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Wink2 Xtar S1 (3xXM-L, 3x18650) "Thrower" Review: RUNTIMES, VIDEO, BEAMSHOTS and more!

Warning: even more pic heavy than usual!



The S1 is a new 3xXM-L, high-output "thrower" light from Xtar. The build and capabilities of this light are a significant expansion for Xtar. How does it compare to other lights in this class? Let's see …

Manufacturer's Specifications from CPFMP (updated with info from the included spec sheet):
  • LED: 3x Cree XM-L U2
  • Battery: 3x18650/18700 Li-ion (protected button-top mentioned on spec sheet)
  • Working Voltage: 2.7-4.2V (2.75V-4.2V on spec sheet)
  • Output: min. 30lm, max. 2750lm (3000lm claimed on spec sheet)
  • Runtime: 1h at 2750lm (1hr 35min on spec sheet)
  • Runtime 330hr at30lm (on spec sheet)
  • Max range: 359m (360m on spec sheet)
  • Max Intensity: 32300cd (32500cd on spec sheet)
  • Switch: Head magnetic ring switch ("magnetic dimmer" on spec sheet)
  • Mode: SOS/Strobe/High/Off/Preset/Select
  • Material: Anodized aircraft 6061 aluminum allow (on spec sheet)
  • Water resistance: IPX-8 standard
  • Impact resistant: 1m
  • Size: 83mm (head), 47mm (body), 240mm (length)
  • Weight: 956g excluding batteries (888g on spec sheet)
  • MSRP: Unknown, but likely >$200



I don't know what final packaging will look like – I was only provided with the review sample and a spec sheet by Xtar. According to the spec sheet, a lanyard and extra o-rings will be included on shipping samples.

Note that the included spec sheet I received from Xtar seems to differ somewhat from the previously published specs on CPFMP (both sources are listed above). I will discuss the accuracy of these specs at the end of the review, but my results differ from the specs in several ways ...



From left to right: Xtar Protected 18650; Nitecore TM11; Xtar S1; 4Sevens S18 Maelstrom, Olight SR92.

All basic dimensions are given with no batteries installed:

Xtar X1: Weight: 883.4g (est. 1035g with 3x18650 protected), Length: 236mm, Width (bezel): 83.4mm
Nitecore TM11: Weight: 342.6g (476g with 8xCR123A), Length 135.3mm, Width (bezel): 59.5mm
4Sevens S18: Weight: 700g (800g with 6xCR123A), Length: 233mm, Width (bezel) 63.0mm, (tailcap) 25.6mm
4Sevens X10: Weight: 156.9g (245.7g with 1x26650), Length: 135.5mm, Width (bezel): 46.0mm
Olight SR90: Weight: 1.6 kg (with battery pack), Length: 335mm, Width (bezel): 97mm
Olight SR92: Weight: 1.15 kg (with battery pack), Length: 271mm, Width (bezel): 98mm

The X1 is a substantial light – overall build is quite hefty. It is generally intermediate between the 4Sevens S18 and the Olight SR92.






Construction quality seems excellent (i.e. this is not a budget quality light).

Anodizing is a glossy black, and seems to be good quality - although there are a few chips on my sample (but that may just reflect its review sample nature). Knurling is present on the body, and is reasonably aggressive. Along with the ridges and other build detail, grip is very good.

Labels are fairly basic on my review sample (hopefully it stays that way on the shipping versions ). Labels are sharp and clear against the black background.

The light can tailstand, and there is a built-in grip ring around the tailcap (with lanyard attachment points). There are double o-rings at the tailcap end of the battery tube. Screw threads are standard triangular-cut, but seem of good quality. Tail threads are anodized for lock-out.

