I have for a long time wanted to check out the X21R vs modern chinese flashlights. We have a couple of these in my local S&R team, and after several people complained that they dropped in output fairly quickly I borrowed them to do some tests. I have gathered a few good Chinese lights over the last years, and let them have a go at the german heavyweight.
The contestants are (Brand-Model-LED-Tint):
Led Lenser X21R 7x XM-L CW
Sunwayman D40A XM-L2 NW
Niteye EYE30 3x XM-L CW
Jetbeam BC40W XM-L NW
Fandyfire STL-V6 XM-L CW
XinTD V5 XM-L2 NW
XinTD V5 XP-G2 CW
and finally “The Triplet”; 1x STL-V6 with 2x XinTD V5s attached. This is my piêce de la resistance I have high hopes for. The STL is a well known budget thrower, and the XinTDs from intl-outdoors are absolutely fabulous for the size and price.
Conditions: Winter – snow and ice. –4 degrees C and a little windy. Full moon shining on target.
Distance to target: 225m to the opposite shore, 325m to the ridge, 425m to the hillside.
Camera: Canon EOS 400D – Aperture 2.8 – Shutter 5 seconds – ISO400 – WB Daylight. Manual focus, and sadly all images are a little out of focus.
Batteries: Rechargeable NiMh 9000mAh 4D pack for the X21R (has seen very little use). The opponents have Panasonic 18650s and Sanyo xXx Eneloops. All batteries fully charged except the Eneloops, but I presume they were close to full. The X21R pack was 5,75V charged, 1,43V per cell.
Test regime: One control shot is taken. Then all lights are tested on max setting on target. This gives a reference to the second part of the test. The X21R and The Triplet are left on for 15 minutes, and another shot is taken. They are left on for 5 more minutes and the final shot is taken at 20 minutes runtime. At this point there there was not much point continuing I felt, but in hindsight I should have continued until one light switched off.
Results: The X21R starts with being the top dog with regards to its massive throw and the widest spot. This is to be expected considering its size, weight and pricepoint. The beam one the light tested is very bluish and not to my liking, the other sample I discovered later had a bit more color to it. The results changes in the second part of the test; the Triplet keeps on giving but the LedLenser has dropped dramatically, so much that it now has a weaker output than the opponent. At 20 minutes the change is even more apparent, and it is now weaker than the STL-V6 alone it may seem. The Triplet has seen little change in output after this time, which proves the lights can tolerate high output and the batteries hold up to a high discharge rate. I measured the X21R battery pack a couple of days later and it showed 5,15V, so about half charge I estimate (1,28V per cell).
Conclusion: If this is representative of the X21R’s out there I find it to be useless for Search and Rescue use, especially considering its massive weight and size. That is unless it is only used for short moments just to illuminate objects of interest. Having half a charge left and considerably lower output after only 20 minutes is ridiculous. Also the tint is so blue it is not so good for spotting things. I will stick to my Triplet because of consistent output, better battery lifetime, better tint, better spill, lighter weight, smaller size and that it is much more flexible (I can disconnect any light I want and just use that one, so I’m essentially carrying lights for three people). I am also thoroughly impressed with the XinTDs from intl-outdoor, they are real keepers.
Beamshots here:
Control shot
Niteye EYE30
Sunwayman D40A
Jetbeam BC40W
XinTD V5 XM-L2
XinTD V5 XP-G2
Fandyfire STL-V6
Triplet 00m
X21R 00m
Triplet 15m
X21R 15m
Triplet 20m
21R 20m
And finally a crappy shot of the “winner”:
The Triplet
