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A few questions about the new Klarus XT2C-R

CONCEPT1

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I found this new light a few days ago on the internet, this ligt has everything. At this moment my favorite light is the Nitecore Concept 1, however its not tactical because i need to turn the tailcap to lock it out and sometime this is not nice. I want to buy the new Klarus XT2C-R but im not sure because,

- My Nitecore Concept 1 puts out 1800 lumens, this means that the light can hold this output for 30-40 seconds because its small and gets hot fast, and the ATR will prevent the light from overheating. The XT2C-R has 1600lumens, and is a little longer so i suspect that this light has a better cooling system, compared to the Concept 1? So do you guys think that the XT2C-R can hold the 1600lumens for maybe 5 minutes or will it be the same as the Concept1, how long do you think the Klarus will hold the 1600lm?

- On youtube i saw some prototypes of the XT2C-R and on the lowest mode i saw in the video a sort of flickering? Do you guys know if this is fixed in the final version, because in the advertisement on Aliexpress they say that it has a 'Constant Current' ?Thank you in advance!
 
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terjee

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It's likely that someone will include runtime until step down in a review in not too long.

While I partly agree with your reasoning, it's a bit more complicated. What really matters is the total thermal resistance between the emitter and surrounding air. You're making good points about length and lower lumens, but we (or at least I) don't really know enough about the internals yet. Some companies are better at designing these things than others. Even if we knew all of that, there could still be differences in which temperature thresholds the manufacturers set for stepdown, etc.

And knowing even that, there's still the question of ambient temperature. Step down on a sunny day in Texas would be sooner than a cold winter day in northern Norway.

Your thinking makes sense, but we just won't know for sure until someone tests.

Not sure about the flickering, but such things can easily be exaggerated by digital cameras.

For what it's worth, this has been written of the XT2C (not "-R"):
I have an XT2C and I love it. I have to hold it right up to my ear in a very quiet room to hear a tiny high-pitched sound, and only in certain directions by my ear. A foot away and I don't hear it. I really like the beam and the UI is great. Fits a coat pocket well including holster. I cannot see any PWM, even if I point it at a fan. Playing with the light as I write this.

That's quite some time ago, and I would be disappointed if they released a new light now, with worse performance.
 

CONCEPT1

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It's likely that someone will include runtime until step down in a review in not too long.

While I partly agree with your reasoning, it's a bit more complicated. What really matters is the total thermal resistance between the emitter and surrounding air. You're making good points about length and lower lumens, but we (or at least I) don't really know enough about the internals yet. Some companies are better at designing these things than others. Even if we knew all of that, there could still be differences in which temperature thresholds the manufacturers set for stepdown, etc.

And knowing even that, there's still the question of ambient temperature. Step down on a sunny day in Texas would be sooner than a cold winter day in northern Norway.

Your thinking makes sense, but we just won't know for sure until someone tests.

Not sure about the flickering, but such things can easily be exaggerated by digital cameras.

For what it's worth, this has been written of the XT2C (not "-R"):


That's quite some time ago, and I would be disappointed if they released a new light now, with worse performance.

Thanks for your reply. Yep we need to wait, but i also see in some videos the XT2C-R with the XPH35 HD with 240 meter beam distance and in some videos the XT2C-R with the XPH35 HI with 310 meter distance. Do you know if Klarus will make 2 versions? I think that the HI is better with 310 meters right?
 

terjee

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Thanks for your reply. Yep we need to wait, but i also see in some videos the XT2C-R with the XPH35 HD with 240 meter beam distance and in some videos the XT2C-R with the XPH35 HI with 310 meter distance. Do you know if Klarus will make 2 versions? I think that the HI is better with 310 meters right?

It's not uncommon for manufacturers to make versions with different emitters, but I haven't noticed that with the Klarus XT-line, so I'm not sure.

As for higher being better, it's often not. If I'm using a light that I won't use much beyond 50-100 meters, I'd rather have 240 than 310 meters. The alternative would be to just drain the battery sooner, and all it'd do for me is deduce my night vision even more. Oversimplied to the point of being arguably wrong, but you get the idea.

Even when you want max reach, consider things like humid air, fog etc. Beyond a certain level, you're just increasing the brightness of the grey-ish air in front of you, not really increasing how far you can see.

Not at all intended as criticism towards 300-meter lights, sometimes they're just what you need. Just that more isn't always better, it's more a case of right tool for the job.

Another example would be two lights of equal lumen, one with double the throw/meters of the other. The less throwy light would still put out the same amount of light, but with a wider spread, or brighter in the spill region.
 

Joe Talmadge

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As for higher being better, it's often not. If I'm using a light that I won't use much beyond 50-100 meters, I'd rather have 240 than 310 meters. The alternative would be to just drain the battery sooner, and all it'd do for me is deduce my night vision even more. Oversimplied to the point of being arguably wrong, but you get the idea.

Even when you want max reach, consider things like humid air, fog etc. Beyond a certain level, you're just increasing the brightness of the grey-ish air in front of you, not really increasing how far you can see.

Not at all intended as criticism towards 300-meter lights, sometimes they're just what you need. Just that more isn't always better, it's more a case of right tool for the job.

