radiopej
Enlightened
For inclusion in the reviews section.
Before it starts, I should point out that I've since seen a couple of reviews. I think they've covered beamshots of the light quite decently and also taken plenty of photos of the flashlight itself, so I haven't really looked at that in detail. My review largely focuses on the use of the light, its applications and some physical/electrical measurements.
I'm hoping to have a video up on YouTube soon, which I will add to this. I'm also currently doing a runtime test on low, and am about halfway through. This will be updated when that is completed. Sorry for the delays in posting this - my thesis is due soon and a bunch of work has been piling up lately.
Manufacturer's Specifications
Emitter: CREE XP-L HI V3 (Cool White)
330 m throw
Type III Anodised Aluminium
Smooth Reflector
Strengthened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating
Battery type: CR123A x 2, 18650 x 1 (dual springs for impact resistance)
- Working voltage of 2.5V-8.4V, but they say not to use 16340 batteries
- Comes with 1x Klarus 2600 mAh 18650 ICR protected battery
Built-in USB recharging (microUSB cable included)
3 groups of modes
- Conventional Tactical Mode
- Hunting Mode
- Ultimate Tactical Mode
Reverse polarity protection
Anti-roll/grip ring
Pocket clip
Dual tail switches, 1 side switch
Instant strobe (from off)
Water-proof to 2 m (IPX-8 standard)
Impact resistant to 1 m
Length x diameter (head / body): 139 x 34.9 / 25.4 mm
Weight: 115 g (without batteries)
Crenellated bezel
ITS Smart Temperature Control System
Battery level indicator in side switch
Note: Although the specifications say 115 g, I'm assuming this is without the clip. With the clip, the empty light weighs 120 g. With the clip and battery it jumps up to 166 g.
Output
Since the FL-1 standard is supposed to be based on the included battery, these run times from Klarus should be based on their 2600 mAh battery. I'm curious about their suggested run times, because the Fenix UC35 puts out 1000 lumens for 90 minutes with a 3400 mAh battery, whereas they say the XT11S can put out 1000 lumens for 2 hours. This is either calculated differently, or the XT11S has some brilliant efficiency.
Tail cap current measured after ~5 seconds.
Turbo (1100 lumens): 2 h (1.45 A)
High (400 lumens): 4 h (0.9 A)
Mid (100 lumens): 18 h (0.18 A)
Low (10 lumens): 260 h (0.03 A)
Strobe (1100 lumens): 4 h
SOS (1100 lumens): 54 h
Peak Beam Intensity: 27,225 candela (330 metre range)
Included in Package
1x Klarus XT11S Flashlight
1x Klarus 2600 mAh ICR 18650 battery
1x Klarus Holster (Velcro seal)
1x Lanyard
1x Spare O-Ring
1x Pocket clip
1x MicroUSB Charging Cable
1x User Manual
Initial Impressions
This light is solidly built, and that becomes apparent 3 seconds after you pick it up. I was quite amazed at the size – it is almost identical to the Fenix TK16 in size, but manages to pack built-in USB recharging and much more throw. The lettering was clear and everything seemed perfectly in order – the USB cable even came with covers on both ends. The battery is in the light during shipping, but is physically locked from accidental activation by a plastic insert. The packaging is plain cardboard and plastic (Figure 1), but I think this is a good thing – I still keep the hard plastic boxes my Olights came in even though they're useless, so this avoids retention of crap.
Figure 1 - The Klarus XT11S in its packaging.
The 3 mode groups can be a little confusing to get used to at first, and the manual makes it a little confusing. After a couple of attempts, you quickly figure out how to change these groups (discussed later). I don't think this is a major issue, as you are unlikely to switch between groups while in use.
