Klarus XT12GT Review

Klarus XT12GT Review

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Hey folks so this review should be interesting. We will delve deep into the minds of Klarus engineers and pick their brains. Just kidding! Let me start by saying the Klarus XT12GT is an absolute beast its wowed me and that does take a lot i am desensitised. I have been around flesh sorry flashlights now for a while now and the XT12GT stands out in a good way. Its properly bright like I mean seriously bright especially for its size it packs a punch. Even when comparing it to custom made flashlights. Is there any way i can get away with just writing this much for a review? I would appreciate it lol. Sit back and enjoy the laughs before this review gets taken down.

The klarus XT12GT was sent to me by Gearbest for review they have this mini sun for a really good price. Using the attached coupon its like being a sixty six year old. If you also live in Sydney they are worth a few million right now. Hahaha insane house prices are not a joke! PM me for the details and price. You can PM me sixty six times we will say. Kind of sounds evil.
Klarus XT12GT

I actually asked for the XT12GT because I wanted to compare it to the UT02 but there is really no comparison. As a stock flashlight the XT12GT is steps ahead of the UT02 but there is also a price difference. Not much at that.

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So many thing I love about the XT12GT I don’t know where to start. Well seeing as its size is borderline between being about a medium sized flashlight. We talk about the sizing and its EDC usability. Receiving the XT12GT I was pleasantly surprised of its size its smallish well I guess its not really big. So I should say its smaller then I thought (that’s what she said) Ha! If you EDC a C8 size flashlight you would have no issue Every day carrying the XT12GT its only slightly larger in length.
The XT12GT total length is 161.5mm (16.15cm) and the head diameter is 42.5mm (4.25cm) in width and the body diameter is 24.5mm (2.45cm).

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The weight is amazing it weights in at a messily 159 grams without the battery of course. So as you can see the overall size is very small for such good output and throw. Its actually impressive what the XT12GT can achieve. The XT12GT is much lighter then the UT02 and is about the same weight as the Convoy C8 depending on the internal parts my C8 are actually heavier then the XT12GT. The XT12GT has about the same thrown distance as both these flashlights while being in stock form.
When I wrote the review on the UT02 I said what was the point of using the XHP35 if the lumen numbers where not way above average? The XT12GT has answered what I was looking for in a flashlight.

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Build quality on the Klarus XT12GT is awesome it uses the usual Aircraft grade aluminum alloy and comes with a harden scratch resistant AR coated glass lens. The body is finished with hard anodizing type 3 and has a black finish. the finish is a tad shiny. I have managed to scratch my clip but the XT12GT its self is still fine.

The front bezel is stainless steel. This is a must on a tactical flashlight gives the light extra strength when being bumped around. For breaking down doors 3 doors down! cough cough.
For some reason Klarus didn’t polish it and make it shiny so it looks more like an alloy bezel in this color. The front bezel isn’t to aggressive overall when using the XT12GT on a wall close up you can see the outline of the bezel. The XT12GT comes with a stainless steel clip its a small size clip so no deep pocket carry. There is not much knurling on the XT12GT which is a bit weird for a tactical flashlight. It also depends if they made the XT12GT for gun mounting it makes sense. The knurling it has isn’t that deep but still offer good grip.

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The XT12GT only open up at the back and those threads are perfect. The XT12GT is well finished klarus done a good job on the body. The Tail cap on the XT12GT is a new design it uses dual switches. One switch is the power and the other switch is to change modes. First time I have seen this on a tail cap. Its a common set up for side switches. The rear switches are both mechanical. Klarus also claim Spring at the front and back of the XT12GT are made to resist shock and damage. Spring don’t usually break unless your using a very heavy battery.

