JETBeam M1X (MC-E) and JETBeam JET I PRO V3 (R2) Long-Term LED Flashlight Review
By: Michael Phrakaysone
I think I have obtained another obsession or perhaps the better word is hobby? Within the last few months, I have dove into the world of flashlights, but these are not your old regular flashlights that grandma grew up with, these are high powered LED-type flashlights which I have found to be invaluable and superior in every way possible; the technology is staggering!
Just a few months back I had reviewed an LED flashlight from Dorcy, in the 220-Lumen Rechargeable CREE XRE LED Flashlight Review. Today I present to you a Chinese flashlight manufacture that is reputable among flashlight gurus and makes their flashlights for a wide range of applications such as law enforcement, military missions, rescue, and much more.
In this long-term review (there's nothing better than reviewing flashlights in a long-term basis, as any flaws are revealed) I am going to be reviewing the military series JETBeam M1X and the tactical backup series JETBeam JET I PRO V3 LED flashlights and putting them through the normal wear and tear situations, which will reveal how these flashlights have handled long-term usage.
About JETBeam
"JETBeam was first founded in 2004, specializing in LED lighting, which features the latest advanced LED light technology and the highest standard of materials and workmanship. Especially with the new design driver circuit I.B.S. , JETBeam products boast amazing performance, beautiful design and superior quality.
Jetbeam has been widely applied to tactical flashlights, which are designed for multi-purpose especially for law enforcement, military missions, marine, fire-fighting, rescue, outdoor, camping, hunting and personal safety, etc.
We have been trying to widely extend our business to more countries and customers. And now we will continue to devote ourself to developing and producing great flashlights as well as the best service for all our customers worldwide."
JETBeam JET I PRO V3 (R2) Product Overview
- AA Battery
- Max Output: 225 Lumens, lasting for one hour;
- High Output (Default Mode A): 170 Lumens, lasting for 75 min;
- Low Output (Default Mode B): 20 Lumens, lasting for 10 hours;
- Minimum Output: 2 Lumens, lasting for 50 hours;
- Reverse polarity protection.
JETBeam JET I PRO V3 (R2) Product Features
- More efficient circuit, enhances 30% efficiency.
- Equipped with CREE R2 LED, and max output reaches 225 lumens.
- Equipped with stainless steel retaining ring, makes the flashlight more stable and durable.
- Compact size, slender body specifically designed for individuals to daily carry, and makes the flashlight use more convenient in the complex environment.
- Equipped with highest rank CREE R2 LED radiator, 20mm-diameter new high efficient reflector, and high transmittance impact resistant lens. Max output of 225 lumens with an effective range of 150+ yards. Batteries can last for more than 80 hours continuous use.
JETBeam JET I PRO V3 (R2) Product Specifications
- Model: JET-I PRO V3.0
- LED: CREE 7090 XR-E (R2 bin)
- Max Output: 240 Lumens
- Reflector: Aluminum reflector
- Lens: Coated mineral glass
- Material: T6061 T6 aircraft aluminum alloy
- Finish: HA III Military grade hard anodized
- Battery: one AA battery or any other batteries of the same size
- Circuit: Fully-Regulated High efficiency Broad Voltage Circuit
- Input voltage: 0.7-4.2V
- Switch: Reverse push button switch
- Waterproof: Accord to IPX-8 standard
- Reverse polarity protection
- SS retaining ring
- Safety Lock function
- Tailstand
AA Battery
- Max Output: 145 Lumens, lasting for 70 minutes;
- Minimum Output: 2 Lumens, lasting for 50 hours;
Rechargeable lithium Battery
- Max output: 240 lumens, lasting for 45 minutes;
- Minimum Output: 2 lumens, lasting for 60 hours;
JETBeam JET I PRO V3 (R2) First Impressions
Both JETBeam products come in simply designed yet well-designed black colored corrugated magnetic cases, something that mimics an expensive watch feel. The feeling of opening these cases are an upscale feel with just anticipation. JETBeam's motto is "Illuminates The New Era" which I guess is a decent enough slogan to have.
Open up the box and you will find that everything is heavily padded which means ultimate protection amongst shipping from a long distance (China to North America). The small instructional manual sits in top of the product.
With the purchase of the JETBeam JET I PRO V3, you will receive the following items in the package...
- JETBeam JET I PRO V3
- Operation Manual with warranty card
- Wrist Strap
- Extra rubber gaskets x2
- Extra tail-cap button cover
I love the fact that the JETBeam JET I PRO V3 has a wrist strap as this really is an invaluable tool to have on a flashlight especially for something as small as the JET I PRO V3. It measures roughly 4-inches in total length and will fit perfectly inside just about any size hands.
