Armytek Wizard Pro Prototype Long-Term Testing

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bradthebold said:
My light just won't turn on sometimes. I'll go to use it, and nothing happens when I click or hold the button. Tightening the tailcap doesn't do anything. I have to unscrew the tailcap half way and least and screw it back on to get the light to work.

Also, when I put it in turbo mode now, it will blink 3 times and flash the warning signal that the voltage is too low. I thought this only came on at 3.1V? The voltage indicator in the light says 3.5V. It doesn't do it in any other mode.
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I haven't gotten mine yet but I'm informed it has reached DHL in HK. So the following brief comments are just suggestions, not yet verified on "in the hands" use. :)

Regardless of voltage indicators, 3.5V is pretty low for a Li-Ion. Does it measure this voltage under load (like the predator) or when resting?. Does it measure it at the output level you are using?

It sounds like your battery might simply be low. Is it a good quality cell such as a Panasonic? Can you try the same thing with a quality, fully-charged cell?
 
The battery is the 3100mah unprotected Panasonic it came with, so quality shouldn't be an issue. When it arrived, the light's voltage meter said 3.6V and my multimeter said 3.61V. I left my multimeter on for a few days and the battery died, so I'm not sure what that would say now.

I have not charged the battery yet. The only charger I have is the cheap UltraFire one it came with and it has a European plug cable. I'm waiting to see when if the new Xtar chargers comes out this month.

The built in voltage indicator does depend on mode though. On mode one ts shows 3.5V but on mode four is only shows 3.4V.

Normally when the light turns on, the switch turns red while you click it. When it refuses to turn on, the switch doesn't show any color. Nothing happens.
 
bradthebold said:
The battery is the 3100mah unprotected Panasonic it came with, so quality shouldn't be an issue. When it arrived, the light's voltage meter said 3.6V and my multimeter said 3.61V. I left my multimeter on for a few days and the battery died, so I'm not sure what that would say now.

I have not charged the battery yet. The only charger I have is the cheap UltraFire one it came with and it has a European plug cable. I'm waiting to see when if the new Xtar chargers comes out this month.

The built in voltage indicator does depend on mode though. On mode one ts shows 3.5V but on mode four is only shows 3.4V.

Normally when the light turns on, the switch turns red while you click it. When it refuses to turn on, the switch doesn't show any color. Nothing happens.
Click to expand...

In my humble opinion, I think your main problem is that the battery needs charging. The light will probably work just fine when you get your charger, but I know how tough the wait will be.
 
spelunkik said:
Here is a page that compares the Wizard Pro Limited Edition and Zebralight's SC600MKII:
http://www.taschenlampen-forum.de/armytek/26508-armytek-wizard-pro-limited-edition-beamshots.html

I think this is a great comparison, because this pits Zebralight's best single XM-L reflector light against Armytek's similarly tinted XM-L TIR headlamp. Obviously the SC600MKII can throw farther, but I think the Wizard Pro does a great job of compromising between throw and flood.
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These are great beam shots for both lights and really do justice to both of them. Thank you for sharing that with us.

The Zebralight's SC600MKII is an awesome little light. I really am a huge fan of this particular light but I think that if it was turned into the next version of the headlamp that zebra light put out in the next rendition of H600 the strengths of this particular light would be somewhat hampered by the shrunk down size of the reflector (necessary to make it into a headlamp) while its weaknesses would only be more prevalent.

spelunkik said:
As I mentioned previously, my primary caving light is a Zebralight H600w. While it may be a phenomenal caving light, I have always wished there wasn't such a sharp contrast between light and dark past (greater than) the spill zone of 80°. I never liked this sharp border because it always made me feel like I had tunnel vision. I've grown to accept this, but I have never fully acclimated to it.
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I know exactly what you are saying and that’s why in my opinion the H600 makes a better hiking headlamp then it does a caving light. You’re going to love going caving with the Armytek wizard. :)
 
InTheDark said:
Yes, I should clarify they might be able to tell the difference in a direct head to head comparison, all else being equal. But I was mainly referring to real world usage. Unless someone plans on carrying around their 700 lumen light, just so they can show everyone how their 1000 lumen light is brighter, I don't see it as being very important. Now put in different optics or reflectors, change the tint color, etc, and all bets are off, because most people will perceive a brighter/whiter hotspot as being "more light". Also, I'm not so sure brightness is percieved on a linear level, from what I understand it's more logrithmic which would make the difference between these two seem even smaller.
Click to expand...
You are totally correct. Light perception is logarithmic. I meant to say nonlinear (yay for AutoCorrect). Good catch and I changed my post. :)

