Preface
The 3rd iteration of the ReyLight Ti Lan is finally here!
With several changes/updates from prior versions, is the V3 what we have all been waiting for?
Note: the Ti Lan reviewed here is the bare bones version (no tritium vials installed by Rey Ye).
**UPDATE (04 July 2018)**
Rey sent a metal switch replacement after hearing several feedback about the switch/spring issue. Henceforth, all new Ti Lan V3 would come with this switch instead.
This definitely wins a thumbs up for excellent customer service.
Packaging & First Impressions
This is what the light will come with as shown below.
- Packaging looks attractive and has a premium feel to it.
- Total of 10 Tritium Vials (1.5mm x 6mm) can be installed (3 on head, 6 on tail & 1 on switch).
- The threads and o-rings were mildly lubricated but the threads are a little rough still (slight galling). Cleaning the threads and re-lubing with Christo-Lube MCG 111 helps to make the threads much smoother.
- Battery can only be replaced from the head portion of the battery tube.
- The provided clip is not reversible. Hence, attachment of the light to a baseball cap for hands-free usage is not possible.
- The clip has sufficient tension to ensure that the light will stay clipped to any material to prevent the light from falling out.
- The tail switch is a reverse clicky and requires slightly further “travel” to activate, which helps prevent any unwanted activation of the light.
The low tension spring present under the tritium switch causes the switch mechanism to feel a little unresponsive – requiring a longer “travel” then required to activate and deactivate. A quick remedy is to replace it with a higher tension spring or stretch out the current spring but that would inadvertently slightly affect its tail-standing capabilities.- The new replacement metal switch provides for a much firmer & responsive switching mechanism.
- When activating the switch at an angle, there is the typical metal scraping sound that plagues most metal switches.
- Bead blasting finish is uniform throughout the light.
- No lanyard and/or holster is provided.
- Battery compartment holds Sanyo/Panasonic AA Eneloops, Energiser Ultimate Lithium (L91) and (Energiser and Duracell) AA alkaline batteries without any fitment issues.
- Both Button & Flat Top 14500 batteries can be used.
P.S. for those who are curious – the Mandarin word on the front box is read as “Lan”.
Front:
Back:
Box Contents:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: Grade 5 Titanium (Ti 6Al-4V)
- Clip & Switch Material: Stainless Steel
- LED: Nichia 219C High CRI, 4000K
- Battery Format: 1 x AA / 14500 (3.7V rechargeable/1.2V NiMH rechargeable/1.5V lithium primary batteries/1.5V alkaline [not recommended]) ONLY
- Output & Runtime (with ReyLight 14500 800mAh / AA battery):
- Moonlight (0.2 lumens – 20days / 30days)
- Low (8.5 lumens – 31h / 3.2 lumens – 70h)
- Mid (90 lumens – 2.5h / 30 lumens – 5h)
- High (470 lumens – 58min / 130 lumens – 1.1h)
- Max Beam Distance: 95m
- Beam intensity: 2,269cd
- Waterproofness: IPX-8 Standard (2m)
- Impact Resistance: 1.5m
- Dimension: 97mm (length) x 21mm (diameter)
- Weight: 65g (excluding batteries)
- Battery reverse polarity protection
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Clip
- 2*Spare O-rings
- MSRP: ~$80
UI (User Interface)
UI for this light is perfect for Every Day Carry (EDC) as it is simple and straightforward to use.
Switching ON and OFF is done by the main switch at the TAIL of the light. It is a reverse clicky switch so no half press for momentary activation is possible.
From OFF:
- 1 Click – Light will switch ON to MOONLIGHT or last used Mode (last mode memory) – if Mode Memory is activated.
From ON:
- 1 Click – Light will switch OFF.
- 1/2 Press – Mode change per Press (light cycles through MOONLIGHT, LOW, MID, HIGH -> MOONLIGHT, LOW, MID, HIGH).
Note:
- By default, Mode Memory is disabled.
- To enable Mode Memory, switch ON the flashlight and do 8 * 1/2 Presses. Alternatively, do as many 1/2 Presses till the flashlight stops changing modes and quickly release the switch.
- If Mode Memory is enabled – the flashlight will flash 2 times on MID mode & switch to HIGH mode.
- If Mode Memory is disabled – the flashlight will flash 2 times on MID mode & switch to MOONLIGHT mode.
