Review: Black XIAOZHI CREE XM-L quickie review

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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Black XIAOZHI CREE XM-L T6 LED 1x18650 Two Group mode Flashlight

I Got this a week ago from CN Quality goods and have been edc ing it.
like it very much. its not a high end but does welll. have droped it at work.been abused by workmates
and its going strong so far…
here a little review with some pictures…

CREE XM-L T6 LED nw (im starting to like the nw colour now)

Material: Aluminum Alloy

Reflector: Aluminum Alloy OP Reflector

Lumen: 800lumens

Current:2.3A

Mode:

Two group: Runing 5 seconds on Low mode， wait till the light will flashes once,then a quick half-press changes to second group 11 .

Group I:5>15>>100%

Group II: 5>15>>100%>>Strobe>>SOS

Battery Type:1*18650 (not include)

Switch: Tail cap reverse click switch

Size: 114mm(Length)*24mm(Tube diameter)

Waterproof: IPX7

Weight:75g(not include battery)

conclusion…

Not bad for $17 …
I dont have time for making readins and runtimes but…i did manage to to do a tail cap and it read 2.7 amps so this thing probably puts out the claimed light
the Op reflector is 10/10!!! uses the nanjg 17mm driver, so little bit noisy due to pwm but tightening the pill reduces somewhat…. so easily and cheaply replacable. was greased and has twin o rings
Reverse clicky not the best but works ok after some slight udustments :slight_smile:
and yes it does heat up when run for longer on high !!! as would be expected from such a small body running a t6 at 2.8 amps :weary:

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Thanks for a great review!

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Excellent review! I’ve been eying that one but I’m gonna hold off. I have a couple of biggies and a couple of smallies coming, so enough … for now. :wink:

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Thanks Shaquille for the review. I looked at this light several times but managed to not order one.

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Wow, double o-rings on both sides. Looks like a higher quality UF-2100 alternative. Thanks for the review!

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I ordered the cool white version last week. Looking forward to getting it.

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My NW version arrived over the weekend, nice tint and its very well constructed.
Holds a XTAR 18700 with no problems.

2.8A on high, and out of the box slight whine on low and pretty loud on med.
Tightening up the pill has made it quieter though.

Great output, wish it would tail stand but for the price its a bargain.
Hope the switch can stand the draw on high.

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@offroad - thanks for the suggestion on tightening the pill. The whine on Med and Low modes has mostly disappeared! :smiley:

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If you can find a 14mm o-ring, strip the tailcap, strip out the boot, slip the o-ring over and reassemble. I have done this on a few lights that had a protruding cap.

Funnily enough, my one of these does tailstand, and I noticed on Cngq’s pictures, theirs won’t tailstand. I evidently got a “defective” one :bigsmile:

Nice review though, thanks for sharing.

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Thanks for the review! Tightening the pill quieted mine down as well. The only weak point in the light is the tail cap assembly. The boot and switch do not seem to be a good fit based on my experience and other user's comments - which have included protrusions of the boot and off centered switch. Mine was not switching properly at first so I disassembled the tail cap and the solder on one side of the switch was broken. Fortunately I have several other switches lying around I could substitute. I still agree with your recommended rating for the price. All in all a good budget buy.

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driver for this light available here at fasttec for $3 with a 5% discount using coupn code "BLF"

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Mine also tailstand.

This light, in NW, has the nicest tint and beam pattern of any of my small tube lights. Probably of all my lights period.

The beam on a wall comparison has a slighly pinkish hue compared to my other T6es, but in use makes colours apear more natural and vibrant. The beam is very smooth and even, with a softer hotspot. No artifacts at all.

It also has my prefered start on low UI with good mode spacing. Two mode groups is great. I love this light. Shame the assembly seems to be a bit random.

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What pretzy said .

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I got mine today. I forgot I bought it. Also got a KD ultrafire wf 2100.

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I bought 2 - 3 modes. I am sure both were 3 mode but now one is 5 mode. WTF. Is that possible

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they have 2 sets of modes

3 modes---low -medium- high and second one starts by switching to low mode and waiting for it to switch of/on once (after 4-5 seconds) then you half press quickly and it goes to second stage

which is.........5-modes------ low-medium-high-strob-sos

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oops I thought it had changed, now how to change it back

… worked it out, thought i was going crazy

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Here are some measurments I made on 5 EDC's I have:

HD2011 (WallBuys) mod'ed w/U3 1C, 2.8A:

2.83A measured, 802 lumens @start, 775 lumens after 30 secs

EDC 18650 (I0) w/U2, 2.8A, stock:

2.82A measured, 615 lumens @start, 574 lumens after 30 secs

XIAOZHI (FF) w/T6 1A, 2.8A, stock:

2.81A measured, 737 lumens @start, 710 lumens after 30 secs

TF T2, XP-G R5, stock:

1.62A measured, 333 lumens @start, 289 lumens after 30 secs

G10 mod'ed w/XP-G2 R3 1A, 1.7A:

1.72A measured, 404 lumens @start, 391 lumens after 30 secs (full charged DLG via KumaBear!)


* all tests, accept G10, done with fully charged Panasonic 2900 unprotected. Lightbox is PVC pipe based.

Hope this puts it in perspective. Not sure why the EDC tests so low, because it does have a U2. It definitely is the oldest light I have of the bunch, and also it has white ring around the emitter which is maybe interfering with light output.

I think the XIAOZHI does remarkably well for a stock setup.

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thank you for the measurements!
any idea what the wallbuys hd2011 was like before you modded it?

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No - unfortunately I didn't take a measurement - wasn't setup yet with the lightbox. It was basically direct drive, so with a good Panasonic battery, it was up there and super hot, but now after the mods, it should still be better.

The T2 is overdue for a mod upgrade - got a XP-G2 ready to go into it.