Review: Palight X4 1x14500/1xAA *Beamshots added*

Overall rating 4.5/5

This is my first review so don’t be too hard one me! :slight_smile:

Purchased CQG
Price paid 25$ + 3,61$ shipping money
Brand United Palight
Model P14500&AA EDC X4
LED Cree XM-L2 T6-3C NW
Battery 1xAA or 1x14500
Switch Electronic side switch
Modes 2 + hidden strobe
Tail stand Yes
Lockout Yes
Reflector Smooth SMO
Waterproof IPX-8

This is a new brand of flashlights. It takes one AA nimh/alkaline or one 14500 Liion cell. I’m starting to like these small EDC type flashlights more and more, as i get deeper into flashlight addiction.

First impressions:

The light came in a padded envelope and heavily wrapped in bubble wrap.

The light itself comes in a retail box ziplock bag. There are no such things like spare o rings, manual or whatever usually comes in the package.

Observations
The light looks well made and has a slightly larger diameter head than the body.
It came with a fairly strong clip, which is tight & reversible.
One of the first things that drew my attention was the blue switch-button, which feels great.
The knurling is nice but not too aggressive.
There is good grip under the switch beacause of the cooling fins.
The XM-L2 is very well centered.(see pic below)

Nice square threads.

Using a lanyard doesn’t prevent it from tail standing, as the mount is positioned sideways.

Left to right: Sipik sk68 clone, Palight X4, c8 mini

I must say, this is a small AA/14500 light, even smaller than my c8 mini, which is AAA!!!

The light is assembled from above, the SS? bezel unscrewes and there is an oring under the lens, which is without AR coating and the reflector is without any flaws. As you can see, the led is screwed in.

UI and how it works:

First click: LOW or previous set mode by ramping.
Second click: HIGH
Third click: OFF
Double click on any mode gives u a SICK strobe in HIGH mode.
With another click, you return to the previous set mode.

Ramping works this way:
Set it to LOW, or previous set mode by ramping(1 click from OFF position) and hold switch for 2 seconds, after 4 seconds it comes to high and then the light blinks two times.

Because of the anodised threads, lock out is pretty fast, just unscrew the tailcap for a few milimeters!

Current draw:
table(table#posts).
||AA|14500|
|LOW|0,1|0,12|
|HIGH|0,8|1,3|

Measured by my cheap multimeter Vichy VC97, also the 14500 is only rated 1,6A as i have no IMRs yet, if that changes anything

Conclusion

Pros:

  • Very nice finish without dings and flaws
  • Very pocketable EDC
  • AA and 14500 compatible
  • Sturdy clip
  • Square threads
  • Good quality side switch
  • Simple UI
  • Hidden strobe
  • Lock out
  • Last mode memory(set by ramping)

Cons:

  • No spare parts or manual
  • Low could be lower
  • Must remove everything from the top in order to mod it(didn’t do that yet)
  • Must use button top batteries as there is no spring on the driver

P.S. I couldn’t get the first table in the center of the page.
P.S.S I almoste deleted the post, by using the side button on my mouse :S
Hope you enjoy the review!!

Control shot camera flash

Palight X4 LOW

Palight X4 HIGH

C8 mini with TIR lens pure flood no hotspot 400mA

C8 mini 1.6A

Sipik sk68 clone LOW

Sipik sk68 HIGH

Convoy c8 OP reflector 0,1A

C8 0,8A

c8 3,8A

The Palight has a similar beam pattern as the C8, but with a less intense hotspot due to the small reflector.

Thanks Koyote. Theres a lot of members here waiting for a review on this light. The comparison shot shows how small this light is. It would be interesting to see this light with a dedomed XPG-2 in it.

Nice job Koyotee,is there any detectable PWM on this light? and if you can estimate,how many lumens does it put out?I really like this little torch,and it might be really nice with a Dr. Jones driver in it.

I couldn’t notice any PWM but that is subjective, estimated lumes, i’d say about 400-500, but maybe that is due to the battery which is this one Xtar 14500 - 800 mAh 3,6 V - 3,7 V geschützter Li-Ion-Akku | akkuteile.de. More on those tomorrow, when i get the beamshots :slight_smile: And yes, shes a beauty :smiley:

Nice review, koyotee, thanks. Delivered like you’ve done hundreds…. :slight_smile:

Nice review, thanks. I too like small, easy to EDC lights, particularly when equipped with neutral or warm XM-Ls or better yet XM-L2s.

I’m fighting the temptation to pick one up…like I need another light.

Nice review!

I enjoyed it! :) Nice light too.

I like the looks and UI of this one .

Thanks for the review , koyotee .

Great Job!

I like that little light. Looks like it has potential. Nice review. Thank u for taking the time to share your results and opinions with us. I appreciate it.

I like side switch lights easy to operate with out changing position of grip, beam shots when you can.

Thank you

You may have set the standard for reviews many of us “noobies” really want to see, especially for budget lights.

For those of us from the BLF “parent thread,” here’s a link to the questions, issues and unknowns which koyotee was kind enough to respond to: A New 1xAA/1x14500 light with Side Switch (Stepless Version Added)

Great job, and Thanks!

ⓣⓗⓐⓝⓚⓢ…… nice review
is it floody or a thrower?
is it brighter with the 14500?

Thanks for the review! Always appreciated when people take their time and effort to share with the community.

This light can be found t cqg… aaand… any other place???

Aliexpress, soon at other vendors too. I think a groupbuy is also very likely to happen.

Nice review, this is a handsome light. I think it looks better than the solarstorm .

Thanks for the review koyotee. Am I just being selfish hoping for a UI comparable to zebralight’s?

Im not familiar with the zl ui, but i can tell you i like this one :slight_smile: