Imalent MS18 and Emisar D18

I've always thought of CPF as the place to go to to look for info about big flashy lights with tremendous output that push the envelope. That said, I'm a bit surprised that here on CPF there has been nothing at all regarding exciting upcoming lights.

The lights in question are the following:

Imalent MS18
Manufacturer specs:
- 18 CREE XHP 70.2
- 8 pcs 21700 in battery pack with integrated charger
- active cooling
- 100,000 lumens
- 1100m throw
- Display for mode and battery voltage

Some additional info from browsing the thread on the other forum:
- The active cooling is rumored to use 2 fans in a push-pull configuration with heatpipes.
- Reviewers on the other forum tested the actual output of a prototype at over 97,000 lumens. This would make it the brightest production LED light available.
- price is unknown, but this will clearly be Imalent's flagship light. I'd expect at least $600-800 or more.

Emisar D18
Manufacturer specs:
- 18*SST20 LED,
- 3*18650,
- 14,000 lumens,
- 65kcd
- head 58mm, body, 46mm, height,102mm.

Some additional information from browsing the thread on the other forum:
- this is a very small 3x18650 soda can light. Similar in size to a Fireflies ROT66 and smaller than a Noctigon Meteor M43.
- available in numerous tints including 3000K high CRI, 4000K high CRI, 5000K, 6500K
- light uses 18 individual little optics in a densely packed formation. LEDs are mounted on one big star.
- cost is less than $100
- available for purchase before the end of this month

The Imalent MS18 is a giant light with giant output. Clearly competing in the "lumens war" with Acebeam to try to produce max possible output in a production light. It's expensive and impressive and not very practical. A thread about this light has been up on the other forum for a week now and has hundreds of posts.

The Emisar D18 is a mini-soda can light. Much more affordable and practical. It was just announced yesterday on the other forum and already has almost 100 posts in the thread there. This is one many of us here on CPF will probably want to get.

I'm surprised that there has been nothing at all about these lights here. These are exciting lights that in past years would have had very active threads with more posts than the other forum. Instead it seems to be the other way around: very active threads there and nothing at all on CPF. Thought I'd post this to get the discussion started about these lights here on CPF.

I noticed that too, I randomly went to the other forum and saw these lights. The output of the imalent is impressive, blowing any other light out of the water. I'm hoping they're putting out quality product.

PocketLight88 said:

I noticed that too, I randomly went to the other forum and saw these lights. The output of the imalent is impressive, blowing any other light out of the water. I'm hoping they're putting out quality product.

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Yup. The Imalent looks impressive. Too expensive and large to be of any use for me.

I'll probably get the Emisar though. I love my Emisar D4. It is easily modded and the output is excellent. The D18 looks to be a Fireflies ROT66 with knurling and 2-3x the output. Hard to go wrong with that.

Asking this as a serious question, what is/are the main "use cases" for these ?

If it is just to do it because it can be done, that's cool too, but I'm just wondering what the practical purpose might be.

archimedes said:

Asking this as a serious question, what is/are the main "use cases" for these ?

If it is just to do it because it can be done, that's cool too, but I'm just wondering what the practical purpose might be.

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Very good question.

In my opinion, the Imalent MS 18 is mostly just a toy. It's for hobbyists who want the absolute most lumen output they can get in a handheld light. It's not practical at all. It probably can't sustain high output for long. It would be inconvenient to carry around due to its huge size, and it is no double extremely expensive. Its output is probably mostly a wall of flood. Sure it might produce ANSI throw of 1100m... but that doesn't help much if the tiny amount of light reflected by things in the distance is washed out by the massive amount of flood from things close to you.

If you want a big light with sustained output, such as for Search and Rescue, you're probably better off getting a large dedicated thrower like the BLF GT. Or if you want more flood with your throw: the upcoming BLF GT4 (basically a GT, but with 4xXHP 70.2 surrounded by a huge array of very deep heatsink fins.).

