Loving the UI (pic heavy)

of my new Klarus NT20.

Got it through last week after having to wait for a couple of weeks for delivery from China.

Have to say I'm very impressed so far with it, very solid feeling and lovely build quality. The beam is certainly more floody than anything though, which makes it great in more confined areas and closer out door environments. The hotspot is very smooth and blends lovely into the spill, so it produces a wall of light rather than a concentrated hotter centre area. This does seem to limit throw though, even when compared to my EagleTac D25LC2.

Currently I'm running it on some CR123a primaries, which seem to be holding up pretty well, some RCR123's are on the cards though. Thus far I like everything about this light, it tail stands with ease, is nice in the hand, feels solid and easy to use. The included holster is very nice too and compact unlike the one for my EagleTac D Series which is flippin huge (even though the EagleTac light is smaller than the Klarus :duh2: ).

The only two negatives I've got, are the clip, which in itself is fine, but when compared to the EagleTac D25LC2 is nowhere near as good. Not as solid feeling, doesn't clip on/off of your jeans pocket as easily and isn't as long. It's also mounted mid way along the light and not at one end. In fairness though the NT20 is longer overall, so it might not fit in a pocket as well if the clip where mounted on the tailcap.

The only other minus point is the tail cap is indented, and it would have been nice if when full tightened it aligned perfectly with the grips and side switch, but it's about 1/4 of a turn out. But these are minor gripes on an otherwise superb flashlight.


The BEST bit is however the UI. It's got 4 levels of brightness, strobe, signal and all the other gimmicks. But what I like is how easy it is to use the modes you want and totally ignore the others.

The tail switch is the on/off and also does momentary. When powered on, the side switch then selects low - med - high. But what I like is it'll remember what you left it on. I find I use med most of the time, so switch it off and on and it's just how you left it! Fantastic. :thumbsup:

But what's even better is, if you twist the head it then goes into an ultra low mode, you can do this with it on or off and it'll still remember your Low - med - high choice when you re-tighten the head.

I like this as it allows me to switch the flashlight on in ultra low or my last setting. There's no cycling through different modes at all. And if you don't want the beacon or SOS modes, you'll never see them at all. And I do like that strobe is activated by holding down the side switch. So again you never see it, unless you want it. And it takes but a second to access it (one handed) should you ever actually need it, rather than faffing about with a dozen different clicks to get to it.


No beam shots yet (I'll try and get some soon). But I've got some comparison shots with my EagleTac D25LC2 and an Eneloop powered CREE SK68.
















Comparison on high/turbo (max output)
-EagleTac D25LC2 = 343 lumens
-Klarus NT20 = 280 lumens
-CREE sk68 = ??? lumens


Same shot but different exposure


Lowest output modes
-EagleTac D25LC2 = 3 lumens
-Klarus NT20 = 2 lumens

Great review Chicken Drumstick...

I'm looking to burn some more $$ on light with good low modes. You've got me interested... well, in the ST10, which sounds the same except 1xAA. Some questions if I may.

1 - I usually like using the lowest lumens for a given task. So if I typically like to start in 2lms, then go to 12lms if 2 is not enough, it sounds like I'll always be twisting the bezel back and forth, right?
2 - The company lists it's modes in high>low>med order all the time... however, since it has memory, you can always cycle L>M>H, provided you shut-off in low, right?
3 - Is the clip reversible?
4 - How's the hotspot/throw on the light? Do you have a full beam-against-the-wall comparison shot? It looks quite a bit floodier than the Eagletac.
5 - Understand you can vary the strobe frequency... can you get down 1 flash per second or lower? This might be very useful for bicycling or for fixing a flat tire by the side of the road.


Thanks.

When I got that correct:

on/off is switch at back end,
mode select 1 is the back side switch
another mode select "switch" is the head positionig itself?

I am pretty sure there might be ppl who would call that confusing?



PS:
* "remember last setting" should be standard
* three (at least) levels also
* on/off/change via the switch at back end (only one motion needed then) - is also already something like "standard"
if levels could be programmed --> even better --> Jetbeam IMS UI
side switch usually adds length, possibly thats the reason not too many lights w. side switches are available?

reppans said:

Great review Chicken Drumstick...

I'm looking to burn some more $$ on light with good low modes. You've got me interested... well, in the ST10, which sounds the same except 1xAA. Some questions if I may.

1 - I usually like using the lowest lumens for a given task. So if I typically like to start in 2lms, then go to 12lms if 2 is not enough, it sounds like I'll always be twisting the bezel back and forth, right?
2 - The company lists it's modes in high>low>med order all the time... however, since it has memory, you can always cycle L>M>H, provided you shut-off in low, right?
3 - Is the clip reversible?
4 - How's the hotspot/throw on the light? Do you have a full beam-against-the-wall comparison shot? It looks quite a bit floodier than the Eagletac.
5 - Understand you can vary the strobe frequency... can you get down 1 flash per second or lower? This might be very useful for bicycling or for fixing a flat tire by the side of the road.


Thanks.

Click to expand...

1. Yep to access the ultra low mode you need to twist/losen the head, whereas the regular l-m-h are accessed by pushing the side switch
2. Exactly, if you stop on Med, it'll then go High, Low the next times you push the button. Or if you leave it on low, then you'd get Low - Med - High - Low repeating.
3. Yep the clip is reversible.
4. I'll try and get a pic for you. It's a very nice even light is the only way I can describe it. Very different to anything else I own.
5. Not sure about varying the strobe, I don't think it's actually programmable. The strobe is either a constant if you hold the sideswitch down, or once you activate the strobe and then release the button it goes into a varying strobe. Not sure this mode would be good for a bike though. There is beacon mode, but it blinks/flashes once every 10 sec or something.