Category: Review

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Klarus XT32 1000M Thrower Review

Today I have a new large thrower style flashlight from Klarus, the new XT32 kit. This is a big flashlight, it produces 1,200 lumens and can throw over 1000M according to Klarus. Thanks to FlashlightZ.com(link is external) for sending this light out to me.

Full Photo Album: https://imgur.com/a/Q6j1h(link is external)
Video Review:

Construction
This light is made from aluminum alloy. It’s nicely machined with no machining marks. All edges have been broken by nice chamfers in most cases. Anodizing is smooth and semi gloss. Starting at the tail cap you have two mechanical buttons. One is a on and off which can be used for momentary and the other is a blad switch. There are recesses vut for both of these buttons creating very little area to allow such a tall light to tail stand. There is a hole for the included lanyard to mount to the tail cap if you wish. The tail cap itself has little grip for turning it, no knurling just some small areas milled out. If it was wet this could be difficult to remove. Inside are double golden colored springs that provide a good amount of resistance.





Looking at the threads on the body they are ACME cut and bare aluminum. It almost looks like there is a secondary inner tube but I learned my lesson not to pull on these. Below that is the removeable cegar grip accessory. Unfortunately this is just a little too loose for my liking and it spins with the tail cap screwed all the way in. It also has a small hole for the included lanyard. Further down the body you have an area that looks like a pocket clip would attach to it if one was included. I suppose you could put a tight fitting lanyard of sometype here or a mount but one isn’t included. Below that is a smooth short bit of the body. I am guessing this is for Klaruses Rifle mount even though the light’s tube diameter is 23.40mm and the rifle mount is for lights with a tube diameter of 25.4mm. Working my way to the front of the light there is a nice crosshatch knurling with some linear milled out ares that add some style and slight additional grip. This knurled area has two large flats, one with the label of the model and the relevant required markings and the other area being blank. This is just slightly off center of the side mount button.

Working my way to the head of the light the diameter increases as does the radicalness of the heatsinks. The side button is surrounded by a gear looking silver ring. The button itself is black and flat with a small indicator LED in the center.This is the battery level indicator. The head itself is large, it has mild crenelations on top. The reflector is under a large piece of anti reflective coated glass. The reflector is smooth and highly polished and the LED is nicely centered inside.

This light lacks a tripod adapter which I really like on larger lights. It’s a secure point to connect a more substantial lanyard and I find attaching it to a tripod or small gorillapod to be useful.

Lengths and Weights
This is a pretty tall light, I measured it’s height at just over 24cm, the head at it’s thickest is 64mm and at it’s narrowest is 23.22mm. Total weight with the included batteries is 358g. The light is rated for IPX8 water and dust resistance.

LED & Runtime
Cree XP-L Hi V3 LED with a maximum of 1200 lumen. It’s in a cool white that in my opinion isn’t too cool. I don’t notice an extreme Cree rainbow but I am not sensitive to this. The beam pattern is typical of a long distance thrower like this. At distances of shorter than 1 foot there is a donut in the beam. At a bit longer distances there is a very bright and intense center with a large but minimal spill and hard edges. At long distances the beam does give off a bit of a blueish tint but you don’t notice that in the intended target. Outputs go from low at 20 lumens, to medium at 100, to high at 400, and turbo at 1200. Since this is a thrower the important number is candella which is 250,000 in Turbo.



 On the Left Olight M3XS-UT, On the Right the Klarus XT32

This light has the Klarus ITS or Intelligent Temperature Protection System, and my output and runtime graphs indicate this. What’s disappointing is the slow decline from 100% output pretty much instantly. Decline is slow and gradual but by 10 minutes it’s at about 95% output which is decent. At that 10 minute mark there is a saw tooth decline for the next 10 minutes as the light increases and decreases in brightness according to temperature finally stabilizing at about 70% output. The 55-110 minute range the active cooling and managing battery voltage is pretty active. I did notice this step down when I was filming my night shots on a cold night where it was about 14F out.

In my night shots the light performed as I thought it would. Very similar to my Olight M3XS-UT but with a beam I found to be more pleasing.

UI This light has two main modes. #1 being Tactical and #2 being Hunting. In tactical you have access to one touch strobe and one touch turbo, one touch Low, SOS and mode memory as well as lockout. In Hunting mode you have on etouch turbo, one touch low, no access to strobe on the tail switch, SOS, memory and lockout. The diagram does the job of explaining all the different modes and how to get to them. I won’t lie both are a bit complex. For me I liked hunting mode best because it had access to both turbo by using the round push button and low by using the bladed switch. You could bump up in modes with the blade switch if you held it down and then short clicked it. There is also the front switch which allows you to cycle through modes or double click for strobe.

Electronic lockout is available but only for the sie switch. You press and hold for 5 seconds to lock and to unlock you press any switch quickly 3 times. The LED located in the side switch is a power indicator for the first 5 seconds of power on and goes from Green to orange, to red and to flashing red. This only works when using 18650 batteries.

Charger & Batteries
Included in the kit are 2 Klarus 2600mah batteries that are button top protected cells. These appear to be the same that was in my ST10 I reviewed a few weeks ago. I have no complaints other then I wish the capacity would be larger. This light has a working voltage of 5V to 12.8V so CR123A will work but 4× 18350 will not work.

