Xeno E03 vs Thrunite Neutron

Does anyone have the E03 and the Neutron single A? If both are running RCR14500 I wonder which is brighter? I know the Neutron has more complex UI but that isn't necessarily an advantage since I don't need blinky modes.

I'd like to know too. Been strongly considering an E03 (or two!) in neutral. All the talk of the wobbly head issues and overly warm tint of the neutral models has put me off the Neutrons.

I've had both, presently own only the eo3. They are very much equal in brightness on 14500's to my eyes. Advantage goes to the Thrunite when run on 14500 as it still goes really low. They both get hot quickly on 14500's, but the Thrunite has a little better heat dissipation...it's a heftier built light. I had a wobbly head on both Thrunites 1C and 1A so I opted for the xeno and returned the Thrunites. I love the xeno and for the $ it's really tough to beat.

That's excellent info. I knew about the wobbly head in the 1C version but I didn't know it is.present in the A version as well. That settles that.

get the E03. The Thrunite build quality is not impressive at all. I have a very wobbly head on mine and I feel like I could snap the head off with a bit of pressure. The "neutral" tint on the Neutron is the most horrible tint I've seen (it is very warm). I would guess it is in the 7x range of tint bins. Also, the beam on the neutron has no hot spot at all. It is the most floody light of any I own. It makes my Zebralights look like throwers. It is too floody to be usefull in my opinion. Add to that the fact that I MUST scroll through the blinky mode if I want to change which of the lower modes the Neutron is in (any mode but high) and it it just not worth it. Again, get the E03. The Neutron is one of the most unimpressive lights I've seen in a long time.

FYI, I love neutral tints - just not the Neutrons. I love my neutral Malkoffs, Zebralights, Deerelights, 4sevens, Fenix, etc lights.

I don't have the Neutron but have an E03 cool white and neutral in transit.

Doing runtime test on Eneloop AA.
High: 1 hour and has usable light output for two hours
Med: 4 hours
Low: Currently completing test and light is already in the 32nd hour.

I had the Thrunite and returned it because of the wobbly head issue. It was too bad because I loved the interface and the super low firefly and its a tad brighter on nimh than the E03. With that said, its too expensive to be having those type of quality control issues. The Xeno E03 is cheaper so on a dollar for dollar basis, the E03 is a much better value. There is no PWM to speak of and it does not have the quality contol issues of the Thrunite.

Ian2381 said:

I don't have the Neutron but have an E03 cool white and neutral in transit.

Doing runtime test on Eneloop AA.
High: 1 hour and has usable light output for two hours
Med: 4 hours
Low: Currently completing test and light is already in the 32nd hour.

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I've been "on the fence" regarding the E03 due to runtime concerns. Sounds like great runtime on AA, have you been able to test runtime w/ a 14500 yet?

It'll be a while before I have the money to spare, but I'm planning on getting a couple of the E03's for use on my bicycle handlebars. I'll use L91's and Two-Fish lock-blocks to mount them. I think the floody beam pattern they have will be perfect for lighting up the street directly in front of my front wheel.

I don't know....any mode but low may overheated pretty quickly?

In theory the Xeno E03 operating just above 1.5 amps (and rated at 490 lumens), should be brighter than the Neutron which operates about 1.3 amps (and is rated at 450 lumens). This assumes bother are running on 14500.

The Neutron might look a bit more focused with a very slightly brighter hotspot due to its deeper reflector. On the other hand the Xeno's beam should be a bid wider.

In reality, they are close enough in brightness you can't really tell the difference. I'd probably prefer the neutron simply because it has low and very low modes.

I don't like the loose head in low.

Sador said:

I've been "on the fence" regarding the E03 due to runtime concerns. Sounds like great runtime on AA, have you been able to test runtime w/ a 14500 yet?

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Nope, don't want to burn up the led. I'll just trust other peoples result on 14500.

I have the E03 in cool white and a Thrunite Neutron 1C...and to my layman's eyes, I actually think the E03 is a tad brighter...but that's just me. I wasn't sure about the UI of the E03 of Med-Lo-High, but I've actually found that medium on a 14500 is plenty bright for what I need in a pocket EDC light. Besides, at less than $30, the E03 is a relative bargain.

The only advantage I can see of the Neutron is that it has a true moonlight mode whereas the Xeno doesn't. For EDC for me, a moon-mode is pretty much essential, or at least a very low low. I would even be willing to overlook the overly warm tint on the neutral Neutron, and in fact I've been wanting to get a warm tint light to try out.

But, the wobbly head issue right now is a deal breaker for me, and until they fix it, I'll go with a Xeno, and since they also have warm tint Xeno's, that's one more check in the "pro" column for it over the Neutron.

I don't particularly like the XM-L Xeno E03 - the reflector is a carry over from the XP-G version, which makes the light even more floody than the Thrunite. It's pretty good indoors, but the light has no throw whatsoever.

Neutron's are floody, but the reflectors are deeper, and the light throws noticeably further while still being very usable in terms of flood.

I only compared brightness on eneloops between these two and Neutrons win hands down.

My 1A has a very wobbly head so I can't really recommend this light to anyone. I replaced the o-ring with a thicker one from a hardware store which solved most of the problem, but still, it's an expensive light to have such a basic issue.

I have neutral white Neutron and neutral white Xeno XM-L and XP-G. My neutron is almost identical to Xeno XP-G. My XM-L Xeno is a bit cooler.

j2k said:

I don't particularly like the XM-L Xeno E03 - the reflector is a carry over from the XP-G version, which makes the light even more floody than the Thrunite. It's pretty good indoors, but the light has no throw whatsoever.

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I would actually prefer this; for my EDC use, throw is pretty much pointless.

B0wz3r said:

I would actually prefer this; for my EDC use, throw is pretty much pointless.

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I also love this light for the flood/big hot spot. will be using mine in my next camping trip.

Well I agree that the throw indoors isn't very important. For me the problem with Xeno XM-L is that it just looks darn dim because the light goes everywhere. Now, I'm using eneloops and getting about 130 lumens - if you use li-ion's then it won't be a problem at all. Used for ceiling bounce it's fine as well.

It's a matter of personal preference. I find the older XP-G xeno e03 just about perfect for my needs. Overall these lights are very well built and have great performance/price ratio. Even thou the beam profile isn't perfect for me, I own 3 of them

I'm often torn when deciding between XM-L and XP-G when current is less than 2 amps. Each had its own value but I'm leaning toward the XM-L indoors because I seldom need to light up more than 10 feet in front of me.