candle lamp
Flashlight Enthusiast
TZ58 is a XM-L U2, magnetic control ring light from XTAR. I received a pre-release version sample only. There was not any accessory or manual. So final packaging and extras are unknown.
Anodizing is a slightly glossy black and seems to be HA(type III). The letterings such as maker, model name are marked on the battery tube. There are also mode indicators printed on the head. As you can see, those letterings are all printed on the sticker.
Although there are few chips on my sample, the light seems to be nice quality. Because I was only provided with the light, I know Cree XM-L U2 emitter and working voltage is 2.75~8.4V of main specifications.
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The head of the light has a somewhat scalloped aluminum bezel ring and two shallow cooling fins. The silver magnetic selector ring has six rounded grooves which help in the rotation of the ring. The light has a tiny hole on the grip-ring for lanyard attachment. There is a tailcap switch. The-grip ring is not easy on the fingers due to hefty head.
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There are many fine fluted ridges on the bezel ring. Knurling is presented on both battery tube and tailcap, and is reasonably aggressive. The other elements such as the several crossed grooves and the clip help further. Overall grip and hand feel is good.
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The light has 3 parts(i.e. head, battery tube, and tailcap). There are square-cut threads at both ends of the battery tube. But screw threads are not anodized at the tailcap, no tailcap lock out is possible. I tried open the bezel by using tools but couldn't, it seems to be bonded with strong adhesive.
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Overall feel of the control ring is good with detents at all levels, but the ring rotates a full 360 degrees in either direction like XTAR S1. I assume it is made of aluminum mainly.
The TZ58 comes with a large reflector, and use a cool white XM-L U2 emitter. Centering of the emitter isn't perfect, but acceptable on my sample. There is a spring on the positive contact plate in the head, all my flat-top 18650 batteries work fine in the light.
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The lower head part can be disassembled without using tools. There are a very small magnet and a detent with a spring-loaded bearing on the upper control ring. Also there is a white smaller ring seems like PTFE material on the lower control ring.
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There are square-cut threads at both ends of the battery tube. They are smooth with no cross-threading or squeaking. But the threads are a bit stiff when the O-ring of the battery tube fit into the tailcap together.
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The light comes with a removable clip. It seems to be sturdy and good quality. But the clip for bezel-up use is impossible(i.e. the clip is not reversible). It can be removed by just unscrewing the grip-ring and pulling the clip off. But you don't need to remove the O-ring for pulling it off.
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The thickness of the battery tube at the head side & tail side are 2mm & 1.5mm respectively.
The body feels reasonably solid.
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The forward clicky on-off switch has a good feel and slightly stiff. Due to the protruding forward clicky, the light can't tailstand.
Overall build quality is very nice.
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User Interface
On-off is controlled by the tailcap switch and mode switching is controlled by the magnetic control ring in the head. The three control ring levels on the light are Low-High-Strobe only, arranged clockwise. The total traverse of the ring is 2/3 circumference of the light, so it's not easy to switch back and forth one-handed (i.e. the ring rotates a full 360 degrees in either direction).
So I would expect XTAR prevent the ring from turning to region where there is no output mode and reduce the total traverse of the ring to 1/3~1/2 circumference of the light.
There is a brief high level pre-flash when pressing the tailcap button while the control ring is set on low mode. But there is no pre-flash if you turn the control ring to low mode position while the light is on. I think lack of med. mode will be disappointing for many prospective users.
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The light can be powered by 1x18650 or 2xCR123A or 2xRCR123A due to the 2.75~8.4V working voltage. The battery tube can accept flat-top or button-top 18650 cells in my sample. Regular CR123A or RCR123A fit fine. XTAR informed me that TZ58 can use 2x18650 with an extended tube. Note it can't use either 4xCR123A or 4xRCR123A due to high voltage.
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The light feels reasonablely solid and has a good grip.
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From left to right, [edit:2012.02.15]LG unprotected 18650[edit:2012.02.15], VicLite protected 18650, Spark SL6S-740NW, Fenix PD32(Prototype sample), Jil-Lite Stern, Solarforce L2T, XTAR TZ58, ThruNite Scorpion.
The TZ58 is a bit beefier than other lights in this class of light, with heavier head compared to other lights. The length is also a little longer than typical due to the magnetic control ring in the head, but is a bit shorter than ThruNite Scorpion.
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The net weight of the light is 170g. The weight including 2xCR123A and 2xRCR123A are 202g and 206g respectively. 218g for 1x18650 cell.
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PWM
I can see flickering at low level, but can't see it visually in practical use. There's no sign of PWM at high mode. I notice that there is very little buzzing sound on low mode when holding the light close to my ear to hear it.
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Runtime
I tested runtime on high mode only using the following batteries.
- 1xVicLite protected 18650 (If the brightness became 20% of the initial brightness, I stopped running the light.)
- 2xPanasonic CR123A (The light has begun to blink since appr. 80 mins and kept blinking. So I stopped running the light at 110 min.)
- 2xAW RCR123A (The protection circuit kicked in and the light turned off abruptly in 25 mins.)
The runtime for 50% output of high level on 1x18650 is appr. 111 mins in my test and CR123A & RCR123A are appr. 34 mins & 25mins respectively.
The light on 2xRCR123A provides steady & flat regulation, but gives short runtime due to low capacity cells. With 1x18650 cell, it shows reasonable regulation and runtime.
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Beamshot
1) White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door, Auto White Balance)
The light has a bright hotspot with a bit irregular small-sized corona area which show slightly greenish tint. The beam color temperature looks very higher than 6500K on my sample. There is a very thin ringed banding outside of the spill region, but it doesn't affect practical use.
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2) Indoor beamshot (about 7m from the target)
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3) Outdoor beamshot (about 55m from the target)
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4) Outdoor beamshot (about 60~65m from the target)
* TZ58 provided by Torch Gear for review.
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