PhantomPhoton
Flashlight Enthusiast
I was lucky enough to be sent two Barbolights to use and review. I've taken the last 6 weeks to use these lights, and now it's well past time that I put out my impressions.
There are two other reviews for these lights already on CPF which have the high quality pictures and specs that we are so used to being spoiled with. I did attempt to take some beamshots a couple times, however it's clear to me that a cheap camera just doesn't have what it takes to show much of anything.
While I'd love to get set up with some fancier equipment to do more technical reviews at some point in the future, that isn't going to happen right now. What I do offer is reports of real world use and a bit of what these two lights have gone through in the past 6 weeks with me.
Here's a quick rundown of the two lights before I start talking about actual use and my impressions.
T04
1x18650/ 2xCR123
Cree XR-E cool tint (WC?)
T15
2x18650/ 4xCR123
SSC P7 (a bit warmer than the T-04 but still definitely above 6000K)
Both lights have superb body machining and great black Type III anodizing.
They also both possess a titanium, bezel down pocket clip, and a shatterproof plastic window which has been treated with a high quality anti scratch coating.
Both lights have identical waterproof "tactical" switches... depress for on, stop pushing for off, twist for constant on.
Both lights have finning on the head and a goods feeling knurling on the body, aggressive enough but not quite as harsh as that found on some Surefire models.
Both lights are dive rated (minimum 200m 20 atmospheres) and the T04 carries an ATEX certification as well.
Let's get on to the important things:
Water resistance
The first thing I did with the T04 is I took it to a place that has claimed a couple other lights: the shower. :devil: I find if a light can walk away from all the steam and soap without water intrusion, it's going to be okay for any non diving use that I can throw at it. Of course being dive rated the T04 survived no problem.
So then a few days later I took it to the bottom of a 12' diving pool and turned it on an doff many times both by the push switch and by twisting the tailcap. Again I there was no leakage of water.
I tried a longer immersion, I tossed the light into my apartment pool which is a max of 6' deep and let it sit all night. (I didn't leave it on as I didn't want anyone to find it and take it while I slept.) Yet again no water made it in.
One thing to note about the construction is that the body tube and head are one piece so there's one less potential place for water to find its way in, things to fall out, places to fail, etc. Also this provides a better thermal path for heat to be dissipated.
Durability
I have carried the T04 in my backpack (man-purse) for the past 6 weeks and it has gone everywhere with me. In the depths of my bag one finds change, knives, other lights and spare cells, a survival kit, clothes, water bottles, pens, notebooks, food, groceries and whatever else I need to carry for the day. After 6 weeks the window has survived without a scratch. I can't say the same for some of the other lights I carry in my bag.
I feel obligated to point out that the T04 arrived to me with some sort of residue like what is left when drops of water dry out on the window. :mecry: I have not been able to clean off it off, so my best guess is that it is on the inside. I highly doubt this is a typical occurrence. The new T04 models give access to the window by removing the bezel, so this shouldn't be any major issue anyway.
Overall if a light can survive a trip in my backpack without a protective case, then it's likely tough enough to stand up to most uses. I'm tough on my equipment, while I don't abuse it intentionally, I make no effort to protect my tools from whatever happens to be in my bag at times. The T15 took a nice little chunk out of a 25-pound water melon a couple weeks ago during my trek across Portland on public transportation. Both were crammed into my backpack, the water melon ended up on top by the end of the journey and the T15 seems to be just fine after being between the floor and the melon for an extended period of time.
Runtime
I walk a mile to work six days a week and generally walk home in the dark every week night. Barbolight claims 150 minutes of high power output followed by ~300 minutes of safety light. Barbolight claims ~95 minutes of full power runtime on the T15.
It takes me 12 minutes to walk home every night. From a fully charged 1.5 year-old AW 2200mAh cell I was able to walk home 14 times with the light at high brightness.
In a straight up runtime test of the T04 using a 4 month old fully charged Eagletac 2400mAh cell, I detected a drop in light output by 1 hour 40 minutes and the light shut down after 1 hour and 59 minutes when the protection circuit kicked in. The T10L continued to run strong with a 2400mAh Eagletac cell in regulation for 2 hours 12 minutes and then shut off without any warning. THe T10L does not drive the LED quite as hard though.