The flashlight also has a metal clip which can be inserted into your breast pocket or pant pocket for easy access. I do have something to say about the metal clip and that its simply smart of JETBeam to have designed the clip to have two openings. What this means is that you can place it in your breast pocket or pant pocket in either direction. What this means is that you can use the JETBeam JET I PRO V3 as a headlamp by clipping it on your baseball cap! And doing so makes the whole package just very useful because it can adapt to any situation. I've seen flashlights with the metal clip facing the wrong way but I'm glad JETBeam thought about this the correct way.
About the only thing missing from this bundle is a holster for the flashlight when it comes time to travel, but it's no big deal.
The JETBeam JET I PRO V3 contains a CREE R2 LED which allows a theoretical maximum output of 225-lumens. Consider our last LED flashlight review regarding the Dorcy 220-lumen rechargeable and how that flashlight is Goliath compared to the JETBeam JET I PRO V3 (being David), it's amazing that it can achieve the same amount of lumens (on a rechargeable lithium battery - 14500 li-ion 3.7v) but in a much smaller scale. Most people will elect to use standard AA batteries with this model since they are widely available and good on the go, thus I will give my results using them. It's funny how literally tiny this thing looks compared to the Dorcy 220-lumen rechargeable flashlight.
The JETBeam JET I PRO V3 is made out of T6061 T6 aircraft aluminum alloy, where 6061 is the chemical composition of the alloy and where T6 is the level of heat treatment level used. What it comes down to is that the JETBeam JET I PRO V3 is super duper mighty strong and is virtually unbreakable in anything you will put it through as a flashlight. It comes in a dark grey finish and will look like it has a hint of brown under sunny conditions.
Once you've experienced such an aluminum constructed flashlight, you'll never want to go back to plastic. The advantage is not only aluminum will do better on impact, it acts like a heatsink and will be better for heat distribution and dissipation, whereas plastic flashlights would trap heat in the flashlight and not be as tough. Disadvantage would be under cold weather, the aluminum exterior would get very cold quickly.
On the body of the flashlight, JETBeam decides to apply knurling (diamond cross pattern) around the logo and on the tail-cap portion. This is a great idea as it has allowed the flashlight to provide better grip for the users hand and it prevents greasy fingerprints from being showcased (cuts down the fingerprints to a minimum. And I can tell you first hand that the execution is spot on, this type of knurling really helps and is not just for aesthetic purposes.
The JET I PRO V3 has a relatively smooth design philosophy. The shape from top to bottom is generally round but you'll notice that the front of the flashlight has some ridge pattern going on. My first guess was that JETBeam implemented this to prevent the flashlight from rolling. Flashlights rolling away freely is one of those things I wished companies would address and prevent. Unfortunately, those ridge patterns seem only to be for aesthetics and not function. This flashlight can roll away freely until the metal clip stops it from going further.
One of the neat things about this JET I PRO V3flashlight is that it can 'tailstand'. Tailstand meaning you can stand it up and have it illuminate the room you are currently in (or even in a camping tent). Some flashlights do not have this ability and it's really a great attribute for all flashlights to have.
The flashlight can be taken apart into three separate pieces; the front lens and LED pill, middle battery holder and the tail-cap. You can see in the images that the flashlight has liberal amounts of lubrication from the factory, something the Dorcy did not have. Lubrication on the threads is important in such flashlights to provide a clean and easy fit, and good seal for the rubber gaskets.
There are two rubber gaskets on this flashlight and they are pretty thick ones to be honest. Having such gaskets on this flashlight means the JET I PRO V3 is waterproof according to IPX-8 standards.
Unfortunately, one thing JETBeam apparently forgot to do before applying lube to the threads (after the manufacturing process) was to actually clean the threads with a towel. The result with this flashlight is when screwing on the middle battery container and tail-cap portion, you hear this annoying high pitched aluminum crunchy clackity sound! It sounds like you are trying to screw together a bunch of aluminum salts together (ugh!). The Dorcy never had this problem, it screwed on easily and quietly.
Speaking of the tail-cap, the rubber on/off button is that of a clicky type and has good tactile feel to it. This JET I PRO V3 is a three-mode flashlight meaning it has HIGH, LOW and strobe function. Once you begin to own flashlights, you will love having different modes, other than ON/OFF because it allows you more flexibility and saves you battery life in the process. On a single AA battery, the JET I PRO V3 can last on HIGH for 70 minutes and 50 hours on LOW setting.
From looking at the front of the flashlight and inside the reflector, I can already see that the JET I PRO V3 is more of a flood light because the reflector has lots of orange peel effect. If the reflector contained a smooth reflector, it would have been a throw light (exactly like the Dorcy).
Testing Phase
Not only will I share with you in words my personal experience with the JETBeam JET I PRO V3, I will seek to determine if the rated lumens is accurate by way of a digital LUX meter. Tests are completed with a fully charged battery in place.
