After reading great things about the XT40 and being cheated in the past by FastTech, I figured I would write Gearbest.com, whom I dealt with in the past on the Dash cam side, and ask them if they had the SolarStorm XT40 in XM-L2. Dora said they didn’t yet agreed if there was some interest on the forum, she would custom order it and made an order. While she had a yes from Solarstorm, I asked if they would also make an XM-L2 X3 and luckily they agreed. Both lights came out great and were super bright.
Fast forward two months and after finding the original Yinding XML, people started asking for Neutral versions of these light and Dora got the approval of SolarStorm to make the X3 and XT40 in XM-L2 U2 3C. Right now the Neutral White lights are presale on the GearBest website and should be done soon. Here are the final links and coupons for the Neutral Whites
Both lights were upgraded with XM-L2 U2 emitters so GearBest.com sent them to be reviewed. Tonight the weather was warm so I took the two out for their first trail test. The trail I rode is a technical twisty SingleTrack loop filled with drops, short climbs and a lot of roots. I mounted them both on the bar and in the beginning just alternated between the two to get and idea of each of their beam patterns.
The first thing I discovered after setting the right angle on both, was that the XT40 seems to have a bit more throw while the X3 put more light directly on and in front of the tire. The XT40 had a more diffused beam while the X3 had a tighter hot spot. Whenever I switched to the XT40 I could see farther yet missed the X3 for the drops, it really helped see what is directly in front of the tire. So I finally left them both on Low giving me enough light for most of the trail and when it got very technical both on Medium was perfect. High in my tests was unnecassary and too much on the narrow sections due to glare. The perfect setup would be the X3 on the bar and the XT40 on the helmet. If I could only choose one, the X3 would be my choice due to it putting more light on the front tire while still having a good throw and nice color.
I rode for about an hour and a half, switching modes and when I finished there were two bars showing on the battery meter. Heat was never a problem even running them for short periods on high. The X3 felt cooler, I'm guessing due to the cooling fins yet neither got hot.
Here are a few trail pics of the two, using the MTBR Light Shootout Camera settings on my Sony Nex-3. Some of the shots are a little blurry because mid ride it started to rain lightly and the wind picked up, making keeping the bike perfectly still, difficult. You can see the front tire lit up more by the X3.
Hey GJHS, what bag and charger do you use for this battery pack ? It’s nice and long that would look good on a two strap bag on the frame. Do you happen to know where to get them ?
Do you need an special charger for it ?
