The Imalent MS18 Flashlight, “Ambassador of light” utilizes 18 pieces of American CREE XHP70 2nd LEDs with a maximum output of 100,000LM and a long range up to 1350 meters, It is the brightest flashlights on the market and will bring you an absolute shock when you light it up. The multi-functional OLED display displays various parameters and settings. A built-in heat pipe radiator with excellent heat dissipation equipped with a silent inlet and outlet fan. Once you see the raw power of a 100000-lumen flashlight it will be hard to go back to your EDC!
Imalent MS18 is a big boy! And with this size of the light, I would have preferred a bit more grip on the body. This is still a little slippery.
Just above the power switch is a little OLED display that shows lumen output. The switch remained the same from the IMalnet MS12 and is a flat iron button, which by itself is a little hard to find in the dark. I would like to see them address this little issue. In many cases, this isn’t really a problem, but if you’re in the dark, a kind of physical indicator would be welcome. Something along the lines of a protruding switch or a ridge of some sort.
This lumen monster is not going to be carried in your pocket, where it could accidentally be activated. Fortunately, it comes with a shoulder strap as well. It’s a little too heavy to use for an extended period of time. As you can see, they upgraded the attachment points for the strap. Instead of attaching it directly to the body and bezel, they now have a dedicated ring on the head, and an attachment to the tail cap. The MS18 actually just consists of 2 main parts, the head, and battery pack aka body.
Build Quality and Anodizing
Imalent has always been pretty good with its built quality, and the Imalent MS18 is no exception here. It is a very decently built flashlight with good anodization. I couldn’t find any weird spots or missing anodization (until I unscrewed the battery pack) They also upgraded the carry strap attachments. Where the MS12 has the clips attached to the bezel and tail cap, they found a workaround and added a special attachment ring on the head, and on the tail cap.
Not the best idea, but better than damaging the Anno as it happened with the MS12. If the cover gets lost, you won’t be able to attach the strap anymore. And since it’s rather small, losing the cap is very possible.
Fans
The Imalent MS18 is one of the dozen flashlights with an integrated active cooling system. It uses 2 fans that get activated when the light is set to 22,000 Lumens and above. There is liquid inside the system to cool the light even quicker. This is what Imalent says about the cooling system:
Built-in heat pip radiator with excellent heat dissipation, and equipped with an inlet and outlet fan silent, waterproof, heavy wind, which is a perfect combination of great energy and technology.
Well, the fans are NOT quiet! They are very noisy!
And besides that, the Torx screws are filled with a substance, probably silicon or glue so you can’t easily unscrew them to take off the fan covers.
In the following pictures, you can see some details and the copper fins on the inside of the head.
THREADS AND O-RINGS
This isn’t so positive. I’m not sure if it’s because of the size and weight of the flashlight, or because of the lube, but the threads were damaged. The anodization is missing on parts of the threads. This is a real con in my opinion. A $600 flashlight shouldn’t have this problem! And there is only 1 O-ring, while the MS12 had 2 O-rings near the threads. So maybe 1 o-ring was missing.
IMALENT MS 18 LEDs, LENS, BEZEL, AND REFLECTOR
- 1 XHP70.2 LED not enough? How about adding 12? Oh no.. how about 18?
- The Imalent MS18 uses 18 CREE XHP 70.2 LEDs for maximum output. The LEDs are centered very well in the Light Orange Peel (LOP) reflectors.
- Using a LOP reflector means that the beam is smooth and doesn’t focus merely on the throw. Imalent R90TS is another story.
- The bezel isn’t removable by hand, nor is the battery pack from the battery tube.
Features
- MS18 super bright light—Illuminate the world.
- Utilizes 18 pieces of US CREE XHP70 XHP70 2nd LEDs, with a lifespan of up to 50,000 hours and a maximum output of up to 100,000 lumens.
- Built-in safety self-testing intelligent charging circuit, convenient, fast, and safe. Eight levels which can be exchanged quickly and instant Turbo.
