Questions about Inova X1

[kramer5150]

I tried the search tool and it gagged on "X1", then I tried "Inova" and I got literally EVERY thread ever created on CPF. Sorry in advance for asking such a redundant question.

These little lights caught my eye at Target, they have the emitter/reflector version. Not the aspheric moon-beam one.

Does it have a fairly white color tint?
Is it fairly well regulated?
How is the run time? Will it do over 4 hours?
Is it in the ~10-20 Lumen ball park?

My ideal low-lumen, $20, long running "candle-light" doesn't really exist. Ideally it would be a AA Fenix E01, but with a pure-white color tint, with no blue in the beam. So the X1 caught my attention.

 

[Marduke]

You're lucky to get 1-2 hours out of them before the circuit chokes as high as 1.2v on the cell. There are a few lucky ones which has a long moon mode, but it's a lottery. Hopefully they will be upgraded soon in the future, and Inova won't ruin a great light like they did with the last "upgrade"

They use a Luxeon PWT emitter IIRC

 

[Flying Turtle]

The second generation of X1's may be the best so far. It used a Nichia CS, so it's not very bright and is quite blue, but it will run about 10 hours. Never actually tested mine for runtime, but I think that's close. Much more usable than the first ones, though they're kind of neat, too. Never heard much good about the latest ones. I'll bet a gen.2 can occasionally be found in some stores.

Geoff

 

[Confederate]

I'm really sorry to see that Inova has not kept up with technology. They make such great lights, but they lag so far behind and their corporate decisions aren't always the greatest in the world. Even so, I just got an Inova X5 with red LEDs because I got it for fifteen bucks. I'm hoping the red LEDs will give me a bit more runtime.

The lights are built like a brick outhouse, but, sadly, you get poor runtimes with only so-so illumination.

 

[ThatGuyBri]

www.flashlightreviews.com has a review of V2.

V3 is slightly brighter but has a much shorter run time.

I had a V2 and didn't like it. I found it dim and blue.

Consider the Fenix L1D CE or L1T V2 Q2. Fenix is popular on this forum.

Here's selfbuilt's AA shootout:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=186665

 

[One2gofst]

As others have said, V2 is, IMO, the best model. Combining a useful beam and long runtime. However, those used to the robustness of models like the X5 should note the X1 is nowhere near as robust. I have one on its way back to Inova for replacement after it was propped on a padded, carpeted floor from waist height (3') and stopped working.

Sometimes Target stores will have V2s still in stock. You can tell by the packaging.