The Emisar D18 sounds much more practical than the Imalent. The Emisar is also somewhat of a toy with ridiculously high output for its size and will no doubt get very hot at that output very fast. On the upside it does have a number of advantages over the MS18:

- it's small enough to put in a jacket pocket making it practical to carry around. Definitely not an EDC light, but you won't need a sling to carry it around either.
- it can probably sustain 1500-2000 lumens for an extended period, with the added flexibility of being able to burst 14,000 lumens when you need it.
- It's still a flood light though. Mainly use to look at things close to medium range, since it will probably have the same issue of washing out the foreground any non-dedicated throw has.
- affordable
- good UI
- available within a couple weeks.

My favorite EDC is a modified Emisar D4. Sustained output is only around 500 lumens or so, but it can burst 4000 lumens when needed. I mostly use my EDC in short bursts so having short burst runtime is not such a drawback. I find I much prefer the D4 over my Zebralight SC64w HI or 600w IV Plus, because of the much superior burst output.

Makes sense, thanks

I wouldn't be surprised if the Imalent MS18 can sustain 15,000 lumens with its active cooling. It could be useful for anyone who wants a very large and very bright close-range flood light with good sustained output. Turbo mode at 100,000 lumens definitely wouldn't be sustainable though.

So, like a construction site portable work light / flood light ?

The ROT66 should be a good point of comparison for the D18, although without nearly as high of peak output. I use my ROT66 like a portable work light sometimes. Because of the fairly reasonable size, I can often position it in a more convenient location, and I don't need an extension cord.

It's also not bad to carry around, as long as I don't need to pocket it. And it was great to light the house up during a couple power outages this winter. Soda can lights are great for tail-standing.

The D18 looks like something I could just as easily do the same with.

Peak output can't be sustained, but there are times where I might just need a better view of something, or see across my property for a moment, and then 10 seconds later, I've seen what I need to see and can drop back to a sustainable output again.

Interestingly enough, the overwhelming majority of the time, I'm using both my ROT66 and my D4 below 100 lumens, because the user interfaces are excellent enough to make them good choices even when I don't need much light, and the floody beams are perfect for up-close use.

D18 looks great, just wish it had a buck or boost driver driver so excess voltage doesn't get burned off as heat given its 13x 7135 driver when run in a regulated output.

I agree with fireclaw, sure it can hit 100,000 but it would be for generating giggles. It will likely maintain 20,000 lumens for a long time with active cooling and it will have 21700 batteries to back that up.

I really want to get it for when I walk my dogs in the woods/fields.
The Emisar looks very promising, I love my D4 and use it all the time as an edc.

Emisar D18 is now available for preorders. Looks like the price is $99.

We have had multiple members here strongly request that a Emisar D18 specific thread be allowed to run separately, here ...

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?457157-Emisar-D18

Please continue discussing comparisons of these new massive floodlights here, but any information dealing with only or specifically the D18 should be directed there, thanks.

archimedes said:

Asking this as a serious question, what is/are the main "use cases" for these ?

If it is just to do it because it can be done, that's cool too, but I'm just wondering what the practical purpose might be.

Click to expand...

I realize that this has already need addressed, but it's worth noting that they're markedly different classes of equipment.

Use case for the MS18? It's enormous with 8x21700 cells, a bulbous head that looks to be triple the diameter of the body tube, and sports forced-air cooling. I couldn't justify one in my life - tt's just too much for the casual usage that defines my needs. It would be like the HID spotlights I procured, used a handful of times early on, then disposed of or stored for years. But my needs hardly define the market - maybe some have a need to illuminate large areas at semi-daylight levels.

Use case for the D18? It's too large for casual EDC, but as a 3x18650 pop can formfactor it could be slotted into a holster or backpack for many more general-use and casual-use purposes. I've got almost all the Emisars and find the D4/D4S to be great all-around lights for dog-walking and other task-type work. D4 can sustain <500 lumens while the D4S can sustain <1000 lumens - but both can burst to ~4000 lumens on ~15% and ~30% duty cycles on single-minute timescales, respectively. Maybe the D18 will be able to sustain ~4000 lumens - if it can burst to ~14k lumens for a minute that would beat out the D4/D4S handily. And it fits my use pattern handily - lower sustained output with occasional ability to hit turbo to see into the distance or briefly illuminate a scene with canned daylight.

I would be interested to see some (non-hotlinked) comparison photos of both of these items, if someone has that available.