# Niteye EYE40 (4xXM-L U2, 4x18650) Review



## candle lamp (Aug 4, 2012)

The EYE40 is one of the EYE series and new 4xXM-L U2, 4x18650 batteries high-output flashlight from Niteye. 

I am told Shenzhen Jetbeam Electronic Technology Co., Ltd has been planed, designed, and manufactured JETBeam and Niteye products. They will directly supply new JETBeam and Niteye produtcs. (i.e., JETBeam brand was established in 2004 and belongs to Shenzhen Jetbeam Electronic Technology Co., Ltd, which is the brand owner, product designer, manufacturer and after-sale servicer in the past 9 years. Shenzhen Jetbeam has two brands JETBeam & NITEYE, which are directly managed by Shenzhen Jetbeam officially from now on, including design, production, sales, service and etc.)














Packaging is a cardboard box with built-in packaging foam. Included inside is the light, user manual, warranty card, removable grip handle, car charger, extra o-ring, nylon holster.
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*Manufacturer Specifications *from user manual :
1. Light source : 4xCree XM-L U2 LED
2. Battery : 4x18650
3. Output & Runtime :




4. Switch and dimming : Magnetic ring switch/dimmer
5. Circuit design : Constant current circuit, constant brightness
6. Working voltage range : 6~12.6V 
7. Aircraft aluminum, Military type III hard anodized, stainless steel guard ring
8. Weight : 485g (excluding batteries)
9. Dimension : 66mm(W)x66mm(D)x145mm (D) 
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The hard(type III) anodizing is not a solid black but an almost black (i.e., seems matte black combined with dark grey). There is no chips or damage on my sample. The labels on the head and battery tube are clear, and bright white against the background. There is hot warning mark & serial number on the head. The knurling is present over most of the battery tube except three sleeky rectangular sides. There is a laser etched maker logo & its URL on one of the rectangular sides. The other side has the model name, maximum lumens, and miscellaneous letters. There is nothing laser etched on the third. 
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The light has mainly 2 parts (i.e. head and battery tube). There is a good quality battery carrier as well. 
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There is a independent stainless steel bezel ring on each lens. The head base of the light has a raised tiny positive contact to contact with the spring loaded positive contact of the battery carrier. The negative contact rim surrounds the central positive contact. The EYE40 uses a stainless steel magnetic control ring which is conveniently located right below the head. 
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The light uses AR coating lens and the purple hue is reflected on it.
The emitter was well-centered at each base of all reflectors. All reflectors are smooth, and very nicely finished.
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The square head has each different specific function on three sides except one side. (i.e., each side has a battery power indicator, a screw for removable grip handle fixing point, and a built-in DC 12V charging port. Because there's no balancer in the light, it is recommended to use the 12V charging port not to often.
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There are small & shallow cooling fins at each corner of the head. There is no indent on the control ring to help with feel. The light has the half knurled control ring like other EYE series. There are firm detents at each output level, with a slight click as you enter into each output level. The total traverse of the control ring is 1/2 circumference (i.e., 180 degrees) of the light.
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The cross recess bolt shall be removed to put the handle in the female screw on the head. The handle perfectly fits into the female screw and is aligned, thanks to the recess on the head & the convexity on the handle. The handle has a large recess bolt & a washer, so that bolt is close to impossible to be loosened when using the light.
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The well-designed & sturdy handle gives a nice grip & externals. Personally, I like the light with the handle installed as it provides much better grip than a bit slippery battery tube.
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Knurling on the battery tube is not aggressive, so overall grip is not so good without installing the removable grip handle. There is a large negative contact spring at the bottom of the tube which holds the battery holder in place and prevents rattle. The wall thickness at the front of the tube is 1.4 mm. There is a stainless steel ring on the edge of the base. 
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Screw threads look like trapezoidal-cut but nearly square-cut, and note that both male & female threads are anodized for head lock-out. They are smooth with no cross-threading or squeaking on my sample.
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The EYE40 uses a metal battery carrier that holds 4x18650 cells. It looks sturdy and well-made. The positive contact plate is slightly raised, and the negative contact spring has good elasticity. So all types (i.e., true flat-tops, wide and small button-tops) of 18650's work fine. Longer cells may be somewhat tight, but all my protected high capacity (2600~3100mAh) cells fit. You can insert the battery carrier either orientation into the battery tube (i.e., it's reversible), because it has same ends with positive and negative connection terminals. But you should be careful to insert the 18650's into the battery carrier in the correct polarity. 
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You can see the fully loaded battery carrier with unprotected & protected cells. I don't have any problem or issue to insert my shortest & longest 18650 cells into the carrier. But the positive contact plate may catch on the wrapper on the flat cells when removing them. I would like to recommend you to first depress the cells towards the negative spring before removing them. The battery carrier introduces little rattle if you shake the light laterally when it's fully loaded with 18650's unprotected . But no rattle with the protected 18650 cells installed in my sample.
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The light can tailstand perfectly thanks to the flat base.
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*User Interface **
*On-off and all mode switching is controlled entirely by the stainless steel magnetic control ring located right below the head. Actually there are eight modes including "Off" (or stand-by mode) position as follows :
Strobe, Beacon (or Cruise Warning), Battery Power Check, Off, Low, Med., High, Turbo. But the control ring has 6 positions (or 6 form detents). This means one turn counterclockwise from "Off" will get Strobe, Beacon, and Battery Power Check by turns. These three modes will cycle sequentially. If you turn the control ring clockwise from "Off", you will get brighter output, i.e., each turn clockwise will access to Low (single LED), Med. (two LED's), High (three LED's), and Turbo mode (four LED's).
Each time you change mode, the battery power indicator shows the current battery state of charge relative to that mode for 2 seconds.





