Klarus XT11 (XM-L U2 - 1x18650, 2xCR123A/RCR) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO+

[127.0.0.1]

open it up and investigate...the tail cap is designed for end user service

the mode button is a tiny microswitch and a ganked rubber boot can cause issues,
rip it open, carefully look for aluminum thread 'whiskers' and remove any you find,
and then carefully put it back together making sure the boot and assembly is lined up

make sure the small rubber boot contact, for the small switch, lines up with
the slot in the threads, you'll see the slot when you open it up

srsly...I have 5 of these puppies and they are all flawless

Man, I just can't win. I got my XT11 back from the retailer (who said they will be happy to handle warranty claims) and the Mode switch now works again, but it has another weird problem.

When I press the main tail switch something underneath hits the mode button, too. So if I press the main switch firmly, I sometimes "double-click" something under there and it immediately drops down into medium output. If you press the main tailswitch just the right way, you can actually cycle through all the brightness modes. Sounds convenient, but it kind of sucks.

gm.

 

[GhostMeat]

Oh, I certainly did open it up after I got it back from the retailer. I did fiddle with it and got it to work a lot better than when I got it, but it wasn't 100%. I think what was happening was that the small strip of rubber that separates the mode button area from the main button tailswitch cavity was pushing sideways against the microswitch.

FYI, I ended up sending the light back to Klarus USA, in California. They've been pretty easy to work with so far. However, I should note that they actually called me and asked if I had disassembled the light. I gave them the rundown about how i had sent it into the retailer for repair and it came back a little south of awesome. I did not disassemble the tail cap before that though. He never said "disassembling the light voids the warranty" or anything, but it sounded as if that was what he was going to talk about. He did ask that I forward all the emails between me and the retailer pertaining to the repair. But in the end, I think he's repairing the light and restoring it (replacing the clip and the broken tactical grip ring).

I'm glad that all of yours are flawless. Every product has issues i guess, and that's OK. How the company handles problems that counts.


gm.

open it up and investigate...the tail cap is designed for end user service

the mode button is a tiny microswitch and a ganked rubber boot can cause issues,
rip it open, carefully look for aluminum thread 'whiskers' and remove any you find,
and then carefully put it back together making sure the boot and assembly is lined up

make sure the small rubber boot contact, for the small switch, lines up with
the slot in the threads, you'll see the slot when you open it up

srsly...I have 5 of these puppies and they are all flawless

 

[madecov]

Considering the light comes with a spare rubber switch cover, opening up the tail switch should not void the warranty.

 

[127.0.0.1]

Considering the light comes with a spare rubber switch cover, opening up the tail switch should not void the warranty.

Klarus supplies a replacement rubber switch cover with every one, so there is no way warranty would be voided if you
unscrewed the tail...otherwise why in the heck does every light come with replacement rubber ?

 

[HaileStorm]

Can anyone confirm if this light really goes up to 700 lumens with 2 cr123a's?

Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2

 

[kj2]

Can anyone confirm if this light really goes up to 700 lumens with 2 cr123a's?

Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2

Asked the same question to Going Gear. They say; 600 on 18650, 700 on CR123s, 750 on RCR123s.

 

[HaileStorm]

Asked the same question to Going Gear. They say; 600 on 18650, 700 on CR123s, 750 on RCR123s.

Thanks for this!

Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tfbit]

Received my XT11 in the mail yesterday and I would have to say your review and comments are spot on! One thing I have to say about the "whine" though is that even knowing about it, I totally forgot about it and never heard it until a few hours after getting it and I fired it up next to my ear.

 

[selfbuilt]

Received my XT11 in the mail yesterday and I would have to say your review and comments are spot on! One thing I have to say about the "whine" though is that even knowing about it, I totally forgot about it and never heard it until a few hours after getting it and I fired it up next to my ear.

That's the way it should be - inductor whine shouldn't be noticeable or distracting at typical distances. If it is, then they haven't done a very good job of dampening it (or selecting the most appropriate coils in the first place). A lot of lights will have some slight buzz when held to the ear, that's normal. You can get away from this completely, it should just be managed by the maker so as not to be a significant issue.

Incidentally, I discuss the principle of inductor hum/whine in primer #4 of my video flashlight overview primers:

Oh, and :welcome:

 

[tfbit]

I have a question about either the Klarus XT11 or battery protection... I don't know which. Does this light normally start flashing when the battery/batteries start getting low? I ask because I first was playing with an Orbtronic 18650 and after 2+ hours of runtime on high, the light started flashing on and off for a little while till it turned off. Next I was trying out 2x AW ICR123s and after about 30 minutes of runtime the Klarus just shut off with no flashing. Was the flashing or shut off caused by the light or the battery protection?

BTW, the XT11 gets amazingly warm (at least to me) running on high with the AW ICR123s and I probably won't be doing that a lot.

 

[selfbuilt]

I have a question about either the Klarus XT11 or battery protection... I don't know which. Does this light normally start flashing when the battery/batteries start getting low? I ask because I first was playing with an Orbtronic 18650 and after 2+ hours of runtime on high, the light started flashing on and off for a little while till it turned off. Next I was trying out 2x AW ICR123s and after about 30 minutes of runtime the Klarus just shut off with no flashing. Was the flashing or shut off caused by the light or the battery protection?