- Built-in switch indicator lights, easy to find the switch in the darkness.
- High efficiency constant current circuit will maintain constant brightness.
- The built-in thermal control module will automatically adjust the brightness output, keep using it comfortably.
- Combination of toughened ultra-clear mineral and anti-reflective coating glass Aluminum OP reflector.
- Aerospace-grade aluminum alloy body, wear-resistant Type III hard-anodized surface treatment.
Specifications
- LED Type: 18 pieces of American CREE XHP70 2nd LEDs
- Batteries Required: Battery pack(21700-4000mAh*8)
- Luminous Flux: Up To 100000 Lumens
- Run Time: Up To 14h52min
- Operating Modes: Turbo / High III / High II/ High I/ Middle II / Middle I / Middle Low / Low /
- Measurements: 265mm(length)*129mm(head diameter)*59mm(body diameter)
- Weight: 1900g(battery included)
- Impact Resistance: 1.5m
- Waterproof: IP-56 standard waterproof
Output and Runtime
- Turbo output : 100,000~25000 Lumens；Run-time : 60s+52min
- High III output : 60,000-25000 Lumens；Run-time : 70s+55min
- High II output: 30000-25000 Lumens; Run-time: 3.8min+60min
- High I output: 22000lumens; Run-time: 67 min
- Middle II output: 10000 Lumens；Run-time: 3h40min
- Middle I output : 5000 Lumens；Run-time : 6h50min
- Middle low output :2000Lumens；Run-time :9h15min
- Low output : 700 Lumens；Run-time : 14h52min
Packaging and Contents
Supplied in Retail Packaging and Includes:
- Imalent MS18 Flashlight x 1
- Shoulder straps x1
- Charger x 1
- O-rings x 2
- User Manual x 1
William Ridley –
Bought this from seeing a science experiment involving Black V2, gotta say it’s entirely well worth the money. You need to see anything within a mile of your location? This light’s got it! Although I do I have an affinity for bright lights in darkness, as I seem to have a harsh hatred for the sun. I plan to put this thing to good use for more experiments, as in seeing the flashpoint of cardboard, paper, plastic, etc. Here’s to a new can of worms!Ps: The heatsink and cooling fans make it entirely usable to hold for extended periods
Salim –
No video on the internet does this flashlight justice. It’s just too stupid overkill to understand.It lights news paper on fire in 6 seconds, not joking. It will light up a football stadium at 25k lm for over an hour. It will last 24 hours in my testing at its lowest setting of 700lm, and can me seen from over 18 miles away (my longest test over water). If you need the best search and rescue flashlight ever made, look no further.I have tested in in rain over 2.3in per hour with no problems. It is not an EDC light, but is always with me in the car at night.BTW, the very best EDC flashlight is the Streamlight Macro USB.
B. McKeever –
I refuse to call this a flashlight – I’ve decided it should be called “The God Illuminator” because it’s the brightest thing I’ve ever held in my hand. Construction is solid, battery life is surprisingly good and the functionality is perfect.
Tony –
What can I say…lol this thing is actually brighter than daylight. At the same time dangerous. Do not buy this to play around or you could find yourself in court. I work outdoors late at night and use that as an excuse for being a tech geek at heart and purchasing this light. It does what it claims. Battery life is good if you learn how to use the power settings during use. Possibly the last light I’ll buy. High level is about as bright as 50 high quality flood lights, and low level is as bright as a standard house light bulb.
Dan –
2 words. Holy ****. This thing is bright as **** and makes me laugh every time i turbo this S.O.B. I put all my friends to shame. Imalent! Please make another one powered on 12 26650s and make it 1,000,000 lumens I will burn the money!Also to anyone who buys, to access lock out mode and prevent it from turning on is 5 clicks from the off positon will lock it out. Im a night driver for my job and hit some bumps in the road and some how it went straight to turbo and blinded me, managed to stay on the freeway, it almost set my passenger seat on fire… completely my fault for not knowing how to lock it out. And from lock out mode press it 5 more times and youll unlock it.