Tag: Pistol Light

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Klarus GL1 Review (600 Lumen, Small weapon light, Micro USB)

Today I am taking a look at Klarus’s first Pistol light the GL1. It produces 600 lumens for 1 minute, has an adjustable rail to fit a variety of different sized pistols and is MicroUSB rechargeable. Thanks to Klarus for sending this to me to review. 

 

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Packaging & Accessories

The GL1 comes with a retail hanging box, and it’s basically what you would expect. It does have a runtime chart on the backend. Inside you get the GL1 itself, a MicroUSB charging cable, and a manual. You also get a replacement rail piece and a couple of small screws to lock it down once get it in place for your firearm.

 

Construction

The GL1 is made from aluminum and IPX6 water rated. It’s a one piece design and fairly slim up front with it getting a little wider as the taper flares out to the back. The front has a fairly deep bezel to protect the lens. On the right side (when mounted) it has a to show an LED, useful when charging, and to give power level indications. ON the bottom is the MicroUSB charging port covered by a silicone cover. Unlike the Olight it’s non magnetic which some will like.

At the back you have two plastic switches that hinge down slightly to turn on. There is a small rubber piece here to give you some give. It’s fairly stiff and at least for me on the glock platform it’s a littler further reach then the Olight PL-Mini 2. What I don’t like is the contour they have chosen for these buttons. For me I find the steep angle uncomfortable because my finger hits the sharper angle using less of the available finger pad to press the button. It works a little better if I come in from the top/side and not directly from top. I think I may file these down a little for better ergonomics.

 

Mounting

The GL1 uses a more traditional screw mounting system and a spring loaded mount. You can loosen the screw by hand or with a coin or spent casing and then push on it to expand the jaws of the pickitniy rail section. The rail piece is adjustable. It slides on a stepped plastic track. The little rail section is spring loaded so once you lock it onto your firearm it won’t go anywhere. Its a mounting system that works pretty well, it’s a little slower than the Olight PL-Mini2’s system especially when switching between guns but overall it’s a pretty good design.

As far as holster options I know of no one yet supporting the GL1 to buy something off the shelf. This means if you do want to use this on a carry gun, you will need to have something custom made. I think it would be super smart for light manufactures to partner with a holster manufacture in advance or come out with something on their own when lights launch. 

 

Competition

The Olight PL-Mini2 is the light that’s the closest competitor in basically all stats and even the size. As you can see from the photos here they are very similar looking from the front with the Olight having a slightly larger diameter bezel. The differences is the mounting systems, with the Olights being quick disconnect and a little easier to use. For comparisons of the beam be sure to check the video version of this review.

Olight on the Left, Klarus GL1 on Right

 

LED & BeamShot

The GL1 is using a Cree XP-L2 HD LED in cool white and powered by an internal 260mAh liion battery. No exact tint data is given but it’s not super cool. The LED sits behind a smooth fairly small deep reflector. 

The beam quality here is good for it’s intended purpose. It’s fairly spotty but the focal point is medium size. There is a good amount of tint shift from the emitter in the center with it being warmer in the middle the the edges. The Olight throws just slightly further according to the stats but to my naked eye I can’t tell a difference. 

 

Heat and Runtime

The GL1 produces it’s maximum of 600 lumens for right at 1 minute and then starts stepping down from near 100% relative output to 10% over the next 11 minutes. It was at 2:10 we see maximum heat at 35C which is fine. The next 50 minutes or so the light maintains that 10% and then the light is running at near moonlight outputs for the next 2 hours. Output here was a bit disappointing since it lost so much output so quickly. While most firefights won’t last very long I want more then 12 minutes of more then 60 lumens and the last 2 hours are near useless. It’s possible I have a bad battery here but I would rather see a more regulated driver and a few more step downs to better control things. 

UI

UI here is easy and straight forward. There is one mode, on with the light. Both sides switches work the same on the light. A quick press locks the light on. If you press and hold the light comes on in momentary mode. Strobe is available if you click both the left and right buttons at the same time. 

