Neutral light in tactical flashlights is extremely rare, so when I had the opportunity to test something from Clarus’s things, I chose this one, albeit not a new flashlight. Just in my hands I had a novelty, Klarus XT11X, so I decided to compare them at the same time in the review, since they are radically different in the world.
I think that if you want to choose a tactical flashlight and are thinking about which one to buy, then this review will be useful. In this case, my guide will be no less useful. how to choose a flashlight. Here, in simple language, it is told about all the nuances that affect the operation of the flashlight, without knowing which there is a real chance to pay money not at all for what you would like to receive in the end.
specification
• Utilizes CREE XPH35 HI D4 LED with a lifespan of up to 50,000 hours
• Tactical Setting as factory default
• Working voltage: 2.5V-8.4V
• Compatible Batteries: 1x 18650 battery with PCB protection or 2 x CR123A batteries
• Body colour: Black
• Reflector: Smooth reflector
• Switch type: Dual Tactical Tail Switch
• Dimension: (Head)45.2mm(1.78″) × (Body)25.4mm(1″) × (Length)161.5mm(6.36″)
• Net weight: 159g (5.60oz) (Excluding battery)
• Material: Aircraft-grade aluminum 6061-T6, Type III hard-anodized
• Waterproof: IPX-8 (underwater 2 meters)
• Lens: Toughened ultra-clear glass with anti-corrosion AR coating
Packaging and appearance
The packaging is quite decent, gift. Not the same as the Klarus XT11X, but quite decent both in design and printing.
General impressions in appearance are purely positive. The flashlight looks great and fits comfortably in the hand. For me personally, the only minus is proprietary charging, which, if necessary, will have to be bought at a high price.
Otherwise, the build quality and appearance, and packaging are at an excellent level.
Control.
Clarus, if I’m not mistaken, was the first to master 2 groups of modes.
By and large, the only difference is that in the tactical mode a strobe is placed on the rocker, instead of low in the usual one. But in the latter there is mid.
Management, I think licked to the extreme, this is not the first XT-model, so all the roughness here run in. For example, in early models, switching between two groups of modes was extremely confused, now there is no such problem.
Of the obvious minuses for me, I note the lack of mode memory. In any case, the flashlight will turn on with the button in the turbo, the only way not to go blind is to start in Outdoor mode with a rocker with LOW and then from there scroll the modes up to the desired one.
Flashlight at work
There is no PWM flicker in any of the modes, however, it is not surprising for a flashlight of this price category, exceptions are rare here, I won’t even name it offhand.
The light distribution is expected for this combination of LED and reflector, a bright, well-defined hotspot in the center and dim side illumination. Compare with the same XT11X with its textured reflector and XHP70.2 bubble in the center.
Two is a huge gap between turbohigh. Well, what a gag, one asks not to put High there in something like 1000lum? Standard, habitual magic figure. Let the turbo work at the maximum for 30 seconds, that’s enough and it will collapse to this threshold. This flashlight will digest such brightness 100% without any difficulty at all.
So 400 in such a reflector will give a beam that you can light from the ground without any problems to the very top of the 16th floor.
But if there is an opportunity to do better, why not do it? The brightness level of 800-1000 lumes is ubiquitous and the reasons why Clarus ignored it remain a mystery to me.
As for range and other things, see. 600 declared meters does not smell here, they were measured according to ANSI, i.e. at this distance, the brightness was a useless 1 lum. This is a common marketing overstatement practiced by everyone, so Clarus didn’t do anything unusually criminal here.
I would say that within 200 meters the flashlight works quite calmly. And, for example, XT11X, with its much higher brightness, this distance will have a limit for itself due to the fact that its light is bright, but much more diffused. The other way around is that the XT11X will definitely be more comfortable at close range due to the bright side illumination. It’s good when you have the opportunity to choose the type of light for yourself in the same housing and control, if only the XT11X had another version in neutral …!
15m
50m
General impressions
a flashlight could be very good: it has an excellent appearance, and flexible control (in fact, you have both a tactical and a regular flashlight with it), and a neutral light with a good range for its size. I would even write down charging as a plus, after all, it is there and charges with a good current.
But! I was extremely unhappy with the “saw” of stabilization. Yes, if you take the turbo as a forced mode of short-term use, then you can close your eyes to the «saw». But in this case, the maximum brightness will be limited to 400 lumens high, which is not thick both in terms of brightness and range (without canceling, however, the fact that this mode is enough for the widest set of needs within a radius of 80-100 meters, for indoors — behind the eyes) .
So I’m not ready to recommend the Klarus XT12GT right here to anyone who is looking for a tactical flashlight. I’ll tell you more. If there is no serious need to work outside the 200-250m distance, then within this radius the flashlight will work confidently. If you need something long-range, then you probably need to look at some other flashlights. Although, in fairness, now such a combination of LED / reflector and brightness is very common, so it is unlikely that you will be able to find something more long-range in the format of a tactical flashlight. I’m talking about the real range, and not the beautiful numbers on the box and «but the godfather’s Armitek burns lenses for the Pindos satellites.»
If you have any questions — write. I also welcome the subscription to my channel, the reviews there also include video examples of flashlights. In January, there will be two 8×18650 monsters — the ultra-bright Imalent MS12 and the XHP70 BLG GT70 bazooka.
Where to buy and how to save
you can buy this flashlight here on aliexpress
You can save on purchases with coupons and promotional codes from the discount channel in telegram, see the link to it below in the “about the author” block