Unlike on the Fenix TK16 (seeming the direct competitor of this light), I found the tail switches to feel great and work well with this light. The tail clicky is a bit firm, but still responsive. Klarus has wisely included a flipper over the tail-mounted mode-control switch (I will refer to the tail mode selection switch as the flipper for this review to avoid confusion). This means that it has the same functional switching system as the TK16, but the flipper switch above mode control switch gives you increased surface area. I was worried about this plastic flipper breaking (I've become paranoid about switches after multiple TK16 tailcaps failed on me), so I dropped the light from 1 metre repeatedly onto the tailcap without there being a problem. I then let students play with it in class, and one of them accidentally dropped it onto a hard floor from over a metre without a problem.
I haven't used the light with gloves, but occasionally it's a little hard picking which switch I'm about to trigger if pulling it immediately out of a pocket. For this reason, I still think that the Olight M20 series has the best mode selection system by side mounting the mode control rather than putting it right next to the tail switch.
However, I'm absolutely in love with this light. It's a very small, rechargeable powerhouse that throws to 330 metres and takes a beating. It's probably one of the best lights I've ever used, although the UI may not make it suitable for sharing with people (i.e. you can't just hand it to someone and expect they'll be able to use it properly in an emergency).
I was a bit disappointed by the included battery – I'd be happier to pay a little bit extra to have it ship with a 3400 or 3600 mAh battery. The problem is that since it comes with a battery included already, many people would be hesitant to then go out and buy another battery of a higher capacity as they've just spent money on the included battery. This may not be a problem for flashaholics who have enough 18650 batteries hidden away to power a Tesla, but for the officer who just wants 1 duty light to take to work it would likely be a factor of annoyance. Still, it's good that they at least include everything you need to get up and running in one box that minimises confusion.
Physical Characteristics
This thing is a tank. It's pretty similar in size to the Surefire 6P, although slightly bigger (Figure 1). The crenellations are exactly what crenellations should be – not a sharp set of pocket-tearing teeth. The pocket clip is mounted nicely and stays where you leave it, while the anti-roll/grip ring rotates freely. I personally prefer the rings to sit still, but it's not a major issue. There are 3 switches on the light – 2 on the tail and 1 on the side. The side-switch also includes a battery capacity indicator. The 3-stage indicator lights up for the first 5 seconds whenever you activate the light (green: 70-100%, yellow: 30-70%, red: <30% and flashing red: <10%).
Figure 2 - From left to right: a) Klarus 2600 mAh battery, b) KeepPower 3400 mAh battery, c) Fenix TK22 (T6 edition), d) Surefire 6P, e) Klarus XT11S, f) Fenix TK16 and g) Olight M20SX.
There are cutaways on the tail cap shroud, but the light can still tailstand. This isn't a very stable tailstand at all, but it's physically possible.
The MicroUSB port is protected by a rubber cover that is also bound to the unit. This rubber cover is actually a great idea- located on the opposite side of the side-mounted control switch, the rubber boot increases your grip on the light.
The LED is nicely centred and the knurling is quite clean. The knurling may be slightly too fine, but between the grip ring, the MicroUSB cover and the pocket clip this light has more than enough points of contact to keep it in your hands.
The feels about the same weight in the hand as a Surefire 6P, and is roughly on par or lighter than similar lights in its category. I managed to get hold of another XT11S during testing, and found the two only differed in weight by 220 mg. Without the battery, the light weighs 120 g (Klarus says 115 g, but this is incorrect). With the included battery, the total weight is ~166 g. You feel it in a pocket on your jeans, but if you're wearing it on a vest or in a jacket pocket it's fine. I'm quite amazed at its size, considering it has USB charging built in. If you look at the increase in the length of the Fenix UC35 from the PD35, you'll see Fenix has added 11 mm to accommodate the built-in charging. The Klarus XT11S has built-in charging in a package that is the same length as the PD35, but it is 9 mm shorter than its predecessor, the XT11. You could argue that the head of the XT11S is 9.5 mm thicker than the PD35, but this is an unfair comparison as the XT11S incorporates a wider reflector in that space. The main point is that adding built-in charging to the XT11S doesn't add to its length.
