ReyLight Pineapple Flashlight Review
The ReyLight Pineapple flashlight is an extremely popular flashlight, and for good reason. It runs on AA or 14500, uses a Nichia 219c, and is brass!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the ReyLight Pineapple flashlight product page. (Sorry, I don’t know if Rey has an official site, so I’ll just use the Massdrop link.)
- Material: Brass
- LED: Nichia 219C 4000K
- Battery: AA or 14500 (runs well on Eneloop AAA and AA, Alkaline AAA and AA, Lithium Primary Energizer Ultimate AA and AAA, and Lithium Rechargeable 10440 and 14500)
- Pocket clip
- Dimensions: 3.5 x 0.7 in (9 x 1.8 cm)
- Weight: 3.5 oz (100 g)
| Mode | Output (lumens) | Runtime |
|---|---|---|
| Moonlight | 0.3, 0.2 lumens | 20 days, 30 days |
| Low | 12, 5 | 15h, 50h |
| Mid | 120, 30 | 2h, 4.5h |
| High | 390, 110 | 40m, 1h |
14500 in bold, above.
Versions
There’s really just one “ReyLight Pineapple” but Rey’s making at least two other lights very much like this one. One is titanium, and the other is also brass but has some different adornments.
One note: The version from Massdrop is a slightly updated version, which has a better reflector than the original versions.
It has a very light orange peel reflector and is also reported to have a much higher frequency for the PWM used in lower modes. I find that to be true (without having compared to an older version): My beam shape is fine, and I can’t even detect any PWM whatsoever (and I’m normally extremely sensitive to PWM).
MSRP
$38.74 (Massdrop Price)
Short Review
I hadn’t realized how much I like brass until this Pineapple. The tint is glorious, and the light as a whole is fantastic. I’m not sure you can purchase them anymore, but whatever Rey comes out to replace the pineapple, I recommend grabbing one.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Rey Light Pineapple | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 219C (4000K 90+ CRI) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $38.74 |
| Cell: | 1×14500 |
| Turbo Runtime | |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 390 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 156lux @ 3.288m = 1687cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 82.1^ |
| All my Rey Light reviews! | |
| Rey Light Pineapple | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 219C (4000K 90+ CRI) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $38.74 |
| Cell: | 1xAA |
| Turbo Runtime | |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 110 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 32lux @ 3.426m = 376cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 38.8^ |
| All my Rey Light reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- ReyLight Pineapple
- Spare o-rings
Package and Manual
The package is a very nice flip-top box, with an embossed logo.
Inside is the Pineapple, secured by a string, on a pillowed, silky surface.
It’s a very nice presentation. Under this are the spare o-rings.
There was no manual. In fact, there is no documentation whatsoever for the light. That could be a concern, except this light really actually works with all cells that fit inside (as far as I can tell). So any fitting cell will work, and after that, it’s just a matter of exploring the very simple UI. Now, that is making excuses for the light: There should be a manual. But in this case, it’s not that bad.
Build Quality and Disassembly
Built quality is superb. The machining is great on the outside, and the inside, including threads, is flawless.
I was disappointed to find that the threads aren’t acme cut. I’m pleased, on the other hand, that brass threads are very easy to thread. I know brass isn’t a hard alloy, but it does seem to be resilient when threading the parts together. The head has a bit of etching with the brand.
The ReyLight is quite easy to disassemble.
Anything that doesn’t just directly unscrew is held in place by a threaded brass retaining ring. So if you need into the light, you can get into the light. The cell tube is directional, which adds a very fun benefit (keep reading!)
Size
As stated above, the dimensions are: 9 cm x 1.8 cm. Not only the size of this light, but the weight! This thing has some heft. It’s a great weight, though – it fits so comfortably in the hand. It would be a great fist lode for punching people in bar fights. That’s the kind of feel it has.
