Tag: Klarus EDC

Posted on

Klarus G15 Review (4000 Lumen EDC Flood, 21700, Cree XHP 70.2)

Welcome to 2020 and for my first review of the year I have the new Klarus G15 a small form factor 21700 EDC style light capable of upto 4000 lumens on Turbo from it’s Cree XHP 70.2 LED. Thanks to Klarus for sending me this early sample for review and evaluation. 

 

Youtube Version of this Review: 

 

Social Media Reminder

If you like this video please make sure your subscribed with the notification bell turned on, and you can check out my Instagram and Facebook pages.

 

Join the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LiquidretroReviews/ 

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liquidretro/ 

 

Packaging and Accessories

Packaging here is a nice high quality cardboard box with a picture of the light in front being part of the model number G15. The sides list the battery, capacity, and charging speed, and a highlight of the specs, including the 5 year warranty. On the back you have a more detailed spec chart and list of features. The light is IPX 8 water rated.

Included accessories are the Light itself, Klarus Branded 5000mAh button top protected 21700 battery. It’s listed as a 15A capable battery. The battery itself is long coming in at 74.7mm. Also included is a spare oring, Klarus branded lanyard, Felt pouch, manual and MicroUSB charging cable. 

 

Construction

The light is made from aluminum and anodized a smooth fairly glossy black. The tail is flat allowing for the light to tail stand, but it’s non magnetic. The tail has been cut on the side to allow for the lanyard to attach. The body and tail are all one piece, with the long clip only attaching on the rear section. It allows for deep carry and it’s fairly stiff. The milling on the body tube to provide texture looks like the profile for an involute gear and then has 6 flats milled into the light. I like the pattern here, it’s a little different, provides good grip without being too aggressive. The flashlight only disconnects between the head and the body. The threads are raw aluminum, and beefy square cut with grease.

 

 

The head features the same button we saw on ST15R and XT21X in 2019. It’s a silicone button with an illuminated sliver of light around it that indicates battery status and goes Green/Red/Yellow. There is minimal milling on the sides for heat dissipation. Opposite the button is the flush fitting silicone port to protect the MicroUSB charging port. It’s at a standard depth and there is plenty of clearance for larger cables to fit. The head has minimal branding and labels on it, and light bronze color. The front bezel is smooth, and it looks like it will unscrew with the right tool. The lens is anti reflective coated glass, surrounded by a deep orange peel reflector with the large XHP70.2 LED at the center.

 

Size & Weight

I measured overall length of the Klarus G15 at 122mm, maximum diameter in the head at 27.5mm between the button and the charging port, and minimum diameter on the body at 23.24 between flats. Weight with the included battery and clip is 142.1g. 

Looking through my light collection I don’t have a ton of 21700 sized lights that are super comparable here. Lights that I have that are similar are most often using an 18650 or end up being larger. I settled on comparing it to the Olight M2R Pro since they use the same battery and are physically similar. The Olight is a bit longer here, and heavier and is more tactical in nature. It’s also more of a thrower where the G15 is more about flood. 

 

LED | Beamshot | Runtime

The Klarus G15 is using the Cree XHP 70.2 LED in a cool white 6500k tint. Being a 70.2 LED there is tint shift across the beam but it’s not as dramatic as I have seen from a few other lights. There is a slight increase in intensity in the center but this is more of a flood style light then a thrower. The spill is very wide and fades into nothing without a cutoff. 

Mode Spacing here as you can see in the table below is ok but could be improved. There is quite a bit of difference to the eye between medium at 500 lumens and high at 2000 lumens. An additional mode in between would be nice. That said to the eye here is a difference between high at 2000 lumens and Turbo at 4000 but it’s not nearly as much as you might think. 

 

Brightness Outputs from Klarus

Specs Turbo High Med Low Moonlight Strobe Beacon SOS
Brightness 4000

lumens

 2000

lumens

 500

lumens

 100

lumens

 1

lumens

 4000

lumens

 500

lumens

 500

lumens
Runtime 1.2

hours

 1.5

hours

 6

hours

 28

hours

 200

hours

 2

hours

 120

hours

 18

hours

My runtime’s didn’t match Klarus’s all that well. For my first runtime test I started the light on Turbo uncooled and the light steps down pretty aggressively quite quickly about 4 minutes before starting a seasaw motion as the light heated up, and them stepped down to cool off but then what was nice is that it went brighter again as thermals and battery power allowed. The average output for the first hour was somewhere around 60% relative output. The next hour was very stable at about 45% output, before the light started to step down slowly and small bumps at first before LVP kicked in at about 185 minutes of total runtime. Other major manufactures, namely Olight have started to be very honest about what their high lumen lights can do before stepdown and I believe Klarus should do this as well, it would be more honest then to suggest their lights can do 1.2 hours on turbo or 1.5 hours on high. Reality is no light can do this but it’s not obvious to non flashaholics. 

Overall heat was well managed with the active thermal controls here. At 1 minute I measured 92F, at 2 minutes at 98F, and at 10 minutes I measured 96F. LVP kicked in at 2.688v which is lower then I would like to see. 

