# Lumintop ED10 (XP-G R5, 1xCR123A/RCR) Review: RUNTIMES, VIDEO, BEAMSHOTS and more



## selfbuilt (Dec 21, 2011)

*Warning: pic heavy, as usual.*











The ED10 is pocket 1xRCR/CR123A-class light from Lumintop, featuring a Cree XP-G emitter. Scroll down to see how it performs relative to others in this class.

*Manufacturer's Specifications:*

LED: CREE XP-G R5
High: 180 Lumens, 1.5 hours 
Med: 35 Lumens, 7 hours
Low : 4 Lumens, 70 hours
Strobe, SOS modes
Max Range : 60m
Max Intensity: 1100cd
Impact Resistance: 1.5m
Water Resistance: IPX-8, 2m
Working Voltage: 0.9~4.2V
Battery: 1xCR123A or 1x16340 (RCR)
Size: 20.6mm (bezel diameter) x 66.0mm (length)
Net Weight : 0.90 oz (excluding battery)
MSRP: ~$30






Packaging is a plastic clamshell containing the light, good quality wrist lanyard, keychain ring and clip, extra o-ring, and manual (on the product card).









From left to right: CR123A, Lumintop ED10, Olight i1 SS, 4Sevens Q Mini 123, Zebralight SC30, Thrunite Neutron 1C. Sunwayman M10R.

All dimensions are given with no batteries installed:

*Lumintop ED10*: Weight: 21.5g, Length: 70.4mm, Width (bezel): 20.7mm
*Olight i1 Stainless Steel*: Weight 48.1g, Length: 63.9mm, Width (bezel): 20.4mm
*Jetbeam BC10*: Weight: 46.6g, Length: 90.3mm, Width (bezel): 23.2mm
*Thrunite 1C*: Weight: 45.2g, Length: 91.5mm, Width (bezel) 22.0mm
*Xtar WK21*: Weight: 59.1g, Length: 66.5mm, Width (bezel): 25.8mm














Overall build is compact – the light is quite small, but still feels solid enough. Anodizing is a matte black, without any nicks or damage on my sample. There is knurling along the various body and head surfaces, but it is not very aggressive. Grip is reasonable, and I was able to operate the light single-handed. Labels are restricted to the tailcap, and are bright white against the black background. 

Light has a scalloped bezel ring, letting you know if the light is on when standing on its head. There are raised attachment points on the tail, and the light can tailstand.  

There is a metal spring at the base of the base of the light.

Light works by tightening the head against the body, so as such screw threads are anodized for lock-out. 

*User Interface*

To activate the light, tighten the head against the body. 

There are five output modes, arranged in sequence: Lo > Med > Hi > Strobe > SOS. To access the modes, do a loosen-tighten cycle while the light is on.

There is no mode memory – the light always comes on in Lo if you leave it off for more than a few seconds.

For a more detailed examination of the build and user interface, please see my video overview: :wave:



Video was recorded in 720p, but YouTube defaults to 360p. Once the video is running, you can click on the 360p icon in the lower right-hand corner, and select the higher 480p to 720p options, or even run full-screen. 

*PWM/Strobe*

Med mode:





Lo mode:





The ED10 uses PWM of 1 kHz frequency. This is high enough to not be generally noticeable, but it is detectable by eye.

The ED10 has a strobe mode, measured at 9.9 Hz.

Noise:





There is a re-occurring circuit pattern noticeable at lower frequencies, but it does not produce any visual effect (i.e. the light is reasonably flicker-free, with only the expected 1kHz PWM noticeable).

*Beamshots:*










The ED10 uses a Cool White XP-G emitter – very poorly centered on my sample - in a medium orange peel textured reflector. Given the small size of the reflector, I don't expect this to distort the beam much. 

All lights are on AW protected RCR, about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences. 





























































*Testing Method:* 

All my output numbers are relative for my home-made light box setup, a la Quickbeam's flashlightreviews.com method. You can directly compare all my relative output values from different reviews - i.e. an output value of "10" in one graph is the same as "10" in another. All runtimes are done under a cooling fan, except for any extended run Lo/Min modes (i.e. >12 hours) which are done without cooling.

I have recently devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values (ROV) to estimated Lumens. See my How to convert Selfbuilt's Lighbox values to Lumens thread for more info.

*Throw/Output Summary Chart:*

*Effective November 2010, I have revised my summary tables to match with the current ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. Please see http://www.sliderule.ca/FL1.htm for a description of the terms used in these tables.*











The ED10 has regulated output levels on both 1xCR123A and 1xRCR, with higher output on 1xRCR. ANSI FL-1 lumen measures on 1xCR123A seem very accurate.