However, 9 cm seems a little long for being just an AA light. It’s almost exactly the same size as the Lumintop Prince Mini. That one also had great weight (with a lot of copper parts). Regardless of the length and weight, this light is a great pocket carry light.
Money
Lumintop Prince Mini
Chapstick
Other lights
Cells
18650
Retention
There is an installed (but removable) pocket clip.
This is one of my least favorite types of clip, the kind that are held in place by the screwing down of the tailcap. But the clip itself is rather nice – plenty of mouth to grab the pocket, but not so much that it grabs anything else. My clip is slightly off-axis, but since it’s made like it is, it should be easy to bend it into place.
The clip can be removed, and the tailcap will still screw down properly, and everything will work, but there will be a gap where the clip should be, and it’ll be noticeable. If you don’t have the clip-on, the light will roll [almost] freely.
On the opposite side of the clip (on the ring of the clip) is a small hole for a lanyard. A lanyard isn’t included, but it’s still nice to have the option to connect one.
Power
I tested this light with an Eneloop AA and a protected 14500 cell. The light works fine on either, but the output is much greater with a 14500 cell. It’s very noticeable, too. The light seems a bit anemic with an AA. I like it with that, and I will tend to carry it with an AA, but it’s still quite underpowered. There’s a whole list of other cells the light will work with: basically any cylindrical cell AA-sized or smaller that will make contact.
In my runtime tests, the AA stopped producing light at 0.88V, and the 14500 at 3.6V. The 3.6V is accurate (I ran the test twice). As I said, I used a protected cell. The runtime test tripped the alarm on my thermocouple but didn’t seem to trip the [heat] protection on the cell. But there’s a hard stop in the runtime, so it does seem like something was going on. Thing is, on High with a 14500, the temperature on the bezel reached SEVENTY degrees C. 70! I can’t really recommend using this light for prolonged periods on high with a 14500 based on that. You wouldn’t want to be holding that light long before 70 °C, anyway….
During the AA runtime test, I stopped the test to check the cell voltage (that’s the dip at about 90 minutes).
Output with the 14500 falls off very rapidly.
User Interface and Operation
There’s a single metal tail clicky button. The switch is routed for a single tritium tube
of size 1.5mm x 6mm. There’s a bit of side-to-side play in the switch, and travel is about 2.5mm to actuation. It’s not a soft activation, but it’s very positive.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | Moonlight^ |
| On | Click | Off |
| On | Half Press | Cycle modes (Moon>L>M>H) |
^ If the light is turned back on soon after turning off (within a couple of seconds), the previous mode will be remembered. If more than 2 seconds, the light will turn on into Moonlight.
LED and Beam
The Pineapple has a Nichia 219c, and the tint is 4000K (9050).
Most reviews say it’s also a 90+ CRI emitter, but I don’t see that in the Massdrop documentation.
I do believe it, though, compared to my other lights of similar values.
The beam has a nice, even hotspot and a usable amount of spill. Some have said that the mode spacing is poor. I personally don’t have any problems with the mode spacing. It comes on in Moonlight, which is so very low it’s often hard to tell if the light is even on. I don’t think I’ve ever said a Moon is too low, but this one is just on the fringe of being usable. It’s very, very dim.
Beamshots
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
AA:
14500:
Random Comparisons and Competitive Options
I have a light that compares fairly well with this Pineapple. I’ve already mentioned it here: The Lumintop Prince Mini. They stack up well against each other except for the very most important bit: the emitter. There are plenty of reasons to buy this light, but the only one you should concern yourself with is the 219c 9050 4000K High CRI emitter. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Skip anything else you were considering.
Conclusion
What I like
- Emitter
- Brass body!
- Cell support
- Tritium slot
What I don’t like
- Pocket clip
- Lack of manual
Parting shot
Yeah.
Oh Yeah.
Oh yeah yeah.
Oh, and with a small coin cell? Yes, it works.
Notes
- This light was provided by me for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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