# Crelant 7G5 (XM-L U2, 2x18650) Thrower Review: RUNTIMES, VIDEO, BEAMSHOTS and more!



## selfbuilt (Dec 30, 2011)

*Warning: pic heavy, as usual. *

_*UPDATE March 26, 2012:* Crelant has replaced this 7G5 with a new version. Please see my 7G5 V2 review for this updated model._

_*UPDATE November 27, 2012:* A revised model line, the 7G5CS, is now available with an improved user interface and build._











The 7G5 is a high-output "thrower" light from Crelant. How does it compare to the more expensive offerings from other manufacturers? Let us find out … 

*Common Manufacturer Specifications:*

LED: CREE XM-L U2
Max output with 2 x 18650 =860 Lumen
Max output with 3 x 123A =910 Lumen
High output: 90 minutes 2 x 18650, 65 minutes (3 x CR123A)
Low output: 12 hours 2 x 18650, 8 hours (3 x CR123A)
Supports battery sizes: 3 x CR123A, 4 x CR123A, 3 x 16340, 2 x18650, 2 x18500
Functions:High-Low-Strobe
High efficiency dual mode DC-DC regulator (PWM / PFM)
Working voltage is 3.7V to 16V.
Large and deep reflector, 58mm diameter x 55mm deep, provides outstanding and efficient illumination over long distances exceeding 50 meters.
Square threads
Aerospace grade T7075 aluminum alloy Type-III Hard Anodize
Switch:Tactical forward clicky switch
Waterproof: Beyond 5 Meters based on IPX-8 standard
Lens:Toughened ultra clear glass with AR coating
Weight:315grams(without batteries)
Length:210mm, Head diameter:63mm, Housing Diameter:25.4mm
Includes: 1 x Spare rubber boot, 4 x Spare o-ring
MSRP: ~$78










Packaging is fairly basic. Inside the clamshell plastic, you will find the light, spare o-rings and GITD boot cover switch. The closest thing to a manual is printed on the back of the insert.









From left to right: Redilast 18650, Lumintop S40, Crelant 7G5, JetBeam BC40, Thrunite Catapult V3, Niwalker 750.

All dimensions are given with no batteries installed:

*Crelant 7G5*: Weight: 321.3g, Length: 247mm, Width (bezel): 61.4mm
*JetBeam BC40*: Weight: 226.3g, Length: 224mm, Width (bezel): 48.5mm
*Lumintop S40*: Weight: 247.2g, Length: 219mm, Width (bezel): 45.6mm
*Niwalker NWK750*: Weight: 392.3g, Length: 264mm, Width (bezel): 59.0mm
*Sunwayman T40CS*: Weight: 296.7g, Length 227, Width (bezel): 63.5mm
*Thrunite Catapult V3*: Weight: 434.8g, Length: 254mm, Width (bezel) 58.0mm, Width (tailcap) 35.1mm.

The overall size and weight of the 7G5 is reasonable for this class. Given the size of the head, I would expect very good throw.


















Build is fairly basic. There is some knurling on the battery tube, but it is not very aggressive. Grip is ok, but the light may be slippery when wet. Anodizing is matte black, with no chips on my sample. The (thankfully minimal) labels are bright white against the black background.

Tailcap screw threads are square-cut, and anodized for tail lock-out. :thumbsup:

Light can tailstand, despite the forward clicky switch. This means that the tail switch can be a bit difficult to access (especially if you are wearing gloves). 

Note that there are no lanyard attachment holes on the tail (or anywhere on the light), so you are out of luck unless you jury-rig parts from another light (i.e. clip ring or some such). 

There is a slightly scalloped bezel ring on the head.

There is a spring on the positive contact plate in the head, so flat-top batteries should work fine (my Redilast cells 2900mAh all worked fine). 

Light comes with a removable 1xCR123A length extender tube. Take it out, and you will be able to run the light on 3xCR123A/RCR (or 2x18500). With it in place, you can run 4xCR123A or 2x18650.

*User Interface*

The 7G5 has a fairly common interface. Turn the light On/Off by the tailcap forward clicky switch. Press for momentary on, click and release for constant on. 

Mode switching is controlled by soft-pressing or rapid Off/On clicking of the tailcap switch. Mode sequence is Hi > Lo > Strobe, in repeating sequence. Light has mode memory, so if you leave it off for more than 2 secs, it remembers the last mode used and returns to it upon activation.

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*

There is no sign of PWM that I can see, at either output level – I presume the light is current-controlled.  










There was some high frequency noise detectable on my oscilloscope setup at each level, but this not visually noticeable.






Strobe was measured at a very fast 16 Hz. 

*Beamshots:*










The 7G5 has a large head, with a deep and smooth reflector. This should translate into excellent throw. 

