|
The Wolf-Eyes flashlights are designed to be a lower-cost
yet solid competitor for the "high end" tactical
flashlight market. They are made in China by Copia-Photoel
Tech Co., Ltd. The lights appear to be uniquely designed
(not a rip-off of another company's design) and are
well made.
This is the Rattlesnake M90-13V, which is essentially
a rechargeable version of the M90X.
The M90-13V uses an M90 body, a special 300 lumen bulb,
three lithium-ion rechargeable cells, and a battery
tube extender to produce a dazzling quantity of light
without burning through 123A primary cells like they're
going out of style.
Body:
The body of the M90-13V is hard anodized aircraft aluminum.
The head has a notches for grip and a heatsink-like
fin around its circumference. Below that is a decorative
ring with 5 cutouts followed by a wide ring of checkering
around the center of the body tube. The checkering is
a diamond cut which is a non-aggressive, but a good
gripping surface. There are two flat panels machined
into either side of the body tube for printing and these
also aid in gripping the light.
The tailcap has 6 longitudinal grooves
that run nearly the length of the tailcap. The rubber
covered tailcap has a slight texture as well. The body
tube extender, needed to fit the three rechargeable
cells, fits between the tailcap and the body.
Closeup of body extender, installed.
Bezel/Head:
At the front of the light is the recessed glass lens.
Behind that rests the lamp assembly which includes the
reflector, bulb, and contacts. The reflector is metal
with a bumpy texture to smooth out imperfections in
the beam. The xenon bulb sits in the center of the reflector.
I was surprised by the heft of the lamp assembly. It's
pretty solid. It is advertised as being "shock
isolated", but I don't see any indication of a
specific shock dampening system other than the spring
contact behind the lamp assembly.
Main xenon bulb lamp assembly
Output:
The main lamp is screaming bright. Great output and
a very smooth beam.
The white light produced by the xenon bulb is a typical
incandescent white which is a relatively low color temperature
and appears slightly yellowish when compared to a daylight
white light source, which is normal. In practical use
it appears as a pure white light. The beam has a bright
central spot which blends into the corona , followed
by a wide dimmer spillbeam.
Main beam at one meter at target center
Runtime Plot:
Considering the scorching amount of light it produces,
an hour of runtime is darn good, and that's about what
you get. By using rechargeable li-ion cells, the discharge
curve is fairly flat, not dropping below 75% max output
until about 45 minutes through the continuous burn runtime
test. The cells have a protection circuit to prevent
over discharge so when you see the light starting to
dim, you only have a minute or so before it turns itself
off completely.
Runtime
completed with included rechargeable batteries. More
information on runtime plots is available HERE.
Switch:
The normal tactical switch which is included with the
light is a rubber capped clickie. Press gently for momentary
use, press until it clicks for constant on. Unscrew
the tailcap to lock out the switch and prevent accidental
activation. The switch produces a slight auditory feedback,
but almost no tactile feedback when clicked. The difference
in stroke between momentary and constant activation
is significant, requiring moderate additional pressure
to click the switch. The rubber cap does protrude above
the level of the tailcap, so the light cannot stand
on end.
Seals / Water Resistance:
The light is advertised as splashable. It has O-rings
and rubber seals in all the right places.
If it gets wet inside, just disassemble as much a possible
without tools and let it dry before using again.
Ergonomics:
It weighs in at less than a pound and is easy to click
on and off. It's actually surprisingly well balanced
and comfortable to use. In use the body does get warm,
topping out in my tests at about 116 deg F. in open
air with a low velocity fan 18" away keeping a
gentle breeze on the light during the runtime test.
When the batteries died during the runtime test I was
able to immediately hold the light in my bare hands
without any discomfort.
Size compared to a common 2AA aluminum light
Batteries: Three rechargeable LRB150A Wolf Eyes
cells power the light. They are included with the light
and a CH-02 AC Fast Smart Charger is included. The charger
will charge two cells at a time with a 3 hour charge
time. If you need fast turnaround, you may want to pick
up another charger so you can charge all three cells
at once. Otherwise it will take 3 hours to charge 2
cells, and another 3 hours to charge the third cell.
Charger, tube extender, and three rechargeable
cells
UPDATE Aug 2006: Received an e-mail from reader
Gregory regarding the Wolf-Eyes 13V rechargeable light's
recharging system:
I just received the Rattlesnake M90-13V in the mail
and just to let you know they updated the charger.
To charge it you remove the endcap and screw the the
charger endcap on and charge away. You don't need
to remove the batteries as the whole flashlight charges
at once, very easy, great design.
And here it is...
This is the charger that the light is
now shipping with (as of Aug 2006), not the charger
above. Just remove the normal tailcap, replace it with
the charger tailcap and plug it in. Watch for the little
LED on the charger to turn from red to green. This really
improves the convenience of charging - no need to charge
the batteries separately and faster turn-around time.
Also, the main lamp glows slightly while charging -
makes for a nice little nightlight.
To change out the batteries if necessary: unscrew the
tailcap, drop out the old cells and recharge the cells.
Place fully charged cells in, reattach the tailcap and
you're ready to go. Note that batteries go in NEGATIVE
first, with the positive end pointing toward the tailcap.
However, I did insert the batteries the wrong way and
the light still worked.
Accessories: There are a bunch of little add-ons
you can get. If you already have an M90 or M90X you
can get a kit to make it rechargeable which includes
the tube extender, batteries, lamp, and charger.
What I Liked: Water resistant,
Very bright, Smooth beam, Compact size relative to it's
output, Seems to be quite well made, Rechargeable cells
are both environment- and wallet-friendly.
What I Didn't Like: Nothing significant
Picky Little Things: It would be
nice to be able to charge all three cells at once, but
you need a second charger for that. (See update above
- the light now comes with a charger that charges the
cells INSIDE the light - no need for a second charger).
Conclusions: I can completely see
this light being used by professionals for "tactical"
situations. It's extremely bright, easy to use and operate,
and projects a solid, smooth beam. Considering how bright
it is and how fast it could go through batteries, I
think the fact that it uses rechargeable cells is a
huge plus. In terms of overall output, only one light
so far reviewed rates higher - the Surefire 10X, which
is rated at 500 lumens of output. The Rattlesnake M90-13V
produces a bit more than half the light of the 10X but
costs 75% less. This makes it a bargain if you need
a whole lot of light.
|
