Disclaimer: I bought the Emisar D4V2 with my own money. I’m not receiving anything from intl-outdoor for writing this review.
Table of contents
Price and versions
I got my D4V2 at the end of 2020. The flashlight can be bought from Hank’s (owner of Emisar/Noctigon) website, linked below.
When buying, you are offered a wide variety of options, customization and add-ons to choose from. You can personalize anything from emitters the flashlight uses, to the color of the host and even what type of ring the switch has. There also exist other material options for the flashlight’s body as well as add-ons such as a clip or battery tubes.
For mine, I paid about 62$, at the time. Currently the base D4V2 costs 35$, 10$ less than when I bought it.
My version was equipped with XP-L HI 4000K V2 5D emitters and a raised retaining ring.
What’s in the box?
You can get the flashlight with a lot of additional items, but each light, no matter the configuration, will come with
- spare o-rings
- a lanyard
I additionally got myself:
- a clip
- a steel bezel, which protects the head from drops
Build and looks
The Emisar D4V2 is known as pretty much a classic by the community. It’s a pretty compact 18650 light with a side e-switch. This is the second version, as the original D4 came out in 2017 (TK review from BudgetLightForum). The D4V2 came out later in 2019.
I really like the look the stainless steel bezel adds to the light. It has also protected the front glass from a lot of drops. An aluminium bezel would have just bend and broken the glass.
You probably already noticed that in some pictures, the tailcap doesn’t quite match the body. This is because, somewhere down the line after I ordered my D4V2, Hank started putting stronger magnets in the tailcaps. The moment I learned about this, I got myself a new tailcap with a better, stronger magnet.
I use the old tailcap on a different light. On that tailcap, the spring with the MCPCB has unglued itself from the tailcap and sometimes falls out when I unscrew it to charge the cell. Not really an issue, though.
Travels and adventures
For the past 4 years of owning this light, I took it practically everywhere I went. Below I put a few pictures that document my travels. School trips, mountain hiking, visiting other countries, seaside… you name it. And before you ask, yes, I was sometimes getting weirded out looks when taking these photos ha ha.
Clip and lanyard
Originally, the D4V2 was sold only with a “standard” pocket clip. Later on, there was a “deep-carry” pocket clip available, which I got. From what I can see now, I think that’s the only clip currently available for purchase.
The clip attaches by clipping onto the battery tube. It can spin, which after a while can leave scratches on the tube. The deep-carry clip is nice to use, I like it. The only disadvantage compared to the regular clip I found is that it makes it a bit more difficult to take the cell out by the rear tailcap, but now I just unscrew the head to do that (it’s faster anyway).
The lanyard you receive with the light is pretty standard, not much to say here, it works. I additionally added a titanium key-ring, which prevents the lanyard from getting damaged by the lanyard hole.
Size
It’s one of the smaller 18650 lights.
| Length | 95.75 mm |
| Head diameter | 28.05 mm |
| Battery tube diameter | 23.98 mm |
| Weight (without cell) | 80g |
| Weight (with cell) | 126g |
Size comparison to other lights:
Emisar D4K | Convoy S2+ | Wuben L1 | Emisar D4V2 | Convoy T3 | Wurkkos HD15R
Emisar D4V2 | Convoy S2+ | Wuben x0 | Sofirn HS10
Lumintop FWAA | Wuben X2 | Convoy T3 | Emisar D4V2 | Convoy S2+
D4V2 | D4K | D4V2 | D4K | Green D4K
Switch
The switch is pretty clicky, has a good feel, no complaints here. After quite prolonged use, I noticed that on mine and other peoples’ D4V2s that the ripples on the switch boot get worn away. Here’s a comparison of how my switch looked when I first got it and how it looks now, after 4 years had passed.
Sadly, the daily use caused my switch to fail after about 3 years, it completely stopped responding. After the difficult removal of the switch retaining ring, it turned out that a small metal “dome” snapped off from the switch. It was responsible for the click action.
I got in contact with Hank, who then shipped me a replacement switch with my next order.
I haven’t yet actually replaced the switch, because it turned out that a small piece of tape, holding the dome in the center, fixed the switch and it has been working since. I will have to replace it sooner than later, as I’m slowly noticing some problems with the switch again.
(In the D4V2, to get to the switch, you need to remove the press-fit retaining ring, which can prove to be quite difficult. In the other models like the D4K, D1, D1K etc. the switch retaining ring is screwed in, which makes it a lot easier to remove.)