I charged the included Klarus branded 2600mah batteries with the included Klarus charger. The terminal voltage after a full charge was 4.14V on both cells and this is well within spec. Charging speed is listed at 0.5A or 1A. I tested with 2 18650’s that needed a full charge and was only able to get about 0.85A out of it during charging. This charger also acts as a powerbank with charger 18650’s. You can have an 18650 (or smaller batteries like a 14500) in either bay or together to act as the powerbank. The manual really doesn’t tell about the charger, it would be nice if it included it’s own manual. According to the outside it’s capable of 1A discharge and I got pretty close to that during testing.




Packaging and Accessories
This light comes in a nice and compact box given its size. It’s a magnetic closure heavy duty cardboard and unfolds nicely but off balance. Inside is the light protected in foam. The batteries were preinstalled but did have a plastic separator that needed removal prior to use. It also included extra orings, and a Klarus branded charger that doubles as a powerbank.To see how those preform see above. It also included a small lanyard which is a bit disappointing. What I don’t like is the thin plastic reinforced connection that is the part that actually attaches to the light. For a light of this size and weight I was wishing for something more substantial. If it had a place for a tripod mount this would be an easy fix but instead I think I will have to create something with paracord and a slipping knot. It includes a short belt adapter that fits the head. This works but I think would be a bit awkward to actually use for a longer amount of time like during a hike.





Klarus sells some additional accessories listed on their website such as a tape switch and rifle mount, and colored filters to fit over the front of the light to complete the hunting package.

Comparisons
The Klarus XT32 is very comparable to the Olight M3XS-UT I reviewed several months ago. Both throw over 1000 meters with nice tight beams. The biggest difference between them is the LED being used and the controls. The Olight M3XS-UT uses a dedomed Cree XP-L that really creates a green cast to the light that is personally undesirable. The Klarus XT32 uses a Cree XP-L HI V3 LED that although it’s a bit too cool for my taste in tint it’s still better than the green cast of the Olight. I also like the tail switches and two different modes on the Klarus and the tail switch is better for tactical or hunting use. The front switch work fine for everyday use and I prefer the Olight shortcuts.
On the Left Olight M3XS-UT, On the Right the Klarus XT32


Pro’s

  • Seems to throw as well as my other 1000m thrower but with a better tint.
  • No ugly tint shifts or oddities in the beam pattern.
  • I like the two button tail cap button configuration and that Hunting mode removes strobe from the tail.
  • I like how you can lock the front button while still having access to the rear.
  • Well built and durable. The dual springs should let it hold up if mounted on a rifle.
  • It’s nice the built in kit contains a charger that has extra power bank features from both cells but it doesn’t have a wall outlet. It requires a MicroUSB input.

Con’s

  • No tripod adapter Sad
  • I wish the tactical ring on end of the light had a tighter fit so it wouldn’t rattle or spin.
  • Slower charger when charging 2 batteries at a time.
  • I wish it had larger capacity batteries. 2600mah in 2018 for a higher end models doesn’t cut it in my opinion.
  • Klarus again rated it’s lights using larger 3500mah batteries then what it shipped the light with smaller 2600mah cells.

I like this thrower, as mentioned the tint is a nice change over what I had on my Olight. Performance and throw works very similar to the Olight and I have no doubt it will reach that 1000m claim. I like the dual tail buttons and how they are used in the Hunting UI. I wish it was drilled and tapped to take advantage of a tripod adapter. Since hunting is one of the main uses for this light I would prefer they would have included the tape switch over the charger. That said the included charger although a little slower then speced works well and the dual USB powerbank feature is nice. If you are looking for a new hunting light to really cover long distances and the weight is ok with you this is definitely a light you should look at and consider. I will have a link in the description box below on where you can pick up this light on Flashlightz.com

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Olight M2T Warrior (1200 Lumens, 18650,18350,XHP35 HD CW)

The Olight M2T is a brand new tactical model introduced in late January 2018 at Shotshow 2018. It shares many things with it’s more expensive brother the Olight M2R. I reviewed it a few months ago and if you have not watched or read that review I recommend doing so. Thanks to Olight for sending the M2T to me to look at.

Full Image Gallery for this review: https://imgur.com/a/LaFOs
Video version of this review:

The Olight M2T shares a lot in common with the M2R. During this review I am going to compare the two alot. The easiest way for me to summarize this is to use some car analogies. Hypothetically let’s say the following. The M2T and M2R are the same model at their heart. The M2R is the fully loaded model, it has all the optional features, extras, and costs the most. The M2T is a mid range trim level model. Its performance is very similar but it has a few differences to reduce costs, such as the removal of the recharging system, and different tail switch, only one choice in emitter, etc. This is going to be a longer review, so grab your popcorn and let’s get at it.

Construction
Olight has excellent fit and finish for production lights in my opinion and this one is no different. Apart from the new tail cap on the M2T, the light is very similar in aesthetics and build quality to the M2R. The anodizing is a smooth high quality gloss black Starting at the top you have a signature blue Olight bezel with some mild crenelation in it. Below that you have the aluminum head and body. There are tier drop cuts in the head for heat dissipation and design. It has a nice hex edges to help it keep from rolling away on a flat surface. It’s a slightly different style then the M2R has, with fewer cuts. It does still have a completely milled flat edge opposite the button to serve as a locator. On the front side you have an electronic switch surrounded by a nice blue bezel with an LED in the center that is used for Low battery notification, lockout notification. Below that you have large square cut grip panels on the body of the light giving added grip and something a little different from traditional knurling. You can attach the two way clip at either end of this main body tube for head up or down carry.

