Hugsby XP-11 XP-E2 AA flashlight review

Bought from TomTop's Ebay store here, since its cheaper there than on their site ;)! 2xAA version can be found here and 1xAAA here and 2xAAA here as well as 3xAAA here.

Other sellers might have what appears to be the same lights cheaper, however nobody can guarantee what you will get, BLF members have complained getting fake Hugsby's while none complained about genuinity of TomTop's Hugsby's.

(According to sellers specs its supposed to be single mode AA XP-E light, however, it appears that they are putting XP-E2 into it now)

So lets start with this mini review:


Light comes in nondescript white cardboard box with model number sticker on it and shipping date barcode sticker.


Inside there is light itself with lanyard(broke during first use because too short) already attached and the whole thing is slipped into bubble bag, simple and effective.


Compared to S15R and AA battery

When I opened up the package and got the light out I was suprised how thin it is and at first thought that they might have put the wrong model, the XP-1 in it, despite the fact that the light has laser etched model number of XP-11 on it, still, surprisingly thin for a AA light! More on that later.

Very deep reflector that gives tight, small hotspot with good throw, lens appears to be AR coated, LED is not exactly centered but for the price paid, this isnt really a complaint at all!


Build quality feels good, no imperfections on the light annodization that it has, brand name and model numbers are laser etched perfectly, no defects here either! Some other premium manufacturers, who sell light at the price 5-10x as much could learn something here from Hugsby ;)!

Bare weight of the light is 31 grams, with 2200mAh Turnigy its 59.7 grams.


Tail switch(reverse) is small, comfortable with matte rubber, with good, firm press, it would be hard active this light by accident since switch is recessed into the tail.

Its tip, however, slightly protrudes on mine, so while the light will tailstand, will be a bit wobbly while doing so.

Now, regarding its thinness/narrowness:

Putting in batteries showed its thinness - the light will not accept all NiMh batteries because the battery tube is so narrow and theres also a sticker inside the tube showing how to insert the battery.

After removing the sticker, I was able to put in some of the NiMh's that I own, however, even those were a tight fit and it felt like sticking something inside some kind of vacuum chamber.

Regular Eneloops will fit, so will Turnigy's AA 2200mAh ones. Eneloop Pro's wont fit, neither will GP ReCyko AA green rechargeable batteries that I bought some while ago from BIC during their sale. Lithium primaries such as the ones by Nextorch and Nice fit without issues so did alkalines.

Runtimes are good, it draws around 0.75A from NiMh, during runtime test light became slightly warm to the touch, but only slightly.

After 4 hours 1 minute when the output had dropped to around 1 lumen or less, battery was at 0.92V when removed from light.

I did not test for any signs of regulation and how much the light dropped during whole runtime, what I can say, however, that it still had decent output up to 3 hour mark and then became dimmer and dimmer until it hit the 4 hours with moonlight mode output and empty NiMh.

Doesnt seem that theres an easy way to take this lights head apart and mod it without ruining it.

Light has 3 parts - tail, battery tube, head. I switched head and tailcap, like it that way better than stock.


Has reverse polarity protection.


Tail spring appears to be gold plated.

Threads are smooth and lubed, so are o-rings.

I used lanyard from Jetbeam BA20, the size is right about perfect and adjustable.

+Cheap

+Good build quality

+Cree XP-E2

+Decent runtime on 2.2Ah NiMh


-No pocket clip


+/- Throwy beam with rather smooth transition from hotspot to spill

+/- Single mode only

+/- Wider head would increase both throw and stability when standing on desk, light is very narrow

+/- LED not centered

+/- Included lanyard too small, tore apart during first use


Overall a good light for the money, still waiting for my XP-12(its 2xAA version) to arrive and while waiting ordered few more.

I thought there cant be quality sub-10$ lights out there and none are worth a look let alone $$$, well, Im glad I was wrong, this light is really good for the money!

Time will tell how well it will endure basic use.


Thanks for reading/looking ;)!

nice review. :slight_smile: this model don’t come with a side clip as the XP-1 & XP-2 does?

Thanks!

Nope, as mentioned in review, it does not, it comes with medium quality lanyard that broke off during first use, its simply too short for large hands/gloves.

Pocket clip would be nice!

I didn’t know they did a 3 x AAA version - I’ve just ordered one for roughly £4.50 or so.

I know some people would think 3 x AAA is a peculiar combination but I like the chunkiness of it.

Thanks again

SP

Top notch for the $$ for sure, I have the XP-1

Has anybody tried a P31 which similar to the XP-11 and for a few dollars more takes 14500’s as well for more power and has 3 modes. Comes with clip v lanyard

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-CREE-Q5-LED-Flashlight-300LM-3-Mode-Outdoor-Handy-Durable-Torch-White-Light-/381057031732

Almost twice the price of XP-11, hard to buy one, especially knowing that there are also similar 14500-AA capable lights for not much more :D!
Looks dated design wise also :stuck_out_tongue: !

There was old review from 2010 I think somewhere around, but the light has changed a bit since then, try to google, perhaps something newer will come up?

XP-11 and XP-12 are cheaper here:

XPE-R3 Portable Pocket LED Flashlight Torch Light 120LM + Hand Wrist Strap N8TK | eBay?

Mini CREE XPE R3 Portable Pocket LED Flashlight Penlight Torch Light 120LM Black for sale | eBay?

I’ve received both of my orders…

I changed the CA domain name ending to COM and it shows that they both are more expensive, Ebay automatically shows prices in USD when changing domain name extension(.ca -> .com).

Depending on currency exchange rates price differences may vary.

Can I be sure these are genuine? The last one I ordered (from Ebay) was a fake and I didnt even know. I love small AAAs and would be interested in getting a real one.

If they are from seller TomTop.something, then they should be genuine.

copy-n-paste from the other xp-12 thread:

I think there are some confusions…

for me as a US customer, I found it was cheapest at .ca auction site. At the .com auction site, shipping is $1.99.
At tomtop site, it shows free ship but when I checked out w/ paypal, it adds $.71 for shipping. I just tried it again just now.

I’ve bought several of each all from the .ca site, have received the initial 2 orders. I can’t vouch for all locations,
only US. You just need to try all 3 sites.

Just a quick note to say I received my XP-13 - shipping was 11 days from order to delivery. Flashlight itself is nice and chunky with a decent beam - I’m really happy with it for £4.50 - oh, and it came with a simple lanyard attached too.