Eagtac GX30L2DR has arrived!

After a few weeks of waiting for this light on pre-order, it's finally arrived. Since there's no information on this light outside of Eagletac's website, I thought I'd put out a quick review after having this light for merely two days and being able to go out and play with it in the woods.

Firstly, I just want to add that I had a very good experience buying this light through andrew-amanda.com. Their prices are very reasonable and my inquiries were answered quickly.

Quality & Durability
This is my first Eagletac light and I'm pleased to say it feels remarkably well. There are details they've paid attention to that inspire confidence in me using this light on duty (I work security at a busy mall) that I otherwise wouldn't trust in other Chinese made lights. The battery (two connected 18650s) appears to be well protected from shock and the body itself feels pretty solid. Buttons feel good and the UI is very logical. In other words, quality here feels equal if not better than the Streamlight Stinger LED series. My only concern with durability is the diffuser top. I believe Eagletac markets it as shatter proof, however, I definitely would not want to take any risks. If durability is high on your list, consider the diffuser head a potential liability, or at least an area that could get beaten up pretty easily. I haven't done any testing to back my accusation up, so as far as I know, it could actually be quite durable. But from what intuition tells me, I wouldn't want to drop it head first on concrete). The tail end, on the other hand, can definitely be used as a striking weapon without fear of damaging the light, it can inflict pain fairly easily if that's important to you.

The Beam & Diffuser
Initially, I was skeptical of some of the claims Eagletac makes about this light. 530 meter throw from a head of this diameter seemed very optimistic, until I actually took it out for a spin. This is my first XP-L flashlight. I don't doubt the 530 meter rating at all. It throws insanely far for a light so incredibly portable. Oh and the 70k-ish lux rating, completely believable. I don't know if you can attribute all of it's cool factor to the XP-L HI V3, but this light seriously packs a punch for it's size and cost. Unfortunately the trade off is a lack of spill; you get a tight hotspot and very little spill, although this shouldn't really matter at distances over 50 meters. Equally bright is the flood, which, again, exceeded my expectations completely. At it's highest setting, the floody diffused beam lights up a 12x12 room almost as well as the four incandescent ceiling lights can. As for tint, it's remarkably similar to my Nitecore SRT7, so somewhere in between warm and cool with a nod to cool. The Streamlight Strion gives off a noticeably cooler tint.

Conclusion
I'm very pleased with this light so far. I'm trying to find things I don't like about it but I'm drawing blanks.

Sweet Eagle man! Ive got 7 ET's have yet to get one of these new gens with the built in diffuser though. Even though the tech spec page for this light says 59,100K ET for some unknown reason-just like Olight severely under rate their throw ratings. Idk if its just a totally different method the two companies use to measure K than the rest of the industry or if its a sales tactic that keeps customers brand loyal. My SR52 for example is factory rated at 84,100k but tests out here independently on the forums at a stonking 102,000k. I do have 2 of the new ET XP-L HI lights though both of which to my eyes are severely under rated. Got the T25C2 with the XP-L HI drop in module to replace the old T6 that was in it. The tech specs for it say 33,600k yet it out throws my 42,000k TK32 by a visibly noticeable amount. Then there is the factory ET freak that got loose and into my hands the full on G25C2 MkII XP-L HI. This thing is a monster I have yet to see any other light like it especially in the same size class. The XP-L HI emitter in the drop in module for the T25C2 upon close inspection appears to never have even had a dome over it in the first place there is zero dome footprint of any kind which tells me it came from Cree that way.

The XP-L HI in my G25C2 though upon close inspection still has a ring around the emitter with tiny pieces of the dome base still remaining which tells me it was de domed by ET. First the tint difference between what are supposedly the same emitter are vastly different. The T25C2 module throws an awesome just under 1000 OTF lumen neutral beam with a pleasant tinge of orange to it its very nice. The G25C2 Ive nick named "Crankenstein" Out of all 7 of my ET's this one is driven to the very very edge of its out put limits from the factory it is utterly blinding. Factory rated at 47,200K Im just going to go ahead and go off the deep end here and say its a solid 1200 OTF lumen light kicking out 60-62,000k or more. Its ridiculous. The tint though is like that of a domed XP-L V5 which is blinding white. I am not complaining at all. I feel I got a sweet drop in for the smaller light and got a factory ringer with the bigger light. I power both lights with the 2x18650 set up for 8.4 volts each. Great run time out of both amazing and unique beams out of them both. The G25C2 XP-L HI throws well over 500 yards its nuts. Will try to post some pics later.

I do not doubt ET's claims for your light at all. The XP-L is just that much more efficient than the XM-L and can be pushed that much harder. I have several XP-L lights domed and de domed. 2 of them put out an awesome almost halogen like neutral tint. The other 4 punch out a blinding near pure white tint with no harsh blues or purples. Also have the Olight M3X-UT javelot de dome XP-L HI kicking out an amazing 1000 meters of throw. I never thought Id have such a compact and portable light that has such an astonishing beam that throws farther than my eye can see.

