Review Klarus G35 3x18650 flashlight supplied by Banggood
The light was supplied by Banggood, no compensation other than the light itself was received for this review
The price can be lowered with Mad Max coupon here
This is my 6. light that was supplied by Banggood for a review, I am honest and will judge the light as it is with its pros and cons
Manufactory specification:
Product name: Klarus G35 XHP35 HI D4 2000LM LED Flashlight
Brand: Klarus
Model: G35
Emitter Type: XHP35 HI D4
Material: Aluminum
Total Emitters: 1
Mode: Low, MId, High, Turbo, Strobe, SOS
Max Lumens: 2000LM
Max Runtime: 210h
Battery Configurations: 3 x 18650 batteries (Not included)
Switch Type: Clicky
Switch Location: Tail cap + Side
Beam Intensity: 252506cd
Impact Resistant 1m
Range: 1000m
Lens: Reinforced ultra-clear tempered glass
AR coated for scratch resistance
Waterproof: IPX-8
Weight: 371g(Without battery)
Size: 160.2mm(L) x 73mm(Bezel) x 45.5mm(Body)
Features:
- Newest XHP35 HI D4 LED, 50,000 hours life.
- Max beam distance 1000M, best suited for outdoor adventures; search and rescue operation
- Dual Switch design for convenient and easy operation- Independent tail and side switch, each with full set of features and easily adapted to any scenarios
- Unique lockout mode prevents accidental operations; avoiding battery drains during storage or travel and prevents unintended direct shining into eyes
- Battery capacity indicator display enables controlled usage based on remaining battery charge
- ITS (Intelligent Temperature System) temperature control monitors internal temperature and adjusts outputs for balanced brightness;
protects the LED and internal components; ensuring safety, stability and optimal performance - Dual Switch for one-touch turbo and one-touch low, plus mode memory
- Reverse-polarity protection prevents damage due to incorrect battery orientation
- Integral body design eliminates battery holder for superior comfort
- Aircraft-grade aluminum alloy (Mil-Spec HAIII), lightweight and abrasion resistant
- Tempered glass lens with AR coating; scratch resistant
- Updated reflector design, coated to provide the perfect beam spot for exceptional distance illumination
- G35: With its Extreme output, Easy interface, Far-reaching beam, and Long run time all packed into a compact body, far outperforms the competitors
There are some errors in the original specs
offeatures,
The parcel arrived after 10 days shipping with to Germany which is very fast from China.
Package and content:
The lights box came packed well with a plenty wrap around and in a plastic bag
The light comes in a package typical for Klarus
In the box is a plastic inlay with the light
It comes with 1 spare o-ring, lanyard and manual
Photos of the light
Comparism and teardown:
Size compared to other 18650 lights the G35 compared to my other lights the biggest but not heaviest
after over 2 hours I got that bitch opened up to get to the driver
first heat gun with heating the head to 140°C was not enough to get it open
even 1 hour with acetone did nothing at all, no way even massive force
I roasted the head section topping at 250-300°C with an autogenous welder with 3200°C flame to get the glue open,
I melted my microfiber towel that I used to get grip
it worked the massive heat on the head did not had time to flow to the tube and damage things like I had with my Nitecore P12
the tube heated only to about 120°C when I had the head screwed off
Just one image for now that shows the process after removing the head,
also a bitch to get open, but if you own M4 thread cutters its doable
Unfortunately I killed the driver somewhere in getting to it, I dont think heat, maybe a tiny metal chip from cutting the threads even if I checked the driver and blew it off very carefully
After looking at my pictures I think this killed the driver
Beam color is cold around 6500K with a Cree XHP35 D4, the beam has a very very focused hotspot with some spill
the beam pattern has no rings or artifacts
The LED is very good reflowed and the MCPCB is perfectly flat, but not polished or gold plated
The heat paste is applied in a good amount and squeezed in an uniform thin layer
