Lumintop EDC 18 Raw Flashlight Review

The Lumintop EDC18 flashlight has been updated with a Raw aluminum version!  I love the look and loved the previous EDC18, so this seems like a good fit.  Read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Lumintop EDC18 Raw flashlight product page.

Versions

Well of course since this is the Raw version, and the anodized version has been out for a while, there are those two.

Among those options, there are Cree XP-L HI cool white and Nichia 219c neutral white emitter choices (though for the Raw, mostly the NW is sold out).

Technically there’s a shorty tube for use with a 18350 cell as well, to accompany the included 18650 body.  That makes another version.

Price

These go for $55.95.  Unfortunately, the store that sent mine looks to be out of stock.  Still head over and maybe they’ll have some:  KillzoneFlashlights.com (referral link).

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Short Review

Just like the original EDC18, the Raw is quite impressive, and as I always say it’s the “best of the FW series.”  If possible, scoop that 18350 body when you make your purchase, and you’ll have a great combo!

Long Review

The Big Table

Lumintop EDC18 Raw Flashlight
Emitter:	Cree XP-L HI (CW)
Price in USD at publication time:	$55.95 at KillzoneFlashlights.com
Cell:	1×18650
Turbo Runtime Graph	High Runtime Graph
LVP?	Yes (reported)
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	0.08
On-Board Charging?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	2800
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	865 (30.9% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	5.3
Claimed Throw (m)	200
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	731lux @ 3.224m = 7598cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	174.3 (87.2% of claim)^
All my Lumintop 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

• Lumintop EDC18 Raw Flashlight
• Lanyard
• Spare o-ring (2)
• Split ring
• Glow ring
• Pocket clip
• Glow diffuser (“Pope hat”)
• Manual

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

It’s raw aluminum.  Raw aluminum!  How great is that?  And yes, it’s just as great in person as it looks in photos.

Like the anodized version, this light feels quite hefty and substantial for a single 18650 light.  It is by no means extra but it does have some bodyweight.  And of course, the head has a bump out for the switch.  Still, it’s a very small 18650 light!

You’ll note the bunny logo in the switch cover.  There was rumor (or “it was announced”) that the bunny would go away.  This light has it.  Other recent Lumintops have it, and from US distributors.  ¯(ツ)/¯

Here’s a not-perfect top-down view of the Lumintop EDC18 Raw flashlight.

As usual, Lumintop absolutely kills it with the knurling.  It’s just perfect.

Most importantly, there’s ample knurling on the tailcap.

Like I opined about in the original, these slots in the head are not tritium slots.

The tailcap is near featureless.

But inside that tailcap is a strong magnet – below is as close as I could get without the magnet snapping to the cell.

Both the head and tail come off the cell tube.  Of course, because there’s an 18350 cel tube you can throw in this light (which I haven’t procured yet!)

This cell tube is not reversible.

Both the head and tail have nice thick springs.

I want to note somewhere (so why not here) that the raw aluminum is very soft.  Soft means scratch-prone.  All the flat surfaces (around the switch) and unknurled surfaces (around the clip, head, cooling fins) will not at all stay shiny, they’ll scratch up.  The aluminum does not feel coated in any way.

Size and Comps

Weight: Approximately 76.5 g without cells
Size: 27.8 mm Ø head x 93.9 mm length

If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo).  If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine is 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 would have said the anodized EDC18 and Raw EDC18 were the same lights, just a difference in anodization.  But as you can see below, they are in fact slightly different.  On the Raw version, the switch is moved more toward the head.  I do not know what is the cause of this change, but otherwise the design seems to have remained the same.

While there’s an 18650 version, and an 18350 version, there’s no actual version like you can see below.  It’s just for fun. 😀

Retention and Carry

Included with the Lumintop EDC18 Raw flashlight is a steel deep carry friction fit pocket clip.  It’s a plain clip, but very effective and useful.  It just barely brushes the head, when the head is being unscrewed.  But like I said, don’t do it that way – remove the tailcap to swap cells.

Clip hug!

The clip can go on head or tail end of the cell tube.  As pictured above is the “deep carry” direction.

Also included is a lanyard, which attaches only on the tailcap hole, seen below.  The pocket clip does not have any holes for the connection of the lanyard.

The lanyard is a tight fit into this lanyard hole.  You’ll want to use the included split ring on the light body, and the lanyard through that split ring.

The magnet is strong enough to hold the light, as seen below.

Power and Runtime

The Lumintop EDC18 Raw flashlight is powered by a single 18650.  For all the runtime tests,  I used a Molicel P26A, which is a high current, lower capacity flat top unprotected cell.

The cell goes into the body with the positive end toward the emitters (as usual).

