Haikelite MT03 TA Devourer

Haikelite MT03 TA Devourer review (Upgraded: 21,000 lumens version)

Introduction:

Before you go and order this light, you need to know that there are more versions of the exact light, so let me explain shortly the differences.

Haikelite has 3 flashlights that are named HaikeLite MT03! So please beware that the one I review is the most powerful one of the 3, being the 21,000 Lumen version. The first one is the Haikelite MT03 II Devourer XHP70 2SPS 8760 Lumens. Which this review is not about.
The second one is the HaikeLite MT03 II Devourer XHP70.2 2sps New Driver 12,000 Lumens.. Which this review is also not about.
This review is about the HaikeLite MT03 TA Devourer XHP70.2 P2 21000 Lumens. And to my understanding: TA stands for Texas Ace, a BLF member who designed the driver for maximum power.

Brand/model	Haikelite MT03 TA Devourer
LED	3* Cree XHP70.2
Lumens	21,000 lm
Beam intensity	N/A
Battery config.	2/4*18650
Material	Aluminum
Modes	Many, runs NarsilM
Blinkies	Many, runs NarsilM
Reflector	Orange peel
Waterproof	IPX8
Review date	2018

What you’ll get:

• Haikelight MT03 TA flashlight
• Carton box
• Manual printed on normal paper
• Spare O-ring
• Tripod mount screw
• Lanyard

I consider Haikelite a flashlight manufacturer with potential. They are making some very interesting flashlights, and this being one of the latest editions. The packaging leaves much to be desired. The carton box is rather weak, but fortunately, shipment wasn’t a problem with the extra protection around the box.

Inside the box, you’ll find the flashlight, a few spare o-rings, a tripod mount screw ring for lanyard attachment, the lanyard and a printed manual on normal paper. If they hadn’t added this paper manual, I would have been more impressed. The paper kind of lowered the “quality feel” of the whole package. So Haikelite, if you read this.. make sure you add a manual on quality paper, not just printer paper.

Handling of the light

Being a soda can sized flashlight, it almost seems to have an unnatural balance between body and head, but in person this isn’t actually the case. If you want to use the lanyard, you could either attach the tripod mount screw first or attach it to the side of head, where they left a small hole for the attachment.

Tailstand?

• Yes, it can! And it’s very stable doing so.

Build Quality and Anodizing 

This is actually my very first “white” flashlight, but the build quality seems to be superb. The only gripe I have is the tailcap. It has 2 metal pins that slide into the bottom side of the body, 1 being thicker than the other. The spring assembly inside the tailcap spins freely and therefore makes it a little tricky to attach it to the body. But you just need a little trick to do this. The body is bored for 18650 batteries, so no separate battery carrier is necessary.

TIP: When attaching the tailcap, keep the body with the widest hole down. The springs inside the tailcap are the heaviest part, and will always be on the bottom, right where the thickest piston pin is located! See the picture in the middle.

Threads and O-rings

The threads came lubed on both sides of the body. The threads themselves are done excellently. No problems there at all. I was however a little surprised with the double O-ring. Which only helps with its waterproofness.. if that is even a word. The package also contained another set of O-rings in case you want to replace them.

The front lens element has a green o-ring while the body uses orange o-rings.

LED, Lens Bezel and Reflector

The LEDs being used are 3 pieces of CREE XHP70.2 for max power. There are more powerful flashlights out there, but this will definitely do the job.

The reflector is made of aluminum and has an Orange Peel coating. The Lens is clear and has some kind of coating, maybe UV/AR coating?

The bezel is stainless steel which gives it a nicer look!

Dimensions:

Flashlight manufacturers mainly show dimensions in millimeters.

• Length HaikeLite MT03 TA: 132 mm
• MT03 head diameter: 72 mm 
• MT03 Width reflectors: 3*25 mm 
• Width body : 50 mm
• Lens Diameter 68 mm
• Lens thickness 2 mm

Weight:

• Weight Haikelight MT03 TA empty: 1290 gr / 2.84 lb.

Size compared to the BLF Q8, Convoy C8, BLF A6 and a Samsung 30Q battery.

User Interface:

The Haikelite MT03 uses Tom E’s open source NarsilM v1.3 firmware, which is basically the same as the BLF Q8. For more information read the NarsilM thread at BLF.

See the explanation of CPF/ BLF member Walkintothelight how to change mode sets. This makes more sense than just reading the info.

