Imalent MS32 200,000-Lumen Flashlight Review

The Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight uses 32 Cree XHP70 2nd version emitters. It’s the brightest flashlight ever! Now with USB-C charging! Read on!

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight product page.

Versions

There’s only one version of the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight. Imalent does offer similar lights, though, like the SR32.

Price

MSRP and the current selling price of the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight is $749.95.

What’s Included

• Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight 
• Shoulder strap
• Charge cable (USB-C to USB-C)
• Spare o-rings (4 – 2 types)
• Wall wart (Wall plug to USB-C)
• Manual

Package and Manual

This light ships in a box, but inside the box is this case. It’s a nice case, and will make for great storage and protection of the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight.

I’ll have to add the manual! Imalent’s site doesn’t seem to have the pdf.

Build Quality and Disassembly

This is a big light! Not just big and weighty, but also – check out how huge the head is. A lot of room is required to house 32 emitters. Frankly, a light this big is hard to photograph! And actually, I think there are better photos of the SR32. Since the lights look about the same, you might check that post for more comprehensive photos or more angles, etc. This MS32 is slightly bigger than the SR32, though.

There’s minimal printing on the MS32.

I didn’t take the light apart much. You’ll have to take the battery pack off the light at least once because the shipping separator must be removed for using the light. After that, you may never even have to remove the battery. It takes a lot of turns to get the battery out of the head. Also, the seal is pretty snug, so there’s a bit of a seal (suction!), too.

There are three fans, and they seem to suck air in one side and over what’s essentially a radiator (which you can sort of see above) and blow the hot air out the other side.

Imalent carries on the tradition of having this metal (probably stainless) screw-down cover over the tail end of their bigger lights. I like it – it’s robust, replaceable, and also adds functionality. Specifically, it helps hold the charge port cover in place as well as offering shoulder strap attachment points.

Size and Comps

242mm (length) x 149mm (head diameter) x 67.5mm (body diameter)

Weight: 3096g (battery included)

It’s not a small light and there’s no super great way to show it at arm’s length distance. However, despite being big, it does seem quite manageable. At least in a “look how many lumens I’m getting” to “how big this light is” ratio way, it’s manageable.

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version you see below is a custom Convoy S2+ host that’s been laser engraved by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or just go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!

Retention and Carry

There are two main means for carrying the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight. First is this handle. The handle is removable – there are just two machine screws holding it in place. A tool is included for removing those, too. The handle is not a dumb handle – it has electronics! There’s an e-switch on the side. When holding the light in your right hand, the switch is on your right thumb.

The handle is a big improvement over what was offered on the MS18W (for example). One of my wishes was for that light to have a handle… and now we have it on the MS32 (as on the SR32!)

I love the way the light fully balances perfectly on the handle. This is a very minor point but demonstrates such a nice attention to detail.

Second is the shoulder strap, which attaches to two specific points on the light.

First is this loop in the head.

Power and Runtime

A battery pack powers the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight. This is included with the purchase. It’s similar to the MRB217B from other big Imalents, but this one is a twelve (12) 21700 3.6v 92.2Wh battery pack. The “3.6V” shown on the tailcap does not indicate the battery pack voltage. I think that just means that the 12 individual 21700 cells are 3.6V (duh, right?). I believe this is a 4s3p setup, which accounts for the charged voltage of around 16V.

While I do have a calibrated setup to log runtimes, I don’t have one big enough for the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight head. So I’ve set every initial output to the claim, and gone from there. It’s not at all ideal, but Imalent is typically reasonable with claims.

One fact you can pick up here as well as the graphs below is that when the light (output) shuts off, the fans also shut off. Measuring the temperature on the bezel of the MS32 wasn’t ideal – I couldn’t find a point that really represented how hot the light felt. It gets hot. In fact, on Turbo, heat straight out the front can be felt probably 3 feet away. It’s pretty incredible. Once the light (and thus the fans) turns off, the heat rises dramatically. This could be something to be mindful of. It’s possible to run the fans with the light off, too. When off, hold the switch for 3 seconds. (Though I did fail to test if this works when the light has shut off due to low battery power.)

