Magicshine MTL60

Magicshine MTL60 flashlight review

Introduction:

Magicshine, does that ring a bell? Well, personally It didn’t when I was asked to do a flashlight review for Magicshine, so the first thing I did was take my smartphone and google them. I found out they are actually quite well known for bike lights, in which they have a good reputation.

Recently they did release three flashlights, namely the MOD20, MTL30, and MTL60.

All these lights are based on the same body, but with different head diameters. The names are probably related to the head diameter, since the diameter of the MTL60 is coincidentally 60 mm.

They all feature a forward clicky tail switch and an electronic side switch, so it’s just a matter of taste or personal preference which light suits you.

What you’ll get:

Packaging of this light is amazingly good (especially when the last flashlight you received was a convoy. Great flashlights but awful packaging) The hard cardboard and fully printed box came in shrunk plastic to protect it against scratches and as a guarantee, the light is brand new and shows the attention to detail which Magicshine has paid.
The thing is, which is better? economical packaging, or this absolute top-of-the-line packaging? Everybody just throws it away anyway (except us flashoholics of course)

But let’s go on, the packaging is sublime, the hard black foam holds the light very well. below the casing, another compartment becomes visible.  In my case even an additional USB-C cable and a MAS-C1 charging & discharging module for MOD/MTL flashlight series!

The black cardboard box below the light holds the accessories, which exist of:

The accessories were included : 

  • flashlight with clip
  • spare o-rings
  • holster
  • manual

And in my case the additional

  • charging module
  • USB-C-C cable
  • USB A- C cable
  • Magicshine 18650 cell (2600mAh, protected button top)

Magicshine MTL60 specifications

Brand / ModelMagicshine MTL60
LEDXPL2-Hi
Lumens1000 Lm
Beam intensity160,000 cd
Battery config.1*18650 / 2*cr123a
MaterialAluminum
Modes5
Blinkies2
ReflectorSmooth
WaterproofIPX8
Review dateJanuary 2020

Handling of the light

Handling of the Magicshine MTL60 is very easy, it provides enough grip due to the deep cutouts and the electronic side switch. The 18650 size format makes the MLT60 very easy to hold, the head size is obvious the only thing which makes it not really pocketable, the MOD30 might be more pocketable since this is half its size, but another size reflector will result in a different beam shape.

The tactical tail switch (as Magicshine calls it) is an easy to operate forward clicky switch due to its large cutouts next to the switch. The disadvantage of these large cutouts is that the light does not tail stand

A pocket clip is shipped with the light, after opening the box, I found it already connected to the battery tube. There are 2 cutouts for the pocket clip, which gives the opportunity to carry the light with the clip facing upwards as well as downwards.

The lanyard that comes with the light can easily be connected to the tail cap using the cutout for the lanyard hole for easy carrying.

Build Quality, knurling, threads, and anodization

I have seen many lights, but the build quality of this light is exceptional, the anodization of the aluminum parts is very good, it’s HAIII, very durable it feels very nice, not too rough and not slippery, just exactly good.

The anodization is done very well, taking off the pocket clip as well as turning and rotating it around the tube did not leave any marks on the coating. I couldn’t find any flaws.

But there is no real knurling on the light. There are machined cutouts lengthwise and crosswise. It does have a very nice design and it provides enough grip. It also helps to dissipate the heat.

All connections are very good and all closures and O rings fit exactly as it should. The whole construction, machining, and finish of the MTL60 is awesome, also the square threads are beautifully machined.

It seems the tube of the MOD20 the MTL30 and the MTL60 are identical, only the business end is different. The seams of the construction where the pieces are joined together are visible but I was not able to unscrew these pieces by hand, so it looks like the parts are joined with some thread locker.

Since this light did surprise me in a good way, ( I was pleasantly surprised with the exceptional good construction, detailing, and finishing) I didn’t want to try and open it with mechanical tools. I am too afraid to damage this beautiful flashlight.

LEDs, Lens, Bezel and Reflector

The MTL60 is equipped with a Cree XPL-HI LED. Magicshine is advertising the MTL60 with a Cree XPL2-Hi, but as far as I know, Cree did not yet release an XPL2-HI version. Therefore, there is no such LED available, it is either an XPL-HI which is factory dedomed or an XPL2 which is the successor of the XPL LED, which is domed.

Unfortunately, Magicshine doesn’t mention the specific tint or the used LED Bin. However, the color temperature looks almost identical compared to a Convoy C8 with XPL-HI 3A tint (≈ 5000K ~ 5300 K).

A small die LED and a relatively large smooth reflector give a very thin, throwy beam with just a tiny bit of spill. It is comparable to a Convoy C8, but the large reflector and the perfectly focused LED gives the MTL60 a very intense beam.

Well done Magicshine !

I was able to unscrew the mild crenelated bezel to access the LED and take out the glass and reflector. One funny fact is that they have even used a plastic gasket on top of the double AR coated glass lens, to protect the glass from the aluminium on top of the glass so it doesn’t scratch (did I already mention that I was blown away with this thing of beautiful craftsmanship ?)