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Okay Klarus it appears the springs do have a plastic boot around them both on the front and back springs. The XT12GT appears to have double spring on the front and back. The XT12GT has a tactical ring that is made out of alloy and its very lose fitting and light weight. I will be put my story below. Lol!
Klarus why the hell wouldn’t you make the tactical ring attachable in some way? I was out taking pics at night and I lost it! Makes me angry I undone the battery tube to check the battery and it fell of. It doesn’t attach in any way to the XT12GT it just sits under the tail cap. Now that is gone great! Please next time make it screw-able to the flashlight body I love tactical rings makes one handed work so easy. Yep after being married for a while you get good at one handed work! I know I am goof and I had to change batteries to test the XT12GT. I guess because of its inbuilt charger you shouldn’t need to unscrew the tail cap. We will go 50/50 on the blame game?

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The XT12GT even has an inbuilt charger how awesome is that?
The inbuilt charger can charge at up to 1000mah so 1 amp per hour. It is a magnetic charging dock so there is no intrusion into the body of the XT12GT. This will help with attaining the IPX rating of IPX8. Underwater 2 meters. The magnetic dock is much safer then using a rubber boot to cover a USB port. This was a good decision by Klarus seeing as the XT12GT is purposed as a tactical flashlight. The XT12GT has a drop resistance of 1 meter which is just okay its to be expected because the XT12GT is using a boost driver.

The charger has all the standard safety features like over charging protection and short circuit protection. Klarus call it an intelligent digital charging module. The charging dock it self has an inbuilt light that is 10 lumens. You could use this as an indication light or a beacon that may help while trying to locate the XT12GT in the dark. The additional feature of the charging dock is very interesting. Now I really want to pick the brains of the Klarus engineers lol. Now as much as I love the magnetic charging port features because its cool and help seal the XT12GT from moisture and dust. This means you have to carry the charging dongle every where you go. Okay seeing as it has a built in 10 lumen light. Where if you had a standard USB input for the charger you could most likely find a spare USB cable easier. At work at home in the car most people have USB cables laying around. The other issue is replacing the dock/dongle if it gets broken or lost that will cost more then buying a USB cable. So there is pros and cons to using this system.

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The XT12GT comes with its own 18650 battery that is apparently the ones Tesla use in their cars. It is rated at 3600mah I tested it to 3400mah but I couldn’t drain the battery all the way down to 2.5volts. The battery appears to be a Panasonic cell well they are the company that makes the Tesla batteries and the only company to produce 3600mah cells. Ha old tech i have Ultrafire cells that are 5000mah!!!
The Panasonic cell appears to have its own built in protection which is good if it does. I can only really tell properly if I was to take the battery apart. Klarus named the battery 18GT36 its not just a normal 18650 name.

The Klarus XT12GT uses a Cree XHP35HI D4 LED to achieve its max brightness output of 1600 lumens (FL1 rated). I would put my XT12GT right at this spot if not a bit brighter. I will attach a chart so you can see some results I got from the XT12GT. The XT12GT amazed me with its output performance its super bright! Easily above average unlike my reviews. The Klarus XT12GT can be run on CR123s/16340s that will give you a max brightness of 1300 lumens and decrease the run times. The working voltage of the Klarus XT12GT is 2.5-8.4 volts cut of voltage is really low so be careful!

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The XT12GT is using a boost driver to achieve these results. The XHP35HI work out great in the XT12GT it achieve above and beyond what most single die LEDs can do. To get this performance from a XPLHI it would need to be running at around 5.5amps. Some where around what the XT12GT is doing. The XHP35HI is a fairly cool white tint not to harsh. The tint is probably right around the 6000k mark it has absolutely no blue in it but is still white. It seem more neutral compared to a XPLHI 1A.

The reflector in the XT12GT isn’t huge at all but the flashlight its self has a fairly small form factor. The reflector is comparable in width to a Convoy C8 but the reflector on the XT12GT is much deeper.
With the help of the Cree XHP35HI the XT12GT can achieve 603 meters of throw. Or 90902CD which is impressive for its size. These numbers are ANSI FL1 rated. As a dedicated thrower its not amazing but I wouldn’t class the XT12GT as a dedicated thrower. Throw number between the stock XT12GT and the UT02 do differ on paper but in real life they perform around the same. The UT02 does have a much larger reflector but it is no where near as bright. That would be the major difference. Most dedicated throwers would be much bigger and heavier.