Results - How does it shine?
Lumens Rating Results
- Rated MAX Lumens on AA battery: 145 lumens
- Experienced lumens on AA battery: 321 (x10) LUX or 298 lumens @ 1 meter
This light really does a great job even with a single standard AA battery. It's highly usable and provides very good spill light along with an moderately intense hotspot. I like the JETBeam JET I PRO V3 and you should consider it on your top-list of consideration. Everything such as the paint quality has held up astoundingly well with normal usage. Even the lettering remains intact despite oily fingers.
*************
JETBeam M1X (MC-E) Product Overview
The JETBeam M1X is an intense flashlight offered by JETBeam and is considered to be a military series search light. Not only for the military, it is also designed also for use in law enforcement, search & rescue efforts and for the outdoorsman (hunting perhaps).
The flashlight contains a high-powered CREE MC-E LED. What is so special regarding the CREE MC-E LED is that it not only contains just a single LED (like all the flashlights I've reviewed thus far) on the die, but three more! The MC-E is a quad-die LED! Fantastic possibilities await!
JETBeam M1X (MC-E) Product Features
- Model: M1X
- LED: CREE MC-E
- Max Output: 450 Lumen (Torch Lumen) / 700 Lumen (LED Lumen) with an effective
range of 500+ yards - Reflector: aluminum reflector
- Lens: Toughened ultra-clear mineral glass with anti-reflective coating
- Material: T6061 T6 aircraft aluminum alloy
- Finish: HA III Military grade hard anodized
- Battery: CR123*3, RCR123*3 0r CR123*4, RCR123*4, 18650 Li-ion*2
- Input voltage: 6.5-18V
- Switch: Forward clicky switch
- Waterproof: Accord to IPX-8 standard
- Patented Product
JETBeam M1X (MC-E) Product Specifications
- Dimension: Bezel diameter 63mm, Body/Tail diameter 25.4mm, Overall length 198mm\
- Weight: 285g
JETBeam M1X (MC-E) Product Output & Runtime
CR123*3
Max Output 450 Lumen(Torch Lumen), 100 mins
Min Output 10 Lumen(Torch Lumen), lasting for 150 hours
CR123*4
Max Output 450 Lumen(Torch Lumen), 130 mins
Min Output 10 Lumen(Torch Lumen), lasting for 200 hours
18650 Rechargeable Lithium Battery
Max Output 450 Lumen(Torch Lumen), 3Hours
Min Output 10 Lumen(Torch Lumen), lasting for 300 hours
JETBeam M1X First Impressions
The JETBeam M1X comes in simply designed yet well-designed black colored corrugated magnetic case, mimicking an expensive watch feel. The feeling of opening this case is an upscale approach with just anticipation. JETBeam's motto is "Illuminates The New Era" which I guess is a decent enough slogan to have.
Open up the box and you will find that everything is heavily padded which means ultimate protection amongst shipping from a long distance (China to North America). The operational manual sits in top of the product.
With the purchase of the JETBeam M1X, you will receive the following items in the package...
- JETBeam M1X CREE MC-E LED Flashlight
- Operation Manual with warranty card
- Extra pair of rubber gaskets
- Extra tail-cap button cover
- (Optional purchase) Battery Extender Tube
Just like the Dorcy flashlight, the JETBeam M1X doesn't have a metal clip system or even a wrist strap. I think a wrist strap system is even more important on a flashlight this big to prevent possible damage from inevitable drops. The heavier the flashlight, the more impact to ground, the more damage one can expect compared to a smaller, lighter flashlight. However, apparently some manufactures don't see the need.
The bundle is actually very good as you get many needed extras but a nylon holster would have been the ultimate prize for a flashlight this big.
Thus far, the JETBeam M1X with its CREE MC-E quad-die LED system, is without a doubt the brightest flashlight being tested @ ModSynergy.com up to this point. The CREE MC-E is capable of delivering 700-lumens from the actual LED's whereas it is most likely an individual will only see roughly 450-lumens from the flashlight. Regardless of the actual number, anything close or over 450-lumens is insanely bright for a LED flashlight! That's like having a portable 40-watt incandescent light bulb in your hands but the cool difference is that the JETBeam M1X consumes way less than 40-watts and will last way longer in terms of runtime if you were to power up a 40-watt incandescent light up with batteries.
The JETBeam M1X is made out of T6061 T6 aircraft aluminum alloy, where 6061 is the chemical composition of the alloy and where T6 is the level of heat treatment level used. What it comes down to is that the M1X has mighty strong construction and strength and will be virtually unbreakable in anything you will put it through as a flashlight. Along with the other JETBeam I PRO V3, the M1X features HA III military grade hard coat anodized protection which will give superior corrosion resistance and high durability. The M1X contains multiple thick rubber gaskets which mean it is waterproof according to IPX-8 standards. The M1X really is a beast of a flashlight.
