(mini) Review: Klarus P1A

I had the same problem of a couple of my lights not tail standing because the rubber boot was just barely too long and it made the light wobble. I found an easy fix. I took an O-ring from one of my iTP A3 E0S lights,(Each one comes with an extra o-ring). I took the tail cap apart and removed the rubber boot. I put the 0-ring over the top of the rubber button and re installed it into the tail cap. After I'm finished the rubber boot sits just slightly lower in the tail cap and allows the light to tail stand.

well understood what you mean Chidwack, thanks!

Excellent idea. So easy and cant get any better. ( i never have such great ideas )

!!!

215 Ultrafire holster is a good fit for the P2A BTW.

Vectrex, any of your holsters fit the P1A?

I put P1A in my C3 holster and it fits nicely, the same variant with the flap also works but the Velcro is not fully engaging.(overlapping is not enough for my taste) Added some pics to the slideshow.

Fantastic photos, thanks so much!

Quite interesting .. the P1A is about the same size or form factor as a C3, but in your C3 holster the overlapping is not optimal, i garee ;)

I ordered the Ultrafire #214 which seems to be 100% identical to yours with the flap, only with differing coloring.

hmm.. it's the same holster isnt it?

I dont think that yours with the flap is the Ultrafire #215, or is it?

P1A is ~9 mm longer and 2,5 mm more diameter than my Hugsby P31 which is C3ish. The elastic sides on the holster accommodates for the additional thickness but the flap part with the velcro isn't coping very well with the additional length. UltraFire™ 215 should be the 2AA variant for the P2A...also not fully overlapping but a lot better than the P1A in the small holster with flap, also available at Dino as Ultrafire 214. Just get the one without the flap ... the clip will secure it enough and at 99 cents it's a no-brainer.

Thanks.

Well, if the P1A doesnt fit super well, then torches like the Quark AA or the Xeno E03 would fit. They are C3-ish imho :)

The form factor of the P1A brings such problems. New holster, and also new diffuser. I havent received my P1A yet, but ive already placed orders for the diffuser (23mm) and the holster (UF 214).

For the rest of the afternoon i will look at your series of photos and dr**m and dr**l

Concerning diffusers

From the DX webpages we could tell that UF #214 is too small for the P1A, so the flap-less 0.99$ would be the best choice, true!

And what about a belt holder which you can swivel? (it is not my original idea. i've seen such a thing in a retail packet (Skilhunt?) and i was wondering if it can be purchased separately)

Something like the following item (which i already own!), but to be attached to your belt, so that you can shine in front of you, with hands-free operation:

i've received mine from Dinodirect (shill shill hehe), my first impressions:

+ high quality feeling. a little heavy, too thick walls. maybe serve as heat sink i dunno

+ Sunawayman-like anodization quality. incredible, really.

+ doesnt look or feel bulky in your palms, i am positively surprised! 23mm (p1a) or 21.5mm (Xeno e03) does NOT make a difference.

+ runs on Protected 14500 flawlessly. you get two DIFFERENT modes (brightness levels), nice!!

+ nice beam pattern. the tint is premium. CoolWhite. very tight and bright(!) white hotspot with (not too bad) greenish corona, very minimal corona artifacts, and purplish spill. It's the same coolwhite you see in Xeno E03 XML T6 coolwhite. the beam pattern is almost perfect, the tint is good. The tint of my (more expensive) klarus mix6 is better: uniform color, white.

+ accessories: tailcap boot cover, 2 fat o-rings, wrist strap, instruction manual

+ momentary activation and switch: very good

+ it's clearly a thrower imho.

+ apart from throw vs. flood, superior to Xeno e03 in many respects: momentary on, sturdy clip, heat sinking, mode memory, professional look, professional feel, military grade, perfect regulation (constant brightness), better mode spacing, better flashlight brand

- the clip is NOT reversible. or let's say it this way: the clip is NOT MEANT to be reversed. there is no pre-existing groove for bezel-up carry. i am negatively surprised!!

