Xeno E03 XM-L T6 Cool White
Battery: | AA/14500 |
Switch: | Clicky |
Modes: | 3 (m-l-h) |
LED Type: | XM-L T6 |
Lens: | Glass |
Tailstands: | Yes |
Price Payed: | $30 |
From: | Tactical HID |
Date Ordered: | 05/23/2011 |
I just received this wonderful little light recently. It arrived a mere 2 days after I ordered it so kudos to the dealer for fast service. After returning my Thrunite Neutron 1A, this is my 2nd attempt at purchasing a compact XM-L light. At $30, this light slots in that inbetween space between budget and name brand lights.
Features 4/5
The light came in a blister pack with 2 o-rings, a spare tailswitch, a very cheap lanyard, and an instruction manual. The waranty sheet states that the light is warranted for 3 years. The blister pack itself is sort of meh for packaging, but still better for gifting than just getting a light wrapped in a piece of bubble wrap. The Engrish on the packaging is pretty funny, but the manual is suprisingly detailed, although also with plenty of Engrish. There is not an included holster or clip. The light is unique at this price level in that you can choose three different emitter shades (warm T4, neutral T5, and cool T6) and three different colors (red, blue, and black). I ordered the blue with the cool white emitter and as the pictures will indicate, the blue is kind of dark and skews towards purple. The light is 3-modes with no flashies, sequenced M-L-H. The switch is a reverse clicky with no memory mode. With only the three modes sequenced M-L-H, I actually find myself wishing that there was memory for this light. The spacing for the modes work well when running Nimh, however, on 14500, they are far from perfect. Xeno claims the light is current controlled rather than PWM which is probably one of the reasons why the modes on 14500 don't sit as well. The driver is clearly designed with Nimh in mind as the priority.
Build Quality 5/5
The light is very well put together for $30. The build quality was much better than my $53 Thrunite and is at the same level as my Fenix. The anodizing is evenly applied and flawless. Xeno does not claim HA-III for the light, but it could definitely pass for HA-III visually. Gnurling is similarly flawless and is exceptionally aggressive. I haven't owned a lot of lights, but this is among the most aggressive I have ever seen. This makes the light exceptionally grippy and I actually liked the feel in hand better than the Fenix and the Neutron which I returned. The boot on the tailswitch is very thick, which does contribute to a very firm action to turn the light on or off. Half presses on the switch change the mode as you would expect. The tailcap and o-ring at the bezel are both GITD material. I am not a huge fan of it for the tailswitch, but it is a better looking switch cover than most of the GITD switches on budget lights. Amazingly, the internal o-rings are not GITD, which is an improvement over most budget lights. Printing seems very nice and evenly applied. Whether you like the graphics they use is personal preference, but I personally felt they added a little to the light without being gaudy or otherwise embarrasing. A serial number is stamped on the tail piece.
The light is constructed of a 1-piece body tube and then tail piece. No separate head on this one. It has a real stainless steel flat bezel, which I imagine should be removable, but my first, modest attempt did not budge it. The threads at the tail are nice and square, but spaced quite wide. There are basically only three threads meaning you can remove the tail with only three complete turns. The lack of threading does concern me a little but they are spaced wide enough, I think they'll be alright. The light uses a spring on both the tail and the pill so you can use flat-tops if you like, which is a nice touch. The emitter appears to be fairly well centered. The two minor nitpicks I have are the fact that the retaining ring in the tail is plastic and that you can see the machining grooves on the finger indentations. The finger indentations themselves are a presonal preference of whether you think they add or detract to the light. They do give the light a more unique shape and I did find the light comfortable to hold. The lack of any other protrusions on the body and no clip means that this light will roll easily, however, the clicky is recessed just the right amount that it tailstands easily and stably.
Light Output 4/5
Like the Neutron 1A I had previously, this light is exceptionally floody, as you would expect with a combination of a small, shallow, op reflector with an XM-L emitter. If anything, this light is actually more floody than the Thrunite although I no longer have it for direct comparison. I believe the Thrunite reflector was a little deeper so that would make sense. If anything, the light is a little too floody as the light just lacks the feel of intensity when running on Nimh. Again, I do not have the Thrunite to directly compare, but from my previous beamshots and ceiling shots, it does seem the Thrunite outperformed it on Nimh. You don't get the feeling that the light is as bright as it is from the floodiness. However, this light really shines on 14500 as all that extra output makes up for its lack of throw. I haven't had the opportunity to do tailcap readings, but let me throw out the manufacturer claims:
NIMH: 20ma-20lms/150ma-45lms/350ma-120lms, 14500: 300ma-80lms/1a-280lms/1.5a-430lms
These are different than what the dealer claimed at cpf:
NIMH: 20ma-10lms/135ma-60lms/500m-200lms, 14500: 300ma-90lms/1a-320lms/1.56a-490lms
In my experience, the lumens on high modes seem to be closer to the manufacturer claims than the dealer claims. These numbers do indicate the biggest gripe about this light: the lack of a true low mode when running on 14500. The light is too bright to use for situations where all you need is a low mode. Also, the medium mode ends up being too close to the high mode. This is exacerbated by the lack of mode memory so you are always turning it on to that quite bright middle mode and sometimes you don't want to turn on the light to that much power.
Tint is very slightly blue, but slightly less so than my ITP C7. It is not that far off from neutral on my sample. I am quite happy with the tint color on the light and the beam quality is also pretty smooth and wide. I should add that as you see with many XM-L lights and drop-ins, on a white wall you see a weird purple fringe on the outside of the spill.
Left to Right: ITP C7, Xeno E03, Fenix LD20 Q5 all on nimh
1/40 sec
1/200 sec
1/800 sec
C7 on 14500, E03 on 14500, LD20 Nimh
1/40 sec
1/200 sec
1/800 sec
Ceiling Bounce Shots
ITP C7 Nimh
Xeno E03 Nimh
Fenix Ld20 Q5 Nimh
E03 14500
Next are outdoor beamshots. The conditions were kind of crummy and I need to mow badly. Its been constant storms here of late. It's 50 feet to the crabapple tree.
Control Shot
Ld20 Nimh
E03 Nimh Low
E03 Nimh Medium
E03 Nimh High
ITP C7 14500
E03 14500 Low
E03 14500 Medium
E03 14500 High
Battery Life 4/5
Again, no independent tailcap measurements and I don't have the patience to test runtime myself. Based on the output, I would say the dealer's figures for draw on a 14500 are probably accurate. That means a 14500 on high will only last you about 25 minutes to 30 minutes at best. At the low mode, the light is still too bright, so you are looking at a battery only going about 2.5 hours. That just doesn't cut it in my book, although the life is reasonable given the output. For 14500, the battery life can be rated no higher than a 3/5. However, on Nimh, the mode spacing is right where you want it and the low mde really is a low mode so you will get a very generous battery life. So for nimh, battery life is probably closer to 5/5. I'll split the difference and give it a 4/5.
Overall 4/5
This is a really nice light. It looks good. It's well built and it provides excellent output. With that said, the floodiness makes the light feel a little anemic on nimh. If you are looking at running nimh only, there are probably better choices out there, but its hard to find this quality of light for $30 otherwise, should you pursue this type of light. On 14500, this light blazes, but I can't give it a full 5/5 for that, because the lack of a true low mode is a major problem. This light is tantalizingly close to providing everything one would want in a budget, high output, compact light, but it just doesn't quite get there. Overall, a very solid light and I recommend it.