Klarus RS11-Rechargeable flashlight 620 ANSI Lumens-Review+HQ Pics+Video

[dajabec]

Nice review man. I like your style, keep up the good work.

 

[firelord777]

I'm from Europe and my native language is not derived from Latin.
The reviews forum is for questions about flashlights.
If you have any private questions,comments or want to help,it's better to send me a PM.
Cheers

Sure bud,

Cheers

 

[tobrien]

I'm from Europe and my native language is not derived from Latin.
The reviews forum is for questions about flashlights.
If you have any private questions,comments or want to help,it's better to send me a PM.
Cheers

he didn't mean anything by it. he, as do I, thinks your review was great (especially the photography!)

 

[firelord777]

Right, just tiny mistakes most would never even notice And yes, I appreciate the effort you took

Cheers Tobrien and flashlion

 

[FlashLion]

Thank you guys for your kind words.:thumbsup: and...cheers to all.

 

[FlashLion]

Hello;
I want to share more info about charging the battery in Klarus RS11.
Currently I use the RS11 with Sanyo 18650 protected 2600mAh.I thought to use the Sanyo in Klarus XT11 but that battery is huge and can't fit in XT11.The battery is long ~70mm and when I tried to tighten the tailcap,the bottom of the battery is being bent.
In RS11 the space for the battery is little more and no problem using long batteries in it.
About charging time-I charged a Sanyo and a Klarus battery in the RS11.When i put the batteries to charge they were at ~3.65V.Charging the Klarus18650 to 4.2V takes ~3.5h; for Sanyo18650 ~4h.
For charging I use a wall power supply and adapter/charger for my mp3 player.During charging the adapter gets hot,but it's pretty good that the flashlight stays cool.I think all this aluminum keeps the battery from heating.:thumbsup:
The adapter that I use has an led for charging status-red/green.The led turns to green a 5 minutes before the led of the RS11.
I like the fact that don't need to take out the battery when needs charging.It is very convenient.And keeps the thread not to wear screwing every day.
I charge my camera also from USB,so I have a few chargers,including in car charger.Once you get used to charge this way,you no longer want to charge otherwise.


Sanyo18650 Klarus18650

 

[tobrien]

Hello;
I want to share more info about charging the battery in Klarus RS11.
Currently I use the RS11 with Sanyo 18650 protected 2600mAh.I thought to use the Sanyo in Klarus XT11 but that battery is huge and can't fit in XT11.The battery is long ~70mm and when I tried to tighten the tailcap,the bottom of the battery is being bent.
In RS11 the space for the battery is little more and no problem using long batteries in it.
About charging time-I charged a Sanyo and a Klarus battery in the RS11.When i put the batteries to charge they were at ~3.65V.Charging the Klarus18650 to 4.2V takes ~3.5h; for Sanyo18650 ~4h.
For charging I use a wall power supply and adapter/charger for my mp3 player.During charging the adapter gets hot,but it's pretty good that the flashlight stays cool.I think all this aluminum keeps the battery from heating.:thumbsup:
The adapter that I use has an led for charging status-red/green.The led turns to green a 5 minutes before the led of the RS11.
I like the fact that don't need to take out the battery when needs charging.It is very convenient.And keeps the thread not to wear screwing every day.
I charge my camera also from USB,so I have a few chargers,including in car charger.Once you get used to charge this way,you no longer want to charge otherwise.


Sanyo18650 Klarus18650

thank you for this info! sounds like it's a great light to keep in my car!

 

[Badbeams3]

Wow, great review! The magnetic "plug?" connection looks like a great idea. Pretty much charge it anywhere. Really like the two switch interface. One thing I`m not sure about is the aggressive bezel. While not an EDC light this looks real good for home, car, camping ect. Nice general purpose light. Thanks for taking the time to do this...off to see how much they cost

 

[tobrien]

Wow, great review! The magnetic "plug?" connection looks like a great idea. Pretty much charge it anywhere. Really like the two switch interface. One thing I`m not sure about is the aggressive bezel. While not an EDC light this looks real good for home, car, camping ect. Nice general purpose light. Thanks for taking the time to do this...off to see how much they cost

if you're in the USA I believe most places carry the RS11 for ~$115-117

 

[FlashLion]

Wow, great review! The magnetic "plug?" connection looks like a great idea. Pretty much charge it anywhere. Really like the two switch interface. One thing I`m not sure about is the aggressive bezel. While not an EDC light this looks real good for home, car, camping ect. Nice general purpose light. Thanks for taking the time to do this...off to see how much they cost

Thank you!
I like the UI.It's easy to get used and has no unnecessary modes.
The bezel is good,thick ...and looks really cool.

 

[Isaiah6113]

This is a wonderful instrument!

I almost pulled the trigger, but paused because I have couple of questions.

First of all, this would be my first non-NiMH battery. I'm geared up to work with AA-AAA rechargables, having a couple of Maha chargers to deal with break-in, reconditioning etc.

I'm not equipped to work with Li-Ion. This would be my only way of charging and working with these battery types.

So my concern is this . . .

1) Do the Li-Ion batteries need to be cycled/reconditioned occassionally in order to keep them healthy?
2) Are there longer term issues I would need to consider for the health of the cell itself if this were my only Li-Ion charger?

I understand this is not a cell forum, please forgive me if I should be asking this in another CP forum. (I'm new here!)