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*Standby Current Drain**
*Due to the magnetic control ring design, the EYE40 is drawing a small current when the light is fully connected. I measured this current as 72μA. Since the cells are arranged in 2S2P, for 4x18650 (2600mAh) cells, that would translate into around 8 years before they would be fully drained. This is quite reasonable, not a concern. But I would recommend you to store the light locked-out when not in use. 
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From left to right : VicLite 18650(2600mAh) protected, Niteye EYE40, Skilhunt DT-20, XTAR S1. I think EYE40 is reasonably compact and just slightly shorter than DT-20 given 4 cells vs. 2 cells.
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As mentioned earlier, the overall gripability seems better on the light with the grip handle installed. The *overall build quality* is very high on this light. 
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*Measured Weight
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The EYE40 comes with a basic nylon holster with a fixed belt loop & a velcro strap on the head. The light fits in the holster head-up only. 
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*[Edit : 2012.09.17]*
*PWM
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There is a flickering at Low, Med., and High output detected by waving the light (i.e., can't see it at Turbo), but can't see it visually in practical use. I notice that there is no buzzing sound on any ouput levels on my sample. *[Edit : 2012.09.17]*
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*Runtime
[Edit : 2012.09.09]
*1. Fan Cooling 

I ran Turbo & High mode runtime test for pre-production & production version under constant (or continuous) cooling using a fan.

1-1. Pre-Production Version







The EYE40 steps down on turbo after around 5 minutes runtime. This is a common feature on a number of heavily-driven high-output lights to protect from overheating. The runtime for 50% output of turbo & high is appr. 83 mins and 143 mins respectively in my test. The runtime for 10% output of turbo & high is same as above as the batteries protection kicked in.
The output on high is lower than step-down level of turbo. Regulation is maintained very nicely through Turbo & High. I assume this regulation is same to other output levels (i.e., Med. and Low).
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1-2. Production version






The production version steps down on turbo after 3 minutes & 8 minutes runtime.
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2. No Cooling

I have done a comparison of fan cooling and no cooling for production version, and measured surface temperature on the no cooling run.

