So one light isn't enough? How about six? How about eighteen? Please welcome the LumaPower M3 Transformer; the ultimate kit light!

Standard in the kit are the three bodies (1x123A, 1xAA, 2xAA), small reflector head and both the two-stage and tactical type talicap, giving 6 combinations by itself. Add the optional turbohead and two reflectors you can get a total of 18 possible combinations. In addition it has two output levels built in, and a third level available when using the 2 stage switch.

Clockwise, starting on left: 2xAA extension tube, Large smooth reflector/head (optional), Large textured reflector (optional), Tactical switch, Assembled: two-stage switch/1x123A body/light engine/small textured reflector & head, 1xAA tube in center.

Assembled: large smooth reflector, 1x123A body, Tactical switch

Assembled: large textured reflector, 2xAA body, Two stage switch

Packaging - Turbohead left, M3 right

Body: The machined outer body parts are made of thick machined aluminum with a hard anodize (type III) coating for serious durability. The tailcaps have a square pattern in 3 rings, and both the AA extension tube and light engine are checkered to assist with grip. The 1AA and 123A tubes have flat areas machined into the sides for display of the product name, and these also assist with grip. The light can be fully disassembled. It is not glued or locktite'd at any of the screw-thread joints. Machining fit and finish is mostly very good, with one exception: the tactical tail switch. More on this later.

Bezel/Head: The head of the light consists of two parts: the reflector assembly and the light engine. The stock reflector assembly includes an AR coated glass lens, a small textured aluminum reflector, a GITD O-ring just behind the lens (allows for easy location of the light in the dark), and the outer casing. The turbo reflector assembly is optional and can be purchased with either a smooth (more throw) or textured (smoother beam) deep aluminum reflector, or both. This assembly also includes the AR coated glass lens and a GITD O-ring just behind the lens. The turbo head gives much greater "throw", or distance-lighting ability by focusing the beam into a very tight spot. FYI, the textured reflectors are referred to as "OP" type reflectors by the manufacturer (OP=Orange Peel: a description of the appearance of the texturizing). The maker also mentions that the light is "focusable" by loosening the reflector assembly, but I just didn't find this to be very effective. It seems to be at its best focus when tightened all the way down.

Textured turbo reflector, Smooth turbo reflector in turbo head, Small textured stock reflector

The light engine module consists of a Cree XR-E LED powered by LumaPower's special circuit. The module has a small brass button on the bottom where it connects with the battery packs and this button is attached to a tiny switch. If you tighten the module all the way down against the battery tube the module is in "high" mode. If you loosen it about 1/2 turn, you'll hear a tiny click. This is the switch moving into "low" mode which reduces output to about 1/3 that of the high output mode.

Light engine module

Now here's one quirk I do need to make you aware of. The light included a black washer/spacer on top of the light engine which is shaped in a particular way. It's missing in the picture above, but placed in its correct orientation in the picture below. This spacer acts to keep the aluminum reflectors from shorting out on top of the LED contacts, but the spacer is NOT permanently attached. If you remove the reflector assembly it will fall out and, for some undiscovered mystical reason, will always promptly roll as far as possible into the narrow gap under any heavy appliance which may be located in the area. ...*sigh*... Thank goodness for Super Sliders or I'd never have gotten it back. If it does fall out, make sure the cup lip is pointed upwards and the gaps on either side align with the wire loops on the module. Also, watch it as you screw on the reflector, making sure it doesn't twist and cause the reflector to jam. A drop of silicone glue may not be a bad idea to hold it semi-permanently in place (do so at your own risk, however).

Output: The white light produced by the LED is a high color temperature and produces good color rendition. No noticeable tint was immediately detectable.

Since LEDs produce much more light in the blue end of the spectrum, and significantly less light in the red/yellow end, things illuminated with an LED can appear "flat" and lacking depth or texture to our eyes. This is because of the way our eyes work and the limited spectrum output of LEDs. Distant target identification is, to my eyes, always better with an incandescent bulb.

As I mentioned earlier, the optional turbo head reflectors are designed to produce a tight hotspot for distance observations, while the stock utility reflector produces a wider hotspot for close and medium range work.

There are two stages of output built in with the light engine. Loosen it for low, tighten it for high. If you use the two-stage click switch instead of the tactical type (one stage) switch, you get three output levels: Switch low (light engine on low or high produces the same output); switch high with light engine set to low (we'll call this "medium"); and switch high with light engine set to high.