User Interface
Originally, my D4V2 came with Andúril 1 UI. I got a reflasher kit that works with Emisar/Noctigon lights and I was able to easily update my UI to the newest version of Andúril 2 UI.
Emisar lights use a user interface called “Andúril 2 UI”. It’s a UI made targeting the flashlight enthusiast community, created by ToyKeeper.
Andúril lights operate similarly to other lights with simpler UIs, like the Olight, Fenix, Nitecore, Wurkkos, Sofirn etc. The basic controls are quite easy to remember:
| State | Action | Rezultat |
|---|---|---|
| OFF | 1C | ON |
| ON | 1H | Change brightness |
| ON | 2C | Turbo |
| OFF | 1H | Lowest mode |
| OFF | 3C | Battery check |
| Off | 4C | Lockout mode (locks the switch) |
| Lockout | 4C | Unlocking the light |
| Lockout | 1H | Temporary Moonlight, the dimmest mode |
| Lockout | 2H | Temporary Low mode |
Legend
OFF – flashlight turned off
ON – flashlight turned on
1C – Click
2C – Double click (Click, click)
3C – Triple click (Click, click, click) etc.
1H – Hold down the button
Diagram:
This is pretty much all you need to know to operate the flashlight.
So why more features? Well, some UIs don’t exactly fit every person. Some would like the lowest mode to be even lower, some think there should be less brightness modes and some would highly prefer, to change the brightness smoothly, instead of in steps.
As you can’t create a perfect UI that fits everyone, Andúril let’s you configure all of those things.
You can:
- adjust ceiling and floor of the ramp (how bright and dim the flashlight gets when holding down the button),
- set how brightness changes, either smoothly or in steps,
- set up a timer, after which the flashlight turns itself off,
- set the flashlight to remember the last mode it was on, or have it always turn on on the same brightness,
- the color of the AUX RGB lights in the head, to e.g. show you the current battery level as well as indicate if the flashlight is lockout or not,
- have the flashlight behave like a flickering candle light.
And many many more features! Before looking at the diagrams, I recommend reading the manual, which can be found here (Anduril Github page).
At first it might seem a bit overwhelming, but you can get a hang of it pretty fast. I don’t to remember all of the features or configuration options to use the flashlight. You just change them to what you prefer once and that’s it. Whenever I want to change something, I just check the diagram and go about my day.
The UI is divided into “Simple UI” and “Advanced UI”. Most of the configuration can only be done in Advanced UI, to which you switch by pressing 10 times and holding on the least click (10H). This exists, so that if you give someone your flashlight, you can just set it to Simple UI and not have them click randomly and change something. I usually just keep my flashlight in Advanced UI.
What I like:
- The basic functions of the interface, such as turning it on and off and changing the brightness, seem easy for anyone to master, so there’s no need to pull out a multi-page manual just to for e.g. go for a walk.
- A wide range of possible configurations make the UI fit a lot of peoples’ preferences.
- The UI still gets updates with a lot of community-made modifications and ability to add your own changes. With the available reflashing kit, it’s relatively easy to update the UI.
What I’m not a fan of:
- Now as much as complaints against Anduril when using the D4V2, I don’t really have many, but I want to do a little digression here and talk about this UI in general
Flashlights with Anduril UI (with the exception of Emisar/Noctigon lights iirc), come from factory in “Simple UI”. In some lights (depends on the manufacturer’s choice), the Turbo mode is disabled in Simple UI. This forces the user to go to Advanced UI to use their flashlight fully. I feel like it’s a pretty bad decision, because suddenly, a person not interested in any configuration who has only used lights with simple UIs, has to learn how to do 10 consecutive button presses with a hold at the end (you might be surprised how many non-flashlight people have trouble with more than 4 presses). Same goes if you want to turn OFF AUX lights, as that’s also only possible from Advanced UI.
In my mind, Simple UI should be the same as all the simple UIs other flashlights use. This way, a Anduril light would be as simple to use as those other lights, while at the same time giving people option to configure the light how they want. This would kill the argument of “don’t give Anduril to a non-flashlight person”, as now both Anduril and a flashlight with a simple UI would behave the same on the surface.
Emitter and beam
I ordered my D4V2 with the Cree XP-L HI emitters in 4000K. They are known for their slight rosy tint, which is sadly hard to capture correctly on camera. These emitters aren’t available from Hank anymore, as the last batch he received was painfully green, so he stopped offering them.