Speaking about the JETBeam M1X's fit and finish, the machining is excellent but the finish of this particular flashlight (that has come from the factory) is not quite up to par. Being a brand new flashlight coming off the manufacturing floor and being okayed to sell on the market, I was very surprised to see that the finish on this particular JETBeam M1X already had some paint chips and deep scrapes on it. I could not believe my eyes when I had seen about four visible chips across the flashlight. What ever happened to the quality control process? Or do they not check every aluminum body being made on the manufacturing floor?
On the body of the flashlight, JETBeam decides to apply knurling (diamond cross pattern) around the logo and on the tail-cap portion. This is a great idea as it has allowed the flashlight to provide better grip for the users hand and it prevents greasy fingerprints from being showcased (cuts down the fingerprints to a minimum. And I can tell you first hand that the execution is spot on, this type of knurling really helps and is not just for aesthetic purposes.
The M1X has a smooth design philosophy. The shape from top to bottom is generally round but you'll notice that the front of the flashlight has a indentation semi-circle embossed pattern going on. My first guess was that JETBeam implemented this to prevent the flashlight from rolling. Flashlights rolling away freely is one of those things I wished companies would address and prevent. Unfortunately, those patterns are for mostly show because the flashlight can roll off a table with ease. Those semi-circle patterns help just ever so slightly the flashlight from moving, but not enough that it's going to stop right away. This flashlight can roll away freely and with no metal clip to wrist strap eyelet present, falls and damage resulting from falls is only a matter of time, unless you keep it upright at all times.
One of the bad things about the M1X is that it cannot tailstand like its younger sister can (JET I PRO V3). The reason why it cannot do so is because the tail-cap clicky bulges outward.
The flashlight can be taken apart into five separate pieces; the battery extender tube, front lens cover and reflector, tail-cap, and LED portion. You can see in the images that the flashlight has liberal amounts of lubrication from the factory, which is a great thing. Lubrication on the threads is important in such flashlights to provide a clean and easy fit, and good seal for the rubber gaskets.
There are five (!) rubber gaskets on this flashlight and they are pretty thick ones. Having such gaskets on this flashlight means the M1X is waterproof according to IPX-8 standards.
Likewise with the M1X, one thing JETBeam apparently forgot to do before applying lube to the threads (after the manufacturing process) was to actually clean the threads with a towel. The result is not to an extent as the JET I PRO V3 was, but is still present with the M1X. The result when screwing the tail-cap for example, you hear this clackity sound, like something is being squished.
Speaking of the tail-cap, the rubber on/off button is that of a clicky type and has good tactile feel to it. This M1X is technically a two-mode flashlight meaning it has HIGH and a user-defined brightness mode setting. The user-defined mode can be accessed by unscrewing the head and entering the hidden mode by pressing the switch on/off three or more times under one second.
From looking at the front of the flashlight and inside the reflector, I can already see that the M1X could actually be both flood light (wide spill) and throw light (narrow hotspot). The thing is with the JETBeam M1X is that the reflector is pretty deep into the flashlight but it also has moderate orange peel. The orange peel effect on the reflector is not so intense as I've seen with other flashlights. So I expect the M1X to provide both throw-light and flood-light. The results were like I predicted.
The M1X is a thrower type of light with a narrow hotspot but also with a wide-spill light which is perfect for rescue operations where you need light to be shown on a wide area or when you need to directly shine the light on a bad guy. And with the amount of lumens this M1X can produce, you will be amazed at how bright it can get!
Lastly I want to talk about the fins on the JETBeam M1X. Just below the front lens cover are a number of fins. These fins actually are there to resemble and act like a heatsink. In this case, a passive heatsink is used to dissipate heat away from the entire body of the flashlight. This will keep the whole flashlight as cool as possible and prevent the aluminum from getting boiling hot. The M1X does a great job at dissipating heat and runs on 2x18650 batteries rather warm.
Testing Phase
Not only will I share with you in words my personal experience with the JETBeam JET I PRO V3, I will seek to determine if the rated lumens is accurate by way of a digital LUX meter. Tests are completed with a fully charged battery in place.
Results - How does it shine?
Lumens Rating Results
- Rated MAX Lumens on 2x18650 Rechargeable Lithium Batteries: 450 lumens (torch)/700 lumens (LED)
- Experienced lumens on 2x18650 batteries: 1618 LUX (x10) or 1503 lumens @ 1 meter
The JETBeam M1X is a beast of a flashlight and with 2x18650 (other configurations are possible) it makes even night look like day! It's highly usable and provides very good spill light along with an intense hotspot. I love the JETBeam M1X and consider it to be one of the best flashlights I've seen up to this point. Everything has held up over time and no further paint chipping have been experienced so far.
