Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Copper

Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Copper review:

introduction:

Lumintop recently released the Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Cu, they already released the Titanium version beginning of this year, (which I have reviewed before, for 1 Lumen.com, I found some performance issues, and Lumintop listened by releasing an updated version!

I got in contact with Lumintop, and they were kind enough to send me both the updated Ti and the new Copper flashlight for an extensive review, which is cool, so I can review all models and show the improvement over the original Titanium Tool. Now, the Tool is available in Copper as well!
The Copper tool is an exquisite small, well-finished light. The main difference with titanium is just the material it is made of, and technically they are identical to each other. They share the same specifications and internals, but it makes a difference for aesthetics, thermal performance, and weight, and boy it is a beauty!
It has a very luxurious appearance and feels exquisite, one-of-a-kind feeling, and despite its weight, it is still an easy-to-carry EDC flashlight.

What you’ll get:

The flashlight comes in a brown recyclable cardboard packaging with the famous Lumintop bunny logo printed on it.
When opening the package, you can see the manual, and below the manual, the light is packed in a vacuum-sealed ESD bag, to protect the light from oxidizing and patina from oxygen and fingerprints.
Everything comes well protected and the light itself is surrounded by firm black laser-cut foam. Next to the foam, another recyclable cardboard box is found with several accessories:
After opening the bag and revealing the beautiful copper light

• flashlight (with attached gold-painted clip)
• spare o-rings
• silicone diffuser cap
• Lanyard
• Manual

One remarkable difference with the Titanium tool is that the package is different. However, the Copper version is technically identical to the Titanium light, it comes in a smaller package, and it does not come with a soft fabric pouch, something that is a standard accessory with the Titanium Tool.

Brand / Model	Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Cu (Copper)
LED	Cree XPL-HD
Lumens	650 Lumens
Beam intensity	rated 127m, 3420 Cd (which is wrong 3420 equals 116m, 4032 equals 127m)
Battery config.	1*AA / 14500
Material	Copper
Modes	4
Blinkies	strobe
Reflector	smooth
Waterproof	IP68
Review date	July 2020

Handling of the light

My first thoughts of this light are very positive. It feels unique, one of a kind, and luxurious, but obviously heavier than the Titanium version. After inspecting the light, I could not find any flaws. It is very well made.
The Knurling is also well done, and provides more than enough grip, and the blue lighted tailcap adds a nice touch to it (The lighted tailcap only works using a 14500 cell, using an AA or NiMh does not provide the lighted tail switch function)

The reverse clicky provides enough feedback and works flawlessly. Tail standing is possible which makes it a very practical light, together with the provided diffuser is serves a good function as a bed light lamp (although the low is not low enough, the lowest output is still 22 Lm)

Its size makes it a very pleasant EDC light, since it is slightly taller than a AA battery, it is very easy to hold, and after 1.5 weeks of using it, it is my new go-to EDC, I’m grabbing it for every practical use (and I’m very happy with the changed emitter to a Samsung LH351D which I installed myself directly after the review).

Build Quality, knurling, threads, and anodization

Knurling is done very well, it does have the usual cross-sectional knurling, it is missing the small milled groove inside the cross-sections of the knurling which the Titanium version has. The copper light is fabricated very well, the threads are perfectly rectangular shaped and do match together perfectly. Opening the light to take out the battery is a joy since the copper threads feel butter smooth, I have to give credits for Lumintop on that. One funny fact is that the tube is perfectly symmetrical, so you don’t need to take off the clip when you want to carry it reversed, you can also screw it together reversed. The O rings seal the light exactly and do not show any signs of wear, no burrs or flaws are found. This light shows it is fabricated with very tight tolerances and it pays off very well.
Good job Lumintop!

LEDs, Lens, Bezel, and Reflector

Lumintop delivers this light with two LED options, it is available with a 4000K Nichia 219C and a Cree XPL HD LED. Mine is equipped with the Cool White XPL2-HD, which I am not very fond of.

