BriteGeek
Newly Enlightened
First off, let me freely admit that not only is this my first review, but I am not up to performing a review of the candle power of the flashlight. I lack the tools and experience to do both properly. I WILL provide an overall impression of the light and provide some numbers regarding the USB charging/charger aspects.
Inside the box you will find the light in its holster, spare o-rings, lanyard, 26650 battery (advertised as 4500mAh) and a micro-USB cable. Of course, the first thing I did was connect it to a USB charger to fully charge the battery! I did check, and the light can be locked out by slightly loosening the tail cap. Something I was very glad to see as the light will be spending all winter in my jacket pocket without the holster. Retightening the tail cap resets the mode back to the lowest level, but for me this is an acceptable tradeoff for the security of knowing I won't have to worry about the light accidently turning on in my pocket. After 15 minutes on high, the light became quite warm (but as near as could tell, did not dim) so I don't even want to think about how much heat was coming out the glass!
Form: At approximately 5.5" overall length by 1.5" at the bezel, the light feels comfortable in my hand, and is small enough to put in a pocket if need be. The case that it comes with is a fitted nylon case with a Velcro flap, and a belt loop that is adjustable to fit virtually any belt size, though it would be a bit loose on a thin dress belt. The collar that covers the USB ports has two O-rings, one at each end. This means water resistant, NOT waterproof! A slight twist while you pull down on the collar to uncover the ports makes the operation a bit easier. The tail cap does have two holes for connecting the lanyard, and is flat to allow for setting the light on its tail. However you cannot do so with the lanyard connected.
Function: The UI (white rubber covered click type switch) serves two functions. The first, and most obvious, turns the light on. This is done with a momentary press of the switch. Once on, pressing and holding the switch cycles the light through the 5 different modes starting with either the lowest mode or the last mode remembered if you hadn't locked it out. According to the manual, the modes are 1 lm, 100 lm, 500 lm, 960 lm and 960 lm strobe. Once you release the switch, it remembers the last mode unless you loosen the tail cap or otherwise disconnect the battery. The second function is to turn on the USB charger. To do this, instead of momentarily pressing the switch, you press and hold it.
USB Charging: I have a commercial in-line USB test adapter that enables me to test both voltage and current. The actual testing is done with my primitive Fluke 79 DMM. When connected to a USB charger capable of up to 3A, the flashlight draws a nearly steady 1.1A during the first charging stage. As the battery nears a full charge, the current will slowly start to taper off. The entire time the light is charging the switch is blinking blue. Once a full charge is reached, the light becomes a solid blue and current draw goes to zero. The final battery voltage after a full charge was 4.22V.
USB Charger: Connected to various devices, the output current never exceeded .95A. If you are going to use it to charge an Apple device, I strongly recommend purchasing an adapter that makes the Apple device think it is connected to an Apple charger. I have one, and without it the maximum current draw was .5A charging my 4th generation iPad and while the iPad knew it was connected to a power source, it said it wasn't charging. With the adapter, it no longer complained and a charging current of .95A was obtained. During charger operations, the light under the switch will be a steady red. If it is slowly blinking red, the battery is "below 50%". A fast blink signifies the battery is "below 20%" and that it should be charged. Of course no red light is supposed to signify a dead battery.
No load output voltage was 5.14V and under the full .95A it was 4.88V.
Conclusion: I typically carry a small pouch of USB cables and adapters, a tiny 1A USB wall charger, a USB battery pack (charger), and a "medium" sized flashlight. With the PowerTac Hero I can now get rid of the extra weight of the USB Battery pack, and even use the 1A wall charger to charge the flashlight! For a "generic" 1A USB charger, it appears to work quite well. As far as the flashlight itself is concerned, I think I have a new "always in my EDC bag or jacket pocket". Being able to run at over 900 lm is pure icing on the cake for me!
Inside the box you will find the light in its holster, spare o-rings, lanyard, 26650 battery (advertised as 4500mAh) and a micro-USB cable. Of course, the first thing I did was connect it to a USB charger to fully charge the battery! I did check, and the light can be locked out by slightly loosening the tail cap. Something I was very glad to see as the light will be spending all winter in my jacket pocket without the holster. Retightening the tail cap resets the mode back to the lowest level, but for me this is an acceptable tradeoff for the security of knowing I won't have to worry about the light accidently turning on in my pocket. After 15 minutes on high, the light became quite warm (but as near as could tell, did not dim) so I don't even want to think about how much heat was coming out the glass!
Form: At approximately 5.5" overall length by 1.5" at the bezel, the light feels comfortable in my hand, and is small enough to put in a pocket if need be. The case that it comes with is a fitted nylon case with a Velcro flap, and a belt loop that is adjustable to fit virtually any belt size, though it would be a bit loose on a thin dress belt. The collar that covers the USB ports has two O-rings, one at each end. This means water resistant, NOT waterproof! A slight twist while you pull down on the collar to uncover the ports makes the operation a bit easier. The tail cap does have two holes for connecting the lanyard, and is flat to allow for setting the light on its tail. However you cannot do so with the lanyard connected.
Function: The UI (white rubber covered click type switch) serves two functions. The first, and most obvious, turns the light on. This is done with a momentary press of the switch. Once on, pressing and holding the switch cycles the light through the 5 different modes starting with either the lowest mode or the last mode remembered if you hadn't locked it out. According to the manual, the modes are 1 lm, 100 lm, 500 lm, 960 lm and 960 lm strobe. Once you release the switch, it remembers the last mode unless you loosen the tail cap or otherwise disconnect the battery. The second function is to turn on the USB charger. To do this, instead of momentarily pressing the switch, you press and hold it.
USB Charging: I have a commercial in-line USB test adapter that enables me to test both voltage and current. The actual testing is done with my primitive Fluke 79 DMM. When connected to a USB charger capable of up to 3A, the flashlight draws a nearly steady 1.1A during the first charging stage. As the battery nears a full charge, the current will slowly start to taper off. The entire time the light is charging the switch is blinking blue. Once a full charge is reached, the light becomes a solid blue and current draw goes to zero. The final battery voltage after a full charge was 4.22V.
USB Charger: Connected to various devices, the output current never exceeded .95A. If you are going to use it to charge an Apple device, I strongly recommend purchasing an adapter that makes the Apple device think it is connected to an Apple charger. I have one, and without it the maximum current draw was .5A charging my 4th generation iPad and while the iPad knew it was connected to a power source, it said it wasn't charging. With the adapter, it no longer complained and a charging current of .95A was obtained. During charger operations, the light under the switch will be a steady red. If it is slowly blinking red, the battery is "below 50%". A fast blink signifies the battery is "below 20%" and that it should be charged. Of course no red light is supposed to signify a dead battery.
No load output voltage was 5.14V and under the full .95A it was 4.88V.Conclusion: I typically carry a small pouch of USB cables and adapters, a tiny 1A USB wall charger, a USB battery pack (charger), and a "medium" sized flashlight. With the PowerTac Hero I can now get rid of the extra weight of the USB Battery pack, and even use the 1A wall charger to charge the flashlight! For a "generic" 1A USB charger, it appears to work quite well. As far as the flashlight itself is concerned, I think I have a new "always in my EDC bag or jacket pocket". Being able to run at over 900 lm is pure icing on the cake for me!
