The MRV "Revolution" is the new flashlight in Lumapower's LumaHunter series, a very bright light designed for outdoor activities.The MRV uses a Cree LED and has several options for the batteries being able to use two primary C123 lithiums, two rechargeable 123 lithiums or one 18650 rechargeable battery.
The light comes with a choice of two switches, a tactical switch with momentary activation and twist action for constant-on or a reverse clickie switch. There is a GITD button that you can use with any switch too.
The MRV has two brightness levels selected twisting the joint between the battery tube and the heatsink (the nickeled part) there is a very low click when you switch from high to low or low to high. The operation of the low/high mechanism wasn't very good in our opinion because with so many joints it is hard to twist where you need, sometimes you untwist the tailcap or the reflector instead of the body-heatsink union, furthermore and the difference between high and low wasn't very noticeable. Maybe after lubing the threads the operation will be smoother but we would have liked a much lower low mode. It is our guess that a future two stage tailcap can solve this as Lumapower has done in the M3 model.
The beam of the MRV offers a very tight and bright hotspot with a surrounding corona offering plenty of sidespill light. The throw of the MRV is incredible, it can out-throw almost any other LED light and it can also win against some big incandescent flashlights as the surefire M3(!). From our tests buildings, trees and objects more than 200 meters away can be illuminated, it is almost hard to believe how bright the light is.
The construction is really excellent, the body is made of Ha-III aluminium and will not get dented or scratched unless something terrible happens, the reflector is very big and very smooth, there are double o-rings in the joints to make the light water proof, contacts are clean and every part shows quality details. The tailcap has two wings that can be used to let the light tailstand and to thread a lanyard or a splitring. The bezel is crenelated so it can be used to know if the light is on and may also be used for self defense if needed. There is a glow in the dark oring in the bezel that glows after the light is turned off, this helps finding the MRV in the dark. It has a very solid feel in the hand, from what you see in the picture expect it to be smaller than what you think and heavier than what you think.
Runtime in high mode is about 30 minutes on rechargeables 123, about 1 hour with primaries and more than 3 hours with a 18650 battery. So far the 18650 is the option we like for the long runtime and brightness. Regulation is better with rechargeable 123s where the light output is constant until it just turns off completely.
The MRV is an awesome light for outdoor activities with an incredible throw and excellent construction quality. If you are outside often you should really take a look at this flashlight.
You can read more and order for $120 from BatteryJunction.
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