- well, as you can see above, the clip IS reversible (clip it right below the o-ring!) and it fits there even better than in the pre-exisiting groove for bezel-down carry but you will lose the High-mode because the head cannot be fully tightened any longer. you could remedy this by installing a copper sealing washer (perfect ground size: 14.5 x 19.0 x 1.6) between the head and the body tube, however you may consider a different method (or torch!) to attach the P1A to your head (headband, head strap) or baseball cap. Why? Because the P1A is heavier, bulkier and longer than for example the Quark AA.

- clip is too sturdy. i cant remove it. simply push from the side. dont pull or lift the clip. push it from the side to take it off.

- threads are not square cut. tail threads are anodized (lockout possible) and lubed, head threads are unanodized and unlubed wtf.

- tailstand wobbly (rubber boot)

Here some tailcap readings: (note: "remaining offline voltage" is the cell voltage measured after swiftly taking the cell out of the activated flashlight. this voltage may coincide with the cell voltage under load, since after the measurement the cell would recover and voltage quickly rise to a stationary real offline voltage)

LiIon, High-mode: falling amperage, no regulation (runtime estimation impossible)

remaining voltage (offline) 4.221V sssV sssV 2.686V
tailcap current 2.020A sssA sssA 0.624A

LiIon, Low-mode: falling amperage, no regulation (runtime estimation impossible)

remaining voltage (offline) 4.221V sssV sssV 2.634V
tailcap current 0.516A sssA sssA 0.038A

eneloop, High-mode: constant current regulated, avg. 2200mA (estimated runtime: < 60mins.)

remaining voltage (offline) 1.52V 1.47V 1.31V 1.16V
tailcap current 2.614A 2.3A 2.2A 1.8A

average current draw is 2.2A which seems to be a stabilization point for a wide typical voltage range. when the cell approaches and passes the 1.20V mark, amperage would linearly decline (2.1A, 2.0A, 1.9A, 1.8A, ..).

eneloop, Low-mode: constant brightness regulated, avg. 80mA (estimated runtime: 25.0h)

remaining voltage (offline) 1.52V 1.47V 1.31V 0.89V
tailcap current 0.068A 0.070A 0.077A 0.229A

Runtime, eneloop 2000mAh, High-mode:

the torch gets really hot shortly before it drops out of regulation after 60mins (remaining offline voltage, 1.21V) which is about the same disappointing result which one gets with Jetbeam BA10. Within the next 5mins the torch would cool down (0.87V) and be noticeably dimmer after, say, a total of 1h15min (0.85V; recoverable to 1.17V). The light continues to dim for a long duration of 1h45mins until the LED emits practically zero light: the light is off after 3h02m30s of total elapsed time (0.8460V; recoverable to 1.12V). the eneloop cell is fully(!) depleted; capacity consumed: 2030mAh(!!). In the Klarus printed manual, the runtime is indicated as "1.5 hrs"; clearly, this number is really wrong (an intentional lie?!). The max acceptable number to be printed optimistically in the manual should be 1.2hrs imho but a much fairer value to be published would be 1.0 hrs.

Runtime, eneloop 2000mAh, Low-mode:

Low-mode (P1A w/ Premium R5)
testrun stopped remaining offline voltage recoverable to capacity consumed
Eneloop cell#1 & testrun#1 25h4min ~0.84V 1.1764V 1899mAh
Eneloop cell#2 & testrun#2 27h3min ~0.83V 1.1054V 1948mAh
Eneloop cell#3 & testrun#3 tba tba tba tba
Eneloop cell#4 & testrun#4 tba tba tba tba

In testruns#1 and #2 the torch began to dim visibly after exact 25.0hrs and brightness dropped fast within 5mins to 50%. At this point 1899mAh of the cell's capacity is already consumed and the remaining ~100mAh are used to keep the LED lit at sub-moonlight level for extended time. The light continues to dim for a long duration of 2hrs until the LED emits practically zero light: the light is off after 27h3mins of total elapsed time (< 0.83V; recoverable to 1.1054V). (*FYI* Actually the LED begins to emit an accelerating pulsating signal at that point, which is a common observed phenomenon when a cell is beyond its assumed death and repeatedly auto-recovers to the LED's threshold voltage.) the eneloop cell is fully(!) depleted; capacity consumed: 1948mAh. In the Klarus printed manual, the runtime is indicated as "28 hrs"; clearly, this number is really wrong (an intentional lie?!).

