lot of ways. Single mode, magnetic switch, just twist on/off/on/off, whatever. This sort of ruggedness and simplicity appeals to me for a light I can take when I'm down at the stream, etc. So, anyhow, I get this package in the mail, what do I do? The dishes, of course!
I had to give it the dunk test. Of course, this is nowhere near 100m. This is basically IPX9 territory, eh? But there was that thrill of turning it on underwater… Like how you aren't supposed to fiddle with the crown even though the watch is waterproof? Well, this was satisfying. And no
! So, the light works, sweet deal. Aside from the fact that I can turn it on in my kitchen sink, you'd probably like to know how it works… Before I go there, I wanted to run it against my E1B, a safe sort of demo light, in my opinion. I also did some tests against my Romisen RC-C6 II Q5, simply because the New Star also rocks a Q5.The basics:
1: Lens. I could probably have put this in with the head, but this is pretty important to people. It is a plastic, err, polycarbonate lens. This is the one area I feel was skimped a little - but does this have to do with pressure (at 100m)? Anyway, it's not a huge deal, but without much of a lip around it, it will probably get scratched. It has some shiny color to it, which is reminiscent of AR coatings on optics, take what you will from that.
2: Brainpan. Wait, what? Well, it's the head, but NexTorch calls it a Brainpan. I, personally, love that. Anyhow, it's a smooth polycarbonate reflector around a Q5. The tint (on mine, at least) is very nice, fairly neutral, tending slightly toward green, if anything. Not nearly as green as my Aeon, not as green as my E1B either, which I think has a pretty good tint. 3V head is what they say, I don't have any RCRs to test with, nor do I really want to
my brainpan. Claimed output is 60 lumens for 160 min. I have no way of testing the light output, but I think it's about right or perhaps an understatement, just in comparing with my E1B. More detail on the brainpan later. 3: Battery tube/body. 1xNT123. Wait, what? Just that old game of taking an existing standard and giving it a new name to irritate people. NexTorch includes a NexTorch branded NT123 (CR123A), which they claim is a 'special' 1400mAh cell. I thought all CR123As were around 1400mAh? Anyhow, I put it in reserve for now and dropped a USA-made cell in instead, not sure how to feel about the Chinese cell. The body (and the head) feel nice and solid, and the anodizing is great. The ano doesn't match perfectly, which suggests that it might be HA-III? It definitely feels better than a lot of cheap ano I've handled. Body is decorated with NexTorch logo on one side, New Star on the other, these parts are squared off. Body tucks in a little, that is, it's slightly narrower than the head and the switch. Feels good in the hand, but I have tiny hands, YMMV. Lockout is done by unscrewing the head, there are lock/no light, unlock/light indicia on the head (see the box photo above), which seems silly but it's actually kind of nice. No knurling/fluting/anything, which might be tricky if you have it underwater…
4: Switch. This part is called rubber in the manual, it feels like plastic, so I'm guessing it's like a hard rubber. The manual also says that if it start to feel rough, to replace the o-ring - to me this means that you can perhaps pop off this part and replace it if need be? But mine certainly doesn't come off easily - I'm not going to force it. It's magnetic. It's also just a single-stage light, so turning it either way makes it go on if it's off, and off if it's on. It's very simple, and while the use of plastic/rubber made me uneasy at first, the nature of the switch means that something could be fabricated to replace it if it cracked, etc. Also, since it's magnetic, having strong magnets up against the tail of the light can turn it on. The detents for on/off are nice and strong, yet easy enough that switching one-handed is possible. I would call the feel of the switch just about perfect! The protrusions help you grab and twist the switch, as well as preventing roll.
5: Split ring. I just wanted to point out that the included split ring (which comes installed) is larger in diameter than the light. This is very odd to me, and it makes switching one-handed tricky, as your fingers tend to get in the way. I have tiny fingers, I would imagine it would be worse for average folk…
6: Nub. I hate these things, but I know a lot of people like their lights to hang dead-center from their keyrings, for whatever reason. So, if you like this, you like it, and if you don't, well… you're stuck with it! As seen in the photo, the light can tailstand on this, but I wouldn't want to actually do it. A 1xCR123A light is too large for a keychain IMO anyway, so I might put it in a TEC clip or something, who knows. It's my least favorite part, not going to lie.
How about some fancy photography?
The beam on the New Star (upper) is kind of funky looking, nowhere near as smooth as the E1B (lower). That's on my shiny white wall, however, and in practical use, the beam is pretty usable.
Again, New Star on top, you can see that hunting around and looking at stuff…*Yeah, you can see stuff! I killed my lights early tonight and have been getting around with it, it isn't bad at all. Lower shot there was done with the Romisen RC-C6 II on flood, which can sweep a room with ease… Regardless, just intended to be more of a control shot.
Tint, compared to my E1B (top) and the other Q5 - the Romisen RC-C6 II. Both shots, the New Star is on left, other on right. Both shots, the photo is white balanced for daylight. I didn't expect the tint to be great, because the tint on my Romisen is kinda nasty. Usable, just a bit purple. But the New Star really is pleasing on the eyes, with regard to tint. Doesn't feel 'off' when I'm using it - something like that Romisen, or my Aeon, have definitely noticeable tints in use.
Some demos of CRI - how do the lights render a wide variety of colors? This isn't intended to be a demonstration of the tint of the light - each of these shots is white balanced for the light in question. Rather, does any part of the spectrum drop out drastically? They all performed about equally, really. Chip chart is a Gretag Mini ColorChecker 50111.
So, final initial thoughts? It's very useful, very usable. It's simple, and I'm pretty confident in its reliability, I will report back if I have any issues. It feels solid, well built, well anodized. It's a decent size - not the smallest single CR123A light, but not the largest:
Runtime is said to be 160 min. I can't really test this, nor can I test current draw (no tailcap!). I also can't test it down to 100m, but it swam around my kitchen sink fine. Personally, I think it's just a good simple light to have in a bag or whatever… and if you have to use it at a lake, or in a heavy rain (and you drop it in a flash flood…) you know it'll be alright. At around $50(USD) it's a solid buy, in my opinion. I might go into the park one of these nights, see how it throws, but that's not my priority. I wish it used an OP reflector (or an optic), I wish it didn't have the nub on the back, and I wish the lens were glass or sapphire. But those are pretty minor points against a generally great light. Oh, also, I left it on while I shot all the photos… 15 min or so? It got warm, not hot. Cheers!
PS, apologies for the photos not all being great. This is due to a few things - my camera is a normal prime lens, so I don't have the liberty of zooming around. I generally shoot macros outdoors, so I don't really have a good setup for taking photos of lights, etc. Finally, I have no tripod here at the moment, nor do I have any furniture. Make do with whatcha got.
What an interesting translation.