 M2T on Left



At the tail end you have a new version of the switch that’s in the M2R. On the M2T this tail switch loses its recharging and magnetic features as well as its ability to tail stand. It’s replaced with a proud black rubber boot that has a dot pattern on it for texture. It still has the half press for momentary turbo and full press for lock and is silent. To full lock it does take some definite pressure. This switch operates and programs the same as the M2R. More on that in a minute. The tail cap of the M2T will fit on the body of the M2R and operate normally but not the other way around. Labeling is kept to a minimum, with branding near the head is always done so it can be read from left to light not as you rotate the light. The branding is at 2 and 10 positions when looking head on. The CE mark is opposite the button.

This light is rated IPX8 for moisture and dust and rated for 1.5M drops. I measured it’s length is 130mm it’s with at its narrowest point is 24.5mm and 27mm at its widest point. Weight was measured with an 18650 battery at 146.2G.

Inside this light uses a dual tube design which allows for the use of the two electronic buttons and the non proprietary battery. Do not remove this inner tube, it’s held in with an O ring and is hard to impossible to put back in place. Threads on the tail are a nice stout square cut.

LED & Runtimes
The Olight M2T uses a Cree XHP35 HD LED in cool white, this is the only LED and tint offered at this time. While I prefer a neutral white this isn’t so cold in tint that I dislike it. I did notice a little tint shift in the outer edges, but I think that blue bezel of the light also might be a factor in that. Depending on your power source maximum output (depending on your mode) is 1200 lumens compared with the 1500 lumens on the M2R. My M2R is neutral white so it doesn’t reach that full 1500 lumens and to me the two lights look the same brightness and the biggest difference is the tint. The beam is pretty even in shape. It has a smaller hot center and the spill is bright. At a distance it’s more like a flood then thrower, however for it’s narrow size it goes a good distance. It’s a very useful beam I find out to 100 yards.


Runtimes
I ran my tests with an Olight HDC battery that had a 3500mah capacity and a maximum continuous discharge of 10A. The M2T only ships with 2 CR123A batteries in a spacer tube instead of the high drain non proprietary Olight 18650 battery that was in the M2R. This is disappointing to me as to receive the best performance and longest runtimes, an 18650 is required. The light is also compatible with Flat top batteries, I had no issues with a Sony VTC6. Runtimes were good and what Olight is advertising. The light still has a timed Tubro mode which is 3 minutes. It then runs on high for 127 minutes before stepping down and running on moonlight mode. The graph tells the story. This light will also run safely on 2× 18350 batteries. I confirmed this with Olight that 8.4V is safe for the driver and that the batteries physically fit. I was unable to get a full working voltage for the driver though.


UI
Like the M2R the M2T has a rear button that provides momentary and full lock operation as well as a button up front for the full range of modes with shortcuts. One of the complaints I had about the M2R was that in normal mode you were limited to Turbo1 and not the brightest turbo which was only available in Tactical mode. The M2T fixes that by only having one turbo mode which is how it should be. The rear momentary switch was also slightly reprogrammed for an improvement. Now you have momentary on with a soft press, release and it will turn off. A firm press on this button will lock the light on in turbo for 3 minutes before it timed step down kicks in. You also have access to momentary strobe if you press in and keep holding the light goes into strobe at it’s new 13 cycles per second rate. The button up front has a total of 5 modes from Moon to Turbo with shortcuts to Moon (From off Press and hold) to Turbo (Fast double click), or Strobe (Triple click from off). Press and hold to advance in modes and there is memory. Pretty standard for recent lights from Olight. It’s an interface I like. Lockout is available but personally I just unscrew the tail cap ever so slightly to achieve the same thing. I thought the mode spacing is pretty good on this light.

As a Tactical and EDC
This is designed with tactical use in mind and it certainly could be used for that but I think it makes a good EDC option too. The proud tail button is easy to turn on if it gets any pressure. Given that the light comes on in Turbo when this happens I don’t recommend taking any chances, and I use mechanical lockout with just a quarter turn of the tail cap. It also offers an electronic lockout if you want to use that. The new clip is the same that is on the M2R and I like this dual clip. It can go on either end of the light and can be used either way. It allows for ultra deep head down carry which is what I like. For tactical use the strobe mode has been adjusted to 13hz and is now more easily accessed if you want it but not accidentally by holding the tail button down in the locked position for about 1.5 seconds. You can also get to it by triple clicking the front button. The bezel isn’t aggressive which is the way I would prefer it personally as it makes a better EDC and is less threatening in most situations.

Packaging & Accessories
Packaging on the M2T is now a bit smaller and less intensive to the M2R. I suspect this is to reduce overall costs and also make it easier to open. It is still very high quality but is now a white box with a pull through design. Inside the light sits in a nice tray, underneath it is a read before first use card, manual, lanyard, and holster . The holster design is different on the M2T. It’s less premium holster then the M2R. Gone is the latching clip, and extra padding, and metal grommet drain holes. Instead a heavy duty weaved nylon, with a velcro flap is the main holster. It still has a plastic D Ring and nylon belt loop. This is a more standard quality holster you see from other brands.







Conclusion
The Olight M2T is a still nice but lower cost version of the M2R. While it doesn’t have all the features of the M2R like magnetic recharging, it does have a few improvements in my opinion like only one Turbo mode, the melding of Tactical mode into normal operation. The new tail switch in the M2T is good, it’s a bit too easy to activate in the pocket so lockout is necessary. I do wish Olight would have shipped the light with an 18650 battery even though it doesn’t come with built in recharging. I guess that’s against what they do with their R series but it’s how the light gets the best performance in both output and runtimes I think it’s sub-optimal shipping it with CR123 batteries instead.

