First Impression- Princeton Tec Impact XL 1 Watt Maxbright LED Flashlight

Hi Everyone,

I had been looking for a flashlight solution for emergency car use and signaling when driving here in the Colorado Rockies, where temps (at least in my area) regularly hit -30 to -40 below zero at night without the wind chill factor. I wanted a twist flashlight that was reasonably bright but also took Lithiums for cold weather and had a rubberized grip in case I had to hold it without a glove in an emergency.

After some research I picked up a Princeton Tec Impact XL LED from Amazon and here are my first impressions.......

Specs:
The light is powered by a 1 Watt Maxbright LED that takes 4 AA batteries. It is regulated and accepts Lithiums as well. It is rated at 24 Lumens with regular batteries but may be brighter with Lithiums (my seems to be). It is rated as a dive light and waterproof down to 100 Meters. Burntime is rated from 50-70 hours on regular AAs, Lithium runtimes N/A.

General Impression:
The first thing I noticed is that the flashlight has a solid yellow body with black rubberized grips and on the bezel. This is different from the pictures on Amazon as they a show a see-through yellow plastic body instead. The solid yellow is much more attractive and overall the light is very attractive. It seems to be built like a tank and the the overall quality is really high. The twisting bezel is harder to turn than a maglight but is not hard to turn overall and also feels very precise. The light thats emitted seemed about 80% as bright as my Fenix L2D Q5 on Medium mode in the real world and is very white in color. It feels great in the hand ergonomically plus it comes with a good wrist lanyard.

Overall I'm extremely impressed with light, so much that I've used it almost exclusively since I got it last week. I also own a Fenix L2D Q5 and a Gerber Infinity Ultra, both of which are also great lights. I find myself grabbing the Impact XL because the light is great for most purposes, is easier to hold onto than the Fenix and the tiny Gerber, and feels indestructable so I'm not worried about dropping it like I do with the Fenix. As a plus it's also made in the USA.

Cheers,

coloradowildman

The XL is a little harder to turn because it is primarily a dive light. It needs that tight seal. I take it along on fishing trips as my main hand-held because of all the features you mentioned. My pocket backup for fishing would be the Princeton Tec Attitude. When not fishing, my pocket light is the Gerber IU.

Uncle Bob,

You're right, it is technically a dive light so it is a little harder to turn than a regular light (though to me it's not hard at all). Maybe that's why I love it, because it feels very rugged and I never have to worry about water leakage.

I went on a night walk at the base of a 14,000 ft mountain the other night and used the Impact XL as a walking light and it was great. Not too much or too little light and easy to hold with the rubberized grip. I've done this before with the Fenix L2D Q5 and it felt like it would slip out of my hand easily. I carry the Fenix as a backup to the Impact XL in case I need a brighter beam but so far the Impact has been plenty adequate. With lithium batteries it seems to be around 30 Lumens (normal rating is 24 Lumens) and has good color rendering.

Your impressions are pretty much spot-on with mine as well. It is indeed a great light for the price (and can be found for around $28).

I first used it as a back-up diving light (definitely not bright enough for a primary). And it served the purpose very well. Even in daytime diving, it's great for lighting up small crevices and shaded areas.

My only gripe is that the pressure affects the switch... so if you've turned it enough to be off, you may find it inadvertently back on once you've gone deeper. No big deal, though... it seems water tight to very good depths. I took it to 100' with no problems. But yeah, the rotation is a little stiff--has to be for the primary use of diving. A little lube will likely help in that area.

When not diving, it serves as a back-up light for my car and if/when I ever go camping. It's just the right size, weight, and brightness--plus you don't have to worry about any unsightly scratches to an aluminum anodized surface if you drop it. :thumbsup:

The Princeton-Tecs are great. It's just some of us here are waiting with bated breath for some newer Cree/Rebel offerings with that well liked and familiar design. I'd LOVE to see a Tec-20 design make a return, however.

Yeah, now that I've had my Impact XL for 2 months now I'd really love to see them make a really powerful version of one of these as I'm really impressed with this company's flashlights. The build quality is just awesome and it feels like a tank. I even bought one for a friend to carry in his family van for an emergency when commuting through the high country and he absolutely loves it!