InTheDark said:
I think you misunderstood, I agree with you 100%, which is why I've been following your review in the first place. I'd love a 700 lumen light. If I could get a 10,000 lumen light I'd get it, the brighter the better. I was referring to the people that buy these high power lights and complaining that the sub lumen levels aren't low enough. It's like buying a Ferrari and complaining that it doesn't go slow enough to walk your arthritic dog from the car. When people are splitting hairs between 0.5 lumens, 1.4 lumens, or 2.795734943 lumens it gets a little ridiculous. I'm sure most of us can remember the time when you had only 2 choices in light level. On or off. The fact that I can even choose different levels keeps me happy enough.
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I agree that complaining about .5 lumens vs .2 lumen or whatever, to me sounds trifling but on the other hand any outdoor light I have has to have a level that’s 2 lumen or less because to me that level is critical to the way I use the light. What’s even more ridiculous is people that will complain about a particular level when they never had hands-on experience with that particular light. Like I stated before 2 lm on one light might look 3 times as bright as on another.

InTheDark said:
EDIT: Forgot to add, I'd like to echo some of the other comments and thank you for the review. Even though I don't spend as much time on here as I used to, I still think CPF is a valuable resource specifically for the reviews such as these. I came here looking to find a replacement for my Spark ST6, and the Armytek looked promising. I'm still debating because even though I love all the features, the beam profile isn't really what I prefer.
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You are welcome and thank you for the acknowledgment. Don’t get me started on the Spark headlamps (I am a huge fan). :)
 
bradthebold said:
The battery is the 3100mah unprotected Panasonic it came with, so quality shouldn't be an issue. When it arrived, the light's voltage meter said 3.6V and my multimeter said 3.61V. I left my multimeter on for a few days and the battery died, so I'm not sure what that would say now.

I have not charged the battery yet. The only charger I have is the cheap UltraFire one it came with and it has a European plug cable. I'm waiting to see when if the new Xtar chargers comes out this month.

The built in voltage indicator does depend on mode though. On mode one ts shows 3.5V but on mode four is only shows 3.4V.

Normally when the light turns on, the switch turns red while you click it. When it refuses to turn on, the switch doesn't show any color. Nothing happens.
Click to expand...

It just happened again. I was using it when I wrote my last comment, now it won't do anything when I try to turn it on. No light switch or response in any way. I had to undo it 2 full turns and back before it would work again. Less wouldn't fix it.
 
I came across something in the instructions of which I was not aware. Under the "Warning" section, the following are stated:

1. Always follow the instructions from this manual and recommendations on battery usage.
...
8. Be careful while using rechargeable batteries as Armytek flashlights are designed to consume all the available battery power and don't protect batteries from over discharge.

​

​
(or at least that is what my directions state). I know the output decreases as temperature rises and voltage decreases, but being accustomed to the Zebralight H600w's low voltage cutoff, I was glad I actually read the manual. I'm not saying this is a problem, just pointing it out for others that may not have realized this behavior.
 
bradthebold said:
The battery is the 3100mah unprotected Panasonic it came with, so quality shouldn't be an issue. When it arrived, the light's voltage meter said 3.6V and my multimeter said 3.61V. I left my multimeter on for a few days and the battery died, so I'm not sure what that would say now.

I have not charged the battery yet. The only charger I have is the cheap UltraFire one it came with and it has a European plug cable. I'm waiting to see when if the new Xtar chargers comes out this month.

The built in voltage indicator does depend on mode though. On mode one ts shows 3.5V but on mode four is only shows 3.4V.

Normally when the light turns on, the switch turns red while you click it. When it refuses to turn on, the switch doesn't show any color. Nothing happens.
Click to expand...
Let me make a few brief comments on your situation that maybe will help you and save some grief.

  • Unless you have a defective battery itself, the battery that came with the wizard Pro is an awesome battery.
  • The charger that you received will work but in my opinion is junk so get yourself a decent charger.
  • During my runtime tests the light would function perfectly down to slightly under 3V.(measured on a DMM). It would then drop down to firefly mode 2 and still continue to function.
  • The status LED should come on when pressed even if the voltage is low on the battery.
  • It sounds to me that you might have a defective unit and I would contact Armytek and see what they suggest.
 