Currently a good alternative is the Nichia 519a emitter, as it’s bright and has high CRI.
It also has programmable AUX lights. They are turned on when the flashlight is off. They can:
- help you find the flashlight in the dark
- tell you the battery charge level (if first configured)
- tell you if the flashlight is locked or unlocked (configurable)
AUX leds have 4 brightness states, [ OFF – Low – high – Blinking ]
They can be set to 7 different colors + 3 special modes (disco (GIF above), slow color changing and battery charge state indication (changes color based on battery level)).
I most often set the AUX to be green on a high when unlocked and show me the battery voltage when the light is locked.
AUX brightness can be changed by clicking 7 times (7C) in Advanced UI. The color is changed by clicking 7 times and holding on the last click (7H). Let go when you reach the right color.
Measurements using a Opple Light Master:
| Mode -> ~120/150 (top ramp) | CCT | Duv | CRI |
|---|---|---|---|
| D4V2 | 3968K | 0.0042 | 71.3 |
In reality, the XP-L HI isn’t green at all. The Opple measures this emitter incorrectly, as the XP-L HIs are quite a special case. A more expensive spectrometer would need to be used.
(Cheule commented on this before on his channel – especially at the timestamp: [15:50] )
Below, a comparison to the Nichia 219b (higher CRI, but much rosier).
I am aware that the selection of objects in the picture above is quite random :p
Beamshots
Compared to other flashlights:
Runtimes and measurments
Back in 2020, the D4V2 was sold with a FET+1 driver. When ordering mine, I asked for the “Noctigon KR4 driver”, which I believe is a linear 5A+FET driver, which is better when it comes to sustained output.
IIRC, current D4V2 comes with a 12A + FET driver, so there’s no need for custom orders.
Standard ANSI FL1
Standard ANSI FL1 describes how companies should measure flashlight specs. For lumen brightness, the measurment is supposed to be taken 30 seconds after turning the flashlight on. Runtime is measured by the time it takes the flashlight to reach 10% of the original output.
Learn more about the ANSI FL1 standard in this article.
| Mode | Candela | Throw | Real estimated range* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo @ 30s (ANSI) | 17292cd | 263m | 90m-130m |
* – Explanation
The throw/range of a flashlight is defined by the ANSI FL1 standard. It says that a flashlight’s range is how far it will light up a surface to 0.25lux, which is about as bright as full moon.
This most of the time isn’t bright enough to actually see what you’re shining on, so I added in an estimate to what you can expect the maximum range of the flashlight to be.
Below, lumen measurements using different cells, in Turbo.
| Cell | Brightness (at turn-on, 0s) | 30s |
|---|---|---|
| VTC6 #1 | 3350lm | 3050lm |
| VTC6 #2 | 3520lm | x |
| VTC6 #3 (+5 lat) | 3380lm | x |
| LG HG2 | 3610lm | x |
| Sanyo GA 3500mAh | 3050lm | x |
| Samsung 30Q (5 letnie) | 3230lm | x |
| Samsung 26C (max 5A) | 2110lm | x |
“x” – Not measured
On the runtime graphs below, the VTC6 #1 cell was used.
| Model | cd/lm |
|---|---|
| D4V2 XP-L HI | 5.7 |
Candela/lumen ratio explanation
A good way to determine the beam profile of a flashlight is to divide its candela (cd) by the lumens (lm) it produces. In return, we will get the cd/lm ratio. Here’s an approximate scale of what those values mean:
- 0.1 cd/lm: light bulb
- 1-3: flooder
- 5-15: balanced EDC-style beam
- 30: compact thrower
- 100: dedicated thrower
- 500+: extreme thrower
- 10000: laser
Runtime graphs:
On the graph above you can nicely see how a fan pointing at the flashlight can affect the brightness. The thermal limit was set to 45C, with the flashlight thermally calibrated beforehand. Ambient temperature was about 19C.
The cell finished runtime at about 2.85V.
Here, I wanted to see how Andúril acts if I increase the thermal limit. As expected, the Turbo runtime as well as sustained output increase. The turbo can run for longer, because it takes the flashlight longer to reach a higher temperature. It can also sustain a higher output, because a hotter flashlight can dissipate more heat, quicker. I added the 45C cooled runtime as comparison.
After flashlight stepdown, I noticed with my IR thermometer that the flashlight kept a temperature of 5C lower than the thermal limit (although the accuracy of my thermometer could be at play here), which is interesting.
