Lumintop Petal LEP Review
Lumintop Petal⌗
- Specifications
- Introduction
- Torch in use
- Build quality
- LED, bezel, lens and beam
- Size and comparison
- User interface
- Batteries and charging
- Performance
- Beamshots
- Conclusion
- Price
- Product page
Specifications⌗
| Brand/model | Lumintop Petal |
|---|---|
| LEP | Shine through LEP module |
| Maximum lumens | 500 lm |
| Maximum beam intensity | 279,000 cd |
| Maximum throw | 1,056 m |
| Battery | 1*18350 Li-ion |
| Onboard charging | No (USB-C battery) |
| Material | Aluminium |
| Modes | 5 |
| Blinkies | Strobe, Police flash |
| Reflector | No |
| Waterproof | IPX8 |
| Review date | July 2023 |
Introduction⌗
The Lumintop Petal is a pocket sized LEP torch with six AUX LEDs that produce a beam that looks like the petals of a flower.
While visiting Lumintop with Neal I was given the opportunity to try out multiple torches. More info about our visit to Lumintop and a video of the factory can be found here:
I was instantly smitten by the Lumintop Petal while trying it out at the Lumintop headquarters. The pocket sized 18350 LEP torch looks like an elegant grenade.
I am a big fan of pocket throwers:
Lumintop kindly provided this torch for review. I have not been paid for this review nor have I held back my opinions of this torch.
Packaging⌗
The Lumintop Petal came in a plain cardboard box with Lumintop branding. It looks like an environmentally friendly packaging option.
The following was included in the box:
- Lumintop Petal.
- Lumintop 18350 1100mAh cell.
- Two spare o-rings.
- User manual.
Torch in use⌗
The Lumintop Petal is such a tiny LEP torch! It barely fits my hand while holding it in an overhand grip.
There is so much bling going on!
- Six glow tubes in the tail cap.
- A blue glow-in-the-dark ring behind the glass lens.
- Two gold coloured rings at each end of the tube.
- And RGB emitters in the tailswitch that automatically change colour!
The torch can tailstand on the button with a bit of practice. But it is much easier to stand the torch face down.
There is no pocket clip or lanyard hole. This particular LEP can be placed in a pocket.
The flowery beam produced by the Aux LEDs is a lot of fun! The light sabre beam produced by the LEP is fun too.
Build quality⌗
The Lumintop Petal is made of aluminium and has a matte black finish. There are no sharp edges.
There is plenty of grip due to the design of the head, tube and tailcap.
A diamond pattern on the tube and two gold coloured metal rings at each end make the torch look like an elegant grenade.
I love the tailcap design where it is easy to grip and turn.
The threads turn smoothly but they are unanodised. It would be nice if they were anodised so that the tailcap could be twisted slightly to disconnect the battery and turn the RGB emitters off in the tailcap.
The gold coloured rings are held in place by o-rings.
Springs at each end allow button top and flat top 18350 cells to be used. There appears to be reverse polarity protection.
LED, bezel, lens and beam⌗
The Lumintop Petal has a shine-through LEP module that produces a white beam and six white AUX emitters that produce a beam that looks like the petals of a flower.
I was able to unscrew the bezel to see what the head contains.
There are unanodised threads that turn smoothly and an o-ring to help prevent water getting into the head.
The shape of the aluminium head allows a biconvex lens to sit neatly inside it while a glow-in-the-dark ring presses against it from the other side. A glass lens sits in front of the glow-in-the-dark ring to protect the biconvex lens.
CCT, CRI, and duv⌗
I have taken Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) and Colour Rendering Index (CRI, RA of R1-R8) measurements of the LEP with the torch positioned five metres away from an Opple Light Master Pro III (G3).
The CCT is around 6800K. The CRI is around 59.
The Delta u, v is positive (green) with the LEP on Low and less green on High.
The beam produced by the LEP looks white and it has a hint of yellow around the edge.