Another example would be two lights of equal lumen, one with double the throw/meters of the other. The less throwy light would still put out the same amount of light, but with a wider spread, or brighter in the spill region.

terjee, I agree in general that it's good to know your requirements, and "biggest, bestest, mostest" isn't always what you need... but in this case, I think we're talking about the example in your last sentence: an HI LED that out-throws an HD LED, but all other things are equal -- that is, the HI LED is *not* sacrificing any runtime, most likely. And for a light meant for tactical use, it's in the vast majority of cases the better option, there's little to no downside, and this beamshape with its brighter center is useful beyond long-distance purposes. For a more general purpose light, then I might choose the HD-based version.

CONCEPT1, do you have a pointer to the HI based version with 310 meter distance? I found a non-rechargeable XT2C version that uses an XPL HI LED, but only 14k cd, which (as I've ranted about before) is pretty pathetic in a light this size, and pretty close to the same candela being quoted for the HD based version. Have not found an XT2C-R with XHP HI
 
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terjee

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And for a light meant for tactical use, it's in the vast majority of cases the better option, there's little to no downside, and this beamshape with its brighter center is useful beyond long-distance purposes.

Sounds like we pretty much agree. :)

I should mention by the way, that I've never had a LEO-type job. I know there'll be a point where extra throw (at the expense of peripheral vision) would hurt more than help, but there are others here on CPF that know far better than me where that point is. I mostly just intended to speak in broad strokes about more not always being better, and encourage trying to "measure" the light against the tasks it's needed for, including the costs or downside of the different tradeoffs.
 

CONCEPT1

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terjee, I agree in general that it's good to know your requirements, and "biggest, bestest, mostest" isn't always what you need... but in this case, I think we're talking about the example in your last sentence: an HI LED that out-throws an HD LED, but all other things are equal -- that is, the HI LED is *not* sacrificing any runtime, most likely. And for a light meant for tactical use, it's in the vast majority of cases the better option, there's little to no downside, and this beamshape with its brighter center is useful beyond long-distance purposes. For a more general purpose light, then I might choose the HD-based version.

CONCEPT1, do you have a pointer to the HI based version with 310 meter distance? I found a non-rechargeable XT2C version that uses an XPL HI LED, but only 14k cd, which (as I've ranted about before) is pretty pathetic in a light this size, and pretty close to the same candela being quoted for the HD based version. Have not found an XT2C-R with XHP HI
https://youtu.be/CIe5o7mbG2E see the specs on the table, i found also other video's like this were they advertised with the HI version :).
 

Joe Talmadge

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see the specs on the table, i found also other video's like this were they advertised with the HI version :).[/QUOTE]

Thanks! If they come out with a HI version, and actually take advantage of the HI LED to make a thrower that's remotely competitive with other manufacturer's HI based lights, this is a surefire winner for me. If they're staying down at 14k, maybe not for me
 

Joe Talmadge

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Sounds like we pretty much agree. :)

I should mention by the way, that I've never had a LEO-type job. I know there'll be a point where extra throw (at the expense of peripheral vision) would hurt more than help, but there are others here on CPF that know far better than me where that point is. I mostly just intended to speak in broad strokes about more not always being better, and encourage trying to "measure" the light against the tasks it's needed for, including the costs or downside of the different tradeoffs.

Agreeing is good :) I've never had an LEO-type job, but had enough training, including with experienced LEO trainers, to know what works for me, in the scenarios I care about. Which also means that I have different scenarios than an LEO. In any case, I will re-agree about "more not always being better", although in this case, at least for me, more candela (with no sacrifice in runtime and only a small sacrifice in total lumens) is a huge win vs an HD version
 

CONCEPT1

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Agreeing is good :) I've never had an LEO-type job, but had enough training, including with experienced LEO trainers, to know what works for me, in the scenarios I care about. Which also means that I have different scenarios than an LEO. In any case, I will re-agree about "more not always being better", although in this case, at least for me, more candela (with no sacrifice in runtime and only a small sacrifice in total lumens) is a huge win vs an HD version

I bought one on Aliexpress today (the one with the XHP35 HD) for 57 euro with the 18650 3600mah included. So for me a very nice price! The price was a couple days ago 67 euro and today i saw a discount -15%. However it is a little bit tricky because i dont know how long it will hold the 1600lumen, but i think that it will be definitly longer than the Nitecore Concept 1, based on a (bigger) cooling system and -200 lumen. Maybe i will do a review but unfortunately i have nu lumen / brightness test equipment so i need to do it with my 'naked eye'.

For me the second strobe button/mode selector is a big plus (and with the battery indicator the reason why i bought this), because the light will be useable in a 'self defence' situation. In example you can blind the enemy and strike fast with your flashlight, and run! There was a topic a couple years ago and in that discussion, the question was if 400lumens was enough for an effective strobe. I think 1600lumens would be definitly effective! On the Concept1 the strobe is also nice, but you need to click 3 times the side switch fast. If you do it too slow or too fast it will not go into that mode, so when you are in a stressfull situation it will be hard to go into that mode and you have no extra seconds.
 
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