As you know if you've read my [JetBeam][1] review, I had to return it because it got excessively hot almost instantly. Well I then purchased this Catapult V3 as the alternative. Price- a bit less. Packaging, a lousy cardboard box. Manual, a simple sheet of paper. Warranty Card, I don't see one. **LIGHT IS BRIGHT **as can be. Some list it as 700 Lumens Out the Front, others 770-780 Lumens OTF which would make it beat the M2S by a bit. Takes more clicking than online videos show to get it that Two Selection Head Twist Action we want [liked being on strobe for some reason] but poke enough and you will get there. You want Head to the Left to be your **Turbo** Level and the single head twist to the right to give you one level of light down **High** or over 500 lumens, that way a simple twist, minus all the poking, lets you drop down a notch. **General mode** (head slightly loosened): Low/Medium/High/Strobe. The light will come back on in the brightness level that was last used. I believe the JetBeam also had a memory feature but I couldn't get it to work. Therein lies the **GOODIE** about this flash light, It has **4 levels of light** instead of just 3 and with that one level down is power enough for you to see very well where most flashlight's *medium* isn't worth a nickel. In Turbo- aka MAX, It produces more of an intense SPOT beam versus a wide nicely dispersed beam like the JetBeam. Either way you'll get superb light on the subject. The head is also machined from **steel** no loner aluminum and the experts say the body is the thickest on the market. I can attest to its strength given the pliers and freezing I put it through with my right out of the box mayhem. It **didn't get hot. **And it does** not knock you out of Turbo automatically** like the M2S**,** you can stay right there until the battery is almost drained. The **RUB, do watch this video** before you assemble it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiEic7AQ1U8. I certainly thought the EXTENDER which allows you to use the light with 4 CR batteries instead of 2 belonged at the tail, hence the word extend! I tried over and over and thought it had major threading issues. I got the tail cap stuck not once but twice and had to put it IN THE FREEZER to shrink it to successfully separate them. Lo and behold the video (but not the flimsy single sheet instruction guide) tells you the body comes off **then the extender goes on NEXT TO THE HEAD** not the tail cap. Who knew? Definitely not me. Wheww glad that's behind me now to enjoy the light. Its **17 oz **fully loaded, so heavier then the Jetbeam M2S. Length, **all put together 915/16"** 25.24125cm. The heavy diamond knurling is good to look at but not such a good feeling in hand. I was hoping it would be good for butterfingers but its such a rock hard surface you get no better grip from it than from more smooth barrels. My eyes made me think it would feel like a tire but no rubbery give at all. A small hand won't adore this barrel. The glow in the dark Push button is a cute extra. If you can get your hands on a[** JetBeam M2S**][2] that doesn't over heat choose it over this Catapult. But if need to save a few bucks or have the same heat issue this will be a fine alternative. LightJunction has a nice **12% OFF coupon offer presently CPFSAVE12**. Be sure to select the model where the reflector is CLEAR for NEUTRAL light tones. There is another model which has a color film around the bulb and I think a slightly different bulb, might be the T5Bin. That model produces a beam with a tinge of color. Why the same star rating? Well if I could I would have given the M2S a 3.5 instead of just 3 stars. I so badly want to give the M2S a pure five but just can't since quality control isn't what it should be to allow the over heat situation. If Viewpoints would institute a Dual Rating system, one for *Form/Feel *another for *Does it do the Job* then I would give the Catapult 5 Stars for Excelling at its task but only 3 stars for fit/interface. The M2S would have 4 Stars for Excelling at its Task 5 Stars for Form/Feel! Hope that makes sense. The **Specs** Runtime** 59 minutes** on Turbo/Max with 4 CR123 batteries. CREE XM-L LED for best efficiency CNC Machined from 7075AL for superior durability Mil-Spec Type III Hard Anodizing Length: 185mm/ 7.283465" excluding extender Head diameter: 58mm/ 2.283465" Body diameter: 31mm/ 1.220472" Weight: 390g. (Extension tube excluded) 13.76341oz Tactical forward click switch w/momentary-on IPX-8 Water/Dust Resistance Tail cap design allows the light to tail stand Shatter resistant ultra clear lens with double-sided multilayer AR coating 54mm textured orange peel reflector Batteries: 2 x 18650 / 2 x 17670 / 4 x CR123/ 2 x 18650/2 x CR123/2 x 16340 **T6 Bin** Output/Runtime N/A Strobe/SOS Strobe Reflector Deep smooth reflector Lens Type Shatter resistant ultra clear lens with double sided multilayer AR coating Heavy duty lanyard with quick attach clip plus 10mm split-ring O-ring grease, spare o-rings, spare switch boot (green) Spare click switch High mode drive current: 3.5 amps [1]: http://www.viewpoints.com/JetBeam-M2S-SST-50-LED-1000-Lumen-review-adc211 [2]: http://www.viewpoints.com/JetBeam-M2S-SST-50-LED-1000-Lumen-review-adc211

Qrysta

Coldwater, MI