Pic heavy!!!Review Lumintop EDC18(or as I call "the GREEN BUNNY")

[jjp888]

Hi all,today Iam really excited to share with you my experience with the new Lumintop Edc18.
As the Lumintop fan followers already know,this is the side switch version of their popular Fw3a flashlight.The Fw3a was an instant sucess due to all the features and power ,the tiny pocket light posessed.But still there was room for improvement as a daily carrier and Lumintop by making the Edc18 have managed to solve many of them.

Compared to the FW3A the EDC18 has ,almost similar dimensions.It is slightly taller than FW3A to accommodate the side switch .

The first thing that, I adore about this light as soon as I put the battery in it ,was the constant glowing "Green Bunny " on the side switch.It looks bright and very beautiful.Lumintop have chosen the green light for the side switch which gives a great appeal to the fully black light .It makes the flashlight very easy to find at dark.

The side switch in my opinion is the best one that Lumintop have made so far.It feels great to touch and the clicks are super crisp, absolutely no squishiness like the other bulged side switches on Odf30 or Edc05c .Just pure firm clicks.

Personally liked the Fw3a tailswitch ,which had great ergonomics.But as everyone knows, its was prone to accidental activation pretty easily,and also the tail switch was in several tiny pieces which comes apart very easily and was easy to loose.So in dark situations ,you must be particularly careful to insert the battery via head portion.Also you absolutely had no way to mechanically lockout the FW3a.In an EDC flashlight ,these tiny things do counts and Lumintop have solved it perfectly using the side switch on edc18 .The side switch is not prone to any accidental activation ,and if you still don't trust it ,you can always mechanically lockout by a slight twist of head or tail cap.The green bunny turns off to confirm the mechanical lockout. Cool right?
One of the first questions which I had in my mind on knowing about this light was ,how much current the side switch green bunny consumes.And I tested it at once I got the light in my hand ,it is very low at just 111.2 micro ampere,which for a 3000mah battery means it will take more than three years for the battery to be fully drained.

The FW3A had lower current drain at 22.4 micro ampere as there was no backlit switch or aux leds

Some manufacturer's specs
Emitter: 3 Cree XP-L HI,Nichia 219CT or Luminus SST20 LED
Optic: Standard TIR optical lens
Flux: ~2800 lm (XP-L Hi)
Intensity: ~10 000cd ANSI throw ~200 m (XP-L Hi)
Firmware: Free software called Andúril
User interfaces: [1] Defaulted SMOOTH RAMPING. Instant access to TURBO mode is also provided. [2] STEPPED RAMPING UI. [3] MOMENTARY mode. [4] MUGGLE mode. [5] Electronic LOCKOUT.
Other functions: Battery check, sunset, beacon, tactical strobe, party strobe, bike flasher, candlelight, lightning storm
Battery: One 18650 cell. An unprotected cell is recommended. Max. length 66mm. Cell is not included.
Driver: FET+7+1 driver. Low parasitic drain while OFF
Body: Aluminum with hard-coat anodizing
Switch: Electronic side switch with back-up light
Ingress rating: Equivalent to IPX8
Weight: Approximately 76.5 g without cells
Size: 27.8 mm Ø head x 93.9 mm length
Others: Magnetic tail cap, reverse stainless steel body clip

The light came in a similar package as to that of the FW3A.

The accessories include ,a flexible glow in the dark diffuser

two spare orings with a keyring ,which I guess is for lanyard attatchment

a lanyard

and a reversible pocket clip

The GITD diffuser is a very useful accessory.This also helps to use the full potential of light like the candlelight or the thunderstorm modes,which are very to use at night.
The diffuser retains its glow even after turning off the light, for quite some time ,making it easier to find at dark,incase you misplaced it

optics is similar to the Fw3a with a three led setup.But unlike FW3A it doesn't have a glass infront of the plastic optic.
Haven't tried removing the stainless steel bezel,as I fear it may scratch the plastic optic. Flashlight is my opinion is not for the modders as ,the head portion is press fitted and with the side mounted e switch, it will be difficult to do any further mods unlike the fw3a ,whose head comes apart quite easily.May be someone more knowledgeful in modding , can give a clearer idea about this.

