Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Lumintop PS03 Search Light(4x18650) 2800Lm max,Review

The PS03 is a new flashlight from Lumintop,powered by four 18650 batteries packed in a compact aluminum body.
The flashlight is equipped with a TIR optic and three Cree XM-L2 U2 LEDs.
2800 lumens maximum output. 256 meters beam distance.
4 brightness modes: Low(100Lm)- Mid(800Lm)- High(1500Lm)- Turbo(2800Lm)
There is also hidden Strobe mode.
Clean,cylindrical shape. Big side switch.
Matte black anodizing.Deep cooling fins.

The PS03 has a flat tailcap allowing stable tailstanding on different surfaces.

There is a camera type thread point for mounting the flashlight on a tripod or other stand.

The Lumintop PS03 is equipped with a triple TIR optic and three Cree XM-L2 U2 LEDs with 2800 lumens maximum brightness.
There is no protective glass over the acrylic TIR optic.

The LEDs are well centered.
On the picture below you can see also the both wires for + and - ,well placed.

The purpose of Lumintop PS03 is wide,dense beam in a compact size.
The TIR optic is a good choice thanks to its short depth and lightweigth material.
Precisely machined stainless steel bezel holds the optic in place.

Length 5 inches/127mm
Diameter 2.17 inches/55mm
Weight 500 grams with batteries

Very nice compact package.Sturdy box with protective foam.
Spare O-ring and paracord lanyard included.
There is also a User manual.



This is the camera type screw. It is used to hide the threaded hole and for lanyard attaching point.
The flashlight does not have a anti-roll design,so the crew is the only thing that could protect the PS03 from rolling.



The PS03 is powered by four 18650 batteries connected in series.


Sturdy battery carrier is used for inserting the batteries.
Well made. There is no difference how you will insert it into the flashlight.Both sides have the same contact points.
I have to admit that this is the first battery carrier I have tested,that takes easily long protected batteries.Very well measured space for protected batteries.
I can insert the batteries without extreme force and take out them without any tool or long nails needed...

Anodized,trapezoid cut threads.

A picture of the inserted in the flashlight battery carrier.

Good rectangular shape knurling provides stable grip.

The switch is electronic type.12mm diameter of the rubber switch cap.
Relatively hard to press.Very lightly protrude.Hard to press accidentaly in normal use.
Of course not impossible. If you afraid of accidental activation,tail cap lock out is possible.
Because of the electronic type switch,when the light is Off,it is actually in Standby mode.There is a small Standby current in this state= 90uA.
This is a relatively low value,but if you would like to avoid this consumption,you can lock out the tailcap by unscrewing it a few turns.

User interface.

4 main modes Low-Mid-High-Turbo (in this sequence)
plus hidden Strobe mode which can be activated by double click,when the light is ON.
As usual for Lumintop the strobe frequency is very effective.

Press and hold the button to turn On or Off the light.
Briefly press the switch to change mode.

There is a memory for the last used mode,except Strobe.
Low,Mid,High,Turbo will be memorized,but not instantly and the light may start on low mode if you don't wait enough for triggering the mode memory.

Quite simple and easy to use.I usually prefer turning On/Off the light by short press and selecting modes by pressing and holding the switch,but good point here is that the action for turning On and Off is the same.There are flashlights where you have to activate the light with different actions.
Because of the lack of electronic locking function of the switch,activating the light by holding the switch is a kind of plus here and will prevent most accidental presses.

The PS03 decreases the output 3 minutes after activation on Turbo mode.
On High mode the brightness is constant nearly 160 minutes.
According to my measurements,the High mode is brighter than the manufacturer's 1500 lumens.
60% of 2800 lumens. My measuring equipment is not quite calibrated to be possible to provide you accurate numbers.

There is a second step down to 6% of the Turbo output when the batteries are almost empty.
This level provides enough light to find your spare batteries or to find your way back to the camp.
In my tests,this level lasted until the protection of one of the batteries disconnected the circuit.
3 of the batteries was 2.9V after the runtime test. The fourth was with activated protection. The voltage under load is lower.
If you plan to drain the batteries as much as possible,it is recommended to use protected 18650 batteries.

3 minutes Turbo output is not quite impressive for the current standards.
But there is no problem to get Turbo mode back by restarting the light,if the flashlight is not too hot to touch(depending highly on the ambient temperature).



As with many other flashlights(almost all) with a side switch,the switch might be hard to find in the dark.You have to rotate the flashlight in your hand until you find the switch by touch.The cooling fins and the ring around the switch cap help a little for faster finding the switch.
When the tripod screw is on its place,finding the switch is much easier.

Very finely machined cooling fins. No scratches,dents or sharp edges.
The deep fins help for good heat transfer.


The beam is cool white.No visible greenish or bluish tint.
Very wide spill angle.About 170 degree.
As with most TIR optics the light is not quite clean of artifacts.
Some different zones can be seen in the beam,but that doesn't affect the beam and doesn't make it less impressive.
Very bright(2800Lm max) and very floody beam thanks to the small,shallow reflectors.
16398cd peak beam intensity. 256m distance.


Outdoor the PS03 provides bright and dense illumination with quite good throw distance.

~40 meters to the trees.


Lumintop PS03 All modes Low-Mid-High-Turbo compared to Fenix TK51 Turbo(1800Lm Flood+Throw)
Beam aimed at the stems of the trees. ~40meters ISO200,1sec

Beam aimed at the stems of the trees.
Looking at the ground the TK51 still has better density of the beam.
Lumintop BS03 definitely illuminates much wider diameter even at long distance.

Lumintop PS03 All modes Low-Mid-High-Turbo compared to Fenix TK51 Turbo(1800Lm Flood+Throw)
Beam aimed at the crowns of the trees. ~40meters ISO200,1sec


You can see the fog and particles in the air.

Size comparison
Fenix PD35,Lumintop PS03,Olight SR52,Fenix TK51


5 meters, 1/6 sec

5 meters, 1/50 sec

1 meter, 1/20 sec White wall

1 meter, 1/250 sec White wall

After using it for two weeks I found the Lumintop PS03 very useful when a wide and bright beam is needed.
Quite convenient user interface.Well spaced modes.100Lm low mode may be too high for some users,but in my opinion a lower mode is not that needed in this type of flashlight,mainly designed for outdoor search and rescue work. The average runtime on Low mode is 40 hours.
No extreme overheating thanks to the solid aluminum body.
The PS03 is a good choice for outdoor activity and even for an indoor work light.The tripod mounting point is a really good option.
I would like to see an anti-roll design in the PS03,because it is very easy to roll lying on a flat surface,if the tripod screw is not attached.
There is a lanyard hole only on the tripod screw.There is no hole elsewhere on the body.

Thanks for reading!


Lumintop PS03 was provided by Lumintop for test and review.