The interior of the light is 18.8 mm wide, happily handling the ~18.4 mm KeepPower 3400 mAh protected 18650 if you choose to upgrade the battery.
The light handles heat quite well (Figure 1). It reaches close to its highest temperature within 5 minutes, and gets to ~48-50°C within 15 minutes, but the thermal management didn't let it get above that. That's even when it is left on a carpeted floor, though I never tested it under a blanket or anything.
Figure 3 - Temperature of the Klarus XT11S over time, run continuously on the highest setting.
User Interface and Modes
Here is where this light alternatively shines (pun intended) or falls short. The XT11S allows you to choose between 3 groups of modes, all of which feature instant turbo mode by pushing the tail clicky from off. Take note, Klarus advertises the side switch as an instant-low switch on their site, but this is not the case. The side switch activates at whatever the last used, non-strobe mode was. This would be handy, if that didn't count the direct-on turbo as a mode, but it does. The side switch still allows full control of the light, with mode switching every time you click the button (double click for strobe, 4 clicks for SOS). To turn the light off when activated from the side switch, you just hold down the side switch.
The flipper also acts as a mode selection switch once the light is turned on (except in Ultimate Tactical Mode).
Switching between groups is easy once you get used to it, though the manual is a little confusing at first. Basically, from off you hold the side switch for 10 seconds. The reason this is confusing is because the light also lets you lock out the side switch, and this is done by holding down the side switch from off for 5 seconds. When it locks out, the light briefly flashes 3 times, making you think you've entered group selection. You need to just keep holding the button down until the light starts flashing like a strobe. At this point, while depressing the side button, you press the flipper switch to cycle between groups. The light will then flash either once, twice or three times depending on which mode you've entered (the order is given below).
The mode groups are (in order):
1 - Conventional Tactical group: On this setting, the tail switch activates turbo and the flipper activates strobe as a momentary switch. Holding the flipper down for two seconds leaves the strobe on continuously until you press the flipper again. The side switch works as described above. This group allows for low, medium, high, turbo, strobe and SOS.
2 - Hunting group: The tail switch activates turbo, the flipper switch activates momentary low. Holding the flipper down for two seconds leaves the light on continuously until you press the flipper again. The side switch works as described above. This group allows for low, medium, high, turbo, strobe and SOS.
3 - Ultimate Tactical group: The tail switch activates turbo, the flipper switch activates strobe momentarily. Holding the flipper down for two seconds leaves the light on continuously until you press the flipper again. This group only allows the use of turbo and strobe modes, and the side switch is disabled.
Once a group is set, you can't really accidentally change it, so I like that getting to the group is a bit laborious. You only really need to change it a couple of times to figure out what group is best for your needs. I found the hunting group to be optimal, because I would need more frequent access to high and low than to strobe, which is still accessible from the side.
My girlfriend disagrees with me on this one and I see why. She would rather have instant access to strobe rather than messing around with clicks. Personally, I think the optimal group setting would be the conventional tactical group if the side switch could default to low. Unfortunately, it doesn't do this and in practice you end up surprised at whatever light setting you get by using the side switch, hence my use of the hunting group.
For police officers (the intended market), the conventional tactical mode also makes a lot of sense, as in an emergency they would probably need either the strobe or lots of light. They could activate the light in high and switch to low for things like reading documents, but again I think the light would benefit from instant-low on the side switch here.
The ultimate tactical group is pretty much designed for use by officers in entry teams, ideally while mounted to a weapon. There's no fuss, no confusion and fancy mode switching here. The tail clicky gives you a lot of light, the flipper switch gives you a lot of strobe.
Run time
I don't do exhaustive run-time tests, as I don't believe my ability to measure lumens by sight is accurate. At best, I can do battery voltage checks and measurement of the peak beam intensity.
