This review article is from Stephan Röhl, the original article is from：https://www.taschenlampen-vergleich.com/brinyte-e18-pheme-testbericht/
Wow - it looks great!!
Brinyte brought the E18 Pheme onto the market some time ago - a compact 18650 EDC flashlight with an unusual design. I had never seen such a faceted battery tube before. Brinyte had already won me over visually with this design. But what does the Brinyte E18 Pheme have in terms of technology? Can it convince as an EDC lamp? Or is it all more show than substance? Let's see.
Area of application of the Brinyte E18 Pheme The Brinyte E18 Pheme is advertised as a genuine EDC flashlight. It is definitely compact enough for that with its 115 x 23.5 mm. Since it is quite thin-walled, it is also quite light (65 g). It is easy to use and has a magnetic rear, which allows it to be attached to various metal objects.
Definitely cool and worth mentioning: the E18 is not only completely dustproof - but also waterproof up to 2 meters. And even better: the fall protection is 1.5 meters, a full 50 cm above the industry standard. Great!
With brightness levels between 5 and 1,200 lumens, the little Brinyte can cope well in pretty much any situation. The moonlight mode could be a bit darker (I'm a 1 lumen fan) but that's complaining at a pretty high level.
All in all: at first glance, the E18 is a pretty promising EDC flashlight.
Functionality of the Brinyte E18 Pheme
Key Features
The Brinyte E18 Pheme has a total of 4 different brightness levels (35, 115, 450 and 1,200 lumens) and a 5 lumen moonlight mode.
It is interesting that the Pheme also has a memory mode that remembers every brightness level (apart from the moonlight). Usually, other manufacturers leave out the turbo as well as the moonlight. Here, however, the E18 Pheme from Brinyte immediately jumps to maximum brightness - if it was last activated.
The power button shows the battery charge level using its own, centrally mounted LED.
Also really cool: the magnetic rear of the Brinyte, which you can use to attach the lamp to many metal surfaces. The magnet is not necessarily the strongest I have tested in a lamp so far, but it holds the E18 Pheme firmly enough. You definitely don't have to worry about the little one falling off at the first gust of wind.
Special Features
The E18 Pheme from Brinyte has a pretty effective tactical strobe. There is also an SOS mode. This works with an acceptable 200 lumens and should therefore last long enough in real emergency situations. The tactical strobe, on the other hand, fires out the maximum 1,200 lumens - it's painful to look at. Unfortunately, there is no beacon mode.
Design of the Brinyte E18 Pheme
Appearance
Yes - I admit it - I bought the Brinyte E18 primarily because of its appearance. I think its faceted design is really chic and you don't see that everywhere - at least not yet.
Apart from that, the Pheme is one of the few lamps that really looks good with its completely cooling fin-free design. The blue surround of the power button and the lamp head also make the little one a real eye-catcher!
In terms of design, Brinyte has really delivered in my opinion!
Quality of workmanship
You really can't complain here either. Only when it's empty (i.e. without a battery inserted) does it look a bit thin-walled and therefore not as super robust as other lamps. But it is also pleasantly light and therefore hardly noticeable in a handbag or EDC bag.
Apart from that, it arrived here in really impeccable condition. No scratches on the lamp body or the hardened mineral glass lens and - very importantly - no unpleasant smell!
Haptics & Usability
In terms of haptics, the Brinyte E18 Pheme does not disappoint either. The facet milling feels very pleasant in the hand and also gives the lamp a little more grip.
The power button is only slightly raised but still clearly noticeable on the lamp head of the Brinyte E18 and has a pretty good, firm pressure point.
In general, the E18 Pheme feels very good in the hand and is - just as I like it - slightly rear-heavy. The only thing that spoils the overall good hand feel is the belt clip. It is quite long and can be turned ALMOST anywhere on the lamp where you don't feel it in your hand. Why only ALMOST? Well, you can turn it so that it covers the power button. Sounds impractical at first, right? Funnily enough, you can still operate the power button - with the belt clip itself! This kills two birds with one stone: firstly, you only feel the belt clip when you want to operate the power button and secondly, the clip also functions as a kind of key lock - because it makes it much less likely that you will accidentally switch it on.
And the real key lock?
At this point, I have to give the Brinyte E18 Pheme a point deduction. For me, this lock is not really the best solution. For two reasons:
5-fold click
no optical lock signal
For whatever reason, the usual 4-fold click on the Brinyte E18 is not functional. So you can't lock this lamp like most others. Instead, a 5-fold click is required. It sounds like an insignificant little thing at first - but in my opinion, each of these quick clicks is really exhausting when it's cold outside and your hands are frozen.
In addition, unlocking takes an unnecessarily long time. When locking, a slow double flash is given as confirmation. So far, so good. But when UNLOCKING, this signal comes AGAIN. So if you need light quickly in an emergency situation - be it through the turbo or the tactical strobe - you have to wait for the flashing before you can operate the lamp. That's only 2 seconds - but it still bothers me.
It's also suboptimal that there is no indication of it in lock mode. It happened to me twice that I thought the lamp had no power anymore because the single click didn't activate the lamp, the 4-click that I'm used to did not unlock the lamp and also didn't trigger any lock mode information. It took a while until I remembered the 5-click.
Hence my request for improvement:
Lock with 4 clicks, light signal when pressing the power button when the lock mode is active, and when unlocking please no flashing signal - but directly into memory mode. Thank you 😊
Power supply of the Brinyte E18 Pheme
Battery
The Pheme is powered by a 3,000 mAh Li-ion battery. It's nice that it's not permanently installed and can be easily replaced at any time. This means that the lifespan of the §18 is not limited to that of the battery.
It's also cool that it doesn't just work with Brinyte batteries. The much smaller 18650s from Armytek, for example, also work here.
Charging options
The Brinyte E18 can fortunately be charged internally. This is done via the internally installed USB Type-C charging port. This is hidden behind a relatively thin rubber lip, which doesn't seem particularly stable at first. However, in my test model, the thing was still pretty stable. Even with moderate pulling, the lip couldn't be torn off. I also liked the fact that it sits so tightly on the lamp body that it can't be opened accidentally. Very well done, Brinyte!
Unfortunately, you won't find a power bank function - but I don't necessarily want to assume that with such a compact lamp.
Use time of the Brinyte E18 Pheme
The use time of the E18 Pheme that I tested in some cases significantly exceeds the manufacturer's specifications. Instead of just under two hours, it manages almost three hours on the turbo! Of course, it regulates itself down relatively quickly - but at least! When it then goes out, it's not finished yet. If push comes to shove, you can get a few minutes of light out of the lamp even after it switches off automatically.
The high mode with 450 lumens comes to an impressive 4 hours - really good! The E18 is really impressive here.
Scope of delivery / price-performance ratio of the Brinyte E18 Pheme
The Brinyte E18 Pheme does not have any special features in the scope of delivery - but at least it comes with everything you need to start the lamp immediately: a 18650 Li-ion battery. There is also the obligatory lanyard, two sealing rings, a belt clip and a charging cable.
Conclusion on the Brinyte E18 Pheme
The Brinyte E18 Pheme convinced me in many ways - so much so that it deserves a "very good". Why? Very simple: It is IP68 certified, i.e. completely dust and waterproof, and can withstand falls from 1.5 meters without batting an eyelid. The design is not only chic, but also practical: thanks to the magnetic rear and rotating belt clip, it can be attached almost anywhere - whether on a jacket, backpack or directly to a metal surface. There is also a 5-year guarantee, which is definitely not a given in this price range.