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Talking about output of the XT12GT we will now go through the modes all these numbers are ANSI FL1 rated. The Klarus XT12GT has 2 mode settings but comes from the factory running the tactical group set. The other group set is the outdoors setting. Changing the mode settings isn’t hard its more of pain because you have strobe on for 10 seconds at 1600 lumens. I am not a fan of this. At least its easier to remember! You simply push and hold down the mode selection button for 10 seconds. Once the indicator light around the charging port blinks you push the power button. Its that easy to change group settings I like it!
There is not much difference between the two group/mode settings tactical mode group has the following modes.

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The tactical group has one touch strobe and turbo modes.
Instant access to turbo from off position by holding down or fully clicking the power button.
Pushing the mode select switch will get you instant strobe mode less then 2 seconds is monetary more then 2 seconds strobe stays on. Long pressing the mode select button from on will get you to strobe.

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Standard modes on the tactical group are in this order.

  • High
  • Medium
  • Low

The outdoors setting is probably better for most people. This group setting offers one touch turbo and one touch low and SOS.
Pushing the primary switch (power switch) half way down will give you monetary turbo. Clicking the button the whole way down will activate turbo mode full time.
Once the XT12GT is on the modes are as follows in the Outdoors settings

  • Turbo
  • High
  • Medium
  • Low

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While the XT12GT is on pushing and holding the mode selection button will activate SOS mode.
From of mode you can instant access low mode in this group setting by simply pushing and or holding the mode select button.

Now I am confused its actually not that hard at all but its a but hard to write and explain once you use the XT12GT a few times you have it locked down no worries.

Mode output and run times on the XT12GT are great using the XHP35HI gives this flashlight a real edge.

  • Turbo mode: 1600 lumens for 1.2 hours
  • High mode: 400 lumens for 4 hours
  • Medium mode: 100 lumens for 14 hours
  • Low mode: 10 lumens for 200 hours
  • Strobe mode: 1600 lumens for 2.4 hours
  • SOS mode: 100 lumens for 43 hours

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The mode spacing is okay I feel like the XT12GT could have used a few modes in between. If your going to have 2 modes sets you can easily simplify the UI . Then make the other have heaps more options. Like a bistro UI.
Some thing like a 800 lumens options would have been great seeing its a pocket thrower 400 lumen high mode isn’t really enough. The XT12GT does have the Klarus I.T.S system so Basically step down isn’t timed its thermally regulated. I did not see any step down when using the XT12GT outside with my test but the flashlight does get warm fast so there would have to be a step down eventually. Klarus make no mention of the step down modes from turbo so I will do my own test and update this when its done. I like how companies have changed SOS so its actually useful its not as bright but will run so much longer.

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Other notable features of the XT12GT are the battery indicator function I was not expecting to see this considering the XT12GT doesn’t have a side switch. There is a LED indicator around the charging port on the XT12GT that has different color LEDS. This acts as a battery capacity indicator and of course tells you when you are charging the XT12GT. During charging process the indicator light is red. Charging complete the indicator turns green. For abnormal conditions indicator turns orange and flickers. Hahaha abnormal conditions what is normal now days? I guess if you put the battery in upside down as we do in Australia. The battery capacity indicator only works with an 18650 cell.

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Battery remaining indicator
70–100 capacity the indicator is green
30–70 capacity the indicator is orange
Less then 30% capacity the indicator is red
Less then 10% capacity the indicator is red and will flicker
Such a simple system I love it the indicator turns on every time you turn the XT12GT on so you always know how your battery is.

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What is included in the package?

