Trustfire XP-E F23
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★★
Summary:
| Battery: | AAA or 10440 |
| Switch: | reverse clicky |
| Modes: | 3 Hi Lo Strobe with memory |
| LED Type: | Cree XP-E R2 |
| Lens: | glass |
| Tailstands: | No |
| Price Payed: | $13.89 |
| From: | DealExtreme sku.24291 |
Pros:
- Stainless steel looks great
- Bright LED, esp. on lithium-ion
- Simple modes with memory
Cons:
- Short battery life on li-ion
- Longer than some AAA lights
Build Quality: ★★★★★
I am impressed with this light. It is real stainless steel (not magnetic) and looks great (despite the glow-in-the-dark boot). I carried it in my pocket with keys or change for a day or two and it got some light scratches on it. With such a smooth finish, I guess that's expected.
The build quality is pretty good. My only problem is the o-rings don't seem to engage whatever is being screwed over them, so it probably isn't dunkable. But the joints close up really tight, so who knows? Not me. The threads don't move as smoothly as my other lights, but that seems to be expected for steel.
The head has a deep smooth reflector. So the beam shows up more ringy and less floody than the iTP A3, but it throws farther. However the L1D throws even farther than that, but it has a bigger reflector too. The o-ring between the lens and reflector leaves a thin glowing line when you turn the flashlight off that is kind of neat.
I like that there aren't very many modes (Low-High-Strobe) but I could do without Strobe. I also like that there is no head twisting. This flashlight can be operated just by your thumb on the reverse clicky. And the memory means it can come on directly in high if that's where you left it, which is what I want most of the time. I'm thinking this will be my primary dog-walking light. Maybe the strobe will come in handy if we come across an aggressive dog.
The iTP A3 EOS Upgraded, Trustfire XP-E F23, and Fenix L1:
Battery Life: ★★★☆☆
I don't have the equipment to do a good runtime test (see below for Don's excellent measurements and graphs), but on a 800 mAh Duracell precharged cell ("duraloop"), the light stayed on for 38 minutes before getting significantly dimmer. During that time the light got quite warm, but not hot. I did a test with an unprotected blue Trustfire 600mAh 10440 lithium ion cell, stopping every 3 minutes to measure the battery voltage and current at the battery. Within 6 minutes, the head of the light was too hot to keep a finger on it comfortably, but the heat was concentrated at the front of the light. After 15 minutes, the battery was lower than I should have let it get, so that is about all you can get out of it.
| Time | Volts | Amps |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | 4.19 | 1.23 |
| 0:03 | 3.89 | 1.11 |
| 0:06 | 3.77 | 1.01 |
| 0:09 | 3.70 | 0.94 |
| 0:12 | 3.63 | 0.84 |
| 0:15 | 3.33 | 0.54 |
Here is a test on a white-topped Duracell 800mAh AAA NiMH cell. By this test you could only count on about 25 minutes of runtime. I'm not sure why I didn't get the 38 minutes of my earlier test, but possibly it was because the battery was fresh off the charger and, since it was hot, provided higher current for a shorter time. I didn't do current measurements the first time, but this test seems to indicate the battery had about 800mAh of capacity.
| Time | Volts | Amps (High) | Amps (Low) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | 1.431 | 1.91 | 0.21 |
| 0:05 | 1.281 | 1.72 | 0.18 |
| 0:10 | 1.274 | 1.74 | 0.18 |
| 0:05 | 1.267 | 1.72 | 0.19 |
| 0:20 | 1.252 | 1.73 | 0.20 |
| 0:25 | 1.196 | 1.55 | 0.18 |
| 0:30 | 0.975 | falling fast | 0.11 |
Light Output: ★★★★★
DealExtreme says the Low is 80 lumens, but it looks more like 10 to me (I'm guesstimating Fenix lumens), which is a lot better than 80. They also say the maximum brightness is 150 lumens, which is probably reasonable on 10440 lithium ions (might be 180). It isn't that much less on NiMH's, maybe 120 lumens.
Indoor Beam Shots
The Trustfire is always on the left. Most pictures were taken at f2.8 and 1/25 second exposure until the end when the exposure is shortened. The distance to the wall is half a meter.
Trustfire XP-E F23 vs. iTP A3 EOS on high with NiMH eneloops. The Trustfire is a little brighter, but the A3 puts off a lot of spill that you can't really see here and that makes it seem like there is more light overall with the A3. The F23 tint is pretty white but cool, but not as cool as the A3. Definitely not blue. I'm impressed with the tint. They're not as neutral as they look here:
F23 vs. A3 on low with NiMH eneloops. The A3 has a very low low (1.5 lumens) while the F23 seems to be more like 10-15 lumens:
F23 vs. Fenix LD1 Q5 on High with NiMH Eneloops. The F23 seems brighter. The L1D has a warmer tint though:
F23 vs. L1D on low with NiMH Eneloops. Fenix claims 12 lumens on low, so the Trustfire is maybe just a hair under that at 10 lumens:
Fade series F23 vs. A3 on high with fresh lithium ion batteries:
1/25 second:
1/250th second:
1/1000th second:
Now a fade series against the L1D with lithium ion batteries.
1/25th second:
1/250th second:
1/1000th second:
Outdoor shots
The forked stick in the ground is 25 feet away. The light is aimed at the fencepost to the left of the stick which is about 120 feet away. All exposures are for 4 seconds.
Control shot:
On High with 800mAh Eneloop AAA NiMH:
On High with 600mAh Ultrafire 10440 lithium-ion battery. I didn't realize there was such a difference. This light also throws pretty well:
For comparison, here is the iTP A3 EOS on 10440 li-ion:
The F23 on Low with 800mAh Eneloop AAA NiMH:
The F23 on Low with 600mAh Ultrafire 10440 li-ion:
Summary: ★★★★★
This is a good light. Because it isn't as small as the iTP A3 EOS, that light will remain in my pocket as my EDC. And the Fenix is still a better general use light with a nicer tint and better throw. But I'll definitely use the F23 walking the dogs because it can be used with one hand, has mode memory, a good low, and is plenty bright on high.
Not going really isn't an option for me. Sadly.