The reflector has some tiny imperfections and is free of dust particles that can be seen when the light is off
Most dirt is from first testing
Light color missing as I damaged the driver
from left to right the lights get warmer, picture taken @5000K camera setting
left Astrolux MF-01 Nichia 5000K, Nitecore P12 XML2 U3-3D 5000K, Klarus G35
The light is heavily glued with blue locktite and the LED shelf is pressed in the tube, it is very hard to get to the driver
The light has a tail cap with a hole for a lanyard
The light stands on the tail, but the switch is like 0.5mm too high
The lens is really big and thick, and coated
The head has a diameter of 77mm and 60mm visible reflector
The light can be run by one, 2 or 3 batteries 18650 batteries
(1 x 18650 or 2 x CR123A can be used in emergencies per instruction)
The driver is the hardest thing to get to, first the head is heavily glued to the tube
And the LED shelf is press fit inside the tube
The driver has total of 5 FETs with a single coil on the driver, likely to run from the different battery channels
I can’t test if the light can be locked out with the tail cap
The Head
The big reflector with a single LED gives a lot of throw with a pretty small hotspot
The slave board for the switch has a green and red LED
The shelf is 3mm thick and the really big 1mm thick copper MCPCB does a good job spreading the heat, can’t say how the light gets hot as I killed the driver
The MCPCB is s true copper DTP, the back of it is bare copper
The MCPCBs back is perfectly flat
The light is waterproof, the tail cap and bezel threads are lubed, but the amount is a pretty low
The lens is hardened AR coated glass
Tube and Tail
The tail cap is fully anodized, the tail PBC contains a switch, and 3 battery contacts and can freely rotate and is lined up with 2 bolts, I wish they would have put a little grease in there so it rotates smoothly
The switch cover is screwed in and almost identical to XT11/12GT lights
the tube is build for 3 batteries
with unprotected flat tops the spring force is really low they easily rattle inside
The tube threads are square cut and fit nicely
The tail switch uses a single contact
Driver and Battery
can’t do visible PWM test
The light has a some mass to absorb and surface to spread heat, but I could not test how long it takes to heat up and how hot it gets
The light is build for protected and unprotected batteries, unprotected are very loose and rattle
the light uses double springs from steel
The mode spacing is OK, the moonlight has about 10 lumens, the high is a bit low like for the G12 and Turbo is thermal regulated
The light uses a boost driver and has 2 0.1 Ohm sense resistors
no current measurements as the driver is dead
LED current for modes
The side switch status LED shows the battery level
! http://www.klaruslight.com/uploadfile/2017/0426/20170426115223178.gif!
Modding:
First thing was to bypass the springs on the tail cap
Using heat for the head to get the glue melted
For the tail PCB acetone was enough to soften the locktite
You can also see that I cut threads in reflector centering piece holes to screw lift the press fit shelf from the tube
when I lifted the driver a spring fell out which is connecting the driver to the shelf, even if most of it ahs contact to it
Driver does only deliver 8 Volts when I was prepared to do current measurements I discovered the driver dead
added a bit grease to the ail cap PCB
Beam shots
no beam shots possible
about 2m from Light to ceiling
Klarus G35
Klarus XT12GT
Nitecore P12 XML U3-3D NW
User Interface
The light has 4 modes and UI similar to other Klarus lights
Conclusion
Can’t do a full conclusion, as I killed the driver somehow
Positive:
- mechanical very good production and engineering
- very solid head, DTP MCPCB screwed on the 3mm shelf
- AR coated glass lens
- good hotspot and massive throw
- proper LVP and low battery warnings
- low resistance double springs
- the UI is good
Neutral:
- 18650 unprotected batteries are rattling almost no pressure from the springs
- High mode with 400 lumens too low
Negative:
There is a good review for the battery use and brightness here availiable in german
https://www.lilahand.de/2017/05/17/laufzeitmessung-klarus-g35/
