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По умолчанию ReviewTheLight: Matchbox Instruments HF-R (1x10250 or 1x10440)

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MatchBox Instruments is a company ran by one enigmatic man, known only as TGWNN (The Guy With No Name), aka "Guy". He has previously made a coin-cell powered pendant light called the Core Ti. The HF-R is the round version of his new HF, a tiny light with a huge output!

IMPORTANT: The manufacturer instructs to not use High mode for more than 15 seconds at a time, and to let the light "rest" in one of the lower modes or the off position 30 seconds for every 15 used in High mode. This is because the output on High produces a large amount heat, and a light so small is not capable of absorbing all the heat fast enough to protect itself from damage. Hence, this is a light for enthusiasts only, who will be sure to take proper care of the light.


Thanks to TGWNN at MBI for providing the HF-R for review.


I’ll be reviewing the HF-R in two sections: first, I’ll discuss the light objectively (the facts about the light itself), then I’ll discuss the light subjectively (my impressions about the light's performance when used for specific applications). If you have any other specific applications you'd like the light tested for, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Quick Overview

Below is a video "quick review" you can watch in just a few minutes, if you're not up for reading the full review right now:



Прямая ссылка на видео YouTube


This video is available in 720p HD, but defaults to a lower quality. To select the playback quality click the settings button (looks like a gear) after you've started the video.


Objective

Manufacturer's Specifications

Price:
Aluminum (reviewed): 88 USD
Stainless Steel: 95 USD
Titanium w/ Trit Slots: 128 USD




Packaging




The HF-R comes in a white cardboard box with MBI logo. Inside, the light itself and the 10440 body are nested in plastic bags in a foam cutout. Beneath that layer of foam are the accessories.

Construction




The HF-R is a very tiny light, running off a single 10250 battery (in it's default configuration). It comes in black or red anodized aluminum, stainless steel, or titanium. This review covers the black aluminum version. The "-R" designates it as the round version of the original HF, which had an eight-sided head and tail, resembling a small nut and bolt. Two MBI "NuKe" lithium ion 80 mAh 10250 cells are included with the HF-R, which is great because that's not a common battery size even among flashlight enthusiasts.



THe HF-R comes with an interchangeable 10440 battery tube, which is about the length of the entire light when the 10250 tube is installed.



As you can see, the HF-R is significantly longer when using the 10440 body, but still very small.



The HF-R uses a Cree XM-L emitter in a very small, smooth reflector. The lens is slightly recessed behind a bit of raw aluminum inside the bezel. The head section has a single band of very light square-patterned knurling.



The body section has two bands of the same square knurling pattern that help give some grip to the light, though obviously not as much grip as on the original HF with the octagonal head and tail. The tail section is mostly covered by a double-tick band of knurling, with the model name and serial number on the real. The rear also has a small keyring post which protrudes a couple of millimeters, so this light does not tail stand, but rather hangs straight down from a key ring.

Now, let's take it apart!



The HF-R has four pieces: Head, 10440 body, 10250 body, and Tail.



The head section has a small spring to make contact with the nearly flat top of the provided Nukes. A small clear o-ring helps keep water out of the head.



As you can see, the threads are very thin and tightly spaced, so even with the small size of the light it takes several turns for the head or tail to be removed. This, plus the fact that the UI does not require head or tail to be ever loosened, means it is very unlikely the head will fall off while the light dangles on your keychain (a common problem with some other keychain lights).



The tail has another spring to make contact with negative terminal of the battery. Springs at both ends means the battery is well protected in the event of an impact.




Dimensions




Accessories



The HF-R comes with two 10250 "Nukes", and two free-rotating keyring attachments (one ring and one lobster claw).




The operator's manual gives instructions regarding the operation of the HF-R.



The manual also includes the signature MBI holographic sticker.



The Nukes are size 10250 (10mm diameter, 25mm length, round) lithium ion cells. They are rated for 80mAh with a nominal voltage of 3.7V (so they are charged to 4.2V max). They have NO protection circuit, so it's essential to recharge regularly and not let them over-discharge. The highlight of these batteries is that they are rated for discharge rates of 10C easily, with a max of 30C. For this battery, that means 0.8A regularly, with bursts of 2.4A, which is what makes these batteries special (that's an uncommonly high discharge rate for a battery this small). However, they should still be charged at about 1C, which means about 80mA (manufacturer recommends less than 100mA, with max of 200mA).



The included key rings attach to the hole in the small post at the tail of the HF-R.

ZoomHead

An optional accessory for the HF-R is the ZoomHead, ordered separately.
















User Interface

The HF-R comes in two versions, a two-mode and a three-mode version. This review is for the three-mode version.

The modes of the HF-R are controlled by rotating the tail, which spins freely in one direction (clockwise as viewed from the rear) and will spin in the other direction also but can start to unscrew. The three-mode tail has six positions, in this order when rotating clockwise:

OFF -> Low
-> OFF -> Medium -> OFF -> High

When you rotate past high, it is back in the first OFF position and will continue on to Low.

IMPORTANT: The manufacturer instructs to not use High mode for more than 15 seconds at a time, and to let the light "rest" in one of the lower modes or the off position 30 seconds for every 15 used in High mode. This is because the output on High produces a large amount heat, and a light so small is not capable of absorbing all the heat fast enough to protect itself from damage. Hence, this is a light for enthusiasts only, who will be sure to take proper care of the light.


Action Shots

You can click on any of these shots to see them full size.

