This Haikelite MT07S was provided by /u/swiling of Banggood for review. Use coupon code 138f0b for 28% off the MT07S - a price of $57.56 at the time of this writing.

I want to note that my package was labeled "test".

A full album with extra images is available at https://imgur.com/a/Vofui

Quick Review

The MT07S is a moderately throwy, 4x18650 high-output light to compete with the likes of the Nitecore TM16, Fenix TK75 and Acebeam K60, but at a much lower price. This is a light to bring to situations where a lot of light is required, or where light may be needed for a long period of time. The size and weight preclude casual carry with the possible exception of a larger backpack, but the MT07S would be at home in a vehicle or stored next to a door. There's a tripod mount, making it convenient for photographers or those seeking to improvise a vehicle mount.

Left to right: Haikelite HT35, Haikelite MT07S, Klarus G30, Jetbeam T6, Acebeam K70

Advertised performance is 5000 lumens and 500m throw with stable output as the batteries drain. My tested output is 4300 lumens and FIXME throw. It appears Haikelite forgot their usual disclaimer about neutral white having a little less output as their rep on BLF said NW should be 4500 lumens. This is still very competitive performance. Throw is substantially more than claimed, which is no surprise given the deep, smooth reflector. There's thermal regulation, but it's fairly mild and the light will maintain over 3000 lumens uncooled. With fan cooling, output is, indeed stable on all modes.

The hotspot is large and the spill is bright, though narrower than average due to the reflector depth versus width. Tint consistency across the beam is fairly bad, one of my few serious complaints about this light, however color quality seems good. Compared side by side to a 5000K MT-G2 known to be about 70 CRI and a Nichia 219C known to be over 80 CRI, color differentiation is similar to the Nichia and noticeably better than the MT-G2. Testing maukka did on another neutral white XHP70.2 light came up with 70 CRI, so it's not clear to me whether this is a higher-CRI emitter or just a mistaken perception on my part. This is a good all-around beam for more open outdoor spaces, but the tint rainbow is noticeable and a distinct disadvantage.

There are six steady modes. The lowest and highest are accessable only by shortcuts with four modes in the main sequence, cycled by holding down the button from on. A short press is always on/off and there's an electronic lockout as well as a mechanical one. Standby drain is high with about a year of standby, so the mechanical lockout should be used for longer-term storage. My only user interface complaint is that there's no way to get to a lower main-sequence mode without cycling past higher ones, though moonlight is accessable from off. Most of the modes are well-spaced, though the top two main sequence modes are a bit close together.

The MT07S is the third Haikelite I've reviewed and easily my favorite of the three. The level of performance and build quality at this price point is nothing short of spectacular.

• • Stable output as the batteries drain
• • Good color rendering given that CRI is unspecified
• • Shortcuts from off to high, low and last-used
• • Strobe mode unlikely to be activated by mistake
• • Throw exceeds spec
• • Not picky about battery size
• • Tint rainbow
• • Thermal regulation allows the light to get quite hot
• • Excessive standby current
• • Mode change is a bit sluggish

Details and technical analysis

Accessories

The MT07S includes a plug/loop for the tripod mount, lanyard, spare O-rings and manual - a glossy one this time instead of a photocopy.

Modes and user interface

I was a bit confused by the max -> last-used behavior until I realized that the MT07S treats off as just another mode, so if it had been off, it returns to off. I don't recommend disabling thermal regulation or using the electronic lockout; loosening the head for a mechanical lockout is more reliable and has zero standby drain. If thermal regulation is disabled, removing the tailcap or loosening the head will turn it back on.

The long-presses are a bit longer than I'd prefer, which is evident comparing back to back with, say, an Acebeam L16 or Armytek Wizard.

Output and runtime

Advertised runtimes are with unspecified batteries, though 3500 mAh would be a reasonable assumption. Runtime estimates are based on 3000 mAh batteries. All tests were performed with Sony VTC6 3000 mAh batteries.

Listed outputs are for the cool white model. I noticed a Haikelite rep on BLF saying that neutral white max output is 4500 lumens, which is consistent with my results.

Additional graphs

• High uncooled
• Max uncooled

Uncooled max times are: 80%: 7.6 minutes, 50/10%: 76 minutes. Output stays at around 75% after the thermal stepdown and actually increases for a while over the runtime.

Light quality

The tint of my sample is nominally 5000K (cool white also available), and portions of the hotspot are a fairly pure white tint. The center is more yellow. The corona is greenish and the outer spill is noticeably purple. In other words, this is very obviously a new-generation Cree. The rainbow effect is bad enough to be distracting outdoors.

Color rendering, on the other hand appears surprisingly good to my eyes. Compared back to back with 80 CRI 219Cs, the MT07S looks about as good.

The hotspot is similar in size to a more throwy EDC-type light, but much more intense. The corona is large and bright, while the spill is narrower and brighter than a typical thrower. Overall, it's a useful general-purpose beam.

White wall

• https://imgur.com/sF5m2d7.jpg

Outdoor

• https://imgur.com/dKhvnNT.jpg
• https://imgur.com/T8Yj2Q6.jpg
• https://imgur.com/YycW3BU.jpg

Ergonomics

The body is fairly large in diameter, widening toward the head. The widening makes the MT07S a bit more awkward than other 4x18650 lights. The switch is small, flush and can be a little hard to find by feel, especially with gloves on.

Construction

The MT07S is well-machined with no sharp edges (unlike the HT35) or tool marks. Waterproofing is fine, with no signs of leakage after several minutes of immersion. Nothing really stands out here, but there are no problems.

The one problem I did have is that the lens broke while the light was in my checked bag. I've flown with a lot of lights, some with bigger lenses than the 62mm of the MT07S and never had a problem. I'm not sure if the lens on this light is weaker than others, or if it's just because I flew United this time. As we know, United breaks guitars and sometimes passengers, so why not flashlights?

I emailed Haikelite to see if I could buy a replacement lens. They did not reply. Instead, I bought a UCLp 61.6mm, which works, but is slightly too small and compromises waterproofing.

Batteries

The MT07S uses four 18650 batteries. Protected, unprotected, button and flat top all fit and make contact. With a 4S battery configuration, it is important that the batteries be of the same type and similar in age, condition and state of charge due to the risk of reverse charging. There is low-voltage protection at around 12V (3.0V per cell), but this will not prevent reverse charging when one low cell is mixed with three full ones.

Modification potential

I've decided to start including modifications in reviews. Some people just can't leave well enough alone, and I'm one of them.

The MT07S offers good opportunities for emitter swaps. Any XHP50 or XHP70 on a 6V board should work. A Nichia 144AM on an appropriate MCPCB will work. Four Nichia E21As on the upcoming Virence quad board will not work easily because the board is too small for the reflector. It's hard to say whether any of the Nichia options will produce a nice looking beam with this reflector.

Due to a lack of MCPCBs that won't short on the reflector, I'm not swapping emitters on this light just yet, but look for a report on a Nichia option in the future.