Have a look at the runtimes below.  These look about the same as the EDC18 I reviewed before.  I threw in a couple more tests this time too.  I performed temperature calibration on this light before any of these runtimes.

 

I didn’t really observe LVP on bench power.  But in the runtimes, as you can see above, the output steps down so dramatically that you won’t miss the fact that your cell is low.  And the stepdown happens at or above 3V, so your cell is generally protected.

Modes and Currents

You’ll note

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens at 30s	Tailcap Amps
Turbo (Double Click from on)	2800	–	865 (2622 at startup)	9.56
Level 7 – Stepped	–	–	558 (1011 at startup)	2.81
Level 6 – Stepped	–	–	607 (620 at startup)	1.70
Level 5 – Stepped	–	–	286 (371 at startup)	0.98
Level 4 – Stepped	–	–	152 (189 at startup)	0.41
Level 3 – Stepped	–	–	75	0.23
Level 2 – Stepped	–	–	26	0.08
Level 1 – Stepped	–	–	3.9	0.01
Lowest Level – Ramping	–	–	0.2	17mA

Pulse Width Modulation

There’s PWM on all modes but the top two.  It’s not very bad PWM, though.  Like in the table above, the very lowest mode (leftmost, below) is the lowest of the ramping mode because that one’s quite lower than the lowest stepped mode.

Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.

Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.

User Interface and Operation

A side e-switch is used in the Lumintop EDC18 Raw flashlight.  There’s a green emitter behind the switch, which is black except for a clear Lumintop logo.

The user interface here is ToyKeeper’s Anduril, which at this point is very well covered.  I’ve reviewed other lights with it, too.  Here’s ToyKeeper’s user interface graphic:

Here’s a user interface table anyway!

State	Action	Result
Off	Hold	On (Low)
Off	Click	On (Mode Memory)
Off	Click 2x	Highest Hybrid Mode
Off	Click 3x	Blinkie Mode Group
Off	Click 4x	Lockout
Off	Click 5x	Momentary
Off	Click 6x	Muggle
Off	Click, Click, Hold	Strobe Group (Mode Memory Strobe)
Strobe Group	Click 2x	Strobe Cycle (Candle > Bike Flasher > Party Strobe > Tactical Strobe > Lightning Storm)
Blinkie Mode Group	Click 2x	Blinke Cycle (Sunset > Beacon > TempCheck > BattCheck)
On	Click 3x	Switch between Stepped and Smooth Ramp
On	Click 4x	Ramp Configuration
TempCheck	Click 4x	Thermal Configuration
Beacon	Click 4x	Beacon Configuration
Lockout	Click 4x	Off
Strobe Group	Click	Off
(Basically) On	Click	Off
Candle	Click 3x	30 minute timer to off
Strobe Group	Hold	Heighten selected mode (Make faster or brighter)
Strobe Group	Click, Hold	Lessen selected mode (Make slower or dimmer)
On	Click 2x	FET Turbo
Ramp Configuration	[Wait for Single flash] Click N time for level N.	Selection of the “Low” you like best by clicking 1, 2, 3, etc. where 1, 2, 3, etc are different levels of low.
Ramp Configuration	[Wait for Second flash] Click N time for 1+Turbo-N.	Selection of the “Ceiling” you like best by clicking 1, 2, 3, etc. where 1, 2, 3, etc are different Ceiling levels.
Ramp Configuration	[Wait for Third flash] Click for how many steps you want in Stepped mode.	Sets Number of Steps.
Thermal Configuration	[Wait for First flash] Click for N times for N degrees C.	Displays Current Temperature.
Thermal Configuration	[Wait for Second flash] Click for N times for 30C + N.	Sets Temperature Limit.
Beacon Configuration	[Wait for First flash] Click for N times N seconds per flash	Sets Beacon Speed.

If you want to see how to calibrate the thermals, see this part of the FW1A review.

LED and Beam

What I have here in this triple are Cree XP-L HI emitters.  These are the cool white emitters.  The neutral white option is Nichia 219c emitters.

I do love Cree XP-L emitters, but my favorite is 4000K or warmer.  However, only the cool white is available now, and that’ll do for me.

Unfortunately, the optic here is not a standard Carclo optic.  And there is also no lens over the optic.

The glow diffuser fits easily and even can be pressed all the way over the head.

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.

I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Conclusion

What I like

• Preferable build characteristics over the FW series
• Very nice build quality
• Raw aluminum!  Raw aluminum is a fun change from normal black anodized lights.
• Nice use of Andúril (maybe we’ll see Andúril2 in these soon?)

What I don’t like

• A bigger mass head would be good, to deal with all the heat
• Those slots in the head that look like tritium slots are not tritium slots

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Notes

• This light was provided by KillzoneFlashlights.com for review. I was not paid to write this review.
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