Preface
The 26650S is probably one of the shortest 1 x 26650 battery-powered flashlights currently and is marketed as a tactical flashlight.
Since the Folomov 26650S has 5 (quintuple) LEDs and the flashlight industry is mostly used to seeing/hearing of “triples” (3 LEDs) and “quads” (4 LEDs) of late, we are going to go ahead and start calling this 26650S a “quint” (5 LEDs) flashlight.
Lets check out the merits & demerits of this new Folomov 26650S model.
Packaging & First Impressions
This is what the light will come with as shown below.
- There are 2 notable typo errors on the front box:
- “hard anadizing” should be “hard anodizing”
- “Cree XPG LED” should be “Cree XP-G2 LED”
- The threads and o-ring were slightly lubricated. Threads were rather smooth and clean (no gritty feeling).
- The tail electronic switch requires a fairly firm and deliberate press to activate and should help in preventing any unwanted activation of the light.
- Anodizing of the light is uniform without any missing specs.
- The provided lanyard is able to support the full weight of the light and should hold up to the test of time.
- No holster and/or clip is included.
- Battery compartment holds the provided non-proprietary Micro-USB rechargeable 26650 5000mAh battery with sufficient room for a slightly thicker battery width. Larger capacity/fatter 26650 batteries should be able to fit without issue as well.
Note:
- Before using the flashlight for the first time, remove the Insulation Film from the battery tube.
- Only Button Top 26650 batteries can be used for this flashlight.
Front:
Back:
Sides:
Top:
Bottom:
Box Contents:
Remove Insulation Film:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: Black HAIII Aluminium
- LEDs: 5 * XP-G2
- Battery Format: 1 x 26650 ONLY
- Output & Runtime (with provided 26650 3.7V/5000mAh battery):
- Lowest (80 lumens / 60h)
- Low (180 lumens / 15h)
- Mid (400 lumens / 7h)
- High (800 lumens / 3.5h)
- Turbo (2000 lumens / 3h) – there is a step down to High mode
- Strobe (2000 lumens)
- SOS (2000 lumens)
- Beacon (180 lumens)
- Max Beam Distance: 216m
- Beam intensity: 11,670cd
- Waterproofness: IPX-8 Standard
- Impact Resistance: 1m
- Dimension: 99mm (length) x 38mm (diameter)
- Weight: 97g (excluding batteries)
- Battery reverse polarity protection
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Folomov 26650 5000mAh battery
- 1*Micro-USB Cable
- 1*Lanyard
- 2*Spare O-rings
- MSRP: ~$59
UI (User Interface)
UI for this light is suitable for both Every Day Carry (EDC) and tactical usage as it is simple and straightforward to use after the initial learning curve.
Switching ON and OFF is done by the tail electronic switch on the light.
There are a total of 2 modes available – Illumination Mode & Tactical Mode.
Note: Illumination Mode is the default mode from factory.
Normal Operation (Illumination Mode)
From OFF:
- HOLD (~0.5 sec) – Direct access to TURBO.
- 1 Click – Light will switch ON to last brightness level used (last mode memory).
- 2 Clicks – Direct access to STROBE; 2 Clicks for SOS, another 2 Clicks for BEACON (every 2 Clicks will cycle accordingly STROBE, SOS, BEACON ⇒ STROBE, SOS, BEACON). 1 Click to go to last brightness level used / HOLD (~0.5 sec) to switch OFF.
- 3 Clicks – LOCKOUT mode is enabled (Light will flash 3 times); 3 Clicks again – LOCKOUT is disabled (Light will flash 1 time).
From ON:
- HOLD (~0.5 sec) – Light will switch OFF.
- 1 Click – Mode change with every click (light cycles through TURBO, HIGH, MID, LOW, LOWEST ⇒ TURBO, HIGH, MID, LOW, LOWEST).
- 2 Clicks -Direct access to STROBE; 2 Clicks for SOS, another 2 Clicks for BEACON (every 2 Clicks will cycle accordingly STROBE, SOS, BEACON ⇒ STROBE, SOS, BEACON). 1 Click to go to last brightness level used / HOLD (~0.5 sec) to switch OFF.
Normal Operation (Tactical Mode)
From OFF:
- HOLD – Direct access to MOMENTARY TURBO.
- 1 Click – Direct access to TURBO.
- 2 Clicks – Direct access to STROBE; 1 Click to switch OFF.
- 3 Clicks – LOCKOUT mode is enabled (Light will flash 3 times); 3 Clicks again – LOCKOUT is disabled (Light will flash 1 time).
From ON:
- 1 Click – Light will switch OFF.
- 2 Clicks – Direct access to STROBE; 1 Click to switch OFF.
Note: In Tactical Mode, the mode options are drastically simplified. There are only MOMENTARY TURBO, TURBO or STROBE options and they are all reachable from OFF.
Switching Settings (Illumination Mode ⇔ Tactical Mode)
The following steps has to be carried out to switch Settings between the 2 configurations.
From OFF:
- 7 Clicks – Light will flash 6 times to indicate settings has been successfully configured, the light is now in Tactical Mode (assuming that it was in Illumination Mode previously).