And now the white-wall beamshots.  All lights are on 2x AW protected 18650. Lights are 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. 





























































And now for the outdoor shots.  These beamshots were done in the style of my earlier 100-yard round-up review. Please see that thread for a discussion of the topography (i.e. the road dips in the distance, to better show you the corona in the mid-ground). We are also in early winter here now, so I was lucky to get these in without snow on the ground. 






As you can see, the 7G5 has a more focused hotspot than the Thrunite Catapult. oo: Scroll down for some detailed ANSI FL-1 comparison testing.

*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:*

_My summary tables are reported in a manner consistent with the 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 7G5 is currently my best 2x18650, XM-L thrower – I get 55K lux @1m (and slightly more on 4xCR123A). Overall output is similarly at the high-end of this class. I don't doubt the U2 output bin rating here. 

ANSI FL-1 output values seem slightly over-stated on the Crelant packaging, but beam distance is actually fairly close in my testing.

*Output/Runtime Comparison:*















No surprises here – the 7G5 is well in keeping with other current-controlled lights at these output levels. 

Note that the reported Crelant ANSI FL-1 runtime values are definitely over-optimistic. You could maybe get the reported 2x18650 Hi mode runtime on 3100mA 18650 cells, but that's about it. The 3xCR123A Hi and 2x18650 Lo mode runtime values are way off in my testing. 

*Potential Issues*

No belt pouch or wrist lanyard included, so you will have to figure out your own carry option. Note there are no lanyard holes on the tailcap.

Strobe is on the main sequence, along with Hi and Lo.

Light lacks a true "Low" mode (more like Hi and Med, compared to most light).

Light is not grippy as some.

*Preliminary Observations*

The 7G5 is exactly what it a purports to be - a no-frills, high-output "thrower" light. Throw is particular good - at 55K lux @1m, this is the best throwing reflectored light I've tested in the 2x18650-class so far. 

Despite the more budget packaging and number of extras, the build of the 7G5 is actually pretty good. You get a removable 1xCR123A-length battery extender tube included (allowing you to drop down to 3xCR123A/RCR or 2x18500, instead of the standard 2x18650, 4xCR123A). The light uses square-cut threads, and seems well put together.

Performance is also quite good for the output levels – output/runtime efficiency is on par with established brand-name current-controlled lights. :thumbsup:

That said, the interface is pretty basic (i.e. strobe is on the main sequence) – but at least there is mode memory. The light lacks a typical Lo mode (i.e. the two levels here are more like Med and Hi). And I recommend Crelant re-test the actual performance of the light under controlled conditions for more accurate ANSI FL-1 reporting (i.e. the provided output and runtime numbers are largely inaccurate, although beam distance is reasonable). But no qualms about the actual performance of the light, which again is very good at these levels.

All said, the 7G5 does seem to be an excellent bargain for a max-throw type of high-output XM-L light. You can get more expensive lights with more sophisticated features or extras, but you would be hard pressed to top the beam distance of the 7G5 in this class. oo:

_*UPDATE March 26, 2012:* Crelant has replaced this 7G5 with a new version. Please see my 7G5 V2 review for the currently shipping model._

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Crelant 7G5 supplied by Intl-outdoor.com for review.


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## GordoJones88 (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks for another excellent review SelfBuilt.

I like that it has a "stubby" configuration.


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## 2100 (Dec 30, 2011)

Remember to be careful when using unprotected cells like Sanyo 2600s, Panasonic NCR18650/A. It has some difficulty in maintaining contact. I burned the U2 XM-L, it went blue and poofed in 3 seconds. heh... Think the driver went wonky.
Now it has a T6. It uses a 16mm but it's not easy to get the white plastic disc out.


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## 2100 (Dec 30, 2011)

Oh btw, i can verify that your 55k cd figure is in the ballpark. I get 54k. There seems to be 2 cases in which the folks have copies which are under-performing, lumiositykilledthecat fixed his by just disassembling and cleaning it I think. Both cases have M3X and the 7G5 very visibly underperformed the M3X on pictures (multiple shots on multiple targets, so no mistake here)


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## Chicago X (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks for another fantastic review !

This light is going on the short list.


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## candle lamp (Dec 30, 2011)

Very well done. Thanks a lot for your excellent review as always. Selfbuilt! :thumbsup:

The light is very simillar to Sky-Ray STL-V2 in many aspects.


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## selfbuilt (Dec 31, 2011)

Thanks for the support, glad you are enjoying the review. 



2100 said:


> Remember to be careful when using unprotected cells like Sanyo 2600s, Panasonic NCR18650/A. It has some difficulty in maintaining contact. I burned the U2 XM-L, it went blue and poofed in 3 seconds. heh... Think the driver went wonky


That is definitely weird. If the emitter went blue and died that quickly, it was presumably due to not being properly seated and heatsinked. Shouldn't have anything to do with the batteries or driver. Indeed, if the light works with a new emitter, the problem must have been with the old emitter.