Runtime, Protected Trustfire flames 14500 900mAh, High-mode:

High-mode (P1A w/ Premium R5)
14500 cell#1 14500 cell#2 14500 cell#3 protection PCB tripped
testrun#1 38m19s 40m56s 35m39s yes
testrun#2 39m34s 41m31s 37m04s yes
testrun#3 N/A N/A N/A N/A
testrun#4 N/A N/A N/A N/A

In order get some confidence in the runtime results i did 6 testruns: 2 tests with each of my 3 cells. The results from the table clearly indicate how the quality (=actual capacity) of the cell has a direct impact on the runtime. Obviously cell#3 (purchased from DD and delivered without hologram!) is a poor quality cell with low capacity. In this high drainage test cell#2 (also purchased from DD) is the best performer. Rounding numbers, we can safely state that the runtime is 40mins.

Runtime testruns, Protected Trustfire flames 14500 900mAh, Low-mode:

Low-mode (P1A w/ Premium R5)
14500 cell#1 14500 cell#2 14500 cell#3 protection PCB tripped
testrun#1 2h34m27s 2h27m13s 2h20m40s yes
testrun#2 2h32m14s 2h27m12s 2h20m07s yes
testrun#3 N/A N/A N/A N/A
testrun#4 N/A N/A N/A N/A

In order get some confidence in the runtime results i did 6 testruns: 2 tests with each of my 3 cells. The results from the table clearly indicate how the quality (=actual capacity) of the cell has a direct impact on the runtime. Obviously cell#3 and cell#2 (both purchased from DD and delivered without hologram!) are poor quality cells with low capacity, and cell#1 (purchased from DX) the best performer. Rounding numbers, we can safely state that the runtime is 2.5hrs.

Again with the tints? Really? Do want me to put in my sig "Kreisler still does not understand how binning and selection and ratings like CW/NW/WW of high power LEDs work.... so take his posts like 'X flashlight has Y tint/sub-tint/LED-color' with a grain of salt (more like 2 tons)"... because I will do it. ;-) If you don't believe me ... buy 10-20 Ultrafire CW C3 and you will have pretty much have a cool white rainbow. It is called "tint lottery" for a reason. Also there is no such thing as a "premium" tint.

But back to the P1A... I also like it better than my Xeno, but the smooshy switch with the long travel to engage could be improved... it works well, but it feels weird. My Xeno E03 XP-G or P2A have about the same beam pattern than the P1A. Since you some of you also have both AA Klaruses... is it just me or is the reflector on the P1A less stippled (smoother) than the P2A? It seems to result in a little harder transition between hotspot and spill.

hehe.

hi Vectrex, ive never handled the P2A in my life before. Speedsix has the two Klaruses. And since when do you have a Xeno?, it's not in your sig :D

the hotspot is very tight with a rather hard transition to the corona, i would agree. very very light orange-peel textured. and i am questioning the usefulness of such a focused beam pattern in indoor use without a 23mm white diffuser.

so P1A's purchased at different times (production batches) will result in different tints? .. i understand.

Tank has a good variety of diffusers!, and very cheap at PriceAngels.com

23mm white diffusers by Lumiquest also available from KD (link1, link2).