The T04 does get quite warm after sitting on by itself however not as hot as the Eagletac T10L.
Due to variances from cell to cell it is rather difficult to come to much of a conclusion other than to stick with high quality cells like AW's for high drain flashlights. In a subsequent runtime using a 2200mAh AW cell the T04 ran for 2 hours and 10 minutes before the cell cut out. There was a noticeable decline in brightness at about 1 hour and 50 minutes. I'd guess with higher capacity unprotected cells the runtime could reach the 2 hours and 30 minutes and with CR123's I'm sure you could get a more than a couple hours of moon mode. However I do not have any unprotected cells to test this with nor do I use CR123 primary cells anymore.
On two 1.5 year-old 2200mAh AW cells, the T15 ran for 1 hour and 31 minutes.
The T15 also ended up being quite toasty by the middle of its continuous runtime test.
Brightness and Beam Pattern
Brightness perception is a curious thing.
The T04 is quite a thrower. Being an XR-E there is the usual Cree ring, even with the OP reflector. I like it very much as a relatively compact light for reaching out and taking the darkness away from a target in the distance.
Putting the T04 up against the closest match I have, an Eagletac T10L, the "brightness" is very close. The T04's spill-beam is more narrow, but brighter. The hot spot on the T04 is more defined and slightly more intense in the middle, though not as smooth as the beautiful Eagletac beam. The tint of mine is very much on the cool side, 6500K+. Nothing annoying or distracting about the tint. In fact for diving applications, for which the T04's sister the U04 is designed, this higher color temperature is probably a plus.
I wasn't too impressed with the T15's output at first. It has a very nice throw for a quad die light, most similar to that of a TK40. There is a noticeable donut hole when shone on a nearby wall. However the donut is not visible when illuminating targets further out and when in actual use on trees, fields, terrain, etc. Although I like the throw the light just didn't seem to be that much brighter than the T04 when comparing the lights during my walks home or to the store. The ambient light from streetlights and such just really suck up a lot of the excess spill and take away from what is noticeable.
However when I took the light out away from the city, things changed. Out in the darkness, in the mountains, away from the city lights the T15 is amazing. Shooting the light across a clearing in the forest the spill lit up everything nearby. And the throw out there in the dark was on par with the T04's Cree XR-E. You could say I saw the T15 in a whole new light. It lit up the foreground just as well as a Wolf Eyes P7 Sniper (which does not have it's dies driven as hard being a 1x18650 light). However it stomped the Sniper in throw with it's tighter hotspot. It even stood toe to toe with an Eagletac M2XC4 neutral white in throw.
Overall I'd say that these are lights geared toward throw, and the reflectors are superb with this job in mind.
Feel of the lights in the hand and ergonomics
The knurling is great. The fins on the T04 provide a bit of extra grip. The pocket clip works well as both a pocket clip and an anti-roll device.
I'd like to put an update with some pictures out in the next couple days so I can more easily show this. The pocket clip on the T04 really helps make the light feel better in my hand. It lines my thumb up with the tailcap and gives me a good overall finger groove. A better camera should arrive to me within a couple days of my posting this.
The T15 like all series 2x18650 lights is a bit longer than I like. Due to the large reflector the light is a bit top heavy and doesn't balance in my hand quite as well as I'd like it to when using my thumb to control the tail switch. The T15 also feels like the knurling is a bit less aggressive.
Other thoughts
There are a couple holes I need to poke in this otherwise glowing review. The tailcap and switch took some getting used to. The hard switch feels a bit different than the rubber or silicone boot caps we find on many other lights. Even now after using them for awhile, I still have to adjust my thumb position.
As for the thumb, the tailcap does have a couple small teeth. These are located on the tailcap at the lanyard attachment point. I suspect the lanyard attachment has been kept square to help offer a bit more stability for tail-standing. Yes these lights can tail stand, however the design of the tailcap doesn't make them incredibly stable to begin with.
