Xeno E03 (1xAA, 1x14500) - XP-G R5 Neutral White - Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS +

[dc38]

Just got a WW XM-L e03 today, and unfortunately I am disappointed with the tint of the LED. Selfbuilt's beam tint comparison is spot on, as the warm white is a very sickly kind of yellowish white. Considering the floody nature of the LED, both the throw and brightness are lacking over distances greater than 50' (this was running AW 14500's). A fully charged Maglite incan has a healthier and more vibrant kind of warm white, a little closer to neutral than the WW of the e03. The build quality is great though, I should've listened to Selfbuilt and picked up the Neutral White instead. :/ (For those of you who have had experience with the cheap Uniquefire g10 1 mode, the cool white has a much greater visual intensity and luminosity than the WW e03, and both are rated at 350 max otf lumens)

[tobrien]

Just got a WW XM-L e03 today, and unfortunately I am disappointed with the tint of the LED. Selfbuilt's beam tint comparison is spot on, as the warm white is a very sickly kind of yellowish white. Considering the floody nature of the LED, both the throw and brightness are lacking over distances greater than 50' (this was running AW 14500's). A fully charged Maglite incan has a healthier and more vibrant kind of warm white, a little closer to neutral than the WW of the e03. The build quality is great though, I should've listened to Selfbuilt and picked up the Neutral White instead. :/ (For those of you who have had experience with the cheap Uniquefire g10 1 mode, the cool white has a much greater visual intensity and luminosity than the WW e03, and both are rated at 350 max otf lumens)

i'm sorry man, yeah you'll wanna get a NW or CW. I prefer NW personally.

[Swedpat]

Just got a WW XM-L e03 today, and unfortunately I am disappointed with the tint of the LED. Selfbuilt's beam tint comparison is spot on, as the warm white is a very sickly kind of yellowish white.

I have two WW and two NW. Yes; the WW is VERY warm and I understand what you mean. For some circumstances I find this very warm tint to be nice, however. Especially when I use the lights for cosy lightning at home. Then I get a feeling of candlelight, which can be nice. But I think WW can be good also for example out in the wilderness, with much of green and brown colors. I find color rendition to be very high on my WW options.

First I got the WWs, and because I liked the lights so much I then ordered NW.
I just want to say: go for the NW! It's totally different than WW, but still WAY from nasty bluish cool tint. My two NW examples have a very white and nice tint.

Regards, Patric

[tobrien]

I have two WW and two NW. Yes; the WW is VERY warm and I understand what you mean. For some circumstances I find this very warm tint to be nice, however. Especially when I use the lights for cosy lightning at home. Then I get a feeling of candlelight, which can be nice. But I think WW can be good also for example out in the wilderness, with much of green and brown colors. I find color rendition to be very high on my WW options.

First I got the WWs, and because I liked the lights so much I then ordered NW.
I just want to say: go for the NW! It's totally different than WW, but still WAY from nasty bluish cool tint. My two NW examples have a very white and nice tint.

Regards, Patric

thanks to you i may have to pick up a WW E03 haha. you've got me convinced I should have a warm white E03 handy

[Swedpat]

thanks to you i may have to pick up a WW E03 haha. you've got me convinced I should have a warm white E03 handy

You're welcome!

Share your impression when you received it! Do you already have the NW E03? If not; get it as well! Since neutral and warm white LEDs are offered I don't want cool when neutral and/or warm is an option. My two NW E03s both have a "creamy white" tint, and I don't want cooler than that. Therefore I didn't even consider to get some cool white E03.

[molon__labe]

I have two of these lights.

Pros:

Samll
Bright as heck
Can tailstand

Cons:

No Low mode (firefly mode)
Doesn't come on in low 1st
AA and Lion have different levels (to get low you have to change batteries)
Lion batteries produce turbo, high and medium all closely together with NO low mode.
AA batteries have moderate low (not firefly) moderate medium and medium 2 NO high.
No momentary and no forward clicky.

