Klarus P1A quick review

Just got this and I like it a lot. It is a 1AA light that puts out a good amount of light on high.

Pros:
1. 1AA. I have Eneloops so I have free light forever. Also can buy spares anywhere if needed.

2. Pocket clip. Why all light this size don't come with clips is beyond me.

3. Forward clicky. Twist lights are lame.

4. Simple two mode operation. One setting is locked in with head tight and low mode with head slightly loosened. I don't need more than two modes and I hate having to cycle to get the light I want.

5. Waterproof

6. Good texture on body without being rough

7. Good throw with even beam with plenty of spill for any task.


Cons:

1. Kind of large for a 1AA. It is almost as large as my Rominsen RC-G2 and that has an adjustable head. Why this needs to be twice the size of a Zebralight is beyond me.

2. Squishy clicky. Feels cheap. Even my $12.00 Rominsen feels better.

3. Clip is not reversible. Seems this adds function since you can clip it to a hat and make a headlight in a pinch. Can be made this way with little to no extra cost.

That's about it. Good light for $38. Brighter than my Rominsen which impressed me at the time. I compared this to my brother's big old Maglite and it blew it away. He was shocked that a single AA light could out shine his giant boat anchor Maglite.

Happy that you like it.

Been using this at work since I got it and it has been great. I am very happy with it and can recommend it.

I am a elevator mechanic so a reliable light is incredibly important. I wouldn't go as far as saying my life depends on it but having a light fail can put me up up the creek without a paddle so to speak.

The Klarus is kept on low mode for most tasks as that is all that is needed 80% of the time. Today I needed the bright setting and it didn't let me down after two hours of use. My Zebralight H51 let me down at a bad time so I returned it. It was my first and prob last light from them. I need reliability above all else.

I like the fact that it is essentially a single mode as long as it is set to that mode. I find that IU simple and a great way to have multiple modes yet have dead simple use of your light.

This replaced my much loved Energizer 1W. It is better in every way except for being larger and heavier.

speedsix said:

3. Clip is not reversible. Seems this adds function since you can clip it to a hat and make a headlight in a pinch. Can be made this way with little to no extra cost.

Click to expand...

is this a contradictory sentence?

I own several Klarus lights and like them a lot.
They don't get the excitement of other brands but they seem to be a good solid choice.

madecov said:

I own several Klarus lights and like them a lot.
They don't get the excitement of other brands but they seem to be a good solid choice.

Click to expand...

I am in total agreement with you, I have 10 of them which I use quite frequently, not a single problem with them.

if you don't like the clip, you can put a nitecore D11 titatium clip on it. Just make sure you order the d11, not ex-ll clip, as the d11 clip comes with the backing plate that permits mounting through the lanyard hole. I put one on my klarus P1c and like it a lot.

jondotcom said:

if you don't like the clip, you can put a nitecore D11 titatium clip on it. Just make sure you order the d11, not ex-ll clip, as the d11 clip comes with the backing plate that permits mounting through the lanyard hole. I put one on my klarus P1c and like it a lot.

Click to expand...

Who stocks the clip. I need a few

The Nitecore clip is a good option here.

Are you happy using this flashlight outdoors? My flashlight's beam is pretty floody and its difficult to spot stuff outdoors beyond 10-15 meters because the light loses lot of brightness.

jondotcom said:

if you don't like the clip, you can put a nitecore D11 titatium clip on it. Just make sure you order the d11, not ex-ll clip, as the d11 clip comes with the backing plate that permits mounting through the lanyard hole. I put one on my klarus P1c and like it a lot.

Click to expand...

I ordered the clips to try and mount on my XT series lights..................close....................no cigar

Just got the gf a p1a now might get myself one! Very nice light for the money

rcdoma said:

Are you happy using this flashlight outdoors? My flashlight's beam is pretty floody and its difficult to spot stuff outdoors beyond 10-15 meters because the light loses lot of brightness.

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Well of course with 150 lumens you can't expect your beam to go too far. Have you tried using a high performance battery like a lithium primary L91?

