CountyComm has teamed with Reylight in the past, and made a popular light (one which I myself like a bunch.) That was a triple, and based on the success of the triple, and Rey’s skill with quads, there’s now a 21700 quad version of that flashlight!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the official product page.
Versions
Right now there’s just one version. The triple version ended up having two versions, though, and we could hope that happens here as well. There are no emitter options.
Price
The list price on these is a reasonable $98 and are surprisingly still available.
Short Review
This is a nice simple quad, and has Reylight’s typical good build quality. It would be better if there was a neutral white option. There’s one other disappointing thing about the light, and that is the body and head anodizing not matching as well as I’d like.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Reylight Quad Emitter Dawn Custom Maratac™ LED Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XP-L HI (CW) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $98.00 |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Turbo Runtime | High Runtime |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 3200 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 2313 (72.3% of claim)* |
| Candela per Lumen | 4.9 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 350 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 550lux @ 4.921m = 13319cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 230.8 (65.9% of claim)* |
| All my Reylight reviews! | |
- Measurement disclaimer: I am an amateur flashlight reviewer. I don’t have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment. I test output and such in PVC tubes!! Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).
What’s Included
- Reylight Quad Emitter Dawn Custom Maratac™ LED Flashlight
- Samsung 40T 21700 cell
- 21700 to 18650 adapter
- Spare o-rings (2)
- CountyComm Sticker
- Orange padded carry case
Package and Manual
There is no manual.
Build Quality and Disassembly
Here’s the light! You can see right up front one of the things I mentioned in the short review – the head is darker anodized than the body. I like the head anodizing just fine. I like the body anodizing just fine. But the mismatch bothers me quite a bit.
Just like the triple, which I reviewed here, the body has a sort of dimple for grip. It’s useful for grip, too.
Point number two about the head and body, which can just be seen below. The head and body don’t actually line up perfectly. It’s very close, and the difference is not much.
The lights are serialized – and one of you might end up with this 325/500 because this was just a loaner from CountyComm.
The head has some nice teardrops.
The pocket clip is held in by two purple screws. And that clip is unmistakably Rey.
The driver is the same as the triple, and is held in place by a copper ring. There’s much more mass in this quad head than the triple.
Only the head comes off of this light, and the threads are unanodized
Both head and tail have springs. The tail switch parts look to be held in place by a split ring of sorts.
The bezel seems to be stainless.
Here’s possibly the best look at the difference in anodization. The head is much darker!
Because the bezel has crenelations, light will shine out when headstanding.
Size and Comps
Officially, in very American units:
Weight 2.63 Ounces ( No battery – > 5 Ounces With Samsung 40T )
4.8″ Long x .1.13″ Width
If a light will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If a light will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.
I picked a bit of a random other similar 21700 light for comparison – the Mechtorch Suppressor Turbo.
And here is the quad with the triple. They are very similar lights, but I’d consider the quad superior if for nothing else than the “reveal” on the bezel. The triple covers way too much of the optic/emitters, but on the quad the emitters are fully revealed.
Retention and Carry
The main means for carry is the pocket clip. I’m satisfied with this clip. It is easy to use, and works well and smoothly.
The purple screws are a nice accent. It’s not a “deep carry” clip but the light is long enough that the proportions are right, and carry is balanced.
The clip is not reversible, so bezel down carry is the only choice.
One could also transport the light in the orange case it ships in, but that’s not a normal “means of carry.”
Power and Runtime
The Reylight Quad is powered by a single 21700 cell, which is included. The included cell is the Samsung 40T seen below.
This is a flat top cell, and absolutely standard.
Also included is an adapter sleeve which will allow the use of a single 18650 cell.
Here are a couple of runtimes. The light peaks at 2600 lumens, which is well under the 3200 lumen claim, and at 30s, I’m seeing only around 2300 lumens.
The second highest mode does seem quite well regulated though, which is good. I would expect a light with this amount of mass in the head to be able to handle 1000 lumens easily, and this more or less does (around 850 lumens sustained, really).
The light does exhibit low voltage protection, at around 2.9-3V.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo Boost | 3200 | – | 2313 | 8.25 |
| High | 1400 | 2h | 882 | 2.57 |
| Low | 250 | 12h | 161 | 0.42 |
| Lunar Low | 2 | 4w | ~ | ~ |
Pulse Width Modulation
There really isn’t pwm here. A bit of sawtooth on the middle two modes, but that’s imperceptible.
For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. And here’s the worst PWM light I have ever owned. Also one of the very first lights I ordered directly from China!
User Interface and Operation
The Maratac Dawn Quad has a single switch. It’s a standard mechanical forward clicky.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (Low (if off for more than ~4s) |
| Off | Tap | Mode advance (Low > Medium > High > Turbo) |
| On | Click | Off |
| On | Tap | No Action |
This is the same as the UI on the similar Triple version, except that is has an added mode (I’ll call it “Medium”).
LED and Beam
The emitters of choice are Cree XP-L HI, and there are four of them (that’s what makes it a “quad”). Normally I love XP-L HI but my preference is for the 4000K version. This is much cooler than the 4000K version, though I don’t think a Kelvin is specified (officially).
The quad optic is the narrow variety, and clear.
The crenelated bezel allows light to escape when headstanding.
The glow gasket is a story on its own. It is SO glowy. So glowy.
These beamshots are always with the following settings: 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
What I like
- Relatively low cost for a good quad complete package light
- Easy user interface
- Super glowy glow gasket included
- Matching set with the triple version
- The dimples in the body
What I don’t like
- Cool white emitters (and no other options)
- Mismatched body and head anodizing
- Head doesn’t align perfectly to body
- Misses target of output on at least Turbo and High modes
Notes
- This light was loaned by CountyComm for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
- For flashlight-related patches, stickers, and gear, head over to PhotonPhreaks, another site where I write!
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