Review: Xeno E03 XM-L (Pic heavy, beamshots)

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics.

Seems to me the v3 is a little brighter than v2... my v2 has a yellowish tint, while the v3 has more cool white tent. Both are "Cool White" models.

Here they are.

I think the black tailcap change is fine. However, it really is too bad that they made the knurling less agressive. The old knurling felt very grippy and nice in the hand.

I'm glad they changed the tailcap to a regular sized one. That way I can have spares. The lack of knurling makes the light feel less "expensive" to me... I don't know why...

I Just bought the Red Cool white version, Will be my high output light on a mt hiking trip as I'm going lightweight now. will be leaving my Solarforce L2 with kadoiman XML drop in

I don't usually edc 5. My friend has a penthouse so I took the skyray 3 xml, L2T,KD C8 to try out (along with my dqg2 and Xeno). I saw a car speeding up a 40km hr street. I was just about to give them a blast with the skyray when I realized it was the police. lol

OK, 3 changes so far (comparing to V2):

- knurling less aggressive (was veeery aggressive before, IMO, you can actually use it as sand paper :bigsmile: )

- Bigger rubber tailcap (black instead of GITD)

- Less deeper finger grooves (after playing with mine for awhile, I can say that those finger grooves are amazing, light feels very comfortable in hand)

I just got the XP-G R5 CW model it was advertised as a V2, but I got the V3 delivered. Medium and high also seem to be very close together depending on battery (NiMH) status. Serial number is 0711 1395. I paid $26 with "make an offer" . Have to charge up some batts to see what's up with that medium-high problem.

With NiMh, MED and HI are quite well spaced, but use 14500 almost all the time :bigsmile: (just to see the "wow" factor when my friends asking me to turn it on :bigsmile:

And what about tint? My XML CW has a nice tint, not as cold as I thought.

Batteries are charged and Hi-Med is now well spaced... it seems that the Hi drops to medium-level on depletion of the batteries. So it is essentially a 2 level light when batteries reach their end. My Hugsbies P32/P31 are a lot "bluer" than the Xeno. Overall output on the Hugsby is better and more "throwy". The good old XR-Es are still a force to be reckoned with, at least on 1AA flashlights on NiMHs. 14500 totally different story ...the Xeno is bright as hell, but also hot as hell. I feel the Hi on AAs could be higher and lower on 14500. In this review both versions are tested. 510 Lumen for the XM-L and 335 Lumen for the XP-G , that is just insane. But overall I like the XP-G R5 CW the low mode without PWM is very nice. I will use it mainly on Eneloops. This Ultrafire diffuser fits like a glove by the way.

What I really want to know is where I could get a driver like the E03 are using.Unlikely I could find one unless salvage one from my E03s

Its seems the pictures have disappeared.

Fixed.

Awesome review.....was chatting with another member about this light and it seems like i have found my new edc, now maybe i can retire my Nitecore D10.

Thanks

I was reading through this review after hijacking an EO3 I bought for a gift. I think this will be an excellent gift for a non-flashaholic who will use it on AA. Don't really understand why so many think this is a great EDC using 14500s. Am really curious to hear your reasoning.

I think this thing is cooler then heck with a 14500. However, from my perspective, my EDC first and foremost has to be a tool. I just think this light falls short on that count when used with 14500s. When I tested in on "ultra low" with a blue trust fire protected it tripped the protection at just past 2 hours. Manufacturer claims 2.5. Granted, I carry 2 extra 14500s as part of my EDC holster but still, that just doesn't cut it for my for EDC.

Today I changed my spark plug wires, thermostat, air filter, and Oil on my 3.8 lesabre. I didn't even bother getting out my trouble light. The plug wires were likely attached for 14 years, plus I am SLOW;-) Might have went through 2 batteries on the Xeno. Using my TrustFire R5-A3, on a battery that already had a fair amount of use to it, I completed the job with plenty of light and one battery.

While the R5-A3 doesn't have the wow factor of the Xeno EO3 XM-L, it's high is functionally nearly as bright and its mid (low) is far more useful to me. The light output on "mid" is similar to the Xeno's so called ultra low but lasts about twice as long. I don't understand how that is possible or why people find it acceptable. I also think that heat management on the Xeno with 14500s is lousy. I can actually use the R5 on high for as long as I have wanted to and heat isn't a problem.

That being said, if anyone knows of a better 1 AA light than the Xeno, I would really like to know about it. The Xeno blows me away on AA. It is very bright and, at least according to the manufacturer, has outstanding run times on AA. Seems to me it would make a great EDC on AA.

I don't think I have really listed any negatives that haven't already been expressed in this thread. However, the way I read it, most people still prefer to use it on 14500s and I am just curious as to why? Not that there is any right or wrong. I'm not looking to justify my position or for someone to justify theirs. I guess I just wonder if I'm missing something that I don't understand.

Wade

Umm...why...coz we are flashaholics? LOL!

Do a ceiling bounce and measure the lux. You'll understand why.... Throwers always cast a brighter spot, of course. But for us doing close-up work, we need a more floody light. And when one says flood, you really need power. If you need to light up a whole house of say 25m by 8m nicely, you need a triple XM-L flood and 2000L is barely enough.

You already said it, you like it on AA. So just run it on that. It's pretty versatile.

The Trustfire R5-A3 btw has pretty bad PWM on the lows. In fact for some, if it's below 300Hz then it's totally unacceptable to them (for me i am ok, my threshold is like 150Hz). This has none, zero.

So I personally want more light than the Xeno on a AA. Not yet ready to admit I'm a flashaholic;-)

I do think I really learned something from your reply. I can count my blessings that I don't see the PWM flicker! I think that is 1/2 of my problem with the Xeno. The PWM must be more efficient. It is just unacceptable for me to run an XM-L, which is actually more efficient than an XP-G, less efficiently. The ultra low on the xeno appeared to be about the same amount of light as the R5 mid. However, it appeared to use about twice as much power. I'm guessing that the PWM is just that much more efficient at lowering the light output.

The other 1/2 of my problem with the Xeno is just simple reality. You can't drive an XM-L that hard in such a small body without having heat issues. Hopefully the guy who switched his R5 to a direct drive XM-L will have something to say about this as I think the R5 does do an amazing job with heat management. Much better than my Uniquefire S10 clone or the Xeno anyway.

Wade

Awesome review, awesome thread, awesome light

Manufacturers out there should make more lights like the E03.

Or Xeno could come up with a v4/v5 ... etc. with the below specs

It would be great to stick to this price point as well @ $30, which has the best compromise between budget/premium.

Other configuration that they could do is to come out with a choice of;

1) XP-G or XM-L - various bin/tint

2) 16340 & 18650 format

3) Tail Standing

4) Good pocket clip, please not the flimsy wire ones!

5) Remember no more than $30

And we all will be happy campers!

* Edit

6) Better mode spacing - Lower Low, Good Med (High-optional) & Turbo

Thank you for the comparison of the Xeno to the R5-A3, Wade.
I was wondering whether to get either the Xeno or the R5-A3 for a ladyfriend of mine to carry in her purse.
Now after your comment I don't see much sense in spending almost double on the Xeno over the R5-A3.

I would also like to know if there are any other AA lights with similar specs to consider?

Xeno is really a fantastic AA light and I think it is much better than my Tank007 E07 BLF edition.

The traffic wand accesory is also a favourite.

But my best AA is still my Nitecore D11.2 XP-G. Not a budget light, but the 3 lumens ultra low and variable output is worth the extra $20 compared to a Xeno.