Light in Hand




White Wall (Low, Medium, HF!)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 1/20"


BeamSlice


MugShot


Indoor Shots (Low, Medium, HF!)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 1"


Outdoor Shots (
Low, Medium, HF!)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 2.5"


Long-Range Shots (
HF!)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 5"




Performance

Submersion:

Heat: The HF-R has significant heat buildup when using High mode, and being as small as it is, it is unable to dissipate the heat quickly enough. As recommended by the manufacturer, do not use on High for more than 15 seconds at a time, then switch off or to a lower mode for at least 30 seconds. There is no significant heat buildup on the Medium and Low modes.

PWM:

Drop: I dropped the HF-R from a height of 1m onto various surfaces, including grass, carpet, packed dirt, and hard wood, and I see no evidence of cosmetic or functional damage.

Reverse Polarity Protection: None. Be sure to insert the battery in the correct direction.

Over-Discharge Protection: None. Be sure to recharge the batteries regularly to prevent over-discharge.


Spectral Analysis


All light that we see as white is actually made up of several different colors put together. The relative intensities of the different colors in the mix are what determine the tint of the white we see. For example, cool white LED's have a lot of blue, and warm white LED's have more red or yellow. This measurement was done on a home made spectrometer. The plot below the picture is corrected for the spectral sensitivity of the human eye. Note: the peak in the 900nm region doesn't really exist, it's a piece of the second-order spectrum that's showing up here because of the high intensity of the light source.

Output and Runtime

Coming Soon...
*High mode can only be used for 15 seconds at a time, and ANSI standards don't really account for this. ANSI lumen output is measured between 30 seconds to 2 minutes after turning on the light, and run time is the time from 30 seconds until 10% output, with the flashlight staying on the whole time. The HF-R cannot be left on High mode that long, so the output value in this chart is the output at about 30 seconds of cumulative "On" time.

ANSI FL-1 runtime ratings are the time it takes for a light to fall to 10% of it's original output (counting from 30 seconds after turning the light on).

The vertical axis of the graphs below represents a relative brightness measurement using a home made light box. The horizontal axis is time in hours:minutes:seconds. Runtimes are stated in hours:minutes:seconds. These graphs may be truncated to show detail.

Mode Comparison



High



Medium



Low



Throwing Distance

ANSI FL-1 standard for stating a light's throwing distance is the distance at which the peak beam intensity (usually at the center of the beam) is 0.25 lux. I calculate throwing distance and candela (lux at 1 meter) by measuring peak beam intensity at five different distances and using the formula lux*distance^2=constant.

Peak Beam Intensity:
Throw Distance:

Subjective Review

Quick break down:

+ HF!
+ Very bright for it's size
+ Several materials available
+ Zoom Head attachment available
+ Even beam, no noticeable artifacts
+ It's tiny!
+ Optional 10440 battery tube
+ Specialized batteries included
+ No loosening of the head required
+ Tail rotation for UI is simple and intuitive
+ Support bold innovation

- Only 15 seconds allowed on high
- Only accepts li-ion batteries
- Small battery capacity means frequent charging
- Can be hard to grip for twisting with wet or cold hands

The HF-R is a game changer in the EDC field. When you can get 500 lumens from a light that fits on your keychain, that frees you to make some new decisions about what other light's you'll want to have with you on a regular basis. I used to carry a keychain light regularly that can go up to about 60 lumens for quick tasks, a pocket 16340 or 14500 light rated to 500 lumens for quick tasks that require more output, and a larger 18650 light in my bag for extended use. Now, with 500 lumens available from my keychain that eliminates the need for the small pocket light in most situations.

As is obvious when you first pick it up, the most impressive feature of the HF-R is it's huge output from a small size. It takes a bit longer to realize that the Medium and Low modes are actually very reasonably selected. The Low mode is plenty of light for getting around a dark house at night, and the Medium mode is perfect for walking in the dark on a path outside.

One thing that surprised me about the HF-R was that even with the tiny and smooth reflector, the beam is very even. Of course it's a floody light, using an XM-L in that size of head, but if you want more throw from it you can purchase the optional Zoom Head from MBI (not covered in this review).

For a little extra run time, I really like the inclusion of a 10440 battery tube, though it is often hard to find good quality li-ion 10440 cells. I do wish the HF-R could run off of an alkaline or NiMH AAA cell, though I know that would require extra circuitry and complication. My understanding is that the HF was originally released as a simple light that could be designed and manufactured relatively quickly, while the upcoming MBI Torpedo is intended to be the fancy one, accepting Li-Ion, NiMH, or Alkaline.

One really big plus for the HF-R is it's user interface. So many keychain lights operate by tightening and loosening the head, while the HF-R operates by a freely rotating tail (you don't tighten or loosen it). Those lights that require you to loosen the head for them to be off often find themselves missing a head, because it was loose and fell off while the user was walking around. With the HF-R, not only is it always fully tightened, but it's got quite a lot of small threads packed into that small space, so it is very unlikely the head will ever come off accidentally.

The only other big negative I've found with the HF-R is that, being round, it can be hard to get the necessary grip to twist the tail when your hands are wet or cold. I usually have this attached to my keychain by the post at the tail, so I actually hod the tail still and rotate the light, which gives some extra grip, but I still wish for more at times. However, if you prefer more grip to the round style, the original HF is available with a much better grip design.

Overall, the HF-R is an extremely impressive light, and one that I have thoroughly enjoyed having on my keychain. If you're looking for a light smaller than a AAA keychain light with output better than most CR123 or AA lights, this is your best (and only :laughing choice, and I highly recommend it!


Long Term Impressions
I'll fill this part in after carrying the light for a while. If nothing get's added here, either I find nothing else worth noting about the light, or I end up not using it often.
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