review: L3 Illumination L10C (Nichia 219B version)

slimmer the light the more it costs :bigsmile:
Klarus P1A £25.80 / $44.09
EagleTac D25A MINI £46.87 / $80.09

Wow, I’ve never seen a D25A for that much. My titanium one was about $64 IIRC, and my aluminum XM-L2 one was $36. Both were the clicky model though (which usually costs more than the mini), since the twisty model doesn’t have a moon mode.

ToyKeeper take a look at the ThruNite Saber 2014

Operation:

Turn the head counter clock wise all the way to tighten the head to the body,

the light will stay on at the function lastused.Turn the head loose by one quarter of a circle,

the light will stay off, if the head is tightened immediately back, the light will change modes in the order

below:Firefly - Low - High every time the head is loosened and tightened immediately.

LED:CreeXP-G2 LED with a lifespan of 20+years of run time

⦁ Three output mode:

AA battery: High(169lumen,1.5hours),Low (9lumen,39hours).Firefly(0.09lumen,147hours).

CR123 battery: High(251lumen,1.8hours), Low(22Lumen,13hours), firefly(0.09lumen,195hours)

⦁ Memory function to stay at any one of the 3 modes.

⦁ Regulated current for smooth consistent strong output.

⦁ Max output : 169lumen (1*1.5V AA battery)

251lumen (1*CR123 battery)

Yeah, I’m familiar with the Saber. I don’t really like it. The T10S / T10T is the only Thrunite EDC-sized model I’ve ever liked. Just a matter of personal taste though, and I still have complaints about the T10S / T10T.

that is a nice little offering. Love the 2 bodies. Thanks for the links.

Mine is disappointing.

Out of the box, the clickie is defective and only works when it wants to.

Using eneloops, the light isn’t very powerful — the Xeno Nichia is brighter, just as an example. And I really dislike that it only turns on low.

The clip is good-looking, like the L10C itself, but seems light-weight and I lack confidence in it.

Sorry to say, that’s exactly how I feel about my experience with the L10C.

Thanks for adding your thoughts. It’s really unfortunate that you got one with a flaky switch. Are you going to try to get a replacement?

I agree the clip feels a bit weak, definitely near the weak end of the spectrum as far as clips go. It should work fine for some things, but it’d need to be stronger for a really secure grip.

It’s good to know the Xeno is brighter, and activates in a non-low mode. Those are both things I wouldn’t like, along with its larger size (I have a 1x18650 light the same size as the Xeno E03). According to selfbuilt, its modes are 5.4 / 44 / 130 lm, compared to the L10’s 0.1 / 4 / 30 / 120 lm. Personally, I prefer the lower output… though I’d still like to make “medium” a bit lower (20 lm instead of 30). But I might be atypical since I’m photosensitive. Everything looks brighter to me.

I wrote a note on my order asking the dealer/manufacturer to please check the light to make sure it works correctly.

They put a checkmark next to the note, suggesting they had checked the light.

No, I’m not planning to try again.

You should ask for a replacement. You’ve got nothing to lose. I’m sure they will cover your return fees as well.

Thanks. But I bought it to gift. I would be reluctant to give something when I don’t trust the clip or the clickie, which presumably they checked before sending this one. Plus, I wish it were brighter and turned on at high.

I can’t tell if the Xeno E03 with 219A is brighter than the L10 219A. The beam profile is quite different on the two, the E03 having a tighter hotspot and it seems brighter. Would be nice if the E03 had better modes on a 14400. High and medium (low they call it) run at 1.5A and 1A so visually, you can’t really tell the difference. Very low is about as bright as high on a NiMH. The L10’s got the spacing right.

Just going to add this… L10C and L10 with their Maratac peers and my most compact 18650 lights (Zebra H60w and H600w MkII) for comparison. All pocketable in my book.

I like the L10C, but I also like running 14500s, so it will probably get a lithium cell and live in my backpack or center console.

Those are all nice lights!

I always forget how funky the older Zebralight models look.

Thanks for the great review. Can you tell me was the original L10 4000K, and L10C is 4500K? how accurate are the tints measurements of manufacturers? i really want real 4500K, not 5000K…

The twisty used to use the Nichia 219A which was 4500K. The clicky uses the Nichia 219B which is 5000K. All new Nichia models will use the 219B though.

The 219Bs aren’t strictly 5000K. I’ve never seen one which was quite as warm as a 219A, but they do vary between individual units.

I don’t have a way to measure the exact color temperature, but based on comparing it to other lights with known tint bins, I’d estimate the 219Bs range from about 4600K to 5100K… and that happens to be what I consider ideal, so I consider it an improvement.

Excellent review. Out of curiosity, what size is the tail cap boot, and are there aftermarket boots I can purchase, such as a GITD type by DX and others? First post btw, and because of this review I felt compelled to join the forum. :slight_smile:

The boot is… let’s see. About 13.5mm at the widest part of the base, about 9mm inner diameter at the base, about 6mm tall (base thickness is 1mm), and the outer diameter of the cap is about 11mm.

I’m not aware of any aftermarket boots for this, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. It’s definitely smaller than any I’ve personally seen though.

Also, welcome to BLF! :slight_smile:

Well, I finally got around to re-ordering a replacement for my original from back in June. I had the light for about a week before the clip gave up on me and it slipped out of my pocket. Definitely my fault for relying on the clip given that I had noticed how soft the metal was, but the clip is no longer an advantage in my mine. The metal is so soft that the clip quickly loosens and bends away from the body rendering it ineffective. For pocket carry, I think I’m going to add a ring and an attachment to my belt so it can’t fall if it slips out of the pocket.

I still really enjoyed the light and I think it’s still one of the better choices on the market (hence, the re-order), but the clip is terrible. Does anyone know how to get feedback directly to L3 Illumination? I didn’t have any luck finding a site for them.

Also, I’d appreciate ideas from anyone with experience on clip metals/performance for a more effective replacement clip.

I’ve heard of a few people making their own custom clips for the L10, but it seemed like a pain. The clip on the L10C is a lot nicer than the original L10 clip, but it sticks out a little to make tailstanding unstable (easy enough to grind it down) and I don’t really care for the L10C’s clicky switch.

I haven’t put much time into the L10 family lately though, too busy with lights which can have their firmware reflashed.

It’s too bad there aren’t many 1xAA lights with easily-accessible reflashable MCUs. I think the relatively new cnqg brass 1xAA light might though, and it’s nearly the same size as a L10, so I’m planning to get a couple and try to mod them.

As for contacting L3 Illumination, it’s a joint effort between SBFlashlights and SupBeam.