Two-stage switch low, light engine set to high or low (this setting unavailable when using the tactical switch):

Two-stage switch high, light engine set to low (same as using the tactical switch with light engine set to low):

Two-stage switch high, light engine set to high (same as using the tactical switch with light engine set to high):

Small textured reflector beam at one meter

Mouse Over (no click needed) to compare: large smooth reflector vs. large textured reflector

Runtime Plot: Give me a break. Do you know how long it took to get all those output readings??? And you want runtimes too??? Sheesh! We'll see, but it's not looking all that great from a time perspective to get this done... I'll try to link to runtimes others have done for now. Here's some...

Switch: Two switches come with the light. A glow in the dark (GITD) two stage reverse type click switch (turns on after the click), and a black tactical switch. The click switch follows this pattern: low-high-off. The tactical switch allows you to press on the button for momentary and twist it tight for constant-on use.

Tactical switch left, clickie switch right

Both work just fine, but the tactical switch suffers from something I would call "thread slop". If you loosen it a bit from "on" so it turns off and is ready for momentary use, you can press in on the whole tailcap outer body and make the light turn on. This could cause accidental activation of the light if something presses down on the tailcap assembly, not just the switch button. It needs to be unscrewed significantly to prevent this from happening. Otherwise, it seems to work just fine.

Seals / Water Resistance: O-rings and double O-rings protect the light at all potential points of water entry. Dunkable at the least.

If it gets wet inside, just disassemble as much a possible without tools and let it dry before using again.

Ergonomics: It's size depends on which body configuration you choose to use. Obviously the 123A body with the small stock reflector is the smallest, and the turbo head with 2AA body configuration is the largest.

Top row: Light engine, 123A body, click switch
Second row: Turbo head and 1AA body
Bottom row: Stock reflector, 2AA extension,tactical switch.

Batteries: The light can be powered by one 123A cell power the light (I would recommend Titanium brand cells for $1.00 each), AA alkaline, AA rechargeable, or AA lithium 3V cells. Insert the batteries positive first.

To change out the batteries: unscrew the tailcap, drop out the old cells, chase the cells across the floor, chase the dog who grabbed the dropped battery, fight with dog to prevent swallowing of the battery, throw dog outside after retrieving battery, dispose of battery properly, clean dog slobber off of hands, return to light and place in new cells observing proper polarity. Reattach the tailcap and you're ready to go.

Accessories: The sample received includes 11 spare O-rings and a holster which will hold the light in the 123A or 1AA configuration with a second pouch for either a spare 123A cell, a spare AA cell, or the 2AA extension tube and a spare cell.

Conclusions: The LumaPower M3 has so many options it should fit almost everyone's personal-lighting needs. It has very good output and it's extremely versatile. Positives include the multiple output levels (even without the 2 stage switch), good machining and water resistance, good fit and finish, and multiple battery and reflector options. The only negatives were the slightly sloppy threads on the tactical tailcap and the spacer on top of the light engine that likes to fall off when you change the reflector assembly. Otherwise it's a very handy light, well made and well designed.

NOTE: Although not necessary, I found it advantageous to take all the O-rings off the body parts and carefully clean all the threads and attachment points with isopropyl alcohol and a small nylon brush. The threads and tube ends were not corroded or damaged, but there was quite a bit of machining residue left behind from the manufacturing process. I then re-lubricated all the O-rings with silicone grease and applied teflon lube to the threads before assembling. It may sound silly to do all of this for a flashlight, but I consider it a tool, and a well-maintained tool will outlast one that is not. If you are looking for flashlight maintenance tips, I have written an article which can help.

Quick Facts Table:

Item Reviewed..........................	LumaPower M3 Transformer
Review Date .............................	May 2007
Country of Origin ......................	China
Case Material ...........................	Type III anodized aluminum
Case Features ..........................	Textured for grip
Case Access Type ....................	Unscrew tailcap
Switch Type .............................	Single tactical type or Two-stage reverse clickie
Reflector Type .........................	Smooth or textured
Lens Type ................................	AR coated glass
Bulb Type .................................	Cree XR-E LED
Beam Type ...............................	Spot-type
Beam Characteristics ...............	Depends on reflector
Throw (Lux) at 1m (click for description)	see table above
Overall Output (click for description)	see table above
Battery / Power Type................	1 x 123A, 1 x AA or 2 x AA
Battery Life (advertised) ...........	n/a
Battery Life (test results) ...........	Forthcoming (possibly)
Environmental Protection .........	O-ring seals
Weight (oz.) with batteries .......	too many options to list all weights
Special Items of Note ...............	Accessories include belt pouch and extra O-rings
Warranty ..................................	unknown, but customer service by the supplier seems very good
Retail Cost ................................	~79.00 US$ at time of review for stock kit. Lumapower.com ~108.00 US$ for stock kit and optional turbo head with both reflectors.