Imalent BL70

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Imalent BL70 Specifications & measurements

Brand & Model	Imalent BL70
Flashlight category	EDC flashlight / Worklight / Lumen Moster
Battery config.	1*18650 (internal, non-removable)
Switch type	Rear and side
Dimensions:
Length	94 mm
Body diameter	28 mm
Weight with battery	145 g
LED & Beam
LED type	CREE XHP70.2 HI LED
High CRI	No
Focusable beam	No
Features
Onboard charging	USB-C
Power bank	No
Specifications and measurements
Specified output	6,000 lm
Measured output (30sec)	4,906 lm
Max. measured output	5,144 lm
Specified beam distance	347 m
Measured beam distance (30sec)	256 m
Specified beam intensity	30,200 cd
Measured beam intensity (30sec)	16,400 cd
Overall rating	4.5 stars
Review publication date	April 2025

IMALENT, a China-based company founded in 2012, has established itself as a prominent player in the flashlight industry and is known for its innovative and high-performance LED flashlights, particularly their ultra-bright MS series.

Over the past decade, Imalent has gained widespread recognition and popularity in the flashlight industry with products known for cutting-edge innovations, including ultra-long beam projection, ultra-high lumen output, advanced cooling systems, OLED displays, high-drain rechargeable batteries, and a variety of fast charging methods.

Today’s review, the Imalent BL70 appears to be an upgrade from the previous version, the BL50, with more output, more candela and longer runtimes – all sounds good so far right? Well, I have been looking forward to the Imalent BL70 since I first heard of its release. It is an interesting looking light that offers up to 6000 lumens from one small, handheld flashlight? Yes please, sign me up! 

Lockout was in action when the BL70 arrived – so to unlock, just click the either the top button or the rear power button four times rather quickly and you are good to shine! Charge this baby up and let’s get into the review!

What’s in the package

Our BL70 arrives in a classy, all black sleeve over a folding box with a glossy, full-color image of the BL70 on the top. Slide out the magnetic-closure lid and flip open to reveal the Imalent goodness. A foam cutout holds the flashlight snuggly and there is a small cardboard box next to the foam with all of the included accessories inside. Nice presentation.

Here’s what all I found in mine: 

• Imalent BL70
• 3000mAh 18650 Li-ion Battery
• USB-C to USB-C Charging Cable
• Lanyard
• Spare O-rings
• Manual

The Imalent BL70 “in the hand” feels small, but stout. Its entire body is a round tube with a flat-top on it. The top half is made from Aerospace-grade aluminum alloy. It actually feels great in the hand, but can be a little strange to operate depending on how you hold/ carry it. 

There are two e-switch power buttons used for the operation of the Imalent BL70. There is one on the flat-top portion of the host and one at the rear. The overall shape of the BL70 and its dual-button configuration makes it a little tough to reach either switch during operation. (More on operation in the UI section of the review below). It is obviously doable and so far hasn’t taken away from the illuminating experience, just something to mention.

The overall size of the BL70 isn’t much larger than a 21700 battery but it still packs quite a punch! It can easily fit in any pocket, but carry is a little awkward with there not being a pocket clip. There is a lanyard but I have not installed it for this one. As I think about it and now looking at it, I am not exactly sure where I’d put the included lanyard if I did want to install it.

There are a couple holes in the body at the rear of the light, perhaps that’s the lanyard spot. Anyway, a pocket clip would be nice, but the size/ shape of this light doesn’t really work well for one anyway so I get it. For actual carry, I prefer to drop it in a front pocket (but it does want to ride side-ways) when I am out and about and generally don’t mind or notice. You are going to want to lock-it-out to be safe for sure.

The BL70 will tailstand easily with the large flat ends and has a magnet in the tail-end of the flashlight that can easily hold its weight at any angle. If you set it down, it might try to roll away from you if the angle is steep enough, unless you of course set it on the flat-side.

It is almost round, like I say, with that flat-top that runs the length of the flashlight. This flat area is where the OLED screen, top power switch and USB-C charging port is located. Imalent has put together quite a good design, with a good use of space atop the flashlight for all these features.

The OLED screen on top is very easy to read/ see. OLED, which stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode, is a type of display technology that uses a thin film of organic material that glows when an electric current is applied.

Unlike traditional LCDs, OLED screens don’t need a backlight because each pixel produces its own light, resulting in high contrast, vibrant colors, and fast response times. There are no vibrant colors here but that screen on the BL70 is super easy to read!

