usb

Powertac WOFT

  When it comes to handheld flashlights, there’s a ton of them around. The ultimate question is how do you know which one is right for you? I would go check out reviews and specifications. Which is probably why you are here. Powertac has been doing some pretty interesting things with handheld lights. I’ve reviewed a few of their lights in the past and they performed well. They sent out one of their new lights, the Powertac WOFT tactical EDC light. This light is a collaboration with WOFT (Where Our Families Train) training.

  The Powertac WOFT light is very compact. It has a length of 4.28 inches. A head diameter of 1 inch and a body diameter of 0.85 inches. This makes it fit in the pocket nicely. I usually just throw the WOFT light in my pocket. But for those wondering, it does have a pocket clip. The pocket clip is dual purpose, so it can be clipped onto stuff in either direction. So basically, button up, or button down, whatever suits your carry style. I did find it useful, if you needed to use the Powertac WOFT light as a headlamp. Just clip it to your hat brim and light up wherever your head is facing. The clip can be located around the flashlight body in 4 different locations. The Powertac WOFT is compact enough to make it easy to carry everyday.

  Function of the Powertac WOFT is pretty self explanatory. For instance, the button on the rear tailcap turns the light on and off. One press on, one press off. To momentarily turn the light on, just lightly push the button down. If you double tap the rear switch, you turn on the strobe mode. This works both in momentary and click options, depending on if you want the strobe to stay on or just use it for a wee bit. The tailcap button also has two ears sticking up to protect the button.These ears allow you to stand the light upright on a flat surface. I’m a big fan of a light that can stand up and be used to illuminate a whole room, similar to a lantern.

Front Target stands are 50 yds, Rear are 100 yds. Anything within 50 yds is easily identified

  The Powertac WOFT also has 5 brightness settings. These are: Firefly, Low, Medium, High, and Turbo. The Light ALWAYS turns on in the Turbo made. This is great for a tactical flashlight application, because if you need it, you want it on the highest setting. After the initial turn on, you can cycle through the lights settings by using the side button, which is located on the side of the flashlight's head. Since the WOFT light turns on in the Turbo mode, the first press of the side button takes you to the Firefly mode. Then each consecutive press takes you to the next level. I’m a big fan of tactical EDC lights that always turn on at the highest setting. Powertac hit this option spot on. I also really like the Firefly setting as a task light in dark settings.

  Now what everyone is waiting for, how bright is this Powertac light? It’s plenty bright at 1200 lumens for the Turbo mode. The Turbo mode also spews out a candela rating of 14,400. This gives a good combination of spot and flood. It’s plenty enough to disorient an aggressor. Powertac specs it out at a 240 meter beam distance, we all know that about half of that is useful distance. But that’s plenty for a small handheld light. The light runs off of a rechargeable 14500 cell. Extra are easily found on Amazon and other places. Powertac includes a magnetic usb charging cord that works great for onboard charging of the battery and light. For all you geeks out there (me included), here’s a list of those brightness modes and run times:

Lumens and Run Times:

Firefly - 0.41 lm for 3.4 days

Low - 19 lm for 9.69 hrs

Medium - 140 lm for 3.68 hrs

High - 600 lm for 47 mins

Turbo - 1,200 lm for 43 mins

Strobe - 1,200 lm for 1.18 hrs

  In the box are a few other items. The Powertac WOFT comes with 3 different bezels: a smooth one, a medium aggressive, and a pretty aggressive one. They just screw on, so they are easily swapped. Of course I used the most aggressive one. If I have to use it as an impact weapon, I want it to hurt. But the choice is yours. Also included is a wrist lanyard. I left it in the box, but it’s included if you have a need for it. The included extra bezels are a nice addition.

  The Powertac WOFT has become my EDC light. I carry it daily. Mainly because it has great light output for its size. I like that it’s not too large in diameter. Most other lights in this category seem to have a larger diameter, with a similar length and output. If I had one complaint, it would be run times, but I can’t expect that in such a small light. At first I had a little sticker shock on the price, but after using it for months, I get why it costs what it costs. 

  Powertac and WOFT did a great job putting this EDC light together. From its small size to its impressive output, it does what a pocket edc light should do. Always coming on in the turbo mode is what a tactical light should do, at least if it has more than one output. If you are looking for an edc pocket light, I’d recommend checking out the WOFT light at Powertac, as well as the other lights Powertac offers

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

50, 100, 200 yd target stands

Claim to Fame:

Bright, small, rechargeable handheld light

Target Market:

Anyone needing a small, bright, handheld light

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

  • 1200 lumens max output

  • 14400 Candela max

  • 6 different settings that include 5 levels of brightness plus a strobe

  • 14500 Rechargeable Battery

  • Interchangeable smoothed, scalloped, & aggressive bezel

  • Magnetic USB Charging

  • Length: 4.28” (108.6mm)

  • Bezel Diameter: 1” (25.4mm)

  • Body Diameter: 0.85” (21.5mm)

  • Weight: 2.61oz (74g) without battery

  • Deep-carry bidirectional pocket clip

  • Reverse polarity protection protects from improper battery installation

  • O-ring sealed

  • Machined from aircraft grade aluminum with type III anodized finish

  • Tempered glass to resist breaking and scratching upon impact

  • Double coated glass lens to give maximum OTF (Out The Front) brightness and beam distance

  • IPX8 waterproof Submersible up to 2 meters under water

  • Lifetime Warranty

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

None

What others are saying?:

5 out 5 stars at Powertac.com

This flashlight is a BEAST

There are some fantastic features packed into this bad boy. I love how quick and easy it is to switch to strobe for home security or signaling, then back to Turbo. The WOFT lights up my whole street in Turbo mode. Nice build, well done Powertac!

