Imalent MS06 Flashlight Review
Imalent has released the Imalent MS06 Flashlight. This little beast uses three 21700 cells and has an incredible 25000-lumen output. Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Imalent MS06 flashlight product page.
Versions
There’s just one version of the MS06.
Price
These have an MSRP of just under $200, at $199.95. That includes the cells as shown in this photo.
Short Review
This light is an absolute beast in can-size. I don’t find the experience taking the cells in and out to be all that great, but if you’re going to leave the cells in then that won’t be a concern. The output is just incredible.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Imalent MS06 Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XHP70.2 (x6) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $199.95 and is available on Amazon (referral link) |
| Cell: | 3×21700 |
| Turbo Runtime | High Runtime |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (A): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | Proprietary Magnetic |
| Chargetime | |
| Power off Charge Port? | Without Cells: No. With cells: No. |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 25000 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 16316 (65.3% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 2.3 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 513 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 1448lux @ 5.447m = 42962cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 414.5 (80.8% of claim)^ |
| All my Imalent reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer:Â 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
- Imalent MS06 Flashlight
- Imalent 4000mAh 21700 cells (3)
- Lanyard
- Nylon holster
- Charge cable (USB to proprietary magnetic)
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
This is a hefty little chunk of a light The build quality is good but put a pin in that.
I really don’t think anyone else does these massive multi-emitter lights like Imalent. These look good even from the front. Or especially from the front.
There are some cooling fins around the body – where they’re needed.
The body/cell holder has two types of texture – knurling, and bigger boxes for grip.
That says “HOT SURFACE” but the part that gets the hottest are the cooling fins – and boy do they heat up.
This is the charge port.
Interestingly all the product branding is saved for the tail area of the light.
The threads on the MS06 are quite long (quite long – around 7 full turns!!), anodized, and fairly smooth. Screwing this light together is not … pleasant … If (big “if”) you plan to just leave the cells installed (and that’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do), then this is not a problem you’ll face past the single time you do so to remove the protective plastic.
Herein is the problem between the three possibilities. On the worse end of the spectrum is a light with built-in cells – such as the DX80. Those cells die and you have to buy a new light (generally speaking). On another end of the spectrum is a light with a cell holder. The tradeoff there is an increase in size because cell holders take up space. But they’re easy to install and manipulate.
Then we have the MS06 and any other multi-cell light which puts the cell itself directly in contact with the head of the light. Screwing these parts together slide the cells over the brass rings (seen below). At some point, this becomes a tight affair (which has to be for good contact for high currents), but at that point you have half of the light in each hand, fighting to not press the button and turn the light on, and against the grips on the tail half of the light (which are sharp and uncomfortable to hold) and you end up with an experience that is unpleasant. Add to that the extremely long threads and… I really dreaded cycling the cells out of the light.
Size and Comps
Product size: 56mm (head diameter) * 51mm (body diameter) * 119mm (length)
Net weight：572g (battery included)
The MS06 is practically the length of the Convoy S2+! And it uses a longer cell, too.
Here are a few other can light style lights for comparison. All of those are 18650 lights except the MS06.
Retention and Carry
A short nylon pouch is included. The light fits such that the bottom half is allowed to hang out. The light will not slip out the bottom, though, and will not fit in the other direction.
Also included is a lanyard, which I struggled at first to attach.
Then I saw this loop – the cooling fins have a hole for the lanyard. Based on the heat this light can churn out on Turbo (and even the lower modes), it would probably be a good idea to use a metal connector here for the lanyard.
Power and Runtime
The MS06 is powered by three 21700 button top cells. The cells are included, and are 4000mAh 14.4wh cells.
These cells are in parallel inside the MS06. And yes, that does mean the light will work on any combination of cells – one two or three cells. With just one cell installed, the light will go through all of the modes (including Turbo). This is a lot of current for one cell, so I didn’t (and wouldn’t recommend) pushing it with just one cell.
The cells go into the light in the normal way – positive terminal toward head.
They don’t slop around, either. There are some partial dividers that keep the cells from wandering, and will also keep just one cell in place, if in there alone.
Here are a few runtimes. On Turbo, I am not seeing 25,000 lumens even at startup. But (at startup) we’re practically within my 10% margin of error. At 30s, we’re on the shoulder of a long (and planned) stepdown. The stepdown should be to 4000 lumens; it looks to be around 3300, and from there the light trails downward. There is Low Voltage Protection and also a low voltage warning by the indicator near the switch. First, it turns red, then it blinks red, and finally, the light turns off.
High sees a similar stepdown but does hold the high output for a bit longer.
Middle II (the third-highest mode) follows the output curve just as the others have. (I scaled this graph to the “High” graph.)
Despite output not really hitting the specified numbers, the output does look pretty good. I can’t say I’d want the light to stay on turbo for much longer – the light is remarkably hot in hand during this level of output.
Based on bench power testing, the red light comes on (solid) at 3.3V, starts flashing around 2.8V, and the light shuts off at 2.7V. That’s perfectly good for the cells.
Also included on the MS06 is on-board charging. This is by way of a USB to the magnetic proprietary connector. I’ve used other Imalents with this same connection type but this connector is much more secure than those. The charger snaps into place and most often does so accurately. Charging starts immediately.
Charging looks good, and at max is just under 2A. Charging 3 4000mAh cells at around 2A will of course take some time, and we see that here too. A full charge takes just under 6 hours.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 25000/4000 | 70s/120m | 16316 | 20+ |
| High | 9000/4000 | 2m/130m | 6841 | 12.94 |
| Middle II | 4000 | 2h18m | 3501 | 7.98 |
| Middle I | 2500 | 4h | 2204 | 5.64 |
| Middle Low | 1200 | 8h | 1089 | 2.06 |
| Low | 200 | 31h | 322 | 0.5 |
There really is no “Low” mode here. Sure it’s called Low but is 200 lumens really low? No, of course not.
Pulse Width Modulation
The light does exhibit PWM on some of the lower modes, but it’s fast enough that I don’t really notice it during use.
For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find. I’m adding multiple timescales, so it’ll be easier to compare to the test light. Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, which is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms. 5ms. 2ms. 1ms. 0.5ms. 0.2ms.  In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line. I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and explained a little about PWM too.
User Interface and Operation
There’s a single switch on the MS06. It’s an e-switch, it’s on the head, and it has a nice metal cover. The action is very low but it clicks very positively. The switch itself is not an indicating switch, but there’s a red/green indicator just near.
The switch sits almost flush with the surrounding body. It is also directly opposite the charge port on the body, so just by feel it could be somewhat difficult to differentiate.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (Mode Memory (excluding Turbo/Strobe) |
| On | Click | Off |
| On | Hold | Mode cycle (200/1200/2500/4000/9000 order) |
| Any | Triple Click | Low |
| Turbo | Double Click | Strobe |
| Off | Hold | Iterate the indicator switch (on or off) |
| Off | Click 4x | Iterate Lock (indicated by 3x flashing of green indicating LED) |
This is generally the same UI as the MS03, which I have also reviewed.
LED and Beam
In the Imalent MS06 Flashlight are six (6) Cree XHP70.2 emitters. They each have a small reflector, making a beam that while floody, is still directed.
The pics below are consecutive. Off, and Turbo.
These beamshots are always with the following settings:Â f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.
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.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion about the Imalent MS06 Flashlight
What I like
- Full package
- Nice to see a 3-cell 21700 can light
- Spectacular output
- Simple UI
- Great small size
- Added direct access to low!
What I don’t like
- Hard to separate body and head
- Mode memory
- No real Low mode
Notes
- This light was provided by Imalent 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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