Review: Klarus Mi7 Titanium (XP-L HI, 1x AA / 1x 14500). Estimated Output, Runtimes, & Beamshots.

Klarus Mi7 Titanium

Summary:

Battery: 1x AA, 1x 14500
Switch: Electronic Side Switch
Modes:

Moon - Low - High
+ Strobe - SOS

Mode Memory: Always comes on in High mode on short press or Long press for moon mode.
LED Type: XP-L HI (Cool White)
Lens: AR Coated Glass
Reflector: Aluminum - Orange Peel
Price: $64.95 Use code 'MAP' for a great price.
Provided by:

Fasttech
https://www.fasttech.com/p/6355600

Function / User Interface:

The Klarus Mi7 Ti utilizes an electronic side switch for operational shortcuts.

From off:

A single short press turns the flashlight on in high mode.

A long press turns the flashlight on in moonlight mode.

A double press activates strobe.

A triple press activates Battery Capacity Indication.

Battery Capacity is indicated by the number of flashes. 3 Flashes is 70% or more, 2 Flashes is 30-70%, and 1 Flash is less than 30%.



While on:

A single press will cycle down to low from Turbo, and then another single press will turn the flashlight off.

A double press will activate Strobe. A double press while in Strobe will activate SOS. A single press from Strobe/SOS will return to the last used normal output mode.

Parasitic drain through the electronic side switch is negligible at 49.9µA on NiMH cells.

Parasitic drain through the electronic side switch is a bit higher at 192.5µA on Liion cells.

Data & Measurements:

My measurements are quite a bit lower on AA cells than the specifications.

All throw measurements are lux values taken at 7ft and calculated back to 1 meter (Rounded to the nearest hundred). Estimated Max Output (Lumens) values are calculated based on measurements taken 30 seconds after turn on and are obtained through a DIY 'pvc lumen tube' in an effort to achieve diffusion of dissimilar beam profiles. As such, these values should be taken as "rough approximations."

Runtime Tests:

The following tests took place in 65°F Ambient temperature, indoors, with very little air movement. The flashlight sits head facing down on a piece of glass that is recessed inside a 4" PVC pipe. A small fan directed at the flashlight is activated where indicated.

The Mi7 Ti in High mode, utilizing an Eneloop Pro AA 2450mAh has about 266lm at 30 seconds. Output very slowly decreases over the course of 70 minutes. At this point, the output is down to about 155lm and output rapidly decreases down to a moon mode by 85min. At 105 minutes I manually ended the test. The cell measured 1.09v.

Using a 14500 cell the output begins much higher at about 695lm at 30 seconds. Output drops rather quickly during the first 3 minutes at which point the output begins to drop very rapidly. By 4 minutes the output has dropped down to about 300lm. The Temperature plateaus at 126°F. I turned a cooling fan on at 15 minutes to see how it would behave. Output gradually increased as temperature rapidly decreased. Just after 40 minutes the output begins dropping. At 55 minutes the output is down to a moon mode level. I manually ended the test at 80 minutes.

Here's a comparison of the AA NiMH vs 14500 Liion High mode runtime test.

Pictures:

The Klarus Mi7 Titanium arrived in a neat, solid little box.

The flashlight is surrounded by hard foam.

Stashed neatly inside the box is an Alkaline AA (preinstalled & insulated preventing accidental activation), A nice Klarus Lanyard, a manual, an O-ring, a tiny dual carabiner, a key ring, and the Klarus Mi7 Titanium.

A look at the AR coated lens, OP reflector, and that fun, well-centered little XP-L HI LED.

The machining on the Mi7 TI is almost perfect. There are no sharp edges and it feels great in hand. The only very minor issue is a slight gap between the tube and head.

The switch sticks up just a bit. It is not too difficult to locate in the dark.

The clip is pretty flimsy and not very tight to the attachment point.

The tail end has 2 machined holes for the lanyard/carabiner/key ring.