The beam produced by the AUX emitters looks like petals of a flower. The colour shifts between white and yellow.
| Emitters | Mode | CCT (K) | CRI (Ra) | x | y | Duv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEP | Low | 5912 | 53.3 | 0.3219 | 0.3655 | 0.0166 |
| LEP | High | 7725 | 65.3 | 0.2943 | 0.3200 | 0.0084 |
Calculate Duv from CIE 1931 xy coordinates
Dimensions and size comparison⌗
Dimensions⌗
I took the following measurements using a vernier caliper.
| Measurement | Unit (mm) |
|---|---|
| Length | 96.5 |
| Head diameter | 32.0 |
| Tail diameter | 32.0 |
Weight⌗
I took the following measurements using a digital scale.
| Weight | Unit (g) |
|---|---|
| Torch | 101.58 |
| Battery | 26.47 |
| Torch with battery | 128.05 |
Size comparison with its competition⌗
From left to right: Lumintop Petal, Manker MC13, Amutorch BT35
From left to right: Lumintop Petal, Manker MC13, Amutorch BT35
User interface⌗
There are five main modes:
- Aux LEDs Low
- Aux LEDs High
- LEP Low
- LEP High
- Both AUX LEDs and LEP High
And there are two blinky modes:
- Strobe
- Police flash
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (mode memory) |
| On | Half press | Cycle (five modes as above) |
| On | Two half presses | Strobe |
| On | Six half presses | Police flash |
Strobe⌗
Strobe has an alternating frequency. Strobe can be applied to any mode.
Police flash⌗
Police flash causes the torch to continuously perform two quick flashes every few seconds. Police flash can be applied to any mode.
Low voltage protection⌗
There is low voltage protection. The AUX emitters turned off at 2.84V. The LEP turned off at 3.08V. Both the AUX emitters and LEP turned off at 3.34V.
The light flashes and the output drops when the voltage gets low.
I tested low voltage protection by connecting the driver of the torch to a bench power supply and then by lowering the voltage from 4.2V to 0V.
PWM⌗
I did not notice any visible PWM (flickering).
What I like about the UI⌗
- I like how Strobe and Police flash can be applied to any mode instead of just being applied to the LEP while High.
What could be improved⌗
- It would be easier to operate the LEP if the main cycle group only had two modes (LEP Low, LEP High). The Aux LEDs should be made accessible via a shortcut instead of putting them in the main cycle group.
Batteries and charging⌗
Battery⌗
A button top Lumintop 18350 1100mAh cell with USB-C port for built-in charging was included inside the torch.
Charging⌗
Power supply: PinePower Desktop USB-C
USB Meter: AVHzY CT-3
Room temperature: 13 C
I charged the included battery from 3.29V to 4.15V for an hour at 5V 1.4A using the USB-C port in the battery. The indicator light changed from red to blue when charging finished.
I reconnected the battery to the USB-C charging cable to resume charging and it finished charging a second time at 4.18V.
I reconnected the battery again and it finished charging at 4.21V.
Power supply compatibility⌗
I tried the following power supplies with the built-in USB-C charger:
| Power supply | USB Type | Protocol | Does it charge? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple 61W Power Adapter | USB-C | PD | Yes |
| Google Pixel Power Adapter | USB-C | PD | Yes |
| PinePower Desktop | USB-C | PD | Yes |
| PinePower Desktop | USB-A | QC | Yes |
| PinePower Desktop | USB-A | Yes |
USB-C to USB-C charging works.
Performance⌗
Specifications from the manual:
| Emitter | Low | High | Strobe, Police flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Output (lumens) | LEP | 60 | 250 | 100 |
| Output (lumens) | Aux LEDs | 40 | 300 | 100 |
| Output (lumens) | Both | 500 | 180 | |
| Runtime | LEP | 2h | 5min + 1h | |
| Runtime | Aux LEDs | 3h | 5min + 1h 20min | |
| Runtime | Both | 2min + 40min | ||
| Beam Distance (metres) | LEP | 1,056 | ||
| Beam Intensity (cd) | LEP | 279,000 |
Lumen measurements⌗
I used a UNI-T UT210E clamp meter to measure the current at turn on.
| Emitters | Mode | Amps at start | Specs | Lumens @turn on | Lumens @30 sec | Lumens @10 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aux LEDs | Low | 0.36 A | 40 | 40 | 40 | 36 |
| Aux LEDs | High | 2.74 A | 300 | 299 | 260 | 79 |
| Both | High | 4.99 A | 500 | 484 | 446 | 163 |
| LEP | Low | 0.64 A | 60 | 68 | 66 | 62 |
| LEP | High | 2.94 A | 250 | 294 | 280 | 98 |
Standby drain⌗
90 to 313 µA.
