Klarus XT11 flashlight review

**sprrdhawk44** · July 21st, 2014, 10:48 AM

In my recent search for a new, quality flashlight to be used on an AR15 set up for home defense, I came across Klarus Lights. They have many models, and market their products for use in various and sundry applications. I acquired their model XT11, along with their ED10 tape switch tail cap. I also obtained a Klarus brand picatinny mount that I used to attach the light to my magpul cantilevered rail section.

My initial impressions:

The light "feels" very solid in the hand. It feels like a quality product. This is something that is hard to quantify, but nevertheless is very real. The body of the light is aluminum, with a stainless steel strike bezel adorning the top. The bezel serves no real purpose for me, as I am utilizing the light purely in a weapon-mounted role, but it would without a doubt be very effective if used as an impact weapon in an every day carry role. The bezel screws in very smoothly, with virtually no drag. This is indicative of good, quality machining. The same can also be said for the different tail caps.

The standard tail cap is a really great design that allows for instant access to strobe. It's tactile, so you won't find yourself fumbling for the button. The standard tail cap also allows for tail-standing, which is something that many people get really excited about. It is a nice feature. The ED10 tape switch tail cap, is in a word, awesome. It is coated in silicon, and very,very sturdy. The great thing about it is the fact the every single mode the light has can be accessed and cycled through using the tape switch by itself. The cord itself feels as though it is set in concrete at the tail cap, as I wasn't able to get any movement from it whatsoever. I don't know what you would have to do to rip the cord out, but I imagine a pair of pliers would be required to accomplish it. Very impressive.

Functionally, the light is very impressive. Klarus claims a peak output of 820 lumens, and I believe them. Simply put, the light is incredibly bright. It has three intensity levels and strobe, with 11 lumens being the weakest, 160 lumens the middle ground, and 820 lumens the max. The strobe works at 820 lumens as well, and is extremely disorienting. Whether the strobe is used or not, the light is incapacitating. An attacker within ten to fifteen yards of the light will in no way, shape, or form be able to see you. It really is that intense. The light held up perfectly under recoil. I ran about 300 rounds the gun with the light on and activated, and never had a single issue with it losing contact or anything like that. This is largely due to the batteries being spring supported at both ends.

At ten yards:

At twenty five yards:

At seventy five yards:

And a duck box at 100 yards:

I found the light to be pretty floody, with a lot of throw. The light is easily usable out to two hundred yards. At that distance, the light had abut 100 yards of flood. For defensive purposes as well as law enforcement purposes, that is more than adequate.

The only issue I had was with the mount. When the holes for the screws were drilled and tapped, it was done at an angle. This caused the screw to bind in the hole. It still worked, though, I just re-tapped it myself. I have no doubt that Klarus would have taken care of this. It was minor enough that I didn't feel that it was necessary to make a big deal out of it.

Overall, on a scale of one to ten, I would easily give the light a 9.5. The only subtraction for me, is that I didn't have true "instantaneous" access to the strobe from the tape switch. It takes about a second to get to it. Not really a big deal for me, as I don't run strobe on any of my weapon mounted lights. I run my lights wide open, and for that, the XT11 is damn near perfect. I highly recommend that you take a look at Klarus when purchasing your next light.

**Mabuz** · July 21st, 2014, 12:12 PM

I have one of these on my 5.56 SBR and agree with pretty much everything you said. For the price, I don't think there is a comparable light out there...at least that I've seen.

I don't like that you lose the instant strobe functionality with the tailcap, so I'm not using that any longer, and just have the light mounted beside my forward grip so I can hit the tailcap with my thumb easily.

I have probably 700-800 rounds through this gun with the light mounted, and it has been absolutely reliable every time I've used it.

On a Klarus brand related note, I however did also buy one of their small, AAA pocket lights, and had to send it in for replacement once I got it. The switch was intermittently not working, but it was replaced without question.

I'm happy with them so far.

**sprrdhawk44** · July 21st, 2014, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by Mabuz

I have one of these on my 5.56 SBR and agree with pretty much everything you said. For the price, I don't think there is a comparable light out there...at least that I've seen.

I don't like that you lose the instant strobe functionality with the tailcap, so I'm not using that any longer, and just have the light mounted beside my forward grip so I can hit the tailcap with my thumb easily.

I have probably 700-800 rounds through this gun with the light mounted, and it has been absolutely reliable every time I've used it.

On a Klarus brand related note, I however did also buy one of their small, AAA pocket lights, and had to send it in for replacement once I got it. The switch was intermittently not working, but it was replaced without question.

I'm happy with them so far.

I agree. I am hoping they will eventually allow the strobe to be activated from the tail cap as well. Other than that, though, it's a solid piece of gear.

**625** · July 23rd, 2014, 01:06 PM

Not a gripe with you, but it seems like many companies print rather misleading info regarding the output on high and runtime. This light, and some others that have considerably bright lights in a small package, automatically step down to a little over 50% of the output after a few minutes due to heat-related issues. So, for example, this light will NOT give the owner 800 lumens for 3 hours.

Also, this light has a strange design in that it will completely shut off after the battery gets down to a certain level instead of just getting dimmer.