The bottom half of the host (or maybe slightly less), is the rounded portion and it feels like leather with a slight texture to it. It has a really nice, premium feel to it. The rest of the body is again, made from Aerospace-grade aluminum alloy and wraps around the entire body at both ends.

For daily carry, or general lighting needs, the Imalent BL70 will give you plenty of lighting options from a moonlight mode all the way up to super-duper bright. There are no threads to speak of with regard to opening a battery compartment.

The included 18650 battery is non-accessible, therefore non-removable. There are mixed feelings in the flashlight world about proprietary batteries and charger systems. Not being able to remove the battery is frowned upon, mainly because what happens when that battery finally dies? This may help some:

Imalent’s Warranty Policy:

1. Free Repair/Replacement within 15 Days after Receipt

2. IMALENT flashlight head has a 2-year warranty, and the flashlight battery has a 1-year warranty. The non-removable flashlights have a 2-year warranty.

3. Lifetime Limited Maintenance: after the 24 months free repair period, IMALENT will repair it. The repairing fee will be charged on an actual cost basis, no labor cost charged;

Warranty above valid UNLESS your light is….

1. Broken down, reconstructed and/or modified by unauthorized parties.
2. Damaged through improper use.
3. Damaged by leakage of batteries.

For the latest information on IMALENT products and services, please contact the official online store customer service or email [email protected]. If there is any conflict of information, please visit www.imalent.com.

This thing SHINES! Blasting a CREE XHP70.2 HI LED, and with plenty of output options (more on that in the UI section below). The XHP70.2 LED, built on Cree LED’s latest high-power LED technology, improves the lumen density, voltage characteristics, reliability and optical performance of the XHP70 LED in the same 7.0 mm x 7.0 mm footprint.

Our XHP70.2 is quoted at 5700-6700 K and measured right around 5500K on average in all modes. As mentioned previously, the BL70 is quite a floody, flood of bright white light with maybe the ever-so-slightest green tint to my eyes.

Measuring the Kelvin measurements, they are all just above the curve. A positive DUV “above” the curve, exhibits more of a green tint, whereas a negative DUV indicates that the source is “below” the Planckian locus (blackbody curve, aka BBL), potentially giving a red/ blue tint. 

The bezel is non-existent in this form/ factor and isn’t at all crenulated in any way. Covered with glass, there is a small, smooth reflector with a giant hole in the middle (for our giant XHP70 LED). There isn’t a lot of reflector surface area as it’s pretty shallow, but that’s what makes it flood like crazy.

The Red LED sits just above the reflector/ XHP70 and shines a nice and pretty red color. Full-color and decently bright considering that most red LEDs are not usually. This red is bright enough to see your path in front of you walking in the darkness.

This reflector creates a smooth beam of flood light with a big hotspot that fades into the rest of the beam pretty evenly, the true quality of a floody light. As mentioned previously, a slightly-slight green tint to my eyes but a ton of light coming out of the business end.

Still plenty of smooth flood at lower levels that can then utilize battery for better runtimes. The 6 modes are spaced well so you don’t need to use turbo all the time…or so I’m told lol.

More details: 

• LED Type: CREE XHP70.2 HI LED
• High CRI: No
• Focusable beam: No

Spectral measurements: 

Measurements were taken using an Opple Light Master IV to measure the flashlight beam in complete darkness at 10 meters away using the included fully charged battery.

Mode:	CCT:	CRI Ra:	duv
Turbo	5488 K	–	0.0045
High	5505 K	–	0.0033
Middle 2	5576 K	–	0.0084
Middle 1	5087 K	–	0.0119

Dimensions: 

Imalent BL70	Millimeters	Inches
Length	94 mm	3.7 in
Body thickness	35 mm	1.4 in
Body diameter	28 mm	1.1 in

Dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter and the nearest tenth of an Inch.

Weight: 

Imalent BL70	Weight in grams	Weight in oz
With battery	145 g	5 oz

Weight is rounded to the nearest gram and tenth of an Oz.

Flashlight size comparison with its competition:

Group 1: Imalent BL70, Vastlite Sima, Loopgear SK05 Pro, Emisar D1K (SFN60), Sofirn IF23 Pro

The Imalent BL70 was shipped in its locked-out position. After using and carrying this light for a bit, I am glad to see and use this lockout mode on the daily. It’s easily activated by pressing either of the two power switches on board quickly four times.

That’s right there are two electric-switch power buttons, one on the top and one at the rear of the flashlight. The upper switch will always come on in the low mode with a single click. I guess you could say this is your shortcut to Moonlight.