Throw is about what you would expect for such a small head, although my sample was a bit higher than the reported ANSI FL-1 spec. 

*Output/Runtime Comparison:*















The output/runtime performance of the ED10 is exactly what you would expect for a good XP-G R5-based light. Light is regulated at all levels, on both 1xCR123A and 1xRCR

*Potential Issues*

All output modes are in one series, accessed in sequence (i.e. Strobe and SOS in the same sequence as Lo, Med and Hi).

Light lacks a pocket clip, but it does come with a keychain clip and wrist-lanyard.

*Preliminary Observations*

The ED10 is a very compact, 1xCR123A/RCR every-day-carry (EDC) type of light. Overall builds reminds me a lot of the 4Sevens Mini 123, although the ED10 is a bit longer (and not as aggressively knurled). Grip is still reasonable, and I found the ED10 fine for single-handed use.

Performance is very similar to the Mini – I found largely equivalent output, runtimes and regulation patterns between the lights. I quite like that these lights are fully regulated on 1xRCR :thumbsup: – many in this class resort to direct-drive on this higher-voltage battery source.

Interface is again somewhat similar to the Mini, but the ED10 unfortunately only has a single set of modes that include strobe/SOS in the main sequence. I prefer to see these hidden, when possible :shrug:

At the end of the day, no surprises here – the ED10 is exactly what it purports to be, with seemingly accurate ANSI FL-1 specs. If you are looking for this sort of basic, twisty 1xCR123A/RCR light, ED10 is worth considering. :wave:

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ED10 was provided by Lumintop for review.


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## kreisler (Dec 21, 2011)

thanks for the review!!


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## yifu (Dec 23, 2011)

Thanks for the review once again! 1.6k lux at 1m is a bit low for EDC use for me, but is pretty typical for those small XPG lights.


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## candle lamp (Dec 23, 2011)

Thanks for the excellent review as always. Selfbuilt! :thumbsup:


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## selfbuilt (Dec 23, 2011)

yifu said:


> Thanks for the review once again! 1.6k lux at 1m is a bit low for EDC use for me, but is pretty typical for those small XPG lights.


Yeah, I typically prefer a little more throw myself - but as you say, that is pretty typical for this sort of light (i.e. very similar to the 4Sevens Mini). If the emitter was better centered on my ED10 sample, I expect you could squeeze an extra couple of hunded lux at 1m - but that wouldn't generally be noticeable.


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## GordoJones88 (Dec 28, 2011)

Thanks for all the reviews Selfbuilt.

Hopefully we'll get to see the Quark MiniX on this graph eventually?

I'm sure it would be similar to the Olight i1, which I got based on it's curve.


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## selfbuilt (Dec 29, 2011)

GordoJones88 said:


> Hopefully we'll get to see the Quark MiniX on this graph eventually?
> I'm sure it would be similar to the Olight i1, which I got based on it's curve.


It should be identical, given the previous relationship between the Olight A-series and the 4Sevens Mini (i.e. the XP-G versions). It is unlikely that I would be sent one for review at this point, so I would just take the Olight i1 as a good comparable for the Mini X.


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## Woods Walker (Dec 29, 2011)

Great review.  As for the light....meh.....


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## staghater (Mar 3, 2012)

Thank you for review, great work.
Like the light :thumbsup:


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## wrc65 (Sep 13, 2012)

I don't mean to bring this back from the dead but after reading this review I purchased this light for less than $30 and have been so surpised with how well it has performed. I think it may be just a little underated. Output and runtime really isnt bad especially for its incredibly compact size. Thanks for the review because I am so satisfied with this little light.


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## enki_ck (Oct 27, 2012)

Hi, anyone have long term experience with this light? I'm considering it and the olight i3 and this one is actually rated for use with a RCR which is a very big plus for me. But the lack of reviews, posts, anything, ... on this light has me worried. I'd like to know how the one hand operation is, is there any mode skipping, contact issues (both my iTP A2 and Fenix LD01 died from it)? Also how hot does it get in high? Thanks.


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## GehenSienachlinks (Nov 1, 2012)

Would it be easy to swap led with xp g2 16mm base led ?


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## selfbuilt (Nov 1, 2012)

GehenSienachlinks said:


> Would it be easy to swap led with xp g2 16mm base led ?


I have not tried to open the head, so don't know how hard that would be. :shrug:


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