The tailcap has aux lights that change colours and they cannot be turned off. The battery must be removed to turn the aux lights off in the tailcap.
Runtime graphs⌗
I used my own DIY lumen tube with a TSL2591 sensor and forked bmengineer’s project RuTiTe to record runtimes.
Note: Lumen measurements may be off by 10% with my DIY lumen tube.
The room temperature was approximately 10 C.
Runtime⌗
Here is a summary of the runtime results:
| Emitters | Mode | User manual | Runtime | Turn off | Final voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEP | High | 5min + 1h | 1h 1min 49s | 1h 1min 49s | 3.27 |
| LEP | Low | 2h | 1h 45min 19s | 1h 45min 19s | 3.29 |
| Aux LEDs | High | 5min + 1h 20min | 1h 40min 41s | 2h+ | 2.97 |
| Aux LEDs | Low | 3h | 3h+ | 3h+ | 3.15 |
| Both | High | 2min + 40min | 44min 53s | 44min 53s | 3.25 |
“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 runtime results were very similar to what Lumintop stated in the user manual.
An hour for the LEP on High is pretty good for a torch with an 18350 cell.
Throw⌗
I took lux measurements with a UNI-T UT383BT at 30 seconds. Low and High modes for the LEP emitter were measured at ten metres.
| Emitters | Mode | Specs (cd) | Specs (m) | Candela measured (cd) | Distance (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEP | Low | 77,800 | 557 | ||
| LEP | High | 279,000 | 1056 | 386,600 | 1,243 |
The beam distance for the LEP on High was slightly better than expected.
I did not measure the beam distance for the Aux LEDs. The flowery beam can easily light up a wall ten metres away but the middle of the beam is dark.
Beamshots⌗
I went to a local park and aimed the Lumintop Petal at a tree 100 metres away while using High.
Beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 1.3", f3.2, ISO 800, 5000K WB.
Lumintop Petal (LEP High)⌗
The shelter for the BBQ in the park was upgraded and has brighter lights.
Amutorch BT35 (High)⌗
Weltool W4Pro (High)⌗
Conclusion⌗
The Lumintop Petal is a fun sized LEP torch with a lot of bling.
There is a decent amount of throw and the runtimes are good for an 18350 torch.
The petal beam pattern is a lot of fun!
There is a bit of tint shift in the LEP beam. It would be nice if the beam produced by the shine-through LEP module was a pure white beam like the Amutorch BT35.
I wish that the user interface only had LEP Low and LEP High in the main cycle group. There are five modes to cycle through. Mode memory helps, as long as I remember what mode I was using.
If you like pocket throwers then the Lumintop Petal might appeal to you.
Pros:⌗
- Excellent build quality.
- Elegant design.
- Decent beam distance.
- Fun petal beam pattern.
- USB-C charging in the battery.
- Low voltage protection.
Cons:⌗
- RGB emitters are always on in the tailcap.
- User interface (too many modes in the main group).
- Price.
Price⌗
The Lumintop Petal is US$195.95 with a Lumintop 18350 1100mAh battery at the time of writing.
The Lumintop Petal is pretty expensive. There are plenty of different larger LEP torches available at a more affordable price. That said, there aren’t a lot of 18350 LEP torches. Lumintop make most of the LEP torches at this size!
The Lumintop Thor I has a simpler user interface, comes in various metals, and there is an 18650 extension tube available for it. It lacks the six Aux LEDs to produce a petal beam pattern though.
Product page⌗
Promo code: TimMcAU
Promo code: TIMMC
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