Vastlite Sima Flashlight Review
The Vastlite Sima flashlight offers a bunch – two (parallel) 14500 cells, two Osram P9 emitters, a simple user interface, and USB-C charging. Read on for tests!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a referral link to the Vastlite Sima flashlight product page at nealsgadgets.com.
Versions
I believe there’s just one version of the Vastlite Sima flashlight.
Price
The Vastlite Sima flashlight is available at NealsGadgets.com for $56.95.
What’s Included
- Vastlite Sima flashlight
- Charging cable
- 14500 (two, in flashlight)
- Spare o-rings (2, for the screws)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
I wasn’t hyped for the Vastlite Sima flashlight because honestly I’d never heard of it. Even when I saw it, I thought “ok.” But I have to say, this rectangular-shaped light in a 2×14500 size is a fantastic size flashlight. I absolutely love the size and shape.
It’s very rectangular, too. The edges are all square off – very opposite to a cylindrical tube!
It’s not a light you’ll really disassemble on the regular, though. The tailcap is held in place by two Torx (T6) screws. They each have their own little o-ring (and there are spares, too). The tailcap cover has a bigger seal, as well.
While the tailcap has nice big beefy springs, the head has just buttons for contacts. Since the light ships with cells and the light is made to be suited to these cells, there’s no play or rattle in there, even though the head doesn’t have springs.
I am not sure how you’d access the driver and other components in the front. The parts do not seem to come out through the tail end.
Size and Comps
79mm x 19.3mm x 34mm and 124g (with cells).
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 Vastlite Sima flashlight ships with a pocket clip installed. It’s a fine pocket clip, held on by two screws.
The clip doesn’t provide particularly deep carry, but it’s sufficient. One bonus is that the top edge of the clip has a dedicated lanyard hole. Using this one would be better than using the other holes on the “body” of the clip. A lanyard is not included, though.
The Vastlite Sima flashlight also features a strong magnet in the tailcap.
Power and Runtime
Vastlite powers the Sima with two 14500 cells, which are in parallel. Being in parallel does mean that the light will run with just one cell.
These are button-top cells and aren’t really intended to be removed, but it’s very nice to note that they are not soldered in or anything – once the tailcap is removed, these cells come out freely.
Below you can see runtime tests for the top three modes. Interestingly after the stepdown, each mode stays right around 350 lumens. Unfortunately the stepdown happens very quickly – before 30 seconds in every case.
The light does offer low voltage protection and the switch also gives an indication that the voltage is low.
Charging
USB-C charging is used on the Vastlite Sima flashlight. The port is on the head, opposite to the switch.
While the charge port cover and switch are different enough (by feel) that you won’t confuse them, the switch is still light enough that you might end up pressing it unintentionally anyway. I do wish the charging port cover was flush with the body. As it is, the light rests unsteadily when placed sitting on this charge port side. It’s a small thing, but unusually annoying.
Vastlite includes a USB to USB-C charging cable.
This charging graph looks like something – A to C and C to C basically look the same, there’s just so much going on in each line that it’s hard to tell. Charging proceeds then briefly drops to zero, then proceeds again. Overall the time taken is approximately fine (around 3.5 hours).
The point is don’t really get too worried about this chart. Charging works fine. The switch blinks red while charging and switches to green when fully charged.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 2200 | – | 2011 (0s) 356 (30s) |
5.43 |
| High | 1400 | – | 1264 (0s) 354 (30s) |
2.73 |
| Medium | 660 | – | 602 (0s) 355 (30s) |
1.07 |
| Low | 150 | – | 130 | 0.19 |
| Moonlight | 5 | – | 0.04 | [low] |
Pulse Width Modulation
None of the 5 modes use PWM. That’s a pleasant surprise!
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 Vastlite Sima flashlight uses one e-switch. It’s a nice big switch and sits over the body by about 1mm (or less). That makes it “a bit” proud.
There’s an indicator right in the middle, too. It can indicate in green (seen below) or red, too.
I will say I quite like this switch, but I did have a number of accidental activations – it’s a very light switch.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (mode memory) |
| Off | Hold | Moonlight |
| On | Click | Mode advance (LMH only) |
| On | Hold | Off |
| Any (except Moonlight) | Double click | Turbo |
| Moonlight | Double click | Strobe |
| Strobe | Double click | SOS |
| Strobe or SOS | Click | Return to main group (memory) |
| Off | Click 4x | Lockout |
| Lockout | Click 4x | Unlock |
| Lockout | Click | Blink 1x to indicate lockout |
| Off | Click 7x | Iterate switch locator feature (An always-on, dimmer indicator) |
More than on most lights, “hold for off” really gets me with this one. Maybe something about how the switch is (light) or placement or something – but hold for off is very annoying here.
LED and Beam
The Vastlite Sima flashlight uses two Osram P9 emitters. There’s no claim as far as I can see, but they’re cool white. Each has a full reflector. These emitters can not be operated independently.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
These Osram P9 emitters are very cool white. Up into the 7000K range! CRI is low (around 70) and Duv is positive. This light is a great candidate for an emitter (and driver) swap! (If you can figure out how.)
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. These photos are taken around 18 inches from the door.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Summary and Conclusion
I love the body of this Vastlite Sima flashlight. Rectangular lights apparently appeal to me. I do not love the driver (stepdowns are much too fast!) or the emitters (very cool white and low CRI). I like how the switch feels but it’s too light and easy to find accidentally. I love that the 14500 cells are included and not soldered in place, but I really want this one to be modifiable. It needs reasonable claims (not 2200 lumens) and a more sustained output at whatever those claims are (stepdown after a minute, for example, at whatever that output is!)
The Big Table
| Vastlite Sima Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Osram P9 (2) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $56.95 |
| Cell: | 2×14500 |
| 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 cells: All modes without cells and/or tailcap: lowest 3 modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 2200 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 356 (16.2% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 5.31 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 210 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 74lux @ 5.112m = 1934cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 88.0 (41.9% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6600-7200 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | NealsGadgets |
| All my Vastlite 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 I like
- The rectangular body
- The build quality is good
- Unusual design (side-by-side 14500 cells is not common!)
- Cells are included
- Cells are not permanently in place
- Output once stepped down is very stable
- Great usage of magnet in the tailcap
- No PWM
What I don’t like
- Very cool white
- Charging weirdness
- Hold for off unusually annoying here
- Those stepdowns are so quick! The light barely has time to even get hot.
Notes
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