Tuesday, June 13, 2017

FourSevens Mini Mk. II Review

I really thought this light would become my go-to EDC light. On paper, it looks like the absolute perfect flashlight. It has a killer output in a super compact package. Just because a piece of gear looks good on paper doesn't mean you'll like the design. Unfortunately, that's the case with this light for me. I can't get behind the design or UI. I'm so used to some of my other lights now that I can't justify giving them up for this light. It's a cool light, but not the one for me.


Quality wise, this light is perfect. I've had no issues with it. The fit and finish is perfect. I've never had any problems with any of the FourSevens' lights I've tried, and this one is no exception.

Design wise, this light isn't anything fancy. It's simple and to the point. It's a twisty light with a CR123 battery. That makes it much stouter than most lights I'm used to carrying. I've always carried AAA lights, so coming to a CR123 from those is quite a big difference. I ultimately didn't like that stoutness in my carry. I prefer my slimmer lights for sure. There's nothing wrong with it at all. It's just a personal preference thing. The knurling all over this light is super nice, but honestly this light isn't that easy for me to use one-handed. I don't find the twisty action to be that smooth or loose, so it takes a lot of effort to turn the light on and off. I often get stuck on the same mode when I'm trying to switch modes, because I can't turn the light on and off quick enough. I could just need to break it in a little bit. Other than that, there's not that much to say about the design. The light did come with a pocket clip and key ring attachment. Both really suck though. The pocket clip juts out way too far. I'd never use this key ring attachment as this light would make my keys way too bulky.

Like I said earlier, this light's output is killer. At the time I'm writing this, I believe this is the only flashlight in this size range that can pump out over a 1,000 lumens. You do need to buy FourSevens' special battery to get the 1,020 lumens. If you're using a regular CR123 battery, you'll only get max output of 550 lumens. The max output is 1,020 lumens with a minimum output of 0.8 lumens. I really love the inclusion of this super low firefly/moonlight mode. It's very handy when I don't need that much light. This light does have mode memory and different configuration levels. The mode memory is nice, but kind of sucks when you leave it on the 1,020 lumens. I've forgotten that's the mode I've used last many times now, and it always leaves me blind for a little bit. I don't know exact runtimes, so you'll have to look those up on FourSevens' website. This light does get very hot when you leave it on high for a little bit. That's to be expected though. I do believe there is a cut-off for how long you can use the high mode before it bumps you back down to 550 lumens. Don't quote me on that though. Modes include the moonlight, low, medium, high, and various strobes and beacons. This light has six different configuration levels. To change what level you're at, you have to repeatedly twist the light on/off a ton of times. Honestly it's a pain to do, so I've just left it on the default, which is low/medium/high/moonlight. You can adjust the configuration levels so you have as few as one mode or every single one. It's a neat idea, but not one that I really need. The beam has a nice tint to it. This flashlight can light up everything I need it do. It's a super impressive output for a light this size.


The feature that really drew me to pick up this light is the fact that it's rechargeable. When you buy this light with the special battery, you get this cool USB charger to charge the battery. It's super easy to use. It just connects to the ends of the battery with magnets, and you're good to go. 

As far as price goes, the flashlight and battery combo goes for $55 from FourSevens' website. If you want the light alone, that'll run you $40. You might as well pick up the combo, so you're guaranteed the 1,020 lumens. I think that's a pretty fair price for a light that's rechargeable and gets over 1,000 lumens. The Olight S10R Baton II, a similar rechargeable CR123 light, ran for like $60 I believe. That's about what you're going to pay for a quality light at this point in time.

All in all, I really wanted to like this light, but it wasn't for me. Something I didn't mention earlier was how boring the black finish is. I prefer to have my colorful gear, so I was bummed that this only comes in black. You can get special versions of this light in copper, titanium, brass, or rainbow, but those cost about $80. That's ridiculous. I'm not going to pay that much just to get a non-black light. It's a cool light, but not that cool. The best parts about it are the output and fact that it's rechargeable. My biggest issues come down to the design and UI. I'm so used to my other lights at this point that it was too big of an adjustment to get used to this one. I was never really sold on the size (too bulky for me), so I probably didn't give it the fairest shot in my carry. It's totally a great light. It doesn't get a personal recommendation from me, but I do recognize a quality light when I see it. If you need a super bright and small light in your EDC, check it out. Otherwise, just pick up a good AAA light. If you like the idea of this light, but want a clicky, check out Olight's Baton series. Remember that lumens aren't always everything. Thanks for looking!

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