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 don’t, 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.
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. TheElektroLumens XM2 is a home run.
ElektroLumens is a California-based company producing a range of LED flashlights. Founded by Wayne Johnson, ElektroLumens grew out of Johnson’s 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 wasn’t satisfied with the commercially available options, so he began researching LEDs. Eventually he ended up selling flashlights, modified with Luxeon Star LEDs, on Bay. This led to the desire to design and build his own flashlight from the ground up – and he did. ElektroLumens was born.
The ElektroLumensXM2 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
I’m 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 don’t 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 didn’t have any really distinct problems like this with my light.
Several people fromCandle Power Forums came up with a few different ways to replace the switch with more efficient switches of different kinds. There’s 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.
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 didn’t have a broken lens and I really haven’t had any problems with it. The lens is simply pressed in, held by friction, with an O-Ring behind it. It didn’t 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.
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 wouldn’t 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.
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 don’t care for it because it has an oversize belt loop that lets it flop around on my waist. I’d rather it held the light snugly against my side and didn’t 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 isn’t tight enough to put out much strong light. As I mentioned before, replacing the optic with a reflector will improve this.
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 haven’t 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 XM2’s 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 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 it’s 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.
I’d have no problem recommending this light to anyone.