2-1. Turbo Output






With fan cooling, output dropped to 46% initial output right after two distinct timed step-downs, and never dropped below 45% initial output. With no cooling, output dropped from initial output to 45%, then slightly & gradually dropped to 43% initial output. The lack of cooling caused a very small drop in output over the time, but it's practically impossible for you to see the difference visually.
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2-2. High Output






The lack of cooling caused a very small drop in output over the time, along with turbo output, but it's practically impossible for you to see the difference visually as well.
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2-3. Surface Temperature

I measured with thermal probes attached to four points of the light for the no cooling run only. The room temp. was 26 degrees, and window was ajar on the test room. The resting temp. for EYE40 was 27 degrees. You can see the four points on the light where the thermal probes were set in pace as illustrated below.





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1) Turbo Output






Note that left y-axis is the relative output. The black, cyan, green, and blue lines represent surface temperatures of the light in degrees centigrade (celsius) should be read off the right y-axis.
The temperature continued to slowly rise in the course of the Turbo output run, reaching a max. 67 degrees at the points #1 and #2. As you can see the measured temperature, the light got quite hot. The temp. at the point #4 (i.e., battery tube) reached a max. 54 degrees.
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2) High output






The temperature continued to slowly rise in the course of the High output run, reaching a max. 62 degrees at the points #1 and #2. The temp. at the point #4 (i.e., battery tube) reached a max. 50 degrees. So you need the handle installed when using the light on turbo or high output as it not only provides better grip, but also prevent from getting burnt in the hand. Although my test condition is not the same as running the light outdoors, I would suggest you to hold the handle on the light when using it. _*[*Edit : 2012.09.09*]*_.
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*Beamshot
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*1. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the door)
- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/250sec, Auto white balance 






- Turbo (4 LED's)
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- High (3 LED's)
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- Med. (2 LED's)
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- Low (Single LED)
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2. Indoor beamshot (about 7m from the target)
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1/10sec, Auto white balance 






-Turbo
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-High
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- Med.
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- Low
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3. 55m Outdoor Beamshot 
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance






- Control Shot
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-Turbo
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4. 60~65m Outdoor Beamshot
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance






- Control Shot
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-Turbo
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More to come!


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## rufus001 (Aug 4, 2012)

Very nice review. Powerful for such a small size.


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## makapuu (Aug 4, 2012)

Hey candle lamp, how does it compare to your S1.


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## Travelmate (Aug 4, 2012)

Just got my Niteye Eye 30 recently.


Might consider the Eye 40 if there're real 4000mah batteries


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## kj2 (Aug 4, 2012)

Really like the looks of this light  -but what will come next; a light with 6* leds??


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## candle lamp (Aug 4, 2012)

rufus001 said:


> Very nice review. Powerful for such a small size.



Thanks. rufus001!



makapuu said:


> Hey candle lamp, how does it compare to your S1.



I guess you want to know the beam pattern (or profile) in those lights. If so, I will upload the relating photos & comments ASAP.



Travelmate said:


> Just got my Niteye Eye 30 recently.
> 
> Might consider the Eye 40 if there're real 4000mah batteries



If you use turbo mode only continuously, you may need the high capacity cells. (The EYE40 steps down on turbo after around 5 minutes runtime.)



kj2 said:


> Really like the looks of this light  -but what will come next; a light with 6* leds??



Who is to say?  I'm looking forward to seeing the next generation light. 

* White door beamshots uploaded


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## Travelmate (Aug 5, 2012)

Hi!

Comparing the Eye 40 and Eye 30 in Turbo mode

Eye 30 link http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?330113-Niteye-EYE-30-(3-x-XM-L-2-4-18650)-Review


For Eye 40

After 5 mins the output drops to 60% of 3000 lumens = 1800 lumens

Fro Eye 30

After 20 mins the output drops to 80% of 2000 lumens = 1600 lumens

Why can't the manufacturer meets the specification in Turbo mode with its max lumen? 

Correct me if I'm wrong. I think the TM11 performs better in this aspect, no?


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## candle lamp (Aug 6, 2012)

Hi Travelmate,

Besides the LED numbers & apperance, the circuit between EYE40 & EYE30 is quite different from the runtime curve of each light.

I think the heat management is one of the most important things in mult-LED's high-output lights and the manufacturer has been contemplated that matter.

