Today I have Klarus’s new Deep Carry EDC light, the E1. This light is designed with EDC in mind to minimize the size of an 18650 light while providing a good amount of output and features. Thanks to Klarus for sending this to me to take a look at before it’s widely available.
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Packaging
Packaging is a nice white Retail box with a red hanging tab. It has a photo of the light on the front, with the model number prominently displayed. It’s kind of similar to Olight’s recent white packaging but with color. On the back and side there are stats about the light and a chart telling more specs.
Inside the package you get the following. The light itself, along with a Klarus 2600mAh 18650 battery, deep carry pocket clip, lanyard, extra o’ring, micro USB charging cable, and small gray felt bag.
Specs
High 1000 LM
Medium 400 LM
Low 100 LM
Moonlight 2 LM
Strobe 1000 LM
SOS 100 LM
Water Resistance IPX8
Construction
The Klarus E1 is made from Aluminium and hard anodized a semi gloss black. It’s a nice fit and finish as recent Klarus lights have been . Starting at the tail cap, we have a dual switch design. The main switch is a larger round button that sits up somewhat proud, next to it is a paddle that acts and the secondary switch There is half a shroud built up around the larger button on the outside, to help it from getting pressed accidentally, and it’s the lanyard attachment point. This is nicely styled and works works well from my experience but the downside it’s not magnetic and it can’t tail stand.
Threads are anodized, square, narrow and shallow. There are springs on both ends of the light, and a dual ring system in the head like we saw on the Klarus XT21X. The body section of the light has concentric rings milled into it which gives some grip but not a ton. The head of the light is one piece with the body, in fact the entire diameter of the light is the same. There are no buttons and only minimal labeling. The clip fit’s up on the head, and does rotate around, it can be removed if you wish. Up near the very top there is a very small tricolor LED on the side of the light that’s used for a power indicator and when changing UI modes. The front of the light unscrews in theory, and under it is a glass lens. Under that is the reflector which is similar to a TIR style optic. As a result you can’t really see the LED underneath.
Size | Weight | Carry & Comparisons
I measured the length at 107mm, and the diameter at 23mm. Weight with the included battery and clip was 96g.
The light carries in my front pocket really nicely. It’s an incredibly deep pocket clip that can also be used to attach to the bill of a hat to use as a makeshift headlamp in a pinch. Being a head up carry, it does require you to flip the light around in your hand to turn it on without having a side switch. I found this a little awkward and I think I prefer a side switch for this reason on this style of light but it was a minor complaint. The slim diameter, relative shortness, and deep carry pocket clip make for a comfortable EDC in my testing.
For me for the lights I own, the Olight S2R II and S30R III, both being small 18650 lights with TIR style optics. The Klarus E1 is 1.5g lighter then the Olight S2R II and about 5mm longer then the Olight. Diameter wise they are identical. Output wise the Klarus is less overall, but I am ok with that, as it’s sustained a bit longer.
LED | Beamshots | Heat | Runtime.
The Klarus E1 is using a Cree XP-L HI V4 LED in a relatively cool white upwards of 6000k. The beam pattern from this optic isn’t perfectly round, almost a bit flower shaped. It’s mostly a hot center but fades evenly into the spill. The spill is very wide, and does have a hard cut off.
Heat here wasn’t anything I was too concerned about because the light did step down rather quickly from turbo. It gets warm overall but nothing to be concerned about. Runtimes were about what I expected. Turbo stepped down quickly and dramatically to just under 40% relative output but then as the light cooled down it jumped back up to about 50% where it then osolated between 50% and 38% for about 40 minutes. The bulk of the output was at about 38% relative output for about 140 more minutes before stepping down to 10% relative output then next to 0% relative output until LVP kicked in at over 350 minutes. Longer high runtime would have been nice.
Mode spacing is pretty good on this light at 1000LM, 400LM, 100LM, and 2LM.
UI
UI on this light is controlled all with the switches in the tail cap of the light. Like other recent Klarus lights, there are 2 UI modes on this light. Factory default mode is Outdoor Mode, which I found to work for EDC pretty well.
You have a paddle switch that starts allows the light to work on low either in momentary if just clicked briefly or if you click and hold for about 1 second it will stay on. Once in the on position this paddle can be used to step through the lights 4 main modes in increasing order. 2LM, 100LM, 400LM, 1000LM.
Also on the tail cap is a larger round mechanical switch that will give you instant access to turbo. You can half press this for momentary or full press to lock on. Once the light is on you can use the paddle to cycle between modes.
While I like the higher raised up lanyard attachment point on this because it prevents me from actuating the light accidently in the pocket, It also means I have to adjust my grip a bit when I pull it out of my pocket.
To switch modes when the light is off, press and hold the paddle for 5 seconds and the battery indicator on the front side of the light will begin flashing red/green. Then click the large primary switch without releasing the paddle.
The second mode is a tactical setting where the primary button turns the light on to high, then use the paddle to change modes, and in tactical the light goes from high and decreases in brightness to medium (400 lumens), Low (100 Lumens), and then Moonlight (2 Lumens). To enter strobe while the light is on, hold the paddle for 2 seconds. When the light is off, pressing the paddle will give you direct access to strobe.
Lockout in either mode can be accomplished via unscrewing the tail slightly to
The Battery and Recharging
Recharging on the Klarus E1 is accomplished through a MicroUSB port on the included Klarus branded 2600mAh battery. The battery here is proprietary because the positive terminal has a plastic spacer around it, as well as a negative terminal on the traditionally positive end. This is done so the two switches at the rear can work. To me it’s disappointing to have a proprietary battery and have one that is such a small capacity that’s included. Klarus does have a 3600mAh battery for the E1 but of course it carries a premium price.
Charge speed from where LVP kicks in on the cell 2.63v to full at 4.162v took quite a while for 2600mAh at 3 hours and 41 minutes. Maximum charging speed I saw was .94A. The curve was pretty typical when charging.
Pro’s
- Good factory deep carry clip, but it only allows for tip up carry and it rotates a bit to easily.
- Good fit and finish, it’s a good looking production light.
- 2 UI modes for users to pick from.
Con’s
- Proprietary battery, and only 2600mAh. A larger 3500mAh battery is available but is an additional charge.
- Doesn’t tail stand, or is magnetic, because of the dual button configuration on the tail cap.
- Wasn’t a fan of taking it out of my pocket and having to change grip to turn it on.
Conclusion
The Klarus E1 is an interesting light. I really like it’s size for an 18650 light, it’s short, and about as narrow as possible. It has a pretty good UI and I love that it has the optional Outdoors mode or Tactical mode. The light isn’t perfect though, I found in my daily IT work I missed the ability to tail stand and a magnetic tail cap, and I didn’t love having to rotate the light in my hand when pulling it out of my pocket to use it.
It’s disappointing that in 2019 Klarus decided to ship the light with a 2600mAh proprietary battery. They could have increased the value of the light by just shipping with the optional 3500mAh battery instead. That said I am seeing this light available from US sellers for just under $40 right now so that makes it a good deal less expensive then it’s nearest competitors which helps make up for that battery shortcoming.
If you prefer a tail switch light over a side switch and were looking for a nice EDC light that carries well, I would recommend the Klarus E1 especially when you can find it on sale. Under those conditions I recommend it.
Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/l7HzCh7
Pickup the Klarus E1 in the USA at Battery Junction bit.ly/2nlrhCu