Inova X5

I just picked up an Inova X5 to use at work. I needed a light that would light up a good area to locate missing items on the floor or for searching a fairly large area. So far I think this light is great for what it is. It has good battery life for the output it has. Sure the latest Cree offerings are the greatest but I'm a simple man who doesn't like to spend a fortune on flashlights or special order stuff. What has everbody's experiences been with this light?

I'm pretty sure I got the newest version as it has knurling on the tailcap and has the Inova name on the rubber versus the metal on the tailcap. It has a yellowish corono with a blue/purple tint in the center. The outer shade of the spill is yellow/green. Is this a certain way to tell?

The X5 is a flashaholic's must have in my opinion. This is probably one of the most beloved 5mm lights on CPF. The light is very solid, durable, and just plain slick. I love the huge ball of light it produces, great for long hikes. It's the only light that I have 2 of. 6.5 hours runtime to 50%, and because it's not regulated, you have gradually diminishing light instead of a steep drop-off which makes the light's runtime much more predictable.

Read more about it at http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/inova_x5t.htm

The X5 was my first serious flashlight, and I still have it. For indoor about-the-house use it's great, no blazing hotspot and not overly bright, just a nice even flood that can cover a large area, and can be comfortably used in close-up work. The water-resistant 1+ ton crush rating is a plus, you could back over it with your car in the rain and the X5 would be unfazed. It not only looks like a flashlight carved into a solid slug of metal, it feels like it too.

Your copy is indeed the newest model, you can tell by the criteria you mentioned (wording on button, deep knurling, Nichia tinting). The only word of warning I would give you is regarding batteries - make sure you buy good name brand batteries (Duracell, Energizer, Panasonic/Surefire; find them online at $2 or less each) and don't run them all the way down until they're completely dead.

My X5 has since been retired and replaced by the aforementioned Cree offerings, but it's still probably the best flashlight your local store carries, and an undeniable bang-for-the-buck workhorse.

The X5 is a tough little flashlight that will run on dead batteries and it puts out a nice flood beam. Buying one IS a requirement for being a flashaholic.

woodrow said:

The X5 is a tough little flashlight that will run on dead batteries and it puts out a nice flood beam. Buying one IS a requirement for being a flashaholic.

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Ok, spoiler guy here.. :devil:

I bought an X5 about three years ago so it's probably not as useful as the OP finds his newer one to be. Mine is a dullish, blue tint that is good for nothing more than getting up in the middle of the night to get to the bathroom.

I recently bought a Surefire E1L and put a F04 diffuser on it, and all I have to say about it compared to the X5 is... WOW!

For a nice wide flood beam that will run for more than 10 hours on just 1 CR123 battery and has a nice, white color, then the Surefire E1L/F04 combination kicks absolute butt in every way over the X5.
The E1L/F04 is smaller, brighter, floodier, runs longer, and does it all on just one battery. No contest.

To be fair, mine is the older model, but I was blown away by how far LED lights have come in just the last few years.
I keep my old X5 as a relic more than anything else.
Ironically, the X5 is the one light I have that has less possibility of being modded than anything else I have. Go figure.

I agree with your comments Zenster, however remember the E1L is 3 to 4 times the price as well. So it should do things better. I have both and I like both as well, I wish the Inova could be modded easier.

Not the brightest light I own,but built like a tank and always does its job.

A while back I purchased the Cree version of the Surefire E1L and the tailcap stopped working on the first day of me owning it. Can you believe that $100 for a light that stops working the first day you own it. I can't have any of that for a work light. Needless to say I sent it back to Surefire for a refund.

The beauty of the X5 is how small it is for a 2-cell light. I needed something with a slim non-printing profile. I like to carry it in my jacket pocket to look for things when I'm out in the stockyard. The X5 is 4 3/4" long but is only 3/4" thick at the bezel. It easily slips into my jacket and doesn't bulge like other flashlights with enlarged bezels. My criterion were; affordable, comfortable to carry, reasonably bright, at least 5 hours of high-output light. The X5 was the best compromise for me. It does all things well but is not exceptional in any one category.

The X5 was my first real light, and is responsible for my trek down the slippery slope of becoming a flashaholic.

The X5 remains and will always be my travel light: whenever I take a long trip, the X5 immediately goes into the suitcase, because I know it will give me more than enough light for ages and is built like a tank.

+10 for the sleek lines and smooth look. Nothing feels nicer in my hand than my X5.

I gave my father an X5 3 years ago, which he has since kept in the car as an emergency light. I only replaced the batteries once (stock Sanyo to Surefires) for the sake of switching them (used the old ones in my single cell lights).

You might consider trying a Fenix P3D Q5. It's the same form factor as the X5, just a basic cylinder, only slightly smaller. And way brighter *with regulation* - more than twice as bright as the X5 for over six hours before it begins to dim. It's multilevel too, a super-bright 215 lumen turbo mode, and a 72+ hour low at MiniMag brightness. Plus at ~$68, it's a lot cheaper than the Surefire.

As much as I liked how rugged and overbuilt my X5 was, trying to see anything more than 10 yards away outdoors was too frustrating, and the lack of power regulation meant you were never quite sure if the output was really as bright as it could be. I eventually switched to a Fenix P1Q5 (single cell twisty, 180 lumens and 2.8 inches long!) and am much happier.

Begging your pardon, but my 2AA minimag was lucky to push 10 lumens out the bezel. The X5 was an improvement over it in every category but price - output, runtime, throw, and spill. That light makes the dark feel not claustrophobic. It does not make the dark simply go away like a hundred-lumen Cree or Luxeon light (which can be had in pocket size, and are actually pushing 300 lumens now)

My X5 was my first high quality light. (I don't count the Maglites I owned before becoming a flashaholic).

I still own it!

My LED light collection was kicked off with a pair of original black X5's, one white and one blue. To this day, they would be my lights of choice as props in any futuristic movie where a character needs a small light that looks like advanced tech.

I now have about 15 of these, most of them color models acquired in a binge when Fry's was liquidating them at $10 each.