As you can tell from the pics, the body handle is a substantial piece of aluminum – with machined areas cut-out to support 3x 18650 cells. There is a flat contact plate in the head, so you will need to use button-top or raised-top cells 18650 cells (i.e. true flat-top cells may not make contact)

There are three raised negative-contact points in the tailcap, which all seem linked to a common base (i.e. the three cells are clearly run in parallel). As a result, you could run the light on 1x or 2x battery sources as well, but I wouldn't recommend this at the higher outputs (unless you are using IMR cells rated for the high current drain). 1x26650 will fit and work in the light, if button-top (although again, I would recommend IMR chemistry if you plan to run at higher outputs).

Light has a scalloped bezel ring. For more details on the reflector, scroll down to the beamshot section of the review. Here is the control ring in more detail:





The control ring is lightly colored, with indentations to help with grip. There are clearly labeled modes on the head of the light (SOS > Strobe > High > O > Preset > Select, with "O" meaning Off), and an arrowhead marker labeled on the ring. There are very clear detents for each mode, and I found ring action to be quite smooth (smoother than I expected for a light this size, frankly).

Overall feel of the ring is quite good, but there are a few peculiarities: for one, the ring continues to turn past all the output modes in either direction. If you go fully around the circumference of the light, you return to the modes as you come around the other side. Also, the labeling of the arrowhead on the ring is hard to see (i.e. white on a light gray background ). There is no physical identification as to the reference point on the ring.

User Interface

The S1 is controlled entirely by the control ring below the head. With the tailcap fully engaged, you select your output mode by turning the ring and lining up the arrowhead indicator with the labels on the head above the ring (i.e. SOS > Strobe > High > O > Preset > Select). "O" is the Off position (actually, it's really a Stand-by mode – scroll down for details).

The output modes to the left of the Off/Stand-by mode are fairly self-explanatory (i.e., Strobe and SOS). The Preset mode refers to a memorized custom output level, selected by the user. You select the Preset mode by turning the control ring to the Select position. The light will ramp up and down in brightness, in a continuously-variable fashion, in a repeating loop. Turn back to Preset to select the level you want (i.e. this stops the ramp, and saves the current output level). The light has Preset mode memory, and will always return to this level unless you start a new Select ramp.

For a more detailed examination of the build and user interface, please see my video overview:

Прямая ссылка на видео YouTube


Video was recorded in 720p, but YouTube defaults to 360p. Once the video is running, you can click on the 360p icon in the lower right-hand corner, and select the higher 480p to 720p options, or even run full-screen.

Ramp

The S1 ramp is fairly quick, with 7 secs between Min and Max outputs. Shown below are three complete cycles of up- and down-output ramping:



UPDATE January 17, 2012: Corrected time scale for the ramp.

Note that my relative output scale is not in lumens. See my methodology section later in this review for links on how to convert to estimated lumens.

While the S1 pauses for ~1 sec at the Max output (with a very faint flash), there is unfortunately no pause whatsoever at the Min output. This means that it is practically impossible to select the really low outputs.

I have added a dotted-line on the graph above to show the approximate level of the lowest output I was able to obtain (~30 lumens). As you can see, I was unable to capture the really low output stages of the ramp (if I convert to estimated lumens, the lowest recorded dips of the above three ramps are ~85, ~200 and ~170 lumens, respectively).

What this means is that you actually have only a fraction of a second to choose a <200 lumen output level. When you consider the time delay in turning the ring to Preset, this takes a lot of practice to try and get a good low output level.

Also, while it may look like the S1 is using a visually-linear ramp, this isn't really the case – you need to remember the output actually does drop down to the lowest output level (i.e. the dotted line). If you mentally extend the curves to the dotted line, you will realize that it subjectively spends very little time in the lower output range.

I would recommend that Xtar extend the overall ramp time by a couple of secs, add a ~1 sec pause at the lowest level, and switch to a more visually-linear ramping pattern.

UPDATE JANUARY 16, 2012: Xtar reports that they will increase the ramping time and add a 1-2 sec pause at the lowest output level on the shipping versions.

PWM/Strobe




The S1 uses visible PWM at all levels below Max, measured at a consistent 486 Hz (note there is no PWM on Max). This frequency is high enough to not be particularly noticeable in use, although it is detectable. I find it acceptable, but >1-2kHz would be better.



