[ti-force]

I’ve got the new 4sevens Maelstrom X10 for review. This light was sent to me by 4sevens for review purposes, and this model is a production model.

Here are the specs for this light. Note that this info was taken from 4sevens’ website:
Dimensions:
Length = 5.6”
Body Diameter = 1.3”
Head Diameter = 1.8”
Weight without battery = 5.6 oz.
Battery = 1- 26650 Li-ion
Voltage Operating Range: 3v-4.2v
Two Levels of Output:
Low = 100 Lumens, 15hrs runtime
High = 640 Lumens, 1.8 hrs runtime


Some eye candy of the X10 :















Here’s 4sevens newest iteration of their 26650 Li-ion battery. This battery was designed specifically for the X10, and should not be used in the S12 because of the higher current draw of the S12. However, if you already have a 26650 that works with the S12, then that battery should work fine in the X10, and like the S12, the battery and charger are sold separately from the light:







Now it’s time for some OTF lumen results that were taken using my homemade integrating sphere. I need to mention that the X10 has thermal regulation like the S12 has, so the lumen output of the light varies with temperature changes of the light. This was done to protect the light from overheating because of excessive heat created at higher drive levels. I had an S12 in my possession not too long ago. The S12 was sent to me by forum member ‘GotLumens?’. He graciously split the cost of shipping with me so we could do some testing on his S12. During the time I had his S12 I conducted the same type of testing that I’ve done with the X10.

I do need to state that although I did try to repeat my testing on the X10 in the exact same manner as I did with the S12, this was not an exact, scientific experiment that I’ve done here, so please take my information for what it’s worth. If you’ve read my S12 testing thread then you’re familiar with those results, and the process used to gain those results. If not, here’s what I did. Since the lumen output of this light is directly affected by temperature of the light (because of thermal regulation), I’ve decided to test OTF lumens by using a freezer pack to test for the highest possible output, hand heat sinking, which is commonly used by many members on this forum, and one more method that I’m simply calling “no additional heat sinking”, which means I turned the light on, held it by its tail cap and let it run.

To give you a better idea of exactly how these lights were held for each different test, I’ve taken images of myself holding the actual light in each testing position and posted below. I didn’t take any images of the freezer pack because my thinking is that this method is pretty self explanatory . I will state that I wrapped the freezer pack with a small towel to keep my hand from freezing off while holding the freezer pack around the light, and to keep my hand from lowering the temperature of the freezer pack. Here are the images:


Edit: I didn't have any images available of the S12 that I've compared to with all my testing, but CPF member Bass was kind enough to share some of his gorgeous images that he's taken of his S12 so that I can post some images of an S12 in this thread. Thanks, Bass :












This is the hand heat sinking method. I did alternate between both hands throughout my testing:







Here’s the no additional cooling method:








And now for my results. You will notice that there are two different charts for each test. One shows the OTF lumen output over a given amount of time, and the other shows the measured exterior temperature of the light taken during OTF lumen testing. For reference, I used an infrared thermometer to gather temperature of the light. The freezer pack measured 0 degrees F., and room temperature was 74 degrees F.





X10 vs S12 OTF Lumen Freezer Pack Test:





X10 vs S12 Freezer Pack Test Thermal Graph:





X10 vs S12 OTF Lumen Hand Heat Sinking Test:





X10 vs S12 Hand Heat Sinking Test Thermal Graph:





X10 vs S12 OTF Lumen No Additional Cooling Test:





X10 vs S12 No Additional Cooling Test Thermal Graph:





I also decided to test the X10 while holding the light as the user would normally hold it. Below are images of what I’m calling the “regular” holding position, followed by runtime OTF data. The light was still going strong 120 minutes into the runtime on high. I didn’t test the S12 in the “regular” position (wish I had, though), so these results cannot be directly compared to the S12 testing:










I’ve also compiled all the data of each X10 OTF lumen testing session into one graph together, and I’ve also done the same for the thermal results:






And finally, I’ve posted a brief video on Youtube showing the mode operation of this light. Click here to view the video.


The beam of the X10 is definitely tighter than the S12, and going on memory it seems like it would out throw the S12. Unfortunately I don't have an S12 to directly compare to. I'll try my best to take some beam shots of this light against my garage door soon. I'll post here when I update.

Thanks for looking, and hopefully you enjoyed reading my data.