The tail cap is having a dual gold plated spring setup for better conductivity.

The Edc18 ,unlike the Fw3a is no longer an insane light, although you have the same output levels.
The stepdowns are more aggressive ,to keep everything cool.This does mean ,we no longer have a constant higher modes as ,the temperature controls are more sensitive to heat build up now.On the flip side ,this makes the light more safer to use and gives more confidence to the user.
The flashlight build is very sturdy,it has a chunkier head with heat fins for effective heat dissipation.The whole black anodization is uniform and is in a matt finish.

There are diamond cut knurlings on the battery tube and tail cap giving a good grip to the flashlight.

The head design is very attractive and functional.It has a flat area to accommodate the side switch, which also acts as an antiroll feature to the light.

The Edc18 has a reversible pocket clip unlike the Fw3a which was fixed.This additionally lets you to use it as a headlight by cliping it on a cap.
The flashlight ,also has a lanyard hole ,if you prefer to use those.

Talking about the optics and beam,it is similar to that of the FW3a.I got the xpl hi version in cool white.The cool white does help in brightening the spill area,which is great especially at longer distances.The beam like Fw3a is pure floody beam with adequate throw,perfect for edc carry.

View from a building, ~ 45 meters tall

To sum it up
Pros,
1.Carries on all the wonderful features of Anduril from the FW3a
2.Better designed for edc use.
3.Backlit side switch is really well made.Gives firm clicks.No accidental activation
4.Always on side switch light,makes it easier to finf at night.
5.Reversible pocket clip design,gives additional versatility.
6.Mechanical lockout feature.
7.More sensitive temperature control.
8.Lanyard hole option available.
9.Square cut threads which are well lubricated.
10.Comes with a flexible GITD diffuser.

Cons
1.Still no room for protected batteries.
2.No onbard usb rechargeability.
3.Tailcap magnet is weak in my opinion,not serving the intended purpose.(Problem resolved according to Lumintop for the current model)
4 Would like to see an option to choose a blinking side switch light as I think will make it even more easy to spot at night .
5 No glass protection for the lens unlike the FW3a.

 

[LightObsession]

Thanks for the great review.

Is there direct access to moonlight or low from off regardless of what mode it was in when turned off?

 

[jjp888]

Yes it has direct access to moonlight and turbo from off ,it has the Anduril firmware.Which allows even programming your lowest and highest output levels.

 

[peter yetman]

Can you please resize your images as defimed by CPF Rules...

Images... If you post an image in your post, please downsize the image to no larger than 800 x 800 pixels. In addition, DO NOT hotlink the images!!! Hotlinking is when you are stealing the bandwidth of a website that you do not have permission to link to. For example, if you see an image on the Surefire website that you want to post in a post of yours, download the image and then upload it to your own website or an image hosting site and then link to that image. Do Not link directly to the image on the Surefire website! That is called "hotlinking"... it is bad form... and it is stealing bandwidth that doesn't belong to you and you don't have permission to use in that manner. Members caught hotlinking will be asked to remove the link if they cannot correct it. Members who continuously have to be asked not to hotlink will lose posting privileges.

It takes up to much bandwidth amd it's a pain in bott watching them reload.
P

 

[Lumenwolf]

Pic heavy!!!Review Lumintop EDC18(or as I call "the GREEN BUNNY&quot

Not liking the idea of no glass, in their description of the light it says it has ar coated glass?

 

[justanotherguy]

Re: Pic heavy!!!Review Lumintop EDC18(or as I call "the GREEN BUNNY&quot

am I the only one that wanted you to turbo that plastic bunny?

 

[jjp888]

Re: Pic heavy!!!Review Lumintop EDC18(or as I call "the GREEN BUNNY&quot

am I the only one that wanted you to turbo that plastic bunny?

