Body: The Wolf Eyes Storm’s head has a pretty clean design. Up the front end it has a crenellated bezel which can be unscrewed. The glass lens is held in place by a retaining ring inside the bezel itself. Further inside the head, there’re the 3 D23 LED modules each housing a Q5 bin Cree XR-E emitter. Take note, that these are D23 modules and not the common P60 compatible drop-ins which are D26 modules. Also, the D23 modules in the Storm are rated at 9V to 12V input voltages. Reason for this is that the BM168 battery magazine used has the 3 LRB-168A cells wired in series totaling 12.6V max, 11.1V nominal. The D23 modules screw onto the Storm’s digital ballast which is available in a few Control Core versions. Standard 1 mode, Digital 2 mode, Digital 2 mode tactical and the Digital 4 mode which is the one used in this review. While the 3 emitter modules themselves are easily unscrewed for future upgrades, the Control Core does not seem to be removable from the head, and the head itself is firmly fixed onto the battery tube as well. Externally, the entire head is smooth and consistently finished in the typical satin-like texture found on Wolf Eyes products.

Bezel/Head: The Wolf Eyes Storm has a hefty girth and weight when compared to common LED flashlights, This is due to it having 3 emitter modules in its head which requires more heat sinking. Also the battery tube has to accommodate more batteries to give the Storm practical runtime, even on the maximum brightness level. The 3 168A (compatible with 18650) cells are housed in parallel in the included battery magazine. This makes the light very compact length-wise. The Wolf Eyes BM-168 battery magazine is one of the most well-designed and convenient battery magazines available in my opinion. Besides conveniently housing all 3 168A cells, it also has a jack for directly charging with the included AC charger so you don't have to remove the batteries to charge in a separate charger. This effectively makes the BM-168 a standalone 3-cell charger as well. Lastly, the BM-168 has 3 red LED's which serve as a rough indicator for each cell's remaining capacity depending on how bright each LED lights up. On the exterior side of the battery tube there's a thick band of knurling about 5cm wide. This, together with the thick battery tube, provides excellent grip for the Storm. Just like the head, coating on the battery tube is smooth and consistent, right down to the threads. There are thick rubber o-rings on either end of the battery tube for water resistance. Unlike most lights, the tail cap of the boxer does not house a switch. The switch comes as part of the battery magazine. The tail cap only houses the rubber button cap which is securely held in place by a retaining ring. The push button has an average amount of tension and travel and is easily turned on. It also provides a tactile and audible click. The tail cap can be locked out by unscrewing it a little to prevent accidental activation. Overall, the Storm has excellent fit and finish, everything is held in place tightly and securely. The thick rubber o-rings and secure rubber cap serve as good barriers from severe wet weather and environmental conditions.

Head	Emitter Front	Emitter Rear
Bezel Front	Bezel Rear	Bezel Side

Output: The Q5 edition of the Wolf Eyes Storm outputs a massive amount of light, manufacturer advertises it as capable of 780 lumens. Each of the D23’s reflectors provides a smooth hot spot, and the 3 emitters together provide a nice medium sized hot spot with a slightly triangular profile. Initial impressions of the Storm’s massive output may not be obvious when comparing to say, a single Wolf Eyes D26 module when shinned onto a plain white wall at close distances indoors. To really see the difference, you should definitely try out the Storm outdoors, or you can also try pointing it up towards the ceiling to perform a “ceiling bounce” test and compare how the entire room lights up. In addition to the intense hot spot, the spill beam is also very bright. The beam profile has a slightly curved triangular profile overall which is only noticeable at close distances of 2m or less. If you’re looking for an LED flashlight that puts out a huge amount of light, no other mass produced product comes close to the current Q5 edition of the Wolf Eyes Storm.

As mentioned earlier, the review sample of the Storm uses the Digital 4 mode Control Core. Cycling through levels is done by half-pressing the switch within 2 seconds. The circuit uses PWM to achieve the 20% and 2% levels, and high frequency pulsing on these levels is detectable when waving the light around. However it really doesn't affect practical usage at all.

The operating modes are as follows:
Off > 100% > 20% > 2% > Strobe

None of the Digital multi mode models has a memory feature; this means the light will always be at the pre-defined initial level when turned on. Although the manufacturer states that the lowest level is set at 2%, my tests show that the lowest level is actually about 12% when compared relative to the other brighter levels. My review sample of the Storm has a nice slightly warm tint, very close to sunlight white. Beam profile is smooth thanks to the textured reflectors used. There is the ring around the hot spot typical of Cree XR-E based lights, but it isn’t noticeable in practical use. Regulation is maintained very well as can be seen from the runtime graphs below.

Runtime Plot: Runtime with three LRB-168A 2200mAh cell is shown below.

Photo Gallery

Switch Front	Switch Side	Switch Rear
Battery Magazine	Package

Batteries: For batteries, this light is approved by the manufacturer for use with three LRB-168A. All others are at your own risk.

To change out the batteries: unscrew the tailcap, drop out the old cells, place in new cells observing proper polarity. Reattach the tailcap and you're ready to go.

Accessories: Several accessories are included with the light. Inside the package you will find three LRB-168A rechargeable li-ion batteries, one BM-168 battery magazine and one CH-1210B AC charger.

Picky Little Things: Nothing

Conclusions:The Good - Outputs a massive amount of light while maintaining good, practical runtime. Regulation is also very good. Fit and finish is excellent as with all Wolf Eyes products. Convenient battery magazine. The Bad - Hefty size and weight. The Relative - Does not have a memory feature. Uses a reverse push button. I would recommend purchasing the Boxer 123X nylon holster which fits the Storm, this makes it more convenient to carry the Storm around.

Quick Facts Table: