| Mateminco FW3 | |
|---|---|
| LEP class | N/A |
| Distance / intensity | 460,000 cd / 1,356 meters |
| LEP Lumens | 255 lumens |
| LED Lumens | 1300 lumens |
| Modes | 7 |
| Avg. Price | $149 |
The Mateminco FW3 is another hybrid flashlight (LEP+LED)
On paper, this is one of the most interesting LEP+LED flashlights on the market. It sports a number of LEDs + a LEP module for maximum output and throw.
On paper it claims a total reach of 1300 meters with a beam intensity of 460,000 candela. And in terms of output, it claims 1550 lumens with the LEP and LEDs combined.
And on top of that, you can choose the type of LEDs that are used. You have the choice between 6500K (cool white) LEDs, 5000K (neutral white), but also red and orange leds. You can’t mix and match, so you have to choose 1 of these 4 options.
And besides these choices, you get a large number of glow tube slots all over the flashlight. You can buy some glow tubes to make it look even more futuristic. But you can also add tritium vials, which can glow up to 15 years without recharge.
Use, batteries, and more
The FW3 comes with a tactical grip ring installed, which can be removed. So you can handle it in several ways. 1 is by using the tactical ring, and hold it like a cigar. You can also hold it in the overhand (tactical) position, and you can just hold in the normal underhand position.
It runs of a single 21700 battery, which can be unprotected, or protected. So you can add short cells as well as long cells, but when you bump the flashlight with a short cell, it briefly flickers. Longer cells would fit better.
Something I didn’t like was the UI.
You have the following mode menu, starting in LED: Low, Medium, High, Turbo, LEP Low, LEP High, MIX LEP+LED.
That’s 7 modes in the menu, and it’s pretty strange to go from Turbo to LEP Low.
It always starts in LED Low mode!
A double tap would bring you directly to High LEP, but that’s just strange. And 3 taps would bring it to Strobe with LEP+LED together.
The UI really needs some work before this is
Performance
As excited as I was when looking at all these specification, I was as disappointed when measuring the beam intensity and output. But I have to say that I got the red LEDs and not the white ones.. So that’s something worth mentioning. But even so, the LEP measurements were also lower.
Red LED Lumen measurements + LEP:
| Mode | Specified | at turn on | 30 sec | 10 minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 5 lm | 2 | 2 | – |
| Med | 75 lm | 36 | 36 | – |
| High | 620 lm | 546 | 508 | 390 lm |
| Turbo | 1300 lm | 1083 | 667 | 28 lm |
| LEP low | 180 lm | 129 | 133 | 133 lm |
| LEP high | 255 lm | 269 | 221 | 156 lm |
| Turbo LED+LEP | 1550 lm | 1186 | 803 lm | 307 lm |
Throw measurements
| Mode | Specified | Candela | Meters | Yards | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High (Samsung 40T) | 460,000 | 284,000 cd | 1066 m | 1166 yd | 0.66 |
| High (Samsung 50G) | 460,000 | 280,000 cd | 1058 m | 1157 yd | 0.66 |
| Low (Samsung 50G) | – | 176,400 cd | 840 m | 919 yd | 0.52 |
And Throw runtime
With all that said, I think Mateminco should go back to the drawing table and think about a better Hybrid solution.