Thank you,

Matthew

 

[Badbeams3]

This is a wonderful instrument!

I almost pulled the trigger, but paused because I have couple of questions.

First of all, this would be my first non-NiMH battery. I'm geared up to work with AA-AAA rechargables, having a couple of Maha chargers to deal with break-in, reconditioning etc.

I'm not equipped to work with Li-Ion. This would be my only way of charging and working with these battery types.

So my concern is this . . .

1) Do the Li-Ion batteries need to be cycled/reconditioned occassionally in order to keep them healthy?
2) Are there longer term issues I would need to consider for the health of the cell itself if this were my only Li-Ion charger?

I understand this is not a cell forum, please forgive me if I should be asking this in another CP forum. (I'm new here!)

Thank you,

Matthew

Most folks are thrilled with the Li-Ion batts...I am. But I would get a quality charger and not rely to much on the built in...not saying it`s not good...just unproven at this point in time. Chances are once you try the Li-Ions you will want more lights that use them. As far as precautions, look around the forum, a lot of good info and tips...

 

[FlashLion]

This is a wonderful instrument!

I almost pulled the trigger, but paused because I have couple of questions.

First of all, this would be my first non-NiMH battery. I'm geared up to work with AA-AAA rechargables, having a couple of Maha chargers to deal with break-in, reconditioning etc.

I'm not equipped to work with Li-Ion. This would be my only way of charging and working with these battery types.

So my concern is this . . .

1) Do the Li-Ion batteries need to be cycled/reconditioned occassionally in order to keep them healthy?
2) Are there longer term issues I would need to consider for the health of the cell itself if this were my only Li-Ion charger?

I understand this is not a cell forum, please forgive me if I should be asking this in another CP forum. (I'm new here!)

Thank you,

Matthew

Hello
I also have a dozens of rechargeable AA and AAA batteries.They are still more safe for me,especially when I use them in DIY or cheap flashlights.
I have also a few 14500 and 18650.They hold better current until they get empty.A great advantage is that they are lighter than NiMh batteries.
You can charge the Li-Ion battery anytime,they have no memory effect.To keep them healthy just don't overcharge and overdischarge them.
The RS11 charges the batteries pretty well and I think it's better than the cheap chargers on the market.As I said in one of my previous post,the flashlight stays cool while charging and this is very good.Some external chargers heat very bad because of AC/DC conversion.
And as you can see the power supply 5V is external.So there's no AC/DC adapter in the flashlight.Into RS11 is just a regulating electronics.It charges like all other electronic devices around us-cell phones,digital cameras,music players.All they use Li-Ion batteries.
Don't worry to use the flashlight for charging,just remember to disconnect the power when the indicator light turns to green.Once I forgot to stop the charger for 4 more hours and nothing happens:thumbsup: but it's recommended to disconnect it when the led indicator turns green.

Enjoy the light

 

[TEEJ]

The lithium ions don't need to be refreshed the way your NiMH do, and they pack a lot more power for their size...hence their use in lights that are more powerful...they ENABLE the lights to be more powerful.

The charge balancing, etc, is an issue if you use a light that takes more than one cell. A single 18650 cell is not going to be out of balance, as there's nothing else to be out of balance with.

As far as the cycle, if the recharging equipment built in and or included uses the same type of cycle to charge the cell, its going to provide the same cell life cycles as a separate/out of light charger.

I don't know what the charging system does use though.

 

[FlashLion]

Forgot to tell that is recommended using quality,good brand batteries and it's better if they are protected for more safety.If you have a good budget you can always buy a good charger for Li-Ion batteries.

 

[lumen aeternum]

Is there a model with the dual head switch AND a tail switch?

 

[FlashLion]

Is there a model with the dual head switch AND a tail switch?

It's a good idea,but there's no a model with three switches so far.:shrug:

 

[walterr839]

Question about the tail cap indicator.

I gave my son the RS11 recently and he has noted that the
tail cap light turns on red and stays red when the tail cap is screwed in firmly. if he loosens the tail cap a bit it turns green.
When charging the same thing happens -- the indicator starts red and stays red -- it never turns to green when fully charged-- UNLESS the tail cap is loosened a bit (I mean an 1/8 of a turn).

He has tried several batteries both protected and unprotected. it doesn't appear to be related to the length of the battery.

The light works fine in every other respect.

Just wanted to put this out there to see is anyone else has noted this "weird" behavior

thanks

 

[FlashLion]

Question about the tail cap indicator.

I gave my son the RS11 recently and he has noted that the
tail cap light turns on red and stays red when the tail cap is screwed in firmly. if he loosens the tail cap a bit it turns green.
When charging the same thing happens -- the indicator starts red and stays red -- it never turns to green when fully charged-- UNLESS the tail cap is loosened a bit (I mean an 1/8 of a turn).

He has tried several batteries both protected and unprotected. it doesn't appear to be related to the length of the battery.

The light works fine in every other respect.

Just wanted to put this out there to see is anyone else has noted this "weird" behavior

thanks

That's really strange . The indicator light of my RS11 turns on only when charging-this is the normal.Check the plastic ring around the spring-is it tightened enough or is loose.I opened my(to see what's there:naughty a few minutes ago and it was really tight screwed.
You should contact your dealer to ask for replacement.

 

[walterr839]

Flashlion

thanks for checking I will have have him check the ring

it's not a big deal but it's not 100% right

got it from Going Gear so I'm sure they'll make it right if needed