# Magicshine Monteer 3500 Review



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

First thing I want to take care of is identifying what the Monteer 3500 is, a thrower/spot light! Magicshine provides enough information to identify its beam characteristics if you read all the tech. specs. (see circled info on below screenshot), know what they mean, and take the time to put 2 and 2 together. Highest candela rating (light intensity) and throw distance of any MS light + the use of SST20 are clearly shown but Magicshines description of the Monteer 3500 as the entry level Monteer light is a little vague and if you aren't familiar the SST20's high throw/narrow beam characteristics (in spite of having the same optic beam spread as the much floodier larger Monteer's) I can easily see someone thinking the 3500 is just a less powerful floody 8000/6500/5000 so I wanted to clarify this point!









So it's a thrower and a very good one. Initial turn on lumen and max lux numbers are astounding but output degrades quite rapidly at first finally settling to a stable level about equal to a Gloworm XS after the first half hour. 108.5 gram lighthead weight is also similar to an XS so the Monteer is a ligit low cost competitor for the XS or any other high putput/high throw helmet light. As a bar light the Monteer 3500 is far less capable IMO. Beam is too narrow for my taste for MTB riding but OK for path/road use.



















As you can see from the above chart the output degrades quickly from its almost 5000 lumen turn on point. Some of the loss is from heat but most is programmed into the light. Lighthead seemed to shead heat very well and cooled quickly when turned off so thermal path must be pretty good. If you don't mind shutting the light off every half hour or so you also can operate it at higher levels as this restarts the program. A quick off/on operation will bump the output around a 1000 lumens but this will also drain the battery quicker and probably not necessary since its stable levels are excellent. Test was run with the included 5200mAh battery so high mode operating duration can easily be extended with the use of a higher capacity battery. Battery is also usb charged and can be used as a powerbank which is nice.

UI has its good and bad points though mostly good. Lots of mode choices but easy to maneuver through with single and double clicks. Mode button is easy to find, consistent and accurate with a light touch that only takes 1 finger to operate. Bar mount takes a tool to install/remove but very easy to use and adjust and garmin interface (Gopro adapter also included) is quick and simple for lighthead removal. The bad is a flashing mode in the main program that makes no sense for this type of light to me!

In conclusion the Monteer 3500 is an excellent high performance helmet light. Narrow focused beam that helps it for helmet use also limits it usefulness for off road bar use but there are other Monteer models that excell for that. Magicshine accationally sends me lights to review but this one I purchased myself and have no regrets and I can't imagine anyone will be disapointed with it if used for its strengths!
Mole

Monteer 3500S Nebular MTB headlight, 3500 lumen handlebar/helmet light


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## juergenor (Mar 30, 2004)

Thank you for the information. I am not 100% sure that I fully understand the graph - I am assuming that the black line represents the light - what is the blue curve above representing? 

Thanks


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

juergenor said:


> Thank you for the information. I am not 100% sure that I fully understand the graph - I am assuming that the black line represents the light - what is the blue curve above representing?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Black line represents high beam for the Monteer 3500 using the relatively low capacity standard battery. The host graph was a L&M Seca Enduro test wetestlights did but I had to edit (double the amounts) the side bar lumen listings to get them high enough for the Monteer's initial output amounts.
Mole


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

*Efficient use of current*

I did a little further testing pitting the Monteer 3500 against the Gloworm XS. I already knew both lights ended up fairly close in lumen output and max lux after about 30 min. when the Monteer's output quit degrading and stabilized. The plan was to also check current draw so I started the test with the Monteer hooked up to my digital multi-meter (since turning the light off to hook it up would reset the light to near startup levels) and after about 40 min. the Monteer's output had degraded to the point where it was about 10% less than what the XS was producing and the Monteer was drawing 2.73A compared to the XS drawing 4.15A (3.28 set @ 90% which almost exactly matched the Monteers output). So no surprise the XS wins @ output consistency (only about 3% loss in 30min.) but the Monteer seems to require less current to produce its lumens and should be able to eek a little extra runtime from a similar capacity battery.
Mole


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

I found this youtube review (sorry not in English) that showed the Monteer 3500's beam pattern while trail riding and why it's fairly narrow beam may not be what you want for a bar light. Starts a little past 9:30 on the video.
Mole


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## cue003 (May 6, 2011)

Thanks for that video link. That showcases much more narrow and focused than I had originally thought. A riding video of that at max on the bars (after stabilization) vs the 8000s at medium or so (close to the same stabilized output of the 3500) should be an excellent beam width comparison.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

cue003 said:


> Thanks for that video link. That showcases much more narrow and focused than I had originally thought. A riding video of that at max on the bars (after stabilization) vs the 8000s at medium or so (close to the same stabilized output of the 3500) should be an excellent beam width comparison.