I tested the light for 1 hour on the highest setting, measuring the battery voltage every 15 minutes. A fully charged battery (4.16 V on this one) dropped to 3.6 V after 45 minutes and 3.54 V after 60 mins (Figure 4), still putting out around 18,000 lux into the hotspot at 1 metre at 60 mins. I think the light will make it to 2 hours as per the FL-1 standard that measures it to 10% of the original output, but I don't necessarily agree with the FL-1 standard on this - you've bought a light that puts out 1100 lumens because you want it to be bright.
Figure 4 - Battery voltage of the Klarus XT11S run on turbo, using the supplied Klarus 2600 mAH battery.
I'll add a runtime graph here later looking at total runtime on low. I'm about a week in now and measuring voltages, but at around 68 hours in I compared the lux on low with a fully charged XT11S. At 68 hours the XT11S hits 3.7V and the hotspot has half as many lux as the fully charged XT11S on the same mode.
Beamshots
I managed to get my hands on two of these, and the beams were identical. Both beams were a nice cool white without any green tint at any power level. This made me very happy, because I've noticed a lot of XP-L HI lights (such as the Olight M20 and M2X) have a greenish tint, especially on the lower power levels. They seemed to have the same level of brightness and the consistency between the lights was great.
So, on to some photos!
Here we have a series of similar lights from around 10 metres away. The reason I use this garage is that the white part reflects a bunch of light, while the garage door absorbs it, so the camera actually picks up a decent view of the hot spot. It also lets you see a bit of the spill leading into it, as anything you can see on camera is hit by some spill.
Figure 5 - Multiple lights from 10 metres away.
Next we have a view of the same lights against a brick wall, once again showing the hotspot and some spill. They're all pointed at the odd brick in the middle, with around 5 metres of distance. A Sportac Triple Nichia emitter acts as a reference point to see how the wall itself looks. The problem here is the glare caught by the camera. The hotspot for all the lights was tolerable to actual eyes.
Figure 6 - Multiple lights from 5 metres away.
This set is looking at some plants for colour rendition. As with most cool white lights, the colour feels a little drained and lifeless in comparison to neutral white and the famed Nichia 219. However, I found that even though they are both cool white lights, the plants looked "better" under the XT11S (running the XP-L HI) than they did under the UC35 (running an XM-L2). This may have just been due to the increased apparent brightness (the XT11S puts out more lumens and focuses them into a smaller area), but it was worth noting. Oddly enough, this looks reversed in the image below – possibly because the balancing on my phone results in a darker image around the spill zone due to the intense brightness in the smaller hotspot. We were originally going to do this with my housemate who is a photographer, but he has been insanely busy for the last few weeks and I decided to do it with my phone as per usual.
Figure 7 - Multiple lights, looking at colour rendition.
Finally, here are some lights all up in a row. The Olight M2X is bolstered by a Fenix E99 Ti in this picture, because the reflector is so big that the beam wasn't touching the floor without being angled.
Figure 8 - Multiple lights in a row - beam angles.
Conclusions
The Klarus XT11S has quite quickly become my main 18650 light to EDC in the hunting group setting. I get instant access to turbo (and an amazing turbo at that), low and strobe, built-in charging, perfect throw for a light of this size and a very pleasant tint of cool white. My only hesitations when it comes to recommending it to my family members seem to come down to:
a) Initial ease of use – if you're willing to spend a couple of minutes to decide how you want it set up, it's great. If they're just after a click-on/click-off type of light they may be put off. This isn't a back-up light for your grandparents.
b) The relatively low capacity battery – it's fine for a flashaholic who will just pop in one of 20 higher capacity 18650s they have strewn around the place, but for people who just want a single light it's a bit low.
If a flashaholic gets this light, they'll likely fall in love with it as I have. I'm flying up to Queensland for a few days and leaving this light behind in case the crenellations get it confiscated, but man I wish I could take it with me.
Aside from this, it's a great little package and a light I'd definitely recommend for consideration to any police officers or hunters, as well as flashaholics.
I'm hoping to put up a video review soon, and this written review will be updated shortly with a few more runtime graphs. Thanks for reading.
