ArmyTek Predator 2.5 (XP-G2 R5 1x18650 2xCR123A/RCR) Regular and Pro Review: RUNTIME+

[MBentz]

Re: ArmyTek Predator

The Pro version for $77 is a steal. It's up to you on sending it back. My guess is if you emailed whoever you bought it from that they'd say keep it. By the time they paid for postage it would even out. Selfbuilt has a link to the FULL instruction manual in his review. I highly suggest reading it.

 

[MindToAsk]

Great review, as always!

Is there any major difference in apparent brightness between the white and warm white version of the Predator Pro?

 

[lightcycle1]

Re: ArmyTek Predator 2.5

Sadly I think my new Predator Pro is developing the dreaded switch problem after about 40 click cycles.
Ill have to contact Armytek.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

 

[MBentz]

Re: ArmyTek Predator 2.5

Sadly I think my new Predator Pro is developing the dreaded switch problem after about 40 click cycles.
Ill have to contact Armytek.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

This makes me nervous. There are a couple people on CPFMP who had the same issue and Armtek sent them new tail caps. No idea if the newer ones have been redesigned to fix the issue though. Knock on wood, my light has no issues.

 

[WilsonCQB1911]

ArmyTek Predator 2.5 (XP-G2 R5 1x18650 2xCR123A/RCR) Regular and Pro Review: RU

Sadly I think my new Predator Pro is developing the dreaded switch problem after about 40 click cycles.
Ill have to contact Armytek.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

What is the switch problem?

 

[MBentz]

Re: ArmyTek Predator 2.5 (XP-G2 R5 1x18650 2xCR123A/RCR) Regular and Pro Review: RU

What is the switch problem?

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...cap-issues-Light-flickers-when-turning-on-off

 

[lightcycle1]

Re: ArmyTek Predator 2.5

What is the switch problem?

Flickers off and on when clicking the tailswitch on.
Click switch, light blips amd goes out, click again of you are lucky it will stay on. Ive had it happen through two complete click cycles now. In other words it took three clicks to start the light.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

 

[Wiggle]

Re: ArmyTek Predator 2.5

Regarding the switch issue, I had that flickering issue as well and Armytek took care of me really well. It was basically a flickering while being used in momentary mode only, locking in wasn't an issue. They sent me a new tailcap just two days after I brought up the issue and exchanged some e-mails. New one works perfect, I tried to make it flicker with no luck.

Got in my M22 diffusser, like selfbuilt suggests it fits quite well and definitely softens up the beam pattern. Doesn't seem to lose very much output and really turns the light into a 90% flood pattern with just a bit more intensity towards the center, no real hotspot anymore just a gradient. Aesthetically, the diffuser matches the light quite well having a similar matte black finish. The number of cuts in the head even lines up the flat parts on the Predator bezel.

 

[BeastFlashlight]

In a light that size a xp-g2 makes more sense to me imho. Most xm-l2 competitors can't hold their 900l over the entire runtime due to heat generation.

Can the Viking Pro hold it's 850 for it's entire runtime?

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: ArmyTek Predator 2.5 (XP-G2 R5 1x18650 2xCR123A/RCR) Regular and Pro Review: RUN

Can the Viking Pro hold it's 850 for it's entire runtime?

If you run it in FULL regulation mode, output will stay constant. Note the true lumen output is less than those theoretical specs. See the tables and charts in the review, where this is all described.

 

[TKhanson]

Does anyone know if there is a defuser extension that would easily accommodate its use for use in tents? I'm so new to flash light research that I apologize for not knowing the proper term of these additions. For smaller lights they are the fogged, clear top that mounts on the top and makes turns the light into a great room light source when camping, functioning with a power outage, etc.

Thx.

 

[selfbuilt]

Does anyone know if there is a defuser extension that would easily accommodate its use for use in tents? I'm so new to flash light research that I apologize for not knowing the proper term of these additions. For smaller lights they are the fogged, clear top that mounts on the top and makes turns the light into a great room light source when camping, functioning with a power outage, etc.

Yes, what you are looking for is typically called a diffuser wand around here. Anything that's designed to work with a 40mm bezel opening would be fine. I don't know if Fenix has one to fit that size, but Nitecore does - the NDF 40 (not to be confused with the NFD 40, which is the flat-top diffuser style). You can also find cheaper generic versions (such as this one), but I haven't tried any myself.

 

[Wiggle]

Some more impressions after using the light more:
Quite impressed with the throw and quality in this form factor. Love the flexibility of setting the light up exactly how you like. Combination of high modes make this a great mid-far range spotter and adding the diffuser to the low lumen makes it totally useable as an all around light if you choose not to carry a smaller light for these needs. As evidenced by subwoofer's runtime test on .1 lumen, the light has some very respectable efficiency on the bottom end.

Only area of concern, little worried about tearing an o-ring with all the head twisting, even with lube it feels like a lot of drag. But perhaps this may be due to the two o-rings and doesn't indicate a problem. It certainly feels well damped and high quality at least. Has anyone else had their o-rings wear down prematurely or is this how the light is supposed to feel during head twists?