A final item which was included in my nifty Barbolight carry bag from Javier was a yellow/green diffuser wand. This diffuser is interesting as fits over the bezel of the T04 like a little bag. While I've found it unwieldy to put on, it has a strip of new generation Velcro-like material to secure it onto the light. I like how it is a reflective material so it can be visible even with the light off. I also like how this little accessory can be stored much easier than a traditional hard plastic diffuser. What I really don't like about it though is the fact that it doesn't open up all the way to the top too well. Plus it makes a lot of glare when used with the T04, as the T04 has only one setting: bright.
Barbolights excel outdoors and after using them are as tough and as high quality in construction and performance as any other light out there. Currently Surefire offers nothing which can compete with the T15 and no other manufacturer with lights in the same class appear to match the quality offered by the T15. As a SAR type light this would be my first recommendation to anyone who is looking for a small, but bright hand light with great throw and spill-beam.
As for the T04, I've finally found a challenger to my Malkoff drop-in/ 6P combo for my go everywhere, primary light. Although the Malkoff offers a nicer tint and far smoother beam pattern, the T04 beats the 6P as a host hands down. HA III, titanium bezel-down pocket clip, and waterproof far deeper than I'm ever going to go. Plus I get the benefit of better runtime with 18650 while gaining a bit of brightness. Like many other 18650/ CR123 lights the T04 is not fully regulated on 18650s. I'd like to see flat output and a graceful step-down to another flat regulated moon mode.
I am a great believer in neutral tinted leds and I'd love to get a T04 Barbolight with a Cree tint somewhere from WH to 4B. Or a T15 with SSC P7 with a nice SVN tint (or SUN if they actually exist). This would only further enhance the utility of these Barbolight models for outdoor enthusiasts and SAR professionals.
Conclusion
These are no nonsense, on and off, lights and I'd trust this light above those from most other manufacturers. They're designed and tested for professional use.
This is a case of you get what you pay for. Barbolights are high quality tools and they do not come cheap. However from time to time Javier of Barbolight does offer great deals on Barbolights. You can probably still get in on his current "superdeal" for a T15 in the Barbolight sub-forum on CPF.
I'd like to thank Javier for the opportunity to try out these lights and for his patience these past weeks while I've played with them.
I'd like to thank LightSword at CPF for being dragged out to the mountains with me to attempt a couple night geocaches and to play with the lights a few miles down a dirt road.
I can't wait for new models from Javier and Barbolight to come out next year.
There are two other reviews for these lights already on CPF which have the high quality pictures and specs that we are so used to being spoiled with. I did attempt to take some beamshots a couple times, however it's clear to me that a cheap camera just doesn't have what it takes to show much of anything.
While I'd love to get set up with some fancier equipment to do more technical reviews at some point in the future, that isn't going to happen right now. What I do offer is reports of real world use and a bit of what these two lights have gone through in the past 6 weeks with me.
Here's a quick rundown of the two lights before I start talking about actual use and my impressions.
T04
1x18650/ 2xCR123
Cree XR-E cool tint (WC?)
T15
2x18650/ 4xCR123
SSC P7 (a bit warmer than the T-04 but still definitely above 6000K)
Both lights have superb body machining and great black Type III anodizing.
They also both possess a titanium, bezel down pocket clip, and a shatterproof plastic window which has been treated with a high quality anti scratch coating.
Both lights have identical waterproof "tactical" switches... depress for on, stop pushing for off, twist for constant on.
Both lights have finning on the head and a goods feeling knurling on the body, aggressive enough but not quite as harsh as that found on some Surefire models.
Both lights are dive rated (minimum 200m 20 atmospheres) and the T04 carries an ATEX certification as well.
Let's get on to the important things:
Water resistance
The first thing I did with the T04 is I took it to a place that has claimed a couple other lights: the shower. :devil: I find if a light can walk away from all the steam and soap without water intrusion, it's going to be okay for any non diving use that I can throw at it. Of course being dive rated the T04 survived no problem.
So then a few days later I took it to the bottom of a 12' diving pool and turned it on an doff many times both by the push switch and by twisting the tailcap. Again I there was no leakage of water.
I tried a longer immersion, I tossed the light into my apartment pool which is a max of 6' deep and let it sit all night. (I didn't leave it on as I didn't want anyone to find it and take it while I slept.) Yet again no water made it in.
One thing to note about the construction is that the body tube and head are one piece so there's one less potential place for water to find its way in, things to fall out, places to fail, etc. Also this provides a better thermal path for heat to be dissipated.