Before it starts, I should point out that I've since seen a couple of reviews. I think they've covered beamshots of the light quite decently and also taken plenty of photos of the flashlight itself, so I haven't really looked at that in detail. My review largely focuses on the use of the light, its applications and some physical/electrical measurements.
I'm hoping to have a video up on YouTube soon, which I will add to this. I'm also currently doing a runtime test on low, and am about halfway through. This will be updated when that is completed. Sorry for the delays in posting this - my thesis is due soon and a bunch of work has been piling up lately.
Manufacturer's Specifications
Emitter: CREE XP-L HI V3 (Cool White)
330 m throw
Type III Anodised Aluminium
Smooth Reflector
Strengthened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating
Battery type: CR123A x 2, 18650 x 1 (dual springs for impact resistance)
- Working voltage of 2.5V-8.4V, but they say not to use 16340 batteries
- Comes with 1x Klarus 2600 mAh 18650 ICR protected battery
Built-in USB recharging (microUSB cable included)
3 groups of modes
- Conventional Tactical Mode
- Hunting Mode
- Ultimate Tactical Mode
Reverse polarity protection
Anti-roll/grip ring
Pocket clip
Dual tail switches, 1 side switch
Instant strobe (from off)
Water-proof to 2 m (IPX-8 standard)
Impact resistant to 1 m
Length x diameter (head / body): 139 x 34.9 / 25.4 mm
Weight: 115 g (without batteries)
Crenellated bezel
ITS Smart Temperature Control System
Battery level indicator in side switch
Note: Although the specifications say 115 g, I'm assuming this is without the clip. With the clip, the empty light weighs 120 g. With the clip and battery it jumps up to 166 g.
Output
Since the FL-1 standard is supposed to be based on the included battery, these run times from Klarus should be based on their 2600 mAh battery. I'm curious about their suggested run times, because the Fenix UC35 puts out 1000 lumens for 90 minutes with a 3400 mAh battery, whereas they say the XT11S can put out 1000 lumens for 2 hours. This is either calculated differently, or the XT11S has some brilliant efficiency.
Tail cap current measured after ~5 seconds.
Turbo (1100 lumens): 2 h (1.45 A)
High (400 lumens): 4 h (0.9 A)
Mid (100 lumens): 18 h (0.18 A)
Low (10 lumens): 260 h (0.03 A)
Strobe (1100 lumens): 4 h
SOS (1100 lumens): 54 h
Peak Beam Intensity: 27,225 candela (330 metre range)
Included in Package
1x Klarus XT11S Flashlight
1x Klarus 2600 mAh ICR 18650 battery
1x Klarus Holster (Velcro seal)
1x Lanyard
1x Spare O-Ring
1x Pocket clip
1x MicroUSB Charging Cable
1x User Manual
Initial Impressions
This light is solidly built, and that becomes apparent 3 seconds after you pick it up. I was quite amazed at the size – it is almost identical to the Fenix TK16 in size, but manages to pack built-in USB recharging and much more throw. The lettering was clear and everything seemed perfectly in order – the USB cable even came with covers on both ends. The battery is in the light during shipping, but is physically locked from accidental activation by a plastic insert. The packaging is plain cardboard and plastic (Figure 1), but I think this is a good thing – I still keep the hard plastic boxes my Olights came in even though they're useless, so this avoids retention of crap.
Figure 1 - The Klarus XT11S in its packaging.
The 3 mode groups can be a little confusing to get used to at first, and the manual makes it a little confusing. After a couple of attempts, you quickly figure out how to change these groups (discussed later). I don't think this is a major issue, as you are unlikely to switch between groups while in use.
