Almost two months ago on December 16th, 2021, Typhoon Rai (Odette) devastated my city and the surrounding regions in the Philippines. Power, water, and communication lines were destroyed, and even as of this writing, many locations have yet to recover. It became the test of my gear and preparedness, especially for the almost month-long ordeal of not having regular power. Flashlights were my first love in EDC, and fortunately this meant that my reserves of both batteries and lights were critical in helping me and my family literally weather the storm.
While it’s too late now for Foursevens’s latest light, the Maelstrom MXS “Standby,” to have helped us back in December, it’s one that could have taken the role of all the lights in my collection by itself. It’s built from the ground up to be used exactly when a flashlight is needed—the moment the power goes out—and comes with all the thoughtful features to allow it to excel in the role of a standby tool. Jason Hui, Foursevens’s owner, says that the MXS is “the light that’s ready even when you’re not.” It’s exactly the kind of reliable tool I would have loved to be able to grab while cowering in fear of the terrifying 121+ mph winds swaying our building for hours.
Even before getting into all its specs and hardware, the Maelstrom was designed to turn on as soon as everything else goes off. It achieves this thanks to a unique interface paired with an equally unique inductive charging base, meaning no cables going into or ports compromising the IPX8-rated integrity of the light’s 6061-T6 aluminum body. This ensures the light is always charged when placed in the base, which also puts the MXS into Standby Mode. The mode, like emergency lights you would find in building hallways, triggers the light to turn on at the lowest setting when power to the base is cut.
Though the inductive charger and interface itself is unique, the battery it charges inside the light is not, which means you can use standard 26650 li-ion protected or unprotected batteries with the MXS. This is a welcome feature compared to some companies’ use of proprietary batteries you can’t use with other lights or topped up outside of the light in a standard charger.
The battery itself is larger than the common modern battery platforms for flashlights—bigger even than the 21700 of recent years. And for good reason, since the 5500 mAh capacity means exceptional runtimes at all levels which reinforces the light’s emergency utility. Through a single side e-switch, the Maelstrom can output 5 modes, including the 5-lumen Moonlight it starts with that can go for an exceptional 250 calculated hours, all the way to a Max/Burst of 1,700 lumens which it can hold for 30 seconds before ramping down to a 1,000-lumen High that continues for 2.4 more hours.
The MXS’s main function may be practical, but this is still a light under Jason’s Prometheus banner, which means there are still enthusiast features for flashaholics to enjoy. Its LED, for starters, is a new Nichia 144A emitter, offering a tint of 4000K with 90+ CRI, which is not only more pleasing to the eye during regular use, but is also beneficial for accurate identification in the dark while in a hectic scenario. Plenty of thought was also put into actual usability in terms of ergonomics in hand, an asymmetric grip which lets you intuitively detect where the side switch is, bump protection when setting the light down, and even an electronic lockout to prevent accidental activation.
I hope to never go through another typhoon like that again, but if it’s one thing that it’s taught me, it’s the importance of tools and gear you can rely on, no matter what. Make the Maelstrom MXS part of your preparation at the link below.
