Jetbeam III PRO ST  R2 BVC

The ST R2 BVC is one of the very best multi-use flashlight on today's market. It fulfills many of the requirements of front line jobs, like the Police, Rescue Services and the Military as well as can double up as very powerful front cycle light (225 lumens). It still retain a classical flashlight "cigar" look in a robust and  a re-assuring  military style and in a very pocket-able size, only 120mm length and 25mm OD. The ST PRO BVC is very versatile, it has 3 independent and fully programmable modes and  has Jetbeam BVC (broad voltage circuit) which has a power input from 3.6 to 12v and can be run by two CR123 or one 18650 lithium batteries, giving a run time on high of up to 3 hours.  

The Jetbeam III PRO ST BVC  gives you total freedom into your flashlight settings and to undertake any task you want. 

Cycling:
Is the Jetbeam III PRO ST R2 BVC, the new high power light that cyclist have been waiting for? The answer could well be yes! This winter I have been looking for a high power/ long run time light to use on my bike as well as home or while camping in the summertime. I had a look at dedicated cycling lights like the "Hope 1" led or the "Exposure Joystick", both are very capable lights but too expensive and not versatile enough for me. I came across the Jetbeam III PRO ST R2 BVC and it ticked all my boxes

Setting example:
I use mine for cycling and at home/work, my setting are as follow:
mode A to flash, mode to B 50%, and mode C to 100% brightness 
and once at home or work, I reset the mode A to 25% brightness and keep B and C the same.

I use the Jetbeam  as a main light fitted to the handle bar by a Twofish lock blocks fitting (also available from Flashaholics.co.uk) or has a helmet  light see photos. In my mind the  Jetbeam III PRO ST R2 BVC is a serious contender and a cheaper alternative to the " Hope 1" led or the "Exposure Joystick" both dedicated front cycle lights and both a lot more expensive that the Jetbeam.  This also make great helmet light due to it size, shape and weight (128gr with an Ultrafire 18650 battery). see photos.

Jetbeam III PRO ST  R2 BVC specs are as follow:
LED: CREE 7090 XR-E (R2 bin)
Max Output: 225 Lumen (Torch Lumen)
Reflector: aluminum reflector
Lens: coated mineral glass
metal switch retaining ring
3 Programmable modes (with setting from about 2 lumens to 225L can be programmed, as strobe, SOS or flash )
Material: T6061 T6 aircraft aluminum alloy
Finish: HA III Military grade hard anodized
Battery: one 18650 Rechargeable Lithium Battery or two CR123A
Input voltage: 3.6-12V
Switch: Reverse push button switch
Waterproof: Accord to IPX-8 standard
Dimension: Bezel diameter 25mm, Tail diameter 25mm, Overall length 120mm
Weight: 65g(without battery)

This Jetbeam III PRO ST  R2 BVC was obtained from www.flashaholics.co.uk, as usual their service was second to none with the flashlight arriving by recorded delivery within 24hours of ordering. This was well packed and the display box was unmarked.

The ST R2 BVC is supplied from Jetbeam in a black presentation box with a magnetic catch, inside is the light well protected by foam, supplied with the flashlight are a small bag with 2 O rings, a paracord lanyard, a spare rubber cap for the switch, an ID/warranty card and a small instruction booklet.  Flashaholic also kindly supply 2 high quality Energizer CR123 battery so you light is "good to go" when received.

Description:
The light come in a dark putter like colour with a very good finish and split into 3 seperate parts:
the head which is protected by a stainless steel bezel  and  host the R2 led
the body with knuckling and 3 flat sections, this is again is very nicely made with no sharp edges, the thread is a high quality square type which prevent cross threading
the tail host the reverse clicky switch and has two holes to attach the lanyard.

The ST R2 BVC has the usual neat engraving on the head and body. The flashlight also has as effective but unobtrusive anti-roll system build into the head and the tail is manufactured so that the flashlight can tail stand as a candle if needed . The reflector on my UK specs one is an OP type which I personally prefer to the smooth ones as it tend to give a brighter fuller spill without loosing much throw. 

The flashlight has 3 separates modes which are fully  programmable to what ever brightness or flash mode you want; making it a very versatile light. I plain terms you can program and re-program  what ever brightness or strobe/flash settings you like into3 different  "modes" on your flashlight which can be activated by a single click. More about the light functions below

Using the flashlight

The battery (ies) are inserted by removing the tail cap, plus towards the head, the light switched on by a full press of the tail switch and the three modes by half pressing the switch again. 

Now unfortunately the set of operating instructions supplied by Jetbeam are  not correct, and will confuse the user has to the programming of the flashlight. 

After some very careful monitoring and testing of the flashlight programming, I have written the correct set of instruction for the R2 BVC and it works 100% every time with mine.

The R2 BVC has 3 modes : Mode A > Mode B > Mode C as in the instructions manual.

Now you can navigate between the 3 modes in two different ways by either half or full press of the rear clicky!

1) In off  mode >full press to get into <Mode A > half press < Mode B > half press <Mode C>full press Off

or

2) In off mode >full press to get into <Mode A > full press to switch off and if switch back on within 7 seconds you will enter the next mode (B) in this case. Follow the same process to access <Mode C> 
Please note, if the light is switch back on after 8 second, it will start automatically in mode A with what ever setting you have programmed in it.

Brightness setting;
Now once in any of the 3 modes, you can access the IBS Infinitely variable Brightness Setting feature by a series of 3 rapid half press, this will activate the ramping process which will start at 5% brightness increasing  to 100% brightness. The light will  blink twice at 50% brightness, and thrice at 100% brightness and then will start the sequence  again. If you  turn the light off (full press) and leave it off for more than 8 seconds, the light will  memorise the  desired brightness levels. 

Special modes settings:
Once you are in the brightness ramping programming  mode (see above) by half  pressing the tail switch you will access the flash/strobe programming mode which will ramps from various speed flashes, beacon,  double blink to S.O.S then  will start the sequence again, to program one of the setting in your flashlight all you need to do is turn the light off (full press) and leave it off for more than 8 seconds.
please note, the Ramping time take a lot longer than the 8 seconds quoted in the instructions: mine take 20s from low to medium and 18s from medium to high. By counting the seconds between the two level of ramping you can caccuratly program your light to 25,50 or 75% brightness.

Factory reset:
From the Special modes/ flashing programming (see above) you also have the option of a factory mode reset, to "low, high and strobe". To do this, you will need to half press the tail switch (the light will appear off) and you need to switch is off by fully pressing the switch again and to leave it off for more than 8 second. 

So Next time you switch it on, you will be back to the factory settings: Mode A : low, Mode B: high, Mode C: flash.

Please note I have found the Jetbeam Instruction booklet in English not correct for mine  (# UK23101400026), and the Jetbeam statement of waiting for 2 seconds before switch on for a specific setting to be memorized by the flashlight did not work and is incorrect. You will have to wait a minimum of 8 seconds otherwise the Jetbeam will enter the next programming mode.  Also the 3 half press of the clicky does not have to be done within one second as per manual, as long as they are done continuously and rapidly, the light will enter the program modes.

This may appear a little complicated but once you start using it, this is not too difficult, the only thing you must be careful of is switching the mode too quickly as you will enter the programming mode! 

Running time can vary a lot from one battery make to an other, the runtime  test I have done  are with an Ultrafire 2400mah grey protected battery. I would recommend for safety to only use fully protected 18650 cells and to avoid the non-protected one. Lithium battery should only be charged with lithium type battery charger.
I have been using  the Ultrafire WF-139 2 cells/2 channels charger for over a year now with no problems (also obtainable from Flashaholics.co.uk)