So which one do you pick? If you want Neutral white, recharging or a magnetic tail cap the M2R is the clear choice. If those are not important features or you want to save a little money the M2T is a good choice then. I do recommend running the M2T with a higher drain 18650 battery so make sure you have one of those too. I think the M2T will make a good choice of rifle light as well. I plan to test this when I get a mount that works for the light. Until then I think this might be the light that goes in my go/Tornado bag along with a few spare 18650 batteries. Let me know how you would use you your M2T. You can pick up the M2T on OlightStore.com.

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Folomov EDC C4 (18650, 1200 Lumens, USB rechargeable/Powerbank feature)

Folomov is a newer flashlight and charging company that has put out many products in 2017. This is the first of their products I have had. It’s the EDC-C4 and it’s more than just a flashlight. Thank to Folomov for sending this to me to take a look at.

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/gLOGn(link is external)
YouTube Version of this Review: 

Construction
This light is made from a black anodized aluminum. The anodizing is smooth and has gloss to it. The tail cap is flat, and non magnetic. It will tails stand without a problem. Knerling on this light is a square pattern that’s medium grip. The clip is tail only and is removable but not reversible.The head is just ever so slightly larger. You have the main button which has an LED under for charging status. Opposite that is the cover for the micro USB charging port. I am a little worried about this rubber cover as it’s only attached at once place and easily stressed. This light is only rated for IPX-6 meaning it’s rated for rain, or high pressure stream but not full submersion.

The lens is slightly recessed and fairly thick glass. It does not look to have anti reflective coated glass. The reflector is smooth and the LED is nicely centered in the middle.

I measured length at 100mm, width at the narrowest is 22.5mm and at it’s widest is 25.5mm.

Issues
I had a few cosmetic issues with the Folomov C4 I received. First the rubber over the main button had one corner that was not all the way into the body of the light. I was able to mostly squish it back into place. Folomov gave me some pictures to show how it’s assembled in case I wanted to do that.



The other issue I have is the flat parts of the body tube don’t line up with the button or charging port on the light. I can rotate it manually but doing so disables the light. I think this is just my example because I have looked at other reviews and photos out there and it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

LED, Runtime, and Reflector
This light uses a Cree XP-L V6 LED in cool white. It has a fairly large dome on it. It has a pronounced hot center and minimal spill. I didn’t notice any tint casts or major artifacts in the beam. Runtime did decrease significantly after about 3 seconds. I believe there is a timer for turbo. After that the light ran on High for another 105 minutes roughly slowly decreasing in output. At that point it was a full decline to zero relative output. The light does have low voltage protection on the battery that will shut off the light to stop damaging the battery. I measured the battery at 3.20V when LVP kicked in. According to the manual, the ratings and runtimes given were with a higher capacity 3400mah battery but that’s not what ships with the light (2600mah). This is a bit deceitful on Folomov’s part.



UI
The UI on this light starts at the lowest mode which is 10 lumens, and goes to medium, at 75 lumens, high at 200 lumens then turbo at 1200 lumens. If you keep pressing the mode button it then starts going down in reverse, so 1200, 200, 75, and 10. Mode spacing could be improved as there is quite a bit of difference between 200 and 1200 lumens. This light also has a Strobe, SOS and Beacon function. You can get to them by double clicking. To change within strobe double click again and to exit click once. This light have lockout mode by a fast triple click to lock or unlock.

USB Charging (Demonstrated in the video review)
I spent a decent amount of time testing this light as a powerbank by charing various phones. Using the included cable you use the Micro USB side to plug into the light and then the female full size USB-A connector to plug your own cable in and charge your phone or device. I was able to charge an old Note 4 from 20 to 94% on the included cell. This I thought was decently efficient on the 2600mah included cell. When I measured this with my USB power meter speed of charging a phone was 1.2A and total watt hours was 6.48WH. When the light shut down charging the battery was measured at 3.13V. The flashlight got decently warm during this time too reaching 96F on a non contact thermometer. When charging your phone this can act as a flashlight just in a reduced manner.


To charge the light itself you can use a standard microUSB cable or use the included cable and plug the male end of the USB-A into your power source. The switch blinks red until full where it’s green. This is a slower way of charging. This light can use and charge standard 18650 batteries, flat tops, and button tops without issues.

As an EDC Flashlight
Lengthwise this is really short light for being powered by an 18650 and USB rechargeable. Being an 18650 it does have a bit of girth to it but it’s certainly on the smaller side for 18650 lights. THe clip will rotate on the light but it’s minimal. It has a large area at the top to fit jeans in but is missing a ramp so it gets stuck a little. I didn’t have an issue with this light turning on in my pocket due to the longer press needed to turn it on.

Packaging
This came in a full retail packaging. The box is a black and orange combination with important specifications on the rear and sides. Inside is a plastic tray that the light comes in. It includes the light, the included Folomov 18650 battery (2600mah), unique charging cable, lanyard, and some instructions. No holster is included.


Pro’s

  • Small size for being USB rechargeable. Its just slightly longer than the Emmisar D4.
  • Minimal branding on the light
  • Flat top batteries, and button top batteries work for the light and powerbank features.