Link to other reviews:

Tactical Tavern on YouTube   

Price point:

MSRP = $129.95

Retail = $110.45 with discount code “GGR”

I need it now! Availability:

Powertac

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Small size

  • Bright beam

  • Good beam pattern

  • Always turns on at Turbo setting

  • Multi-Directional pocket clip

Cons:

  • Run Time

  • Price

Score:  8.00 Great

Favorite Link:  Powertac M5 G2 Review   

Nightstick USB-556xl

 Everyone should have a good flashlight, at least in my opinion. Nightstick is starting to be one of my favorites. Recently they introduced a new series of USB rechargeable tactical flashlights. After reading the press release, I asked if they would send one out. Nightstick sent the USB-556xl. The 556xl is a single cell LED flashlight with a max output of 750 lumens.

 The usb-556xl is packed with features. As one could guess, it is USB rechargeable. It comes with a little usb cord also, but not the charger. In today’s world, finding a usb charger is easy enough. Since I am on the usb, the 556xl has a built in micro-usb charging port. The port is hidden underneath part of the handle. One must unscrew the center section and then slide it down to reveal the usb port. It is not the easiest to unscrew because of the o-rings used to seal the flashlight charging port. There is also a tiny light above the charging port. The light is red when charging, and green when fully charged. Nightstick says it takes 4 hours to fully charge, and that seems correct, but I never actually timed it. While I like the usb charging function, the 556xl does use a proprietary lithium-ion battery. Once charged, just slide the cover back on, and screw it closed.

 Since the usb-556xl is a tactical light, it has options that are quite useful. For instance, it uses a push button tailcap. The light will automatically shine on high, momentarily, if you push the button part way down. Of course it then turns off when released. Also, if you push the button all the way in, it turns on, on the high setting. To get it into the medium or low setting, hold the tailcap down while the light is on, then release pressure when it gets to the setting you desire. Once the light is turned off, it defaults back to the high position. This is probably my favorite function. Because when I want the light on, or need it on, having it on the high setting is ideal. The light also has a strobe function. To access the strobe, you have to push the tailcap button all the way down, twice, quickly. It only strobes at the high output, but can be turned on from either low, med, or high while the light is on. I prefer lights without a strobe, but Nightstick doesn’t offer this light without a strobe function. I would like the button to be inset farther into the tailcap, that way one could set the flashlight down on a flat surface, and have it shine upward to illuminate a room or something.

 I seldom use a pocket clip, but the 556xl has one. Mainly the light just gets put in my pocket, but some people find the clip useful. The clip on the 556xl isn’t that great. It works, but is a little flimsy or thin. The clip is easily removed also. One advantage to the removable clip is that it can be turned around. By doing so, it can be clipped to things, letting light shine outward away from it. I actually did this and clipped it to a hat bill. So everywhere I looked, the light was shining. Kind of like a headlamp.

 Specs, everyone wants to know these. First up, the light is bright. On high it is rated at 750 lumens and 9350 candela. Medium is 250 lumens and 2950 candela. Low is 80 lumens and 1115 candela. You get a 1hr/2hr/5hr runtime at the above settings. So pretty good for a 750 lumen light. I loved these, the high setting lights up my backyard better than my porch light. On high the beam wasn’t too wide and the light shines pretty far. I do use the medium setting alot. It is useful for finding dropped screws and such. Not too bright, but not too dim. I hardly use the low setting, it is a little too bright for finding stuff in the car at night. But then again, the low setting works good if you need to see where you are going, especially if there isn’t much ambient light. The 556xl can be submerged up to 1 meter for 30 minutes before something bad might happen. At 4.7” in length, it is not too big for pocket carry. It also only weighs 4.4 ounces. The body on the 556xl is 1” wide, and the head is a little larger at 1.2”s. If you like black, your in luck, because you can have any color, as long as it’s black. But, it is a class III anodized aluminum body, so it should last a long time.

Low setting

Medium setting

High setting

 This light has been in my pocket, everyday for almost 6 months. It shows some wear, but not too bad. I really like how it can be charged just about anywhere. At 750 lumens, it is bright enough for anything I need. It doesn’t classify as “all the lumens,” but what can you expect for a single cell light. I’ve dropped it on concrete, in water, and it keeps on working, the lens isn’t even scratched up. Do I think this is a decent tactical light? The answer would be yes, even if it has some minor flaws.

 If you are looking for a decent flashlight, the Nightstick usb-556xl is worth looking into. I really like the usb charging feature. It has good runtime, especially if you don’t use it on the high setting. At around $100, it’s not cheap, but is in the same price range as competing models. Do yourself a favor and go checkout Nightstick, they manufacture all different types of lights.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

USB rechargeable tactical light

Target Market:

Anyone wanting a bright rechargeable tactical flashlight

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • 750/250/80 lumen output

  • 1/2/5 hour runtimes

  • 4.7” long

  • 4.4 ounces

  • Rechargeable

  • IP-X7 waterproof (1m for 30 min)

  • 6061 anodized aluminum construction

  • Momentary, constant on, and strobe

  • LED

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

320 and 900 lumen models

Link to other reviews:

None found

Price point:

MSRP = $111.00

Retail = $83.25 on Amazon

I need it now! Availability:

Amazon or Here

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Bright

  • Momentary (750 lumen only)

  • Low, Med, High settings

  • USB Rechargeable

  • Lightweight

Cons:

  • Pocket Clip

  • Proprietary battery

  • End cap (button recess)

  • Strobe function

Score: 7.00 Good

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