Lumintop AD01

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I confess, I was quite excited when I found out the Lumintop AD01 supported a D-cell battery. Not really for any rational reason, but for many years I’ve always thought it would be super cool to have a compact high performing light using this power source for long runtimes, due to the massive capacity a D-cell has.

Also in recent years many other flashlight makers have done extraordinary things with high output from single cell lights. Although glancing over the specs, the claimed 165 lumens on Turbo from a D-cell isn’t Earth shattering. But nonetheless my interest was highly piqued.

The fact the AD01 also supports Li-ion and multi AA’s makes it somewhat unique in the marketplace considering it looks small and claims over 100,000 cd of throw too.

Package quality.

The AD01 comes in a lovely looking branded brown box with additional sleeve and line drawing of the torch on the front. Inside it is well packed in foam recesses. The lens has a disposable plastic cover protecting it.

In the box you get:

• Instruction manual
• 2 x spare O-rings
• Lanyard
• 3 x AA adapter
• 18650 adapter (inside the torch body)
• Nylon sleeve to be used with the 18650 and 3AA adapters (inside the torch body)

The AD01 is a compact thrower, compact in it’ll fit in your coat pocket, but it is quite chunky for an 18650 light and has some heft to it.

The switch is small, but easy to use with a nice feel and has the blue bunny that illuminates in stand-by mode, once you’ve used the light once after inserting the battery.

There is no pocket clip provision on the AD01, although there is a lanyard hole on the tailcap. The AD01 also has the opposite of an anti-roll design. I think I’d label it as being an active-roll design. On the head on the opposite side to the switch the shape is highly rounded, giving a profile of more of an oval. Placing the light down instantly results in it rolling over. And even on a level surface you can find the AD01 rolling towards a drop that really shouldn’t have been an issue or a consideration.

The coarse knurling looks great and very chunky in its appearance and is likely good for grip in the winter when wearing gloves, but is rough on your hand otherwise and isn’t the nicest thing to hold. But this light is clearly designed for use outside. The specialised beam profile means you won’t be having this as a bedside light or for reading a book.

The overall fit and finish of the AD01 is of a high standard, the anodising has that lovely satin look and feel to it. The head and body appear to be a single machined piece of aluminium. The chunky tailcap has slop free square cut threads and there is a nice stainless crenellated bezel.

The crenellations on the bezel do have some sharper parts on the slopes of the crenellations, not enough to cause a serious issue, but enough that you think it would have been nice if they were more rounded.

Now we come to the battery choices. Pre-installed is the 18650 adapter. It is actually two parts, an outer sleeve that you need to re-use with the AA adapter and an insert with an 18650 sized hole in the top.

There are a few issues here; Firstly these adapters rattle, even with an 18650 battery fitted. Which is frankly quite annoying. Secondly, the 18650 requirement is very odd. It is recommended by Lumintop to only use a non-protected max 67mm long 18650. Which is fine, but the battery must also be a button top. A non-protected button top 18650 has to be about the rarest configuration you can get. Luckily I do have some Samsung 30Q button tops, but I’m guessing a lot of people will only have flat top batteries or protected batteries that may be too long.

Looking at the positive terminal inside the AD01, there appears to be no reason why it couldn’t have been designed to cater for flat top batteries too. But as it is, a button top is a must for the light to work.

I can see why they also suggest a max of 67mm, even with the 30Q it requires you to precisely align the threads to get the tail cap to screw on. And having used the light a bit with a number of battery changes, I can see that the positive terminal is now scored where it has pressed against the battery terminal.

I also find it very odd that the AD01 does not support a 26650 battery. Given the large diameter of the body it would seem to be a more sensible option than an 18650. Nor will the adapter or body length support a 21700 cell. These design choices would seem to be rather short sighted in my opinion.

The included 3AA adapter is of a generic variety you find from many large online sellers, i.e. while likely sufficient, it is rather cheap and nasty. In order to use it, you must first insert your chosen AA batteries, then slide the outer spacer sleeve over the adapter. This is a very tight fit and requires quite a bit of force to slide over or remove. If you don’t use this sleeve, the 3AA adapter is far too small and makes the AD01 sound like a maraca. This sleeve also covers the directional arrow on the adapter, so you have to be very careful not to insert the assembly the wrong way round. I see no mention of reverse polarity protection from Lumintop.