Con’s

  • Uncommon/Proprietary cable to use it as a power bank. Prone to being lost.
  • UI spacing should be better, and no moonlight
  • I wish the flat body parts lined up with the button and USB port on my example. This seems to be isolated.
  • 2600mah battery is lower capacity for 2018, especially for a light that can act as a powerbank. The ratings and runtimes given were with a higher capacity 3400mah battery but that’s not what ships with the light. This is a bit deceitful on Folomov’s part.

Conclusion
This is a very compact flashlight for using an 18650 and being USB rechargeable. The fact that it can act as a USB powerbank too is a nice added feature although not the most efficient. Use as a powerbank did cause the body to get warm but not dangerously hot. The light will work while charging or while being used as a powerbank but at reduced output which is important. I do wish it came with at least a 3000mah or 3500mah battery since it can be used as a powerbank. I like that you can use flat tops in it as well as button tops for all the features. I hope Folomov improves the build quality issues with the rubber flaps and aligning of the threads and body flats. For the money, output and these features it’s a decent value. This light is available on Amazon.

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Astrolux Ti3A Review

I am a fan of Titanium and have it all over in my life, from knives, to flashlights and even eyeglasses. Today I am looking at the Astrolux Ti3A, a titanium bodied , small AAA powered, Nichia 219C flashlight. Thanks to Bangood for sending this light out so I could take a closer look, let’s dive in.

Complete Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/BpoL7
Video Version of this Review:

Construction
As I mentioned this light is made from Titanium alloy from head to tail. Starting at the back, the tail has a hole for a split ring, or a very thin piece of cord. It also has an area milled for a 1.5 x 6mm piece of tritium which is something you need to purchase separately. The cap itself has some small grip panels added for grip and style. The tail is not magnetic, and the spring inside is a lighter duty spring and is golden in color. ! Threads on the body were normal, not square cut. An oring sits at the bottom to improve water resistance.


The body itself has nicely milled squares in place and it’s fairly polished. The machining here is pretty good. Moving up to the head this is a twisty light, there are small grip panels that help but I could use a bit more grip. The front bezel is nicely machined smooth and is removable. The bezel will unscrew if you wish. The front glass is small and anti reflective coated. Underneath is a reflector with orange peel . More on UI and twist operation in the UI section.

Measurements were 65mm for length, widest diameter 15mm, narrowest diameter 12mm . Weight without battery is only 21 grams. A size comparison with similar lights.

I had an early problem with the first Ti3A I received. The head was glued in place with what I believe was excess threadlocker that was applied during install. On a twisty light it’s a problem if it won’t twist. I really tried to break it loose, even heating up the light and using strap wrenches but I couldn’t get it to budget. Banggod quicly replaced the light as there was a known issue on some of the early batch of lights. My second one is working as designed.

LED
This light uses a Nichia 219C LED, in a neutral white (5000k) tint which I enjoy. The LED in my light wasn’t exactly in the center but it didn’t really create artifacts I found to be undesirable. The orange peel reflector smoothed things out with a slightly hot center. Compared with a BLF 348 the Ti3A has more spill and is slightly cooler in tint. BLF 348 on left, Astrolux Ti3A on right.

The output curve on this light is different from anything else I have seen. On high after a bit of time it increases in brightness before decreasing. I tried this two different times with two different Low Discharge NiMH batteries, a Amazonbasics cell, and a Duracell. Both produced graphs that were similar. My runtimes were a little lower than stated and when the cells are low output really drops and fast. In terms of heat this light gets warm to the touch on high but it’s not uncomfortable. With only 85 lumen output it’s not really a concern. 85 Lumens isnt a lot of light, but since this is designed to be a keychain type light I am not expecting a ton. It’s still lower then many other AAA options on high.

UI
UI on this light is straightforward. It starts with first twist on low of 1 lumen, if you twist it off and on again you get medium for 40 lumens, and if you repeat you get high at 85 lumens. If you repeat once more you get strobe on high. The head has about 1 full rotation of range between on and off. The threads in the head are accessible, and not greased much if any. The result is with titanium you can get it to stick a little if you tighten them down too much in either the on or off position. I wish I could get in there and put some dielectric grease on there to improve this.

Packaging is nearly non existent with this light. It comes with a simple plastic case, and no documentation. An extra set of orings were included as well as a split ring.

Pro’s
* Someone is at Banggood and Astrolux is listening and recognizes a lot of us like Nichia LED’s and Neutral white Tint.
* Nice beam pattern
* I like that it has space for tritium in the tail cap.
* This is an affordable price for a titanium light, and I think it’s an attractive combination.

Con’s
* I wish this had a pocket clip, it would make a pretty nice EDC if it did. It still works at the bottom of my pocket but I am more afraid to lose it.
* Threads that are ungreased in the head get sticky if you tighten them too much. I wish I could get in and put some dielectric grease on them to help this.
* I would like to be able to run this on a 10440 battery, but it’s not rated for that.
* Odd Output curve as the light runs and heats up
* Strobe is in the main mode group.

Conclusion
I like titanium, and usually you pay a larger price for use of that material. Here though the light is about $21 at time of filming and that’s pretty affordable for a neutral white, titanium AAA light. I wish it had a pocket clip option as it would make a nice small EDC option. I see this light being attractive for someone who wants to put it on their keychain and wants something small with standard battery sizes. It would also work as a light to throw in the bottom of your pocket if you were not needing a pocket clip. Check this light out on Banggood.

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Klarus ST10 Review (1100 Lumens, USB Rechargeable, 18650)

The Klarus ST10 is a old name for a newer light from Klarus. The old version was a AA powered light introduced in 2010 that has not been made for many years. This new version is designed with EDC use in mind and uses a 18650 battery, TIR reflector in a compact aluminum body and is USB rechargeable. Thanks to Flashlightz.com(link is external) for sending this to me to take a closer look at.

Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/sXk3F(link is external)
Video Version of this Review:

Construction and Stats
This light uses 6061-T6 Aluminum for it’s construction that’s hard anodized black. It’s more of a mat finish!{width:75%} https://i.imgur.com/mi1KcGD.jpg!:(link is external) https://i.imgur.com/mi1KcGD.jpg(link is external) . This light is reasonably compact for an 18650 light with built in USB recharging  . To accomplish this a few design changes have been made. This light doesn’t have a tail cap that’s removable. It’s part of the body tube. They do have 4 reasonably sized lanyard holes. What I really like is they cut a space out for the lanyard to sit flush so that the light can still tail stand with a lanyard  .

The tail cap is not magnetic but there is space where you could epoxy one on the outside if you wanted.

The body tube is square kneraled not super grippy but decent. The threads are large and square cut 

. It makes it very easy to thread the head on and off. There are fairly stout golden color springs on both sides of the light. On the head there is a spring within a spring 

design that’s unique. The clip is removable and does rotate on the light. It’s pretty stout when trying to remove it. Under normal circumstances it’s not going to come off easily.

The head it’s self is compact. The button is flat and not rubberized. It’s flat and plastic with a small RGB LED in the center 

that’s used as a battery life indicator. It does look to be removable for servicing if you wish. It’s an electronic switch that has a positive detent and does make an audible click. On the opposite of the switch is the USB charging port. It’s covered with a rubberized door that’s attached to the light. The cut out is decently sized 

so it has good compatibility with a wide variety of standard micro USB cables which is a good thing. It also comes with a Klarus branded micro USB cable. More on charging in next section. I measured the overall weight with battery and clip at 108.4g, overall length was 112mm, and width varied between 25-27mm.

LED & UI
This light uses a Cree XM-L2 U2 LED in cool white. No temperature of the tint was given but it’s pretty typical for cool white, not extremely cool. 

The light has a TIR optic sitting on top of the LED which produces a hot center with decent spill as you would expect. At close ranges 5” or less you get a hole in the direct center of the beam. This goes away at normal distances. There is then a glass lens with anti reflective coating on top of the optic. Front front bezel is flat and looks removable but I would guess it has some type of lock tight holding it down protecting the lights IPX8 water rating. This light ends up throwing decently for it’s short size. They rate it at 115M throw and in my testing it does that pretty easily.

Output and Runtime
This light has 4 main modes, and no moonlight unfortunately. It’s a feature I like to see on EDC style lights. Low is rated at 10 Lumens for 200 hours. Medium is rated for 100 Lumens for 18 hours, High is 400 Lumens for 4 hours, and Turbo is 1100 lumens for 1.5 hours. 

These numbers were supplied by Klarus, using their 16340 battery. No numbers were given for 18650. This light does have temperature regulation in place and will switch down modes as the light

heats up. In my runtime graph you can see that actively happening after about 10 minutes, output drops to about 55% relative output and the light cools, and it goes up to about 70% output, and seasawas a few times. As the battery depletes this stops happening after about 25 minutes of runtime. After 100 minutes the light decreases slowly significantly over about 10 minutes to about 10% output where it runs for another 10 minutes and then runs on low for a while longer. I stopped the test at 180 minutes where it was still making light but very little. There is also strobe mode at the full 1100 lumens, and SOS at only 100 lumens.

UI
UI on this Klarus ST10 is simple, The light has memory and will remember any of the constant on modes for quite a while. When it does start out it’s on low. When on you just single click to move up in modes, long press to turn off.

I dislike that it has a double click when on goes to strobe. On most lights this takes you to turbo but not here. Strobe isn’t a feature I use often so it’s a little frustrating to expect turbo and get strobe. When in strobe double click again to enter SOS, single click to exit. The light does offer a lockout mode with the switch. Press and hold 5 seconds to lock, then quick press 3 times to unlock. The light flashes twice to indicate lock or unlock.

USB Charging
This light comes with a branded Klarus 2600mah battery. This is a button top cell with protection. The light will also work with flat tops and unprotected cells as well as charge them thanks to the dual spring design inside the light. I like that the USB charging area is large enough to fit a wide variety of common micro USB cables and that a cable is supplied in the package. When charging the power button up front goes red when charging, and green when it’s completely charged. If you see if flashing something is incompatible or there is a problem.

Up front on the button is the battery charge indicator. During use of the light it will light for 5 seconds and then turn off to show power level. Green is between 70-100%, Orange is between 70-30%, and red is from 30% to 10%. Flashing red is below 10% power remaining and you should charge the light.

Working voltage is 2.5V – 8.4V so it will work with 2 CR123a or 18350 (but it isn’t designed to charge them). I like that the light has options for power, just in case that’s all you have.I measure Parasitic Drain at a stable 7.98mAh which is acceptable.

EDC
As an EDC this is a decent option. It’s not too thick diameter, and the clip is pretty good. I didn’t have problems with it coming on in my pocket without using lockout. I like the clip https://i.imgur.com/JozKq8R.jpg(link is external) despite it not being super deep carry I typically like. I do wish there was more resistance on controlling it’s rotation. Mode spacing is pretty even no major jumps, I wish it did have a moonlight option and a direct jump to turbo (Double or triple click). USB recharging makes it convenient to recharge most places too.

