Armytek Elf C2 Max Review – Powerful, Durable Headlamp

1. Pricing & Availability
2. What comes in the box?
3. Design & Construction
4. Size & Measurements
5. User Interface
6. Emitter & Beam
7. Mode Chart
8. Runtime
9. Driver
10. Batteries & Charging
11. Switch & Indicator
12. Carry & Ergonomics
13. Competition
14. Conclusion

Pricing & Availability

Armytek sent me this light in exchange for an honest review. Here is the official product page where you can see current pricing. At the time of writing it’s $105 USD.

What comes in the box?

The light comes in retail packaging. Inside is:

• The light itself
• Battery (inside the light)
• User manual
• USB A-to-C charging cable
• Headband
• Belt pouch
• Pocket clip
• Spare O-rings
• 18650 battery adapter

Design & Construction

This is a fairly standard right-angle layout. I like that the switch is on the side of the head instead of the end.

Build quality is great. Armytek products are always well built with thick, chalky anodizing that’s very durable but also shows wear readily. It’s IP68 water resistant down to 10 meters, even with the charging port open. It’s also drop-rated for 10 meters. That’s significantly deeper and higher than most flashlights that have 1-2m water and drop resistance ratings, if they’re rated at all.

Size & Measurements

Mini Maglite | Skilhunt MiX-7 G2+ | Armytek Elf C2 Max | Olight W3S | Nextorch TA30D

Measurement	Measured (mm)
Bezel Diameter	25.0
Maximum Head Diameter	34.5
Length	121.6
Switch Diameter	12.5
Body Tube Diameter	23.6
Pocket Clip Slot Width	5.5
Pocket Clip Slot Diameter	23.6
Tailcap Diameter	27.5
Tailcap Length	20.2
Included Battery Length	75.2
Weight with included battery (g)	155
Weight with included battery & headband (g)	211

User Interface

This UI is good overall, but memorizing Strobe may be a big problem for some users.

Basic E-switch UI Checklist: 9/11

• 1C on/off✅
• 1H to change brightness✅
• Stepped levels✅
• Main rotation is Low-Med-High✅
• Moonlight shortcut: 1H from off✅
• Low shortcut: 1H from Moonlight✅
• Turbo shortcut: 2C from anywhere✅
  • 2C from Turbo goes back to the previous mode. Nice!
• Strobe shortcut: 3C from anywhere❌
  • Strobe is 4C from anywhere
• Mode memory for Low, Medium, and High✅
• No mode memory for Moonlight, Turbo, and Strobe❌
  • Moonlight, Turbo, and Strobe are all memorized. Not cool, especially Strobe.
• 4C or separate switch to lock/unlock✅
  • There is no electronic lockout, just mechanical. I’ll count that as a “separate switch” since you loosen the tailcap to lock it out

Notes:

• Beacon mode (1hz blink) is accessed by 2C from Strobe.
• There is a switch beacon that can’t be turned off, as far as I know.

Emitter & Beam

The emitter isn’t specified anywhere and I can’t tell what it is through the TIR. Its color properties are in the mode chart section below.

The beam is quite floody. It’s basically one very large, diffused hotspot with a bit of spill. There are no artifacts to speak of and it provides good peripheral visibility without needing to “point” your head where you want to see very much.

In the beamshots below, camera settings are fixed and the wall is 2.8M away.

In the beamshots below, camera settings are as similar as possible, the basketball goal to the right of the hotspot is 39M away, and the power pole in the center is 185M away.

Mode Chart

Disclaimer: All of my measurements are taken at turn-on. Lumen measurements were taken on a Texas Ace 3.5″ Lumen Tube. A candela measurement was taken at 10 meters with an Opple Light Master III on the highest brightness, and other candela figures were calculated relative to that. CRI, CCT, & DUV data were taken for each mode from a few feet away at the center of the hotspot with the Opple Light Master and Waveform DUV Calculator. Runtime tests were performed with the Ceilingbounce app on my smartphone. These tests were performed with a fully charged included battery unless otherwise specified. I cannot measure moonlight directly, so moonlight readings are calculated based on the brightness relative to the next-lowest mode. None of this is professional equipment, so take these measurements with a grain of salt.

The official specs are above, followed by my own measurements below.

Level	Lumens	Candela	Throw (Meters)	CRI (Ra)	Color Temp. (K)	DUV (Tint)
Turbo	3500	4300	130	70	6340	0.0032
High	720	890	59	68	6040	0.0057
Medium	280	340	37	68	5970	0.0065
Low	94	120	21	68	5880	0.0068
Moonlight	0.7	1	2	68	5780	0.0079

Runtime

Performance is excellent. Peak brightness, sustained brightness, runtime, and regulation are all excellent. Turbo time is only 40 seconds, but that’s to be expected pushing this many lumens out of a small light.

Thermal Management: There’s a timed, noticeable stepdown at ~40 seconds to just over 1000 lumens where it appears to be capped for the remainder of the runtime. I wish the initial stepdown were done with active thermal throttling instead of a simple stepdown. Fortunately, after the stepdown it has active thermal management. It will adjust output to give you the most brightness without overheating.

LVP(Low Voltage Protection): I don’t know if it has LVP or not. I never observed LVP either in the light or in the battery because it steps down to Firefly mode and keeps running for hours and hours. I ended every test before it actually shut off and the lowest voltage I measured was 2.9V.