The 3AA adapter plus insert is also a snug fit into the body of the AD01 and will require you to give the torch a bit of shake in order to extract them once the batteries are flat.

The best fitment is actually the D-cell, which may be the key interest for many with the AD01, although there are issues here with using a D-cell, which I’ll get to in due course.

Lastly, and not a physical issue with the AD01. The Lumintop product page on their website seems to claim many contradictory facts and statistics about the light. Which makes it somewhat harder to understand what you are actually buying. I know typos or mistakes can happen easily when entering data onto a website, but this is their core business and there is no excuse for getting your own product details wrong.

The AD01 uses the OSRAM KW CULPM1.TG LED. Now I do confess I find Osram’s naming practices most baffling, however I believe this is the larger of the ‘white flat’ LEDs they offer, with the larger dye area and the larger pad.

I’m a big fan of this range of LED emitters, they offer lots of throw and good outputs and suit lots of hosts including small ones.

This is ideal for a compact thrower like the AD01, which utilises a 35mm large single TIR optic. I’m a real fan of TIR optics too, sadly Lumintop doesn’t mention what degrees the optic is that they are using, although it does appear to be very similar to the one fitted to the Noctigon DM11.

The AD01 is equipped with what Lumintop calls a “strike bezel’. It has very mild crenellations and isn’t what I’d use to strike anything with. I do like a crenellated bezel however, as you can easily see if you have left the light on, should you place it head down. Given the AD01’s tendency to roll away from you if you place it on its side, this is a very good thing in my opinion.

Being as the Osram emitter is a small high intensity LED, combined with the TIR optic, you’d expect the AD01 to have a laser like beam with masses of throw. And it doesn’t disappoint in this regard. This setup is designed to illuminate things a long way away. And it does so very well, although being such a laser like beam, it is limited to how much area it can illuminate.

And while it doesn’t have a traditional spill beam, there is still enough light emitted close by to enable you to see the ground directly in front of you with ease, but not so that it detracts from the down range light penetration.

Overall the beam is a lot more versatile than you’d give it credit for. But there is no denying this is very much a one purpose type of light, with a beam highly focused for long range use.

Opple Light Meter readings (2.5m):

Medium output mode:

• CCT: 5374K
• CRI Ra: 62.2

Dimensions: 

	Millimetres	Inches
Length	116mm	4.56 in
Head diameter	42mm	1.65 in
Body diameter	39mm	1.53 in

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

Weight: 

Lumintop AD01	Weight in grams	Weight in oz
Without battery:	210g	7.41 oz

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

Flashlight size comparison with its competition:

Group 1: Astrolux EA01, Lumintop AD01

Group 2: Noctigon DM11, Lumintop AD01

Group 3: Noctigon KR1, Lumintop AD01

Group 4 Great EDC flashlights: Noctigon KR1, Noctigon DM11, Astrolux EA01, Lumintop AD01

Available modes: 

• 5

Available blinky modes:

• SOS/Strobe/Beacon

From OFF:

• Press and hold: Moonlight
• Single click:  On 
• 5 fast clicks: Lock/unlock
• 7 fast clicks: Toggle button backlight

From ON:

• Press and hold: Off
• 1 click:  Advance mode
• Double click: Turbo

Mode memory:

•  Sadly yes

Shortcuts:

• To Low: Not to low, only to Moonlight
• To Turbo: Only when on
• To Strobe: No

Low voltage warning:

• Sort of, the manual says it will lower the output, not turn the light off

Strobe/blinkies

• Only accessible when using Moonlight via a double click

Lock-out mode: 

• Yes, physical via tailcap or electronic
• 5 fast clicks: Lock/unlock

PWM

• None that I can detect

Additional/summary info on the UI: 

While the UI works and is usable, I can’t say I’m a fan. I don’t know why, but I find it so unintuitive to have to do a long click to turn the light off. Almost every time, despite knowing what I need to do, I end up advancing the mode when trying to turn the light off!

I also completely dislike the fact it has mode memory that you can’t turn off. It is a real pet hate of mine, I completely detest not knowing what mode the light will be in when I turn it on. You can sort of get around this by starting in moonlight and then advancing through the modes, but it just feels like a lot of concentration just to perform a simple task. As moonlight can be accessed from off and allow you to advance to the next level, it would make much more sense to have the light default to High when you turn it on. As it would then give the user instant access to either end of the output spectrum, negating the need for a mode memory altogether. The AD01 has a specialised thrower beam, you really won’t be using this kind of light for close up reading, it’ll be for seeing objects over large distances.

