Hunter VB-16

The VB-16 is an excellent, versatile little light. It has a LuxIII with variable brightness, HA, and a forward clickie. There's an optional stippled-reflector turbohead, which provides a slightly floodier beam. It can run on a pair of primary CR123As, a 17670, an 18650, or a 14500 or 17500 with a spacer.

The clickie is a bit mushy. It's still good, though.

If your clickie gives you problems as mine did, here's how to disassemble it (low light provided by diffused Gladius):

1. Remove the tailcap.
   
   
2. Use a pair of split ring pliers to grip the two small holes on opposite sides of the retaining ring.
   
   
3. Unscrew the retaining ring.
   
   
4. Wiggle and pull at the spring until the switch assembly comes out. Be careful not to lose the O-ring.
   

The idea is to reseat the switch assembly so that it makes proper contact with the rest of the light. Reassemble the tailcap by reversing the above directions.

Here is a chart showing lux readings at one meter, mA draw, and lux per mA for each level. The pair of Tenergy 900mAh 3.0V RCR123As used show an open-circuit voltage of 7.0V, but that should step down to around 5V under load.

Level Lux mA l/mA 01 24 5 4.8 02 165 29 5.7 03 282 54 5.2 04 383 81 4.7 05 480 110 4.4 06 564 120 4.7 07 712 150 4.7 08 790 180 4.4 09 853 210 4.1 10 913 230 4.0 11 957 260 3.7 12 1006 290 3.5 13 1047 310 3.4 14 1080 340 3.2 15 1125 370 3.0 16 1150 380 3.0 17 1191 410 2.9 18 1222 440 2.8 19 1251 470 2.7 20 1279 490 2.6 21 1307 510 2.6 22 1326 550 2.4 23 1356 580 2.3 24 1367 610 2.2 25 1400 630 2.2 26 1418 660 2.1 27 1437 700 2.1 28 1440 720 2.0 29 1464 730 2.0 30 1462 750 1.9 31 1471 780 1.9 32 1467 800 1.8

If you leave this light unattended at high output levels, it could get as hot as 100F or more.

This is a really nice little light. With high-quality components such as a metal reflector, glass lens, and double-O-rings, this is a versatile (and easily moddable!) flashlight.