Danielsan
Enlightened
Klarus / Schiermeier.biz send me the XT1C as a sample for a review which is an evolution of the already known XT1C EDC model in the CR123 Format. It is a rather big evolution because its not only a LED update, they changed the Body, the tailcap and other things. The light is temperature regulated now as well.
dimensions:
weight (without battery) : 50g
lenght: 84.4mm
head diameter: 23.0mm
tailcap diameter: 23.7mm
thickest part: 25.2mm
The light comes in a little transparent plastic package
You get a lanyard, a clip (already installed), the manual, some spare o-rings and .......
... a Klarus 16340 cell. I compared this cell with my Fenix 16340 700mAh and the Klarus cell was brighter in all of my lights.
There is a little plastic film which prevents parasitic drain during shipping/storage. You have to remove it before you use the light.
Here is a little 360° view of the light
the threads are not anodized and they look like square cut, really smooth. The tension of the clip is not to strong which i like.
Here are two close up shots of the light. The machining and anodizing is good, i couldnt see any silver spots in the knurling. The knurling has this "pineapple" pattern like some MecArmy lights but with additional fine lines inside.
Because of the two way clip you can attach the XT1C to a shield cap, however its not a deep carry clip. A two way clip is always a nice feature for an EDC light.
Inside you have a spring in the head and tail which is nice and ensures a decent contact to the poles. The light has this inner tube similar to the XT11GT which is probably needed because of the electronical double switch at the tail. According to the manual there is ITS temperature control (high mode only) and a reverse polarity protection.
The typical Klarus double switch with the paddle looks identical to the larger XT series lights like the XT11GT for example but it isnt. The XT11GTs main switch for instant turbo is a mechanical tailcap clicky, good for momentary on for example. The XT1C uses an electronical switch, its is more like a mouse button.
To the UI:
This light has two programmable interfaces, kind of a trimmed version of the XT11GT which had three programmable interfaces and a side button.
You can choose between the tactical setting and the outdoor setting to operate the light.
tactical setting:
In this setting the paddle switch will give you momentary strobe from off. You can also get strobe from on by a long press on the paddle switch, this time strobe gets locked.
A single click on the main switch will always give you instant turbo while a single click on the paddle will cycle trough your modes when the light is on in a Hi>med>low order.
outdoor setting:
In this setting the paddle switch acts as an instant on switch for low, a short press below 2 sec. will give you momentary low and if you keep pressing the paddle the low mode gets locked. Once the light is on you can cycle trough the modes with the paddle switch, this time in a low>med>hi order. The main switch still give instant turbo from off and is used to switch the light out. The outdoor setting will also give you an SOS mode which is activated by a long press on the paddle switch when the light is on.
You can switch between outdoor and tactical mode by turning the light on, press and hold the main switch until the light starts to flicker, then you can jump between the two modes by a single click on the paddle switch. Its important to keep pressing the main switch the whole time when you do that. The light will blink once when the tactical mode is locked in and twice when the outdoor mode is locked in. It is really easy to do. I prefer the outdoor setting because instant low is a must have for me.
To the LED, the XT1C uses a XPL HI V3 LED and a smooth reflector which will give you a brighter spot/more throw. According to the manual the light puts out 700 Lumen on high (50minutes), 100 lumens on medium (3h) and 5 lumens on low (53h). 11025 cd peak beam intensity, 210m beam distance. The light is IPX8 rated. Although i couldnt see much of a purple shimmer the light has a coated glas.
The manual mentions the lack of PWM, i will check that later with my smartphone, of course this method is only good for visible PWM.
Edit: There is no visible PWM
Nichia 219BT (Lumintop IYP365) - XPL HI V3(Klarus XT1C) - XM-L2 (Olight S30) - XM-L2 U2 3C (Eagle Eye X2R)
Here is a tint comparison compared to other lights. The S30 has the coldest color temperature.
The light seems to have no indicator light for low voltage warning, i assume the aggressive step down at the end serves as a low voltage indication.
This is a little max. output test i made compared with other CR123 lights. Those are peak lumen readings and of course only estimations in a little DIY sphere. I dont know the real lab tested lumens of this light but you can take it as an indicator compared to the other lights. The Jetbeam and the Klarus are very similar in output but totally different when you look at the beamshots. The Klarus has a bright spot and looks probably brighter because of that, the Jetbeam has a wider beam.
As a GIF
Outdoorshots
As a GIF
I have to say that i really liked the XT1C, especially the paddle switch in combination with the outdoor setting. Because of the XPL Hi and smooth reflector it has a pretty bright spot compared to the other lights. A two way clip is always nice and the knurling looks pretty good and unique. What are my cons? I would have loved to see a black clip on this light and a 1 Lumen moonlight mode instead of the 5 lumen but thats a matter of taste. I am always a fan of real tailcap clickies and maybe i would have prefered that but otherwise the length of the light would probably rise with a real clicky. I also like the fairly deep position of the LED in such a small EDC light.
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