Brinyte PT18pro

Brinyte PT18pro Oathkeeper review

Brinyte PT18Pro specifications

Brand / ModelBrinyte PT18pro Oathkeeper
LEDCREE XHP35 HD
Lumens2000 Lm
Beam intensity32,000 cd
Battery config.1*18650 / 2*CR123A
MaterialAluminum
Modes4
BlinkiesStrobe/SOS
ReflectorSmooth
WaterproofIP68
Review dateJuly 2020

Introduction:

The Brinyte PT18pro Oathkeeper is intended to be a tactical flashlight. This is evidenced by the patented (and removable) tactical grip ring and the use of dual rear momentary switches (in addition to the side switch). The PT18pro has some stand-out features such as magnetic charging, good current regulation, and a triple-switch setup.

Brinyte isn’t afraid to try unique designs (check out the B21 Complex!) and they also make my favorite zoomie (the B158 / B158B), so I was curious to see what they cooked up with the PT18pro Oathkeeper. Plus, this new Desert Tan color is beautiful.

What you’ll get:

The PT18pro arrived in a rather plain-looking cardboard box with “PT18pro” scrawled in ink pen on the side.  Granted, this is a pre-release light and so the final packaging may not be ready yet as of the time of this writing.  The light was well protected, slipped into a bubble-wrap sleeve, and then sandwiched between two sheets of egg-crate foam.

  • Brinyte PT18pro Oathkeeper
  • Holster
  • Battery
  • Charging cable
  • Paracord lanyard
  • Cigar-grip ring
  • “BR” Tactical ring
  • Clip
  • Manual
  • Spare o-rings

Handling of the light

The first thing you notice when handling the PT18pro out of the box is the unique “BR” tactical ring.  Not to be confused with the cigar-grip rings that are relatively common (one of which is also included), the patented tactical ring forms a large loop on the side of the flashlight. It provides a quick way to get a very firm grip on the PT18pro and assists with easily activating the rear switches in tactical situations. 

The tactical ring has two keyways (and thus two different rotations that it can be affixed in).  It can easily be removed if desired by removing the tailcap and ring, then reinstalling the tailcap. The cigar-grip ring can also be removed. But if you remove it, you must also remove the BR tactical ring. You can use neither ring, the cigar-grip ring, or both. The BR tactical ring cannot be used without the cigar-grip ring.

The pocket clip is nothing to rave about, but it is functional.  It is short and sturdy.  Certainly not deep-carry. The provided lanyard is pretty nice, made of camo paracord with a lobster claw clasp.  Also included in the package is a holster that is tailored to the PT18pro.  It is stamped with Brinyte branding. There’s an elastic sleeve on the side for carrying a spare battery. The bottom of the holster has a hole to expose the reflector. The side is cut out to accommodate the BR tactical ring.  The top has another hole that exposes the tail switches. The openings at the top and bottom allow the light to be activated while in the holster.

The tailcap has a rather unique design. There is a lanyard attachment point that sticks up next to the forward-clicky main on/off switch. Next to that is an e-switch that is mounted at an angle.  In addition to the tail switches, you’ll find an e-switch on the head for mode changes. This unique tail design rules out tailstanding capabilities.

Build Quality, knurling, threads, and anodization

Upon opening the box of the Brinyte PT18pro, I was immediately impressed with the finish on the flashlight. The Desert Tan anodizing (HAIII) on the aluminum is smooth, even, and gorgeous looking.  There is minimal knurling – there is a band of ribs around the bezel area in addition to a small section of square-shaped formations on the head, and if you remove the tactical ring, there are more of them around the tailcap.  The body tube has the Brinyte logo set into it.

The head has non-aggressive crenelations. Not into crenelations? The black bezel ring with the crenelations can easily be removed, leaving a nice smooth bezel. There are flat areas on opposing sides of the lower head.  The flats provide a location for the e-switch on one side and a magnetic charging port on the other.

