We were out night hunting over the weekend in some decent cold. Temperatures were -10 F. My kill light which is an olight m2x-ut seemed to lose power if out in the weather for more than 10-15 minutes. It would go from a 500 yd id type light when warmed up to not being able to id at 300 yd and then eventually it would start flickering to where it would have been impossible to shoot out of. Is this common for LED lights or does my specific light have issues? It is an awesome thrower when warm.
LED light power loss in cold weather???
- Thread starter Rogerthat
- Start date
BoondockOutdoors
New member
That is not a common issue with LED lights, I would say that its your specific light. I would contact the manufacture to see what they say.
Is the light using 18650 style batteries?
Is the light using 18650 style batteries?
SkyPup
New member
It is not the LED light emitter in your Olight, it is the rechargeable li-ion 18650 battery decreasing electric charge output due to cold temps, get a new 18650, better yet get a couple of new ones and charge them all up good.
Primary Lithium CR123 do perform better in extreme cold conditions than rechargeable 18650s...they are rated for -20 +60 °C during discharge.
Chemical reactions slow down in cold weather. Below 0 F battery performance really drops off. You can expect a Li-Ion cell to loose about 40 - 50% of its capacity at 0 F, and the mid point voltage will be closer to 3.0 volts than its normal 3.7 volts. All of this adds up to poor performance.
At -40 F things will be worse...
Panasonic recommends using their Li-Ion cells in the temperature range of -20 to +60 C, which is -4 to +140 F.
Primary Lithium CR123 do perform better in extreme cold conditions than rechargeable 18650s...they are rated for -20 +60 °C during discharge.
Chemical reactions slow down in cold weather. Below 0 F battery performance really drops off. You can expect a Li-Ion cell to loose about 40 - 50% of its capacity at 0 F, and the mid point voltage will be closer to 3.0 volts than its normal 3.7 volts. All of this adds up to poor performance.
At -40 F things will be worse...
Panasonic recommends using their Li-Ion cells in the temperature range of -20 to +60 C, which is -4 to +140 F.
CoyoteLight inc.
New member
Keep the batteries warm, maybe inside your jacket or with a hand warmer. once the light is turned on it should generate enough heat to keep this from happening. Try to keep the core temp of your light as warm as possible.