Armytek Wizard/Pro Thread

soul347

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WP_20150126_15_07_50_Pro.jpg


Hi everyone I thought I'd start an Armytek Wizard/Pro thread for current owners and potential buyers. This can be a place to discuss our experience with the light, uses,questions, etc.


Let me start off this thread by sharing what I like about the light and what I think can be improved, just in case this might help a potential buyer. My review is a bit long, so skip to the part that you are interested in. My main point of comparison is my only other headlamp, a Petzl Tikka Plus 2:

What I like:
TINT: The thing I immediately noticed is 4000k Neutral White tint. My flashlights have all been cool white. For a headlamp, I don't think I can ever use a cool white tint after using this one. IMO the neutral/warm tint is perfect, not too yellow, and not too white, but spot on. It creates a psychologically warmer/positive atmosphere and is especially nice when I point the headlamp toward the ceiling.Cool white lights tend to give a more cold and eerie atmosphere.

BEAM PATTERN: I think Armytek struck the right balance between flood and focus. There is no defined hot spot, a good work area is nicely covered and it is not harsh on the eyes. At the same time it isn't overly floody to the point of having no throw,so I can see a good distance even on the lower settings. I often use the wizard for reading, and the light covers the entire reading area with main mode 1 (47lm) perfect for this use. My Petzl Tikka Plus 2 was terrible for reading because of the hot spot and not having just the right output mode.

CONSTANT BRIGHTNESS: I tested the light on a full battery all the way to almost empty, and each setting looked exactly the same from beginning to end. This is especially important to me because when I read, I want to ensure that the output mode I use is the same every time. My Tikka Plus 2 got really dim quite fast on the highest setting. When the battery can't handle the higher modes, it blinks 3 times and lowers the output. In such a case I just avoid using those higher modes and use the lower ones instead. I prefer this over the light just automatically dimming for me.

HEADBAND: High quality, attractive, soft and comfortable on the forehead even after extended use (your head may vary :D) and the silicon holder allows for a complete 360 rotation without any annoying clicking. This is important because I find that there are numerous scenarios where being able to point the light precisely where I want is essential. I often like pointing the light toward the ceiling to create a nice ambient light while walking around the house, or pointing down so I don't blind the person in front of me, etc. I find this far superior to lights such as my tikka plus 2 that have a limited range and have predefined click positions to angle the light, which greatly limits the usefulness of the light. I prefer using the headband without the top piece because I find it just as comfortable, doesn't mess up my hair, and I can wear the light around my neck. Some have complained that the silicon holder breaks easily. I've removed the light 3-4 times without removing the tail cap, and the holder has no signs of tearing. I think you just have to be careful and use the right technique.

SWITCH/STATE INDICATION: The single button used to switch modes also blinks while off every 4 seconds. This makes it extremely easy to find it beside my bed or in a bag without guessing. It also gives me confidence that the light is functioning and ready to go, or locked out through the tail cap. It also doubles as a battery state indicator that will start blinking yellow or red when the battery is going low, so you never have to guess. I also think it looks cool and makes the light feel that it is of a higher quality :). Some have complained the switch is too stiff, but I honestly have zero problems using it, and it is probably preferable as the button wears over time. I also think the switch is placed in the perfect location, because you can easily press the button like you're pinching your fingers together, rather than pressing the button and pushing the light to the side of your head. Some have worried that the placement of the button is not good for if you want to point the light up to the ceiling, but I can say the button is still easily accessible while the light is pointed up.

BUILD QUALITY: This is my first Armytek light. Love the matte anodizing and black color. The steel bezel around the lens and button are also a nice touch. Honeycomb lens feels and looks solid and attractive. Threads in the tail cap feel silky smooth, stiff spring, with double O rings and evenly lubricated for added water resistance.The light overall just looks and feels really high quality and the 10 year warranty builds confidence in its durability with the company standing behind their products.

USER INTERFACE: Within the first 5 minutes, I mastered and memorized the user interface. I could imagine this being challenging however if you own 50 different headlamps. The first 2 firefly modes are accessed while the light is off, which makes sense since you wouldn't want to cycle through brighter modes while trying to get to firefly. The highest output (1120 lm) is accessed by double clicking from any of the main modes and can be accessed momentary if desired.The 3 main modes are sandwiched in between and can easily be cycled through. I find it very logically to treat the firefly and turbo modes as special modes on either end. Overall I think it is intuitive and easy to grasp. I'll probably put easy detailed instructions on how to access each mode in a future post.