The trapezoidal threads are coated and the light can be physically locked out with a slight twist.

Down the tube is a large spring.

The positive contact in the head.

Comparison:

For comparison we have from Left to Right: Olight S1A, Manker T01, Solarstorm SC01, and Klarus Mi7 Ti.

The Mi7 Ti is somewhat like a shinier natural anodization as far as finish color is concerned.

And some bigger, more common lights.

From Left to Right: Klarus Mi7 Ti, Orcatorch T11, Convoy S2+, Convoy C8, and a Mini-Maglite 2AA.

Beamshots:

As with all beamshots in my reviews, every shot is taken using the same settings in manual mode.

In this location the central tree trunk is about 50 yards away. The water line is about 35 yards away. The hanging tree limb in the upper left quadrant of the pictures is about 10 yards away.

In this first set I included other single AA flashlights. Each light is using a freshly charged Eneloop AA Pro.

The T01 is the outstander in the group. It has a very large head for incredible throw using an AA cell while having almost 500lm output. The other lights are in a different category being more compact with good output and reasonable throw. The Klarus Mi7 utilizes the XP-L HI led to squeeze out more throw for its very compact size. Comparatively the Mi7 seems a little underwhelming. A lot of the output seems to be lost in the very wide spill. The S1A's TIR optic concentrates most of its output into a much larger hotspot while still having a similar amount of throw with very little spill.

The second set is all lithium-ion cells.

Utilizing a 14500 cell, the story is much the same.

Klarus Mi7 Ti Modes: Low - High. Moon mode is not bright enough to show at this distance.

The modes are well spaced and the tint is a beautiful cool or 'pure' white in all modes.

Conclusion:

The Klarus Mi7 Titanium is a great flashlight.

Great machining, solid fit & finish, butter smooth threads, good output on AA & 14500 and a perfect pure white tint all in a very compact side switch AA/14500 tube light.

:THUMBS-UP:

Thank you for a very informative review!

Excellent review and the real world data of the run time.
My Mi7 Ti is still in the slow boat from China, with ETA after the New Year.

You’re welcome. :slight_smile:

I should have beams up later tonight.
They are up. Great little AA/14500 light. :+1:

Hi, isn’t 710 lumens for Olight S Mini SuS a bit on the high side?

Thanks for sharing your review, btw.

Hahahaa! Those throw numbers on the hot rodded Jacob A60 !!
138400 CD :confounded: :partying_face:

Yeah, nice light that Klarus. :wink:

It probably is. For lights in 400-900lm area I tend to measure on the high side.

Do you think this light will heat up more than the regular alu version? I have the regular one and want to buy another one, but I’m not sure it’s worth the price premium of the Titanium, it’s almost double price.

my guess is No, the Ti version will not feel hotter in your hand, it will feel cooler.
Because the Titanium does not transport heat away from the LED as well as the aluminum.

So with the Ti version the heat stays inside the light and can’t get out as easily, and the thermal regulation will step the light down sooner

Thanks, just ordered one. Never had any Titanium gadget so wanted to see how it feels at least :slight_smile:

Any idea how much amperes the light pulls on high? I have some old batteries laying around and also ordered the yellow SoShine 14500 (4-pack), but I recently found out they’re not good for high-drain devices, so now I’m thinking of ordering other cells.

About 1.5 amps is what I measured at the tail before I modded it.

Thanks, as far as I can read graphics (not much), these cells should be barely sufficient for the light. Will try with my old ones and compare, I guess.

The flashlight just arrived today - my personal impressions below, if someone is thinking of ordering it:

+ heavier than the aluminium version

- somehow feels worse in hand, the Ti material is not as smooth as aluminium

  • the etching/engraving is worse quality for some reason, has a weird burn on the edges

I didn’t even try it yet, I’ll wait until it gets dark outside.

edit: ordered from BangGood on 24.02, arrived today 12.03 in Bulgaria, EU.