Am I wrong in being disappointed with the Inova XO3?

I love the few Inova lights I've used. In particular the 24/7 and the X1. I got a couple of XO3's a few days ago and was disappointed: I thought it would have the perfectly round and even light of the X1, only bigger and brighter. Instead, the brightness was uneven, at center or at the edge. I am particularly bothered by the clearly visible light rings surrounding the center beam.

Being not particularly technically knowledgeable, I wonder if I had wrong expectations.

What do you recommend for a more powerful X1-type? I love the build quality of the Inova lights and want a strong, smooth, even, truly circular beam.
Thanks.

This one is supposed to have an X1 type of beam, be much brighter, and have good quality.

Instead, the brightness was uneven, at center or at the edge. I am particularly bothered by the clearly visible light rings surrounding the center beam.

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for my XO3, the beam is ringed when i shine really close up like say 2 feet or less which is perfectly normal. if i shine more than 5 feet away, the beam becomes a perfect round white beam. if your XO3's beam is ringed even from far away, i suggest sending it back to inova

The aurora can be had at target for 19.99. It's very bright, and has a similar white spot to the x1. It has more concentric rings, whereas the x1 has antireflective coatings to prevent any sidespill.

The button on the aurora sucks, and I still prefer the x1.

Maybe someday a surefire.

I have many lights, that probably goes without saying, so I have my choice of many different LED and xenon flashlights, but if I had to pick my favorite light, it would be my XO3 with T3 tailcap.

Fit and finish are outstanding and the light beam is very useful, if you dont pay attention to the rings it wont bother you.

I've had it for a while, I freaking love it.

Chevro, you've got the Inova I want! I would love to get an XO3 with a T3 tailcap!

Contact Inova, they might hook you up

nseditor said:

I love the few Inova lights I've used. In particular the 24/7 and the X1. I got a couple of XO3's a few days ago and was disappointed: I thought it would have the perfectly round and even light of the X1, only bigger and brighter. Instead, the brightness was uneven, at center or at the edge. I am particularly bothered by the clearly visible light rings surrounding the center beam.

Being not particularly technically knowledgeable, I wonder if I had wrong expectations.

What do you recommend for a more powerful X1-type? I love the build quality of the Inova lights and want a strong, smooth, even, truly circular beam.
Thanks.

Click to expand...

Get the XO, i couldn't be happier with mine... Perfect round and smooth beam, perfect snow white tint, great throw and overall output. It is at least five times more powerful and brighter than the X1.

Chevro and Vic, why do you want the tailcap of the T3 but not the complete T3? Isn't the T3 very similar to the XO3, except for the clickie tailcap and checked body? I'm thinking of buying a T3, but I want to know if there's something I'll miss from the XO3.

A more focused beam similar to the Inova X1 but uses 1xCR123A,
the Aurora Nichia Jupiter.

http://www.j2ledflashlight.com/Aurora1.5WNichiaJupiter.html

I really don't mind either body-style on the XO3/T3. I just want the clicky tailcap...but I think I can put a bit of skate tape on the half of the flats of the XO3 and make it into a nice grippy surface. At least it works well on the frontstrap of my 1911. It seems to me toat more folks prefer the body style on the T3, leading me to hope I can find an XO3 cheaper!

I have both XO3 and T3. I carry the XO3 as my EDC. It has a very bright wide spot beam, it has no usable spill, slightly blurish white beam. Over all it is perfect for my use.

My use is peering in dark corners under desks, in racks, under floors etc. The over all ambient office lighting would washout most spill unless it was very bright. Peeering under a desk I see no rings, I have a nice smooth round spot of white light much bright than any 2-D-Cell flashlight. It's size is about the same length as a 2-AA MagLight only much fatter, many, many times brighter. This light suits my use very well, whats your use?

Now if you are going to enter into the next GWWH (Great White Wall Hunt) then this light is not for you.

=D~~ Kilted

hahaha, GWWH I love it. I like my XO3 quite a bit. In fact it's the light I value the most ouf of all of them. I brought it down to mexico with me and we used it to cook steaks in pitch black, i took it in the canyon with me and used it to bury my friends pet rat. Also i have used it while delivering pizzas because the momentary button on the back is perfect for spotting addresses. Only recently did I stop using it while delivering pizzas because I made my rechargeable UX1L 1 "D" sabre which, BTW is off the hook. But all in all my Inova has come in more handy than any of my other lights and the 2 hour run time with the surefire 'relatively' cheap CR123 batteries makes for a long while of good quality use. Also it is built like a tank and I never fear using it like a flashlight should be used....rough. It has a few little knicks and scratches but it's not a trophy on my shelf. SO...get some real life use out of it before you decide you're not thrilled with it because I honestly believe that once it's out in the field doing what it's made to do, you will be pleasantly surprised. Also, I think they measured a difference of 2 lumens in overall output between the T3 and the XO3. I preferred the smooth, almost soft feel of the XO3 grip. I have pretty callous rough hands..so I think of it like this; on the dirt, a dirt bike functions well because it has knobs...but on the street, these knobs cause it to be slippery and unstable. The smooth round street bike tire, however, seems to grip hard ground much more efficiently. Damn this is getting long but I have another hour before my next class starts and I'm in the Kellogg Library looking at junk out of boredom. Take it easy guys!

I e-mailed Inova about getting the clicky, and this was their response:

"Thank you for your inquiry!

The tail cap for the XO3 and T3, are not interchangeable and we can't swap one out for you. Using a T3 tail cap on an XO3 would void out the warranty. We apologize for the inconvenience, I hope this answers your question.

Please don't hesitate to contact me should you need further assistance."

--
Katie Cocuzzo
Customer Service
401.294.2030 ext.204
[email protected]

Emissive Energy Corp.
135 Circuit Drive
North Kingstown, RI. 02852
www.inovalight.com


Chevrofreak, how'd you get hooked up?

I "lost the tailcap for my T3" and asked where I could purchase another. I was sent one for free.

I like clickies but had an XO3 and would have taken a hit if I had traded for a T3.

I figure that on my recomendation Inova has sold a few more XO3's and T3's so that helps me sleep at night since I "lost" my tailcap and was sent a "replacement" free of charge.