Speras E21 Flashlight Review

Speras E21 Flashlight Review

Speras is introducing the E21, a 21700 cell flashlight running a single Luminus SST-40 emitter. The tactical E21 has a neat dual-action switch. Read on!


Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Speras E21 flashlight product page.

Versions

As far as I know, this is the only version of the Speras E21 flashlight.

Price

Price is unknown at this time, but a Kickstarter for the E21 should launch soon.


Short Review

The Speras E21 flashlight has, among other features, a very neat dual-action tactical tail switch. The switch has a typical mechanical clicky action and is very exposed (so very tactical) but also has a side push option for mode changes. I like the switch. Output is great too, and the feature set (including USB-C charging and a powerbank) make this a great light.

Long Review

The Big Table

Speras E21 Flashlight
Emitter: Luminus SST-40 (Cool White)
Price in USD at publication time: unknown (Kickstarter soon)
Cell: Internal
Runtime Graphs
LVP? Red blink warning
Switch Type: E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA): ?
On-Board Charging? Yes
Charge Port Type: USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port Eco only
Claimed Lumens (lm) 2000
Measured Lumens (at 30s) 1755 (87.8% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen 13.4
Claimed Throw (m) 322
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) 867lux @ 5.932m = 30509cd
Throw (Calculated) (m) 349.3 (108.5% of claim)^
Claimed CCT 6000-6500
Measured CCT Range (K) 5600-6500 Kelvin
Item provided for review by: Speras
All my Speras 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

Speras E21 flashlight what's included

  • Speras E21 flashlight
  • Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
  • Lanyard
  • Manual

This might not be the retail package, though, so be sure to check if some of these items are super important to you.

Package and Manual

Speras E21 flashlight box and package

Build Quality and Disassembly

Speras E21 flashlight

The E21 is my first Speras flashlight. I’ve never seen or held one before. Initial impressions are good; the light seems solid.

The E21 specifically (but not necessarily all Speras lights) has one specific downside: the cell is built in. As far as I could tell, the parts do not separate at all (at least with consumer-level effort.)

Size and Comps

Length: 128mm
Head and tail diameter: 25.4mm
Weight: 135g (including the cell of course, since it’s built in)

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

Speras E21 flashlight in hand

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+.  Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple.  A very nice 18650 light.

Also above on the left is a new feature light!! Laulima Metal Craft sent this titanium Todai for some size comparison photos like the ones above. Laulima has a bunch of incredible items. I’ve tested one (the Laulima Metal Craft Hoku) (the official site for Hoku is here) that was a Friend Fund Friday review. I was impressed enough by that Hoku that I bought a Laulima Metal Craft Diamond Slim (also in tumbled aluminum) (review is upcoming!) These lights by Laulima have impeccable build quality and not only that, they’re quite configurable. There are some (great, actually) default configurations, but Joshua Dawson (of Laulima Metal Craft) is open to ideas and emitter options and the like. I haven’t reviewed this Todai, but I have to say, it feels absolutely fantastic and I love it thus far. (Notably, I love how warm and eggy those emitters look through the TIR.)

Retention and Carry

A pocket clip is included and attached from the factory. It’s a fairly standard two-way friction fit clip.

Speras E21 flashlight with pocket clip

Attachment seems secure enough, but the clip is removable.

As you can see above, the clip has a hole in the shoulder to attach the included lanyard. This is the only place to attach the lanyard.

Speras E21 flashlight with lanyard installed

Nothing else is included for carry of the E21.

Power and Runtime

Power is provided to the E21 by a built-in 21700 cell. I don’t see that Speras has stated a capacity of the cell. And as far as I know, the cell is not user-replaceable. Obviously the cell went into the light somehow, so with the right attitude you might be able to swap it. But in general, you won’t be doing this in the field.

Three runtime tests are below. Turbo steps down pretty quickly, but still holds over 1600 or so lumens for a full minute. That’s pretty good.

Speras E21 flashlight runtime graphs

Speras E21 flashlight runtime graphs

Speras E21 flashlight runtime graphs

Speras E21 flashlight runtime graphs

When the cell voltage is low, an indicator near the charging port blinks red. The indicator is right at the pivot point of the charging port cover, but is conspicuous when blinking red.

