(Note: I got the flashlight from Klarus for free, as a review sample)
Klarus Mi7 is so called EDC flashlight, meaning that it is small enough to be easily carried constantly with you. It has some qualities that you can use it as a backup flashlight for a bigger and more powerful flashlight, or even as a primary general purpose flashlight. However, it is not a tactical flashlight and it should not be considered as such, although at short distances it is brighter than some real tactical flashlights.
At a first glance
Mi7 comes in a small plastic packing, that is stuffed with all on the necessary stuff: the flashlight itself, an AA battery, a wrist loop, small S-carabiner that one can use to hang the flashlight from a belt loop for example, an extra O-ring, and a manual. There is no pouch or holster, but on the other hand, the flashlight is so small that it might be difficult to carry it in a pouch. Along with the flashlight, Klarus sent me one rechargeable 14500 battery that can be used instead of an AA battery, and with it the user can got the full lumens at his disposal.
Mi7 is a small flashlight; its length is smaller than my hands´ width, so I can enclose the flashlight completely inside my first. Apart from the size, it looks like a normal flashlight. The bezel is only slightly wider than the body, and there are some cooling fins at the back of the bezel. Between the fins, there is a small, slightly protruding light switch. The body is checkered to facilitate a better grip, and the end cap is solidly attached to the body. In the end cap there are attachment points for the wrist loop and the S-carabiner. The end cap is designed to facilitate a tail stand, making it possible to stand the flashlight on a table and to bounce the light from the ceiling.
The wrist loop provided with the flashlight seems robust and is has a great tightening mechanism. The S-carabiner is petite, and cannot take a lot of punishment. However, it has a great locking mechanism to prevent the carabiner from opening accidentally.
Operating the flashlight
There is only one operating switch in the Mi7, and it is used to control all of the features in the flashlight. When pressed once, the flashlight is turned on with full power. When pressed again, the light goes into medium power. When clicked third time, the light goes off. If the light is off and you keep the light switch pressed for two seconds, the light goes into moonlight mode, and when clicked once, the light goes off. The light switch is small, but because it is protruding, you can easily find it by feel only.
If the light switch is rapidly clicked twice, the light goes into strobe mode. This happens whether the light is on or off. When on strobe mode and clicked again twice, the light goes into automatic SOS signal. When clicked once, the light goes back into the mode the flashlight was on before going into strobe mode.
The flashlight has a lock out function, that prevents the light from turning on accidentally when carried in a pocket etc. The lock out is activated when the light switch is pressed for five seconds. The light flashes three times as a signal that the lock out is activated, and the light then is turned off, if it was on when the lock out was activated. The lock out is deactivated by rapidly clicking the light switch three times. The light flashes 1-3 times as a signal that the lock out is not on anymore. The number of flashes indicate the battery charge: three flashes is over 70% charge, two flashes means 30-70% charge, and one flash means that the battery has less than 30% charge. This charge indicator works every time when the light switch is clicked three times when the light is off, the lock out function does not have to be activated.
The light beam
The light has a fairly narrow and bright hot spot, and the spill is relatively even. Measured from the distance on one meter, the hot spot is about 0,2 meters across, and the width of the whole light beam is about 1,7 meters.
Measured per industry standards, the light beam has a throw of about 100 meters, but the useful throw is about one third from that; depending on circumstances and the use. In pitch black indoor shooting range, the flashlight gives fairly good illumination to 25 meters, which is the length of the shooting range.
(at 5 meters)
(at 25 meters)
In outdoor setting, the light beam was barely noticeable at the distance of some 70 meters. In fact, I tried to take a photo, but I could not get the light beam visible in the photo. It was barely noticeable to the naked eye. The practical maximum distance is about 30 meters, that is visible from the photo as well. In the photo, the nearest trees are about 10-15 meters, and the further trees some 30 meters away.
But then, nobody expects that a flashlight this small is useful at long distances. At close range, however, the Mi7 is very bright and fares well in comparison to many bigger flashlights.
The maximum brightness of the light beam with 14500 battery is 700 lumens, but when using AA batteries, it drops to less than half of that. Other levels of intensity give the same amount of light with both power sources, but the run times with the 14500 battery are much longer, not counting the full power that has practically same run time (but is twice as bright with 14500 battery). No matter how you look it, it´s great that you have the option of using both power sources.
Pros and cons
Mi7 is a small flashlight, even too small for someone with big hands. Because of its size, it´s easy to carry with you. It is a bit shame, though, that there is no clip to make it easy to carry the flashlight in your shirt pocket etc. The S-carabiner makes it easy to carry the flashlight from belt loop, but sadly one of the fastening clips became loose and fell off after two days of normal use, therefore the flashlight cannot be carried with it securely enough without the risk of losing the flashlight.
Because the flashlight is so small, the light switch cannot be very big, either. However, it is slightly protruding, making it easy to find the switch with the sense of touch alone. I like the operating logic of the light switch: the light goes on with the brightest setting when the light is turned on, but you can also turn the light on directly on moonlight mode, which on many occasions is bright enough (like reading a map) but does not ruin your night vision as badly as bright light would do. Also, the strobe and SOS functions work well. The only thing I dislike is turning the light off from full power by going through the medium setting, meaning you cannot turn the light off directly from full power. However, this is only a minor downside in a flashlight like this - it would be entirely different matter if this were a tactical flashlight. The charge indicator works great, also.
As a whole, the Mi7 is a fine, high quality flashlight that compares favorably to many bigger flashlights, not counting the beam range.
Technical data
The specs are given by the manufacturer for the most part.
Length: 8,7 cm
Weight (ready to use): 49 grams
Light output lumens 14500 battery (AA-battery): 700 (330) / 90 (90) / 5 (5)
Run time 14500 battery (AA battery): 53 minutes (55 minutes) / 3 h 47 minutes (1 h 50 minutes) / 11 h 21 minutes (5 h 30 minutes)
And some beamshots to finish it off...
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