IMHO the tint is horrible, with the yellow to greenish tint next to the angry blueish white hotspot (which is typically described as the corona, and NO we are not talking about a virus here)

I would recommend the Nichia for people who are more demanding concerning tint. (also called tint snobs) You won’t get as many Lumens as you’ll get with the XPL2, but you will get a better quality light tint.

The light uses a shelf design to dissipate the heat, the light gets fairly hot on Turbo, but since the light is made exclusively of copper, the heat sinking is not a problem at all.

The head consists of 2 parts, you can open it, and you will have direct access to the LED. The Smooth reflector is held in place by resting on a black plastic gasket, on top of it is the small glass lens, and it is protected for water tightness by a glow in the dark green O-ring.

One nice thing to mention is that in the top of the head, a small recessed groove is milled out especially for this O-ring, so it will always be positioned in the correct place since it needs to fall in this notch. This provides waterproofing, GITD functionality and being placed exactly in the correct position

Dimensions:

• Length: 89 mm / 3.52inch
• Head diameter: 89.5mm / 3.52 inch
• Body diameter: 18.6 mm/ 0.73 inch

Weight:

• Empty: 64 grams / 1.35 oz
• With Keeppower 800mAH 14500: 85 grams

Image 1+2: Compared to the original gen 2 Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Ti and , Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 TI upgraded.

Image 3+4: Compared to other popular EDC Flashlights: From left to right:

Enogear AA, Amutorch SS AA, Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Ti, Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Copper, Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Ti Upgraded, Reylight pineapple (brass) and Reylight Ti Lan.

Driver & User Interface:

The user interface of the Lumintop Tool 2.0 Cu (Copper) is very easy. It uses a mechanical reverse clicky switch. It does feature memory mode and has 4 modes, Low Medium High Turbo. The strobe mode can be activated by using 6 taps.

Modes:

• Low Medium High Turbo
• Strobe (6 taps)

From OFF:

• Press and Hold: Nothing, until you release the switch, then it will switch on
• Single-click: last used memory
• Double click: N.A. it will just cycle through its modes

From ON:

• Press and Hold: Switches OFF
• Single-click: Switches OFF
• Double click: N.A. it will just cycle through its modes

Mode memory:

• The light features mode memory.

Low voltage warning:

• Yes, it has low-voltage protection which is set at 3V

Strobe/blinkies

• 6 rapid taps activate strobe mode

Lock-out mode:

• No electronic lockout, but there is a mechanical lockout by twisting the head.

PWM

• I could not detect any PWM by the naked eye and I couldn’t detect any PWM using a 14500 cell, with a digital video camera.

Batteries and charging:

A very positive thing about this light is that is can take many types of batteries or cells. While it doesn’t come with a battery, it can take regular AA type batteries, Protected and unprotected 14500 cells, and even rechargeable NiMh batteries. Since it does not provide a USB or magnetic charging, you have to use a third-party charger.

performance:

Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 CU specifications:

They are the same as for the Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Titanium.

ANSI/NEMA FL1		Low	Med	High	Turbo	Strobe
Output	14500	16 L.M.	85 LM	360 LM	650 LM	360 LM
Alkaline	3.7 LM	28 LM	140 LM	220 LM	140 LM
Ni-MH	3.7 LM	28 LM	140 LM	270 LM	140 LM
Runtime	14500	37h	6h 9m	1h 19m	33m	/
Alkaline	2.5days	11h 50m	49m	21m	/
Ni-MH	2.5days	12h 30m	2h 33m	43m	/
Distance	127m(Max)
Intensity	3420cd(Max)
Impact Resistant	1.5m
Waterproof	IP68 (underwater 2m)
Size	89.5*18.5mm
N.W.	23.5g
Working Voltage	0.8-4.2V
Battery	1*AA/14500 Li-ion battery
Accessories	1*Spare O-ring, 1*Lanyard, 1*User manual, 1*Warranty card

Notice: The above-mentioned parameters are lab-tested by Lumintop by using a Lumintop 3.7V/750mAh 14500 Li-ion cell, Eneloop pro 1.2V/2450mAh Ni-MH and Alkaline cells, it may vary due to the difference of environment and batteries.