If you were to double-tap this upper power switch at any time the red LED will shine. I say anytime because you could be in any mode and double tap the top switch and the red LED will come on while still in your current white-light mode.

So you get red LED and white LED fun at the same time! Essentially, the upper switch is there to control the red LED and also gives instant access to Moonlight.

The rear e-switch would be the main method of activation for this lumen blaster and it has a very nice, crisp, tactile feel when clicking. Press it once to turn on the BL70 and it will be in the last used mode – aka mode memory!

Also, you can double tap anytime from anywhere and you will get instant, crazy bright, Turbo. Press and hold this rear switch to change modes quite a few modes as follows: Moonlight, Low, Middle low, Middle I, Middle II, High and turbo.

I will say the mode changing is a little bit slow, but not a deal breaker. Especially since you have instant access to Moonlight or Turbo and that’s usually what you’re hunting for if and when you are in a hurry. 

Available modes: 

• Turbo, High, Middle II, Middle I, Middle Low, Moonlight, Red light

Available blinky modes:

• Strobe, Red strobe

From OFF: (top switch only)

• Single click: on in low
• Double click: on in red mode
• 4 fast clicks: lock/ unlock 

From OFF: (main rear switch only)

• Single click: on in last used mode
• Double click: instant turbo
• (Double click again while in turbo: strobe)
• 3 fast clicks: battery check OLED
• 4 fast clicks: lock/ unlock 

From ON: (main rear switch) 

• Press and hold: changes modes
• 1 click: off
• Double click: turbo 
• (Double click again while in turbo: strobe)

From ON: (top switch only) 

• 1 click: moonlight mode
• Double click: red LED mode
• (double click again): red strobe

Mode memory:

• Yes, last used mode if turned on at rear

Shortcuts:

• To Moonlight: single press top switch
• To Turbo: double tap either switch

Strobe/blinkies

• Strobe
•  Red strobe

Lock-out mode: 

• 4 quick clicks on either switch (top or rear)

PWM

• None noticed – see spectral “flicker” measurements below

Additional/summary info on the UI: 

• Red strobe is more of a red flash. (not a quick flash)

The Imalent BL70 comes with an internal, non-removable, high-capacity, 3000mAh, 18650 lithium-ion battery…whatta mouthful! This is all the specific info I could find in my research of the flashlight and I was surprised that it wasn’t a 21700 cell.

The size of this flashlight would sure make you think that. We’ll just have to see how it really performs (and perhaps try and get inside this thing myself! – don’t try this at home – will void warranty!)

So my recharging tests after all the runtime tests brought on an average charge time of 1 hour and 12 mins. It seemed all charges (and there were a lot!) were between 1hr 10 mins and 1hr 15mins and were generally close to these charging numbers – 4.73v / 2.69a / 12.57w using the same (18w total) charger I always use for all reviews.

Also, the OLED indicator will let you know when the battery gets low and even says it’s HOT! 

Battery level indicator:

Click the rear switch 3-times quickly and the battery level will show on the OLED screen. There is an outline of a battery with bars inside indicating battery level. Below the image and bars is the battery voltage in number form (Example: “3.83 V”)

Batteries	Details
Compatible batteries	Internal, non-removable 18650 battery
Incompatible batteries	all others (internal, non-removable battery)
Low voltage protection/warning	OLED screen notification
Onboard Charging:
Onboard charging	USB-C
Power bank functionality	No
USB-C to USB-C charging	Yes
Max power of USB charger (port)	18 watts
Max power measured	12.57 watts / 4.73v / 2.69a
Final battery voltage (charged)	4.2V
Avg. onboard charge time	1h 10min

Lumen measurements

How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards: The ANSI FL1 standards specify that output in lumens should be measured 30 seconds after turning on, as this is the standardized time for measuring brightness according to the industry standard. This is why we focus on this part in our measurements. The ANSI FL1 standards require an ambient temperature of 22 ± 3°C. We record the ambient the ambient temperature to identify potential reasons for any observed discrepancies.

Lumen measurements were taken using my 50cm homemade integrating sphere (IS) and a REED R8100SD Data Logging Light Meter (with a measurement range up to 100,000 Lux). The IS has been calibrated using a 1lumen.com calibrated S2+ as a comparable reference source and the included, non-removable, fully charged, 3000mAh, 18650 lithium-ion battery.

