RokJok
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2000
- Messages
- 3,600
Costco had the Inova XO2 flashlight for $23 each, so I grabbed one to check it out. Some pics & specs at: http://www.brightguy.com/products/Inova_XO2_LED_Flashlight.php
Up to this point I've been something of a higher-watt LED Luddite. Other than some Inova XMT5's in a box I haven't unpacked (and can't find) from the last move, the brightest LED light I had is a Nite-Ize 3-LED conversion for a Maglite 2AA body. The Nite-Ize unit was brighter than the incandescent bulb that came with the Maglite originally and I was decently impressed with its performance on some lithium AA's. The downside was that the switch broke and to turn the light on/off I have to unscrew the endcap and flip around the end battery in the light's body.
The 2-watt LED and reflector design in the Inova XO2 is a quantum leap up in beam reach from the Mini-mag. With the Inova I can light up my garden shed (painted light pastel yellow) from about 150 feet away on a night with light rain. The first afternoon I got it, as a test I shone it off a mirror into my eyes. Bad move! I had spots dancing in my vision for a while after that stunt.
Of course, the XO2 is running a pair of CR123 lithium batteries, so it's not really "apples to apples" comparing the power of the Minimag 2-AA (3V) to the XO2 (6V).
Nonetheless, I like the Inova's rugged body and brightness. It's only a little larger and heavier, making it only nominally less pocketable, than the Mini-mag. I also like that they made the lanyard hole LARGE enough to easily accept 550 paracord or 3mm climbing cord. The Mini-mag has a very tiny lanyard hole that barely accepts mason's line for cord.
Downsides of the XO2:
- round bezel and endcap allow it to roll on a table, in spite of the faceted body on the unit. This unit is VERY prone to rolling = Bad news!!
- turning the unit "on" requires cranking the rotating bezel almost all the way down to the stopped position (cranked down tight). According to the instruction sheet that came with the light, the design spec is to have the unit go into intermittent mode with 1/2 rotation from full-down (ON) position and to go into full off mode with 1 full rotation from the full-down position.
However, the XO2 I got requires less than 1/8 of a rotation to turn the light off and go into intermittent mode (light off, turns on while tail-switch is pressed). The full off position kicks in with 1 full rotation from the full down position, so that part is right. I'm afraid with a little use the light will eventually not enter the constant on mode, even with the bezel cranked all the way down. Time will tell.
Overall, I like the XO2 quite well and it immediately became my EDC pocket light.
Up to this point I've been something of a higher-watt LED Luddite. Other than some Inova XMT5's in a box I haven't unpacked (and can't find) from the last move, the brightest LED light I had is a Nite-Ize 3-LED conversion for a Maglite 2AA body. The Nite-Ize unit was brighter than the incandescent bulb that came with the Maglite originally and I was decently impressed with its performance on some lithium AA's. The downside was that the switch broke and to turn the light on/off I have to unscrew the endcap and flip around the end battery in the light's body.
The 2-watt LED and reflector design in the Inova XO2 is a quantum leap up in beam reach from the Mini-mag. With the Inova I can light up my garden shed (painted light pastel yellow) from about 150 feet away on a night with light rain. The first afternoon I got it, as a test I shone it off a mirror into my eyes. Bad move! I had spots dancing in my vision for a while after that stunt.
Of course, the XO2 is running a pair of CR123 lithium batteries, so it's not really "apples to apples" comparing the power of the Minimag 2-AA (3V) to the XO2 (6V).
Nonetheless, I like the Inova's rugged body and brightness. It's only a little larger and heavier, making it only nominally less pocketable, than the Mini-mag. I also like that they made the lanyard hole LARGE enough to easily accept 550 paracord or 3mm climbing cord. The Mini-mag has a very tiny lanyard hole that barely accepts mason's line for cord.
Downsides of the XO2:
- round bezel and endcap allow it to roll on a table, in spite of the faceted body on the unit. This unit is VERY prone to rolling = Bad news!!
- turning the unit "on" requires cranking the rotating bezel almost all the way down to the stopped position (cranked down tight). According to the instruction sheet that came with the light, the design spec is to have the unit go into intermittent mode with 1/2 rotation from full-down (ON) position and to go into full off mode with 1 full rotation from the full-down position.
However, the XO2 I got requires less than 1/8 of a rotation to turn the light off and go into intermittent mode (light off, turns on while tail-switch is pressed). The full off position kicks in with 1 full rotation from the full down position, so that part is right. I'm afraid with a little use the light will eventually not enter the constant on mode, even with the bezel cranked all the way down. Time will tell.
Overall, I like the XO2 quite well and it immediately became my EDC pocket light.