The head and body tubes are glued together. This is likely due to Brinytes construction which uses a tube-within-a-tube construction for the body, akin to what you’d find on a Lumintop FW3A.  This tube style allows for the driver to constantly be active and aids with the built-in charging and side indicator light.  This also necessitates the tail threads to be non-anodized, though they are well-formed and square cut.

LEDs, Lens, Bezel, and Reflector

On the business end, you’ll find a cool white Cree XHP35 HD (domed) emitter that is well centered in the smooth reflector that provides a nicely defined hotspot. This is surrounded by a lightly crenulated, black, removable aluminum bezel.

Being a Cree XHP35 LED, there is minimal tint shift when compared to the newer flip-chip Cree LEDs such as the XHP35.2. Up close, there are few minor rings to the beam but they are not noticeable in typical use.

Dimensions:

  • Length: 164mm (6.5”)
  • Head diameter: 41mm (1.6”)
  • Body diameter: 25.4mm (1.0”)

Weight: 

  • Without battery, without tactical ring: 177g (6.2oz)
  • Without battery, with tactical ring: 196g (6.9oz)
  • With battery and tactical ring: 244g (8.6oz)

Size compared to other excellent tactical military flashlights:

Image 1: Brinyte PT18pro vs Brinyte PT28 vs

Image 2: Brinyte PT18pro, Convoy C8, Wurkoss PC11, Convoy S2+, Brinyte PT28

Image 3: Brinyte PT18pro, Convoy C8

Image 4: from top to bottom: Convoy S2+, Wurkkos FC11, Brinyte PT28

Driver & User Interface:

The PT18pro Oathkeeper uses a well-regulated boost driver that accommodates either 1*18650 or 2*CR123A batteries.  It is a triple-switch configuration.  The driver is constantly powered.

Before receiving the PT18pro my biggest question/concern was the UI.  How would you take advantage of 3 switches without getting overly complicated or confusing?  Well, I was glad to find out that the interface is somehow both simple and complex.  There are lots of options for navigating the modes using the 3 buttons.  But if you don’t care to memorize all of the possibilities, you can still easily use the flashlight without getting overwhelmed.

Modes: there are four brightness levels (low, medium, high, and turbo) and two blinky modes (strobe and SOS)

From OFF:

  • Half click (tail primary switch): momentary-on, turbo
  • Single-click (tail primary switch): constant on, turbo
  • Hold (tail side switch): momentary strobe
  • Single-click (front side switch): constant on, last used mode
  • Long press (front side switch): constant on, low

From ON:

  • Single-click (tail primary switch): turn the light off
  • Single click (tail side switch): change modes (cyclical, low > med > high > turbo)
  • Long press (tail side switch): constant strobe; single click to return to last brightness mode
  • Single click (front side switch): change modes (cyclical, low > med > high > turbo)
  • Double click (front side switch): enter Strobe mode, another double click enters SOS mode.  Single-click to return to last brightness mode
  • Long press (front side switch): slow flash then stay on (not sure about the purpose of this?)

Mode memory:

  • Yes, mode memory is present (when access through the front side switch)

Low voltage warning:

  • The e-switch has an LED indicator in the center that indicates the battery level for 5 seconds when the flashlight is turned on.
  • Battery capacity 100-70%: constant green
  • Battery capacity 70-30%: constant orange
  • Battery capacity 30-10%: constant red
  • Battery capacity <10%: flashing red

Strobe/blinkies

  • Strobe and SOS are present. From off, double click the tail switch to directly access strobe mode.  From on, double click the e-switch to access strobe mode. While in strobe mode, a double click will take you to SOS mode. A single click will exit blinky modes.

Lock-out mode: 

  • The front side switch will electronically lockout 1 minute after the flashlight has been turned off
  • You can manually lockout the front side switch by triple-clicking the front side switch
  • Turning on the flashlight through the primary tail switch for 5 seconds will unlock the front switch
  • Triple clicking the front side switch will also unlock the front switch
  • While the front side switch is locked, the tail switches still operate normally
  • You can quarter-turn the tail cap for a physical lockout of all switches.