The flashing is caused by a low-voltage warning feature of the circuit. I observed it on both 1x 3.7V 18650 Li-ion) and 2x 3V CR123A. However, like you, on 2x RCR Li-ion the light shut-off without warning. This is not uncommon on multi-power lights. The circuit flashes when a specific target low voltage is reached. In the case of 2x RCR, the built-in cell protection circuits get tripped before that overall voltage is reached, hence no advance warning.

And I agree - 2xRCR on Max gets quite hot on sustained run, so this is not recommended.

Oh, and :welcome:

 

[TEEJ]

Can anyone confirm if this light really goes up to 700 lumens with 2 cr123a's?

Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2

At Photon Fest 18, TurboBB measured the XT11 with 2 RCR's at 850 OTF lumens. With 2 RCRs, it really screams photons, very very noticeable difference.

 

[selfbuilt]

Or one could look at the data in the actual review thread where the question has been posted ...

As always, the point is none of us have consistent access to a proper NIST-calibrated integrating sphere. Everyone's lumen estimates are just that - estimates. I'm reasonably confident in the <800 lumen estimates in my reviews, based on the calibration correction I've done to those who had accessed to proper integrating spheres.

But whatever the true value happens to be, it is significantly more than on 1x18650. That is the ultimate take-home message for the KT11. :wave:

 

[HaileStorm]

At Photon Fest 18, TurboBB measured the XT11 with 2 RCR's at 850 OTF lumens. With 2 RCRs, it really screams photons, very very noticeable difference.

Thanks! Still yet to find aw rcr's. Definitely worth a try if it's at 850lm otf!

Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ledmitter_nli]

At Photon Fest 18, TurboBB measured the XT11 with 2 RCR's at 850 OTF lumens. With 2 RCRs, it really screams photons, very very noticeable difference.

Was that measured with his PVC pipe lumens measuring contraption?

Any idea on battery brand?

 

[ledmitter_nli]

I have a question about either the Klarus XT11 or battery protection... I don't know which. Does this light normally start flashing when the battery/batteries start getting low? I ask because I first was playing with an Orbtronic 18650 and after 2+ hours of runtime on high, the light started flashing on and off for a little while till it turned off. Next I was trying out 2x AW ICR123s and after about 30 minutes of runtime the Klarus just shut off with no flashing. Was the flashing or shut off caused by the light or the battery protection?

BTW, the XT11 gets amazingly warm (at least to me) running on high with the AW ICR123s and I probably won't be doing that a lot.

Same with mine using those same RCR123 AW's. Shuts off after battery depletion around 24 min. Did a run time test and used a cooling fan

You sure you got 30 min? 6 min more is actually a lot.

 

[selfbuilt]

[my reported ANSI FL-1 lumen estimate for 2xRCR on the XT11 is 750]
As always, the point is none of us have consistent access to a proper NIST-calibrated integrating sphere. Everyone's lumen estimates are just that - estimates. I'm reasonably confident in the <800 lumen estimates in my reviews, based on the calibration correction I've done to those who had accessed to proper integrating spheres.
But whatever the true value happens to be, it is significantly more than on 1x18650. That is the ultimate take-home message for the KT11. :wave:

Thanks! Still yet to find aw rcr's. Definitely worth a try if it's at 850lm otf!

:sigh:

 

[tfbit]

Just duplicated my simple runtime test. I'm not a Flashlight Scientist though and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express so I can't tell you voltage this or lumen that. It's just what happened.

Klarus XT11
2x AW ICR 123 750mAh batteries purchased from eBay
XTAR WP2 charger

Charged batteries and let them trickle for 5-10 minutes, installed them, and turned on the light.

10:15:00 Turned on light
10:17:50 Light stepped down
10:44:57 Light shut off

Edit: Did another battery dump this afternoon, this time on Medium, and had a runtime of 80 minutes before shutoff.

Same with mine using those same RCR123 AW's. Shuts off after battery depletion around 24 min. Did a run time test and used a cooling fan

You sure you got 30 min? 6 min more is actually a lot.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

:sigh:

Could be a bit more than 750 with a hot charge and immediate measure. Your ANSI test is 30 seconds after turning the light on. Surely that's enough time for the battery to draw down and the light to measure 750 lumens.

Selfbuilt could you confirm if this is the case if you still have the 11 available?

 

[selfbuilt]

Could be a bit more than 750 with a hot charge and immediate measure. Your ANSI test is 30 seconds after turning the light on. Surely that's enough time for the battery to draw down and the light to measure 750 lumens.

All true. I use AW protected RCR hot off my Pila charger. My Pila doesn't use a trickle charge, and typically goes green at around 4.20V for a fresh cells, and between 4.17V-4.19V for cells with a reasonable number of cycles on them. But my lumen estimate at activation is about 20 lumens higher than at 30 secs, so say 770 in this case.

But again, my point is simply the accuracy of those lumens measures on any given lightbox/tube is always going to be suspect. Those searching for an (arbitrary) specific "true" value are not being realistic.