It is also somewhat strange that the blinky modes are only accessible from moonlight, something you’d probably forget unless you use them frequently. It does keep them well hidden, but there is no point in having a strobe if you have to click and hold to enter moonlight first, just to then have the option to access the strobe function. The SOS and beacon modes may have uses, so it is good they are there, it is, as said, just rather odd in how you get to them.

On the plus side, I like that there are only 3 main outputs and scrolling through them is quick and easy. Quick access to turbo is also good, although this feature is only available with the light on, you can’t go to turbo from off, which again is another very strange design choice. I do struggle to fathom the logic and decisions that have been made at the design stage of user interfaces like this. It feels like nobody has reviewed the design or tested the final product before putting it into production.

For many the multi chemistry and battery choice is going to be the big appeal here with the AD01.

And I confess, I was drawn to it on the basis of it using a D-cell. I’ve often dreamt of a 1D Maglite that could take 3AA’s, and the AD01 is quite close to that vision.

The D cell fits very well in the body of the AD01. But as you’ll see below, the performance isn’t quite what I was hoping for or expecting.

The 3AA holder is a generic holder, so should accept pretty much any regular alkaline or NiMh AA battery. Personally I’d be adverse to using alkaline AA’s unless in an emergency as they are so prone to leakage. The same would be true for a D cell in this regard.

Lumintop does warn against using 14500 Li-ion batteries, as 3 of these in series configuration in the 3AA holder would massively exceed the voltage ratings for the light and likely fry the electronics. 3 x NiMh or alkaline AA’s in Series gives a static voltage output quite similar to that of a single Li-ion battery.

As mentioned above, the AD01 does not support flat top batteries, but does recommend a short unprotected 18650. You could probably get away with using a small rare Earth magnet on a flat top cell, but a button top is going to be the best choice.

The supplied holder does limit you to only using 18650s. Personally I think this light is screaming out for a 26650, although I accept button top 26650’s are even rarer than unprotected 18650 button tops. I’m inclined to either enlarge the supplied holder or create a second insert to allow the use of a 26650 with the AD01.

I mentioned earlier that the 18650 rattles. I have since found if you use the holder the wrong way round that it cures the rattling problem, although the holder does make some horrible noises as you insert it or remove it from the AD01’s body when it is the wrong way round.

The AD01 does not support any on board charging, which is understandable given the wide array of batteries it supports.

Despite owning a large number of D-cell Maglites, I find I don’t actually really have any D-cells these days. All of the Maglites either run on NiMh AA adapters or Li-ion. Rummaging about in the battery box I did find an unused Duracell Procell and a new in package Powerplus D-cell. The Powerplus is actually Zinc Chloride, not alkaline. On the Digital Multimeter the Procell shows 1.53v and the Powerplus 1.52v, below is the performance for both of these D-cells. Both which are miles from the claimed figures.

Lumen measurements (for each mode)

1 x D-cell (Powerplus @ 1.52v):

Mode	Amps at start	Specs	Lumens @turn on	Lumens @30 sec	Lumens @10 minutes
Moon	–	1	< 1	< 1	< 1
Low	–	10	9	8	–
Med	–	50	40	40	–
High	–	100	72	37	–
Turbo	–	165	88	7 (seven!)	–

1 x D-cell (Duracell Procell @ 1.53v):

Mode	Amps at start	Specs	Lumens @turn on	Lumens @30 sec	Lumens @10 minutes
Moon	–	1	< 1	< 1	< 1
Low	–	10	7	7	7
Med	–	50	34	33	–
High	–	100	67	36	36
Turbo	–	165 lm	99 lm	76 lm	–

Just to see if it was a voltage related issue, I have a couple of 1.5v Li-ion AA batteries that I fitted to a 2AA parallel D cell adapter, i.e. a D cell made out of 2 AA size batteries. As you can see performance did improve quite a bit over the D cells, although performance is still pretty low considering what many 1AA lights can produce these days in the lumen department. This setup will give hugely reduced runtimes and isn’t remotely recommended as a means of using the AD01.

