IMALENT MS12 MINI

Specifications

Brand/model IMALENT MS12 MINI
LED 12*CREE XHP70.2
Maximum lumens 65,000 lm
Maximum beam intensity 268,600 cd
Maximum throw 1,036 m
Battery 4*21700 battery pack
Onboard charging Yes (19-24V 2A DC socket)
Material Aluminium
Modes 6
Blinkies Strobe
Reflector OP
Waterproof IP56
Review date September 2023

Introduction

IMALENT are known for their powerful torches. You may have heard of the MS18, or perhaps the new SR32?

IMALENT reached out on BLF to ask if I would like to review anything.

I asked for the IMALENT MS12 MINI because I thought that I would be capable of testing it using my 90mm DIY lumen tube. I was wrong.

The IMALENT MS12 MINI fits at the end of my lumen tube. But it overpowered the light sensor as soon as I turned it on!

I built a bigger 160mm lumen tube and calibrated it with a dozen lights. Now I can test powerful torches. :-)

Here is my video review of the IMALENT MS12 MINI:

IMALENT kindly sent this torch for review. I have not been paid for this review nor have I held back my opinions of this torch.

Packaging

The IMALENT MS12 MINI comes in a large black box with shiny blue metalic lettering. An outer cardboard sheath has an image of the torch while the black box inside has a flap that can be lifted to reveal the torch. It is a really nice box.

IMALENT MS12 MINI packaging IMALENT MS12 MINI packaging

IMALENT MS12 MINI packaging IMALENT MS12 MINI packaging

The following was included in the box:

  • IMALENT MS12 MINI.
  • Holster.
  • 240V AC/DC 19V 2A plug pack with a plug for Australia.
  • Two spare o-rings.
  • Lanyard.
  • User manual.

IMALENT MS12 MINI packaging IMALENT MS12 MINI packaging

IMALENT MS12 MINI accessories

IMALENT MS12 MINI user manual-1 IMALENT MS12 MINI user manual-2

Torch in use

The IMALENT MS12 MINI is a pretty hefty soda can size torch. It is pushing the upper limit of a soda can size.

There is a lanyard included but I feel more comfortable holding the torch by the tube with one hand.

IMALENT MS12 MINI in use 1 IMALENT MS12 MINI in use 2

The holster has a velcro strap that slips around my belt. It is comfortable to walk around for an hour or so with the torch and holster on my belt.

IMALENT MS12 MINI holster-1 IMALENT MS12 MINI holster-2

IMALENT MS12 MINI holster-3

I have had a lot of fun using this torch to light up the side of a mountain!

I wish that the torch had a hole to mount it to a tripod. The torch gets pretty hot when using Turbo.

The torch can tailstand.

Build quality

The IMALENT MS12 MINI is made of aluminum and has a matte black anodised finish. There are no sharp edges.

I like combination of lines and square patterns on the tube. There is plenty of grip.

IMALENT MS12 MINI side

IMALENT MS12 MINI front IMALENT MS12 MINI left

IMALENT MS12 MINI back IMALENT MS12 MINI right

Protective film was on the lens. I removed it before using the torch.

IMALENT MS12 MINI warning

The metal button gives a satisfying click. The quality seems really nice. However, I would actually prefer a rubber button because the metal button can become too hot to press (i.e. turn it off while using Turbo).

IMALENT MS12 MINI closeup-button

The threads for the battery pack are anodised, well lubricated, and turn smoothly.

IMALENT MS12 MINI threads IMALENT MS12 MINI driver

The tailcap unscrews to reveal the DC socket for charging the torch. I have a lot of fun spinning the tailcap.

IMALENT MS12 MINI closeup-tailcap

LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam

The IMALENT MS12 MINI has twelve CREE XHP70.2 emitters and an OP reflector. The lens appears to have an anti-reflective coating.

The torch is sealed fairly well.

IMALENT MS12 MINI closeup emitters IMALENT MS12 MINI closeup lens

CCT, CRI, and duv

I have taken Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) and Colour Rendering Index (CRI, RA of R1-R8) measurements with the torch positioned five metres away from an Opple Light Master Pro III (G3).

The CCT is around 5865K. The CRI is around 69.

The Delta u, v is positive (green) on Low and less green on higher modes.

The beam produced has a white hotspot with hint of green, a small corona, and slightly purple spill. The edge of the spill looks a bit like a flower pattern. At least, that is what it looks like on a white wall at a lower mode. It looks a massive wall of light on High or Turbo when used outside.

