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"With an output of 1,000 lumen...
...it is by far the world most powerful handheld flashlight."
- WiseLED website
Please allow me to introduce the WiseLED
Tactical. Billed as the most powerful handheld flashlight,
it is made of anodized aluminum, includes a charger
and 7 high output LEDs with a custom focusing lens.
A variety of tail lights can be plugged in to the rear
of the light. The unit also allows for continuous on,
tactical strobe, and dimming modes.
Body: The body of the WiseLED Tactical is anodized
aluminum. Unfortunately I could find no source of information
on what type of anodize - type II or type III - is used.
Around the center of the body is a wide rubberized band
for grip with a pair of large rubber O-rings on either
end. There are two O-rings around the head for grip
as well. A large lanyard ring is attached near the tailcap
and two switches are placed below the head. The entire
body is smooth with no texture at all. Machining appears
to be very good. There is an open charging port at the
tail of the light for recharging and for adding an optional
tail light.
Bezel/Head: The front of the light contains
the 7 high output LEDs and a custom lens. Once again,
I found the lack of information on the WiseLED website
a little daunting. There is no mention of the type,
manufacturer, or rated output of the LEDs used. I was
able to find from a third party source that they are
probably using Luxeon K2 LEDs.
I found two points of concern regarding the lens. First,
it is plastic and is only very slightly recessed, meaning
it could be damaged fairly easily. Second, those circles
in the center of each lens pod are holes - cavities
in the lens about 8mm deep. Drop your light in the mud
and you can't just wipe it off. You'll have to hose
it off with pressure to get the goop out of these pockets.
Switch: The switching system consists of two
switches. The forward switch turns the light on and
off when pressed and released. When pressed and held,
the light switches to tactical strobe (whether on or
off) and turns the light off when the button is released.
The rear switch is used after the light is on. Pressing
and releasing bumps the light back up to high output
mode (if it was dimmed). Pressing and holding dims the
light in 16 very quick steps, looping down and up without
pause until released. (I do need to note that some folks
have seen an instructional sheet that it seems I am
missing, which indicates there are only 12 steps in
the dimming function. I can plainly count, very quickly,
16 distinct transitions.) Two press-release actions
turn on the tail light. Three press-release actions
turn on both the main lamp and the tail light. Four
press-release actions turn on the SOS mode, blinking
with the standard Morse SOS.
[Unrelated Rant mode ON] I'm not sure why so many lights
include this nearly useless SOS feature. If you are
lost and someone is looking for you, I would think that
a continuous slow strobe would be just as effective,
if not more so. Plus a slow strobe can be used for more
than just emergencies, whereas an SOS strobe can (and
should) ONLY be used for emergencies. Even PFD's used
on oil rigs have a strobe for locating someone in the
water, not some silly SOS blinker.[Unrelated Rant mode
OFF]
One problem I noticed was that without a tail light
attached to the flashlight, the rearward switch modes
don't make a lot of sense and can be confusing to the
user as they press the switch trying to figure out which
mode they are in.
The switches are nice to use and provide good tactile
feedback of their operation.
Output: The white light produced by the LED
is has a slightly purplish hue. The hue is detectable
when compared against a near sunlight-white source,
but is not really noticeable during normal use. The
beam is great - a wide spot of light that is very smooth
and intense. The spillbeam is ver bright, allowing you
to see the area around the spot with no problem.
Constant-on use:
The amount of light this device creates is quite spectacular.
Initial readings put it in the top 10 for throw, and
in the top 3 for overall output for lights reviewed
on this site! However, this level of output is very
brief.
After only 8 minutes, it has lost 77.9% of its output.
This means that after 8 minutes it has less "throw"
and just slightly more overall output than a Surefire
G2, and significantly less throw and overall output
than a Surefire M3. It will, however, maintain this
lower level of output for about 1 hour 40 minutes continuous,
and it demonstrates excellent regulation during this
period.
Now you can press the secondary switch to boost output
again, and output will go back up, followed by another
precipitous 8 minute drop.
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Level
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At :00 minutes
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14500 (120.42)
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40000 (400.00)
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At :08 minutes
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3204 (56.60)
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8840 (88.40)
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All throw readings are in Lux
at one meter. The numbers in parenthesis are for comparison
in the Comparison
Charts.
To be fair, the instructions do state
"When you run your flashlight at maximum power
for a period, it will automatically return to continuous
drive mode. This prevents the flashlight from overheating,
and secures you optimal battery life time". However,
they don't mention that output simply plummets for the
first 8 minutes from the moment it is turned on. There
is absolutely no regulated high output period at all
that I can find.
Speaking of the instructions; something
I found puzzling was a sentence in the instructions
which states that the light should not be left unattended
when at 100% power (always wise) because the user
serves as a cooling device. Some aluminum lights
do take advantage of the fact that your hand wrapped
around the light helps move heat away from the flashlight
- your bloodstream acts as a water cooling system. That's
fine, but the WiseLED Tactical has a wide rubber band
around the center of the body where you hold it. Rubber
is an insulator and prevents the transfer of heat...