 

Recharging

The GL1 uses a a 650mAh lithium ion battery internally that’s sealed in the light. The bad here is that it’s non replaceable but that’s to be expected on a light of this purpose that’s so small. Recharging is accomplished via a MicroUSB port on the bottom of the light. While slightly less convenient the Olights Magnetic system the pro is that it’s a standard cable and easy to charge pretty much anywhere. It’s a trade off I will gladly take.

I measured recharging as taking just 56 minutes and the maximum speed I saw was just under 0.3A so a very safe charging speed for this size of battery. On the side of the light there is a LED that will be red when charging and green when charged.  

Pro’s

  • MicroUSB recharging means no proprietary cables needed here.
  • Strobe is available if you want it.

 

Con’s

  • 1 minute of 600 lumen output I wish was a bit longer
  • No holster options are on the market that I could find.
  • Actuation buttons need revised ergonomics

 

Conclusion

My conclusion is the GL1 is a good first attempt from Klarus on a pistol light. Physically they did a great job, I think. It’s not really much of an original design but it’s enough to be different. The mounting system works pretty well for not being a QD mount. I do wish they would rethink the ergonomics on the rear buttons a bit for their future models.

Performance here needs a bit of work. A more regulated driver with stepped modes is important here, A shorter runtime is ok if the light produces more light while doing it, because we have to remember the use case here, you’re unlikely to have a pistol light in use for hours at a time. It’s much more likely to have it out for minutes at time. 

 

I give this light a pass as it’s better then other brands first attempts at a pistol light. The use of MicroUSB here over a proprietary cable is smart. The UI is good and simple for it’s purpose. Lack of holster options will prevent this from being a cary or duty light but that won’t prevent it from being a good companion for a night stand or desk gun. It will be fun to watch where Klarus goes from here with their GL series of lights. 

 

Pickup the Klarus GL1 at https://klaruslightstore.com/products/gl1-pistol-light-600lm-rechargeable-compact-and-solid-built?_pos=1&_sid=e33c4603b&_ss=r

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Jetbeam Jet T2 Review (Jetbeam’s First Pistol Light)

Today I have Jetbeams’ first attempt at a pistol light, the Jet-T2. Thanks to Jetbeam for sending this one to me early to check out. An excuse to go to the range to test a light is always a good one. 

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Packaging

Packaging on this light is a clear hanging retail box with the light prominently displayed in the middle. Some limited information is on the back. Accessories are pretty limited as well, you get the included Jetbeam branded 700mAh USB rechargeable 16340 battery, and a MicroUSB cable to charge the battery directly, and some paperwork such as the manual, warranty card, etc. 

Construction

The light is made from anodized aluminum and is generally rectangular in shape but it has been lightened where possible. The sides have a deep milled area in the sides, and the bottom the corners are well rounded. Starting at the head it features a double anti reflective coated lens, with a smooth fairly deep reflector. The head has small scallops for style and grip. The head is removable for battery recharging and replacement. There  are springs at each end of the light. Inside there is a dual wall construction so unfortunately a battery larger then a 16340 like an 18350 won’t fit in this light. 

On the bottom of the light there is the electronic switched used to lock out the light. It’s large but out of the way and pretty flat. On the back of the light there is a plastic and rubber molded piece that has the switches. It’s almost a different shade of black then the aluminum and not a great match at least on my example. There are switches on either the left or the right side. They only work under the molded rubber bar which took some getting used to and isn’t my favorite design. 

The mount features a insert with 4 slots to allow the universal rail section fit your firearm. The key I had no trouble fitting in a Glock rail or standard 1913 rail. For my Glocks (19 being the smallest) it fit best for me in the furthers forward position. This unfortunately isn’t enough travel for my S&W Shield but I didn’t really expect it to fit here either. The screw used to tighten it down on your firearm is silver in color unfortunately, I really wish it was black instead to blend in better. It has a large straight slot to allow you to tighten it down with a coin. I miss the Olight Quick detach system that I have gotten used to on their weapon lights here. 