 

UI

UI here is simple and straightforward and it has 8 total output modes. 5 of those modes are constant on, and 3 are forms of blinking. From off, long press on the button to get to moonlight mode at 1 lumen. Press again and hold to get to low, keep pressing to cycle through low, medium and high. Double click to go to turbo. Tripple click to go to the blinking modes. 

 

The light also features memory mode for modes other then turbo, moonlight, or the strobes. It also had lockout mode, but I personally just break contact with the battery as it’s easier and faster. 

 

Recharging

The light recharges with a standard MicroUSB cable, this is a little frustrating given the price of the light and that it’s a new release for 2020 where USB-C should be the standard. I recharged the included 5000mAh battery from LVP at 2.825V to Full at 4.13v in 3 hours and 35 minutes with a maximum charging speed of 1.99A. As the battery capacity filled up charging slowed down as expected. I saw no problems with the built in recharging on this light. 

 

 

Pro’s

  • Compact size for a 21700, nice fit and finish
  • I enjoy the new gear tooth milling in the body
  • Easy interface
  • Active thermal controls.

 

Con’s

  • MicroUSB instead of USB-C, at least the charging speed here is fast at 2A
  • Pretty cool LED tint with some of the characteristic XPH 70.2 tint shift across the beam

 

Conclusion

If you are looking for a compact 21700 style EDC flood light with an electronic switch up front, the G15 could be a good choice for you. It was a surprise to see active thermal management here that allowed the light to get brighter again after step down after it cooled off. Not enough lights do this in my opinion. I like the new texture here on the body of the light, hopefully it’s something that stays, I think it’s just about perfect for EDC, not too much to rip up your hand or pocket but definitely better than standard diamond knurling. 4000 Lumen turbo mode here isn’t quite as impressive as the numbers suggest, it’s not significantly different from the high of 2000 lumens. That said it’s really a light that’s best run on the lower output modes anyways for a more useful runtime. Hopefully in 2020 we see Klarus switching to USB-C (That support USB-C to C) in their higher priced lights and we can be hopeful that we will see something other then cool white too for us enthusiasts like myself that prefer warmer and neutral tints. With all that said I can recommend the Klarus G15 with reservations.

 

Thanks for watching to the end of this video and continuing to support me. Without your views, comments, and likes it wouldn’t be possible for me to continue to bring videos like this to you guys. I look forward to 2020 being a fun year and I have a few ideas for giveaways and other fun events for those of you who are viewers and followers on social media of the channel.  

Full Image Gallery on this review https://imgur.com/a/9b3UVcV

 

Pickup the Klarus G15 at Battery Junction http://bit.ly/2udnN8F 

Read more about the Klarus G15 at https://www.klaruslight.com/Products/GSeries/724.html

Posted on

Klarus ST15R Review (Bike & Camping Flashlight)

Klarus has a new handheld light on the market called the ST15R Night Guardian. It’s a general purpose light that comes with a bike mount, diffuser and a clip to go with you where you go. It runs on multiple lithium battery sizes and will recharge 18650’s via onboard microUSB. Thanks to Flashlightz for sending it to me to take a look at today.

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/WrODgx0

YouTube Version of this Review:

Packaging

Packaging on the Klarus ST15R is a retail top hanging box, that’s mat black with the light in raised gloss black on a camping scene, It touts the lumen rating on the front, that it includes a battery and that it’s rechargeable. The sides show a few feature such as the intelligent thermal protection system, USB rechargeable and others. On the back you get headlining features, and more detailed specifications including LED used, Brightness ratings, runtime, throw, and sizes and weight.

The package includes Flashlight, YLE 18650 2600mAh battery (More on that in the recharging section), pocket clip, lanyard, extra oring, MicroUSB charging cable, Bike Mount, and silicone reflector dome. The dome is nice, I wish more lights included them in the package.

Construction

Klarus stepped up the game on the ST15R in my opinion. The light is very nicely machined and the finish is without fault. The light is made from 6061-T6 Aluminium and anodized in a smooth mat black, with a very light texture. Starting at the tail, you have the mechanical switch that takes a firm press, covered with a silicone boot. It has 2 small raised areas for a lanyard to pass through and that allows the light to tail stand. While not truly deep carry the clip on the ST15R is only 20mm from the top allowing for a decently deep carry, much better than some of the competitors lights.

The tail and body are one piece, below the tail section there is a ring milled out for the clip to attach. The clip is fairly standard, it’s removable and rotates 360 degrees, plenty of relief to fit jeans or a fairly thick piece of clothing but there is a ledge that will get caught slightly. The finish looks to be a glossy parkerized type finish, not paint.

The body tube portion of the light has a nice milling pattern of a tight fine spiral of about 180 degrees. While this does not provide a ton of grip, I like the way it looks alot, it’s something different over standard knurling and is easier to keep clean too. I think it’s a classier look as well, and I suspect it isn’t cheap to machine either. Threads are anodized, and squarecut. There are springs on both ends of the light as well.