I had the same issue as brad. only happened once. My battery shows 4 volts with the voltage check on the wizard.

With the ten year warrenty I'm not too worried if it happens again ill contact armytek

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2
 
tony613 said:
I came across something in the instructions of which I was not aware. Under the "Warning" section, the following are stated:

1. Always follow the instructions from this manual and recommendations on battery usage.
...
8. Be careful while using rechargeable batteries as Armytek flashlights are designed to consume all the available battery power and don't protect batteries from over discharge.

(or at least that is what my directions state). I know the output decreases as temperature rises and voltage decreases, but being accustomed to the Zebralight H600w's low voltage cutoff, I was glad I actually read the manual. I'm not saying this is a problem, just pointing it out for others that may not have realized this behavior.
Click to expand...
The manual definitely says that but I think they just copied the warnings from a different product. Because if you read above that it tells you not to mix batteries, implying a multi-cell light. And if you read the 1st​ part of the manual it specifically tells you how to select unprotected batteries and if I am not mistaken the light will cut off at 2.5 V (although I have not tested that). I can definitely tell you that under just 3 V. the light drops down to firefly mode 2 (and that is one of the reasons why I haven’t tested the cutoff on the light yet as I have not had the time to monitor this process).
 
Knight_Light said:
The manual definitely says that but I think they just copied the warnings from a different product. Because if you read above that it tells you not to mix batteries, implying a multi-cell light. And if you read the 1st​ part of the manual it specifically tells you how to select unprotected batteries and if I am not mistaken the light will cut off at 2.5 V (although I have not tested that). I can definitely tell you that under just 3 V. the light drops down to firefly mode 2 (and that is one of the reasons why I haven’t tested the cutoff on the light yet as I have not had the time to monitor this process).
Click to expand...

Before my last post I went back and read through your tests to try and sort out what was right and wrong, and I was curious about that statement being a copy and paste error. Plus what I didn't ask in my previous post was if the light doesn't cut off, what is the benefit of setting the type of battery in the first place? It's very unlikely that I personally would ever run it down past the point where the output steps down but because I couldn't find anywhere in the manual that directly contradicted point number 8 above I thought I'd point it out for discussion. I also noticed that you concluded your tests manually, after step down but before cutoff, so we currently don't have a definitive answer (that is not a knock on your tests or review by any means, just a data point).

I've referred to your original post a few times to answer questions I've had and must say I've also got to give you credit, not only for the work you've done in the non-biased review, but also for your candid but restrained responses to opinions. It's obvious you like the light (with valid reason), but I believe you've kept an open mind and have been fair. Thus far, job well done.
 
tony613 said:
Before my last post I went back and read through your tests to try and sort out what was right and wrong, and I was curious about that statement being a copy and paste error. Plus what I didn't ask in my previous post was if the light doesn't cut off, what is the benefit of setting the type of battery in the first place? It's very unlikely that I personally would ever run it down past the point where the output steps down but because I couldn't find anywhere in the manual that directly contradicted point number 8 above I thought I'd point it out for discussion. I also noticed that you concluded your tests manually, after step down but before cutoff, so we currently don't have a definitive answer (that is not a knock on your tests or review by any means, just a data point).
Click to expand...

I think what you pointed out was definitely good and relevant I just think it’s a mistake in the manual as I’ve seen them make mistakes in the manual before.

I concluded my tests manually because it would drop down to firefly mode 2 (which by the way I think is awesome as it doesn’t leave you hanging in the dark) and to continue from that point forward is going to take some time. So 1st​ I have to figure out theoretically how much runtime I would have on that level based on battery capacity and then time the test so that I can watch the conclusion.

tony613 said:
I've referred to your original post a few times to answer questions I've had and must say I've also got to give you credit, not only for the work you've done in the non-biased review, but also for your candid but restrained responses to opinions. It's obvious you like the light (with valid reason), but I believe you've kept an open mind and have been fair. Thus far, job well done.
Click to expand...
Thank you for that. I wanted to do a different style of review. I wanted to separate fact from opinion while at the same time giving the reader as much as possible a hands-on experience with the product through reading the review and answering questions. I realized that the only way to do that was to make the 1st​ portion purely fact and the rest of the review opinion and hands-on experience driven. This way people that don’t agree with my opinions can still benefit from the 1st​ part of the review and those that do agree with my opinions can get to see the product in greater depth and functionality.
 
