Eagle Eye X5R Review

I’m glad you were able to do your review. Now I don’t feel obligated to return mine to stock form before modding it :slight_smile:

I think the X5R is a fantastic value

How about group buy maybe we could get price down to 18-19 $ for 100+ pcs.
Should I contact GearBest?
Tell me what you think?

My plate is full, but feel free to put me down for one more XML2 3C version if you do start a Group Buy….

I think it would be a good GB…

@PilotDog68- can’t wait to see your mod…. MTG2?

great review !

thanks for sharing

I have 2 on their way in the post…Cant wait to see the throw ? I was expecting a 100 meter extra with the new XP-L HI, like the Nitecore MH12 manages, 320 meter they say and only 300 in test, but still out throws competitors. - Has anyone measured the throw length ? - thanks §:wink:

Can you use the light for a long time in high mode? I think it says 2,5 hours on high but what batteries they used, was that with 3400mah 18650?
Is the internal charge function safe? Will it stop at 4,2V ? This looks like a really good light for the money, i also considered the X6R with sideswitch because it has a larger head for better cooling but couldnt find it, its sold out currently. It doesnt offer copper for cooling, right? Do you think the cooling was enough because im not a modder at all?

Thanks for the review! Well done. I just bought two of these; one for me, and one for a buddy so we have a matched pair. Very nice lights, but I had problems at first with the light going in and out. Turns out the body was not screwed tightly into the head, and the lip of the body is what provides the electrical path. The batteries I ordered for them did not arrive yet, so I had to use protected 18650’s to test them out. The fit was so tight that it dented the negative end of my Nitecore batteries, and the positive button on my Eastshine 3500 cells. Not happy with that, but if it’s cell that you plan on keeping with just this light, then I would not mind. One of the lights also had a black spec of debris right on the emitter, which I had to remove by taking off the lens and touching it with a Q-Tip. I could see the debris causing damage, especially since this emitter has no dome. Speaking of hot, it does indeed turn down from turbo to high after 3 minutes (3:07 to be exact), and the temperature of the head was 106 degrees fahrenheit. Not a problem, as already mentioned in the review, and it seems to heat up very slowly in the high mode. I don’t see me using it in a way that would trigger a warning in high, and I would probably be using one of my other lights when doing long searches. It cools off fairly quickly anyway. The lanyard attachment points allow you to install it so the lanyard itself does not interfere with tail standing (like it does on the Nitecore EC4). BUT, the raised portions of the tail cap are so narrow that you need a smooth and level surface to stand it on. When tail standing on my desk with other lights from Nitecore and Nebo, the Eagle Eye is the first to fall when the desk is bumped. Of course, it’s not really a fair comparison with the Nebo Twyst, as that one is almost impossible to knock over :wink:
For color temperature, I got the XPL HI 3A in the middle, and it’s a nice warm white… very pleasant, and even warmer than my Energizer 185L EDC, which I think just became my former EDC. I also keep a Nitecore EC4S with me most of the time because it has a beautiful beam pattern (to me!), and can rock 1000L without getting warm.
But, I can comfortably keep the X5R in my bag or pocket, while the EC4S is not quite as comfortable in the pocket.

All in all, I think the X5R was a very good purchase, and I’m sure my buddy will like his (once the batteries finally get here!).

I have this light since several months and its really good. I would say the best cigar shaped 18650 light for the money. It offers just more features compared to other similar priced lights. I bought it for 23 dollar in the flash deal with XPL HI NW.

I’ve had no problems using the light on high (450L) for extended times. This morning I put it in a holder, aimed it at the ceiling of a large auditorium, and left it on for about an hour with no problems. The entire flashlight heated up, but it was not uncomfortable to hold afterwards. I’m not sure what battery was used for calculating the 2.5 hour runtime on high, but I can test it in a couple days when the batteries arrive (still waiting!). I’m using a 3400 mAh Nitecore battery until the batteries I ordered for this light arrive. The charging stops at 4.11 volts, even if you leave it plugged in for a couple hours after the full indicator comes on. I’ll let the more experienced users chime in on the cooling. I do have a thermal scanner and can do tests in a few days, but the experience I’ve had so far is below.

10 lumens: No detectable heat.
180 lumens: Slight warming of just the head after several minutes. Body stays cool.
450 lumens: Head gets warm, and the body eventually gets warm as well. No risk of damage to the light, but you may want to give it a rest after an hour when using it in situations where your hand might get sweaty (warm environments or tense situations). Of course, I would consider this wonderful for cold environments!
1000 lumens: Head heats up almost immediately, but this mode was meant for short term use only, and the heat is expected. You can only dissipate so much energy into a body with limited surface area and thermal mass, which is why they have a 3 minute time out. It’s all good and working as expected, and I don’t regard it as a problem.

I went through a thermal test with the Eagle Eye X5R today. All tests were logged after the light was brought back down to a static temperature, and were run with the light in the same position, which was horizontal on a desk. Temperatures were taken from the side of the head, and from the middle of the body. Temperature was taken with a Fluke 62 Mini IR thermometer, at point blank range to eliminate the background surface from affecting the temperature. In the trial runs with this method, the temperature of any object behind the flashlight had no effect on the readings. For turbo mode, there is a three minute timeout on this model, so the setting was bumped back up to high whenever this occurred. When I pasted a table, it looked ugly, so below is a screen image of the data log. Let me know if you have any questions!

I have the xml2 version of this light and it should be noted the the OP texture on the reflector is extremely light. It’s almost a smooth reflector. I get a very defined circular hotspot with this light compared to the X2R and Convoy S2+.

The X5R has a slightly deeper reflector than those 2 lights as well so it’s less floody, but the tradeoff is more distance. It’s got enough spill light to walk around with easily compared to a C8 light which is too hot in the center and not enough spill.

I find my light manages the heat very well due to the way I use it in short bursts. Has anyone figured out a way to modify the stock driver to get a little extra power from it?

I think 3 to 3.5 amp would work well for this light.

The X5R does have a decent spill. One thing I strongly dislike is an overly intense hotspot combined with a too-dim spill. The hotspot blows things out and makes the side spill useless. I don’t use the Rayovac Beast someone gifted me because of that, and it was so bad on the Nebo Twyst that I returned it. I still think the features of the Twyst were cool, but it was a disappointment in actual use. Shining it across a dark auditorium and being to ONLY see the podium on stage kinda killed it for me, lol…

I mostly use mine in bursts as well, though it’s probably moderate-length bursts of a minute or so. That’s one of the reason’s I shy away from Olight, as a few seconds of turbo is often not enough for the way I use my lights. The step down on the X5R gives you a reasonable amount of time on turbo, and even my Nitecore penlight (MT06) stays on max for 3 minutes. I have not looked at stepping up the power of the X5R, as the highest sustainable output is 450 lumens, and even that gets a bit hot after 10 minutes. There are occasions when I will have the light on for extended times, like tunnel exploring, but when I need more light I usually just grab one of the bigger units.

One thing worth noting was that the clip ends do stick out quite a bit on the X5R and became a real issue with me. I had to cut them off and round the edges real nice so as to prevent scratches installing or removing it. Now it feels great in the hand.

How do we do attachments here?

Maybe this forum doesn’t allow attachements? Anyway, here are my mods. I just used an angle grinder to cut and shape it, then used a file to get the edges soft.

Looks good :+1:

I am SO doing this! Those ends annoy me as well.

I love lights with UIs like this. No ridiculous coming on in other modes.

Very tempting little torch! Thanks for examining it!

Thank you for the review! How does the X5R compare to the Manker U11, which do you prefer?