Mini Review of the new 4Sevens MMU X3R

Albert56

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I've recently added the new 4Sevens MMU X3R to my collection. The X3R is the USB chargeable, "clicky" version of the X3. I also own and use the X3, so thought I'd post this mini review and comparison.

Selfbuilt has nothing to worry about here... I don't have the equipment to measure exact tech specs and I'm not attaching any photos (you can find those anywhere). These are just my empirical observations to help you decide if this light might be for you or not.


1. Dimensions and Appearance

The X3R is virtually indistinguishable from it's predecessor in terms of fit, finish, weight and size. Both lights have the same well done anodizing and knurling, LED placement, reflector and general look. The X3R measures about 5mm longer though.


2. Accessories

The flashlight comes with a heavy duty black nylon holster with a snap closure (the same as the X3), 2 spare o-rings, instructions, a plug in wall charger and a USB to Micro USB cord. Concern was expressed by some about the holster flap engaging the tail switch when carrying. However, the flap on mine seems to leave enough clearance between it and the button and I have not had this problem. It could be an issue if you're putting the light in a backpack, etc, though.


3. Battery and Charging

The light comes with a proprietary 4000mah 26650 battery. A regular 26650 will not work. This might be a deal breaker for some of you, however the batteries aren't really much more expensive than any good quality "regular" 26650 and the convenience of not having to remove it for charging more than makes up for any small difference in cost.

Charging is done by unscrewing the sliding, o-ringed charging port cover near the head of the flashlight and sliding it back, exposing the micro-USB port. You then simply plug the light into the included charger or any USB port. A red LED indicates charging, green LED fully charged. That's pretty much all there's to it. I really like the screw down cover vs. the rubber plugs some other manufacturers use for the USB port.


4. The UI

This is the major difference and improvement between the X3R and its predecessors. Instead of just HI-LOW with momentary on and having to screw the tail cap down for full on, the light now has a momentary and "clicked on" switch. Also, there are now 5 user selectable configurations you can set. These are various combinations of low, medium, high and strobe and beacon. The flashlight also has mode memory. I won't go into detail on this, as again all this is readily available on the 4Sevens site or elsewhere. A down side of the configuration setting procedure is that the flashlight must be plugged in to charge in order to access it. It's straightforward and easy enough to do, but if you've set one configuration and want to change it "in the field" without access to a power source, you're out of luck.

All in all, I much prefer a tail switch as opposed to one on the body of the light. A partial press of the button gives you momentary on. Unlike the X3, this light will not switch modes on you if you activate the momentary on repeatedly. Not having to use both hands to lock the light on is a big plus as well. Switching modes is accomplished by a rapid full double click when the light is on. This works very well.

What doesn't seem to work quite as well and reliably is the momentary on function itself. I find the threshold between momentary and clicked on to be a rather narrow one. If you don't have a soft touch or are wearing gloves, you might find yourself turning the light to full on rather than the intended momentary on. Also, once in a while the momentary function didn't work at all until the "clicky" had engaged.

Also, because the "clicked on" is kind of "soft", when returning the flashlight to the holster it's possible to turn it on without knowing it if you happen to accidentally press the button in the process - and this actually happened to me once. If my sample is typical, then 4Sevens needs to work on this. That said, I still like this interface much more than the old one.


5. Output

The X3's low is around 200 lumens, the X3R's around 100. It has no moonlight mode, but the X3R's 100 lumens is more useable for close up work. I've configured my light for high-low modes only. As advertised, the light starts to step down after roughly a minute to a minute and a half on high. I don't really find myself having it on high much longer than that and don't see this as a problem. Cycling the light on and off resets it to full power again.

The X3 has a max output of 1600 lumens, the X3R claims 2000 lumens. This is where I was a bit under-whelmed. Granted, at this level a 25% increase isn't going to knock your socks off, but in my comparison of the two I was hard pressed to see any real difference at all. My X3 seems to have a slightly more concentrated hot spot, with the X3R a tad more floody. Tint and beam quality were overall the same. It's possible that my X3 is slightly over spec and the X3R slightly under, narrowing the gap to an imperceptible level. Either way, the X3R packs plenty of punch on high and suits my EDC needs for security work just fine.


Conclusion

If you're looking for a moderately priced, well built and compact flashlight with a lot of output, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one than this. Aside from the shortcomings I've listed, this is a excellent flashlight. I'm now using it as my EDC, and it's a keeper as far as I'm concerned. :thumbsup:
 
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chuckhov

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Albert,

Nothing at all against your review, Sir.