On the head section the button for me is a nice little upgrade. It’s an electronic switch with LED indicators underneath the bezel. The way the LED’s are diffused in the bezel makes the light soft and pretty even it just looks nicer than I expected. The LED’s are green, yellow and red based on the battery charge level. Opposite the button is the MicroUSB recharging port with a silicone cover. The cover is tight and there is a little extra bit to fit down into the port. I didn’t have any trouble with any of the MicroUSB cables I have but if yours had a wide connector area it might not fit. The of the head do have some milling for heat dissipation.

The front of the head section itself is smooth, the bezel is a silver anodized aluminum. It looks like the head is assembled from the front. The glass is double anti reflective coated with a large visible black o’ring. The reflector is smooth and deep. The LED is nicely centered and surrounded with a black disk.

Size/Weight

I measured length at 142mm, maximum diameter at 33mm and minimum diameter on the body tube at 25mm. Weight with the included battery, and clip came in at 152G.

Length wise it’s slightly shorter than an Olight Warrior X, and very similar in most dimensions to a Nitecore MH12GTS. See the video for some visual comparisons of this.

 

LED/BeamShots

LED in use is a Cree XP-L HD V6 LED, no official tint data is given but I would call it a bright white, not too cool, but not warm. I don’t find it offensive and like it. For nature stuff it’s probably a little too cool for my ideal light.

The beam pattern has a definite hot spot, more like a thrower, the spill is pretty minimal, less than 5% of the light if I had to guess. I like that Klarus decided to include the diffuser on this light, since it is a bit throwy this really change things up and provides more light 360 degrees around. Now you could use it not only at night while hiking but also inside a tent suspended from the top, etc. More lights should come with a diffuser.

Working Voltage is 2.5 – 8.4V beaning it has no problem taking 18650, 2x 18350, or 2x CR123A.

Low – 10 Lumens

Medium – 100 Lumens

High – 400 Lumens

Turbo – 1200 Lumens

 

Strobe – 1200 Lumens

Beacon  – 100 Lumens

SOS – 100 Lumens

 

For my runtime tests I used the included 2600mAh battery. Total runtime was 210 minutes. The curves on this are generally pretty gradual, no hard step downs until the end. I believe this is due to the active thermal controls the light has and not timed step downs. The light held 80% relative output for right at 20 minutes which is pretty good. The graphs really tell the story, so make sure to check those out.

UI

The light has an on/off switch on the tail, with an electronic switch in the head. Once turned on you have constant on modes, Low, Medium, High and Turbo and you cycle through these with a single click each. The light does have memory mode if switched off with the tail switch in the constant on modes. When the light is on double clicking the switch in the head gets to the strobe modes. Long press on the same button to switch between Strobe, Beacon, and SOS. There are no shortcuts to turbo, or low.

While charging you can can click the mode button and the light will come on in low.

 

Recharging

The light recharges via Micro USB in a port opposite the button. It is recessed and wide cables or cables with large molding may have trouble reaching. I didn’t have this problem on the 3 or 4 I tested. The light does have LED indicators around the button so it will show battery charge status for 5 second when the light is turned on or changed modes. Green is greater than 70%, Orange is between 30-70%, and red less than 30%, and red flashing is less than 10%

The light includes a 2600mAh 18650 battery that is a button top and protected cell. It says working voltage is 4.2V to 2.75V which is a bit low for my preferences. On mine I can clearly see the label of the underlying cell and in this case it’s a YLE INR18650A260 the datasheet can be found http://www.yiklik.com/upload/manual/INR18650A260.pdf This is a Chinese battery supplier, that makes a variety of 18650’s. It seems they have been focused more on batteries for bikes, other personal transportation, and tools more then high draw flashlights.

Recharging Speed was measured at 1A, so charging the light over USB from it’s shut off point took 3 hours and 5 minutes in my test. Terminating Charge Voltage after rest of the battery was 4.17V.

When charged the red LED’s around the switch go to green, and the light gives a brief low power flash of the main emitter. I like this, it’s more noticeable than just an LED changing color.

Pro’s

  • Can take a wide variety of batteries, 18650, 2x CR123A, 2x 16340, 2x 18350
  • Definite upgrade in machining, finish, and packaging.
  • I love the slight sliver of LED’s around the switch, it just better done then similar lights that do this.
  • Includes a bike mount and diffuser dome.

 

Con’s

  • Not a big fan of double click to strobe, I would prefer a double click to turbo UI with triple click to Strobe.
  • No Moonlight mode.
  • Not using a well known established brand of battery for their branded cells.
  • No holster is included, not a big deal for me personally but worth mentioning.

 

Conclusion

To sum up the Klarus ST15R is a nice balance for a light that can be used in a lot of different applications. I wish the user interface was a little different, because I don’t like strobe so easily accessed with a double click. It’s nice that it comes with a bike mount and a diffuser, and I think this improves its usability with it’s more throwy beam. The LED isn’t a super cool tint which can happen with other Klarus lights, so I like that too. The fit and finish is a step up too in my opinion from some of the Klarus lights I have looked at in the past. I love the milling pattern on the body and the anodizing seems to be nicer as well. It’s a pretty nice light and let’s hope Klarus continues this trend in 2019.

 

Pick one up at https://www.flashlightz.com/klarus-st15r-1200-lumens