What do people really think of the Inova T3/X03 lights?

[cratz2]

I've owned several Inova products and before turning them on, I was impressed with every one of them. Personally I think their best product overall is the X5T and even it could use some updated LEDs for better brightness without sacrificing any runtime.

I've owned an X0, an X03 and a T3 and sold them all... Again, they were all quality pieces and I didn't have any troubles with them... no dead LEDs, no failed switches or anything like that. I just don't care for the beam pattern of that TIROS optic. The X0 has a reasonably wide hotspot with minimal side spill other than some nasty rings. The X03 and T3 have an even tighter beam and is obviously brighter, but personally I like sidespill for my uses. But I think more than the side spill issues are those rings. If they could find a way to get those rings out of the beam pattern and into the hotspot, I could live with it.

Another thing, though I might just be being overly picky is, since it uses that long optic, the light is probably about an inch longer than it really needs to be putting it just out of pocket carrying size for me. I carry a Vital Gear 2 cell body which is somewhat similar to the SureFire E2e in size, except for a larger head.

I've played with an Aleph III which uses a 38mm, I believe. The Alephs are fine lights and he does wonderful work and it is on the VERY short list of lights I'd like to buy, but I do sort of wish someone would make a 2 or 3 cell light that somehow uses the 38mm reflector in a somewhat cheaper host for an actual beater type LED light that has decent throw, but is smaller than a 2C Mag.

To the original poster, I think you should just look for a T or U bin Lux III in a Mag host of your preference. I like the 2C body and have two regulated Lux III lights, both built on the 2C, both running LiON cells. The throw is considerably better than the X03 or T3... To the tune of two or three times as good.

 

[bpfsu]

Don't have an opinion on them yet, but I do have one on order. If you do decide to get one, www.botac.com has them on sale for $39.95 right now. I'll chime in if I get mine before this post is defunct.

BP

 

[cratz2]

I'd search Cheers and Jeers before recommending anyone order from Botach.

Maybe your experience will be exemplary... not all are so lucky.

 

[fieldops]

I just ordered a T3 and a T4. I guess its time to see them. Its amazing how CPF can transform a room into a "flashlight room" just for storage. Scary sometimes.

I did not order from Botach, but have done so somewhat successfully in the past. The only issue I had was the long wait times to get your order. It almost seems they do not stock in bulk, and have to order everything for you (just speculation). Maybe that's why they have low prices. I have heard that some others have had more serious issues (not good).

It should be interesting to see what the T5 will be like. They claim it to be a 4w luxeon. Wonder if its a particularly binned Lux III light engine driven high or something. It doesn't seem like they use a Lux V. Having the light described in terms of 4w seems to indicate that former. Guess we will see.

 

[chevrofreak]

Short answer, the X03/T3 are some of the best lights you can buy. I have dozens of other lights and my X03 (has a T3 tailcap on it) is still the light that puts the biggest smile on my face.

 

[Deanster]

I like my T3 reasonably well, and it's got great throw for an LED. All that said, it doesn't knock my socks off as a thrower - the beam isn't really all that bright out at 100', especially if it's got any other light to compete with.

Fieldops - I'd recommend that you try a Pelican Super Sabrelight 3C for your usage - it's got an amazingly tight pencil beam, with just a hint of corona, and the incan gives nice color rendition for inspections. Add in the nice no-lose-it yellow color, non-conducting polymer body, dive rating, and $20 price tag, it's hard to loose with this light. (2C Peli-lite or 4AA Stealthlite are also excellent, if you need a smaller form-factor)

The whole light is cheaper than the lamp modules for your M3T, and while it's considerably less bright overall, it does a great job of putting photons on target for inspection work - considerably better than the Surefire turboheads, which still aren't thow monsters, IMHO. If you're even thinking that a T3/XO3 is bright enough for your needs, the Pelicans are seriously worth looking at as well/instead.

 

[AlienRFX]

I pesonally really like the Inova X and T series flashlights. I had an X0 that I really liked, but I did break the lens. I then picked up a Coast V2 pro led lenser. (rechargeable nimh). It has good output but feels really cheap compared to an Inova. I hopefully have a T4 on the way. The T4 seems to address all the concerns I had about my X0 which was rechargeable batteries and replaceable lens.

I also like the beam shape of the Inovas as I use the flashlight at work at Goodyear Gemini shop working on cars and searching for tires the beam is perfect for what I need.

However after hearing about the Indium smart my wallet is really itching but I know I shouldn't spend 350 for a flashlight, yet I had no problem dishing out 275 for a HID mountain bike light, Marwi Nightpro extreme. http://www.marwiusa.com

 

[cratz2]

Does the T4 actually have an easily-replacable lens? Is it just a lens in front of the TIROS or does this mean we can take the T4 apart much more easily than other Inova products?

I can't imagine it would mean the latter...

 

[fieldops]

Thanks for the continued good comments guys. I'm just waiting for the T3 and T4 to arrive. We ended up talking about them so much, I had to get them just out of curiosity, even if they don't work for out for the application. Guess that's just CPFing in action.

Deanster: I will look into the Pelican as I know someone who has one I can try. Thanks.

Should be interesting to check out the new lights on Christmas weekend. I'm also hoping a U2 will find its way to me this weekend.