MecArmy PT16: 3 x XP-G2, 1000 lumens, 16340-cell, micro-usb; (beam)shots, comparison

[Blades]

I ordered mine today based on this review and the confirmation that my favourite dealer KATO has the new interface.

I love the form factor a lot and the slightly recessed button as opposed to my Olight S10 which keeps turning on in my pocket even though using it with the UI lockout (I don't want the tailcap lockout, because I want to be able to light something directly and with one hand).

This is what I was wondering. If the button is recessed. I am planning on buying one from Going Gear at Blade Show next week. Anyone try it with a regular CR123 battery?

 

[recDNA]

Sorry if I missed it but no pocket clip?

 

[cruzian3]

FYI, I bought my PT16 in October 2016 and I can fit an 18350 in mine.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qt1djcaw0yu580f/20161223_111811.jpg?dl=0

 

[TShoot]

Great review and fantastic timed beam shots and comparisons. Glad to hear they updated the UI.

 

[kj75]

Great review and fantastic timed beam shots and comparisons. Glad to hear they updated the UI.

Yes, they did.

I should be a nice feature on lights to have the opportunity to update the lights' software

 

[jon_slider]

So I took a close look at the battery. It's ICR with protection and rated at 650mAH. No clear manufacturer. Craig Shih confirmed that this cell has protection in the anode under a little metal can. I think Fenix 16340s use the same construction. It looks more rugged than a traditional protection circuit plate.

fwiw, the 18350 version with the new UI is on sale for 30% off at illumn.com with code blacknovember

Ive been told the PT series stock batteries that come with the light will cut off at 2.5 volts. I tested the stock 16340 on turbo, but ended the test before the light turned off, at 33 minutes. It was at about 10 lumens and 2.64 volts.

Then I started a test on a PT-18 stock 18650 on turbo, it ran for a total of 4 hours, below the 10 lumen low mode, level for the last 2 hours. It got as low as 0.7 lumen, and voltage was 2.47v on my meter, shortly before the light turned off.

It definitely has protection, because it read 0volts until I plugged it into the charger, at which point it measured 2.65 again.

So yes, even if granny leaves the light on overnight by mistake, the stock cell does have LVP at ~ 2.5v

In practical terms, the lights gets as dim as low mode before going below 2.5, so its obvious to an experienced user, that the battery needs charging long before the LVP kicks in..

 

[Keitho]

That little MecArmy was really good for when it was released, but I can't imagine spending $40 (or even $20) on it now, with the D4 out there. I'd hate to be an engineer at MecArmy or any other light manufacturer trying to answer the question, "how can we beat the D4?"

"Ummm, we could add a USB charger and a tail switch..."

"Ummmm, we could get someone who claims to be a Navy SEAL to endorse our light..."

"I know, we make a thrower instead....oh crap, Emisar came out with the D1 and D1S, also for ~$40! [expletive deleted]"

 

[jon_slider]

The PT lights do not have PWM, the D4 does
The PT lights have specific lumen levels, the D4 does not
The PT lights do not get too hot to hold, the D4 does
The PT lights include battery and charger, the D4 does not

the PT lights are what this thread is about, the D4 is not

 

[Keitho]

My apologies for the "off topic" post above, which triggered a 2nd. I mistakenly was flippant in being the 2nd post in 2017 in this thread, and forgot about the people probably still following. For what its worth, I am still a fan of the PT16, and probably won't ever sell or give one away.

So, I'll get back on topic. Too bad that my long-in-the-tooth PT16 has reached the end of its run for people looking to buy a new pocket rocket, for reasons including that it:
- is no longer the shortest 1000+ lumen flashlight
- only goes up to a claimed 1000 lumens
- only goes down to 5 lumens
- ships with an outdated cell
- doesn't have sufficient LED choices
- only comes in 1 body color
- charges such a high premium over the competition for the USB charging capability

I honestly hope that MecArmy has an answer to the competition (from many, not just 1 manufacturer). I'm glad I'm a consumer!

 

[Swedpat]

fwiw, the 18350 version with the new UI is on sale for 30% off at illumn.com with code blacknovember

At Illumn website I can find 16340 version but not 18350.

 

[Lex Icon]

At Illumn website I can find 16340 version but not 18350.

If you check the batteries specified, you will see the 18350 included.
BTW: I personally checked with IS.

 

[Swedpat]

If you check the batteries specified, you will see the 18350 included.
BTW: I personally checked with IS.

Ok, now I see. Thanks! But it should be written in the main description.

 

[Swedpat]

fwiw, the 18350 version with the new UI is on sale for 30% off at illumn.com with code blacknovember

Ive been told the PT series stock batteries that come with the light will cut off at 2.5 volts. I tested the stock 16340 on turbo, but ended the test before the light turned off, at 33 minutes. It was at about 10 lumens and 2.64 volts.

Then I started a test on a PT-18 stock 18650 on turbo, it ran for a total of 4 hours, below the 10 lumen low mode, level for the last 2 hours. It got as low as 0.7 lumen, and voltage was 2.47v on my meter, shortly before the light turned off.

It definitely has protection, because it read 0volts until I plugged it into the charger, at which point it measured 2.65 again.

So yes, even if granny leaves the light on overnight by mistake, the stock cell does have LVP at ~ 2.5v

In practical terms, the lights gets as dim as low mode before going below 2.5, so its obvious to an experienced user, that the battery needs charging long before the LVP kicks in..

I am not sure I understand you correct here. According to the specifications the working voltage is 2,5-8,4V. Doesn't that mean the light in itself has an overdischarge protection and that it's safe to use for example unprotected 18350 cell in it?

 

[Swedpat]

A review of the v2 from BLF: http://budgetlightforum.com/node/45021

Valuable review. But I find the 1000lm level not very interesting because it instantly drops and is 50% after around 5min. Pretty much a gimmick because the highest level is available only with fully charged battery.
It had been more interesting to see runtime graphs of the 100 and 420lm levels.

 

[jon_slider]

Doesn't that mean the light in itself has an overdischarge protection

No, the light has no LVP (Low Voltage Protection)
the stock battery it ships with does have LVP built into the battery

you CAN use unprotected batteries IF you pay attention and change it when brightness drops to the level of low mode, and you can no longer get medium, high, nor turbo, to work

you may also find this Review of a PT-18 interesting
The PT heads fit any of the different PT bodies

some good friends have helped me modify the LED in my PT lights, so I can have choices of color and size by swapping heads:

[

the 1000lm level ... is 50% after around 5min..

this is normal for lights that produce 1000 lumens or more
some can hit 3000 lumens, but for less than 30 seconds

the beauty of the PT series is they continue to run with flat regulation after the step down, AND they do NOT use PWM

personally I don't buy PT lights because I want 1000 lumens for 3 minutes, I use them at the lower levels for much longer periods

yesterday I was doing some tests on my PT-18 and starting on turbo, and then stepping down, it ran at over 500 lumens for more than 1 hour. I do find that impressive.

 

[Swedpat]

jon slider,

Thanks, good to know! I think I would like it, especially in a warmer tint!

 

[Rafael Jimenez]

I found this light at a swap meet for 1.00. It did not have the rear spring, so the battery was lose. I installed a small ball of aluminum foil and it worked great! I use it every day and I really like it.
By the way, great review.

 

[xevious]

Quite welcome with the V3 version is that the PT16 now takes 18350 cells. Oddly enough, the MecArmy site says nothing about it. Does anyone here know what kind of runtime improvements are had over the standard 16340 cell in the PT16?

 

[jon_slider]

Yes the PT16 fits 18350 cells that are UNprotected. Protected 18350 cells do not fit, they are too long.

The PT16 does not have OverDischarge Protection, so use of UNprotected cells requires an Informed Operator, that monitors battery voltage.

runtime is a function of mAh rating of the battery
assuming the light is used at the same lumen level, which with the PT series is easy, since they are regulated.
A high discharge rate Unprotected IMR 18350, and a low discharge rate Protected ICR 16340, produce very close to the same output.

On left is an 18350 rated 750 mAh, on right is a Protected 16340 rated 700 mAh. Note they are the same length. The 18350 has 7% more capacity, so 7% longer runtime, IF you dont use Turbo. So if runtime on a given lumen level was 4 hours w 16340, you would get an extra 17 minutes with the higher capacity 18350.

as you can see, the PT18 head, fits the PT16 battery tube. This is true for all the PT series, the heads lego, to any of the other battery tubes.

fwiw, I just did a test of the two batteries pictured, fully charged, initial lumens on Turbo
450 lumens from the 18350
456 lumens from the 16340

note this light is modified to N219b 4000k 9050, so its output is less than factory spec using stock Low CRI XP-G2
its a homebrew meter, so the numbers are mainly only relevant for comparison to each other.. same light, same meter, only the battery is different

choice of battery is personal preference
unprotected batteries wont suddently leave you in the dark, but if you fall asleep with the light on, the PT16 can overdischarge them.
protected batteries wont be overdischarged, but they can turn off suddenly, and that can be inconvenient if you aren't carrying a spare.

IMR tolerates overdischarge better than ICR
there are IMR cells available rated for 1000mAh, whereas ICR tend to fall in the 700mAh range..

so potentially, IMR can give longer runtime, albeit unprotected

 

[xevious]

Yes the PT16 fits 18350 cells that are UNprotected. Protected 18350 cells do not fit, they are too long.

The PT16 does not have OverDischarge Protection, so use of UNprotected cells requires an Informed Operator, that monitors battery voltage.

runtime is a function of mAh rating of the battery
assuming the light is used at the same lumen level, which with the PT series is easy, since they are regulated.
A high discharge rate Unprotected IMR 18350, and a low discharge rate Protected ICR 16340, produce very close to the same output.

On left is an 18350 rated 750 mAh, on right is a Protected 16340 rated 700 mAh. Note they are the same length. The 18350 has 7% more capacity, so 7% longer runtime, IF you dont use Turbo. So if runtime on a given lumen level was 4 hours w 16340, you would get an extra 17 minutes with the higher capacity 18350.

[image]

as you can see, the PT18 head, fits the PT16 battery tube. This is true for all the PT series, the heads lego, to any of the other battery tubes.

fwiw, I just did a test of the two batteries pictured, fully charged, initial lumens on Turbo
450 lumens from the 18350
456 lumens from the 16340

note this light is modified to N219b 4000k 9050, so its output is less than factory spec using stock Low CRI XP-G2
its a homebrew meter, so the numbers are mainly only relevant for comparison to each other.. same light, same meter, only the battery is different

choice of battery is personal preference
unprotected batteries wont suddently leave you in the dark, but if you fall asleep with the light on, the PT16 can overdischarge them.
protected batteries wont be overdischarged, but they can turn off suddenly, and that can be inconvenient if you aren't carrying a spare.

IMR tolerates overdischarge better than ICR
there are IMR cells available rated for 1000mAh, whereas ICR tend to fall in the 700mAh range..

so potentially, IMR can give longer runtime, albeit unprotected

Thanks, Jon. I thought I'd read somewhere that 18350 cells are capable of being made with considerably higher mAh over the 16340. Naturally with just 50mAh difference in this case, there won't be much power and longevity difference. While I am usually conscious of battery charge levels, I don't like the idea of the PT16 having no discharge protection and then being incapable of supporting 18350 protected cells. What's the highest mAh protected 16340 cell available today?