Review – XTQ1

Like the RS11, the XTQ1 comes in a store-shelf display packaging. (Check out Klarus Light’s Winter Special for the XTQ1 – 50% discount due to incorrect packaging for the flashlight!)

The hard anodizing is a matt dark brownish gray and consistent throughout with no chips or blemishes. Lettering is not very bright white, but legible against the background.

You can take the light apart without any tools and get three parts. 

The XTQ1 has a stainless steel crenulated bezel ring, which is removable, allowing light to shine through when left placed head down. Like the RS11, the bezel ring is not directly touch the o-ring & lens in the head. There is an inner ring similar to bracket between the bezel ring and lens. This structure seems more shock-resistance.

There is a raised contact spring in the head of the light, so flat-top 18650 batteries should work fine in the light. The light has reverse polarity protection to protect from incorrect battery installation (i.e., the electronics of the XTQ1 has in-built reverse polarity protection).

The light uses toughened ultra-clear lens. The purple hue is reflected on it. The aluminium reflector has a light orange peel pattern. Surface finish on the reflector is nice from visual inspection, and well-centred LED sits at the bottom of the reflector cup.

The battery tube has no knurling. But with all the ridge detail and extra elements around the head and body, overall grip is good. The stainless steel clip-on pocket clip seems to hold on fairly well. It is head-facing, and not reversible. The bundled grip ring is a metal. It can spin even when the tail cap is fully tightened, but it's not inconvenient using the light.

The wall thickness of the body is about 1.9mm, and the light seems reasonably solid.

The screw threads are trapezoidal-cut of good quality. Both male and female threads in the head and tail part are well machined, with being anodized which allows the light to be locked-out when the head or tail cap is slightly loosened. Threads on the both ends of the body mate well with no issues of cross-threading or grinding.

At the tail base, you can see a slightly sunken surface that is very flat. The distinctive aspect of the light is a metal flat switch with no audible click when pressing it. This switch gives you a large contact area and allows the light tail stand perfectly. The switching travel is shorter than average, with average resistance.

There is a brief pre-flash when making initial contact of the tail cap with the battery, and a second pre-flash when fully tightened. There is also a brief pre-flash when the tail cap is fully loosened. There is no pre-flash when activating the light in any mode.

Overall Impressions

• Build quality is very high
• No audible click (i.e., quiet) when pressing the tail switch
• Anti-roll indentations on the body
• The light can tail stand stably
• Electrical reverse polarity protection function
• Standby current drain, but quite negligible
• No mode memory (i.e., always comes on in High)
• True flat-top batteries work fine
• Timed step-down feature on High
• Output-runtime efficiency seems fine
• True Moonlight mode is not available
• Brief pre-flash when making initial contact of the tailcap with the battery and when fully tightened
• The beam tint is typical cool white
• Throw is reasonable for the class

Why you should always keep a flashlight in your car

There is nothing worse than your car breaking down on the side of the road – except for your car breaking down on the side of the road in the dark!

Don’t panic. Keep a flashlight in your car at all times to avoid ever being stuck in an unfortunate situation.

• Self-defense

Getting stuck in the middle of nowhere is dangerous, especially in the dark. Believe it or not, but having a flashlight handy, can save your life.

If you are ever in the situation where your life is in danger, a flashlight can double as a non-lethal weapon. A single blow to the head or bright flash in the eyes can render an attacker immobilized, just long enough for you to escape or call for help.

• Illumination

Have you ever tried looking for an object you dropped in your car? If can be almost impossible, especially if it’s dark. Keeping a flashlight in your glove compartment is absolutely necessary!

• Emergencies

Keeping a flashlight in your car is essential if your car ever breaks down in an unlit area. Changing a tyre or seeing under the hood of your car to address the problem can be almost impossible without the help of a flashlight.

• Signalling for help

Breaking down on the side of the road also means that the other cars on the road may not be able to see your vehicle. A flashlight can double as an emergency light to signal to oncoming traffic that your car has broken down and may be in harm’s way.

Looking for high quality, durable, affordable flashlights and accessories? Klarus Light manufactures some of the best tactical flashlights in the world! Visit the Klarus website today to choose the perfect flashlight that best suits your needs.

Top 5 Reasons why you should always have a Flashlight in your EDC

The items or contents of your Every Day Carry are something that’s very unique according to your personal needs and ability to carry items everywhere you go. If you carry a backpack around then your EDC can be significantly bigger than someone that does not carry one, making this a truly unique setup for every person.

There are key items you should always have in your EDC setup though, a knife/multitool, small notepad, and a flashlight. While most useful and important, a lot of people cut back when coming to flashlight in their EDC setup, leaving it out due to size and weight many other restraints, but the flashlight is a tool that’s not only useful for seeing in the dark, but for self defence and security, too. 

Still not convinced? Well, in case you aren’t, here are 5 reasons why a flashlight needs to be a part of your EDC.

