AardvarkSagus
Flashlight Enthusiast
Ray Tactical X60 - Reposting since the original was lost to the data crash. Submitted for consideration for the review forum.
Ray Tactical appears to be a relatively new kid on the block in the flashlight world. Can their early products be considered worthy of standing among the greats, or are they more of a launching pad for the future?
Ray Tactical X60
Meat and Potatoes
The Ray Tactical X60 falls into the category of single 18650 thrower along with such big names as the 4Sevens Maelstrom G5, and the EagleTac T20C2 Mark II Digital. It's smooth polished, deep reflector serves to collimate the light emitted from a Cree XP-G LED into such a tight beam its output is virtually indiscernible at distance from those giants. The beam it produces is a beautiful perfect circle of light with no hint of dark center as is occasionally the case when a torch is focused for pure throw rather than flood. It does sport quite an useful corona blending into the spillbeam, however it is not without its flaws. The mirror polish of the reflector without any stipple to smooth out the beam leaves a series of tight concentric rings punctuating the corona section. In the wild, these aren't at all problematic or distracting, but they definitely provide a distinctive pattern during white-wall hunting excursions. The X60 does use PWM for its still bright general mode, but the frequency is definitely up in the range where you will not notice this in practice unless you are specifically trying to. Even knowing that it is there, I don't ever see any flicker in the beam during use.
Ray Tactical X60
The X60 is by no means a small EDC light. It requires quite a large head to house such a reflector. Combine that with a sharply crenellated bezel and tailcap and you would have serious trouble carrying this comfortably in a pocket for any length of time. Thankfully Ray Tactical provides some very nice alternatives to doing so. Many lights, especially in this genre, provide the user with a holster of sorts along with their purchase. Some of them are actually quite high quality. None that I have seen thus far though can match the X60's included carry-gear for versatility. The holster included in this set, sporting the same skull motif emblazoned so boldly elsewhere as well, can be configured in so many differing setups that I challenge you to not be able to find one to suit your needs. Horizontal or vertical carry on your belt? Take your pick. Don't want the flap? It's removable. How about just a quick, narrow velcro-like release around the center? It can be done. Honestly, I have only begun to experiment with it to find my ideal arrangement. Also bundled in with this beauty is a lanyard unlike any other I have yet seen on a light. It is made of over 2 meters of 550 paracord braided into an easy to manage and attractive package. The lanyard is topped with a unique skull pendant with glow-in-the-dark eyes that serve as easy locators at night. It is both unique and very functional, in emergencies.
Constructive Criticism
The body of the X60 appears to be very sturdy and solid all around. The light has a nice weight to it, and the forward clicky switch gives a good positive tactile feedback, exactly as you expect it to function. What I do notice, however, is that the machining has left a very large amount of sharp edges all the way around. The bezel especially is plagued with corners that can scrape clothing or skin. Even the tailcap, with it's tailstanding crenellations that impair quick access, could be smoother to better foster comfort. These machinework problems tend to foster the impression of a slightly unfinished nature in lights of this caliber. I would much prefer the edges be smoothed down a touch in future iterations.
Ray Tactical X60
No matter how bright the light, or how smooth the beam is a lot of how useful a torch is comes down to the User Interface. This is the point of interaction between man and machine and it will be used a lot. The UI on the X60 is a simple 3 mode with last mode memory, actuated by cycling the power. Compared to some of the other lights in this category that offer output selection independent from the power switch, the end result feels a little primitive in actuality. When a light has a strobe mode that absolutely must be accessed to adjust the brightness, it tends to detract from general usability some.
Conclusions
Good looking, well focused, and undeniably bright. The X60 is an impressive beast, no doubt. The addition of such high quality accouterments bundled into the package just adds more allure. The X60 has earned Ray Tactical a place among the greats.
Ray Tactical X60
Provided for review by the kind folks at Ray Tactical
Ray Tactical appears to be a relatively new kid on the block in the flashlight world. Can their early products be considered worthy of standing among the greats, or are they more of a launching pad for the future?
Ray Tactical X60
Meat and Potatoes
The Ray Tactical X60 falls into the category of single 18650 thrower along with such big names as the 4Sevens Maelstrom G5, and the EagleTac T20C2 Mark II Digital. It's smooth polished, deep reflector serves to collimate the light emitted from a Cree XP-G LED into such a tight beam its output is virtually indiscernible at distance from those giants. The beam it produces is a beautiful perfect circle of light with no hint of dark center as is occasionally the case when a torch is focused for pure throw rather than flood. It does sport quite an useful corona blending into the spillbeam, however it is not without its flaws. The mirror polish of the reflector without any stipple to smooth out the beam leaves a series of tight concentric rings punctuating the corona section. In the wild, these aren't at all problematic or distracting, but they definitely provide a distinctive pattern during white-wall hunting excursions. The X60 does use PWM for its still bright general mode, but the frequency is definitely up in the range where you will not notice this in practice unless you are specifically trying to. Even knowing that it is there, I don't ever see any flicker in the beam during use.
Ray Tactical X60
The X60 is by no means a small EDC light. It requires quite a large head to house such a reflector. Combine that with a sharply crenellated bezel and tailcap and you would have serious trouble carrying this comfortably in a pocket for any length of time. Thankfully Ray Tactical provides some very nice alternatives to doing so. Many lights, especially in this genre, provide the user with a holster of sorts along with their purchase. Some of them are actually quite high quality. None that I have seen thus far though can match the X60's included carry-gear for versatility. The holster included in this set, sporting the same skull motif emblazoned so boldly elsewhere as well, can be configured in so many differing setups that I challenge you to not be able to find one to suit your needs. Horizontal or vertical carry on your belt? Take your pick. Don't want the flap? It's removable. How about just a quick, narrow velcro-like release around the center? It can be done. Honestly, I have only begun to experiment with it to find my ideal arrangement. Also bundled in with this beauty is a lanyard unlike any other I have yet seen on a light. It is made of over 2 meters of 550 paracord braided into an easy to manage and attractive package. The lanyard is topped with a unique skull pendant with glow-in-the-dark eyes that serve as easy locators at night. It is both unique and very functional, in emergencies.
Constructive Criticism
The body of the X60 appears to be very sturdy and solid all around. The light has a nice weight to it, and the forward clicky switch gives a good positive tactile feedback, exactly as you expect it to function. What I do notice, however, is that the machining has left a very large amount of sharp edges all the way around. The bezel especially is plagued with corners that can scrape clothing or skin. Even the tailcap, with it's tailstanding crenellations that impair quick access, could be smoother to better foster comfort. These machinework problems tend to foster the impression of a slightly unfinished nature in lights of this caliber. I would much prefer the edges be smoothed down a touch in future iterations.
Ray Tactical X60
No matter how bright the light, or how smooth the beam is a lot of how useful a torch is comes down to the User Interface. This is the point of interaction between man and machine and it will be used a lot. The UI on the X60 is a simple 3 mode with last mode memory, actuated by cycling the power. Compared to some of the other lights in this category that offer output selection independent from the power switch, the end result feels a little primitive in actuality. When a light has a strobe mode that absolutely must be accessed to adjust the brightness, it tends to detract from general usability some.
Conclusions
Good looking, well focused, and undeniably bright. The X60 is an impressive beast, no doubt. The addition of such high quality accouterments bundled into the package just adds more allure. The X60 has earned Ray Tactical a place among the greats.
Ray Tactical X60
Provided for review by the kind folks at Ray Tactical