I have yet to receive any responses to my emails regarding the missing battery and charger from my July 4th promotion purchase. Note my invoice clearly states, "LED flashlight with accessories sets (Wizard Pro)". I'm curious what other invoices say. The battery and the promotion were the main reasons I chose to purchase at this time.

My first email to "Armytek Optoelectronics Inc., Canada" <[email protected]> was sent on Thursday, July 11, and a second was sent the day after (I tried to beat the weekend). I realize they are probably closed for the weekend now so it's not likely I'll be hearing from them for a couple more days.

Has anyone, besides Knight_Light of course, that has contacted their service received any responses?

Lampyridae,

If you would repost your pictures, I'll compare my light to yours. I see that you just recently joined so in case you don't know, you have to use an external site (flickr, etc. - use the "Go Advanced" option and select "Insert Image" when posting). You can't just copy and paste the photos into your forum post - begging your pardon if you already knew this.

Knight_Light,

I concluded my tests manually because it would drop down to firefly mode 2 (which by the way I think is awesome as it doesn’t leave you hanging in the dark) and to continue from that point forward is going to take some time. So 1st​ I have to figure out theoretically how much runtime I would have on that level based on battery capacity and then time the test so that I can watch the conclusion.
Click to expand...

I definitely agree about not leaving you in the dark, and I understood how much time that test is likely to take. From a previous post, since you asked Armytek if the battery selection is remembered through battery changes (the answer was yes), perhaps you can ask about cutoff as well. I'd also be interested in seeing your real world results.
 
Last edited:
tony613 said:
I have yet to receive any responses to my emails regarding the missing battery and charger from my July 4th promotion purchase. Note my invoice clearly states, "LED flashlight with accessories sets (Wizard Pro)". I'm curious what other invoices say. The battery and the promotion were the main reasons I chose to purchase at this time.

My first email to "Armytek Optoelectronics Inc., Canada" <[email protected]> was sent on Thursday, July 11, and a second was sent the day after (I tried to beat the weekend). I realize they are probably closed for the weekend now so it's not likely I'll be hearing from them for a couple more days.

Has anyone, besides Knight_Light of course, that has contacted their service received any responses?
Click to expand...

My emailed invoice lists all 3 items separately.
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TH="width: 70%, bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]Product[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]Quantity[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]Unit price[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]Subtotal[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Armytek Wizard Pro XM-L2.Code: 27[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]$99.95[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]$99.95[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 4"]Buy together:
[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TH="width: 70%, bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]Product[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]Amount[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]Unit price[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]Subtotal[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Battery Charger WF139 Li-Ion with car-adapter.Code: 09[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]$0.00[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]$0.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Panasonic NCR18650 Li-Ion 3100mAh. Rechargeable.Code: 12[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]$0.00[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]$0.00
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


They are certainly not fast with their emails though. They just completely ignored the first question I sent them. When I asked about the promotion and receiving a European cable for my charger, I emailed them on a Thursday and got a response on a Monday. We've been emailing back and forth since then and it takes 1-2 full days before I'll get a response back.
 
Also, I stole a battery from a smoke detector and my DMM says 3.49V on the battery. Is that really that low? How low should I be using it to? I figured the warning level on the light would a good time to recharge. Do you really think 3.49V should cause the light to showing it's at warning level and cause it not to work sometimes?

I found a European adapter, so I'll charge the battery in the Ultrafire charger up to ~4.1V and see if the issues continue.
 
tony613 said:
Has anyone, besides Knight_Light of course, that has contacted their service received any responses?
Click to expand...
If it makes you feel any better they don’t always respond to me promptly either, but they do always respond. :)

tony613 said:
Knight_Light,

I definitely agree about not leaving you in the dark, and I understood how much time that test is likely to take. From a previous post, since you asked Armytek if the battery selection is remembered through battery changes (the answer was yes), perhaps you can ask about cutoff as well. I'd also be interested in seeing your real world results.
Click to expand...

Instead of asking them, I am just eventually going to run the tests to find out. I need this information for my peace of mind as well. I have a whole bunch of other tests that I have planned for this light as well. It’s just so time-consuming that I take it as I go, I have a busy schedule plus I spend a lot of time outdoors. I can definitely tell you I prefer using the light more then writing about it (although some may question that by the amount of writing I do). lol
 
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