Would love to see some shots of your light. Will go through my pics and dig out some of mine later on.

Thanks for the initial thoughts! I'd also love to see some photos, as I've been quite interested in this light since first seeing it.

The diffuser head definitely adds to the coolness and functionality factor, but I think the real takeaway from this light is it's beam. I took some photos with my Nexus 5, but I guess I'm still not allowed to post photos/attachments yet since I've only got a few posts on here.

I received my G25C2 XP-L HI last week (also from Andrew-Amanda) and I agree with everything you said about the light. Looking forward to buying the GX30L2DR as well.

What is your impression of the GX30L2DR now that you have had it for several days.

utlgoa said:

What is your impression of the GX30L2DR now that you have had it for several days.

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Funny thing, I was just about to post on here how much I've been loving this torch. Of all my flashlight purchases, this is by far my favorite. The build quality and the throw have really been growing on me.

I was helping out a stranded motorist a few hours ago on a stretch of road that's busy and dark, where traffic moves anywhere from 40-70 mph. I signaled to vehicles that were 3/4 miles away with the GX30L2DR, and people seemed to immediately register that something was wrong. I didn't even directly shine the light at anyone, and yet from nearly a mile away, people got the message.

So on a whim, I had a friend drive up an empty straightaway for a mile and shine the light down towards me just to see what it's like. Let me just put it this way, you have never seen a wall of light like this.

EDIT: I do have one complaint... The diffuser head DOES in fact make it difficult to focus in on things when you're on the highest brightness, especially when the flashlight is close to your face, even if you're only using the spot and the diffuser LEDs are off. The diffuser gets lit up so much on full brightness that I'd mistakenly think I'm running both the spot and the diffuser LEDs, when in reality it's just a lot of the spot leaking into the diffuser. And with this level of lumen output, it can work against your vision when the light is close to your face. I also want to add that although the beam profile is primarily tightly focused, there is adequate spill despite having complained about this earlier.

Here is a link to some photos I took...

https://plus.google.com/102997012328452418999/posts/SrADJb2wdsn

The pictures of the beam are in a small room at it's lowest brightness. The other flashlights you see next to it are the Streamlight Strion, Nitecore EC4, and the Thrunite TN12 2014.

Looks good, I'm buying one.

utlgoa said:

Looks good, I'm buying one.

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You won't be disappointed! Let us know how you like it.

Got the GX30L2DR today and I'm impressed. The beam is tightly focused, and the diffuser is a neat idea. Eagletac should have named the light "GX30L2DR Flashlight Lantern"..........but that probably wouldn't have fit on the box, let alone the flashlight

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I wonder if they will come out with a 26650 version like the SX25L2.

Ok, it's nighttime and I just took the dogs for a walk. The GX30L2DR is awesome when it comes to the XP-L and the defuser but.......

The light being emitted by the defuser is distracting to the user. From a law enforcement background this light will illuminate your target as well as the police officer or security guard holding the flashlight, meaning that the person you are shining the light at may see you as well, which would be either good or bad depending on the situation.

Now if I were a ghost hunter, tour guide or exploring a cave or abandoned mine, then this would be the best light ever !

Eagletac should offer a "sleeve " as an accessory [emoji61]🏻

utlgoa said:

Ok, it's nighttime and I just took the dogs for a walk. The GX30L2DR is awesome when it comes to the XP-L and the defuser but.......

The light being emitted by the defuser is distracting to the user. From a law enforcement background this light will illuminate your target as well as the police officer or security guard holding the flashlight, meaning that the person you are shining the light at may see you as well, which would be either good or bad depending on the situation.

Now if I were a ghost hunter, tour guide or exploring a cave or abandoned mine, then this would be the best light ever !

Eagletac should offer a "sleeve " as an accessory [emoji61]🏻

Click to expand...

Glad you're liking it! This has been my only complaint thus far. However, I have tested to see whether someone on the receiving end can see me at full brightness. Of the 3 people I've tested on, at about 15 feet, none have been able to make out the numbers I'd make with my hand and all 3 closed their eyes right away and refused to go on and attempt to figure out any further. My biggest issue with the diffuser spill when it's on beam only is that it does make it difficult for you the user to make things out at a distance. I've alleviated this by cupping my hands over the diffuser head. It is a bit inconvenient but overall I am more than pleased with the combination throw and physical size of this light.

As a testament to durability, just the other day the GX30L2DR fell off from the roof of my Chevy Cruze onto the concrete ground head first while the light was on. It managed to take an almost imperceptible scratch to the edge of the diffuser head, and stayed on the whole time. I can't tell you how worried I was about damaging what appeared to be a very fragile head. As it turns out, Eagtac's durability claims have definitely served me well.

I'm glad they chose to go with the XP-L HI Led. It's brightness and "whiteness" can't be beat. Looking forward to seeing this Led in future upgrades,

Also, I like the fact that you have the choice of starting with either the lowest or highest setting depend on which button you press ( white/black ) it's another reason why I'm liking this light the more I use it.