Mode CCT (K) CRI (Ra) x y Duv
Low 5733 68.8 0.3270 0.3478 0.0060
Middle Low 5761 69.1 0.3264 0.3465 0.0055
Middle 1 5778 68.6 0.3260 0.3470 0.0059
Middle 2 5859 69.4 0.3244 0.3429 0.0046
High 5957 69.9 0.3225 0.3392 0.0036
Turbo 6104 70.6 0.3198 0.3344 0.0025

Calculate Duv from CIE 1931 xy coordinates

Dimensions and size comparison

Dimensions

I took the following measurements using a digital caliper.

Measurement Unit (mm)
Length 147.21
Head diameter 85.11
Tube outside diameter 56.34
Button diameter 12.85

Weight

I took the following measurements using a digital scale.

Weight Unit (g)
Torch with batteries 787.5

Size comparison with its competition

From left to right: IMALENT MS12 MINI, Lumintop Mach, Nightwatch Chaos NS59v2, Wuben X1

IMALENT MS12 MINI, Lumintop Mach, Nightwatch Chaos NS59v2, Wuben X1

From left to right: IMALENT MS12 MINI, Lumintop Mach, Nightwatch Chaos NS59v2, Wuben X1

IMALENT MS12 MINI, Lumintop Mach, Nightwatch Chaos NS59v2, Wuben X1

User interface

There are five modes in the main group:

  • Low
  • Middle Low
  • Middle 1
  • Middle 2
  • High

Turbo may be accessed with two clicks. Strobe may be accessed by two clicks from Turbo.

State Action Result
Off Press and hold for 3 seconds Turn the fan on or off
Off Click On (mode memory)
Off Two clicks Turbo
Off Three clicks Low
Off Four clicks Lock
Locked Four clicks Unlock
Locked Press and hold for 3 seconds Turn the fan on or off
On Press and hold Cycle (Low, Middle Low, Middle 1, Middle 2, High)
On Click Off
On Two clicks Turbo
On Three clicks Low
Turbo Two clicks Strobe
Turbo Press and release Low
Strobe Press and release Low

Mode memory

The torch will memorise the last used mode (Low, Middle Low, Middle 1, Middle 2 or High).

The torch defaults to Low when the battery pack has been disconnected and then reconnected by untwisting and twisting the head back onto the battery pack.

Fans

The fans will automatically turn on when the output exceeds 5,000 lumens.

The fans can be turned on and off manually by holding the button for 3 seconds while the torch is off.

Strobe

Strobe has an alternating frequency.

Low voltage warning

Red indicator LEDs will flash at 2 Hz when the torch is on and the voltage is low.

PWM

I did not notice any visible PWM (flickering).

What I like about the UI

  • Simple to use.
  • Shortcut to Low from off.
  • Shortcut to Turbo from off.
  • It’s cool how the fans can be turned on without turning the torch on.

What could be improved

  • Direct access to Strobe from off would be nice.

Batteries and charging

Battery

The battery pack is sealed and has four 21700 cells.

I measured a voltage of 16.6V when the battery pack was full.

IMALENT MS12 MINI closeup-insulating-film IMALENT MS12 MINI battery-pack

Charging

The tailcap can be unscrewed to reveal a DC socket that accepts an input of 19 to 24V 2A.

IMALENT MS12 MINI charging profile

A 19V 2A charger with a centre positive DC plug and an AC plug for Australia was included. The DC plug appears to be 5.5x2.1mm.

It takes about 2 hours to charge the battery pack. That’s pretty fast!

The indicator LEDs at the end of the torch change from red to green when charging is complete.

IMALENT MS12 MINI charging-red IMALENT MS12 MINI charging-green

It would be nice to see IMALENT use USB-C for charging a battery pack.

Performance

Specifications from the manual:

ANSI/NEMA FL1 Turbo High Middle 2 Middle 1 Middle Low Low
Output (lumens) 65,000 + 13,000 25,000 + 13,000 13,000 5,000 3,000 1,500
Runtime 45s + 40min 3min + 43min 48min 1h 23min 2h 50min 4h
Beam Distance (metres) 1,036
Beam Intensity (cd) 268,600

Lumen measurements

Note: Lumen measurements may be off by 10% with my DIY lumen tube.