OUTPUTS/MODES: I think the variety of outputs are well spread, not redundant and cover almost all use cases. The firefly modes are super low and very useful for night adjusted eyes. I probably have no use at all for the fast strobe on a headlamp,but I could imagine the slower strobe would be good for signaling/warning. I also love how you have a battery voltage reader that can give you the precise voltage reading by flashing the main LED. If ever I would add another mode, I'd probably want a 25lm mode.

BATTERY LIFE: Battery life is superb. I stress tested the light by using it 1-3 hours each day on various outputs from high to low. It lasted about a week doing this. For my normal use, I expect it to last far longer. I use a 3400mah Nitecore battery.


What can be improved:
  • This isn't a complaint about the wizard pro itself, but I'm not really happy about the light taking forever to ship from China despite being called a Canadian company and having to pay for shipping if you don't meet the minimum purchase. I live in Canada, and I wait just as long as anyone else to get this light. I think it would really help the company if they found a way to ship from North America.
  • Clearer and more accurate instructions in the manual are key. Poor English, hard to understand instructions, inaccurate information on the manual make the company look very unprofessional, despite the light being of a very high quality. Hope someone from Armytek is listening here.
  • My main complaint is that it is not an easy task to remove the light from the silicon holder. Aquick release function would make the light convenient to use as a handheld light with pocket clip. If they can add this feature without compromising the 360 rotation design, this light would easily become my EDC.
  • Would be nice if it were a tad lighter. The light itself is feather light, but the battery adds a good amount of weight.
  • I love half pressing on my flashlights for momentary on. Wonder if there would be a suitable way to implement this on the Wizard.

Overall I am very happy with this light and would recommend it in a heartbeat. I don't see myself buying any other headlamp in the future, except for maybe the Tiara C1.
 
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kj2

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I also have the Wizard Pro warm, and love the tint :) I prefer CW tint for my flashlights, but for a headlamp I prefer that warmer tint. Have two ZL headlamps, but tend to grab my ArmyTek sooner. My ZL headlamps do come easier out of their silicon holders. If ArmyTek could make the tailcap slimmer, you could slide it right out of the holder. Manual could be simpler indeed. Quality is just superb! :)
 

soul347

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I also have the Wizard Pro warm, and love the tint :) I prefer CW tint for my flashlights, but for a headlamp I prefer that warmer tint. Have two ZL headlamps, but tend to grab my ArmyTek sooner. My ZL headlamps do come easier out of their silicon holders. If ArmyTek could make the tailcap slimmer, you could slide it right out of the holder. Manual could be simpler indeed. Quality is just superb! :)

I agree that I also prefer my handheld lights to be cool white. When it comes to headlamps, I prefer the neutral tint for working on things close range and for reading. I'd imagine that the High CRI versions are too warm for me.
 

CodyCash

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Im in love with the Wizard Pro as well! Mine is the XM-L2 "White Light" version. The tint is more white than the common CW that have a blue/green to them, infact when compared side by side with a Thrunite and Nitecore CW light the Wizard looks nearly all white by contrast. The lack of a defined hotspot also contributes to this. I find having the 2 firefly modes very useful and they have seen the most use indoors in complete darkness and the main modes are great for looking in dark areas like closets, behind the dryer, and so on. Im still breaking this one in but so far so good!
 

kirkstick

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I am an owner of an Armytek Wizard Pro. This is my 4th light from Armytek. I have been very happy with my previous purchases (Barracuda, Predator Pro, and Viking Pro), and the Wizard Pro has kept that feeling alive! I like the constant full output that Armytek uses for their lights. They seem to take abuse rather well; and they seem to be efficient in their battery consumption.

I use the Wizard Pro daily while doing foot patrols. It is comfortable to wear and has been very dependable. My only complaint about it has been trying to get it to decipher the owner's manual to access the tactical mode. I just can't see to get that right!

I would echo the complaint about a Canadian company's products coming in from China :sigh:, but the quality seems to be good :grin2: so maybe this isn't a problem (other than world economy issues...:sick2:).

My biggest gripe with Armytek is that they've been teasing me with promises of their Grizzly light coming out soon for about a year now!!! Other than that, they seem to make quality lights that do what I want, when I want them to! :D
 

soul347

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I use the Wizard Pro daily while doing foot patrols. It is comfortable to wear and has been very dependable. My only complaint about it has been trying to get it to decipher the owner's manual to access the tactical mode. I just can't see to get that right!