Packaging
The packaging is a full retail box.

It’s on the smaller side which is nice. On the outside you have all the important facts such as beam distance, Brightness, water resistant (IPX8) etc. Inside is a plastic try where the light sits. It’s packaged with a lanyard, Klarus branded micro USB cable, and the included 2600mah battery.  No holster is included with this light.

Pro’s

  • I like the little LED under the power button that changes color and acts as a battery level indicator.
  • It has a wide working voltage which gives lots of battery options (18350 & 16340) and will recharge any standard 18650.
  • 1A charging speed over USB.
  • I like they thought to include a cut out in the tail cap to allow the lanyard to pass through and the light still tail stand.

Con’s

  • Reusing the name of an old product that’s quite a bit different isn’t the best marketing move by Klarus.
  • I dislike the double click to strobe, and would prefer it go to turbo.
  • I like that it comes with a battery but I feel like in 2018 the baseline should be 3000mah minimum.
  • I wish a warmer LED, or High CRI option was available. I prefer these for EDC use.
  • Magnetic tail would be nice

Conclusion
Klarus hasn’t always been my favorite brand, but I like this little light for the most part. I wish the UI was a bit different for an EDC but it’s a trend in the right direction for Klarus. The price point seems to be right too with it being available from FlashlightZ for under $50 for the complete kit. Klarus put some thought into the design of this light to make a good EDC, with features that are popular for the general public looking to get into lithium powered lights at an affordable price range. As an enthusiast there are a few things I would change but I can live without them too. Check out the link in the description below to see more about this light and where you can pick it up on FlashlightZ(link is external) website or Amazon(link is external).

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ArmyTek Prime C1 Pro Magnetic USB Review

I have enjoyed the previous ArmyTek lights I have and they are frequently mentioned here both positively and negatively. The Prime C1 Pro Magnet USB and C2 Pro Magnet USB are new models introduced in October of 2017. They recently became more widely available. Thanks to Armytek for sending this light to me to take a look at.

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/7pKAn Lots of images in this one, check it out.
Video Version of this Review:

Construction
The Armytek Prime C1 Pro with Magnetic USB is what I expected from ArmyTek, a well built well made light. 

It’s made of reasonably thick aluminum that’s coated in an almost chalky black finish https://i.imgur.com/z3lDUBL.jpg. Some love it, others hate it. I dislike it seems to scratch easily but these scratches mostly wipe off. Expect somewhere at the clip attachment point. The lens is deeply recessed https://i.imgur.com/hvDw2ni.jpg inside the body of the light and protected with a polished stainless steel front bezel. The body is round with some flat places https://i.imgur.com/cKCEQp8.jpg milled into the head for the button on one side and opposite, it creates a nice finger choil of sorts. It’s more ergonomic in the hand.
 

This light comes into 3 distinct  pieces plus the clip. It shares it’s design with the ArmyTek Prime C2 which uses a larger middle tube https://i.imgur.com/2eTO0QA.jpg in order to fit an 18650 instead of the 18350 in the C1. What this creates is a very short body tube on the C1 and you have to hold in the right place if you want to unscrew it. The threads are long and standard. The tail cap side includes double o’rings which helps to increase water resistance even when it’s in the charging position. More on charging later. I measured length at 90.5mm, Diameter at 24.5mm and weight with battery and clip at 87.8 grams. The tail magnet is strong, it has no trouble holding the light horizontally or upside down vertically securely.

I didn’t do destructive testing on this light because I intend to use it frequently as an EDC. I did take advantage of a few situations though to do some extreme temperature testing though. My area had record low temperatures over the New Years holiday so I left the light outside (Without the battery) as temps approached -10F real temperatures overnight and into the next day https://i.imgur.com/9895Ij6.jpg . I left it outside at below 0F over 24 hours. I then brought it inside to thaw out for a few hours and test all functions. I then plunged it into a Sous Vide bath https://i.imgur.com/CaWJUAT.jpg (Without battery) to cook at 131F for a few hours while I was finishing a 48 hour chuck roast (Which was fantastic https://i.imgur.com/ARwaUdp.jpg). After drying out the light and inserting the battery all was well.

LED + Lens and beam pattern.
This light uses a Cree XP-L in coolish white LED with a deeper TIR Reflector

A warm white version is available. The TIR here is a little different then you see in other lights. It’s set back deeper and further away from the LED. When looking down in you can see the LED easily still. This creates a hot center and some banding on the spill  It’s not the smoothest transition but still works well for EDC like applications https://i.imgur.com/MeE7UqY.jpg.

Runtime starting on Turbo was pretty good https://i.imgur.com/pXBguCf.jpg.

The light was able to maintain 90% of it’s output for 50 minutes and then stepped down dramatically the last 10 minutes. 1 hour of usable light is pretty good on the included 18350 900mah battery. Most likely you would not be using this in the highest mode during normal activities. Parasitic Drain was measured at 7.45mAh

UI and Heat Control
If you don’t use an Armytek light everyday you might find the UI to be a little confusing. However once you study the manual and remember a few of the shortcuts it becomes pretty easy. The interface is the same as the V3 Wizards. The entire 3rd page of the manual covers how this light operates. I am not going to go over everything in this review but will go over the high points. This light is organized into 4 mode groups. The brightness in each sub group is memorized

https://i.imgur.com/pxvv88I.jpg
* Group 1 – 3 Firefly Modes Brightness ranges from 0.4 to 6 lumens
* Group 2 – 3 Main Modes Brightness ranges from 34 to 230 lumens
* Group 3 – 2 Turbo Modes Brightness ranges from 470 to 970 lumens
* Group 4 – 3 Special Modes Brightness ranges from 90 to 970 lumens

From off
One click turns the light onto its previously memorized mode and brightness.
Two clicks turns it onto the previously memorized brightness in main mode.
Three clicks turns it onto the previously memorized brightness in Turbo mode.
Four clicks turns it onto the previously memorized brightness in special modes.
Long pressing the button from off cycles through the available modes Firefly through Turbo 1.