Kilovolt said:

Well of course with 150 lumens you can't expect your beam to go too far. Have you tried using a high performance battery like a lithium primary L91?

Click to expand...

No, I use regular Duracell alkaline batteries to keep cost down. I have an Energizer Ultimate Lithium 1AA flashlight ELMCL11L with XR-E LED rated at 65 lumens that is much brighter at 10 meters since its beam is more focussed. I was hoping to replace that with this as the Energizer doesn't like alkalines(dims ~1.3V), but I'll have to keep looking From the discussions here, I've learned that the XP-G is a bad choice for a thrower.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but there aren't many on this light so I figured I would keep the discussion to this thread.

I just received one yesterday from DX. I had a gift card to use and it was the only thing I thought I could use. I threw an eneloop in it, and I'm so far happy with the simplicity of the operation. Love the twist head for two modes and the forward clicky.

I've had fairly poor experience with Fenix AA models in the past, so I'm initially skeptical of this light. I'll give it a chance to prove itself over the next couple of months, but so far I'm happy, especially for a $30 light. I have almost exclusively CR123 powered lights, and figured it would be prudent to expand into a couple of decent AA units in case I was stuck somewhere (traveling, on a trip) where I may not have access to 123's.

I did read on another forum (found via Google) that apparently the Klarus P1A can also run on a 14500 li-ion. Can anyone confirm/refute that claim?

I've run it for short periods on a 14500 with no problems...but mostly to show off. Generally I use an eneloop. The P1A and big brother, the P2A (2xAA), are well built, very affordable entry level lights. Mine always perform as advertised, and are used regularly. I like Klarus.

2-1/3 years later...A P1A vs an Elzetta Alpha vs a Coast HP1.



I suppose neither of the other two were available at the last post. Nor the Malkoff MDC. Now the MDC does not have a twisty hi/lo switch at this time.

The reason I chose to compare these 3 is the hi/lo twist feature of the Alpha and the P1 and my Coast HP1 has been a rock solid beater for a while. And when the head is slid to flood it disperses light which gives an impression of less brightness. (feaxu low if you will)

All three have momentary on forward clicky tail caps.

I'll start out with the tail stand...



The Alpha does not
The P1...eh, kinda. But switch protrusion is an issue
The HP1 does it well.


Winner: HP1 with it's focus head it makes a fine table lamp when the lights are out.

Anti-roll:
Alpha has cut outs that work well on flat surfaces
The P1 is round. So w/o the pocket clip...
The HP1 has an octogon plate on the body.

Winner: Again the HP1.

Finish...the Alpha is HA3, not sure about the P1, but the HP1 finish rubs off over time.

Winner: Alpha, but time will tell about the P1

Hi/Lo feature...The alpha uses the tail cap for that. And if you spread your thumb across the tail cap you get a momentary turbo
The P1 uses a head twist like the Malkoff MD2.
The HP1 is high only

Winner: the Alpha, but the other 2 are reliable on/off momentary where the Alpha is an acquired taste, or you can twist a half turn and make the turbo go away.

The switch:
The rubber cover on the Alpha is stiff. It's an anti pocket turn on thing.
The P1 is soft but has a medium effort switch
The HP1 is squishy like. By far the easiest to turn on

Winner: buyers choice

Both the Alpha and the HP1 have springs on both ends of the battery. The P1 has one at the tailcap. So vibration durability is a tie for the Alpha and the HP1.
The Alpha was made to be weapon mounted.
HP1? Who knows...

Winner: Alpha

Looks:
Buyers choice. I prefer the HP1 myself with the Alpha a close 2nd. The P1 resembles a Malkoff...which makes me sad Mr. Malkoff chose not to do a hi/lo with the MDC.



Packaging:
3 way tie. All 3 come in re-useable packaging. Yet the Coast has a decal that either has to be ripped or steamed off.
The P1 comes with free stuff.

Ok but why do we buy flashlights? The beam.It's daylight now. So since the P1 just arrived I have no beam shots.
In my kitchen the P1 seemed to be the brightest close quarters light at 115 lumens vs 215 of the Alpha and 220 of the HP1.


I will return...