This “High II” output of a claimed 18,000 lumens is the highest output that doesn’t automatically turn on fans. You can see the light gets hot!! And also with this knowledge, infer what a good deal of work the fans do on higher modes.

The Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight shuts off with low voltage protection.

Charging

A charge port is built into the battery pack. The charge port is covered by this screw-down metal ring. Removing that ring reveals a press-in rubber cover over a USB-C charging port. Again, congratulations to Imalent for moving to USB-C!

A wall wart is included. It’s a “100W” power brick that plugs directly into the wall.

There’s just one port! It’s USB-C.

An appropriate cable is included – it’s USB-C to USB-C. It’s a very nice cable, too.

Beside the charging port is an indicator LED. When charging, this indicator is red. When charging is complete, this indicator turns green.

Don’t get too confused by the charging graph. There are two cycles with the included wall wart as well as two cycles with an A to C setup. The included charger proceeds at 20V and requires only 3 hours or so. Charging at 5V works fine too, but takes a lot longer (around 11 hours!)

Modes and Currents

Pulse Width Modulation

Surprisingly, we see PWM on nearly every mode. The PWM is fast and I can’t even notice it, so it’s nothing to worry about.

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find. I’m adding multiple timescales, comparing them to the test light will be easier. Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, which is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms. 5ms. 2ms. 1ms. 0.5ms. 0.2ms. In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line. I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and explained a little about PWM.

User Interface and Operation

There are two switches on the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight. Surprise! They are both e-switches and very much like many other similar Imalent flashlights. First is the head e-switch. The switch is “textured” and has a nice positive clicky action.

The action is very low. This switch can be rotated too. Not that you’d ever need to or that it serves any purpose to do that, but you might find it rotating under your finger, and be surprised by it. It doesn’t hurt anything, though (and it doesn’t unscrew).

Next up is this e-switch on the handle. Functionally, it’s the same as that other switch. When the light is held in your right hand, the switch falls in the perfect spot to be hit with the inside of the right thumb. It is set up perfectly.

The flip side is that it might not be perfect for lefties, but with the right grip, the switch is about right for left index finger usage.

This OLED display shows the output level as well as lock information and battery pack voltage. Maybe even more!

Here’s a UI table! The user interface is updated from the SR32, and in general, I’d call these all good changes. Now we have direct access to the lowest mode!

LED and Beam

It’s really a huge amount of emitters. Just massive. I think Imalent really does this type of emitter array right, though. Makes for great photos!

The lens seems to have an AR coating.

Pleasantly, the bezel has a bit of a shape, so light escapes when headstanding. You won’t want to do this on anything other than Moonlight or Low, though, unless you like 32 emitter-shaped burn marks on your surface.

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

This light is so bright that on Turbo my sensor was saturated. But below, you can see the lowest 7 modes. I’m pleasantly surprised that the CCT here is in the neutral-to-cool range (and not the cool-to-cold range). 5600K to under 6100K is absolutely acceptable! CRI is low at around 70. That’s not a surprise, though.

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. You probably think this set of photos is comical. And I do too… but you need to know how bright this light is!!

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

Summary and Conclusion

Well, this light is fantastical. It’s claimed as the brightest flashlight and I’d say there’s really no doubt. It’s ridiculously, possibly even comically bright. I also have to say (kindly) that it seems like Imalent has gotten their business together and these newer lights have such flat output on very high modes – it’s great! I will say that the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight is heavy. It should be, to deal with all that heat, and with all 12 of those 21700 cells. I love that the light offers USB-C charging and the powerbank function, too. If you need this (or if you can business expense it :D) then the Imalent MS32 200,000-lumen flashlight is a great fun toy (or tool!)

The Big Table

^ 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 I like

• USB-C charging!!
• USB-C port can be used as a powerbank
• Great handle!
• Massive output
• Simple (and mostly Imalent-consistent) user interface
• Shortcut to low (triple click)
• Impressive throw
• Fans are built-in and not attached via a “heat shield”
• Fan control is automatic (but can be controlled manually, too!)
• Very high sustained output levels

What I don’t like

• Low CRI
• Light can get hot
• Quite heavy

Notes

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