SRT7-GT Video Review with Comparison for SRT7-Revenger and MH27

Impossible lumens

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Well it's been no time at all and we already have a successor to the SRT7-Revenger. LOL. The SRT7-GT was sent to me for review on YouTube from Andrew-Amanda.com.

In this video, we'll take a close look at the new SRT7-GT and compare it with the previous SRT7-Revenger as well as the MH27. We'll test how the parameters measure up RGB VS. RGB. We'll look at the interface of the SRT series vs that which is in the MH series MH27. Runtime tests on turbo and outdoor beam shots of course.

Don't miss my coupon code towards the beginning of the video for 25% off SRT7-GT. I think it's good for 4 weeks.

This video is long. I meant to chop off more time, but my editor actually crashed and would not permit further editing after 6 hours of solid work. I wasn't going to start over as the video was decent enough. If you want to click and skip between subject matter then just watch it on YouTube where I've created a clickable legend to go straight to the section you want to view. Thanks CPF for all the flashlight rock and roll.

---------------------WATCH ON YOUTUBE--------------------

 
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proceed5

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Thank you for your time and effort for the comprehensive & long video review :D

Before you shared this video review, I thought I should skip the SRT7GT since I already have the MH27UV which is quite similar save and except for the buttons versus magnetic ring controls.
Your video has made me more tempted to get this one. Man, its poisonous.
Cheers
 

Impossible lumens

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Thank you for your time and effort for the comprehensive & long video review :D

Before you shared this video review, I thought I should skip the SRT7GT since I already have the MH27UV which is quite similar save and except for the buttons versus magnetic ring controls.
Your video has made me more tempted to get this one. Man, its poisonous.
Cheers
Thanks. I wasn't even aware that there was an MH27UV release. Now you got ME going. lol. I don't really dislike my MH27 at all. But I notice that the control ring is a bit like night and day vs those buttons. With the MH27 it's hard for me to feel like there's casual access to blinking modes as it always feels to me like a "go out of your way to get there" type deal. Definitely not the case with SRT series lights. I talk about it being 4 years since they updated the SRT7 so yeah, I wish they made more of them.
 
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proceed5

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Thanks. I wasn't even aware that there was an MH27UV release. Now you got ME going. lol. I don't really dislike my MH27 at all. But I notice that the control ring is a bit like night and day vs those buttons. With the MH27 it's hard for me to feel like there's casual access to blinking modes as it always feels to me like a "go out of your way to get there" type deal. Definitely not the case with SRT series lights. I talk about it being 4 years since they updated the SRT7 so yeah, I wish they made more of them.
Hi there Impossible lumens,
The MH27UV is basically the MV27 with the Green LED swapped out and replaced with for one UV LED.
And yeah I felt that the "one-fingered" double-button-simulteneous press to gain access to strobe can be a miss n hit. Most of the time I miss. It works with two Fingers tho'.
I am contended with the MH27UV for what it is, and I would have wished the SRT7GT to be more of an evolution like perhaps higher max output on the white light.
Anyway, i will go to the local distributor to try it out when stocks arrive next week..
Cheers & keep up with the great great reviews here and on Utube.
 

Impossible lumens

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Hi there Impossible lumens,
The MH27UV is basically the MV27 with the Green LED swapped out and replaced with for one UV LED.
And yeah I felt that the "one-fingered" double-button-simulteneous press to gain access to strobe can be a miss n hit. Most of the time I miss. It works with two Fingers tho'.
I am contended with the MH27UV for what it is, and I would have wished the SRT7GT to be more of an evolution like perhaps higher max output on the white light.
Anyway, i will go to the local distributor to try it out when stocks arrive next week..
Cheers & keep up with the great great reviews here and on Utube.
Gotcha. A rather underwhelming addition for anyone who has the MH27 already. Not to mention the MH27 and the SRT7GT. Or anyone who simply wants to have green for that matter. I get wanting UV with the red and blue and getting a nice light with the MH27UV. But once you own any one of these, there's not much upgrade path with getting another. I'd have Nitecore make just one, and get that one all the way right, the one time. As it stands, we have three of the same albeit minutely different lights, excepting the control ring which is a bit more than minute. But still.
 

proceed5

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Hi there Impossible Lumens,

I have just received my SRT7GT from my local distributor.
I have tested the SRT7GT side by side with my MH27UV.

Here are my observations (based on usage, not measured):
Compared my SRT7GT with my MH27UV:
1) in practical usage, my SRT7GT seemed to have a bigger (broader [the side of hotspot seemed less defined]) center hotspot, the center hotspot on my MH27UV is smaller and more defined;
2) the SRT7GT's side small blue LED automatically blinks every other second when on Standby mode (I have not read the instructions manual and have no idea if this blue blinking feature can be switched off).
3) my SRT7GT was very bright (both lights tested with AWT Red unprotected flat top 3000 mah batteries)
4) my SRT7GT seemed to run a bit warmer on flat out Turbo mode
5) am absolutely delighted with the magnetic control ring as always, it allows me to choose how much light I would want (downside is getting to Turbo takes longer time and no one press access to Turbo or strobe)
In Overall, thank you Impossible Lumens Dave and do hope you will continue to share with us your video reviews which have been informative :D
Good on ya mate n cheers
 

CelticCross74

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thanks for the review OP! That is some dedication to spend so much time putting this video together.

I have all 3 of these lights also. The following have been my experience with the 3 lights.