PWM

  • PWM is not visible in any mode

Additional info: the indicator LED will dimly glow green as a locator light while the PT18pro is off.  This can be toggled ON/OFF by holding the e-switch for 10 seconds while the flashlight is on.  This is confirmed by a short blink of the main LED.

Batteries and charging:

The PT18pro Oathkeeper ships with a Brinyte-branded protected 3100mAh 18650 battery. It also accepts 2*CR123A batteries.

The kit comes with a magnetic charging cord that plugs into a USB-A power port. The magnetic end easily mates up to the charging pad on the side of the flashlight. This style of charging helps with water resistance as you no longer have an opening on the side of the flashlight to contend with.

In my testing, charging terminated at 4.12 volts. Additionally, you can turn on the PT18pro in either low or medium mode while it is charging. While charging, the indicator LED will glow constant red. Once it is fully charged, the LED will turn green. If something abnormal happens, the LED will turn orange.

Performance:

For current measurements, an ANENG AN8008 multimeter and UNI-T UT210E clamp meter were used. Lux was measured by a UNI-T UT383 BT at 5 meters. Lumens were measured in a homemade lumen tube using a TSL2591 sensor, calibrated against a Wuben TO50R.

Amp measurement  

  • Low: 104 mA
  • Med: 200 mA
  • High: 1.0 A
  • Turbo: 7.2 A
  • Standby, indicator on: 149 uA
  • Standby, indicator off: 128 uA

Runtime graph

Runtime tested using the provided 3100mAh Brinyte battery, no cooling.  The test terminated at 2.98 volts.

Lumen measurements (for each mode)

  • Low: 10 lm (spec: 10 lm)
  • Medium: 67 lm (spec: 60 lm)
  • High: 464 lm (spec: 450 lm)
  • Turbo @ 0sec: 1981 lm
  • Turbo @ 30sec: 1925 lm (spec: 2000 lm)

Throw numbers: 

  • Lux at 5m: 1827 lux
  • Candela: 45675 cd
  • Throw: 427 m (467 yds)

Beamshots

All beam shots are taken at 25m (82ft) using a Pixel 3 set to ISO 200 with ½ second exposure time

  • PT18pro
  • PT28
  • C8 with XP-L HI 3D at 3 amps
  • PT18pro (left) vs C8 (right)
  • PT18pro (left) vs PT28 (right)

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent to us for review at no cost, by Brinyte. We have not been paid to review, nor have we been holding back on problems or defects.

Overall conclusion

Pros:

  1. Great overall build quality – design, anodizing, etc.
  2. Unique tactical ring
  3. Well regulated
  4. Built-in charging
  5. Direct access to low, turbo, last used, and strobe modes
  6. Complex UI
  7. Included accessories (holster, lanyard, tactical ring)

Cons

  1. Complex UI
  2. Unique charging cable
  3. Cold white LED with no options for other CCTs
Reviewer Gabriel
Author: Gabriel

Rating: 5 stars ★★★★★

Overall, I really really like the Brinyte PT18pro Oathkeeper. My beef with the Brinyte PT28 was that while Brinyte advertised it as a tactical flashlight, the UI fell short of that usage. I’m glad to report that the PT18pro meets everything that I would expect of a tactical flashlight; namely, instant access to both turbo and strobe modes via convenient tails switches.You’ll notice that I listed the UI as both a pro and con.

I’m torn on that. On one hand, it’s flexible enough that you can get to whatever mode you want to by 2 or 3 different button press combinations. And that can be a lot to memorize, but it also means that you can use it however you feel natural doing so. Additionally, if you don’t care about all of the different possible button combinations, you can simply think of the UI as being “tail switches for instant turbo and strobe; side-switch for instant access to low mode or the last used mode”.

When you think of it like that, it’s not nearly as daunting.I feel like the Brinyte PT18pro is a great flashlight that lives up to its tactical claim. It comes as a full kit and has plenty of features. If you’re looking for a tactical light, the Brinyte PT18pro Oathkeeper would be an excellent option!

Brinyte PT18pro for sale

Discontinued.. Instead, check out our list with the Best Tactical Flashlights

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