Driver

The driver isn’t specified. Neither is the LED, so I can’t tell if it’s a boost, buck or something else.

Voltage immunity is ok. It maintains most of the Turbo brightness down to ~50% charge, and all the other modes are flat down to 25% charge or less. I usually like to see Turbo last down to ~25% charge, but this is acceptable. It shows the components are high quality and they’re being pushed hard for great performance.

PWM: No PWM is visible to my eyes or camera, nor audible to my ears.

Parasitic Drain is inconsistent because the indicator LED blinks every few seconds and can’t be disabled.

Batteries & Charging

The battery included is a 5000mAh protected button top cell that works nicely. Unprotected flat tops work just fine too, but I’m not sure if there’s low-voltage protection. There’s also an 18650 adapter included if you prefer 18650 batteries. You can see the dual O-rings contributing to the 10-meter water resistance rating.

Charging is facilitated by a USB-C port on the back of the light. I like that much better than the proprietary magnetic chargers that Armytek uses on some other models. The USB port is protected by a silicone port cover, but the port itself is water resistant even when the cover is open. It works while plugged in, even without a battery but with limitations. Turbo or Strobe and brightness may be limited on USB power. It does not have a power bank function, which is something I expect from a light this big. Charging takes a little over 2.5 hours.

Switch & Indicator

The switch is electronic and located on the side of the head. That’s great for headlamp use, but not as ergonomic for handheld use. It’s covered by a yellow boot with an indicator LED underneath. If I were pocket-carrying it, I’d be worried about it turning on by accident because the switch sticks out a bit. However, it will be easy to find and access even with gloves on.

Under the switch is an LED indicator & beacon. Whenever the light has power, it blinks every few seconds.

State	Color/Pattern	Meaning
Charging	Constant Red	Charging
Charging	Constant Green	Fully Charged
Unplugged	1 Green every 4 Seconds	>25% Charge
Unplugged	1 Orange every 4 Seconds	10-25% Charge
Unplugged	1 Red every 4 Seconds	<10% Charge
Unplugged	3 Orange every 2 Seconds	“warning temperature”
Unplugged	3 Red every 1 Second	“critical temperature”

I works ok, but not great. I prefer four-diode indicators because they’re more intuitive and glanceable. I wish it just turned on for a few seconds after you press the switch instead of constantly blinking. Though, I can see how a constantly-blinking beacon might be useful for finding the light in the dark. The only way to turn it off is to unscrew the tailcap. The battery indication is useful, but the temperature indication seems unnecessary and confusing to me. You can tell if a light is hot just by feeling it.

Carry & Ergonomics

The headband works well. This is a heavy light to be wearing on your head, but the included headband does a good job distributing the weight. You can quickly attach/detach the light, or lock it in using the o-ring.

Ergonomics are fine. Right-angle lights aren’t super ergonomic as handhelds but this one’s not bad. The chalkboard anodizing is very grippy so no need for a machined-in grip pattern here.

Holster: A basic nylon belt holster is included. It’s a velcro closure with a single, fixed loop on the back. I like that it’s not dramatically larger than the light.

The magnet in the tailcap is strong and has no trouble holding the light on a vertical surface.

Other mounts: Armytek also sells an optional bike mount and hard hat mount.

Competition

Here are some lights in the same class and how they compare.

Convoy H3: budget alternative

• price $30-35 with a battery
• wide variety of LED options
• multiple driver & UI options
• same size and layout
• no official performance specs, but I don’t think any of the LED options get as bright as Elf C2 Max
• no magnetic tailcap
• USB-C charging port
• worse clip, belt pouch sold separately
• simpler headband, not quick-attach
• ships from China (~$2 shipping & tariff charge in the US)
• no official water or drop resistance rating

Olight Perun 3:

• similar price
• same size & layout
• better UI
• available in 5 colors
• smoother anodizing with milled texturing
• not as bright, but has a red secondary light
• proximity sensor for auto-dimming
• magnetic charging tailcap instead of USB-C
• similar headband but with metal clamp “expected to scratch the body of the torch if taken in/out repeatedly.”
• less-extreme water and drop resistance

Fenix HM71R:

• similar price
• not as bright
• separate cool-white spotlight and neutral/warm-white floodlight beams
• switch is on the end instead of the side (less ergonomic as a headlamp, more ergonomic as a handheld)
• bad UI (hold on/off, hold longer to change channel, click to advance mode)
• headband uses the pocket clip to hold the light, quick attach & detach
• magnetic tailcap & USB-C charging port

This section is not comprehensive. If I didn’t include a particular light here, it doesn’t mean it’s bad or doesn’t deserve to be here. I simply cannot list every possible competitor.

Conclusion

The performance and build quality are excellent. I love the USB-C charging port instead of a proprietary magnetic charger. It’s relatively compact for using a large 21700 battery. The voltage immunity, switch, headband, clip, and ergonomics are good. The beam is floody and efficient (cool white, ~70 CRI). The price is fine. I dislike that Moonlight, Turbo, and Strobe are memorized. Overall this is an excellent tool headlamp for real-world use where you need lots of reliable light for a long time.

Thanks to Armytek for sending me this light for review!