NONE of the 3 actually meet their max output claims. Not trying to be condescending but your PVC pipe light tube would be much more accurate if you seal off the end of the tube you put the head of each light in. The original SRT7 is good for 780 lumens with an 18650 cell. Use 2x18350 sources and that number climbs to 840+ OTF lumens. The tactical ring for the original SRT7 is cheap plastic that does not screw down into the tail piece or the tube it is just loose. Drove me nuts. The beam profile out of the original is actually pretty good for having 3 secondary emitter wells in the reflector. The secondary colors are pretty weak and their individual profiles are atrocious. I will say though that I have had the original since its release which I believe was 5 years ago now and everything still works. I freaking LOVE the big chunky metal magnetic control ring.

SRT7GT-the only reason I did not send this one back for a refund is that it has higher for real max output and as mentioned above I just love the control ring. The GT is rated at 50,900k CD. Nope. I would say 44-46,000k CD. The GT is advertised as coming with a metal tactical ring. It is plastic. The secondary RGB emitters to my eyes are still just as weak as the original. I do find the UV emitter useful for checking for the security features on my print money. My copy showed up with the emitter 2mm off center. Does not seem to affect the profile though. The GT for some reason is not thermally regulated like the majority of their newer lights. As much as I believe Nitecores big chunky metal magnetic control ring is possibly the best magnetic control ring on the market NC for some reason leaves roughly 4mm of turning radius from one colored emitter setting to the next. I do not understand why as turning through the colored emitter setting nothing changes. There is no increase or decrease in the output of the RGB emitters during this extra turning radius. Why not just click to click?

The cop strobe mode. This is a problem on all 3 lights. It serves no real purpose other than to wow people at parties. The cop strobe can very easily get you in trouble with the law. A far more useful mode could have been it the cop strobes place.

The CR123 problem. Both the original SRT7 and new GT both have the CR123 problem. What is this problem? Both lights can be powered by 2xCR123's BUT the voltage sensor in both lights is a faulty design. Put fresh 3v CR123 cells into either light and the low voltage sensor only reads 3v instead of 6v causing the low voltage indicator on the head of the two lights will begin flashing at its fastest rate as soon as you turn them on. How this faulty design was not corrected is beyond me.

MH27(non UV version). Yes the dual button UI takes some getting used to but after a bit of use is pretty simple. Press down on the center of the two switch layout will also take you into the blinky modes. No need to press both buttons at the same time. MH27 is thermally regulated which is a big plus. To my eyes the MH27 throws farther than the GT. The colored emitters on the MH27 to my eyes are barely any brighter than the SRT's. I was greatly pleased that the MH27 tactical ring is made of metal and screws into place. MH27 has built in micro USB charging capability. The crenelated bezel on the MH27 is big enough to actually be useful if needed.

In the end I feel NC really dropped the ball on the GT. It could have been far better very easily. The weird extra radius between the colored settings kind of brings the awesome control ring down a bit. Out of the 3 lights I feel the MH27 despite not having the sweet control ring is the best of the 3.

If one is in the market for a medium sized thrower with secondary colored emitters then the Fenix TK32, despite only having red and green for secondary emitters, just eats the 3 Nitecores in terms of output and especially the red and green LEDs. The red and green TK32 emitters have the highest output of any secondary red and green emitter I have ever seen. They actually have good profiles to boot. The 2016 TK32 is good for a solid 44-45,000k CD.

The SRT line has needed to be overhauled for a long time now. If the GT is an example of what they are going to do to upgrade the rest of the series then that will be extremely disappointing. My favorite SRT is actually the SRT6. No dim colored emitter wells to blur the out edge of the beam profile and I am totally convinced that aside from the secondary emitters both the SRT6 and 7 have the same driver and output. I use 2x18350 sources in my SRT6 which proved a visible increase in output. But the SRT6 also has the CR123 problem. Should an SRT6 GT come along I just hope that the voltage sensor finally works right and that NC uses at least the XP-L HD emitter. Thermal regulation would be a huge plus.
 

Impossible lumens

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Hmm, that's interesting. My SRT7 and SRT7GT don't flash at the fast rate at all when using double, fresh cr123 batteries. I'm not sure why both of yours would do that and neither of mine seem to have the issue.

Yeah, I noticed on my light meter that when I cover the area around the light, where it goes into the tube, the difference is less than 1% than when it's simply exposed. It's easier to have the space available for when I want to use bigger lights. Also, I've mentioned this before, but I know it's hard to find as my videos tend to be on the long side, but the SRT7 (GT) both see an increased output of between 100-200 lumens when using an unprotected high-drain cell versus a standard 18650. Using a standard, fully charged 18650, then immediately going to a high-drain fully charged 18650 shows approximately 150 lumen increase every single time.

I actually didn't even include the SRT7 RGB lumens test in the video because it was so much lower than the others. It was only 1/3 the output for each of the colors when compared with the SRT7GT, and the MH27 again beats the SRT7GT by just a little bit. I had tried to explain why I wasn't including SRT7 in RGB comparison, but my editing got screwed up and that little blurb wasn't in the video. But yeah, not to bash on what you see visually when testing a comparison, but in the lumen tube my SRT7GT totally dominated my old SRT7 for RGB output by threefold.

I totally agree that it has been too long for a successor to the SRT7 to come out. The fact that it doesn't utterly dominate the old SRT7 in every way makes the light somewhat underwhelming simply because people have been waiting soooo long for this. However, in my opinion the SRT7GT is still clearly the superior light, albeit in underwhelming fashion.
 
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