Inova T4

Just got my new Inova T4 this morning. This is one impressive light. I'd say its pretty comparable to my Stinger HP. The center hotspot is whiter than and about as bright (maybe a little less) than than the Stinger HP when tightly focused. The T4's spillbeam covers about the same area as the Stinger HP set to flood. All that without ever having to adjust the T4, well you can't adjust it but you get the idea. The look, design, and feel of the T4 just ooze quality, even the box it comes in reflects this. The two hour runtime just makes a great light even better . However I would like a good sheath or belt holster for my new light, and the option of a tailcap switch would make the light more attractive to customers.


A few things I've noticed so far:

- A friend of mine removed to tailcap to look at the rechargeable battery. After replacing the battery and tailcap, the T4 would not light up. After removing and replacing the tailcap a few more times and clicking the mid-body switch several times, the light finally turns on.

- When I tried to charge the light for the first time, the indicator light on the charger cradle did not light up. After a few minutes of making damn sure the light is sitting properly in the cradle and several clicks later, finally the charger light lights up, at last recognizing the flashlight is there.

- The manual says that when charging, the indicator light is a steady blue. When fully charged (which can take up to 3 hours), the indicator light turns green. However after 3 hours I see a blinking blue light instead of a green light.

Any other T4 owners experience any of this? Great light though, no buyer's remorse here!

Beamshot pictures to follow soon!

Check this article about the blinking blue LED:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1169352&postcount=24

The blue blinking charger LED is also discussed in these threads:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/93499

and

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/108162

and

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/98609

Don't know about the T4, but I have a T5 coming in today and it has the same switching mechanism as the T4, and in fact, I've read a few observations that the T5 is just a T4 that operates on 123's. Of course I'll try and see if I can get the switch to fail on the T5 by fiddiling with the batteries and tailcap. Of course I'll report back with a mini-review once I receive the T5, bearing in mind that I'm a novice flashlighter!

I have had the T4 for about 6 months now, and it certainly a great light. It's built like a rock. With regards to the 2 issues you have:

1) I've found that you have to make sure that the tailcap is very tight in order to ensure that the electrical circuit is completed. If you ever encounter this problem, just tighten up the tailcap, and everything should be fine.

2) I haven't had the exact same problem with the charger, but I've found that I might need to wiggle the flashlight around in the charger, or a wait about 4-5 seconds before the blue light comes on.

Hope that helps.

Here's a nice case for the T4 by Stallion Leather, I have one and it is very well made with no exposed seems.

http://www.stallionleather.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=211

Paul

Thanks for the replies so far. That leather holster looks prety nice :naughty: .

Hi


The blackhawk holster for the streamlight works well, not sure of the model number but can dig it out if you want, just let me know.

Ditto what flash said about the charger.

Hmmm, seems like I'll be doing a bit of a 180 on my initial opinions of the T4. While the center is a nice bright white, at about 6 feet or less moving out from the center, the alternating rings of light and dark just do not sit well with me. The rings are less noticeable at 10 feet or more, but are still there.

After following the advice of fellow CPF'ers I made sure the tailcap was cleaned of excess lubricant and tightly screwed down, and even then it still takes some work to get the light to turn on. For a second time, the light was in the charger and after about 30-40 min of charging (solid blue light), the indicator starts flashing blue :huh2: . So after removing and replacing the light in the charger a few times the indicator light stays blue and eventually turns green(finally!). I use the light for about 30 min, then I put it in the charger. So far its working fine. After a few minutes I remove the T4 from the charger to compare it again to my Stinger HP, but now the T4 wouldn't light up. After removing and replacing the tailcap and several clicks of the mid-body switch, the T4 suddenly decides to turn on. Seems like I got a defective T4. But even with the tailcap and charger issues aside, the bullseye effect of the light output is enough to make me not want to keep the T4.
I still love my other Inova lights, but the T4 is a letdown for me. Oh well.

FrogsInWinter said:

Hmmm, seems like I'll be doing a bit of a 180 on my initial opinions of the T4. ...

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that. I ordered an Inova T4 and a Stallion leather case today. I want to avoid buying expensive lithium batteries and I like the idea of "guilt free lumens," i.e., a flashlight built from the ground up to be recharged.

Parnass

Well like I said maybe I got a defective T4, considering the the charger and tailcap problems I encountered. But those problems aside I guess you'll have to decide for yourself if the T4's output is acceptable or not. If the T4 serves your purposes then great. But it just wasn't the light for me. I think I will stick to Inova's non-TIROS lights for now.

well i bought the light 2 months ago and i too have had a problem with the charger..it blinks every now and then which is pretty annoying the dark..what i do is put it in the charger..if its blinking then i just take it out a lil bit and wiggle it in. if that doesnlt work then i slam it into the charger a lil harder...don't recoomend that but hey it works for me. the light has never failed on me yet so far though...its very bright but it is outshined by my golston from axshop...which is quite dissappointing for me,. maybe i lost the inova t4 luxeon lottery.

Has anyone found a solution to the blinking blue light? I bought a T4 two days ago and I cant get it to charge. I am thinking about sending it back to the factory. This is very frustrating because I cant seem to get a hold of anyone in tech support at Inova. I want to love this light but I am having a hard time right now.

Mine didn't blink at first, but it does of late when I charge it. Usually this happens right away, and getting it centered properly has become a pain. Every now and then it happens in the charging cycle. I assume the blinking is intermittent contact. Contacts seem clean. I just recenter it and move on.

I don't mind the rings, but that's subjective.

Read the links in parnass' post (above) for info on how to fix charging problems, including flashing blue lights.

@FrogsInWinter: sounds like you've got a defective T4. Contact Inova and get them to ship you a new one.

The rings are normal TIROS feature of Inova. I could never understand why some people don't like the rings, but different strokes I guess. Everyone has their own opinions of the beam they would like. That's ok. Sorry to hear about the charging issues. It does sound like you got a defective one. I have found Inova customer service to be superb. I lost a T3 tailcap changing batteries in a blizzard and they sent 2 new ones for free. Hope all works out for you.