- There is no blinky (Strobe or SOS) modes available.
Form Factor
For flashlights that are intended to use on a daily basis (EDC) and for possibly a long period of time, form factor is extremely important.
This light feels extremely well balanced in a medium sized hand (not head/tail-heavy). Switching between overhand and underhand holding method is easy with its form factor. Despite the lack of knurling/grooves on the light, it still feels relatively “grippy”, even with wet hands/gloves.
The light is able to tail-stand stably without any issues.
Removing the clip from the flashlight will result in a visible gap where the clip is supposed to be held in place.
Replacement Switch
To avoid any confusion, all new Ti Lan V3 purchased from Rey will come with the New switch installed.
The easiest way to know if you have the New or Old switch would be that the Old switches have a spring underneath it whereas the New ones do not require any spring to function.
With the New switch installed, it still sits flush to the tailcap and tail-standing is not affected.
Here are some pictures of the New (Left) and Old (Right) switches.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the fairly shallow Orange Peel Reflector. With the 219C LED used, the beam is still sufficiently “throwy” for most close range duty.
The above beam profile is a rough interpretation of what is seen when white wall hunting. The beam has a relatively distinct hotspot with some slight corona and a fairly wide usable (almost circular) spill. It also helps that the 219C LED is perfectly centred in this sample. There is a slight ring in the beam when white wall hunting but not visible in real world usage.
All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings ([For 14500] MOONLIGHT: 10sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, LOW: 2sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 1/2sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, HIGH: 1/3sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB) and ([For AA] MOONLIGHT: 20sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, LOW: 2.5sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 0.8sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, HIGH: 0.5sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB).
Some pictures have been adjusted slightly to depict as close as to what is seen in real life. The distance of the light from the door is 4.6m.
Using 14500 Battery
Control shot:
MOONLIGHT (0.2 lumens):
LOW (8.5 lumens):
MID (90 lumens):
HIGH (470 lumens):
Using AA Battery
Control shot:
MOONLIGHT (0.2 lumens):
LOW (3.2 lumens):
MID (30 lumens):
HIGH (130 lumens):
Mode (Output) Spacing
Mode spacing appears to be progressively brighter to the eye and the modes are well spaced enough to be able to know which mode one is currently in. With that in mind, TLR tend to view mode spacing as battery life indicators (amount of runtime left) rather than the specific output (lumens).
The MOONLIGHT mode of 0.2 lumen which is what most calls a proper moonlight mode and is perfect for night-adjusted eyes and midnight snack runs. However, do note that despite claiming to be 0.2 lumen when using either AA or 14500; it does appear a tad brighter when running on a 14500 battery instead of an AA battery.
To some the jump in output between the LOW & MID output (on 14500 battery) might be too drastic. We often found ourselves wanting something in the ~50 lumen range for more general purpose usage and still get better runtimes with the reduced output. That said, the preset levels of this flashlight is sufficient for most uses.
Tint & CRI
ReyLight mentioned that the tint (color temperature) is 4000K but did not disclose the CRI (Color Rendering Index) for the LED used in their light. For this light, a guesstimate would be in the 90CRI ballpark.
There is a slight tint shift throughout the beam profile. The hotspot is neutral white whilst the corona possess a slight yellowish tint; and the spill having a slight yellow tint.
However, the tint shift is not as noticeable in real life.
Waterproofness
The light was subjected to warm water submersion, followed by cold water submersion and left under room temperature running water tap whilst running on HIGH.
No signs of water intrusion in the head, switch or body was seen.
Lockout Capability
No electronic lockout or mechanical lockout is possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.
Hence, we do not recommend transporting this flashlight in an enclosed area (bag, purse, etc.) with the battery installed. If absolutely necessary to transport the flashlight with the battery in it, we recommend deactivating Mode Memory to ensure that even if the reverse clicky switch does get activated; the flashlight will come ON in MOONLIGHT mode only.
Tritium Vial Installation
The following is essentially a condensed version of CPF gunga’s installation instruction.
- Purchase tritium vials (10 pcs of 1.5mm x 6mm size) & Norland 61 (can be purchased from Mixglo).
- Recommended to have a good UV (365nm) light on hand with proper eye protection. Generally, sunlight works as well but the curing process is much slower.
- Use a toothpick/syringe/dropper to add Norland 61.
- For horizontal-style tritium slots – the 3 slots (head) and 1 slot (switch):
- It is recommended to do 1 slot at a time.