Especially, the multi-LED's high-output lights have compact sized body has to be designed to solve that matter effectively because they show the different runtime curve due to the surrounding temperature & LED (or circuit) temperature (i.e., There's a obvious difference between fan cooling and no cooling the light). You can see what I mean if you see the runtime curve of the two lights (TM11 & EYE30). 
I think there is difference to manage the heat between the manufacturers.

For max. lumen, as far as I know, ANSI FL-1 lumen is taken 30~120 seconds after the light activation. So the manufacturer meets the ANSI standard.

P.S. : My delaer says my review sample is not a shipping version but a pre-production. The shipping version is in the mail now and I will get it tomorrow.
So I will update the runtime with cooling & no cooling after the relating test ASAP.



Travelmate said:


> Hi!
> 
> Comparing the Eye 40 and Eye 30 in Turbo mode
> 
> ...


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## Travelmate (Aug 6, 2012)

candle lamp said:


> Hi Travelmate,
> 
> Besides the LED numbers & apperance, the circuit between EYE40 & EYE30 is quite different from the runtime curve of each light.
> 
> ...



Thanks.

As an end user I would like to have a flashlight to run at its max lumen as long as possible and not simply meeting some ANSi spec for a few minutes, right?


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## Patriot (Aug 6, 2012)

Great review and pictures! I've owned the Eye-30 for a while now but it's neat that they made a 40. Doesn't really seem to add much to the size. When I was buying 1800L HID a few years ago, I never thought we'd have LED lights like this available so soon. It's sure is cool!


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## richardcpf (Aug 6, 2012)

Exellent review, I look forward to your review of the production unit. Was about to order one of the Eye30


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## rhicks (Aug 6, 2012)

As someone drooling over the EYE-30 for a long time I just cannot pass the EYE-40 up. This is my next light. I am curious though if it steps down after 5 minutes in turbo, how long does it take to step down in high (1200 lumen) mode or will it run for the full time in high? This review has me all excited. Thanks for posting with excellent pictures!


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## candle lamp (Aug 7, 2012)

Travelmate said:


> Thanks.
> 
> As an end user I would like to have a flashlight to run at its max lumen as long as possible and not simply meeting some ANSi spec for a few minutes, right?



If real compact sized multi-LED's light can run at its max. output level as long as possible is released now, everyone becomes high-end user. I hope so, but it will not be easy.



Patriot said:


> Great review and pictures! I've owned the Eye-30 for a while now but it's neat that they made a 40. Doesn't really seem to add much to the size. When I was buying 1800L HID a few years ago, I never thought we'd have LED lights like this available so soon. It's sure is cool!



Thanks Patriot,

The size of the lights is same as 6.6cm(D)x14.5cm(L). But EYE40 weigh slightly more than EYE30. The speed of LED development is quite amazing.



richardcpf said:


> Exellent review, I look forward to your review of the production unit. Was about to order one of the Eye30



I hope to complete the review soon too. Thanks!



rhicks said:


> As someone drooling over the EYE-30 for a long time I just cannot pass the EYE-40 up. This is my next light. I am curious though if it steps down after 5 minutes in turbo, how long does it take to step down in high (1200 lumen) mode or will it run for the full time in high? This review has me all excited. Thanks for posting with excellent pictures!



The pre-production version runs on high mode for the full time with fan cooling. I will check how the production version on high work in action with no cooling. Thanks!


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## Tico (Aug 11, 2012)

Thanks, very nice review !


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## candle lamp (Sep 9, 2012)

Tico said:


> Thanks, very nice review !



Thanks. Tico!