From off:

• Press and Hold: start ramping up from Low to High
• Single click: last memorized output
• Double click: Max output (another double click in Max will enter Strobe mode)
• Triple click: Battery check mode. (read explanation below)
• 4x click: Lock-out mode

The firmware is used so you can have the lowest output possible. If you start ramping and release the button the light will either flash 1 or 2 times. 1 time indicates the use of only the 7135 and 2 times is FET + 7135.

Backlight:

Behind the translucent switch cover, you can see a small LED built-in. It is lit when the light is turned off by default.

If you want to turn this backlight off (temporarily) simply press and hold the button so it starts ramping and quickly release and click again. This will turn the backlight off, but its only temporary. Next time you use the flashlight, it will be back on again.

In programming mode, you would be able to turn it off completely, but you have to follow the directions to do so.

• It`s a useful locator!

Battery Check mode: The battery check can be entered by a triple click from Off. The light will start blinking. The first blinks before the pause will indicate the Voltage. and after the short pause will indicate the decimal Voltage.
So if the light blinks: 4 times (pause) 1 time. It means 4.1 Volts
And if the light blinks: 3 times (pause) 7 times. It means 3.7 Volts.

Strobe:

You can enter Strobe mode (when enabled) by double-clicking when in Max output.

Lock-out mode:

You can enter this mode by clicking 4 times when the light is off. And again 4 times to go return to normal operation. My advice is to lock out by twisting the body from the head to break the electric contact if you store the light for a longer period of time. Using the backlight will run down the batteries in about 30 days.

Programming mode:

Enter by pressing the switch for 8 seconds when in ramping mode. Or 3.2 seconds when in a mode group.

Once you are in programming mode, you will have 2 sets of blinkies every time you can enter a setting. Its a very fast 2-flashes, preceded by a number of slower flashes. Please look at the manual for all the options. Please note that they differ if you are in Ramping mode or in Group mode!

PWM

I couldn’t detect any!

Batteries:

The MT03 TA Devourer has added a plastic washer to the protruding positive nipples. (If you understand what I mean). This makes it impossible to use Flat top batteries. Of course, you can get around that by using magnets, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that other than maybe during testing. When a magnet moves around it can make a short.

Using protected batteries can let the light not reach Turbo mode. My Panasonic NCR18650B protected batteries had their protection tripped trying to go into Turbo! Turbo mode is pulling a lot of amps, so make sure you have High Drain Button Top Batteries.

TIP: You can either use 2 or 4 batteries!

Performance:

Measured with only 2 Panasonic NCR18650B batteries (protected)

• Lowest mode: 0.02A
• Highest mode: 4.5A
• Turbo mode: doesnt work (protection probably tripped)

Measured with only 2 Samsung Q30 batteries (unprotected) using Solid copper wires.

• Lowest mode: 0.02A
• Higest mode: 6.4A
• Turbo mode: 16.4A

In Turbo mode, you get a looooot of Amps, and Lumens. But the Amps drop very fast.. So only at startup you’ll draw soo many Amps.  It also depends on the cells that you use etc.

Beamshots

I’ve done beamshots with multiple lights, and these are the ones with multi-cell multi emitters. The place I did these beamshots was good enough for throwers, but for flooders like these, it was a little difficult to really show the difference.  The BLF Q8 should be around 5000 lumens, the Haikelite MT03 should be 21000 lumens according to specs. In-person the Haikelite is really powerful. It lits up almost an entire soccer field. Passing the 20,000 lumens it’s not the brightest LED flashlight, but more powerful than 99% of the flashlights currently available.

Overall conclusion of the HaikeLite MT03 TA Devourer

Pros:

1. Very bright flashlight popping 21,000 lumens (albeit for a short time)
2. Simple ramping UI
3. One of the cheapest powerhouses at the time of review, August 2018, price just above the $100, maybe below $100 with discount.
4. White anodizing :–)
5. Double O-rings for better waterproofness

Cons

1. Tailcap assembly makes it a little difficult to attach it to the body
2. Paper manual printed on normal printer paper.

Very Good: 5 stars ☆☆☆☆☆

So far so good. I have only tested it for functionality and quality, and it’s come out very very positive. I must say that I don’t have it long enough to say something about the long-time use. If I think I need to give it fewer stars, I will do it. Currently, this is one of the brightest flashlights I have.

Disclaimer: The flashlight was provided by Banggood for review. I do my best to be as unbiased as possible, always!