Beam at one meter at target center and at target edge
to show spillbeam.
Tactical Strobe use:
The tactical strobe mode is rather annoying, just as
it should be. There is a slight pause before it activates.
Dimming Feature use:
It's good to have a dimming feature on a light, if
it is properly executed. Unfortunately I found that
the dimming cycle was way too fast, contained too many
dim modes that were too similar, and barely paused at
the bottom to let you know it was at it's lowest output
level. I could never release the switch in time to stop
the cycle at the lowest mode. Plus, it just plain doesn't
get dim enough for my liking. Low mode is only about
1/5 that of high mode (20%) with 16 steps from high
to low, and 16 going back again. All together this means
only about a 5% change for each step. This small of
a change makes each step too indistinguishable from
the previous to really make it worthwhile.
(My personal preference would be for 4 dimming levels:
50%, 25%, 5%, 0.25% with a 500ms pause at each level,
and a full 1 second pause at the lowest level.)
After using the dimming feature, the light will retain
memory of its last setting and will turn on at the last
set output level.
Runtime Plot: Here you can see that first 8
minute drop I mentioned above. The WiseLED website mentions
"up to 12 hours continuous output". I'm not
so sure about that claim... When the light drops from
high output mode it goes down to it's lowest level of
output. Can it stretch the energy used up in the first
8 minutes to another 10 hours of low output if you were
to instead start it on low with a full charge? I don't
have an answer, but I think it's a bit unlikely. Perhaps
you'll get 12 hours with one of the low output taillights,
but I doubt you will get 12 hours with the main beam.
Runtime
completed with internal rechargeable batteries. More
information on runtime plots is available HERE.
There have been some suggestions from others that the
light drops a little and then regulates the output for
as long as it can in the first few minutes, progressively
getting dimmer in a step-like manner. Here is a close-up
of the first 8 minutes of the runtime. I see no signs
of any significant regulation occurring or any step-like
"throttling down" of the light output. There
are a couple of very slight plateaus which last less
than 60 seconds, but I certainly wouldn't call those
little plateaus "step-like" decreases.
Seals / Water Resistance: The WiseLED Tactical
is advertised to be waterproof to 300 feet and both
water proof and salt water resistant. I can't be sure
about these claims since I can't get into the light
to see any O-ring seals. Based upon what I see on the
outside of the light I do have one concern. The tail
of the light where you insert the charger has exposed
metal contacts inside and surrounding the base of the
charging post. Salt water and bare metal do not play
nice together. The fact that these are charging contacts
which could seriously impact the usability of the light
if they corrode, has me quite concerned. If you decide
to use this light for diving in salt water, rinse it
WELL with fresh water immediately upon removal from
the salt water environment. I have seen some pictures
of this light with a plug covering the charging port,
but this light did not come with any such device so
I don't know if those pictures were of a prototype plug
or not.
Ergonomics: It's pretty big and pretty heavy.
Not exactly the type of light you want to drag around
with you while camping or hiking. It weighs in at nearly
two pounds.
Size compared to a common 2AA aluminum light
Batteries: The light is rechargeable, but once
again, the lack of information available about the light
is a bit irritating. I do not know if it uses NiCad,
NiMH, Li-Ion, or some other battery system. Third party
sources have indicated that it is a Li-Ion battery,
but this is unconfirmed at this time. The light package
included an AC charging cord (not pictured), the charging
transformer, a 12V plug, and the light charging cord.
To recharge just align the red mark on the plug with
the red mark on the light tail and plug in. An orange
light will illuminate behind the lens to let you know
it is charging and this will turn into a bluish purple
light when it is 90% done. Recharge time is 1 to 2 hours
Accessories: A charging cradle and multiple
tail lights are available for this light.
What I Liked: Water resistant (unconfirmed),
Very bright (at least initially), Regulated output at
lower levels, Rechargeable.
What I Didn't Like: Lens subject
to contamination, Dimming system poor, Rapid and large
drop in output initially, Advertised as saltwater resistant
despite exposed charging contacts.
Picky Little Things: Rear switch
can cause confusion when no tail light attached.
Conclusions: As any long time reader
of my reviews probably knows, I am a little biased toward
longer running lights that maintain their promoted output
without serious initial drops. As a result I'm not too
fond of this light from that perspective, but I can
understand it's usefulness. The marketing materials
suggest that it is the brightest production LED light
in the world. For short bursts, it will produce a spectacular
amount of light, but by no means should the user expect
that volume of emission to last.
Overall, I do have some serious concerns
about it's functionality and durability that severely
limit the overall rating that I can give this light,
but it may be appropriate for some specialty applications
where its brief bright output and strobe functions may
be needed.
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Denmark