I received this light from Lightake.com for review , so to begin with I would like to thank Lightake [ Daniel ] and Mr.Lite for giving me the opportunity to test a very new flashlight . Since there is a fair bit of interest in this light , the review will be in two parts , the usual test and later a more in depth look . The J4 is fitted with a collimator lens rather than a reflector , some may be put of by this , but before you get nervous , scroll down and check out the beamshots . Also this 1 x AA light is capable of handling the 14500 , or should I say 4.2v , due to the design , there are some very interesting possibilities in the future [ I hope ] for making the J4 a very versatile light .. More on this later . For now lets get right to performance , as Im sure this is what most are interested in [ I hope not ] . The light tested is this one from lightake , and is a 4 mode version . Hi - Med - Lo - Moon . The light starts in Hi and you work your way down to Moon Mode , when you turn off the light there is no mode memory and you start in Hi again .
AA Performance
Ultracell Nimh 1.42v = High - 1.78A - 86Lumen / Medium - 1.12A - 55L / Low - 0.5A - 23L / Moon Mode - 0.08A - 3L
MP Nimh 1.41v = High - 1.61A - 84L / Med - 0.99A - 52L / Low - 0.44A - 22L / MM - 0.08A - 3L
Tevion Nimh 1.41v = High - 1.6A - 80L / Med - 1.03A - 51L / Low - 0.45A - 22L / MM - 0.08A - 3L
Camelion DRY = High - 1.25A - 60L / Med - 0.8A - 37L / Low - 0.36A - 16L / MM - 0.08A - 2L
Varta High Energy = High - 1.62A - 80L / Med - 1.01 - 52L / Low - 0.47A - 22L / MM - 0.08A - 3L
Generic Alkaline = High - 1.74A - 82L / Med - 1.13A - 54L / Low - 0.5A - 23L / MM - 0.08A - 3L
Beamshots
AA on high
AA on Medium
AA on low
AA on Moon Mode
14500 Performance
Trustfire 14500 = High - 1.32A - 250+ Lumen / Medium - 0.81A - 160L+ / Low - 0.34A - 60L+ / MM - 0.03A - 4L
Well , the performance on a 14500 is outstanding , much like the ITP/Maratac lights , when fed good current and 4.2v they really come alive [ more latter ]
14500 Beamshots
14500 on High
14500 on Medium
14500 on Low
14500 Moon Mode
Unfortunately the next door neighbor had to turn on his outside lights and spoil the shot [ grumble grumble ]
Towards the end of part 1 ......
Build quality is excellent , reaching for my digital calipers , the OD is 22.8mm , and Length is 101.1mm .
The body is in 3 parts , the head , battery tube , and clicky . [ This is very interesting - more later ]
The tail clicky is very easy to use , has a metal cap , and seems to be well made .
The knurling is well cut .
The pill in the head has slots , so should make for easy removal [ havent tried yet , will go there in part 2 ]
The silver anodizing appears to be free of any defects , and is applied nice and evenly .
The lens is clear and free of artifacts
Does not suffer from battery rattle [ just the right fit ]
Threads are well cut , and butter smooth !
Evenly spaced modes with AA [ 80-50-20-3 ] or there abouts ... [ give or take on the battery used ]
Supports 14500 [ 4.2v ]
Updtated / Protection kicks in @ 0.9v , and then you have low mode only
Collimator does tighten up the beam , possibly a lot more throw [ I will look into this in part 2 ]
The negatives = Shorter AA's dont make contact , 49.4mm Camelion dry cell required a spacer to work ..
The metal tail cap [ clicky ] , rattles ...
Possibilities
Now Im no mind reader , and its not my place to tell a company what to do , but , it looks like to me , that by simply making a new body tube , you could have a new light .. Simply by swapping body tubes , you could have CR123A , or 18650 . If you were to bore out the body in the J4 as supplied to 18mm , you could run a 18500 , and with a battery tube insert [ plastic ] you could switch back to AA or 14500 , thats with the battery tube you have now .
I really cant come to a conclusion about this light , as we dont know yet if Mr.Lite is planning on going LEGO with the J4 .. As it is , it is over engineered to be just a AA - 14500 light , and to ignore the possibilities ?
So far I like the J4 , it is a quality light , its well made , and being some what over built , it handles the 14500 much better than other AA lights , but I would at least like the option of a CR123A body tube as an optional extra , so you can switch from AA/14500 to CR123A and making the light a little shorter along the way .
Its been a long day , its half past midnight , and I just wanted to get some info out there for you all ...
I hope I covered enough stuff today ...
In part 2 I will take a closer look at the Mr.Lite J4
Some more pictures :
Mr.Lite J4 on the left , Trustfire F20 middle , and the Maratac AA on the right
Part 2 ....
Lets start with the Lens , OD is 19.2mm and the height is 13.1mm [ just in case you want to try other ones ] .
It was easy enough to remove as there are cut's in the pill , and best of all no glue ..
Here is the all important white wall shot , on the left is the Trustfire F20 on a Nimh , and on the right the J4 on a Nimh .
Lets try some throw figures :
On Nimh the F20 did 1500Lux @ 1 meter , and on a 14500 3400Lux @ 1 meter
The J4 did 1600Lux on a Nimh , and 5300Lux @ 1 meter on the 14500
Here is the tailcap pulled apart , I would suggest you dont pull it apart as it may be a little tricky putting it back together again .
I will take some outdoor beams tonight , but just check out the J4 throw @ 1 Meter with the 14500 , 5300Lux is a very nice figure for such a small light ... So more beams tonight !
AA J4
14500 J4
XR-E R2 P60
Win Mr.lite J4
visit , News Blog - Win Mr.Lite J4 = Jayki give away ....
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