The interesting (or frustrating) thing is if you look at the optic angles Magicshine lists for all the Monteer series lights they are identical even though the 3500's fairly narrow beam is vastly different from the very floody 6500/8000 lights. Magicshine does list throw distances and CD values but I'd also like to see them include a beam description (flood or spot) rather than just marketing the 3500 as the smallest Monteer.
Mole


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## TCW (Mar 13, 2006)

MRMOLE, thanks for this information. I picked a 3500 for $120 a few days ago. Comparing to my XS2500 here are some thoughts: Monteer weight = 110g, XS2500 = 100g. The Monteer's color temp might cause problems for those used to neutral white emitters. The long power cable might bother people who like shorter cables (might be a positive if using on the helmet with the battery in a pack or pocket). Cycling through the light levels is downright annoying. If you're a set and forget person then no big deal. Low, medium, high, boost, flash, then repeat is bad news if you like to cycle via a wireless remote (Gloworm). Of course the price is wonderful. Because of the drawbacks I'll likely use this on my road and gravel bikes where throw is more important, especially at high speeds. It's a damn good light. I just wish they'd copy the features that make Gloworm special.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

TCW said:


> MRMOLE, thanks for this information. I picked a 3500 for $120 a few days ago. Comparing to my XS2500 here are some thoughts: Monteer weight = 110g, XS2500 = 100g. The Monteer's color temp might cause problems for those used to neutral white emitters. The long power cable might bother people who like shorter cables (might be a positive if using on the helmet with the battery in a pack or pocket). Cycling through the light levels is downright annoying. If you're a set and forget person then no big deal. Low, medium, high, boost, flash, then repeat is bad news if you like to cycle via a wireless remote (Gloworm). Of course the price is wonderful. Because of the drawbacks I'll likely use this on my road and gravel bikes where throw is more important, especially at high speeds. It's a damn good light. I just wish they'd copy the features that make Gloworm special.


Cost is definitely the only real reason for choosing the Monteer 3500 over the older Gloworm XS models if your looking for a high performance thrower. Unfortunately it looks like Gloworm may have handed the long throw light segment over to Magicshine though as compared to the XS 2200/2500 the new XS G2 I'm currently testing is down a little in lumen output and down a lot in throw distance (spot/spot/spot optics). 
Mole


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## TCW (Mar 13, 2006)

MRMOLE said:


> Cost is definitely the only real reason for choosing the Monteer 3500 over the older Gloworm XS models if your looking for a high performance thrower. Unfortunately it looks like Gloworm may have handed the long throw light segment over to Magicshine though as compared to the XS 2200/2500 the new XS G2 I'm currently testing is down a little in lumen output and down a lot in throw distance (spot/spot/spot optics).
> Mole


Well that's disappointing. I had other concerns with the G2 Gloworms - the proprietary cable and backward compatibility, for example. So, with spot lenses how does the new XS perform? I'm glad I got previous generation Gloworms. I can use 21700 battery packs from other vendors (Magicshine and Gemini) if I want with the standard round connector. Gloworm going to the phone app/fancy cable sounds like a bad idea, amongst other things.


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## juergenor (Mar 30, 2004)

I wanted to share my solution with the helmet mount for this light. Depending on your helmet the handlebar mount might work as a helmet mount. 

This light (I have the Olight version) has become now my favorite light and put my Gloworm XS on the shelf. Very light and affordable - bought mine with battery on sale for 85$ several months ago and can use all my other batteries as well.

.


















Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## anga (Aug 22, 2011)

Is the DC jack 5.5 x 2.1 mm or 5.5 x 2.5 mm?


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

anga said:


> Is the DC jack 5.5 x 2.1 mm or 5.5 x 2.5 mm?


If that's OD/ID mine measured 5.5 x 2.1.
Mole


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## anga (Aug 22, 2011)

MRMOLE said:


> If that's OD/ID mine measured 5.5 x 2.1.
> Mole


Thank you so much.


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## Desertride (Nov 1, 2012)

MRMOLE said:


> First thing I want to take care of is identifying what the Monteer 3500 is, a thrower/spot light! Magicshine provides enough information to identify its beam characteristics if you read all the tech. specs. (see circled info on below screenshot), know what they mean, and take the time to put 2 and 2 together. Highest candela rating (light intensity) and throw distance of any MS light + the use of SST20 are clearly shown but Magicshines description of the Monteer 3500 as the entry level Monteer light is a little vague and if you aren't familiar the SST20's high throw/narrow beam characteristics (in spite of having the same optic beam spread as the much floodier larger Monteer's) I can easily see someone thinking the 3500 is just a less powerful floody 8000/6500/5000 so I wanted to clarify this point!


Your reviews are invaluable. I was just considering this a as a handlebar light (My ITUO XP3 is still working for my helmet) but your review clarified things.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

@MRM...Nice review of the Monteer 3500. When I looked at the Youtube video you linked to I almost had to laugh. The beam pattern was everything you said it was, "very narrow" so yes this a lamp best used on the helmet as you said. Since you own one of these I'm assuming the weight is not too much for the head. The reason I was laughing was at the end of the video the guy reviewing the light mounts it to his bars and is riding with this as his only light. Can't see how he could stand riding with only that dancing ball of light going all over the place. Now if he had used another bar light and used the 3500 on the helmet that would of made for a better video.


Desertride said:


> Your reviews are invaluable. I was just considering this a as a handlebar light* (My ITUO XP3 is still working for my helmet) but your review clarified things.*


I still have my XP3 although it has been gathering dust since I now use a nice torch on the helmet. Still, it's there if I feel the need to go with a wired light on the helmet. Anyway I was going to suggest using the XP3 ( with wired remote ) on the bars and maybe get something like one of the older Gloworm XS ordered with all 3 emitters using spot optics and then use that on the helmet. If you bought it through Action LED you might be able to request from Jim @ ActionLED to switch out the emitters to XPL-HI LED's for maximum throw. He used to be able to do custom LED swap outs but I'm not sure now that he still willing to provide that service. I've always been impressed with the Gloworm products and own at least three older X2's. One of those X2's Jim put NW LED's in at my request but that was many, many years ago.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> @MRM... Since you own one of these I'm assuming the weight is not too much for the head.


Weighs 110g according to Magicshine so about the same as an XS or XP3.
Mole


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