1. GLIMPSING IN THE DARK

One of the most basic uses of a flashlight is for seeing in the dark, and this is by far more important than you think. From changing a tire on the side of the road at night to finding everything that fell out of your pocket in the dark, having a flashlight on hand is pretty useful.

Sure, most phones probably have built-in lights, but what if you’re out of battery life? Then you’re stuck. For safety, having a small tactical flashlight with you all the time is pretty much important.

2. SAFELY PERFORMING SPECIFIC TASKS

Tire changing being at the top of the list, there are quite a few tasks that can cause damage or get you hurt if you can’t see what you’re doing. For example, what happens when you need to jump-start a car in the dark? Hooking the terminals up incorrectly can damage your car or even cause the battery to explode.

If you are out camping, stuck in the woods at night, a flashlight is vital to help you start a fire. Without a source of light, you could not safely achieve either of these. Even hooking up cables to your television is better done with some light. In short, be safe and use a flashlight.

3. IDENTIFY THREATS

Of Course, flashlights are great for glimpsing in the dark, but if you’re in a dangerous situation you can easily use your flashlight to identify a threat. Whether or not it’s an animal or person, being able to see your mark it’s very important.

If you can’t see your mark you can easily end up hurting someone that isn’t a threat or end up getting hurt by an unidentifiable target. Having a light on you at all times helps you to know who’s coming close quickly and easily.

 4. SHOCK AND DISORIENT ATTACKERS

You can actually use your flashlight as an offensive weapon, too. In a dark situation shining a bright light in someone’s eyes will definitely do them harm. Not only will it shock them, but it will ruin their vision for some time after, giving you a chance to attack or get away.

Hitting someone with a bright beam of light will disorient your attacker as he or she spins away from the flash. This turns them around and gives you even more time for fight or flight to kick in.

5. USE AS AN ACTUAL WEAPON

Finally, if you choose a proper tactical flashlight you can use the light itself as a weapon. Many tactical lights have a raised end around the light end, giving you something that can be gouged with.

Most lights are also heavy to an extent, making them perfect for hitting someone with. Both of these combined give you one additional weapon in your arsenal. While not the most effective weapon around, it’s great as a last resort.

Be sure to visit Klarus Light’s website right away, you’ll find a wide range of flashlights, ranging from the 700 lumen FH10 to the 2450 lumen G30. Plus don’t miss out on the amazing winter specials! 

Tactical Flashlights For Home Defence

If it were a nightmare, you could wake up and it would be over. But this is worse. It's real and it's just beginning. That noise that startled you from a sound sleep can mean only one thing. There's an intruder in your home. If you're smart, you have a plan for this kind of situation, like picking up the cell phone by your bed and calling the coppers. They're trained to handle this sort of thing.

Even so, with your family's well-being at stake, you feel an urgency to act--now. You reach for your trusty gun. But, there's another piece of defensive gear that's just as important--a tactical flashlight. Developed initially for Special Forces in the military and law enforcement, these lights, with their intensely bright beams, are also available to civilians. They offer protection by temporarily blinding an intruder. Unlike a room light or a conventional flashlight, which shows the bad guys where you are, tactical lights are designed to identify a target without turning you into one.

Tactical lights are designed specifically to be used either alongside a weapon (a handheld) or mounted on a long gun or handgun (a weapon light). There's little point in blinding an intruder to gain a momentary advantage if you can't follow up and get the drop on him. Bluffing is a dangerous game.

Handheld lights are compact, lightweight, and typically use a momentary switch in the tailcap. You grip the light as you would a hypodermic syringe, with your thumb on the switch. This grip helps you to interlock your hands to brace and aim your handgun, something you can't do with a larger flashlight. The momentary switch allows you to sweep a room with short, powerful bursts of light--a technique that makes it difficult for a bad guy to pick out your position.

Weapon lights, which usually can double as handhelds, attach to your gun by sliding into a rail mount that either comes as part of the gun package, or can be purchased separately. Remote switches on long-gun models let you activate the light while maintaining your grip on the gun.

Compared to conventional flashlights, tactical lights deliver more light from a more compact, lighter package. A conventional flashlight with two D batteries and a standard bulb puts out about 15 to 20 lumens. A tactical light cranks out a minimum of 60 lumens of solid beam with no holes or dark spots. It also can stand up to the shock and recoil of a firearm.

Tactical lights get their blinding ability from a high-pressure xenon-filled bulb with a tungsten filament. Power comes from a pair of 3-volt AA lithium batteries instead of conventional 1.5-volt cells. These batteries typically will give about an hour of continuous run time, and bulbs typically last 25 hours. The 6 volts of juice burns the filament hotter and whiter than that in a conventional flashlight. Precision tolerances between the bulb and reflector, and refractive coatings or finishes on the reflector, produce a solid, uniform beam of light.

Tactical lights come in an assortment of models and features – take a look at Klarus Light’s website to choose the perfect tactical flashlight!