Just wanted to speak my mind in case 4/7s might be looking. - Feedback is a good thing.

I will never buy a light if I can't source a standard battery for it.

Thanks very much for your review,
-Chuck
 

KeepingItLight

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The light comes with a proprietary 4000mah 26650 battery...
With the rapid pace of innovation in LED flashlights, I am extremely reluctant to buy anything that requires a proprietary battery. Sure, you can buy a replacement battery today, but who knows what will happen downstream. If the past is a predictor, then we can be certain this light will be discontinued (and hopefully replaced) after only a few years. How long can we expect its manufacturer to make proprietary batteries for a discontinued model? I can't say, but I don't care to bet it will be for long. Even if such a battery continues to be available, how long can we depend on its price being competitive?


Charging is done by unscrewing the sliding, o-ringed charging port cover near the head of the flashlight and sliding it back, exposing the micro-USB port. You then simply plug the light into the included charger or any USB port. A red LED indicates charging, green LED fully charged. That's pretty much all there's to it. I really like the screw down cover vs. the rubber plugs some other manufacturers use for the USB port.
We agree. I think Foursevens has this exactly right. I wish all makers of USB-rechargable flashlights would do it this way.
 

Albert56

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Understood and no offense taken, chuckhov. :)

I've never been a fan of proprietary battery packs myself, but in this case The "pack" costs hardly more than an ordinary battery, so it's not as much of an issue to me.
 
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richbuff

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...5. Output

... Cycling the light on and off again resets it to full power again. ...
This is the information that I have been looking for. :)

I love the MMU-X3 because of its size to power ratio. More power than any of a zillion 1000 lumen offerings on the market, and a lot more compact than offerings that are one notch more powerful. Therefore, this new item is appealing to me. But, I could not find information indicating that reset to full power was accomplishable simply by cycling off and on again, versus necessitating a full battery charge cycle to get back to 2000 lumens after approximately 75 seconds.

I will probably give my well-worn MMU-X3 to a friend, after I latch on to this item.
 

Amelia

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Albert,

Nothing at all against your review, Sir.

Just wanted to speak my mind in case 4/7s might be looking. - Feedback is a good thing.

I will never buy a light if I can't source a standard battery for it.

Thanks very much for your review,
-Chuck

Same here. Proprietary battery = No sale to Amelia.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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Yeah, the proprietary battery is a non-starter. It makes the flashlight scrap-metal in about 3 years, when you won't be able to buy a replacement. Another screw-up in a long list of screw-ups from 4sevens over the past year or two. What happened to them? They were such a great company with innovative and useful designs for flashaholics. They've gone over to the dark side the past year or two. I have several 4sevens lights, but their recent models have been real flops (IMO).
 

TEEJ

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I also don't like that an exhausted light is rendered a paperweight until you can charge it, because you can't simply swap in a fresh cell and keep going...that's a weak point for internal charging only systems.

If the light is left on a charger and only grabbed to see what's out there every once in a while, not a big deal.

:D
 

reppans

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Thanks for the review Albert. There is no surprise that a proprietary battery flashlight would be unpopular here on CPF amongst some of us flashaholics - I too would prefer to "roll-my-own." The thing is, us flashaholics are well equipped with DMMs, dedicated Li-ion chargers, and most importantly, the knowledge for the safe care and handling of Li-ions - things the much larger non-flashaholic market does not have, or care to learn. Non-flashaholics want a simple, safe, fully integrated (batt/device/charger), plug-and-play solution, much like a cellphone or a laptop.

Knowing what can go wrong with lithium batteries, 47s internally rechargeable lights are one of only lights that I will recommend when friends and family that want a powerful, compact rechargeable light, and particularly for its fully integrated/proprietary battery format. Multi-cell Eneloop lights are another safe option, but even that is often too much of hassle for the common USB-trained user.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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Non-flashaholics want a simple, safe, fully integrated (batt/device/charger), plug-and-play solution, much like a cellphone or a laptop.

Knowing what can go wrong with lithium batteries, 47s internally rechargeable lights are one of only lights that I will recommend when friends and family that want a powerful, compact rechargeable light, and particularly for its fully integrated/proprietary battery format.

