Reflections of a newbee

Tonight I yielded to temptation and played with a new Xeno Eo3 that I got for a customer as a gift. I'm still new to this so I would appreciate any thoughts from those more experienced. However, FWIW, here are my thoughts.

I was expecting the Xeno to make me want to dump my Trustfire R5 A3 and get a Xeno for myself. I only played with the Xeno for a few minutes so perhaps my conclusion isn't correct however, here is what I concluded.

I think the Xeno would make the perfect gift for someone who has use for a good flashlight but is not a flashaholic. On a AA this thing blows my R5 away. It is clearly a bit higher quality and no strobe! On a AA the modes are pretty obvious and easy to use. The run times, according to the specs, are very respectable. High on the AA is in the ballpark with the sudo low on my R5 with a 14500. A pretty respectable amount of light that will completely impress a normal person.

Using it with a 14500 I ran into a problem. On high the light is amazing. It is noticeably better than the R5. Almost as good as my 18650 Ultrafire C1. This is where the problem comes in. Run times on High are bad. Things get hot quick. Both the R5 and the Eo3 are very bright on High. While the Eo3 was brighter, you still run into significant heat and run time issues with high on both lights. I just didn't see that much difference between the modes on the Xeno to make it a must have over the R5. Probably should do some run time tests to see if the "ultra low" on a 14500 would give enough extra run time to make it worth it over the R5. From my quick tests I couldn't see that much difference compared to the "sudo low" on the R5. Perhaps if it got 3X the run time I would have a different opinion.

Now that I'm getting in to this sickness I like the 18650 format. My C1 is noticeably lower than either of these lights on low vs "ultra low" or what the reviewers call "not low enough" on the R5. However, even that is still brighter than the maglite 2 AA which is nearly the same size. The C1 (Probably substitute any P60 host with a 3-5 mode XM-L drop in.) runs orders of magnitude longer on low than either of the 1 AA lights.

Switch to high and the C1 is even brighter than the Xeno. Not only that but, with the tin foil wrap, you can actually use it on high for more than a few minutes. Medium on the C1 is a fantastic amount of light and I think the run times would be in the ballpark with either of the 1 aa lights using 14500 low.

My C1 has 2 strobe modes that annoy the living crap out of me. Don't think I would want to give that as a gift. However, I put up with it because of what it does in the other 3 modes. Hate the fact that the first 1/2 click typically stays in the same mode. Willing to live with that because of what it does in the other 3 modes.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the 1 AA format. I really like having the R5 and 2 spare 14500s on my belt. However, I live in the North country. We spend a lot of time in the dark. When we do I always have a jacket or a coat. A 18650 easily fits in a jacket/coat pocket. I will live with the annoying strobe modes until I succumb to modding. Seems to me that the advantages make it worth it.While I'm not quite ready to admit to being a "flashaholic" somehow I already own 18650 and a charger;-) Once someone has crossed that threshold, it seems to me, that it is more useful to go the 1865 route (assuming you have a coat pocket).

I likely will always carry a 1AA format light for the obvious reasons. However, when it gets to the wow factor of the Xeno XM-L vs the Trustfire R5 XP-G, I'd rather put the extra $ for the Xeno vs the R5 towards an 18650 P60 format light.

If any of the solarforce guys are still reading this I would like to ask what is wrong with the current solarforce sales XM-L compared to going the manafront drop in route? Seems to me like the cost is about the same. I'm very tempted to take the money I thought I would spend on the Xeno and get a solarforce P60 format as my quality light. Although, I'm willing to live with the shortcomings of my C1, so perhaps I will just save some more and get a 3x XM-l.

In the end I don't have anything bad to say about the Xeno. If money were no object I would just get one. I love the format and it is a great light. As a gift for someone that is not going to bother with Lion batteries I seriously doubt it can be beat! Completely happy with my purchase and the service from tacticalHID was FANTASTIC. Just surpised about my reasons above for not "having" to get one for myself. Certainly I'm not a CPF kind of guy but obviously I'm not normal either;-)

Wade

Get both the Xeno and the solarforce!

If you're interesting in a very simple and amazing mod, tear down your R5-A3. Remove the XPG star and driver and direct drive an XML (on a 16mm star) in its place with an IMR 14500. (Im using protected LICO's and havent blown a hand off yet, but I wouldnt advise others to use this chemistry with such a high discharge rate. IMR cells will safely handle this amount of current). The R5-A3 host is much thicker than most other AA hosts and lends itself to full power (direct drive) bursts for much longer periods of time than other similar hosts. I havent felt any compulsion to buy another similar sized light since doing this mod to mine. Ive also lost interest in XPG format lights for the most part. But then, I have a full drawer full of them that no longer get used.