Unlike on the Fenix TK16 (seeming the direct competitor of this light), I found the tail switches to feel great and work well with this light. The tail clicky is a bit firm, but still responsive. Klarus has wisely included a flipper over the tail-mounted mode-control switch (I will refer to the tail mode selection switch as the flipper for this review to avoid confusion). This means that it has the same functional switching system as the TK16, but the flipper switch above mode control switch gives you increased surface area. I was worried about this plastic flipper breaking (I've become paranoid about switches after multiple TK16 tailcaps failed on me), so I dropped the light from 1 metre repeatedly onto the tailcap without there being a problem. I then let students play with it in class, and one of them accidentally dropped it onto a hard floor from over a metre without a problem.
I haven't used the light with gloves, but occasionally it's a little hard picking which switch I'm about to trigger if pulling it immediately out of a pocket. For this reason, I still think that the Olight M20 series has the best mode selection system by side mounting the mode control rather than putting it right next to the tail switch.
However, I'm absolutely in love with this light. It's a very small, rechargeable powerhouse that throws to 330 metres and takes a beating. It's probably one of the best lights I've ever used, although the UI may not make it suitable for sharing with people (i.e. you can't just hand it to someone and expect they'll be able to use it properly in an emergency).
I was a bit disappointed by the included battery – I'd be happier to pay a little bit extra to have it ship with a 3400 or 3600 mAh battery. The problem is that since it comes with a battery included already, many people would be hesitant to then go out and buy another battery of a higher capacity as they've just spent money on the included battery. This may not be a problem for flashaholics who have enough 18650 batteries hidden away to power a Tesla, but for the officer who just wants 1 duty light to take to work it would likely be a factor of annoyance. Still, it's good that they at least include everything you need to get up and running in one box that minimises confusion.
Physical Characteristics
This thing is a tank. It's pretty similar in size to the Surefire 6P, although slightly bigger (Figure 1). The crenellations are exactly what crenellations should be – not a sharp set of pocket-tearing teeth. The pocket clip is mounted nicely and stays where you leave it, while the anti-roll/grip ring rotates freely. I personally prefer the rings to sit still, but it's not a major issue. There are 3 switches on the light – 2 on the tail and 1 on the side. The side-switch also includes a battery capacity indicator. The 3-stage indicator lights up for the first 5 seconds whenever you activate the light (green: 70-100%, yellow: 30-70%, red: <30% and flashing red: <10%).
Figure 2 - From left to right: a) Klarus 2600 mAh battery, b) KeepPower 3400 mAh battery, c) Fenix TK22 (T6 edition), d) Surefire 6P, e) Klarus XT11S, f) Fenix TK16 and g) Olight M20SX.
There are cutaways on the tail cap shroud, but the light can still tailstand. This isn't a very stable tailstand at all, but it's physically possible.
The MicroUSB port is protected by a rubber cover that is also bound to the unit. This rubber cover is actually a great idea- located on the opposite side of the side-mounted control switch, the rubber boot increases your grip on the light.
The LED is nicely centred and the knurling is quite clean. The knurling may be slightly too fine, but between the grip ring, the MicroUSB cover and the pocket clip this light has more than enough points of contact to keep it in your hands.
The feels about the same weight in the hand as a Surefire 6P, and is roughly on par or lighter than similar lights in its category. I managed to get hold of another XT11S during testing, and found the two only differed in weight by 220 mg. Without the battery, the light weighs 120 g (Klarus says 115 g, but this is incorrect). With the included battery, the total weight is ~166 g. You feel it in a pocket on your jeans, but if you're wearing it on a vest or in a jacket pocket it's fine. I'm quite amazed at its size, considering it has USB charging built in. If you look at the increase in the length of the Fenix UC35 from the PD35, you'll see Fenix has added 11 mm to accommodate the built-in charging. The Klarus XT11S has built-in charging in a package that is the same length as the PD35, but it is 9 mm shorter than its predecessor, the XT11. You could argue that the head of the XT11S is 9.5 mm thicker than the PD35, but this is an unfair comparison as the XT11S incorporates a wider reflector in that space. The main point is that adding built-in charging to the XT11S doesn't add to its length.