Do you have the latest wizard pro? Sandra from Armytek informed me that the tactical mode only existed for the Wizard Pro v1.0 but not on v1.5. Yet the manual for v1.5 clearly states that there is a tactical mode, so that creates a lot of confusion and hence my frustration with the inaccurate information they put in the manual. In any case, I think the tactical mode seemed very tedious to access, making it very useless for "tactical" situations. For those situations, I turn to my handheld flashlights that have strobe and momentary on. I see a headlamp as an every day utility device rather than a tactical one.
 

Led Astray

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Hi all,
I have a Wizard pro Warm and am a big fan, love the UI, beam, tint, ergonomics etc. Except that on a recent trip to Norway it started to misbehave in the cold (-10 C or so), with the button flashing red and the light blinking. It did this when I changed the battery, and when I kept it warm before exposing it to the cold.
This is somewhat disappointing as I have had no issues in warmer climes and it is a firm favourite.

I have had it for 6 months or so, I believe it to be from the batch following the initial run that had some issues. Has anyone else had similar issues?
 

kj2

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I've a Wizard Pro warm V1.5 and mine does have that tactical mode. Need to press to have light, release switch and it goes Off. Not something I need.
 

CodyCash

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The tactical mode isn't very useful, or "tactical". Just turns your switch to momentary.
 

soul347

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Well I'm kicking myself right now because apparently the Wizard, Wizard Pro, Tiara version 2 just came out a few minutes ago. I wish they had told me so I would of held off a bit longer. Guess they wanted to clear out their old inventory.

As far as I can see here are the main improvements to the wizard pro:
  • Removable magnet in tail clip
  • Comes with "strong lanyard"
  • Further beam distance - from 70-105m (warm version). Not sure how they did this since the Lumen output appears to be slightly lower, and the beam angle is exactly the same as the old version.
  • Modified output modes: 975 lm (1h 6min), 390 lm (3h 30min), 185 lm (8h 30min), 32 lm (48h), 14 lm (72h), 1.8 lm (18d), 0.2 (100d)
    • Compared to v1.5: 1120(1h), 465lm (3h), 230lm (7h), 47lm (30h), 6lm (9d), 0.4lm (100d)
    • So in short, all the modes are slightly lower probably to improve run times. Also they lowered both fire fly modes and added a 14lm.

Let me know if anyone spots any other changes. The changes are subtle but I like them. They aren't big enough to make me want to upgrade though. The Tiara however I might want to get since I don't have it yet and could use something smaller/lighter
 

D6859

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Well I'm kicking myself right now because apparently the Wizard, Wizard Pro, Tiara version 2 just came out a few minutes ago. I wish they had told me so I would of held off a bit longer. Guess they wanted to clear out their old inventory.

As far as I can see here are the main improvements to the wizard pro:
  • Removable magnet in tail clip
  • Comes with "strong lanyard"
  • Further beam distance - from 70-105m (warm version). Not sure how they did this since the Lumen output appears to be slightly lower, and the beam angle is exactly the same as the old version.
  • Modified output modes: 975 lm (1h 6min), 390 lm (3h 30min), 185 lm (8h 30min), 32 lm (48h), 14 lm (72h), 1.8 lm (18d), 0.2 (100d)
    • Compared to v1.5: 1120(1h), 465lm (3h), 230lm (7h), 47lm (30h), 6lm (9d), 0.4lm (100d)
    • So in short, all the modes are slightly lower probably to improve run times. Also they lowered both fire fly modes and added a 14lm.

Let me know if anyone spots any other changes. The changes are subtle but I like them. They aren't big enough to make me want to upgrade though. The Tiara however I might want to get since I don't have it yet and could use something smaller/lighter

Sorry I forgot to mention you v2 was coming out :p I knew it was coming when I made my order for v1.5 but I got suchs a good offer I'm ok with having that ancient version. I'm quite sure I have v1.5 and it has a tactical mode. I find it useless though. As we discussed in another thread turning on/off the tactical mode or state indicator is quite complex. One site I found with quick googleing claims v2 has a lighter body but I didn't notice difference. Not sure if I have right data. The 14 lm mode is a nice addition.
 

soul347

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I've a Wizard Pro warm V1.5 and mine does have that tactical mode. Need to press to have light, release switch and it goes Off. Not something I need.