- Repeat Step 1 to go back into Illumination Mode – Light will flash 6 times to confirm that it is now in Illumination Mode.
Electronic Lockout
From OFF:
- 3 Clicks – LOCKOUT mode is enabled (Light will flash 3 times).
- 3 Clicks again – LOCKOUT is disabled (Light will flash 1 time).
Note:
- Removing the battery or activating/deactivating Mechanical Lockout will NOT deactivate the Electronic Lockout.
- Electronic Lockout will work in both Illumination Mode & Tactical Mode.
Countdown Time (Auto-OFF Function)
From ON:
- 3 Clicks – Countdown timer is activated for 3 minutes (Light will flash 1 time).
- 3 Clicks again – Countdown timer is activated for another 3 minutes (Light will flash 1 time). Current countdown timer is now 6 minutes.
- Repeat above steps and countdown timer will increase by an additional 3 minutes — the maximum countdown timer limit is 30 minutes.
Form Factor
For flashlights that are intended to use on a daily basis (EDC)/tactical EDC and for possibly a long period of time, form factor is extremely important.
This light feels relatively well balanced and compact in a medium sized hand (not head/tail-heavy). Switching between overhand and underhand holding method is easy with its form factor. The knurling & grooves on the light enables the light to be sufficiently “grippy”, even with wet hands/gloves.
It is able to tail-stand perfectly, even with the lanyard attached.
Charging Process
With the provided Micro-USB Cable, the battery was charging at ~0.67A.
The Solid RED indicator depicts charging in progress and Solid GREEN indicator depicts charging has completed.
At this charging rate, it will be faster to charge on a dedicated battery charger with a charging capability of 1A to 2A, to cut down on charging time. That said, it is nice to have the option of charging the battery if a dedicated battery charger is not available.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the TIR optic. The LEDs are partially covered under the TIR (Total Internal Reflection) optics. With the LEDs used, the beam is still sufficiently “throwy” for recognising items in the near to mid-range distance.
The above beam profile is a rough interpretation of what is seen when white wall hunting.
The beam has a fairly distinct hotspot with some slight corona and a fairly wide spill, with most of the lumens output focused into the hotspot. It also helps that the LEDs are perfectly centred in this sample. There are some beam artifacts 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 (LOWEST: 1/4sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, LOW: 1/6sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID & HIGH: 1/8sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB & TURBO: 1/20sec, 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.
Control shot:
LOWEST (80 lumens):
LOW (180 lumens):
MID (400 lumens):
HIGH (800 lumens):
TURBO (2000 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).
There is no moonlight level (sub-lumen or 1 lumen) option available as the LOWEST mode comes in at 80 lumens. However, since this light is primarily targeted for those looking for a tactical flashlight, it is understandable why Folomov may have thought otherwise.
On a side note, the LOWEST mode (80 lumens) could use a slightly lower output of say 50 – 60 lumens for up-close usage and to ensure an even longer runtime for the “lowest” mode – as the difference in output is almost imperceptible to most human eyes.
Tint & CRI
Folomov did not disclose the tint (color temperature) and/or the CRI (Color Rendering Index) for the LEDs used in their light. For this light, a guesstimate would be in the 5000K and 75CRI ballpark.
There are tint shifts throughout the beam profile. The hotspot is rather neutral white whilst the corona possess a slight yellow-green tint; and the spill having a slight purple tint. This is however, not as noticeable in real life.
Waterproofness
The light was subjected to being left under room temperature running water whilst running on TURBO.
No signs of water intrusion in the head, body, tail or switch was seen.
Lockout Capability
Both mechanical lockout and electronic lockout are possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.
See above “Electronic Lockout“, on how to activate and deactivate Electronic LOCKOUT.
A quarter turn (anti-clockwise) of the tailcap will enable Mechanical LOCKOUT.
Notes:
- If Electronic LOCKOUT is enabled followed by enabling Mechanical LOCKOUT, the Electronic LOCKOUT will still remain enabled even after the Mechanical LOCKOUT has been disabled.
- A quarter turn (clockwise) of the head will not enable Mechanical LOCKOUT.
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 usage or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this light, it is a possible YES if the UI (Illumination Mode’s Mode Change sequence) is not an issue for your usage.
The 2 UI (Illumination Mode & Tactical Mode) options, simplified UI for Tactical Mode with direct access to all the important modes, relatively small form factor, easy to access rear electronic switch, floody beam style with optics used, included Micro-USB rechargeable 26650 battery and good color temperature selection of the LEDs [most tactical-orientated flashlights tend to use cool white ~6500K color temperature LED(s)] are all plus points for this flashlight.
That said, it would be nice if Folomov could add a holster for this flashlight, for additional bag or belt carry options.
Here is a bonus size comparisons with some of the other single 26650/21700 flashlights.
From Left to Right: Provided 2650 Battery, Folomov 26650S, Nitecore TM10K, Rofis MR70, Olight Seeker 2 Pro, Eagle Eye X7R and Klarus G20L.
As with all gears, two is one and one is none.
Stay safe,
The Lite Review
Disclaimer: Light was provided for by Folomov (manufacturer) for this review. No other compensation was provided.
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Folomov 26650S
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