Mode Specs Lumens @turn on Lumens @30 sec Lumens @10 min
Low 1,500 2,173 2,025 1,937
Middle Low 3,000 3,453 3,366 3,241
Middle 1 5,000 4,235 4,087 3,999
Middle 2 13,000 10,597 10,324 9,889
High 25,000 + 13,000 24,638 23,806 9,964
Turbo 65,000 + 13,000 66,064 43,650 10,075

Turbo kind of fell short of 65,000 lumens at 30 seconds (ANSI/PLATO FL1). I measured 43,650 lumens at 30 seconds. But it appeared to exceed 65,000 lumens at turn on with 66,064 lumens recorded.

Results for the five lower modes were fairly close to what IMALENT claimed.

Runtime graphs

I used my own DIY lumen tube with a TSL2591 sensor and forked bmengineer’s project RuTiTe to record runtimes.

The room temperature was approximately 12 C.

IMALENT MS12 MINI runtime graph

IMALENT MS12 MINI first hour runtime graph

IMALENT MS12 MINI first 10 minutes runtime graph

Runtime

Here is a summary of the runtime results:

Mode User manual Runtime Turn off
Turbo 45s + 40min 40min 44s 40min 44s
High 3min + 43min 36min 56s 36min 56s
Middle 2 48min 46min 58s 46min 58s
Middle 1 1h 23min 1h 52min 49s 1h 52min 49s
Middle Low 2h 50min 2h 37min 4s 2h 37min 4s
Low 4h 4h 7min 36s 4h 7min 36s

“Runtime” is the time until the output reduces to 10% of the output at 30 seconds (as per the ANSI/PLATO FL1 2019 Standard).

“Turn off” is the time until my DIY lumen tube no longer detects more than 1 lumen.

“+” indicates that the light remained on after recording had stopped.

The driver will limit the output to less than 13,000 lumens when the temperature of the torch body reaches 50 C.

The runtime results were pretty to close to what IMALENT claimed.

The regulation and sustained output is impressive!

Throw

I took lux measurements with a UNI-T UT383BT at 30 seconds. Each mode was measured at ten metres.

Mode Specs (cd) Specs (m) Candela measured (cd) Distance (m)
Low 5,100 142
Middle Low 8,100 180
Middle 1 9,800 197
Middle 2 25,900 321
High 63,400 503
Turbo 268,600 1,036 113,800 674

The beam distance for Turbo at 30 seconds was much lower than expected.

Beamshots

I went to a local park and aimed the IMALENT MS12 MINI at a tree 70 metres away while using Turbo.

Beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 3.2", f3.2, ISO 100, 5000K WB.

IMALENT MS12 MINI (Turbo)

IMALENT MS12 MINI Turbo beamshot

Nightwatch Chaos NS59v2 9xSFQ60.3

Nightwatch Chaos NS59v2 9xSFQ60.3 Turbo beamshot

Lumintop Mach (Turbo)

Lumintop Mach Turbo beamshot

Wuben X1 Falcon (Turbo)

Wuben X1 Falcon Turbo beamshot

Conclusion

There is nothing small about the IMALENT MS12 MINI. It is a beast!

The output regulation and the sustained output is impressive. Middle 2 mode produced 10,000+ lumens for 46 minutes.

Did it reach 65,000 lumens? Yes, at turn on. It stepped down to 43,650 lumens by 30 seconds. This is still pretty impressive.

Turbo reached a beam distance of 674 metres after 30 seconds. This is just over half way to the 1,036 metres that IMALENT claim it can throw.

The user interface is simple to use. I like how I can turn the fans on and off manually (they are noisy but effective).

It would be nice if the torch had a 1/4th inch hole to mount a tripod. It gets very hot while using Turbo.

This is such a fun torch.

There are some more beamshots in this video.

Pros:

  • Excellent build quality.
  • Great runtimes and output regulation.
  • 65,000+ lumens at turn on!
  • 10,000+ lumens for 46 minutes!
  • The fans can turn on automatically or manually.
  • Simple user interface.

Cons:

  • Lower beam distance than expected.
  • The fans sound a bit like a vacuum. They are noisy!
  • No 1/4th inch hole to mount a tripod.

Price

The IMALENT MS12 MINI is US$409.95 from imalentstore.com at the time of writing.

It is also available with a warmer colour temperature (MS12W).

Product page

Promo code: DZYJ10YHM

IMALENT MS12 MINI at imalentstore.com (affiliate link)

I may earn a commission if you use an affiliate link or a promo code. This will help fund future torch reviews and tutorials.