The interior of the light is 18.8 mm wide, happily handling the ~18.4 mm KeepPower 3400 mAh protected 18650 if you choose to upgrade the battery.
The light handles heat quite well (Figure 1). It reaches close to its highest temperature within 5 minutes, and gets to ~48-50°C within 15 minutes, but the thermal management didn't let it get above that. That's even when it is left on a carpeted floor, though I never tested it under a blanket or anything.
Figure 3 - Temperature of the Klarus XT11S over time, run continuously on the highest setting.
User Interface and Modes
Here is where this light alternatively shines (pun intended) or falls short. The XT11S allows you to choose between 3 groups of modes, all of which feature instant turbo mode by pushing the tail clicky from off. Take note, Klarus advertises the side switch as an instant-low switch on their site, but this is not the case. The side switch activates at whatever the last used, non-strobe mode was. This would be handy, if that didn't count the direct-on turbo as a mode, but it does. The side switch still allows full control of the light, with mode switching every time you click the button (double click for strobe, 4 clicks for SOS). To turn the light off when activated from the side switch, you just hold down the side switch.
The flipper also acts as a mode selection switch once the light is turned on (except in Ultimate Tactical Mode).
Switching between groups is easy once you get used to it, though the manual is a little confusing at first. Basically, from off you hold the side switch for 10 seconds. The reason this is confusing is because the light also lets you lock out the side switch, and this is done by holding down the side switch from off for 5 seconds. When it locks out, the light briefly flashes 3 times, making you think you've entered group selection. You need to just keep holding the button down until the light starts flashing like a strobe. At this point, while depressing the side button, you press the flipper switch to cycle between groups. The light will then flash either once, twice or three times depending on which mode you've entered (the order is given below).
The mode groups are (in order):
1 - Conventional Tactical group: On this setting, the tail switch activates turbo and the flipper activates strobe as a momentary switch. Holding the flipper down for two seconds leaves the strobe on continuously until you press the flipper again. The side switch works as described above. This group allows for low, medium, high, turbo, strobe and SOS.
2 - Hunting group: The tail switch activates turbo, the flipper switch activates momentary low. Holding the flipper down for two seconds leaves the light on continuously until you press the flipper again. The side switch works as described above. This group allows for low, medium, high, turbo, strobe and SOS.
3 - Ultimate Tactical group: The tail switch activates turbo, the flipper switch activates strobe momentarily. Holding the flipper down for two seconds leaves the light on continuously until you press the flipper again. This group only allows the use of turbo and strobe modes, and the side switch is disabled.
Once a group is set, you can't really accidentally change it, so I like that getting to the group is a bit laborious. You only really need to change it a couple of times to figure out what group is best for your needs. I found the hunting group to be optimal, because I would need more frequent access to high and low than to strobe, which is still accessible from the side.
My girlfriend disagrees with me on this one and I see why. She would rather have instant access to strobe rather than messing around with clicks. Personally, I think the optimal group setting would be the conventional tactical group if the side switch could default to low. Unfortunately, it doesn't do this and in practice you end up surprised at whatever light setting you get by using the side switch, hence my use of the hunting group.
For police officers (the intended market), the conventional tactical mode also makes a lot of sense, as in an emergency they would probably need either the strobe or lots of light. They could activate the light in high and switch to low for things like reading documents, but again I think the light would benefit from instant-low on the side switch here.
The ultimate tactical group is pretty much designed for use by officers in entry teams, ideally while mounted to a weapon. There's no fuss, no confusion and fancy mode switching here. The tail clicky gives you a lot of light, the flipper switch gives you a lot of strobe.
Run time
I don't do exhaustive run-time tests, as I don't believe my ability to measure lumens by sight is accurate. At best, I can do battery voltage checks and measurement of the peak beam intensity.