In my opinion this light needs some work. The "Cons" are too many and too much for my likes. I am giving one of these lights away to a friend I think that little of them.

To be a better light it needs:

LOW (1 lumen) with both batteries
Medium space far from low and high
Forward clicky
Option or spare smooth reflector

Hope for the future
*A separate model (or tube) in the same small form factor that accommodates 123's

[tobrien]

You're welcome!

Share your impression when you received it! Do you already have the NW E03? If not; get it as well! Since neutral and warm white LEDs are offered I don't want cool when neutral and/or warm is an option. My two NW E03s both have a "creamy white" tint, and I don't want cooler than that. Therefore I didn't even consider to get some cool white E03.

haha, believe me, I already have a few NW E03s. I've gifted two or three to people who were fascinated by it and one girl bought one from me to give to her dad.

i'm talking about XM-L variant, too, fyi. though i'm doubting the WW between XP-G and XM-L are that different tint-wise though? i'm not an expert though.

i'll post my thoughts when i buy that WW E03. i actually don't own any WW lights, now that I think about it. that's gonna change

[Fulaeetoy]

I recently bought this eo3. Mine is v3 and have some minor changes over v2 (knurling and tailcap design) and has a 4 stage variable output (locator beacon). Very happy with my 1st led light.

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[thedeske]

Cons:

No Low mode (firefly mode)
Doesn't come on in low 1st
AA and Lion have different levels (to get low you have to change batteries)
Lion batteries produce turbo, high and medium all closely together with NO low mode.
AA batteries have moderate low (not firefly) moderate medium and medium 2 NO high.
No momentary and no forward clicky.

Most of your cons are pros for me

[tobrien]

I recently bought this eo3. Mine is v3 same design as v2 but has a 4 stage variable output (locator beacon). Very happy with my 1st led light.

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nice, congrats man!

Most of your cons are pros for me

ditto, same here. hollar ATLien!

[Fulaeetoy]

@tobrien

Thanks, mate! I'm starting to get addicted to it. Next target a thrower one. Hehe.


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[dc38]

I get a little bit of the flicker occasionally (not in the beginning though). I think its the switch as a little movement of the cap seems to fix it (until the next time it happens). Not so alarming at the moment but wouldnt count on it as my only EDC decause of that. I have asked around as an alternative cap and no seems to have any reliable alternatives. I did hear about one guy who disassemble it gave it a good WC40 clean and that fixed it. Haven't tried that one myself but could have also just tightened things up a bit when cleaning anyway.

If its not too late to respond, I have two xenos NW and WW. The whole flickering problem is as another user stated, copious amounts of gunk in the switch assembly that keep the switch from making contact. My WW didn't have said problem. Also, be VERY careful not to overtighten the tailcap, the only contact point from tailcap to body is that little bit of non anodized aluminum peeking out under the tailcap. I used a dremel to wear away the edges of the anodizing and swabbed the switch in wd40, and now no no more flicker. On a side note, the light gets uncomfortably warm running eneloops for >15min on high for some reason...is it overdrawing the 1.2 volts?

[shelm]

Am beginning to wonder how many people watching this thread actually bought a copy.. How many E03 owners (XPG, XML, any version/emitter) are out there?

Shall we post serial numbers (for the sake of it)?

[thedeske]

Am beginning to wonder how many people watching this thread actually bought a copy.. How many E03 owners (XPG, XML, any version/emitter) are out there?

Shall we post serial numbers (for the sake of it)?

I'll have a pair soon (black&blue)
Watching the thread from the start, but typically don't buy anything.
I've been really curious to see how those AW cells work. Here's my chance with a very
inexpensive light

[tobrien]

Am beginning to wonder how many people watching this thread actually bought a copy.. How many E03 owners (XPG, XML, any version/emitter) are out there?

Shall we post serial numbers (for the sake of it)?

I've bought about five of them haha

two I gave as gifts, two I sold to people who were ultra impressed with mine, and one, of course, is mine.