Personally i ordered the ones from Dinodirect, so ask me! Here some details:

a white hard plastic diffuser tip for the Klarus P1A (bezel diameter 23.00mm) is the Tank007 diffuser product#23100, which is available thru DD for $3.39, or from BOB for 5.90$, or from AA for 2.81$,

a soft(?) white diffuser tip is available thru MF for $2.63.

a German dealer sells original(?) Klarus diffuser tips for €4.90 plus shipping.

he also sells Klarus holster for the P1A.

i havent received my P1A yet .. but once i have, i will use my DD credits on the Tank diffuser. Finally something sensible to buy!!

It is at least not guaranteed that the tints will be exactly the same. I think you will have to go to different price levels for hand-selected (human eyes) tints. The budget lights I have seen so far where I had the possibility to check multiple specimen of the same light were different sometimes even within the same shipment. (5-6 UF C3, 8 Hugsby P31/p32, 3 Skyray S-A1) XR-Es CW seem to have a wider variation in LED-color than the newer XP-G ones, but still. One could argue that the quality of brands like Klarus is higher than the Ultra-budget brands, but every additional selection process raises costs and when you look at brands like 4sevens who sometimes are knowingly building predominantly greenish emitter in their flashlights despite being 'premium'. (and I am almost sure they ordered a specific tint) They simply cannot afford not to use those emitters. David Chow of 4sevens went for the first lot of XM-L emitters not knowing what he will get. If people in the industry can't even pinpoint the LED color before they hold them in their hands, I find a bit premature of us hobbyists to say 'flashlight x has always y LED color'.

This is all "CW" ... and even the squares with the "exact tint" can have a wide variation.

As long as emitter aren't for order with color coordinates with 3 decimal points preciseness... it is essentially order something and hope for the best, at least in budgetland. BTW I already made space in my sig... ;-)

thanks! all the squares belong to "CoolWhite" .. omg. That looks indeed like lottery argh!

'premium' about Quarks is ante todo their pricing. machining, built quality and anodization of Klarus and Sunawayman are way superior, anyone could tell right away. but with the premium price of quarks stuff you get to enter the cpf community and the large 47's supporters and fanboys group and also the feeling to be part of a big family with a long history and tradition. and it feels good to post on cpfmp in the 47's forum and i dont feel so alone with my acquired product. that makes the 47's lights so outstanding and worth the high price. when you pay the 69.99bucks you can actually feel how this money supports the 47's company and their investments (modernization, new printed catalog, rebranding, new website, etc.) and number of employees, and this feels awesome. paying for a quark elevates the buyer to the grand world of CPF. 47's products are probably the most often reviewed flashlights nowadays. you pay the premium price, and then you're a member, one of CPF and the supporters.

feels great. worth the price.

I don't own lights above the $35 mark, so I can't really comment on the "premium" brands mainly because of customs reasons, but also because of the possibility of receiving a bad tint on a $50+ dollar light and this can happen with any brand. BTW the graph is still missing the most important thing to me... the real color rendering capabilities... and I don't mean the CR Index as the industry uses it now.

the whole hotspot is a very bright donut hole and its delimitation a super bright white ring: the round center area (hotspot area) is darker than its comprising circle. yes, difficult to notice. only on a white wall. my other lights dont show this phenomenon. the donut effect is not too striking because of the overall symmetrical beauty of the beam pattern and the sheer brightness of the hotspot. but yes, it is noticeable. haha

+ 1

cheapish switch. tsss. (my romisen and quark have better feeling switches)

most annoying about it: if you press it really deep, it does another click sound. basically you get a double-click sound when you press the switch beyond the first click point ("clickclick"). in either case pressing the switch feels cheap and also sounds cheapish. not a big deal and shouldnt bother anybody .. but it is noticeable and noteworthy.

+ 1

me too, lol too

wow that was an easy fix! Now my switch feels and sounds premium $)

What i did:

i replaced the original (thin) rubber boot with an original Foursevens Tactical rubber boot

which is thicker (rubber wall thickness) and smaller (boot height) than the Klarus boot. In addition i oiled the clicky with (quite a lot of) superlube oil:

so now the double-click sound is gone too!

