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“Stay ‘unreasonable.’ If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.”
Dan Webre
The Martialist does not
constitute legal advice. It is for ENTERTAINMENT
PURPOSES ONLY.
Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.
ElektroLumens XM2
A Product Review by Morgan Atwood
Darkness has long been recognized, in myth and in
reality, as a haven for the evil and cruel of the world, a shield against
against justice for those who wish to harm others, who wish to take what
does not belong to them.
Bad guys like the dark for many reasons. These include cover and
concealment and the fact that if they know the area and their marks dont,
the odds are in their favor. Light powerful, revealing light changes
all that, wiping away the darkness with the flick of a switch or the touch
of a button.
Light is feared by society’s
predators for good reason.
The overwhelming presence or sudden absence of
light, particularly intense, focused light, affects an attacker adversely.
Sudden changes in light quality and brightness, such as sudden bright strobing
followed by immediate darkness, have the most effect, blinding and distracting
immediately while severely hindering night vision in the moments immediately
following.
In the old days, some European swordsmen would use a lantern, often called a
black lantern, fitted with a special shutter activated by a lever in the
handle. Using this, the swordsman could (in effect) switch the light
“off” and “on.”. When dueling, a simple pull of a lever opened the shutter,
distracting the opponent and perhaps harming his night vision enough to open
him up for the fatal blow.
As modern martialists, our best choices for light domination and control are
high-intensity flashlights that can be carried in our pockets. The market is
literally flooded with options, ranging in price, size and design from very
cheap and crappy (a technical term) to very expensive and good. There
are even some very expensive and crappy models. Generally speaking, there are
a few well established companies whose products hold a large segment of the
market regardless of other consumer factors. Sometimes, though, a start-up
manages to nail one out of the park on the first try. The
ElektroLumens XM2
is a home run.
The ElektroLumens XM2 light.
ElektroLumens is a California-based company
producing a range of LED flashlights. Founded by Wayne Johnson, ElektroLumens
grew out of Johnsons interest in modifying existing flashlights for better
performance. Motivated by two late-night encounters with wild animals, Wayne
decided he needed a flashlight for his late-night walks. He wasnt
satisfied with the commercially available options, so he began researching
LEDs. Eventually he ended up selling flashlights, modified with Luxeon
Star LEDs, on eBay.
This led to the desire to design and build his own flashlight from the ground
up and he did. ElektroLumens was born.
The ElektroLumens
XM2 is a
3-Watt Luxeon Star LED powered by two CR123 batteries and rated at 72 Lumens.
As if this writing, It retails for around $60 USD direct from ElektroLumens.
It was designed with the input and guidance of Wayne Johnson, ElektroLumens
founder and owner, and is manufactured in China. Despite the negative
associations many of us have with Chinese-made products, the quality of this
light is really pretty good.
The light features a momentary on/off pressure switch for momentary lighting
and a twist-on tailcap for always-on illumination. The body is machined
aluminum with black anodizing, featuring comfortable checkered knurling that
provides good traction. There is an anti-roll block at the base of the
head.
The XM2 is approximately 4.75 inches long
with a 1 inch body diameter and a 1.25 inch head diameter. It has a solid feel
in the hand and is comfortable, without sharp edges that could eat into the
hand.
The Bad
Im going to get the negative issues out
of the way immediately because there’s been a lot of discussion on the
Internet about these problems. I dont want them to overshadow the
positives of the XM2.
The tailcap switch is not great. The spring, when new, provides very little
tension and thus I (and other users) have encountered a couple of problems.
The button can be pressed very easily by accident in the pocket. It has
a pretty “nasty” feel when pressed and does not always go down like it should,
causing some flickering of the beam. I’ve read reports of problems with the
twist-on feature, too specifically, a gritty feel when the cap is screwed
down. Some owners have reported too fine a line between too lose
and always on when trying to adjust the tailcap. I didnt have any really
distinct problems like this with my light.
The tailcap switch
of the XM2.
Several people from
Candle Power Forums
came up with a few different ways to replace the switch with more efficient
switches of different kinds. Theres more than a few options too many to
list here but the site could make for valuable reading if you have any
problems with your XM2.
What I did to correct my own problems was simply to stretch the tailcap spring
by at least an inch, then reinstall it. This seemed to fix all the problems I
was experiencing. It corrected the button feel and made it harder for
the light to switch on in my pocket. I am actually pretty happy with the
switch after making this fix. It could be better, but it could be a lot
worse.
The XM2 disassembled for
repair and adjustment.
Another issue commonly noted with
the XM2 involves the lens. The light was originally designed without a lens
over the optic, but lenses were put in at the request of buyers before the
first run was made. The first lenses on many lights were of very poor quality.
Some were not round in shape and had large gaps, some were cracked, and some
were badly fitted. The light I received didnt have a broken lens and I really
havent had any problems with it. The lens is simply pressed in, held by
friction, with an O-Ring behind it. It didnt pop out on its own, but I found
it was was easy to pop it out when I tried (and it was just as easy to pop it
right back in). Even after putting the lens back in, it showed no sign of
wanting to come out on its own, even during impact. The light functions
perfectly without a lens, incidentally.
The lens of the XM2.
On the topic of the optic, some
may be disappointed because the XM2, although bright and with a good-quality
beam, does not have the throw of incandescent lights such as the SureFire G2.