I tested the light for 1 hour on the highest setting, measuring the battery voltage every 15 minutes. A fully charged battery (4.16 V on this one) dropped to 3.6 V after 45 minutes and 3.54 V after 60 mins (Figure 4), still putting out around 18,000 lux into the hotspot at 1 metre at 60 mins. I think the light will make it to 2 hours as per the FL-1 standard that measures it to 10% of the original output, but I don't necessarily agree with the FL-1 standard on this - you've bought a light that puts out 1100 lumens because you want it to be bright.
Figure 4 - Battery voltage of the Klarus XT11S run on turbo, using the supplied Klarus 2600 mAH battery.
I'll add a runtime graph here later looking at total runtime on low. I'm about a week in now and measuring voltages, but at around 68 hours in I compared the lux on low with a fully charged XT11S. At 68 hours the XT11S hits 3.7V and the hotspot has half as many lux as the fully charged XT11S on the same mode.
Beamshots
I managed to get my hands on two of these, and the beams were identical. Both beams were a nice cool white without any green tint at any power level. This made me very happy, because I've noticed a lot of XP-L HI lights (such as the Olight M20 and M2X) have a greenish tint, especially on the lower power levels. They seemed to have the same level of brightness and the consistency between the lights was great.
So, on to some photos!
Here we have a series of similar lights from around 10 metres away. The reason I use this garage is that the white part reflects a bunch of light, while the garage door absorbs it, so the camera actually picks up a decent view of the hot spot. It also lets you see a bit of the spill leading into it, as anything you can see on camera is hit by some spill.
Figure 5 - Multiple lights from 10 metres away.
Next we have a view of the same lights against a brick wall, once again showing the hotspot and some spill. They're all pointed at the odd brick in the middle, with around 5 metres of distance. A Sportac Triple Nichia emitter acts as a reference point to see how the wall itself looks. The problem here is the glare caught by the camera. The hotspot for all the lights was tolerable to actual eyes.
Figure 6 - Multiple lights from 5 metres away.
This set is looking at some plants for colour rendition. As with most cool white lights, the colour feels a little drained and lifeless in comparison to neutral white and the famed Nichia 219. However, I found that even though they are both cool white lights, the plants looked "better" under the XT11S (running the XP-L HI) than they did under the UC35 (running an XM-L2). This may have just been due to the increased apparent brightness (the XT11S puts out more lumens and focuses them into a smaller area), but it was worth noting. Oddly enough, this looks reversed in the image below – possibly because the balancing on my phone results in a darker image around the spill zone due to the intense brightness in the smaller hotspot. We were originally going to do this with my housemate who is a photographer, but he has been insanely busy for the last few weeks and I decided to do it with my phone as per usual.
Figure 7 - Multiple lights, looking at colour rendition.
Finally, here are some lights all up in a row. The Olight M2X is bolstered by a Fenix E99 Ti in this picture, because the reflector is so big that the beam wasn't touching the floor without being angled.
Figure 8 - Multiple lights in a row - beam angles.
Conclusions
The Klarus XT11S has quite quickly become my main 18650 light to EDC in the hunting group setting. I get instant access to turbo (and an amazing turbo at that), low and strobe, built-in charging, perfect throw for a light of this size and a very pleasant tint of cool white. My only hesitations when it comes to recommending it to my family members seem to come down to:
a) Initial ease of use – if you're willing to spend a couple of minutes to decide how you want it set up, it's great. If they're just after a click-on/click-off type of light they may be put off. This isn't a back-up light for your grandparents.
b) The relatively low capacity battery – it's fine for a flashaholic who will just pop in one of 20 higher capacity 18650s they have strewn around the place, but for people who just want a single light it's a bit low.
If a flashaholic gets this light, they'll likely fall in love with it as I have. I'm flying up to Queensland for a few days and leaving this light behind in case the crenellations get it confiscated, but man I wish I could take it with me.
Aside from this, it's a great little package and a light I'd definitely recommend for consideration to any police officers or hunters, as well as flashaholics.
I'm hoping to put up a video review soon, and this written review will be updated shortly with a few more runtime graphs. Thanks for reading.
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