KevinL
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've been on a bit of a modding kick, having built a number of lights recently, complete with various misadventures as they malfunction, sometimes in spectacular ways.
So it was a nice change today to open up a package and see a KX4 in it. The KX4 absolutely screams KISS from the get go. It is a single stage light, with a bare minimum of parts, bare minimum of things to fail, everything sealed up nicely with Surefires absolutely top notch fit and finish. I have been working with some other lights recently and I have to say that SF has just got it perfect. They are still the gold standard by which everything else is judged. EVERYTHING fits together perfectly with precision tolerances - my 6P gray takes the KX4 perfectly despite them being separated by six years.
The KX4 runs ok on 17670, but slightly brighter at full output on 6V or higher. Probably a buck converter. Interestingly, at 4V or 6V, measured amperage is the same - 0.5A at the tailcap. It's got a nice hotspot too.
I love the user interface too. 0 lumens or 120 lumens, your call. None of this complicated click sequence thing or failure to change modes or unwanted mode changes. Turn it on, it's on. Turn it off, it's off. It just works. Sure it's not the brightest (I just finished up a P7 drop-in today - tell me about it), but it just works. There's a lot to like about that already.
If simplicity and reliability is what you're after when the SHTF, the KX4 delivers. One of the few I believe I can trust long after all the rest are gone
So it was a nice change today to open up a package and see a KX4 in it. The KX4 absolutely screams KISS from the get go. It is a single stage light, with a bare minimum of parts, bare minimum of things to fail, everything sealed up nicely with Surefires absolutely top notch fit and finish. I have been working with some other lights recently and I have to say that SF has just got it perfect. They are still the gold standard by which everything else is judged. EVERYTHING fits together perfectly with precision tolerances - my 6P gray takes the KX4 perfectly despite them being separated by six years.
The KX4 runs ok on 17670, but slightly brighter at full output on 6V or higher. Probably a buck converter. Interestingly, at 4V or 6V, measured amperage is the same - 0.5A at the tailcap. It's got a nice hotspot too.
I love the user interface too. 0 lumens or 120 lumens, your call. None of this complicated click sequence thing or failure to change modes or unwanted mode changes. Turn it on, it's on. Turn it off, it's off. It just works. Sure it's not the brightest (I just finished up a P7 drop-in today - tell me about it), but it just works. There's a lot to like about that already.
If simplicity and reliability is what you're after when the SHTF, the KX4 delivers. One of the few I believe I can trust long after all the rest are gone