How exactly do you access this mode? The instructions in the manual don't work
 

s013202

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Oct 1, 2014
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Well I'm kicking myself right now because apparently the Wizard, Wizard Pro, Tiara version 2 just came out a few minutes ago. I wish they had told me so I would of held off a bit longer. Guess they wanted to clear out their old inventory.

As far as I can see here are the main improvements to the wizard pro:
  • Removable magnet in tail clip
  • Comes with "strong lanyard"
  • Further beam distance - from 70-105m (warm version). Not sure how they did this since the Lumen output appears to be slightly lower, and the beam angle is exactly the same as the old version.
  • Modified output modes: 975 lm (1h 6min), 390 lm (3h 30min), 185 lm (8h 30min), 32 lm (48h), 14 lm (72h), 1.8 lm (18d), 0.2 (100d)
    • Compared to v1.5: 1120(1h), 465lm (3h), 230lm (7h), 47lm (30h), 6lm (9d), 0.4lm (100d)
    • So in short, all the modes are slightly lower probably to improve run times. Also they lowered both fire fly modes and added a 14lm.

Let me know if anyone spots any other changes. The changes are subtle but I like them. They aren't big enough to make me want to upgrade though. The Tiara however I might want to get since I don't have it yet and could use something smaller/lighter
1.Beam distance is the same as v1.5,Armytek just sad they did more exact measurements to get the right data.
2.Only 14lm is a new added output level,others differ just because Armytek replaced LED lumen with OTF lumen,which means more accurate.
3.UI has many changes which I think is improved,Indication of battery voltage is canceled.
(You can download the manual on Armytek website to see more in detail.)
4.Head shape & lettering is slightly changed.
5.Hand band is included.(mentioned in manual)
 
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RedForest UK

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Nov 28, 2009
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I just got my replacement Wizard v2 (non-pro) Warm in the post today. The mode spacing is good now with a clear difference between all modes, unlike my v1 version, the overall electronics seem all to be working correctly now too so the main issues from before are now sorted.

My estimated OTF output measurements are: 3/30/180/390/870 lumens.

There are a few downsides to this new version though in my opinion.

1. I don't like the look of the new head design. I think the thinness of the head looks a bit weird compared to the thicker top of the body tube and much preferred the older design, which should also offer more thermal mass, though at the cost of slightly more weight as well.

2. The button is a softer, and less tactile/audible click than before. This may be a plus for many who complained about how hard the old switch was, but I liked it that way. Still I'll get used to it.

3. The tint, while neutral, is very much on the yellow/green side. This is very evident compared to my v1 tiara and now even makes my SC52w (my most yellow-green tinted previous light) look like a well-balanced tint.
 

soul347

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So the tint is changed from the v1.5 warm? I really love the tint of my wizard pro. If they changed it that would be a big shame because I think they got it perfect.
 

RedForest UK

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I think there will be natural variation. The tint on my Tiara A1 I find practically perfect; that's just a touch cooler than 5A tint, maybe a 4D tint. My V1.5 Wizard was slightly yellower (less red), I'd put it as a 4C or 4B.

My new V2 Wizard is quite dramatically more green/yellow tinted than either of the previous two though, I would guess at 4S or 4T bin. Though there may well be quite a bit of individual variation within each run so you'll have to wait on more reports before drawing any firm conclusions.

In fact, the Wizard warm shown in the OP seems to be a V2 from the head design and tint is listed as a positive point.
 
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nihilistnarwhal

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Got my NW v2 from illumn this week. The tint seems perfect, and makes my Fenix BC30 look inconsistent and a bit cool in comparison. The anodization doesn't seem as resilient as I was expecting from reading reviews. I've managed to put some scratches on the tail cap somehow already. The pocket clip scratches aren't so bad, except for the little nub under the circle, which really digs in. The gap for the lanyard circle seems perfect for a long enough clip, easy to remove by just unscrewing the magnet compartment.

Is it possible to turn off state indicator flashes completely, or just for off/firefly 1 mode?

Lastly, I have foolishly selected CR123A or RCR123 when I have only 18650s, and locked myself out. The indicator light works, but I can't switch battery types. Any ideas or do I need to give up go buy some other batteries? Seems odd to make it possible to lock yourself out of the flashlight with the wrong clicks, but maybe it's necessary for some reason or it didn't occur to them that anyone would be so foolish.
 

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