Mode	Specified output	Turn on	30 sec.	10 min.
Moon	10 lm	18 lm	18 lm	18 lm
Middle Low	200 lm	198 lm	197 lm	197 lm
Middle 1	600 lm	606 lm	605 lm	601 lm
Middle 2	1400 lm	1,171 lm	1,167 lm	1,150 lm
High	3000~1400lm	3,168 lm	3,135 lm	1,120 lm
Turbo	6,000 lm	5,144 lm	4,906 lm	1,129 lm

*Turn-on and 30 second measurements are done manually, while the 10-minutes readings comes from the runtime graph. This is our standard approach, though some reviewers may choose a different approach.

Ambient temperature during testing:

• 20.5 °C

Battery Life: Runtime graphs

How Runtimes are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About ANSI FL1 runtime standards: The runtime is measured until the light drops to 10% of its initial output (30 seconds after turning on). This does not mean that the flashlight is not usable anymore. The last column shows how long the light actually works till it shuts off. If there is a + symbol, it means that the test was stopped at that particular point, but the light was actually still running. This happens on certain occasions, with certain drivers, firmware, or batteries.

Runtimes were measured using the REED R8100SD Data Logging Light Meter (with a measurement range up to 100,000 Lux) and the included, non-removable, fully charged, 3000mAh, 18650 lithium-ion battery.

Mode	Specified runtime	Runtime (ANSI FL1)	Time till shut off*
Moon	53h 00min	58h 16min	58h 16min
Middle Low	8h 20min	8h 13min	8h 13min
Middle 1	2h 35min	2h 39min	2h 39min
Middle 2	1h 18min	1hr 19min	1h 19min
High	1h 10min	1h 09min	1h 09min
Turbo	1h 06min	1h 7min	1h 07min

*The last column reflects the total runtime until the light turns off. A “+” symbol indicates that the test was stopped at that point, but the light continued to run. This typically occurs with certain drivers, firmware, or battery types.

Imalent was pretty spot on with runtimes. All modes came within minutes of the specified times given for ANSI measurements. Nice work Imalent.

Peak beam intensity and beam distance measurements

About Peak beam intensity: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About peak beam intensity The calculated value of distance in meters at which the flashlight produces a light intensity of 0.25 lux. (0.25 lux is about the brightness of a full moon shining on an object). This means that the intensity has decreased so much, it becomes difficult to see darker objects, or objects that don’t reflect light. The columns ‘Meters’ and ‘Yards’ use rounded numbers.

Throw measurements were taken outdoors in complete darkness at 10 meters using the Opple Light Master IV for accurate lux readings, converted to candela. All measurements were taken at 30 seconds for most accurate measurements in accordance with ANSI measurement ratings.

Mode	Specified intensity	Specified beam distance	Candela measured	Meters	Yards
Moon	n/a	n/a	4 cd	4 m	4 yd
Middle Low	n/a	n/a	520 cd	46 m	50 yd
Middle 1	n/a	n/a	1,640 cd	81 m	89 yd
Middle 2	n/a	n/a	3,170 cd	113 m	124 yd
High	n/a	n/a	8,810	188 m	206 yd
Turbo	30,200 cd	347 m	16,400 cd	256 m	264 yd

Ambient temperature during testing:

•  13°C 

I could only find one reference to any specified output distances with our BL70 and it was for Turbo. Sadly, I only measured it to be just over half of the specified candela. I was a bit disappointed as the numbers suggested quite a throwy beam distance, but this is really a flood monster.

I tested this at least a half-dozen times after fresh re-charges in hopes of better results and they were all very close. So I know it wasn’t a fluke. I really wanted it to throw more, but maybe that’s only because they told me it would! But FLOOD it does!

Beamshots were taken using a Canon EOS 4000D. Settings as follows:

• ISO 1600, 1/4sec., f/10, WB – “AWB ambience priority”
• Distance to fence is 28m

Beamshots of the following flashlights compared:

• Imalent BL70
• Vastlite Sima
• Loopgear SK05 Pro
• Emisar D1K (SFN60)
• Sofirn IF23 Pro

Please note that the following beamshots are mainly intended to showcase the beam pattern and beam quality, rather than overall performance. These images are typically taken directly after activation, and in different seasons or weather conditions, and therefore do not fully represent its overall performance. In few cases the camera settings are even different and therefore not meant for performance comparisons. For accurate performance metrics, such as output, beam distance, and runtimes, you need to look at the performance section of this review.

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

Buy your Imalent BL70 here

1lumen selects and reviews products personally. We may earn affiliate commissions through our links, which help support our testing.