On the “cooled” runtimes, there was a fan pointed at the flashlight from about 30cm.
Battery and charging
Buying a D4V2, you need to purchase a cell separately. Hank does offer a 2 bay charger, but I heard it’s better to get something yourself.
For cells, good picks are the Samsung 30Q, VTC6 and LG HG2.
For chargers, I recommend Xtar (SC1, SC2, FC2, PB2S, VC4S/VC4SL) and the Vapcell S4 Plus. For max output, you want a cell that can do at least 15A.
D4V2 doesn’t fit cells with a raised positive terminal or protected 18650 cells. The flashlight already has a protection circuit inside of it, so only unprotected cells should be used.
Manual and warranty
As for the warranty. Most often, when a product is shipped from China, it is difficult to claim the manufacturer’s warranty. With Hank (the manufacturer of Emisars), any problems are usually solved very quickly. When I wrote to him about my problem with the button, he immediately offered to send a new one for replacement with my next order.
His website states that within 10 days of the arrival of the flashlight, in the event of improper operation, it is subject to replacement (which many people are able to confirm).
Most often, each situation is handled individually. So even if you start having problems much later on, send Hank an email.
Competition
- Noctigon KR4 – D4V2, but with the switch on the tail.
- Emisar D4K – D4V2, but uses a bigger, 21700 cell. This makes it slightly bigger and makes the light shine much longer.
- Emisar DA1K – New light from Hank, a bit bigger than the D4V2 and D4K, but smaller than the D1. Check out the LuxWad review.
- Emisar DT8 – Twice the emitters, almost twice the price. Gets hotter twice as fast. Uses the same tube and tailcap as the D4V2. There’s also a slightly bigger DT8K version, which is more practical.
- FireFliesLite – X4Q Comet / X4 Stellar – Close competition, the X4 Stellar has build-in USB-C charging, but is slightly longer, X4Q is the version without charging. Use bigger 21700 cells. More expensive than the Emisar corresponding variants. Use newer versions of Anduril 2. Some may consider them similar or superior to Emisars, but that’s a debatable topic (you can always buy both 😀). – 1Lumen Review | additional comparison | Flashlight Enthusiast Review
- Lumintop EDC18 – 3 emitters instead of 4. Old version of Anduril, probably Anduril 1. No AUX leds, only a single button aux option. 2 body color versions.
- Jetbeam EC26 – Not recommended. A copy of the D4V2. Uses old Anduril. No switch AUX available. Less customization options to choose from when buying. Slightly more expensive. – 1Lumen Review
Pros & cons
✔ A wide range of modifications, versions, and accessories available for purchase.
✔ The interface allows for extensive customization and personalization.
✔ Easily accessible reflashing pins with a reflashing it available.
✔ Still holds up well after 4 years, still a good choice among other lights on the market.
✔ The stainless steel bezel has saved my flashlight’s lens from multiple drops.
✔ High brightness, quite “hotrod” among flashlights.
✔ The driver actively controls brightness based on flashlight’s temperature.
✔ Good clip and a strong magnet.
✔ One of the most compact 18650 flashlights on the market.
✔ The seller is quick to help in case of any issues.
+/- No build-in charging, which also makes the flashlight a bit shorter and slightly more waterproof.
✘ Due to its high maximum output and small body, the flashlight heats up quickly. Unfortunately, physics isn’t something you can cheat, so this is just something to be aware of before purchasing.
✘ Hank does not currently sell cells with flashlights, so those must be purchased separately.
✘ The Andúril UI interface may not be the best choice for everyone, although the basic operation can be mastered pretty quickly.
Conclusion
I bought my D4V2 a day after the “Oh my god I see it” post on Reddit. This was the first light I got after joining the community, I spend about a month researching before I made my choice.
Now, after 4 years, I can see that it’s probably still the best light I could have gotten.
The Emisar D4V2 is quite an iconic light in this hobby, most likely one of the most popular “Hank lights”. I traveled probably upwards of thousands kilometers with me. I always took it wherever I went, it was a trusted companion. I also blame this flashlight on throwing me down the rabbit hole, as it was the beginning of many more unwise purchases. If I didn’t buy it back then, this blog probably wouldn’t exist.
The only problem I have with it is the switch which I need to replace. I tried a few days ago but I couldn’t get the retaining ring off the way I used to do it a year ago.
Reading this, you should probably know that I’m a bit biased here, seeing how much joy this light has brought me ha ha. Well, at least I tried to give my objective opinion.