- Ensure that the slot is leveled at all times due to liquid-like nature of the Norland 61.
- Partially fill the slot till just below 1/2 full.
- Use fine tweezers to gently place & carefully adjust tritium vial in the slot. Avoid sudden movements that may cause air bubbles in the Norland 61.
- Carefully add more Norland 61 till the level is just above the level of the slot as Norland 61 shrinks when cured.
- Cure the Norland 61 using the UV light.
- If necessary, scrap off any excess Norland 61 with a toothpick (avoid touching the Norland 61 in the slot).
- Repeat above Steps 3 to 7 for the other tritium slots.
- For vertical-style tritium slots – the 6 slots (tail):
- It is recommended to do 1 slot at a time.
- Norland 61 is only needed at the end of the slot’s hole to hold the tritium vial in place.
- Use fine tweezers to gently place tritium vial in the slot.
- Add a small amount (~1-2 drops) of Norland 61 on top of the tritium vial tail.
- Gently push down the vials to prevent any air bubbles from forming & quickly cure using UV light.
- Repeat above Steps 4 & 5 till the Norland 61 is cured and leveled to the tritium slot hole. (Note: Norland 61 shrinks when cured so overfill the slot slightly on the last round.).
- If necessary, scrap off any excess Norland 61 with a toothpick (avoid touching the Norland 61 in the slot).
- Repeat above Steps 3 to 7 for the other tritium slots.
Quick Comparison to Previous Generation
| Description | Ti Lan V3 | Ti Lan (Previous Generations) |
|---|---|---|
| Body Material | Grade 5 Titanium | Grade 2 Titanium |
| Clip | Beefier and Good Retention | Relatively Flimsy and Poor Retention |
| Mode Memory | Configurable to enable or disable Mode Memory | No Mode Memory |
| Max Output on 14500 Battery | 470 lumens | Less than 470 lumens |
| Low Voltage Protection for 14500 Battery | Yes | No |
Scale Comparison (Ruler)
Summary
To sum up, we believe that the most important part of any review is if given the chance to purchase the same light for our own EDC or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this light, it is a definite YES if the switch issue is not an issue in your usage.
The flashlight’s straightforward UI and the ability to use both AA and 14500 batteries ensures that it is easy to find replacement batteries when needed; are both major plus points for it. The excellent color rendering beam and nice “warm/neutral white” tint are perfect for identifying colors more accurately in most cases.
At this price point and the material made, this is probably one of the best bang for the buck Grade 5 Titanium AA/14500 flashlight in the market now. Unfortunately, there is the case regarding the spring below the tritium switch. However, carrying out our quick remedy as mentioned above in the “Packaging & First Impressions” Section, This flashlight is definitely one of our favorite go-to AA/14500 flashlights, with the newly replaced switch.
Needless to say, we do recommend getting the tritium vials installed by Rey to save any possible hassle of self-installation. Well, that is unless you happen to find the tritium installation process therapeutic and/or enjoyable. As we understand, Rey currently charges for the costs of the tritium vials (installation costs are waived) only.
Here is a bonus size comparison with some of other flashlights which are also made of Grade 5 Titanium (L to R: Oveready TorchLAB BOSS 35 [which we reviewed recently], ReyLight Ti Lan V3, McGizmo AA Sundrop, McGizmo Haiku).
As with all gears, two is one and one is none.
Stay safe,
The Lite Review
Disclaimer: Light was provided for by ReyLight (Rey Ye) for this review. No other compensation was provided.
Where to Buy Links
Disclaimer: The links to the Ti Lan V3 do not contain any affiliate or tracking links.
However, purchasing using the Christo-Lube MCG111’s affiliate link below will enable TLR to receive compensation from corresponding affiliate companies (Amazon/ShareASale/etc.) directly.
It will NOT cost you anything and is a way to help support the website to keep pumping out reviews like this.
The V3 was originally sold on Kickstarter and for those who missed it – it’s best to contact Rey Ye directly via his email address provided in the link below.
Ti Lan V3
Rey Ye’s Email: 395090663@qq.com
Reylight Official Website: Click Here
Reylight Facebook Group: Click Here
Christo-Lube MCG111
Amazon: Click Here to see best prices on Amazon.
Available Discount Coupon Codes
- Click HERE to view our complete list of discount Coupon Codes.