I can see the benefit of an integrated battery with a plug-in rechargeable light. IIRC, 4sevens had this in the past on some of their models. However, those lights could also take a regular 18650 if (and when) the original proprietary 18650-ish died and you couldn't get a replacement. With a regular 18650, I think it reverted to a version where you couldn't internally recharge the battery, but otherwise the light functioned fine and you didn't have to throw it away when the battery died.
 

reppans

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I can see the benefit of an integrated battery with a plug-in rechargeable light. IIRC, 4sevens had this in the past on some of their models. However, those lights could also take a regular 18650 if (and when) the original proprietary 18650-ish died and you couldn't get a replacement. With a regular 18650, I think it reverted to a version where you couldn't internally recharge the battery, but otherwise the light functioned fine and you didn't have to throw it away when the battery died.

Yeah, the 18650 version that can take regular cells (but not charge them) is still available - the MMR-X. But as far as having to "throw this light away when the battery dies," I suppose the assumption is that 47s decides to stop supporting this light/battery, or the company shuts down.

Yes, those are valid risks, just like with their 10-yr warranty and good US-based CS. JMHO of course, but I'll take those risks over your typical Chinese-manufactured light with a 1 or 2yr warranty, 1 or 2 month repair/shipping turn-around, and the cost/worry/lack of recourse with China's Post/Customs.
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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But as far as having to "throw this light away when the battery dies," I suppose the assumption is that 47s decides to stop supporting this light/battery, or the company shuts down.

Yes. I think it's a pretty safe bet that 4sevens won't continue to make and sell proprietary batteries for too long after they stop making the model of light(s) that takes them. They have to outsource that manufacturing, and it doesn't make economic sense if they're no longer making lights that use them. And yes, they could shut down as a company, too.

I guess I just don't understand why they went with a design that only takes proprietary batteries, when they have an existing design that will take proprietary AND standard batteries. The latter is clearly the superior design for anyone that plans to keep their flashlight longer than about 3 years.

JMHO of course, but I'll take those risks over your typical Chinese-manufactured light with a 1 or 2yr warranty, 1 or 2 month repair/shipping turn-around, and the cost/worry/lack of recourse with China's Post/Customs.

Well, 4sevens lights are Chinese-manufactured as well. Nothing wrong with that. But yes, if you're based in the U.S., warranty service is certainly easier. So, they should just go back to the old design! (Like with most of their latest mistakes.)
 

reppans

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Yes. I think it's a pretty safe bet that 4sevens won't continue to make and sell proprietary batteries for too long after they stop making the model of light(s) that takes them. They have to outsource that manufacturing, and it doesn't make economic sense if they're no longer making lights that use them. And yes, they could shut down as a company, too.

I guess I just don't understand why they went with a design that only takes proprietary batteries, when they have an existing design that will take proprietary AND standard batteries. The latter is clearly the superior design for anyone that plans to keep their flashlight longer than about 3 years.

Well, 4sevens lights are Chinese-manufactured as well. Nothing wrong with that. But yes, if you're based in the U.S., warranty service is certainly easier. So, they should just go back to the old design! (Like with most of their latest mistakes.)

I've had some dealings with 47s customer service, as well as Malkoff's, read enough about HDS's, and of course, I like to follow the CPF CS threads too - so I *think* I have a good sense of what's fair, what sucks, and what's outstanding. Personally, I'd rather deal with 47s than anyone else - but I completely trust David's, Gene's and Henry's integrity. I can not say the same for anyone else in this industry.

Who really knows, but assuming 47's remains a going concern, and they decide to stop production of this light, or any other light based on this battery, then (IMHO), they will still strive to support THIS light for another 10yrs (the warranty period) by offering warranty service and the battery as an accessory. If they decide to stop carrying the parts (and that includes its proprietary batteries), to support the light in a operable manner, then (again IMHO), they will simply offer those that ask, a current line (or better) replacement, or a credit of the original purchase price toward a new light in their line. That is a fair treatment, and what I know Henry at HDS will do. I just can't image David will leave his customers out in the cold with a dead light, as you are suggesting. I cannot say the same for any other Chinese manufacturer though.

Of course I know 47s lights are Chinese manufactured, but they operate in a "non-typical" (by my terminology above) niche riding a thin line between the versatile, feature rich, reasonably priced lights of the Chinese manufacturers, and the exceptional warranty and customer service of the US manufacturers (which is important to me). I would happily buy more quality US lights, but they really refuse to support common battery types, other than a small handful of offerings.
 
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WalkIntoTheLight

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So, you don't think it's at all a step-back to support only a proprietary battery in this new light, instead of the old way they did it? (Proprietary, AND standard.)