[thedeske]

Well, that was quick. Ordered from Tactical Saturday and they're here on a Monday.
Both are V3 CoolWhite. Tint looks a little Green compared to my Fenix Q5 lights.
No 14500 cell yet, so I'll wait to see how it goes. I like the soft tap to change med/low/high.

[shelm]

Tint looks a little Green

if you have enough lights to compare, then even the Neutral White looks noticeably green, especially in the corona area. there is a clear difference between a NeutralWhite Xeno and a CoolWhite Xeno, but both share the green color variation in the corona area.

just in the center of the beam (hotspot), the NeutralWhite Xeno is perfectly what one could call "NeutralWhite" (i.e. where you cannot see the greenish tint of the XML and the coloration is more to the yellowish side).

at sunlight, if you look at the Xeno NeutralWhite emitter (XML LED/dye) you will notice that it looks greenish-yellow with a shift to dark yellow ("orange") coloration as opposed to the Xeno CoolWhite emitter (XML LED/dye) which rather looks greenish-yellow with a clear shift to greenish coloration. In both cases you have the greenish element on the dye.

And that's what you see in the corona (and partly on the spill). All i am saying is the the NeutralWhite Xeno has less greenish areas in the beam pattern than the CoolWhite Xeno.

but let's agree, the greenishness of the Xeno is nothing compared to other known premium lights (Quark, Sunwayman, iTP, ..)

[thedeske]

but let's agree, the greenishness of the Xeno is nothing compared to other known premium lights (Quark, Sunwayman, iTP, ..)

Thanks & agree. There are far worse greens out there. Quarks for sure, although I had a mini cr2 that was very neutral white & quite nice. Too bad they didn't last long. 3 of 4 failed (one was a 123) My older Fenix lights are all in the blue range, but I'm one who likes that tint.
After taking the Xeno outside tonight in the fog, I like the pattern. Very nice flood for the size. Should be interesting to see
what happens with the AW cell when it arrives. The LD10 has been one my most used lights. Something about the size seems to work well in my mobile tool kit, around the shop, and just all around easy to deal with single AA. I typically need something for close work, so floods are a plus.
If the Xeno proves to be reliable, it could fit the task where I want more light in the same small PKG.

Thanks Again to selfbuilt for the Fine Work

Update: OK, I get it now. A short test with the AW cell and she's a hot one to hold after 3-4 minutes in high.
On in medium is likely enough for most situations. Onward to durability, which takes many moons.

[shelm]

the mode sequence on E03 V3 is Med-Lo-Hi.

i am observing that the NEUTRAL WHITE xeno has no spacing between High-mode and Med-mode, when run on a 14500. the average observer (like myself) cant tell the brightness difference between these two. the COOL WHITE xeno has clear brightness difference between Hi and Med on 14500: Hi and Med are not well-spaced to each other but it is easy to tell whether the light is on Med or Hi.

with the NEUTRAL WHITE emitter when the light is turned on (either on High or Med-modes) and you would have to guess whether the light is on High-mode or Med-mode, you're chances are 50/50 to guess correctly. The difference between these two on the NEUTRAL WHITE Xeno e03 v3 is minimal. Practically zero. (yeah, your expensive luxmeter will register a lux difference. happy now??!)

so again, to make myself clear and that every reader is aware of it and not disappointed when he/she buys the NEUTRAL WHITE Xeno: both modes are equally bright (not 100% exactly, but maybe 98.6%. who ever cared to measure please?) with the NEUTRALWHITE emitter.

interesting.

[Fulaeetoy]

I noticed that v3 has a different knurling and tailcap design over v2. Tailcap has a better texture and grip.