Lux readings are done with a UNI-T UT 383 S Lux-meter, temperature readings are recorded with an infrared Noncontact thermometer, type Benetech GM-320. Current readings are done with a Yokogawa 734-02 Digital Multimeter. Runtime is tested using the ceiling bounce app.

Lumen measurements + Amp measurements (for each mode)

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.

14500 cell

• Low: 0.064 A (22 Lm)
• Med: 0.274 A (114 Lm)
• High: 0.836 A (474 Lm) (1.02 A with clamp meter)
• Turbo: 1.82 A (974 Lm) (2.31 A with clamp meter)

It seems to perform extremely well compared to its specs. I was a bit uncertain about my measurements, that’s why I have tested it multiple times, but all the tests showed the same results. I can confirm the output is even higher as stated by Lumintop! The low mode is still quite high, using it at night will directly blind your night vision. A true 1 Lm low mode (or at least a lower low mode) would make it a perfect EDC light, and a perfect bedside light.
Directly after finishing this review, I swapped the LED and reflowed a Samsung LH351D which is so much better than the delivered XPL2-HD. As mentioned before, I would recommend the Nichia for people who are more demanding concerning tint.

AA Battery

• Low: 7 Lm
• Med: 40 Lm
• High: 123 Lm
• Turbo: 139 Lm

Runtime graph

Runtime tests are performed with a fully charged 14500 Keeppower protected 800 mAh cell

The charts show 3 tests, all of them are done after a full charge cycle.

As shown in the graphs, Turbo lasts for over 33 minutes and slowly decreases in output, which shows heatsinking is very well and the stepdown is only caused by the voltage drop off the cell.
This is practical the same as stated by the specifications given by Lumintop, so it seems pretty accurate

High shows the same pattern as Turbo, but elongated. It can hold it’s output for a prolonged time since it draws less current, and because of that, it does not drop down in voltage as quickly as Turbo. After 60 minutes the output drops fast which indicated the cell is almost empty, as can be found in the graph it shuts off after approx. 70 minutes

Medium mode shows again the same pattern, but again for a longer time. It shuts off just before 6 h, which is again almost what is stated by Lumintop, so all this seems pretty accurate.

Low mode is not tested since that should last 37h according to Lumintop, Since all the other numbers were pretty close, I trust that the battery will last almost 37 hours. :–D

Throw numbers:

1. 2 Lux @ m5 (approx 50 Cd)
2. 16 Lux @ 5m (approx 400 Cd)
3. 73 Lux @ 5m (approx 1825 Cd)
4. 151 Lux @ 5m (approx 3775 Cd)

Beamshot

Tint comparison shot: from left to right:

Lumintop Tool with XPL2, Lumintop Tool with LH351D (modded) and Lumintop Tool with SST20 (modded)

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.

Overall conclusion

Pros:

1. Aesthetics
2. Well built
3. High Lumen output
4. Luxurious design
5. Good heat sinking
6. Complete light, many accessories
7. EDC-able

Cons

1. The lowest output is too high
2. High parasitic drain (~3 mA)

Rating: 5 stars ★★★★★

With the release of this Copper Tool, Lumintop has released a beautiful luxurious EDC light! It is well built, looks awesome, it is perfectly EDC’able and it comes with a lighted tailswitch. In short, it has everything a luxurious light needs. (and very important, it’s not glued!)And probably the most important question, would you recommend it? YES, I would! I love it, I really enjoy the buttery smooth threads, I love the looks and the patina of copper with it’s ageing and the feeling of this light in my hand.Another positive note, there are no real big issues with this light, it performs as it should and heat sinking is no problem due to being made completely of copper. However, there are still a few things that could be improved:

• The Low mode is still too bright, the low is just not low enough.
• The lighted tailcap still has a high parasitic drain

And the one item which really should be improved:I really would like to give it 5 stars, since I like this light a lot, but I have to be honest, it’s still not perfect so I am doubting between 4 or 5 stars. After a long thought, I have made my decision and I will give it the benefit of the doubt and rate it 5 stars.
And despite its hefty weight it’s my new EDC :–D