Imalent R30C Flashlight Review

Imalent has another in their popular R-Series – the Imalent R30C flashlight. This 21700 flashlight boasts 9000 lumens and has an intuitive e-switch.

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Imalent R30C product page.

Versions

This is the only version of the Imalent R30C flashlight.

Price

The going price for the Imalent R30C flashlight is $129.95.  This includes the required 21700 cell.

And actually, at imalentstore.com there’s an automatic 15% discount, which makes the price $110.46!

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Short Review of the Imalent R30C flashlight

Output on the higher modes of the Imalent R30C flashlight dips down rather quickly and as such the light isn’t recorded as meeting its specification.  However, this light has great size and usability.  The lower output levels are fairly stable and at high output.  There’s no mode that is “low enough” for my needs though, and these cool white emitters turn green at the lower level.

But for build quality and usability, I like this light.

Long Review

The Big Table

Imalent R30C Flashlight
Emitter:	Luminus SST-70
Price in USD at publication time:	$129.95 $110.46 after an automatic 15% discount on Imalentstore.com!
Cell:	1×21700
Turbo Runtime Graph	High Runtime Graph
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	0.09 with indicator off 2.90 with indicator on (and lit green)
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C (On cell)
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	–
Claimed Lumens (lm)	9000
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	4094 (45.5% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	6
Claimed Throw (m)	560
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	1203lux @ 4.604m = 25500cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	319.4 (57% of claim)^
All my Imalent 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

• Imalent R30C flashlight
• Imalent 4000mAh 21700 (with USB-C Charging)
• Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Nylon pouch
• Manual

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

As I said above, the build quality of this light is excellent.  That’s no surprise though – Imalent typically has very high-quality builds.  One thing that surprises me about the Imalent R30C flashlight is that there is no branding around the body of the light.

There’s a serial number, of course, but the only model/brand info is on the tailcap. There’s also no knurling whatsoever on the Imalent R30C flashlight.  That’s not necessarily bad, so long as the tailcap is easily removable.

I did find the tailcap to be easily removable.  The threads are quite long, and the tailcap doesn’t have any extra grip but even with my little girl’s hand strength, I didn’t have any trouble.

As I said, the tailcap threads are long.  They’re well lubed (maybe a bit extra on the lube, actually) but quite smooth.

Inside the light is just one spring, which is on the tail end.

In the head is simply a button for contact – no spring.

There are two indicators on the Imalent R30C flashlight and neither of them is on the switch (surprise!).  These indicators are on the head, and the two are opposite each other.

Here’s one of the indicators lighting green.

Size and Comps

Officially:

• Product size：42mm (head diameter) x 29mm (body diameter) x 115mm (length)
• Net weight：216g (battery included)

If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll try to show it here. If the flashlight will tailstand, I usually show that here, too.

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.

Retention and Carry

Included for carry of the Imalent R30C flashlight is this nylon pouch.  This is a fairly standard nylon pouch, into which the light fits only “bezel-up.”

The light is not meant to be used while in the pouch – neither end has an opening.

It’s easy to press the switch while the light is in the pouch, though, so be careful there.  I expect the nylon would be exceptionally willing to melt at some of the higher (even non-Turbo) levels.

There is no pocket clip or lanyard or anything else included with the Imalent R30C flashlight.

Power and Runtime

The Imalent R30C flashlight is powered by a single 21700 cell.  The purchase price includes one 4000mAh Imalent branded cell.

This is not a standard cell.  The positive terminal has a plastic shroud and looks like it is the type cell with both positive and negative terminals on the positive end.  But that’s not the case – this looks to be a “dummy ring” around the positive terminal.  At least… I was unable to read voltage across these two parts.

The plastic shroud will prevent charging this 21700 cell in most bay-style chargers.

The cell fits into the Imalent R30C flashlight in the usual way – positive terminal toward the head.

I did try some other and more standard 21700 cells in this light.  One standard flat top did not work, even with some magnets to add length.  The included 21700 is much longer than the name suggests (that is, longer than 70mm).  Despite adding magnets to the standard 21700, the light did not work.  Also, I tested with an Olight 21700 (which does have the proprietary “both on positive” terminals) and is also longer than standard, and it did work.  So take that for what you will.

Below please see the runtimes.  I am still collecting data on the third-highest level, but I expect it to slot in normally between High and Middle I.

Turbo steps down massively and quickly.  The claim here is 9000 lumens, and even at startup I’m only seeing around 7800.  To be honest that’s fairly close to my 10% accuracy claim (9000*0.9=8100).  And I’ll say that the crenelated bezel definitely makes me “lose” some output in testing.   So at startup, it’s not completely unreasonable to say the Imalent R30C flashlight probably makes around 9000 lumens.  By 30 seconds though, that’s changed dramatically.

In all tests, the light shut off with low voltage protection at around 3V.

I’ll note that even the lowest level is 150 lumens, and that’s just simply too high for the lowest level.

Charging

The light itself does not have charging, but the cell (which is included) does.  That is by way of a USB-C charge port on the positive terminal.

An appropriate cable is included – USB to USB-C.  I tested C-to-C and the cell does not charge this way.

Charging is both very quick and very consistent, both features I like.  This isn’t the largest capacity 21700 available though, so bear in mind it’s only 4000mAh.  Still, under 3 hours is good, and peaking at 1.43A is also perfectly safe for the 4000mAh cell.  That’s around 0.5C.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	9000/2300	45s/70m	4094 (after stepdown) 7768 (initial)	>19
High	5000/2300	1m/72m	3662	6.39
Middle II	2300	1h15m	1974	3.93
Middle I	1300	1h40m	1168	2.26
Middle Low	700	3h40m	623	0.93
Low	150	20h	130	0.18

Pulse Width Modulation

Most of the lowest modes have PWM, but it’s fast enough to be unnoticeable.  Turbo does not utilize PWM.

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

There’s a single switch on the Imalent R30C flashlight.  It’s an e-switch, it’s on the head, and it has a plastic cover.  The action is very low but it clicks very positively.  The switch itself is not an indicating switch, but as discussed there’s a red/green indicator on the head.  (Two in fact).

This switch is exactly like some other similar Imalent lights, like the RT90 (another “R-Series” light).  In fact, the user interface is the same as on that light, too.  The switch itself is the same as some other Imalents (but without the same user interface because of multiple switches like the UT90 or UT10.)

The switch is very low profile.

Here’s a user interface table!  This user interface seems to be just like the Imalent MS06, which shares the style of the RT90.

State	Action	Result
Off	Click	On (Mode Memory (excluding Turbo/Strobe)
On	Click	Off
On	Hold	Mode cycle (150/700/1300/2300/5000 order)
Any	Triple Click	Low
Turbo	Double Click	Strobe
Off	Hold 2s	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 user interface as the Imalent MS03, which I have also reviewed.

LED and Beam

In this light, Imalent has used three Luminus SST-70 emitters.  These are known for high output, and they certainly deliver here.

They’re cool white, though I don’t see any Kelvin claim made by Imalent.

Below you can see the bezel crenelations, and why I say some “light escapes” during testing.  I didn’t find the bezel to be removable.

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

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.

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

Conclusion

What I like

• Great in-hand – a great user.
• Output may not meet the specification but the output is still very high!
• Easy access to Low
• Cell charging is very consistent and quick
• Low quiescent current

What I don’t like

• Green tint on lower outputs
• No mode that’s actually really low
• Doesn’t seem to work with standard 21700 cells (though probably just a length issue)

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Notes

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