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[Danielsan]

I have a problem with this light, i gifted one of those to a friend, he is a car mechanic and needs the light also in daylight to look under the car for example. After only a day he called me and told me the light will shut off automatically after a minute sometimes, he used only normal AA Batteries, not eneloops. On the first day everything was ok but the other day the problems started. He also tried different AA Batteries with the same problems. Ive heard the light has Problems with the clicky, can this be the problem? Ive told him to try the spare switch, he will call me tomorrow if the problem is still there. If it is really the clicky then it must be very poor quality, it was like dead on arriving. Can higher quality clickys be used in the Xeno E03, is it possible? If not where i can get new ones if the spare clicky fails too after some days? Or do you have other suggestions about this problem?

[tobrien]

I have a problem with this light, i gifted one of those to a friend, he is a car mechanic and needs the light also in daylight to look under the car for example. After only a day he called me and told me the light will shut off automatically after a minute sometimes, he used only normal AA Batteries, not eneloops. On the first day everything was ok but the other day the problems started. He also tried different AA Batteries with the same problems. Ive heard the light has Problems with the clicky, can this be the problem? Ive told him to try the spare switch, he will call me tomorrow if the problem is still there. If it is really the clicky then it must be very poor quality, it was like dead on arriving. Can higher quality clickys be used in the Xeno E03, is it possible? If not where i can get new ones if the spare clicky fails too after some days? Or do you have other suggestions about this problem?

for what it's worth, I have never had problems with the five or so I've given (one of which I kept for myself). I don't know why everyone is saying they're getting clicky problems.

[MichaelW]

Break the tailcap down and clean everything. Both of the E03s v3 that I purchased were horribly dirty.

[jonnyfgroove]

I have a problem with this light, i gifted one of those to a friend, he is a car mechanic and needs the light also in daylight to look under the car for example. After only a day he called me and told me the light will shut off automatically after a minute sometimes, he used only normal AA Batteries, not eneloops. On the first day everything was ok but the other day the problems started. He also tried different AA Batteries with the same problems. Ive heard the light has Problems with the clicky, can this be the problem? Ive told him to try the spare switch, he will call me tomorrow if the problem is still there. If it is really the clicky then it must be very poor quality, it was like dead on arriving. Can higher quality clickys be used in the Xeno E03, is it possible? If not where i can get new ones if the spare clicky fails too after some days? Or do you have other suggestions about this problem?

If the new switch doesn't do the trick, try taking the light completely apart and cleaning everything with Deoxit. The threads on the pill itself were full of debris on my E03. Since the cleaning it has been rock solid. Not a hint of a flicker or any other weirdness.

[iron potato]

Thanks selfbuilt for the great review that convinced me to get one too

Upon opening the package, found a little dusty on the thread / O-ring area, tailcap area is clean, so get it cleaned & relubed.
Powered on the NW XM-L T5 with Eneloop, the tint is in between Zebralight's SC60w & SC600, really liking the tint
Might getting their G42v2 in near future

[Fulaeetoy]

Thingking of buying a diffuser on my eo3. Is it worth it?

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[shelm]

Thingking of buying a diffuser on my eo3. Is it worth it?

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its definitely worth it. fits perfectly the 21.5mm bezel and seems even airtight because it makes some funny (sucking) noise/sound when you remove the diffuser swiftly.
it's CNC machined plastic in a matté finish. its unbreakable (unlike the Fenix LD20 diffusers which are made of brittle shiny hard plastic) because the plastic is not brittle hard plastic but softer hard plastic.
amazing engineering quality for what it is. i got mine from hkequipment.net with global free shipping.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fulaeetoy]

@shelm

How's the distribution of light? Kinda' worried it might affect the diffuser when using 14500 on medium mode. It gets hot.

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[shelm]

No worries. light distribution is radial, i.e. to the sides. less light pervades the top of the diffuser (its tip). Excellently bright and highly recommended. The Fenix diffusers have a different light distribution, e.g. real candle-like or directional through the tip, so the Fenix and Xeno diffusers dont form a redundant system.

No heat issues feared. Dont worry. the material is thick, solid, and made for this purpose.
dont you trust the Chinese engineers? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fulaeetoy]

I'm convinced. I will probably get this weekend from my seller. Thanks for the response shelm.

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