Flashlight Review, Tactical P7

[erns]

I first heard about the Tactical P7 from reading a thread about the light from Laser Pointer Forums.

The Tactical P7 seemed like a very good deal. It's price $99.00 + $19.99. I got the light for $99.00 because I was able to pick up the TP7 locally from one of the partners of Tactical HID Store.

You also get a nice Combination Lock Case.

There are some nice cut outs in the foam for the light, Rechargeable Lithium Battery and 2 chargers, AC and a car charger.

AC Charger

Car Charger

The Tactical P7 uses a P7 driven @ 2.8amps (High 100%).

As you can see it's an OP (Orange Peel) Reflector.

The beam tint is nice and white. No hole in the beam.

The bezel is removable.

Behind the lens the Tacticall P7 uses a GITD (Glow In The Dark) thick o-ring.

The lens measures 2.48mm thick and the diameter is 69.97mm.

This is where the +ve -ve side of the battery pack makes contact.

The fit is excellent.

The Type III Hard Anodize Black is excellent. Good matching of colors, no flaws in the finish.

No logo.

The Tactical P7 is a wide light

This is a size comparsion to my hand.

I found this is the best way to hold the TP7

The reason the battery tube is so wide is because of the 3×18650 lithium battery pack. They are side by side. This is the +ve -ve side. The charging port is located here.

Tactical HID recommends that when the light is not in use for long periods of time remove the battery. A rubber cap is included. Also recommended is do not charge the battery for more than 24 hours.

The charger has a red indication that will turn to green when fully charged.

There are 3 led light used for emergencies when the battery gets low in the TP7 you can turn on the leds with an on off switch.

The rear of the battery pack is the 4 modes (100%, 70%, 50%, 20%) reverse clickie.

I never had a light with this many threads when screwing the tailcap on or off.

Rear tailcap

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These are the lux measurements I got.


Tactical P7 @ (100%) - 9420 lux @ 1 meter

Tactical P7 @ (70%) - 8950 lux @ 1 meter

Tactical P7 @ (50%) - 4380 lux @ 1 meter

Tactical P7 @ (20%) - 1440 lux @ 1 meter




Tactical P7 @ 32' (100%)

Tactical P7 @ 32' (70%)

Tactical P7 @ 32' (50%)

Tactical P7 @ 32' (20%)

I think the Tactical P7 is a very good deal for it's price. I paid only $99.00 because I was able to pick up the light locally. I didn't have to pay the $19.99 shipping fee. You get a nice combination lock case. The AC and car charger. You won't be able to find a P7 light with all these features.

You can by an el cheapo P7 light but you get what you paid for. It may not work or have the heat sinking issues. The light will get hot very fast and the heat may cause premature failure of the P7 led.

Some may not like the wide battery tube but I like it. If it had the 3 18650's stacked on each other it would be a very long tube. The side by side makes it smaller.

Weight issues of the Tactical do not bother me. Not a very heavy light IMO.


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Pros


Price

Type III Hard Anodize.

Fit is excellent.

4 levels of light.

Beam tint nice and white.

No hole in the beam.

No strobe and SOS!

Combination Lock Case.

AC and car charger.

AC charger takes an input 100-240v.

Rechargeable battery pack.

AC charger shows an green indication indication when fully charged.

Good run time in high and low. Battery Life: 2.5hrs - 12hrs


Cons


I wish the light would remember it's last mode when selected off.

Instructions on the battery could have used some good english translation.

No instructions. I was told there might be instructions included in the future.

No forward clickie.

Rear reverse clickie installed on the battery pack.

No holster.

The 20% seems a little too bright for reading someting in the dark. If the level was set at 10%-5% that might be a good low level.

 

[Milos]

Hi, thanks for the review. I gave it a shot too, and ordered mine last Friday night. I was amazed to see it on my door mat after work on Monday!!
Excellent delivery time!

i like the light too, except that mine has bit of a noisy battery pack. It is high piched piercing noise that is not tolerable after 10-20 secnds. I heared this noise before in electronics, but not this loud. It really makes you think twice before turning it on again. Unfortunately i will be returning or replacing this unit.

as far as design, and deal go, it is a nice unit and a decent deal.

cheers

 

[mikeeey]

Hi, thanks for the review. I gave it a shot too, and ordered mine last Friday night. I was amazed to see it on my door mat after work on Monday!!
Excellent delivery time!

i like the light too, except that mine has bit of a noisy battery pack. It is high piched piercing noise that is not tolerable after 10-20 secnds. I heared this noise before in electronics, but not this loud. It really makes you think twice before turning it on again. Unfortunately i will be returning or replacing this unit.

as far as design, and deal go, it is a nice unit and a decent deal.

cheers

Last time I had a high pitch noise coming from an electronic device it only lasted about 1 1/2 days. It was one of my PHR MXDL's, and my flexdrive was making the noise. I had a very tiny capacitor come off but continued to use the driver. The driver also got very hot when i felt it, as well as the back spring that the battery touched. I just hope your high pitch noise isnt similar to the one I had.


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awesome flashlight erns. I'm getting a p7 myself that is driven at 2.96amps (on high), It's from DX however, but the reviews stated no problems. There was one problem however.. Since it takes 2 18650's DX also decided to advertise it as being able to take 4 RCR123a's. On the DX forum, people who used 4x RCR123a's ended up killing their flashlight, but the people who used 2x 18650 loved it and havn't had a problem yet.
Does your flashlight have a nice beam in the night sky? if so is it possible to get a picture of that?

 

[nikokapo]

Great review man, this seems like a very complete flashlight!

It's just too wide for me, it's like "the fat one".

But the case it comes in is really cool! Great deal for the price

 

[erns]

I found out the the Tactical P7 AC Charger does show a full charge. It turns from red to green on a full charge.

When I first plugged in the battery for recharge it only took about 20 seconds to go green. I ran the light took lux readings and recharged the battery again. It took about 20 seconds to recharge. I took some beam shots indoors and out doors and again I recharged the batteries. It took about another 20 seconds. I used the light for a couple of days on and off and the batteries charged fast again.

I tried running the light for longer periods. I did 20 minutes and the battery took about 2 minutes to recharge. I did run the light for 60 minutes and it took 1 hour 17 minutes to recharge.

Temperature at the battery tube was 110 degrees F. The TP7 was hot but I was able to hold it without discomfort.

It seems I was wrong about the charger not going from red to green on a full charge.

I corrected my initial post with the correct information.

Thanks weklund! (CPF member), for catching my error in my review.