For a milestone birthday, among other gifts that I gave to my sister, was not only an Inova XP and an XS but XPs for the whole family and an XP and XS for myself.
Liking 2xAAA for their sleek, sexy, easy to handle form and Inova for their strong build, good looks and their twistie with momentary, with the Inova XP's simple, two levels of 144/30 lumens that don't challenge AAA alkaline batteries..much, I think that the XP is an excellent flashlight for non-flashaholics...and flashaholics too. Similar in form but only 1xAAA small, I like the 80/11 lumens XS too.
I had all 7 flashlights, 5 XPs and 2 XSs, in my possession for about 36 hours and only a few hours to take beamshots (my first!) and other photos. In some of the photos, the flashlights are labeled I, N, O, V, A ,x and s.
With little clue as to what I was doing and how to best set the semi-automatic camera, the beamshots are of the lower of the XP's and XS's two levels with the camera set in an attempt to best capture the beams. Also, with no white walls, the beams were projected onto a not quite bleach white blanket unevenly suspended with stuff brushing up against the blanket from behind.
There was consistency between the builds of the flashlights. They all looked and felt good with similar feeling twisties...The XSs were tougher to twist, though. BTW, the number printed inside the tube is not the serial number as 4 of the XPs had the same number, PA0315, with the outlier having PA0415 and both XSs shared the same number of PA0115. I think the number represents the manufacture date.
While there was some variability between the beams, there was consistency there as well. Sure, some were a bit more focused (I, O), others a bit brighter (N), and some a little rosier in tint (I, N, V) than the others but all were white, bright and very usable. As a flashaholic, I choose what I felt to be the best flashaholic beam (I) with an evenness and symmetry across the spot, small corona and nice spill. But even as a flashaholic, I was satisfied with the build and beams of all the XPs and XSs. The overall brightest XP, by a small margin, with a larger spot (N) went to my sister.
Visible in the beamshots, as parnass described, battery type does seem make a difference on the lower level, particularly once NiMH settle in for the stretch. The XP's lower level is closer to a guestimated 15L rather than the claimed 30L. The first XP to the left (I), and the last XS to the right (s), the ones I chose for myself had NiMH batts. The rest had the supplied alkies. Perhaps the alkie in "x" was a bit "spent" or perhaps the NiMH in "s" was a little "hotter". On HIGH, though, "x" was a little brighter and a little floodier than "s". My sister received the brighter and floodier XS (x) as well.
Though not quite as floody, brighter with a larger spot and greater spill than the truly superb beam of my EDC, Fenix L1D, the XP's lack of tailstand prevents it from being my EDC...So, for now, I carry both. The XP's silent, short travel momentary, once in the hand, is a very quick "fire" (and off)....It's also just a lot more fun than the L1D with its reverse clickie.
The svelte feel of the XP's 2xAAA form makes even my already svelte Inova X1s feel chunky and my 2xAA flashlights feel large and heavy by comparison.
Visible in some of the images are scratches in and near the "clip groove" of my XP (I) from the removed clip. Caring for neither clips, holsters/sheaths, lanyards, etc., preferring to just "stick the damn thing in my pocket", I had made several ill-fated attempts to remove the clip. Mostly, poor technique and, admittedly, a little laziness were the culprits. Using the flat head screwdriver that was within arms reach, I first attempted to pry the clip off, without damaging it, only to lift the clip enough to slide it out of the groove and "up" to the body of the flashlight. After several attempts, with the clip bent and then broken, I, more aggressively, used needle-nosed pliers with the bottom "jaw" wedged inside the "elbow" of the clip and peeled it off as if opening a can of sardines or peeling a banana. My earlier failed attempts surely created some scratches but I don't know if the "peeling" motion did.
Well built, sexy, fun and even a touch of class, $20 belies the value of the XP...At about $13.50, the XS isn't too bad either. The Inova XP's 144L and beam pattern provide a very nice slice of light to dig the darkness out of a space. It is in my hands a lot both productively and shining it aimlessly that I've gone through about two sets of new AAA Eneloops (750mAh) per week. For its price I am having WAY too much fun with my XP. Not my "baddest" flashlight by any means, but it has become my most used one.
The flashaholic gifts were well received. Before I could explain what the Inova XP is and isn't...more a "personal" rather than a blackout flashlight, light sabers were drawn and a flashfight ensued. Flashaholic parties are great!
73
dim