What is wrong with the old way they did it? Why is it better to support only a proprietary battery?

IMO, I think they had it right before, and got it wrong with this new approach. YMMV.
 

Albert56

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I had no idea that the proprietary battery was going to be such an issue. But, judging from some of these replies, it's clearly a big bone of contention for some of you. If this light came in both a proprietary and a non-proprietary battery version, then it would a no-brainer, but I really don't think buying it should be contingent upon this one aspect alone.


Let's face it... we're all flashoholics and no flashlight will ever be the alpha-omega for us. We all have multiple lights and no doubt rotate them regularly. Technology moves on and I'm sure that in 2-3 years some new light that I must have will take center stage and the MMU X3R will be relegated to my back shelf, just as so many other flashlights have been over the years.

What's more, I don't hear too many people complaining about those i-Pads, tablets, cell phones, lap tops, cordless tools, etc, etc, with their proprietary cells and how they refuse to buy them because they might stop selling the specific battery pack a few years from now. Lithium ion batteries have loooong shelf lives. I have some cheap UltraFire 18650's, that albeit it are no longer in their prime, still charge and work after over 7 years. Unless you're recharging your flashlight every time you use it, there's no reason to think the battery won't last for many years to come.


And honestly, how many of us are really going to find ourselves literally in the dark because our battery died? I personally have two or more flashlights available to use almost all the time and I have never once found myself in that position. I would suggest that if you're really worried about that happening to buy an extra cell and keep it on reserve. It's not like they cost that much and the orginal cell comes with the flashlight. I don't see that as being any different from buying extra "ordinary" rechargeables as a back up.


Just my two lumens worth... :)
 

mc84

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I guess a question for the pros here. If one was to give up rechargability in trade for using regular 26650 cell. How hard would it be to modify this light? Is it as simple as blocking the negative or positive side in the tail end of the battery / tail switch assembly or something much more complicated?
 
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reppans

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So, you don't think it's at all a step-back to support only a proprietary battery in this new light, instead of the old way they did it? (Proprietary, AND standard.)

Both are currently sold, so I see it as a "18650 vs 26650" thing as opposed to an "old vs new" thing. It's a conservative company HQ'd in a litigious country** - if I were in 47's shoes, I too would try and prevent some garbage "StartFire" battery from being used in my rechargeable products. My GUESS is that they CHOSE take risk on accepting standard 18650s, because many of us already have them, but I don't believe this to be true of the 26650 cell. If customers need to buy 26650 cells from scratch, 47s might as well try to quality control it then. I understand the concern with a monopoly supply for the cell, and I certainly wouldn't buy such a product from Nitecore or Zebralight (I'll argue rapid innovation/cutting edge technology is diametrically opposed to long warranties and strong aftermarket support) but I have NO concerns with 47s (or SF/HDS/Malkoff for that matter) leaving me out in the cold, save the going concern risk. Yes, they are saying "trust me".... well I do.

**there are other companies operating (even founded/incorporated?) in the litigious US that seem less concerned with this type of risk, but in turn, also seem less concerned/affected by the SF patent lawsuit (but are still using anodized tailcaps and twisty head UIs).

Just my two lumens worth... :)

I'm with you Albert, except on the 2-3 yr obsolescence thing. I agree I will personally have new favorites in use, but my older/obsolete lights get gifted to my non-flashaholic friends and family. My obsolete lights are still years ahead of anything else my non-flashaholic giftees have ever seen - they love them. When I gift 47s lights (Malkoffs and HDSs are too expensive) I ask the giftee to return the light to me if it ever fails and I'll have it fixed - none have returned. Otherwise I'll tell them to just throw it way (including my Armytek).
 

WalkIntoTheLight

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Hmmm, well, I think you're putting far too much trust in 4sevens that they'll continue (or be around) to sell you replacement batteries years down the road. That said, I'm guessing you're not buying one of these lights for yourself, so perhaps you're not really putting that much trust in them.

I have a few non-disposable devices (things like cameras) that unfortunately take proprietary batteries. I try to avoid them, but sometimes there isn't really a viable option. I don't trust 100% that Sony will continue to support me, but I know they're large enough and sell a lot of stuff that takes their batteries, that I'm likely to find an OEM replacement years from now.

A (relatively) small flashlight company selling a limited number of these things doesn't give me that same confidence. Of course, everyone makes up their own mind, and has different tolerances for risk. And, we're only talking about $120, so it's not like someone has to bet their life savings on it.
 
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