And there is now less play/space/air between the boot and the clicky (practically zero!) so that you get a real momentary on as soon as you touch/press the boot.

premium clicky feel, no more long ways until activation, no more wobbly tailstand, no more squishy squashy sounds or double-click sounds, all problems solved. That simple: 1x 47's tactical boot (black or blue!!), and 1x Super Lube original product -- that's all you need for the fantastic transformation from cheap to premium!! And the idea was stolen from cpf haha

Hey, the 47's thick boots costs only 35.00 and they are well worth the money!! :hat:

I didn’t get my PA1 from DD but I did order a PA2 from them and got it in about a month. Everything you can say about the PA1 is true of the PA2 except the PA2 is much brighter. I find I use my PA2 more often because it is not much bigger or heavier yet is about twice as bright. If a little extra length is not an issue, the PA2 is brighter and has longer runtimes. If not, the PA1 is plenty bright for everything short of spotlighting outdoors. It is a flood/spot mix so it is best for close to medium range.

i finally got my first copy of Tank007 23mm diffuser and i will receive another copy soon. the diffuser is interesting since its orifice reveals machining marks of 3 boring up operations: it was drilled 3 times to accomodate 3 different diameters. the most outer drilled diameter is 22.70mm (and it should have been 23.00mm argh!), so i need to perform a boring movement with the p1a by twisting back and forth the head (the p1a has no "bezel"!) and pressing it against the 22.70mmØ orifice. This will hopefully grind up (bore up) the diameter to the 23.00mm. Forward "drilling" movement is 10mm (yikes) depth, because at that depth you hit the middle drilled diameter (22.0mm) and thereafter (from depth 20..30mm) the diameter is 21.0mm. So basically "this Tank diffuser fits 21.0, 22.0 and 23.0 bezel diameters"; while this self-quote may be true or not, the nominal diameter is 23.0mm so that i could recommend it only for use with 23.0mm bezel diameter flashlights. Once i am done with the boring up, i'll post a picture of it placed on the p1a.

EDIT: done!

the outer diameter of the P1A at the bezel is 23.20mm, no wonder that the 23mm diffuser (with 22.70mm inner diameter) didnt fit nicely from the beginning. Well, i am done with the boring (with 2 hands, no machines or tools!), and the result is really pleasing: (click to enlarge!)

The above pic-in-pic beautifully :love: depicts the 3 Tank007 bores to fit 3 different bezel diameters. The red mark is the diameter step from 23.0mm (area A) to 22.0mm (area B; Quark head fits nicely!), and area C is for 21.0mm bezel diameters. The Xeno E03 and the Fenix LD20 have a 21.5mm bezel diameter and neither fit this Tank007 diffuser in a satisfactory manner. The Xeno is too loose in area B, and cant enter area C!

The P1A and P2A are nice throwers with tight hotspots, great for outdoor use. Indoors i do prefer the usage of a directed diffused beam which you'd get with diffuser lenses (see Eagtac T20), or transparent diffuser tips (see Fenix). This Tank007 white (non transparent) diffuser tip fits 100% perfectly snug'n tight on the P1A/P2A (area A) but it's of limited practical use: since the light is emitted in all diffused directions you get a nice candle (Easter Holidays, Skt. Martinszug, center-placed in a little room with dark walls where a white ceiling bounce is hopeless) and that's about it.

Since i got the diffuser "for free" with the DD discounting system etc. --price in Germany is ~10€ shipped (=13.xxUS$) lol-- i wont complain and can highly recommend this item to any P1A/P2A user .. as long as you acquire it as cheap from them (Dinodirect).

Btw I am tracking my personal copy of P2A from DD and it should reach me later this week, then i can compare the P2A's performance with 1x 14500 ("lego-ability"). Another 23mm Tank007 diffuser is shipped with the P2A (for the P2A, as spare for the P1A/P2A, or for sale (pm me)). Why? Again because i got it "for free" from DD so why say no? ;)