Dimensions:

  • Length: 170 mm
  • Head diameter:   62 mm
  • Body diameter: 25 mm

Weight: 

  • Empty:  204 gr

Long-range flashlights comparison

Comparison with other long range flashlights:

From left to right: Astrolux FT03, Magicshine MTL60, Convoy C8, Eagle Eye x6, Convoy S2+.

And compared to the BLF Q8, and a pop can.

Driver & User Interface:

The Magicshine MTL60 user manual can be downloaded here.

Modes: The main ‘tactical’ switch on the tail-cap is used to switch the light ON or OFF
A momentary mode is possible using the tail switch

Using the sideswitch the following modes are available

From OFF:

  • Press and Hold: the light starts in Moon mode and after a second, strobe will be activated.
  • Single-click: last mode memory +1 (Next level)
  • Double click: N.A. (it just acts as 2 single clicks, so it will go 2 levels up)

From ON:

  • Press and Hold: Strobe mode will be activated.
  • Single click: Next level
  • Double click: N.A. (it just acts as 2 single clicks, so it will go 2 levels up)

Mode memory:

The light features last mode memory.

Low voltage warning: The MTL60 has low voltage warning. The LED behind the side switch will indicate the battery level when the light is powered on Green 100%-75%,
Green flashing 74%-50%,
Red 49%-25%,
Red flashing 24%-1% )

Strobe/blinkies

Two types of blinkies are available; strobe mode and SOS mode. These can be accessed by turning the light on, and holding the side switch for more than 1 second.
Strobe mode will be activated first, and following another short click activates SOS mode.
Leaving either of these 2 blinky modes can be done by holding the side switch for more than 1 second. Lock-out mode:
There is no lockout mode, a mechanical lockout is however still possible by unscrewing the tailcap. PWM
I could not find any PWM on this light

Batteries and charging:

Magicshine offers the additional MAS-C1 battery charging (and discharging) module for people who like to charge their battery inside the flashlight.

This is a very clever way to charge your battery since it is a removable add-on feature.

The module can be connected directly to the tube by unscrewing the tail cap. and add the MAS-C1 module and the tailcap can be screwed on directly to the charging module.

So if you don’t like a long tube, just remove the MAS-C1 and if you need to charge the light, you can just add it to the light again which will make it a bit longer.

To be able to charge the cell inside the light a current path to the positive and negative end of the cell is needed. The current path to the positive side of the cell is done by using a second tube where the inner tube is anodized on the inside and outside where the anodization layer acts as the isolation between both tubes.

Basically the outside tube is the negative pole and the inner tube the positive pole (just as Acebeam did with the TK16).

The MAS-C1 charging module uses a USB-C connector and does fully support USB-C PD (Power Delivery) as well, something which is not very common yet in the flashlight world. I tested this with my USB-C PD phone charger.

The USB port can be found under a nice soft silicone rubber flap, and a blue LED indicated the battery status, where flashing blue indicates charging, and constant blue indicates fully charged.

Another nice feature is the fact that it can be used as a power bank option! Simply charge your phone or another device by plugging it into the USB-C port of the MAS-C1 charge unit on your flashlight!

According to Magicshine the module supports charging up to 2,1 A and discharging up to 2,4 A

Performance:

Cells used, Magicshine 18650 protected button top 2600 mAh
Clamp meter UNI-T UT210-E
Digital Multimeter Yokogawa 734-02

Amp measurement (UNI-T 210E Clamp meter)

Moon: 0.018 A
Low: 0.065 A
Med: 0.218 A
High: 1.247 A
Turbo: 3.19 A

Amp measurement (Yokogawa 734-02 meter)

Moon: 0.0169 A
Low: 0,0694 A
Med: 0,2159 A
High: 1,254 A
Turbo: 2.978 A

Runtime graph

Lumen measurements

Note, For the Lumen/runtime results a deviation of +- 10% should be taken into account since I am using an integrating Lumen tube which is not officially calibrated, it is calibrated against lights with a known Lumen output.

Lumen measurement (PVC Lumen tube)

  • Moon 5 Lm
  • Low 38 Lm
  • Medium 125 Lm
  • High 576 Lm
  • Turbo 1102 Lm

Throw numbers:

Lux measurement @5m

  • Moon 41 Lx
  • Low 236 Lx
  • Medium 771 Lx
  • High 3537 Lx
  • Turbo 6919 Lx

Beamshots

Overall conclusion

Pros:

  1. Exceptionally well designed and well made
  2. Surpasses the advertised light output
  3. MAS-C fully supports USB-C PD
  4. Comes with a lot of accessories

Cons

  1. Only available with XPL-Hi
Reviewer Peter
Author: Peter

Overall Rating: 5 stars: ★★★★★

It’s funny, at first I didn’t even know the brand Magicshine, and now I love it. This is by far one of the best flashlights I have ever seen. It really matches the quality of Acebeam, I even dare to say they surpass Acebeam! The optional USB charging module, which you can leave behind if you want, the excellent quality, the feel of the light,  the attention to detail, operation, holding the light, every aspect of the light I can think of, it’s just designed perfectly. Therefore there is no other choice than to give it five stars out of five! I think I’m in love, I need more Magicshine lights! LOL

Magicshine MTL60 for sale