Durability
I have carried the T04 in my backpack (man-purse) for the past 6 weeks and it has gone everywhere with me. In the depths of my bag one finds change, knives, other lights and spare cells, a survival kit, clothes, water bottles, pens, notebooks, food, groceries and whatever else I need to carry for the day. After 6 weeks the window has survived without a scratch. I can't say the same for some of the other lights I carry in my bag.
I feel obligated to point out that the T04 arrived to me with some sort of residue like what is left when drops of water dry out on the window. :mecry: I have not been able to clean off it off, so my best guess is that it is on the inside. I highly doubt this is a typical occurrence. The new T04 models give access to the window by removing the bezel, so this shouldn't be any major issue anyway.
Overall if a light can survive a trip in my backpack without a protective case, then it's likely tough enough to stand up to most uses. I'm tough on my equipment, while I don't abuse it intentionally, I make no effort to protect my tools from whatever happens to be in my bag at times. The T15 took a nice little chunk out of a 25-pound water melon a couple weeks ago during my trek across Portland on public transportation. Both were crammed into my backpack, the water melon ended up on top by the end of the journey and the T15 seems to be just fine after being between the floor and the melon for an extended period of time.
Runtime
I walk a mile to work six days a week and generally walk home in the dark every week night. Barbolight claims 150 minutes of high power output followed by ~300 minutes of safety light. Barbolight claims ~95 minutes of full power runtime on the T15.
It takes me 12 minutes to walk home every night. From a fully charged 1.5 year-old AW 2200mAh cell I was able to walk home 14 times with the light at high brightness.
In a straight up runtime test of the T04 using a 4 month old fully charged Eagletac 2400mAh cell, I detected a drop in light output by 1 hour 40 minutes and the light shut down after 1 hour and 59 minutes when the protection circuit kicked in. The T10L continued to run strong with a 2400mAh Eagletac cell in regulation for 2 hours 12 minutes and then shut off without any warning. THe T10L does not drive the LED quite as hard though.
The T04 does get quite warm after sitting on by itself however not as hot as the Eagletac T10L.
Due to variances from cell to cell it is rather difficult to come to much of a conclusion other than to stick with high quality cells like AW's for high drain flashlights. In a subsequent runtime using a 2200mAh AW cell the T04 ran for 2 hours and 10 minutes before the cell cut out. There was a noticeable decline in brightness at about 1 hour and 50 minutes. I'd guess with higher capacity unprotected cells the runtime could reach the 2 hours and 30 minutes and with CR123's I'm sure you could get a more than a couple hours of moon mode. However I do not have any unprotected cells to test this with nor do I use CR123 primary cells anymore.
On two 1.5 year-old 2200mAh AW cells, the T15 ran for 1 hour and 31 minutes.
The T15 also ended up being quite toasty by the middle of its continuous runtime test.
Brightness and Beam Pattern
Brightness perception is a curious thing.
The T04 is quite a thrower. Being an XR-E there is the usual Cree ring, even with the OP reflector. I like it very much as a relatively compact light for reaching out and taking the darkness away from a target in the distance.
Putting the T04 up against the closest match I have, an Eagletac T10L, the "brightness" is very close. The T04's spill-beam is more narrow, but brighter. The hot spot on the T04 is more defined and slightly more intense in the middle, though not as smooth as the beautiful Eagletac beam. The tint of mine is very much on the cool side, 6500K+. Nothing annoying or distracting about the tint. In fact for diving applications, for which the T04's sister the U04 is designed, this higher color temperature is probably a plus.
I wasn't too impressed with the T15's output at first. It has a very nice throw for a quad die light, most similar to that of a TK40. There is a noticeable donut hole when shone on a nearby wall. However the donut is not visible when illuminating targets further out and when in actual use on trees, fields, terrain, etc. Although I like the throw the light just didn't seem to be that much brighter than the T04 when comparing the lights during my walks home or to the store. The ambient light from streetlights and such just really suck up a lot of the excess spill and take away from what is noticeable.
