Review: PK (Paul Kim) Warrior Flashlights
For those of you who don’t know who Paul Kim is, he was the Senior VP of Engineering at SureFire. He was the one designing all the cool LEDs, flashlights and Hellfighters in the mid 2000s. Paul Kim, aka PK, has moved onto creating his own design firm. Here is his website.
Just check out his list of U.S. patents. You will see some iconic SureFire lights in there.
US06046572 Battery operated appliance, flashlight and switching systems US06222138 Battery operated appliance, flashlight and switching systems US06276088 Firearms with target illuminators US06345464 Firearms with target illuminators US06378237 Firearms with target illuminators US06439738 Battery powered portable electric light source systems US06508027 Accessory mounts for firearms US06609810 Illumination apparatus with removable securable switch device US06622416 Target and navigation illuminators for firearms US06655069 Accessory Mounts for Shotguns and other Firearms US06675521 Adjusting Orientation Offset of a Light Beam Generator US06761467 Light Beam Modifier Devices US06841941 Brightness Controllable Flashlights US06779288 Accessory mounts for firearms US06895708 Accessory mounts for firearmsWell now, PK has helped Powertac redesign their Warrior flashlight.
The PK Warrior II is a two cell flashlight. It can use 2xCR123 primary batteries and even includes a battery spacer for the two primaries. If you remove the battery spacer, the body can accommodate a large 18650 rechargeable li-ion.
Here are the specs:
LED type: CREE XM-L2 U2 LED.
Functions: 4 Illumination Levels and Strobe Mode.
Output/Runtime:5 lm/375 hrs – 288 lm/5.5hrs – 618 lm/2.6hrs – 1000 lm/2.4 hrs
Peak beam intensity / Beam distance: 23000cd / 300m
Impact resistant : 2m Waterproof: IPX8 standard(under water 2m)
Battery: Uses 2* CR123A Li-ion battery or 2* RCR123A/16340 or 1*18650 rechargeable Li-ion battery
Optic:Aluminum reflector-micro mirror finish Window: tempered float glass-anti reflective coated both sides
Dimension: Length=150 mm.; Bezel diameter=36.5 mm; Body diameter=25.4 mm. Weight: 153g (without battery).
The PK Warrior II is a bit bigger than your traditional 2x cell lights. Here is a comparison with some other lights.
L-R: SureFire P3X Fury, PK Warrior II, PK FL2LE, SureFire P2X Fury Combatlight.
You can see how the P3X Fury is only a little bit taller than the PK Warrior II and the P3X is a 3x cell light. Both output 1000 lumens. That is the benefit of more efficient LEDs you can get more performance for less power.
The PK Warrior I is a shorter version of the PK Warrior II. It does not have a pocket clip like the PK Warrior II. The PK Warrior I is a single cell flashlight and can be powered by a primary CR123 battery or a rechargeable li-ion battery. It puts out 450 Lumens.
Here are the specs:
LED type: CREE XM-L2 U2 LED.
Functions: 4 Illumination Levels and Strobe Mode.
Output/Runtime:10 lm/28 hrs – 78 lm/3.7hrs – 223 lm/1.4hrs – 450 lm/0.7 hr
Peak beam intensity / Beam distance: 12200cd / 220m
Impact resistant : 2 m Waterproof: IPX8 standard(under water 2m)
Battery: Uses 1* CR123A or 1* RCR123A/16340 rechargeable Li-ion battery
Optic:Aluminum reflector smooth finish Window: tempered glass-anti reflective coated both sides
Dimension: Length=115 mm.; Bezel diameter=36.5 mm; Body diameter=22 mm. Weight: 140g (without battery).
The size of the PK Warrior I is different for a single cell flashlight. It is rather big for a single cell light. Look at the photo below. The PK Warrior 1 dwarfs the SureFire E1D and is almost as big as the 2x cell FL2LE.
L-R: PK FL2LE, PK Warrior I, Surefire E1D
The size of the PK Warrior I can be a benefit. Look at the picture below. In my left hand I am holding the SureFire E1D and in my right, I am holding the PK Warrior I. The size of the PK Warrior I feels more substantial compared to the tiny SureFire E1D. The radical design of the PK Warrior light actually provides more texture for a better grip. If I was to use the light as a striking implement, the small size of the E1D would make it difficult to control the light compared to the PK Warrior I.
The tailcap of the PK Warrior lights contains the controls for the light. The tailcap has two switches. The rear tailcap switch just turns the light on and off. There is a small gray button on the side and that is how you would switch modes. By isolating the mode switching you can leave the light on whichever mode you want and the light will stay on that mode whenever you turn it off and back on again. The downside to the mode switching design is that you have to find that button on the side. Due to the uniform design of the light and tailcap, indexing the side button is a bit difficult. I prefer to keep my thumb on the rear switch and my index finger rides the side button. One benefit to the side button, is when the light is turned off. With the light off, the side button becomes a momentary switch. It will activate the strobe mode of the light. Once you let go of the side button, it shuts off.
As I mentioned above, the PK Warrior does not have a pocket clip whereas the PK Warrior II does. However, the pocket clip of the PK Warrior II is in the center of the flashlight, you have a significant amount of tailcap protruding from your pocket.
Powertac lights are extremely robust. Having seen torture tests of the regular Warrior on YouTube, these lights should be able to take a serious pounding and keep on running.
More by Nicholas C
Comments
Join the conversation
You could tie a rope onto and use it like a mace when all else fails.
you know what I want? A really good, 50 dollars or less flashlight that has NO MORE than a low and hi beam, no strobe function, etc. Maybe it comes with a red lense I can put in. Minimum of 400 lumens on high. But dump the strobe features, make sure battery life is good (I'm OK if it takes C cells to do this), etc.