Mateminco MT-001 Thrower Flashlight Review
The Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight runs an interesting 46950 cell size but offers very capable USB-C charging. The MT-001 has high output, too! Read on!
Official Specs and Features of the Mateminco MT-001 Thrower Flashlight
Here’s a referral link to the Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight product page at NealsGadgets.com.
Versions
Really there’s just one version of the Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight but it’s available with two body colors: black or green (seen here). Both those bodies offer the same emitter.
Price
Both body colors of the Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight sell for $179.99. That includes the cell. The MT-001 is available at NealsGadgets.com.
Short Review
There’s one point to make about how much the Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight throws – it’s been a point of contention among users checking out this light on the product page, etc. That’s specifically why the light was sent to zeroair.org – to see what an independent tester recorded throw. You can read that data later in the post, but up front, I’ll say that the Mateminco MT-001 is a thrower and quite a flashlight! Since the cell is included, that it’s a weird size doesn’t bother me. I rarely buy cells separately anyway. The cell is huge, with massive capacity though, and must offer some very high current output, too!
Mateminco MT-001 Thrower Flashlight Long Review
The Big Table
| Mateminco MT-001 Thrower Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Luminus SBT90.2 |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $179.99 |
| Cell: | 1×46950 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | with cell: all modes without cell: no modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 6800 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 4716 (69.4% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 72.4 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 3065 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 6620lux @ 7.623m = 384689cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 1240.5 (40.5% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 5100-5500 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | NealsGadgets |
| All my Mateminco 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
- Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight
- 32,000mAh 46950 cell
- Charging cable (2, 2 types)
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Threaded adapter for tripod mount
- Two mechanics rings for attaching the shoulder strap
- Shoulder strap
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
There are no problems with the build quality of the Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight. It’s solid. It’s also quite large but still well-balanced. Most of the weight ends up in hand since so much of the front is occupied by the reflector (and empty space.)
The head has minimal depth cooling fins. In testing, I note that the light does not seem to get all that hot. I don’t guess that’s because it’s not driven very hard, but more likely because there’s a lot of mass here!
The tailcap has a big beefy spring (I mean big and beefy). On the tailcap and cell tube, the threads are anodized.
The anodized threads to demonstrate that the cell tube is not reversible. One end has unanodized threads.
The head end does not have a spring, but there’s a large brass button for contacting the positive end of the cell.
Size and Comps
Size 191.4 x 69 x 55mm (Length x Head diameter x Body diameter)
Weight About 960g with 46950 battery
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).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a custom laser-engraved Convoy S2+ host by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!
Also above is the light beside a TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats. I also reviewed that specific edition, the “Oveready BOSS FT Collector Vintage Brass” 35. I love it!
Retention and Carry
The Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight offers an interesting array of carry options. First, there’s a threaded tripod screw hole. Included (but not pictured anywhere here) is a tiny threaded adapter that makes this large tripod hole accept the smaller tripod screws, too.
Another thing that Mateminco includes is a stainless loop that screws into the tripod hole. This is useful for attaching a few of the included accessories, too.
Aside from the loop above, there’s an actual lanyard hole in the tailcap. Much like the lanyard hole in the Mateminco TK06, this protrudes quite a bit and ends up feeling a bit sharp.
Two mechanics rings are included. I would guess one is a backup because it doesn’t fit through the tailcap hole.
This loop works together to allow attachment of the shoulder strap.
The shoulder strap is probably the best option for carrying the Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight. However, with a seemingly reliable lockout, I’ve been comfortable just dropping the light in my bag. It seems to work very nicely there.
Power and Runtime
The Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight is powered by a cell that’s included. It’s interesting (“unique” really but sure, other lights could certainly use it.) The included cell is a 32,000mAh (huge!) 46950 cell!
The cell is marked on each end, but the positive end does protrude a bit. It goes into the MT-001 in the usual way – positive end toward the head.
Here are a couple of runtimes. Since the light offers only ramping, I tested only Turbo and High. These two are specific and discrete modes. Turbo is accessed only by double-clicking, while High is accessed by ramping the light all the way up.
At around 630 minutes, I did hit turbo again just to see what would happen.
Charging
On-board charging is a nice feature of the Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight. This charging is by USB-C. The port is protected by a press-in cover.
Mateminco includes two cables! A USB to USB-C charging cable, and a USB to USB cable.
Charging works fine for both types of connection. In fact, C to C charging proceeds at 12V, so is very quick. This is a 32,000mAh cell, after all! A to C charging takes a while because it was charging at 5V. So use a 12V-capable USB-C if you can!
Powerbank
The Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight also boasts a USB-C powerbank feature.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 6800 | 2s-12h | 5134 (0s) 4716 (30s) |
>16.28 |
| High | 70% | 14h | 3804 (0s) 3649 (30s) |
9.10 |
| Low | – | 47h | 176 | 0.30 |
| Lowest | 30 | 26d | 25 | 0.05 |
Pulse Width Modulation
None of the specific modes use 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
The Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight uses one switch for controlling all of the many options. It’s a metal-covered e-switch and has many holes that allow indicating information through. The switch can indicate in red or blue.
Clicking the switch is great, too – the action is great.
When the flashlight is off, the switch is lit in blue as seen below. It’s not a blinding bright blue, but it’s very blue (unlike the photo below might indicate.)
I would say that the user interface here is a bit underdeveloped. Maybe all the features are there, but (again) offering only ramping really holds the light back! Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (Mode memory) |
| On | Click | Off |
| Off | Hold | Lowest output |
| Any (unlocked) | Click 2x | Turbo |
| Any (unlocked) | Click 3x | Strobe |
| Any (unlocked) | Click 4x | Voltage Check (switch indicates voltage number by blinking in blue) (Manual doesn’t state but it seems to blink the ones then pause then blink the tenths.) |
| Any | Click 5x | Lock (indicated by 2 blinks) |
| Lockout | Click 5x | Unlock (stays off) (indicated by 2 blinks) |
| Any | Click 6x | Voltage Check (switch indicates voltage number by blinking in blue) (Manual doesn’t state but it seems to blink the ones then pause then blink the tenths.) |
| Turbo or Strobe | Click | Previous mode |
| Turbo or Strobe | Hold | Off |
| On | Hold | Ramp up to the highest level (70%). Release and hold again to ramp down. |
LED and Beam
The Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight uses a Luminus SBT90.2 emitter. There’s just one, and a deep reflector goes with it. This is a very high output emitter and this one is surprisingly not too cool.
Throw on the Mateminco MT-001 is stated as over 3000m (or 3km!) and there’s been a lot of discussion about that. Data specialists suspected/believed that even theoretically, 3065m was not feasible. In fact and in practice, the throw is measured to be much lower than 3065m. I measured it at 1240m, well under half of the claim. That’s still a very high level of throw, but it’s reasonable to question how Mateminco landed on 3065m of throw.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
CCT stays in the 5000-5500K range, which is fantastic. CRI is unsurprisingly low, at around 65. The output has a very positive Duv, so the output could be seen as “green” to some.
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 on the Mateminco MT-001 thrower flashlight
What I like
- Great build quality
- The cost seems fairly low for the whole package
- Charging via USB-C at 12V is pleasantly brisk
- Output even on Turbo remains under 5600K
What I don’t like
- The specialized cell is likely not widely available
- Does not meet the throw claimed
Notes
- 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.com!
- Please use my amazon.com referral link to help support zeroair.org!
- Please support me on Patreon! I deeply appreciate your support!