From On One click turns the light off
Two clicks turns from firefly to main or main to firefly or special/turbo modes to main mode.
Three clicks goes to turbo mode
Four clicks goes to special modes

2 Philosophies of use – General and Tactical. General is a normal flashlight, click the button and the light stays on. In Tactical it turns the button into momentary, so the light is only on when the button is pressed. To switch between them you unscrew the tail cap by ¼ turn and then press and hold the button, while screwing in the tail cap.

Battery Level Indicator – Uses the LED under the button to flash a series of colors every 5 seconds. Green is between 75-100%, Yellow is below 75%, Double yellow, is below 25%, and double red every second is below 10%. The light doesn’t do this in Firefly mode and you can turn this feature off by a series of button presses and cap rotations.

High Temperature indicators – When the light reaches 60C brightness decreases in small steps to cool down.Once cool it will step back up to deliver the most light possible. Timed step down is not used in this light. As temps increase you get a series of LED color indicators on the button. Warning is 3 orange flashes, at critical temps you get 3 flashes in one second.

The light also has what ArmyTek calls Digital Light Stabilization and Safe Soft Start System. This is part of the protections built into the light to increase runtime and decrease brightness as the light becomes too warm or voltage drops. It does this gradually and it’s hardly noticeable to the eye most of the time.

Charging system/battery
Having onboard charging of lithium flashlights isn’t anything new. Lot’s of manufactures do this in a variety of ways. You have seen me talk about Olight’s magnetic charging in past reviews. More recently the concern about live contacts and the dangers of potentially shorting the battery have become more vocal. The ArmyTek system was designed from the beginning to alleviate these concerns and it’s one of the best systems out there for this. Let me explain how it works. https://i.imgur.com/0Jq2ayU.jpg

The Charging cable itself is white, and uses USB on the input end. On the other end is a magnetic connection with several LED’s inside. The tail cap has a large recessed center pin and a smaller outside ring. To charge the light you need to slightly unscrew the tailcap. Due to how it’s anodized when it’s tight it breaks the circuit. Unscrew it a little and the circuit is complete and the charging begins. The LED’s are solid red while charging, Red and blinking if there is a problem (Forget to unscrew the tailcap slightly?) and solid green when charged. They also use a diode in the tail cap to prevent short circuiting via the exposed tail caps should you forget to screw in the cap after charging. The other big benefit is that you can charge any normal battery that fits. No proprietary batteries! The downsides to this system is that it’s a little slow to charge by modern standards. I measured it at 0.7A when the battery was at about 20% capacity and charging. If the battery is discharged a good amount this means charging via the built in charging may take a couple hours to charge. You must lay this light down or stand it on its head when charging.

As an EDC
This makes a good EDC option. For me in an EDC, Length and diameter are important as well as the clip. The length here is just right with the included 18350 cell. Diameter is just on the line of too big, I like to carry it in a front pants pocket and it works here fine with normal jeans. I don’t think it would be a great option for dress slacks. The clip is almost really good. It’s deep carry which I like but it has a shelf without a ramp https://i.imgur.com/G4mrW47.jpg. I find my pocket getting stuck on this ledge and it requiring two hands sometimes to move it to the bottom.

Packaging
This was packaged in a Retail box, https://i.imgur.com/c3w9zMN.jpg similar to other ArmyTek lights I have seen. It’s in a cardboard box with hanger, inside a plastic shell with outlines for all the accessories. Accessories include the Armytek branded battery, Clip, nylon holster, extra orings, and magnetic charger. https://i.imgur.com/75vLkOO.jpgThe manual is nicely written and printed in color.

Pro’s
* Nice size in the pocket and hand.
* Deeply recessed lens.
* Safe magnetic charging although not fast.
* No Proprietary batteries needed for the recharging system.
* Well controlled thermal management

Con’s
* Clip needs a slight redesign to remove the inner ledge.
* ArmyTek UI has a lot of modes and can be a little confusing, but at the same time it’s not bad if you use it often or have other ArmyTek lights.

Conclusion
This is designed as an EDC light and it works well for that task. 18350 batteries are more energy dense then 16340’s with not much of a size penalty. That said the head on this is a little longer than it needs to be. I assume the electronics and button are the largest portion. While this has pretty good light output and longevity I would want an 18650 if I went hiking or camping for more output and runtime. If you have any other ArmyTek lights you will feel at home witth the Prime C1 Pro. I would love to see a high CRI more neutral tint option from ArmyTek in the future. I think an EDC and Headlamp would make great places to introduce such options.

Take a look at this on ArmyTek’s Website.

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Sofirn C8F Review and Discount

Here is my review of the Sofirn C8F Tripple LED Flashlight. You can read this review on Reddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/7okpiq/reviewsofirn_c8f_triple_xpl_nw_written_video/

Find the Sofirn C8F on Amazon at http://amzn.to/2CYZ2x6  Use the Code Q9ZWHJVR to save 20% off the purchase price.