However when I took the light out away from the city, things changed. Out in the darkness, in the mountains, away from the city lights the T15 is amazing. Shooting the light across a clearing in the forest the spill lit up everything nearby. And the throw out there in the dark was on par with the T04's Cree XR-E. You could say I saw the T15 in a whole new light. It lit up the foreground just as well as a Wolf Eyes P7 Sniper (which does not have it's dies driven as hard being a 1x18650 light). However it stomped the Sniper in throw with it's tighter hotspot. It even stood toe to toe with an Eagletac M2XC4 neutral white in throw.
Overall I'd say that these are lights geared toward throw, and the reflectors are superb with this job in mind.
Feel of the lights in the hand and ergonomics
The knurling is great. The fins on the T04 provide a bit of extra grip. The pocket clip works well as both a pocket clip and an anti-roll device.
I'd like to put an update with some pictures out in the next couple days so I can more easily show this. The pocket clip on the T04 really helps make the light feel better in my hand. It lines my thumb up with the tailcap and gives me a good overall finger groove. A better camera should arrive to me within a couple days of my posting this.
The T15 like all series 2x18650 lights is a bit longer than I like. Due to the large reflector the light is a bit top heavy and doesn't balance in my hand quite as well as I'd like it to when using my thumb to control the tail switch. The T15 also feels like the knurling is a bit less aggressive.
Other thoughts
There are a couple holes I need to poke in this otherwise glowing review. The tailcap and switch took some getting used to. The hard switch feels a bit different than the rubber or silicone boot caps we find on many other lights. Even now after using them for awhile, I still have to adjust my thumb position.
As for the thumb, the tailcap does have a couple small teeth. These are located on the tailcap at the lanyard attachment point. I suspect the lanyard attachment has been kept square to help offer a bit more stability for tail-standing. Yes these lights can tail stand, however the design of the tailcap doesn't make them incredibly stable to begin with.
A final item which was included in my nifty Barbolight carry bag from Javier was a yellow/green diffuser wand. This diffuser is interesting as fits over the bezel of the T04 like a little bag. While I've found it unwieldy to put on, it has a strip of new generation Velcro-like material to secure it onto the light. I like how it is a reflective material so it can be visible even with the light off. I also like how this little accessory can be stored much easier than a traditional hard plastic diffuser. What I really don't like about it though is the fact that it doesn't open up all the way to the top too well. Plus it makes a lot of glare when used with the T04, as the T04 has only one setting: bright.
Barbolights excel outdoors and after using them are as tough and as high quality in construction and performance as any other light out there. Currently Surefire offers nothing which can compete with the T15 and no other manufacturer with lights in the same class appear to match the quality offered by the T15. As a SAR type light this would be my first recommendation to anyone who is looking for a small, but bright hand light with great throw and spill-beam.
As for the T04, I've finally found a challenger to my Malkoff drop-in/ 6P combo for my go everywhere, primary light. Although the Malkoff offers a nicer tint and far smoother beam pattern, the T04 beats the 6P as a host hands down. HA III, titanium bezel-down pocket clip, and waterproof far deeper than I'm ever going to go. Plus I get the benefit of better runtime with 18650 while gaining a bit of brightness. Like many other 18650/ CR123 lights the T04 is not fully regulated on 18650s. I'd like to see flat output and a graceful step-down to another flat regulated moon mode.
I am a great believer in neutral tinted leds and I'd love to get a T04 Barbolight with a Cree tint somewhere from WH to 4B. Or a T15 with SSC P7 with a nice SVN tint (or SUN if they actually exist). This would only further enhance the utility of these Barbolight models for outdoor enthusiasts and SAR professionals.
Conclusion
These are no nonsense, on and off, lights and I'd trust this light above those from most other manufacturers. They're designed and tested for professional use.
This is a case of you get what you pay for. Barbolights are high quality tools and they do not come cheap. However from time to time Javier of Barbolight does offer great deals on Barbolights. You can probably still get in on his current "superdeal" for a T15 in the Barbolight sub-forum on CPF.
I'd like to thank Javier for the opportunity to try out these lights and for his patience these past weeks while I've played with them.
I'd like to thank LightSword at CPF for being dragged out to the mountains with me to attempt a couple night geocaches and to play with the lights a few miles down a dirt road.
I can't wait for new models from Javier and Barbolight to come out next year.