Charging

Of course with a built-in 21700 comes built-in charging. This charging is by way of a USB-C port on the head end of the E21.

A cable is included: USB to USB-C.

Speras E21 flashlight charging cable

C to C charging works just fine, and is brisk at around 2.75 hours.

Speras E21 flashlight charging graph

A to C works fine.

Speras E21 flashlight charging graph

While charging, the red indicator (the same one that activates during runtimes) blinks red. When charging is complete, this indicator stays lit in green.

Powerbank

The USB-C charging port can also discharge the built-in 21700 – it can serve as a powerbank. Speras includes this male USB-C to female USB adapter, so you’d be able to use your common cables for phone charging or whatever. But C to C output works fine too (and in fact, is what I tested.)

Speras E21 flashlight powerbank adapter

Speras E21 flashlight powerbank adapter

The USB-C port can output around 3A but is most comfortable around 2A (as the manual says).

Speras E21 flashlight powerbank graph

When the cell gets low, the powerbank will shut off. It does seem to continue pinging the output, but that is probably just my test equipment. Anyway, the powerbank feature works fine.

Speras E21 flashlight powerbank graph

Modes and Currents

Mode Mode Claimed Output (lm) Claimed Runtime Measured Lumens
Turbo 2000 4h 1755
High 900 5h 894
Medium 350 8h 379
Low 100 26h 104
Eco 10 220h 14

Pulse Width Modulation

The sawtooth observed below is probably not real PWM, and is so fast you’re very unlikely to see it anyway.

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 single switch controls the Speras E21 flashlight. This switch is a very proud tactical “mechanical” switch – I say “mechanical” because I’m not sure. The clicky action feels mechanical but the side action is unusual for a mechanical switch.

Speras E21 flashlight tail switch

Speras E21 flashlight tail switch actuation

Speras E21 flashlight tail switch actuation

Action both ways are just fine – the clicky is positive and the mode changes work great, too!

Here’s a user interface table! The E21 has two “patterns” (or groups). They’re similar but provide different access – best for tactical or best for outdoor uses.

State Action Result
Off Tactical Pattern Tap Momentary Turbo
Off Tactical Pattern Click Turbo
Off Tap “Sub tail” Strobe
On Click Off
On Tap Sub tail Mode advance (Eco>L>M>H>T)
On Tactical Pattern Hold Sub tail Momentary Strobe
Off Outdoor Pattern Click On – Mode memory (LMH only)
Off Outdoor Pattern Tap Momentary Mode Memory(LMH only)
Off Outdoor Pattern Tap Sub tail Momentary Eco (the manual has this wrongly listed as “turbo”)
Charging Tap Sub tail 3x Changes pattern (Outdoor or Tactical) with blinks to indicate (Tactical: 4 blinks. Outdoor: 3 blinks)
Off Tap Sub tail Battery indication LED beside charging port^
Off Tap Sub tail 6x Lockout (Main emitter blinks to indicate)
Lockout Tap Sub tail 3x Unlock

^ Battery indicator as follows:

Green: >70%
Orange: 30-70%
Red: 5-30%
Red flashing: <5%

LED and Beam

Speras has used a single Luminus SST-40 emitter in the E21. It’s rated at 6000K-6500K and has a small smooth reflector.

Speras E21 flashlight emitter detail

The very toothy bezel allows light to escape while headstanding, and more importantly, plays into the tactical feel of the E21.

Speras E21 flashlight toothy bezel

Speras E21 flashlight emitter on

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

Speras seems to have safely estimated the CCT on this Luminus emitter – I read it from 5600K to around 6500K. That’s sort of “neutral” to “cool.” CRI is low at around 68.

Beamshots

These beamshots are always with 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

  • Nice build quality
  • Interesting type of two-stage or dual-action switch
  • Good beam profile
  • User interface is simple
  • USB-C charging works well
  • Powerbank function

What I don’t like

  • Built-in 21700 (can’t be replaced)
  • Released through Kickstarter

Notes

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