Here you go! Fan cooling & no cooling have now been added to the review.
_*
[*Edit : 2012.09.09*]* _
1. Fan Cooling 
I ran Turbo & High mode runtime test for pre-production & production version under constant (or continuous) cooling using a fan.
1-1. Pre-Production Version






The EYE40 steps down on turbo after around 5 minutes runtime. This is a common feature on a number of heavily-driven high-output lights to protect from overheating. The runtime for 50% output of turbo & high is appr. 83 mins and 143 mins respectively in my test. The runtime for 10% output of turbo & high is same as above as the batteries protection kicked in.
The output on high is lower than step-down level of turbo. Regulation is maintained very nicely through Turbo & High. I assume this regulation is same to other output levels (i.e., Med. and Low).
.
.
1-2. Production version






The production version steps down on turbo after 3 minutes & 8 minutes runtime.
.
.
2. No Cooling
I have done a comparison of fan cooling and no cooling for production version, and measured surface temperature on the no cooling run.
2-1. Turbo Output






With fan cooling, output dropped to 46% initial output right after two distinct timed step-downs, and never dropped below 45% initial output. With no cooling, output dropped from initial output to 45%, then slightly & gradually dropped to 43% initial output. The lack of cooling caused a very small drop in output over the time, but it's practically impossible for you to see the difference visually.
.
.
2-2. High Output






The lack of cooling caused a very small drop in output over the time, along with turbo output, but it's practically impossible for you to see the difference visually as well.
.
.
2-3. Surface Temperature

I measured with thermal probes attached to four points of the light for the no cooling run only. The room temp. was 26 degrees, and window was ajar on the test room. The resting temp. for EYE40 was 27 degrees. You can see the four points on the light where the thermal probes were set in pace as illustrated below.





.
.
1) Turbo Output






Note that left y-axis is the relative output. The black, cyan, green, and blue lines represent surface temperatures of the light in degrees centigrade (celsius) should be read off the right y-axis.
The temperature continued to slowly rise in the course of the Turbo output run, reaching a max. 67 degrees at the points #1 and #2. As you can see the measured temperature, the light got quite hot. The temp. at the point #4 (i.e., battery tube) reached a max. 54 degrees.
.
.
2) High output






The temperature continued to slowly rise in the course of the High output run, reaching a max. 62 degrees at the points #1 and #2. The temp. at the point #4 (i.e., battery tube) reached a max. 50 degrees. So you need the handle installed when using the light on turbo or high output as it not only provides better grip, but also prevent from getting burnt in the hand. Although my test condition is not the same as running the light outdoors, I would suggest you to hold the handle on the light when using it. _*[*Edit : 2012.09.09*]*_.


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## candle lamp (Sep 17, 2012)

PWM [12.09.17] added!


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## thatjeepguy (Oct 8, 2012)

I just got mine last Thursday. This thing is insane. It's by far the brightest light I've ever owned and probably the brightest I've ever seen in person. It has a great feel and awesome build quality. I love it!


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## Jayman (Oct 8, 2012)

thatjeepguy said:


> I just got mine last Thursday. This thing is insane. It's by far the brightest light I've ever owned and probably the brightest I've ever seen in person. It has a great feel and awesome build quality. I love it!


I couldn't agree more. This light is just a beast!!


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## Th3-nightmare (Oct 13, 2012)

I just love the shape of eye30 but eye40 is brighter


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## LichtAn! (Nov 15, 2012)

Is is true that the light only runs 6 hours with just 350 lumens? That would be very sad.


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## candle lamp (Nov 16, 2012)

LichtAn! said:


> Is is true that the light only runs 6 hours with just 350 lumens? That would be very sad.



I didn't chek it out for myself, but the same runtime is reported in the user manual.


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## ArmoredFiend (Nov 23, 2012)

Great looking light! And thanks to your review, i am now considering getting this or TM15...except the Turbo mode lasting mere 5mins is a big let down..


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## candle lamp (Nov 23, 2012)

ArmoredFiend said:


> Great looking light! And thanks to your review, i am now considering getting this or TM15...except the Turbo mode lasting mere 5mins is a big let down..



It's due to the over heat protection, but you can get the turbo mode again by rotating the control ring third cycle between high and turbo mode (i.e., it cancel the over heat protection).


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## davpet (Dec 3, 2012)

candle lamp said:


> It's due to the over heat protection, but you can get the turbo mode again by rotating the control ring third cycle between high and turbo mode (i.e., it cancel the over heat protection).