Note:
The Alpha is using an occasional used (for a couple of weeks now) CR123 by battery station
The HP1 is an occasional used eneloop pro
The P1 a charged in August eneloop pro.

I like the simple UI on the p1a, the clip is one of the worst i have had,mine broke within days. Klarus to be blunt were terrible in communication, enough to put me off the brand full stop. Took 5 weeks to get a reply.........

I paid £16 for the p1a and imo its worth that, would not pay more than($25 equiv ish) as i dont think its worth that. The ano wears off quick,pretty much like most HAII,if it is type III then its very bad!!!

Other than that it lived in my pockets for ages till lost,very useful and AA fed, would give an OK run time. My cells in work at the time are free(still are ,just moved to 18650 now) so it was no big deal at the time. Handy beater light that never missed a beat other than the clip!!!

^^ Yours and Cland72 previous comments steered me towards this light.
Free lanyard, extra o-rings and switch cover were what caused me to pull the trigger.

5 minutes after opening...


It'll be a pocket carry so it was removed.
Eh, it's a cheap easily bendable alloy without much fatigue resistance. But if I decide to pocket clip it I have other (better) clips in my spare parts box.

Seems like a nice, sturdy light. Military grade? Hmmm I dunno about all that.
Frankly I kinda like the worn look of the HP1, so if this one wears...cool with me.

double post

good place for beam shots later.

It's now later;

My 35' spotlight spread checker.
There is a magnolia tree about 10' behind that backboard. You'll see in the top picture there is some foliage lit.

^^ P1 has a nice tight spot.


^^ The Alpha is spread out like a flood with a soft spot


^^ the HP1 has the tightest spot focused on spot.

The 10' from a wall shots revealed the Klarus to be on par as a spotlight with the HP1 on spot mode.


^^ the P1 has a bad guy blinding spot but lots of spill.
I purposely shot this one left of the other two as a way to show how focused the spot is on the P1. But the spill is on par with the others.


^^ the Alpha disperses light, yet isn't a flooder


^^ HP1 on spot has a good amount of spill too.


Now a bit farther away while aiming at a tree about 75' while noting the spill.

^^ the P1 kinda drills a hole in darkness.


^^ the Alpha kinda shares light with dark, yet is plenty bright


^^ HP1 is kinda in between.

Now in all fairness to the other two lights, they had used batteries where the P1 had a unused battery.
My point here was not a throw contest or which has the most output at a meter.
It was to give impressions of the overall lighting these lights provide in a given situation.


So the throw contest:


^^ before


^^ after

All three lit the garage about 300' away, but the dark colored van near it did not really show.
All three lit that far at about the same brightness. So I won't post the other 2 pics.

In the drop contest it was a photo finish as to which one landed first. So weight wise, they're all similar. All three will make a good projectile if necessary. And all three would probably still be on after hitting the bad guy David vs Goliath style.

I've yet to talk about low. I won't spend much time on it.
Let's just say I'm surprised Klarus says 11 lumens on low because output appears nearly as bright as my 30 lumen Scorpion or G2x Pro. Maybe it's because the spot is so focused?
Anyway it won't be turned to high very often.
The Alpha has a good 2am nature call output and the way it spreads light is not cause for concern for map reading.
The Coast only has high. But when the focus head is slid to flood the light disperses very effectively.

The Klarus P1 puts out a beam that is a bit on the cool end imo, yet not obviously blue to the average Joe...but a sorta really bright gray.

Don't know that I'd use it for photography unless it was to assist focusing/slightly illiminating the far away objects. Not enough spill imo for illuminating a scene as it were.

Overall impressions of the P1A are favorable. Will I buy a 2nd? Weeeeeellll I may check into the 1C...
I expect to use this one a while to see what kinda battery life the low provides. At (so called) 11 lumens it's going to do the bulk of my lighting needs on low.

I gotta say the Coast HP1 is still my favorite pocket carry light. It's just so user friendly.
In life or death the Alpha would be carried.
The Klarus is still new to me. When I know I need to punch a bright hole through darkness for a couple hundred feet, the Klarus will get the nod.