Ok I'd like to talk about something uncomfortable in the flashlight community.
And one of my knife video watchers is like "flashlight community- that already sounds
uncomfortable."
Flashlight usage for a good portion of people who buy them, is confined to a white apartment
wall- to criticize tint and beam pattern.
It's sort of like how most knives are used for Instagram pocket dump EDC coordination.
Ooh I've never thought about using a red skull lanyard bead on my maryphone- it'll look great
opening legal documents.
Some lights have to be used outside to realize their full potential- like the Silent Thunder
Ordnance ultra thrower- the Lance of Ra (not for use indoors).
Now if you follow me on Instagram you'll know not only that I drink beer but also I've had
this light for a while...
But it took me a while to get footage, and Silent Thunder Ordnance is releasing a new
light called the Storm of Ra... and this review will be timed around the release for that
one.
But let's look at the Lance closer...
it's one of Silent Thunder Ordnances earliest flashlight projects based loosely around a
production aspheric flashlight some people might be familiar with... the UF-1508.
The Lance basically shares that light's battery tube for it's massive 3D printed aspheric
head.
You're like 3D printed like my low... er... uh what we're we talking about again.
The head is compromised of a Night Piercer LED engine, a glass optic, some additional
heatsinking, and a custom driver.
Inside the head them are some glow in the dark accents, that continue to glow after
the light is no longer being used.
Let's look at some outputs estimates by me- with some disclaimers... this light is literally
one of the throwiest, or THE throwiest lights ever made.
Silent Thunder Ordnance measures the light at 21 meters and coverts for their ANSI readings.
You can measure at 20 or 35 feet but it will read lower in throw on the Turbo mode.
That and the beam pattern is so pencil thin I was not able to get accurate lumens ratings,
Silent thunder said the emitter is rated at 800 theoretical lumens on turbo- so less than
that.
The beam is literally unlike any other flashlight.
First is low.
Then is mid.
Then High.
Then Turbo.
Remember measure at 21 meters if you want to get close to what I and Silent Thunder
Ordnance did.
How about the user interface.
The Lance uses two 18650 batteries...
stick them positive end facing the lens.
I used 2 Samsung 30Q button topped cells.
Screw on the tailcap.
Press it once to turn it on... half presses scroll through all modes from low mid high
and turbo and back again.
There is no mode memory.
It always starts on low.
A full click turns it off.
Now I won't attempt runtimes on this, mainly because Silent Thunder Ordnance says that
High is direct drive, so it's best to use it about 10 minutes a time or less in high
to manage heat properly.
Or get someone to blow on it real hard... ok don't do that.
While their other lights are production lights...
this light needs to be treated like a modded light, because that's what it is.
Talk sweetly to it, and give it a kiss at bed time, like you treat your custom knives.
How about the beamshots.
I will be only comparing a few lights here.
A zooming aspehric, my biggest traditional thrower, and a flooder thrower combo light...
all lights here are over 100,000 candela or extremely long range lights, with a variety
of beam patterns.
First up let's look at the Lance at 100 feet.
100 feet is not a good distance to enjoy this light you will be disappointed.
It will illuminate things only a couple feet wide.. if you're looking for something small
at a short range that's kind of weird but we're on the internet...
so sure....
Now the other aspheric the Brinyte B158... it's a larger area at full focus...
it's a more practical light for close and long range because it's a zooming light.
The Lance is not a zooming light.
It's not an every day carry light.
It's a light you'd build a wooden case for and take it out on an open prairie somewhere
or the desert.
A light you would use with binoculars or a spotting scope and preferably over 1000 feet.
Get it... not for apartments.
Now the Acebeam K70, a more conventional light with a dense hot spot... this light has a
more useable beam at close distances because of it's dim spill.
Back to the Lance which has spill for closer ranges, but it's such a dim spill it doesn't
show up on camera, and you won't see it at a distance of much more than 100 feet.
Now the Nitecore TM16GT... this one has more spill than the rest...
it's also the brightest light here.
Ok let's go to 800 feet.
Ok at 800 feet some of these lights start to struggle...
Not the Lance though...
it's still only a few feet wide off in the distance.
It's sort of like a laser pointer of white light.
The Brinyte B158... not as good at this distance...
it's very dim.
Back to the Lance for a second.
Or few.
How about the K70?
It's still pretty good at this distance even though it has a fraction of the candela of
the Lance... and my 2nd throwiest light behind the lance.
Now the Nitecore TM16GT... at that distance the Nitecore winds up scattering a lot of
light...
it almost looks like a flooder.
It's not but it looks like one.
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Now an extreme test with only my K70 and the Lance on the beach.
It was extremely hard for me to find a large open area where this light could be appreciated.
Shining down the beach the lance looks like just a beam of focused light.
The trees are hard to see.
Now the K70... see how much spill the light has comparatively?
It shows just how efficient that large head and lens is at focusing the light.
Ok so if you noticed earlier there's a building...
probably a house that's about 2800 feet away.
With my wide angle lens on it looks like a dot of light....
so let's swap on my 50mm lens which is more like a 144mm lens on my Black Magic Pocket
Camera.
Ok see how well it does?
The K70 wasn't really photographable at this distance, so I didn't.
Anyway you could probably squeeze more distance out of the light, it's just all that I had
access too.
Again this is about a 2.5 million candela light, and the closest current production
light is the TN42 from Thrunite at 600,000 candela- a little throwier than my K70.
I'm sure that'll change in a few months.
The Lance of Ra is the most speciality light I've ever tested.
Occasionally some people need very pencil thin long range beams.
The is the best you'll find for that.
It's best used in conjunction with a spotting scope or binoculars you will not see something
several thousand feet away clearly with your naked eye.
Atmospheric conditions like rain, humidity, fog, and sitting in your apartment might affect
how far the beam can travel... so it's best used in drier climates and conditions.
Anyway if you like this review, and would like more technical questions than I can answer
check out Silent Thunder Ordnances website and shoot them an email.
Look out for my review of the big lumen Storm of Ra compound optic from Silent Thunder Ordnance
soon.
It is every bit as unique as this one, and is a totally original design with all sorts
of bespoke options.
Like subscribe comment, and give the video a thumbs up.
Thanks for watching.