It's interesting that such an expensive light doesn't have a thermostat built in. Obviously they are playing safe with the timed step down, but 10-20 minutes on turbo would easily be possible during winter time, had they installed temperature dependent regulation.


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## officermartinez (Dec 19, 2012)

ArmoredFiend said:


> Great looking light! And thanks to your review, i am now considering getting this or TM15...except the Turbo mode lasting mere 5mins is a big let down..



That's exactly the issue that I faced. In the end, I decided to go with the TM15. The TM15 I believe, isn't quite as bright as the EYE40 but I can run my TM15 on turbo mode for a longer period of time. I've had it for several weeks now and it gets its' fair share of work. Since I use my TM15 as a law enforcement tool, I needed something with more or less the same features as the EYE40. (Hmmmmm, makes me wonder, will the EYE40 removable handle work on my TM15.. lol)!


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## Dotcircle (Jan 9, 2013)

Fantastic review! Maybe a self-bought present now when my birthday is coming up :naughty:


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## toysareforboys (Jan 18, 2013)

One thing I hate, is that they advertise 3000LM for 1.5 hours! So misleading. They should advertise 3000LM for 3 mins (before stepdown)!!! What a crock.







-Jamie M.


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## candle lamp (Jan 21, 2013)

toysareforboys said:


> One thing I hate, is that they advertise 3000LM for 1.5 hours! So misleading. They should advertise 3000LM for 3 mins (before stepdown)!!! What a crock.
> -Jamie M.


I understand your meaning. As I mentioned in my review (and you will see the runtime graph with no cooling), the light needs to be stepped-down in 3 minutes for preventing from overheating.
Most (maybe all) manufacturers do advertise the max. output runtime for their high-output lights. :tsk:
You might try to understand a little better.


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## toysareforboys (Jan 21, 2013)

candle lamp said:


> I understand your meaning. As I mentioned in my review (and you will see the runtime graph with no cooling), the light needs to be stepped-down in 3 minutes for preventing from overheating.
> Most (maybe all) manufacturers do advertise the max. output runtime for their high-output lights. :tsk:
> You might try to understand a little better.


Yeah, but I could put a flash bulb in the end of my light and list it as 80,000 lumens with 60 hour run time on single AA battery because after the initial flash, it just runs a single led at 1 lumen 

That's why we need to figure out a better rating system, for lights that have a TIMED step down (i.e. no temperature sensor), list it like: Turbo 3000LM for 3 mins, 1800LM for 2 mins then 1200LM for 1.5H 

I guess just make sure the light has been reviewed and tested so you can see the stepdown graph before purchasing 

-Jamie M.


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## candle lamp (Jan 22, 2013)

toysareforboys said:


> Yeah, but I could put a flash bulb in the end of my light and list it as 80,000 lumens with 60 hour run time on single AA battery because after the initial flash, it just runs a single led at 1 lumen
> 
> That's why we need to figure out a better rating system, for lights that have a TIMED step down (i.e. no temperature sensor), list it like: Turbo 3000LM for 3 mins, 1800LM for 2 mins then 1200LM for 1.5H
> 
> ...


Yes, I feel the same way. I could see that the light steps down in 3 minutes after the runtime test & seeing the manual.  
I agree the manufacturers need to advertise thier products to prospective buyers in more detail, because their advertisement is the most important factor in customers' purchasing decisions. 

KyeongHo


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## ArmoredFiend (Jan 30, 2013)

candle lamp said:


> It's due to the over heat protection, but you can get the turbo mode again by rotating the control ring third cycle between high and turbo mode (i.e., it cancel the over heat protection).



Well, on second thought..i think i would stick to TK75 after going through your review. Tee Hehee...


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## Captain Obvious (Aug 22, 2014)

Definately getting one of these, but it will the the Vinh modded version ^^


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## Alex1234 (Aug 22, 2014)

Captain Obvious said:


> Definately getting one of these, but it will the the Vinh modded version ^^



I have one and it has the best beam ever !!! its like each reflector was make for dedomed xml2.


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