Because it uses an optic and not a reflector, the XM2 has about 10 feet less
concentrated throw than my SureFire G2 (65 Lumen incandescent bulb).
Reflectors are available from Wayne Johnson. A friend of mine got one
and installed it. He was very pleased with the results and the increased throw
of the light. I will probably be getting a reflector for mine sometime
down the road.
All in all I think these problems are actually pretty minor. Those of you who
regularly visit Candle Power Forums will probably have seen a lot of
discussion of these issues, but I wouldnt let this deter you from purchasing
an XM2.
Wayne has been very good in listening to and responding to customers
concerning these issues. The tailcap and lens problems were both a surprise
and a disappointment to him, as his prototype was far superior with a better
lens and switch. He has promised to do the very best he can to fix the
problems with the newest batches of XM2 lights. He also pledged to help
customers in any way he can if they are not satisfied with their products.
I must say that for a small company, run by someone new to the game, it is
reassuring and pleasing to see someone so willing to listen to and respond to
his customers.
Also worthy of note is the fact that these problems are turning up only on the
XM2 lights. The rest of the ElektroLumens line has been receiving really good
feedback, from what I have seen.
Sheath of the XM2 in
closed and opened positions.
One last problem, which I did not
cover earlier because it is really more of a pet peeve, is the XM2
sheath. A nylon belt sheath comes with the light. It is fairly well made
and holds the light well, but I dont care for it because it has an oversize
belt loop that lets it flop around on my waist. Id rather it held the light
snugly against my side and didnt have so much play. Some custom Kydex or
Leather sheathing may be in order if you intend to carry the XM2 on your belt.
The Good
Despite the problems I’ve mentioned, this
is an excellent little light. I am very pleased with it and it has become my
every-day carry, replacing my SureFire G2.
The Luxeon Star LED produces a very clean, white light that
is very bright. The beam has a crisp hot-spot and clean side-spill, with
solid coverage of and no shadows or blemishes in the beam. The beam
casts about 40 or 50 feet very well. Beyond that it isnt tight enough
to put out much strong light. As I mentioned before, replacing the optic
with a reflector will improve this.
The beam of the XM2 (left) compared to the beam from
author’s G2.
Positions reversed, the G2 (left) is
again compared to the XM2.
The LED will maintain its full brightness for
an hour to an hour and a half of constant use. It will last a great deal
longer at reduced brightness after that. It seemed to me that past a certain
point the light took an immediate drop in brightness, losing about a quarter
of its full intensity. Then it hit a plateau in which it dimmed very
slowly. I still havent run the batteries completely down. I probably
have two hours or more on my first set. Although dim, the XM2 is still
bright enough to be temporarily distracting. With fresh batteries the 72+
lumens of pure white light are very effective and will leave someone seeing
spots and purple blotches for several minutes even in daylight.
The XM2s LED has a much greater life expectancy than incandescent bulbs and
even more than comparable LED-driven lights. The Lux-III in the XM2 should
have a life of at least 50,000 hours, which is excellent compared to the
5-watt Luxeon Star SureFire uses for many of their products. (The
SureFire Luxeon is brighter at 120 Lumens but lasts between 500 and 100
hours).
Another great advantage of the LED is impact resistance. I have already
dropped my XM2 several times, accidentally, onto concrete, tile, and stone.
The only damage has been some minimal marring of the anodizing. No more
replacing expensive incandescent bulbs for me.
The XM2 feels sturdy in the hand.
The body of the XM2 is very stout. It is
a little heavier than comparable lights but gives one the sense that it would
survive just about anything. It is definitely strong enough to withstand
impact very well. In combination with the impact resistance of the LED, this
is one tough light. The user could definitely knock a would-be mugger
upside the noggin with this light and still count on it to illuminate the
darkness.
The XM2 is also somewhat water resistant, as it is sealed with o-rings. It is
not really “waterproof,” but a little rain and even a quick splash into a
puddle shouldn’t hurt it.
Carry and Use
The light carries pretty decently in a jeans pocket,
although it pretty much demands the entire pocket if you want to get at it
fast. A good-quality Kydex or leather belt sheath would actually be pretty
nice for this light, but not necessary. I have been carrying mine daily since
I got it and its not really a problem so long as you have a pocket to spare.
As with all personal flashlight,s it is a very handy tool I have used mine a
lot. It has held up well. Even after the first hour of run-time on one
set of batteries, it continues to provide a more than adequate amount of light
for most utility applications. Some wear on the anodizing is apparent, but
this is not from regular carry. It’s the result of me dropping the light
and scuffing it.
As a weapon or an accessory-weapon, the XM2 serves very
well. Weighing almost 5 ounces, it provides a little extra weight to a
hammer-fist strike and the bezel stands up from the lens just enough to create
a nasty impact surface that will hurt very much when your power is focused
into it.
The XM2 is also a great companion to a handgun. It’s easy to work in the
Harries or Rogers grips. The XM2 also provides excellent light coverage
and usability when free-floating the off-hand with the light to provide
light from other places than directly on center-of-mass.
Since early June I have been carrying the XM2 daily. I have
no intentions of returning to my old EDC now because I like the XM2 better.
I am very satisfied with this light and am actually seriously considering
purchasing a second one. With the first production bugs worked out, I think
the only way to make this light better would be the addition of a pocket clip
for easier carry. Even without this I am extremely pleased.
Id have no problem recommending this
light to anyone.