  • XT12GT
  • 18650 batter
  • Magnetic charging dock
  • USB cable
  • Lanyard
  • Holster
  • Clip
  • Tactical ring
  • Spare O-ring

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Overall I love the XT12GT its been a pain to write that name constantly but I done it lol. Its bright and its light what is not to like about it? Besides the tactical ring not being attached. Its a true pocketable mini thrower with monster output. The XT12GT punches well above its weight. I have finally found a flashlight that can replace my babies my custom made C8 and X6. For the price the Klarus XT12GT is going for its a very hard package to beat. The Klarus XT12GT answers all my wants and need in a small form factor flashlight.

All these photos are taken at ISO 800

From right to left. UT02, BLF D80, Eagle Eye X6, Convoy C8, XT12GT
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Low mode 10 lumens
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Medium mode 100 lumens
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High mode 400 lumens
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Turbo mode 1600 lumens
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Turbo at 100 meters
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I am going to group these photos together they are also taken at ISO 800.

XT12GT Left and Ut02 Right
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XT12GT Left and BLF D80 Right
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XT12GT Left and EE X6 Right
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XT12GT Left and Convoy C8 Right
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Charging dock light 10 lumens takes the total to 1610 lumens :stuck_out_tongue:
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Charging the XT12GT
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I have been neglecting Youtube lately been spending to much time on here! The video is long and it took 8 hours to upload. I done extra beam shots at a park but the camera was not focusing that well so i will take them again. This light throws so well better then my C8 with the XPG3 but man is the C8 bright.

I hope you enjoyed the review thanks for reading!

Regards Chris

Totally agree with your review :wink: I really like this light and it is my favorite right now, although like you said i think that the mode spacing is really poor (so sad Klarus!). My Utorch UT02 it is still on the way and I probably will be disappointed with it?

Thanks for great review

Thanks mate!

I like the Utorch but its no where near as bright as the XT12GT but the hot spot is much tighter. I stuffed my reflector on the UT02 i will get a new one sooner or later.

The size and weight are in favor of the XT12GT. So i would more likely carry that.

Start up lux reading with the UT02 was 90 lux and with the XT12GT i was getting 118 Lux at start up. Also my UT02 is NW.

Thank you for your great review and ….

…. please PM me a coupon code :person_facepalming:

very nice pictures!

thanks for your review!

Thank you for the review! mine will arrive more or less this week. can’t wait to take beamshots :smiley:

Thanks lads! I was curious to see how this tail cap works. So it appears to be a mechanical switch and an electronic switch. Basically a side switch placed on the tail cap.

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Any alternative battery aside from the stock klarus battery for achieving the 1,600 lumen rating? :slight_smile:

Yea I would use any high drain cell.

Well my one is dead as a dodo now. When I took the battery out the spring actually burnt my finger.

The unit lights up the green battery indicator but the main led no longer functions.

Its got a short circuit. Did you mod it in any way?

Nope, I took the main battery out and swapped it for a LG to do some LUX testing

I took the switch out and it looks normal. The electrical smell comes from the head of the light.

Yea it defiantly shorted some how. What cell did you put in?

Well it cut out on the klarus cell. I was running a Sanyo NCR18650GA before then after.

I had tested my XT11GT tailcap spring for 184mV drop at 5A, so 1W heat on normal operation, if it was too hot to touch there must have been a shortcut of the cell

On long cells the spring resistance gets lower as parts of it get bridged

Weird i can not see any possible way it would short unless there is a problem with the charging circuit.

The charging circuit is seperated from the diode driver, the driver can fry and the charge often works fine

I did disassemble a XT11GT which should be almost identical, just another charge port

You can see the tube for the toggle switch must be seperated from battery minus, maybe it shorts the driver when the battery gets contact to it?

I haven’t got a clue how to get inside the top half. I don’t really wish to either.

I’ll check what happens when I offer it the magnetic charging connector

A question for other owners of the XT12GT, does yours “whistle” when its on different modes. It sounds like the driver is ramping down power and whistling like a cheap chinese power supply. Mine has done it from day one but not all the time.

I finally added the video a week late! lol I think i need a bigger hard drive and some editing skillz would help!