Haha,but it's porcelain ,it will just get hot.

 

[AVService]

Re: Pic heavy!!!Review Lumintop EDC18(or as I call "the GREEN BUNNY&quot

Thanks for taking the time to post this review.
I am baffled about a few of your comments or observations about the FW3A light as mine do not seem to suffer from some of the features that you mention?

My lights each lock out mechanically just fine in fact I carry them in pocket slightly unscrewed every day and have not had one turn on when this way yet?
Further my feeling about the tail switch is that it is much easier to find in the dark as it is on the end,pretty simple isn't it?

I also have no issue inserting batteries the correct way as again the ends are so easy to find and distinguish from one another that it is merely a matter of remembering to take apart the light from the front here and not the back.

I also do not feel the same way about the clip as you do.
True it can be reversed for hat brim use but the light seems too hefty to me for that anyway really but more than anything I far prefer a clip that is actually attached to a light rather than one that can all to easily slide right off as this one can.

I realize that these are preferences that I may have that you do not share but the way you word the review suggests that your preference is the obvious improvement somehow and to me these are not.

I was also seriously considering getting one of these lights but I think I do not really want a light that stays lite somehow when not on?

I am glad that we have lots of good choices though for sure,I really like the FW3A and have had no problems so far with mine.

So I am not at all certain how this light is better overall for EDC use than the other version?

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

Re: Pic heavy!!!Review Lumintop EDC18(or as I call "the GREEN BUNNY&quot

I have changed the clip on my EDC18 to a smaller more low profile one (I only use the clip on it in rare circumstances and I wanted to feel less of it in my hands when using the torch).

I have also changed the optic to the Carclo 10507 to tighten up the beam a little and I have added a normal glass lens (the factory optic in it had a extra moulded-on stepped plastic lens making it more than twice as thick as a carclo and when that optic is replaced with a proper carclo optic, one then recovers the space to put a normal glass lens on top of it without the bezel height changing from its factory position when tightened up).

These changes I have made, coupled with the torch's robustness, grippy surface, its magnetic cap and the fact that it has configurable "manual memory" make it an awesome EDC torch for my particular pattern of usage without any of what appear to me to be a bunch of silly, fiddly, issues that seem inherent in the FW3A design (a torch which I also have).

The EDC18 has been in my pants pocket for a couple of weeks of daily activity and has never accidently switched on. In my personal and very biased (from trying them both) opinion, the EDC18 is a far better designed and much more practical unit than the FW3A.

 

[Fireclaw18]

Re: Pic heavy!!!Review Lumintop EDC18(or as I call "the GREEN BUNNY&quot

I like the EDC18.

It feels great in the hand with decent knurling. The green bunny looks cute and makes it easy to find in the dark. And the button actuation is stiff enough that lockout is probably not necessary when used as a pocket EDC. I got the Nichia 219C high-CRI emitters. Output and throw aren't great from these emitters, but the color temp, tint and color rendering are all excellent. Unlike the SST-20, the 219C's output does not appear greenish even at low power.

I did some slight modifications to mine:
- replaced the tailcap with one from a black Emisar D4v1. The threads are the same, but in order to get good contact I had inserted a strip of copper solder braid bent into a C-ring between the tailcap and the body tube. I change the battery by removing the head. The new tailcap is shorter and reduces the length of the light to the same as the FW3A. But more importantly, it has no magnet. I don't like magnets in pocket EDC lights as I worry they might demagnetize the cards in my wallet if I stuff it in the wrong pocket.
- replaced the emitters with XPL HI 4000K. The 219Cs were very nice, but I like having punch in my pocket rocket. And for small multi-emitter lights nothing beats the XPL HI for raw power.
- replaced stock optic with Carclo 10507 for more throw.
- added sapphire glass lens

Thinking of adding green bezel LEDs to match the switch LED. But for that mod I'd have to order a bezel board from Lexel. And I'd probably want to reflash the firmware to a version of Anduril that offers control of the aux LEDs.