2 x AmpTorrent 1.5v AA in parallel (D-cell adapter):

Mode	Amps at start	Specs	Lumens @turn on	Lumens @30 sec	Lumens @10 minutes
Moon	–	1	< 1	< 1	< 1
Low	–	10	7	7	–
Med	–	50	38	38	–
High	–	100	68	66	–
Turbo	–	165	126 lm	141 lm	–

3 x AA (NiMh):

Mode	Amps at start	Specs	Lumens @turn on	Lumens @30 sec	Lumens @10 minutes
Moon	<0.009	1	< 1	< 1	< 1
Low	0.08	40	29	29	29
Med	1.26	400	288	285	–
High	2.25	750	510	497	420
Turbo	2.70	950	611 lm	532 lm	481

1 x 18650 (Samsung 30Q):

Mode	Amps at start	Specs	Lumens @turn on	Lumens @30 sec	Lumens @10 minutes
Moon	<0.009	1	< 1	< 1	< 1
Low	0.08	40	29	29	29
Med	1.35	400	327	327	–
High	3.01	750	607	607	584
Turbo	3.35	1200	1001 lm	1001 lm	625 lm

Parasitic drain:

• Yes, but too low for me to measure

Battery Life: Runtime graphs

3 x AA (NiMh):

Mode	Specified runtime	Measured runtime ANSI	Time till shut off
Moon	9 days	–	–
Low	15h	–	–
Med	2h 10min	–	–
High	3mins + 1h 25min	50min	1h 43min
Turbo	90sec + 1h 20min	55min	1h 41min

1 x 18650 (Samsung 30Q):

Mode	Specified runtime	Measured runtime ANSI	Time till shut off
Moon	15 days	–	–
Low	24h	–	–
Med	2h 30min	–	–
High	3mins + 2h 15min	1h 8min	2h 19min
Turbo	90sec + 1h 50min	56min	1h 26min

1 x D-cell (Duracell Procell):

Mode	Specified runtime	Measured runtime ANSI	Time till shut off
High	3H + 8H	5h 45min+	5h 45min+

The D-cell runtime needs a little explaining. My test gear shut off at the 5 hour 45min mark, although the light was still on and running. So I don’t know how long it would have run for. It is worth noting that despite seeing a Higher peak figure for the output testing, when it came to do the runtime test the light stayed at a very consistent level at first, which was around 36 lumens.

36 lumens doesn’t sound much and it isn’t, although with the highly focused and intense beam the AD01 has, it is more useful than you’d think, even outside and it still has pretty good beam distance all things considered.

So while the AD01 never actually dropped to 10% output for an official runtime result, do bear in mind at this stage it was only putting out 7-8 lumens and it may well have continued for a long time further at this output level. But 8 lumens outside is not a lot of light to be useful. You can see more clearly on the runtime graphs what actually happened with the D-cell.

The D-cell output is simply miles behind the other battery types.

About ANSI FL1 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.

Peak beam intensity and beam distance measurements

3 x AA (NiMh):

Mode	Specs	Candela measured	Meters	Yards
Moonlight	–	58	15m	16 yd
Low	–	4,459	134m	147 yd
Medium	–	40,000	400m	437 yd
High	–	64,805	509m	557 yd
Turbo	75500 cd / 550m	64,381 cd*	507m	554 yd

*Note that at 30 seconds the AA’s sagged on Turbo to below the High output, hence the lower throw figure.

1 x 18650 (Samsung 30Q):

Mode	Specs	Candela measured	Meters	Yards
Moonlight	–	46	14m	15 yd
Low	–	3,928	125m	137 yd
Medium	–	37,908	389m	425 yd
High	–	59,482	488m	534 yd
Turbo	105625 cd / 650m	87,131 cd	590m	645 yd

About peak beam intensity: Peak beam distance according to ANSI FL1 standards: 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). The columns ‘Meters’ and ‘Yards’ use rounded numbers.

Camera settings and distance: Canon EOS 200D – Canon 18-55mm EFS IS – 2”/F6.3/ISO 400/WB 5200k “Daylight”

Beamshots at 50 metres distance.

Beamshots of the following flashlights compared:

• Lumintop AD01
• Noctigon DM11 21700 Osram W2 CSLPM1.TG
• Noctigon KR1 18650 Osram W2 CSLPM1.TG
• Astrolux EA01 26650 SST-40 5000k

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent to me for review at no cost by Lumintop. I have not been paid to review, nor have I been holding back on problems or defects.