 

[stevieo]

Re: ArmyTek Predator 2.5

ditto. same exact problem here after a couple of days on the regular predator 2.5.
also, 2nd line memory, if there really is one, is lost when flickering on in 1st line & switching to 2nd line. my experience before the problem is that 2nd line memory is lost if the light is turned off in 1st line & left off for a while. it seems to eventually reset itself to the low mode not that it matters since it does not have any mode memory if turned off in 2nd line. with some batteries the clicky only works as a twisty. I expect Armytek will promptly correct problem.

Flickers off and on when clicking the tailswitch on.
Click switch, light blips amd goes out, click again of you are lucky it will stay on. Ive had it happen through two complete click cycles now. In other words it took three clicks to start the light.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

 

[lightcycle1]

Re:

My tail cap is on the way. Sandra from from Armytek was quite responsive and helpful.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

 

[stevieo]

Re:

same here. i agree that sandra is quite responsive. she wanted me to send the entire light back. I told her that if the whole light went back it would be for a refund. she sent another email on how to test to see if all I needed was a replacement tailcap. her tailcap testing instructions made zero sense in english. I removed the tailcap & touched a paperclip to the negative end of the battery & made contact with the shiny exposed bottom rim of the tube end & the light fired up indicating tailcap problem. new tailcap will be shipped. excellent service.

My tail cap is on the way. Sandra from from Armytek was quite responsive and helpful.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

 

[Swedpat]

Re:

Hi Selfbuilt, and thanks for the great review. I received a predator PRO with warm tint earlier this week. This is an excellent flashlight with a comfortable hold and an awesome tint. Also it's a really great thrower for it's size.
I did some runtime tests with different batteries:

*2RCR123 Tenergy LifePO(640 and 190lm)
*2CR123 Titanium Innovation double pack
*AW 17670
*EagTac 3400mAh

With all these cells I had a step down of 18-19% after a while. But still I think the setting is FULL brightness; it didn't really behave like the STEP down in your graphs(no 3flashes with CR123s while 2 times with Li-Ion 3400, didn't try 17670 so far).

Tenergy LifePO: stable output at highest level for 16 min, then an instant drop to ~81%, a few seconds after that an instant drop to firefly level.
Updated: At 190lm mode(~140 OTF lumen) I got 95min stable output until 3 flashes and then drop down to firefly level.

Titanium Innovation: stable output for 27min, then instant drop to ~81%. Then stable at that output until 33min 45s, followed by instant drop to firefly level

AW17670: stable output until 15min, then instant drop to ~81%, then stable at that output until almost 39min, 3 flashes and a drop down to ~64% of initial brightness. I stopped the test at that moment.

EagTac 3400mAh: stable putput until 15min, then instant drop to ~81% until 66min, then 3 flashes. and a drop down to ~64% of initial. This time I let the light go on. It continued at that level until 80min. Then a second time 3 flashes, directly followed by an instant drop to firefly level.

To be honest I am a bit dissaponted with the runtimes of this light, it' not close to what specifications could make one to expect. Also the advanced manual(not included in the package) I find horrible complicated to understand. I really would like this light with only a few simple modes and nothing more.
About the batteries I am surprised that AW17670(1600mAh) provided more than half the performance of EagTac 3400mAh. Especially when I take in consider that the 17670 I used in this test isn't recently charged, it's some month ago, while the EagTac 3400 was charged yesterday.
Because the drop down to ~81% still means around 400 OTF lm it's not a big issue for me. It's a supreme thrower anyway...

I welcome your thoughts about my results.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re:

With all these cells I had a step down of 18-19% after a while. But still I think the setting is FULL brightness; it didn't really behave like the STEP down in your graphs

Actually, what you describe in your post sounds exactly like a STEP down pattern. The fact that the precise timing of the steps varies from mine likely just reflect the different batteries used. Thanks for the sharing the additional testing experience.

About the batteries I am surprised that AW17670(1600mAh) provided more than half the performance of EagTac 3400mAh. Especially when I take in consider that the 17670 I used in this test isn't recently charged, it's some month ago, while the EagTac 3400 was charged yesterday.

The rated capacities of various cells is always a bit misleading. They are based on single discharge current (likely a low one), and don't scale linearly between different cells. That means that while a 3400mAh cell could have more than twice the capacity of those 1600mAh AW cells at a low discharge current, at a high current (as you are examining here) you'll find the difference isn't as great.

 

[Swedpat]

Re:

Thanks for the reply Selfbuilt!

Ok, then I have to decide if I want to have stepdown with the Li-Ions. I understand the useful runtime will be shorter with FULL while the STEP in my example actually hardly is noticed in real use. Though I could notice the fast drop with my eyes like a slight decrease of brightness the lightmeter was necessary to know how much it dropped. Even at ~81% of initial brightness(similar output at Fenix TK15S2) I measured close to twice the lux of the hotspot!

By the way: on the body it stands: 2,4-8,4V. This means the Predator could be runned by 2x18650 if an extender could be used. Right? If so it should result in a dramatical improvement of the flat runtime!

 

[lightcycle1]

Re: ArmyTek Predator 2.5

Its been three weeks now since Sandra emailed that my tailcap had shipped out and I havnt recieved it.

China Post tracking says "origin is preparing shipment"

Really?

I emailed Armytek about it today. We'll see what happens.
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