Size/Weight & Competition

Length is about 65 mm, Width is 29mm, Height is 36mm. Weight with battery came in at 92.8g, and it’s IPX7 rated.

While similar to the original Olight PL Valkyrie I in layout, I compared the light to the Olight PL Pro because size wise it’s somewhat close. The Jetbeam T2 probably compares best to some of the smaller Streamlight’s like the TLR-7 but I don’t have one here to compare it to. Anyways it’s a medium sized weapon light, larger then the Olight PL-Mini but operates more like a full size light in a medium packaged size. 

 

It fit’s fine on my Glock 19 and 22, but even with the adjustable mount it doesn’t fit on my S&W Shield with the rail attachment. 

LED | Beamshots |  Runtime

The LED being used here is the Cree XPL-HI in cool white. The reflector is decently deep and smooth so for what it is it has a good amount of throw. It’s rated for 120 meters and I found this to be pretty accurate. Beam profile is a fairly hot center and a good amount of lighter spill, a good profile for a pistol light in my opinion.

Runtimes on this light were a little disappointing, at least for high. In high mode it’s good for 520 lumens, and runtime is about 3-4 minutes before it steps down over the next 7 minutes to about 70% relative output. This decline is slow so you don’t notice the sudden dip. The next 10 minutes is pretty stable. The light then flashes a bit to let you know power is lower, and then steps up a decent amount before running till LVP kicks in on the battery. The battery didn’t want to give me a voltage at the LVP cut off point till I charged it a bit. 

Low mode is good for 160 lumens, and runtime is about 105 minutes. This is an odd graph as well, because the light actually increases slightly in output over the first 50 minutes, before stepping back down and then slowly increasing till LVP kicks in. Output till the end gets a bit unstable. 

 

UI

The light has buttons on the left and right, These are button pads that look longer then they really are, you have to get right up under the bar to make them function. A quick press of either button gives you a constant on mode, a longer press give you a momentary mode, Jetbeam calls this tactical mode. To access strobe, double click other buttons.

 

The light has 2 modes, a high and low, 520 or 120 lumens respectively. To switch between them, just long press both side buttons together and the light will come on and adjust it’s output. This setting is memorized. In my experience I had better luck if I pressed and held one button and then the other quickly vs at the same time. Having the light on makes it easier. 

 

The light also has an on/off switch on the bottom that is it’s lock mechanism. To set the lock, long press on the bottom button, and the light will slow flash 3 times. To unlock long press on the bottom button and the light will slow flash 2 times.

 

Recharging

Recharging is accomplished on the included Jetbeam 700mAh 16340 battery via the USB port on the side of the battery. This is the same battery we saw on the Jetbeam RRT-01 Review I did earlier in the year (Great light if you have not seen it). It has 2 LED indicators on top, red when charging, green when charged. Charging speed was very conservative at 0.4A meaning charging a low battery to full (4.17V) took 2 hours, 5 minutes. 

0.4A.

Conclusion

The Jetbeam T2 is Jetbeams first Pistol light that I can find and it’s pretty good for a first go at it. For me the output should be a bit more smooth and regulated, with more emphasis on the high output without step down. The buttons on the sides should have a larger area to enable them to be used more easily. I don’t find the switch on the bottom that useful for lockout because of the UI that takes too long. I would much rather have a simple mechanical lockout via a ¼ turn of the bezel because it’s simpler and faster. 

 

That said I like the shapes here, and so far this has proven to work pretty well. Even though the mount isn’t a tool less design it works well and should adapt to most full size and sub compact model pistols. The XP-L high is a good emitter choice here and the results are alight that throws pretty well which is important for a pistol light. Overall it’s a good first design with room for improvement in the future. 

 

Purchase the T2 on Jetbeam’s Website https://www.jetbeamworld.com/en/product/Jetbeam-JET-T2-Compact-LED-Tactical-Pistol-Light-CREE-XP-L-HI-520-Lumens-Includes-1-x-3.7V-700mAh-RCR123A-80.html or from Battery Junction https://www.batteryjunction.com/jetbeam-jet-t2.html