2100 said:


> Oh btw, i can verify that your 55k cd figure is in the ballpark. I get 54k. There seems to be 2 cases in which the folks have copies which are under-performing, lumiositykilledthecat fixed his by just disassembling and cleaning it I think. Both cases have M3X and the 7G5 very visibly underperformed the M3X on pictures (multiple shots on multiple targets, so no mistake here)


I don't have a M3X to compare, but I would expect comparable throw if driven to the same level (i.e. the reflectors should be similar in size).


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## BLUE LED (Dec 31, 2011)

My Crelant 7G5 XM-L U2 also has 55k cd.


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## selfbuilt (Jan 3, 2012)

2100 said:


> Oh btw, i can verify that your 55k cd figure is in the ballpark. I get 54k.





BLUE LED said:


> My Crelant 7G5 XM-L U2 also has 55k cd.


Thanks for the confirmations. Looks like ~55K lux @1m is indeed about the norm. Definitely an excellent thrower, for a reflectored light.


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 4, 2012)

When are you going to review the Olight M3X? My M3X whipped my first Crelant 7G5 pretty easily.


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 4, 2012)

Well I don't want to ruin your thread so I'll remove my link to my results.


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## selfbuilt (Jan 4, 2012)

ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> When are you going to review the Olight M3X? My M3X whipped my first Crelant 7G5 pretty easily.





ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> Well I don't want to ruin your thread so I'll remove my link to my results.


No worries if you want to provide links to other threads here showing your results. If there is variability in the performance of different 7G5 samples, it is good to be aware of it.

As for the M3X, it seems unlikely I would be sent one for review at this point (i.e. it has been out awhile). Based on the excellent performance of my M31, I would expect the M3X should be roughly comparable to the 7G5 (assuming both driven to the same levels). I had gathered that the early M3Xs were not as heavily driven as the M31s (based on early reports), but it seems from more recent reports that they should be in the same ballpark as the 7G5.


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 4, 2012)

Well if you don't mind me posting it here. Others have said the same exact thing. My 7G5 that I sent back to Hank had a 1.669 tailcap reading and the M3X was like around 1.3 amps. But the M3X will very easily out throw the 7G5 I had. See for yourself. My Catapult V3 would out throw the 7G5. And I think at 60yds or up close the SR51 will beat the Catapult and the 7G5. And I also think the SR51 will beat them all at 3 ft or very close distances. Check out the SR51 in the back of that thread below. It beats them all in ceiling bounce tests, so I will have to question the low 39,250 lux you have posted for your copy vs what you have posted for the Catapult V3 or at least against my copies that I own. The SR51 beats all the XM-L throwers I have up close for brightness.

Link to external web site removed - Norm


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## selfbuilt (Jan 4, 2012)

ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> My Catapult V3 would out throw the 7G5. And I think at 60yds or up close the SR51 will beat the Catapult and the 7G5. And I also think the SR51 will beat them all at 3 ft or very close distances. Check out the SR51 in the back of that thread below. It beats them all in ceiling bounce tests, so I will have to question the low 39,250 lux you have posted for your copy vs what you have posted for the Catapult V3 or at least against my copies that I own. The SR51 beats all the XM-L throwers I have up close for brightness.


There is always bound to be some variability between samples, but my 7G5 is definitely more focused for throw than my SR51. Here are some comparison white wall shots:














As you can see, the Catapult and 7G5 are more tightly focused than the SR51's hotspot. Does your SR51 have a smooth reflector? Mine is textured. Given the results above, it's not surprising that peak centre beam intensity is higher on the 7G5. The ANSI FL-1 peak intensity lux numbers are taken from the brightest reading at 5m and worked backward (consistent with ANSI standard).

I haven't done the outdoor shots of the 7G5, but will add the SR51 and Catapult as comparators when I do.


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 4, 2012)

My SR51 is textured. But the ceiling bounce test clearly shows that the SR51 easily out does the M3X, 7G5 or Catapuilt V3. But in throw at least the samples I have the M3X beats the rest by about 15%.


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 4, 2012)

Rikr on BLF just got his Crelant 7G5 and his tailcap reading was almost identical to mine. He says his Sky Ray STL V2 will out throw his Crelant 7G5.


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 4, 2012)

And my Catalpult V3 and my Crelant 7G5 also had a tighter hotspot than my M3X. But they won't outhrow the M3X. It's not even close.


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## selfbuilt (Jan 4, 2012)

ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> My SR51 is textured. But the ceiling bounce test clearly shows that the SR51 easily out does the M3X, 7G5 or Catapuilt V3. But in throw at least the samples I have the M3X beats the rest by about 15%.





ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> And my Catalpult V3 and my Crelant 7G5 also had a tighter hotspot than my M3X. But they won't outhrow the M3X. It's not even close.


It's too bad I don't have a M3X, it would be interesting to directly compare in my testing setup.

As for ceiling bounce, my numbers are all posted in the table in the review - my SR51 is higher than my 7G5, which is in turn higher than my Catapult V3. But since the 7G5 is more tightly-focused, it out-throws the SR51 at 5m. 

We'll see what my outdoor beamshots show ...

EDIT 01/06/12: And here they are, clearly showing a more focused beam on my 7G5 sample:


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 4, 2012)

Ok buddy sounds good. I see your ceiling bounce figures now. I will let you know how my next 7G5 does. 2100 thinks that Crelant must have made some changes on some of the latter models.


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## Jerrycobra (Jan 4, 2012)

looks a a decent cost friendly light, plus it throws, hmmm might get one sometime this year


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## selfbuilt (Jan 4, 2012)

Cool it please folks. Valid comparisons between additional light samples is always appreciated, but the charged commentary is not.

Any further posts as described above will be deleted without notice - Norm


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## Norm (Jan 5, 2012)

Some posts have been deleted or edited - Norm


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## BLUE LED (Jan 5, 2012)

BLUE LED said:


> My Crelant 7G5 XM-L U2 also has 55k cd.



My 7G5 with 4x CR123A 56,800 Lux. It's a nice thrower using the U2 bin XM-L. This is exactly what I wanted. If Olight was to start the U2 in the M3X, then that would be very interesting.


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## selfbuilt (Jan 6, 2012)

Just updated the main thread with the outdoor shots.  These beamshots were done in the style of my earlier 100-yard round-up review. Please see that thread for a discussion of the topography (i.e. the road dips in the distance, to better show you the corona in the mid-ground). We are also in early winter here now, so I was lucky to get these in without snow on the ground. 







As you can see, the 7G5 has a more focused hotspot than my Thrunite Catapult or Olight SR51. :wave:


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## easilyled (Jan 6, 2012)

Its interesting to note from these beamshots in the post above by selfbuilt that the Creelant seems to have a narrower section of the beam at the brightest focus than do the SR51 or Catapult.

It does seem to outthrow them right at the centre of the beam where the middle of the tall treetrunk and its immediate surrounds are more sharply in view.

On the other hand, the image from the SR51 at that particular distance may be the more useful one where a lot more is lit up above and below and to the right and left of the central portion that the Creelant highlights.

It could be that the Orange-Peel reflector has something to do with this. See how all the trunks of the smaller trees are revealed much more clearly with the SR51 than the Crelant. Possibly this is accounting for some of the confusion and apparent contradictions of earlier posts.

To me it is clear from the above pictures that the Crelant has the furthest throw but also the smallest hotspot. For the particular distance shown, I'd find the SR51 to provide the more useful beam.


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 23, 2012)

I wanted to say the new Crelant 7G5 I got is a lot better than my first one. I now believe this 7G5 will beat my M3X from what I have seen. It's very close between the two.


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## LiteTheWay (Feb 11, 2012)

Any chance of a comparison with the V2 that is now available?


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## dorgabri (Feb 12, 2012)

Nice review! Thanks!


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## selfbuilt (Feb 12, 2012)

7histology said:


> Any chance of a comparison with the V2 that is now available?


Haven't heard anything from the dealer, but I'm certainly willing to test the V2 as well.


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## roadkill1109 (Feb 12, 2012)

selfbuilt said:


> Haven't heard anything from the dealer, but I'm certainly willing to test the V2 as well.



no V2 yet, selfbuilt?


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## selfbuilt (Feb 14, 2012)

roadkill1109 said:


> no V2 yet, selfbuilt?


Actually, it looks like a V2 will be on its way to me. But not sure how it long it will take to get here, and will likely take a couple of weeks to complete the testing and write up the review once it arrives. I have half a dozen reviews in the works at the moment, but I hope to have them mainly wrapped up over the next week or two. So it shouldn't take too long to get to the V2 once it arrives. :wave:


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## philmadxx (Mar 3, 2012)

I just got my 7G5 in the mail after a long wait (over a month) - but Hank was good at responding so I kept waiting. 

Well worth it! This thing is incredible! I truly have nothing to compare it to but OMG does it put out the light. 

I'm now hooked. Single 18650 thrower is the next purchase. Too many decisions.

Thanks to Selfbuilt and all for great information.


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## roadkill1109 (Mar 27, 2012)

Anybody know where this can still be found online?


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## BLUE LED (Mar 27, 2012)

Ali express $87.16


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## roadkill1109 (Apr 15, 2012)

BLUE LED said:


> Ali express $87.16



Thanks for the tip! Ordering it now.


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