This is the Convoy T4 brass edition! This setup has the 4000K 519a LED with the 3A buck driver, dual battery option (2x 14500 Li-ion or 2x AA) and brass tail button!
• Box contents [8th picture]
– T4 (Brass)
• Price
The price of this flashlight (With Nichia 519a, 3A driver) is currently $31.74 on Convoy official website. I consider this price bery good for a light with such high quality and features.
• Body and build quality
Material: This version of the T4 is entirely made of brass, the machining is pretty good, it has a nice heavy weight and is still very good for heat dissipation! There are also aluminum and Titanium versions with A LOT of colors, check it on Convoy's website!
The threads are really, really smooth. The construction of this light in brass is pretty awesome. Brass has lower heat dissipation properties compared to aluminum, but the higher density makes it need more heat to heat it up to the same temperature as aluminum, so usually turbo lasts a little more on brass AFAIK.
Clip: The T4 does not come with a clip, but the convoy screw-on clip can be installed as the T4 has those 2 holes on the tail cap.
AUX lights; The flashlight does not come with any auxiliary light or LEDs, but a switch with light can be installed on this flashlight with some considerations.
Buttons: It has a mechanical switch on the tail with a brass button, the click is awesome IMO!
By testing I found that the 18mm switch with light is compatible with this flashlight but ONLY IF YOU USE AA BATTERIES, if you use Li-ions you will fry the LEDs on the switch. This is because with AAs 3V pass through the switch, with Li-ions around 8.4V go through it, the LEDs on the button are designed for 3V. [9th Picture]
Bezel: The bezel is also made of brass!
Water Resistance: It has some nice O-Rings on all threads, making it very water resistant! The lens has a big chunky O-Ring too.
Here is a size comparison with 2 other flashlights, the Manker E05 II and the Brass S2+ [10th picture]
• Weight and size
Weight: 210g (without battery) (Very heavy, but I like it this way lol)
Size: 153.3mm (length) x 21mm (tail diameter) – 27mm (head diameter)
• Battery, runtime, and charging
Battery: The T4 can use both 2x 14500 Li-ion cells as well as 2x AA (Alkaline, Lithium, NiMH…) cells too! This makes this flashlight very versatile and with a longer runtime than using only one cell. [11th picture]
Battery Indicator: Unfortunately, the only battery indicator is the “blinky” mode you can access on some of the "groups" available to select on the driver, this is only available for Li-ion cells, with AAs this mode is skipped when cycling through modes.
Charging: There is no charging port on the flashlight's body, this makes it more waterproof, but less convenient. I recommend having a dedicated charger for the 14500 cells. This light accepts AAs too, so you can always throw in some Alkalines if your Li-ions are discharged!
• Modes, Runtimes, Throw, Candela:
Modes: There are 12 “groups” available for choosing on this flashlight, each one has different brightness modes. The brightness modes available are: 1%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 35%, 50% and 100%. There are also some “blinkies”: Strobe, SOS, Bike light and Battery Check. I made a simple fluxogram with all the groups of the T4 inspired by one I saw some time ago, I will include it as the last picture.
Throw: This version with the 519a LED has a big and floody hotspot, making it a great all-around flashlight. There are other LEDs available that can throw farther and have a more concentrated hotspot, like the SFT-25r or the OSRAMs. This is the magic of Convoy, you can pick almost anything you want!
• Emitter, reflector, beam, and CRI:
Emitter: This flashlight has a single 4000K 519a LED, very powerful, clean white light with a nice tint, this is an awesome LED! [12th picture]
Lens: The glass lens is anti-reflexive coated.
Reflector: It has an aluminum OP (Orange Peel) reflector, but a smooth reflector can be installed as well.
CRI: This one has a Nichia 519a with 95+ CRI!
• Beamshots Camera settings:
(1" F4 ISO200)
– 1st beamshot: 100% brightness level – 14500 battery (Trees at the back around 100m)
– 2nd beamshot: 35% brightness level – 14500 battery (Trees at the back around 100m)
– 3rd beamshot: 100% brightness level – 14500 battery (Trees at around 150m)
– 4th beamshot: 35% brightness level – 14500 battery (Trees at around 150m)
– 5th beamshot: Flashlight off for reference (100m)
I always try to match what my eyes can see on the beamshots, so camera settings may vary.
• Driver and UI
Driver: The driver is a constant current “Buck” driver, the one I received has a 3A output driver, but a 6A driver is also available on Convoy website. You can verify which driver it is by its color, the 3A driver board is red, while the 6A driver board is blue. [18th picture]
UI: This flashlight has the 12 group Convoy UI, the only difference from other Convoy flashlights UI is that this one doesn´t have the 0.1% mode, sadly. I love moonlight modes, so sad that this light doesn´t have the 0.1%, you can have an almost moonlight mode using AAs on the 1% mode.
Low Voltage Warning: Yes, only when using 14500s
Reverse Polarity Protection: Sadly, it doesn´t have reverse polarity protection for some reason, so be careful.
Lockout: This flashlight does not have any type of mechanical or digital lockout, unscrewing the tailcap won´t do nothing as the brass doesn´t have anodizing. For this light it doesn´t really matter for me, as the mechanical button is kind of hard to be miss pressed.
Turbo: The 100% is the Turbo mode, you can cycle into it on some modes.
Moonlight: As the 0.1% mode is absent on this model, there is no real moonlight, the closest you can have is the 1% mode, that becomes closer to a real moonlight when using Aas.
• Conclusion:
This flashlight is awesome, I love it! The brass gives it a really premium and beautiful look, it can use Li-ions or very common AA batteries, this makes it pretty handy in a lot of situations, especially emergencies, the double battery style also makes it have a longer runtime than using a single cell, you can customize the button, LED, reflector and almost everything on this flashlight, pretty damn awesome flashlight. Of course it has some flaws IMO, like the absent real “moonlight” mode, the lack of complete compatibility with the switch with light, and the UI can be kind of confusing, at least for me, sometimes (ah the classic Convoy biscotti clone UI), but still this flashlight is one of my current favorites because of it´s versatility and quality for the price.
• Pros:
– Good thermal regulation
– Multiple battery compatibility
– A lot of customization options
– Constant current regulated driver
– High CRI (on this setup)
– Pretty powerful even with AAs
• Cons:
– No real moonlight
– Lack of full compatibility with the switch with light
– No reverse polarity protection
A special thanks to Simon for sending this flashlight for me to review!
*I am not being paid to do this review, everything here is my honest opinion.
Thank you for reading my review <3
by LMP-Br
