Emisar D1S Flashlight Review

The Emisar D1S is a flashlight featuring a single Cree XP-L HI emitter for great throw. It’s powered by a single 18650 cell. Read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Emisar D1S Flashlight product page.

Versions

There are two anodization colors; black and grey.  Here is seen grey.  And there are 3 emitter options, all Cree XP-L.  1A, 3A, and 5D (coolest to warmest).  I have the 5d.

Price

The can’t-be-beat price of $40!

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Short Review

Since I got this light I sold every C8 I owned.  This throws better, has a better user interface (unless you just really really love forward tail clickies), and is just more fun.  I really love this one.

Long Review

The Big Table

Emisar D1S
Emitter:	Cree XP-L HI (V2 5D – Neutral/Warm White)
Price in USD at publication time:	$40
Cell:	1×18650
Turbo Runtime
LVP?	Warning
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (A):	?
On-Board Charging?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	1300
Claimed Throw (m)	721
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	3320lux @ 6.306m = 132022cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	726.7 (100.8% of claim)^
All my Emisar 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

• Emisar D1S flashlight
• Spare o-rings (2)

Package and Manual

As with other Emisar lights, this one ships in a cardboard box, which has a generic branded label.  It’s a fine package.

There is no manual included.  The user interface etc may be seen on the product page.

Build Quality and Disassembly

This is a nice light with build quality commensurate with price.  The anodizing seems thin (and is quite grippy, which may or may not be good depending on your taste).

The threads are ok.  They look very nice, but they’re a touch grainy (like titanium threads, if you’ve ever experienced those.)  The threads are very nicely square-cut and also anodized.  My guess is that with some use, the threads will smooth out, namely when the ano begins to wear.

The tailcap also has some pronounced reeding, which makes unscrewing very easy.

 

The bezel unscrews easily, and the MCPCB can be seen and accessed.  I am not sure how the driver is installed, to be sure.

Size

Officially: Length: 127mm, Head Diameter: 50mm, Tube Diameter: 24mm, Tailcap Diameter: 25.6mm.  The head is quite large, on such a small body, but that’s not unheard of.  (I think of the Nitecore P30, which has very similar dimensions.  And I really liked that light, too.)

It’s not pocketable by any means.  I didn’t even consider the D1 pocketable, and this light is much bigger than the D1.  Below, it’s seen with the D4, which is quite pocketable.

Retention

Nothing is provided.  As the body tube is reused from other Emisar offerings, there are pocket clips slots.  But it’s unlikely that a pocket clip would be very useful on this big-head-light.

No pouch is provided, either.

Power

The Emisar D1S is powered by a single 18650 cell.  It’s slightly picky, not preferring longer cells or button top cells.

I’ve been asked about other Emisar lights so to be sure:  The positive end of the cell goes toward the head of the light.  Some Emisar lights did have an issue with reverse polarity, but I believe that’s been addressed.  I’d still be sure to put the cell in the correct way.  Mtn actually addresses this specifically:

Do not insert the battery backwards.  There is short-term driver protection, but damage will occur to the battery and flashlight if the battery is left inserted backwards for an extended period of time.  If the battery is inserted correctly, the light will give two quick blinks when the battery is connected.

The D1S has a dynamic temperature-based output on Max output.  It also has low voltage protection, as can be seen in the graph.

User Interface and Operation

There’s a single switch on this light, a side e-switch.  It’s big, responsive, easy to find, and positively clicky.  I really like the switch!

The user interface is very rich.  I can’t describe it all, but the flow chart by u/ToyKeeper is quite descriptive.  Yes, it’s labeled as the D4 UI.  Yes, the UIs are the same.  (Yes, that’s a good thing.)

Modes

As a ramping light, “modes” is not as applicable.  But note in the flow chart above, all the accessory modes available.  Lockout, beacon, Thermal configuration, battery check, tactical momentary.  Really, quite a lot of options.

LED and Beam

There are three choices of tint for this D1S, and I opted for the warmest.  This is a Cree XP-L HI 5D.  It’s quite warm, no doubt.  I like warm, so that’s good.  And warm in a thrower is… maybe not “unusual” but it’s something to behold when one’s accustomed to much cooler throwy lights.

The beam is very much throw.  The emitter sits under a very smooth, big reflector.  The beam is – unlike the D1 – very concentrated on the focus point.  (Just to contrast, the D1 has a defined hotspot, but it’s perfectly even all the way across the hotspot.)

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.

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)

I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.

Random Comparisons and Competitive Options

Here’s a relevantly filtered page on parametrek.com.   There’s not a lot that actually compares to the Emisar D1S  The user interface is special, the throw for form-factor, the price…. It’s ridiculous.  If you think something else compares, … at $40, just buy both!!

Conclusion

What I like

• UI
• Throw
• Tint options
• Side switch

What I don’t like

• Anodizing is too gritty.  Not grippy, but actually too much.

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Notes

• This light was provided by me! for review. I was not paid to write this review.
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