I got today the new LC40 and recharged, below is comparing with the original LC40
The new LC40 is a fraction longer and a fraction heavier, on scales the new LC40 is 4.8oz vs original LC40 4.2oz.
The LC40 has a built in charger, under a rubber flap and when you plug in power it is a very narrow red dot which goes blue when charged. There is no battery level indicator, but in this case as it very easy to recharge you’d likely after a few hours use just recharge.
There is no hole for a lanyard attachment on the end but there is a clip.
The new LC40 has 3 brightness levels which are noticeably different, the original LC40 had bright, a lower level not much dimmer. So this is a big improvement, improving battery life if you don’t need a bright beam.
Overall given the inclusion of a built in battery charger, and more granular light level control, this makes the new LC40 more consumer friendly, but not better in every regard. It is larger and heavier, so someone who has a 18650 charger and some batteries may find it better to carry multiple batteries and swap them use a separate chargers. If you were seeding lots of LC40 in lots of places as emergency torches and rotating between them with swapping a charged 18650, then overall that method is lower cost. This new LC40 is more if you want just 1 pocket torch. Overall, net, I suspect most will find this a step up due to the built in charger and a dimmer added option.
The beam pattern and brightness look exactly the same to my eyes.
Left to right is the new LC40, the original LC40, the original LC90, the LC130.
The recharge port under rubber flap.
The end with the recharge port covered by the rubber flap.
Beam pattern of new LC40
Beam pattern of original LC40
Beam pattern of original LC90, note this has a zoom function so shown is zoomed into a central lighter area so mid-zoom.
Beam pattern of LC130
The camera normalizes light levels to balance so only use photos for beam pattern not as a sign of brightness. To a significant degree this is what a human eye would see because more lights the iris to close so you don’t really see that much more in reality, unless you are aging eyesight. The LC130 spreads its light over a wider area so more total light and less dark spots, the LC90 you can zoom it for bright spot or diffuse. The LC40 has a fixed pattern more central and no so wide.
I am particularly impressed how Anker added the charging function with minimal increase in size, they did that via removing the ability to unscrew and replace the 18650 there is inside.
Nice quality comparison!