Strobe is a fairly standard fast tactical 9.8 Hz.

Standby drain and Lock-out

Due to the electronic switch design, the S1 is always drawing a small current when the light is fully connected. I measured this current as 0.90mA on one cell. Since the cells are arranged in parallel, for 3x 2600mAh cells, that would translate into 361 days (i.e. one full year before they would be drained). This is quite reasonable, but I always recommend you store such lights locked-out when not in use.

UPDATE January 23, 2012: I originally tried to give current measures for the minimum output level, but now realize these were inaccurate. Due to the high max current draw in the on-phase of the PWM - and the resistance introduced by the DMM and leads - I cannot accurately measure current draw using my limited setup. Scroll down to posts 26-31 in this thread for a discussion.


Beamshots:




The S1 uses three Cool White XM-L emitters, each well-centered in its own reflector well (although the wells do overlap with each other in the center). The overall reflector is quite deep for this type of light, so I would expect a relatively throwy beam (with a lot of artifacts in the spill, due to the overlapping wells).

And now, what you have all been waiting for. All lights are on their respective max battery sources (3xAW protected 18650 for the S1), about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences.













Even at this up-close distance, I think you can tell that throw is excellent on the S1. The spillbeam does have some very noticeable artifacts due to the overlapping reflector wells. It is also not as wide a spillbeam as the SR92 or TM11 (again, due to the relatively deeper reflector on the S1). Beam tint in definitely on the cool side of Cool White (i.e. a slight bluish-purplish tint on my sample, but of course, YMMV).

UPDATE JANUARY 18, 2012: Xtar reports that they are looking to improve the lens and standardize on 6000-7000K color temperature LEDs for the shipping versions.

And now for the outdoor shots. These beamshots were done in the style of my earlier 100-yard round-up review. Please see that thread for a discussion of the topography (i.e. the road dips in the distance, to better show you the corona in the mid-ground).



The S1 clearly out-throws both the Olight SR92 and Nitecore TM11. It is really no contest on the TM11, as that light is designed more for flood. Also, while the spillbeam is not as wide on the S1, it seems brighter in the mid-ground (i.e. more light is being channeled into a narrower spill width).

So how does it compare to a dedicated thrower? The Crelant 7G5 is the best throwing 2x18650 light in my collection at the moment:



The S1 almost an exact match to the 7G5 for peak throw – but with a much wider hotspot and brighter spill, of course.

Testing Method:

All my output numbers are relative for my home-made light box setup, a la Quickbeam's flashlightreviews.com method. You can directly compare all my relative output values from different reviews - i.e. an output value of "10" in one graph is the same as "10" in another. All runtimes are done under a cooling fan, except for any extended run Lo/Min modes (i.e. >12 hours) which are done without cooling.

I have recently devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values (ROV) to estimated Lumens. See my How to convert Selfbuilt's Lighbox values to Lumens thread for more info.

Throw/Output Summary Chart:

Effective November 2010, I have revised my summary tables to match with the current ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. Please see http://www.sliderule.ca/FL1... for a description of the terms used in these tables.



A few comments about overall output: it is very difficult to provide reliable estimates for high-output, multi-emitter lights (not least in part because the heads are often too big to fit fully inside my lightbox ). I therefore use my ceiling bounce data to help "calibrate" my lightbox, against known values for other lights.

Note also that my ceiling bounce numbers are based on ~30 secs after activation. At this point, the output of the S1 was slightly lower than my Nitecore TM11, but noticeably brighter than my Olight SR92.

ANSI FL-1 lumen estimates are a bit trickier, as they are measured at 3 mins into the run. On the S1, the sag in Max output can be significant depending on the battery type used (scroll down for a battery analysis). So, while my S1 sample gave a consistent ~2000 lumens estimate on initial activation, output at 3 mins varied from an estimated ~1750 to ~1950 lumens, depending on the battery source. As most batteries were still at or above ~1900 lumens, I have gone with that ANSI FL-1 value in my table above. Note that this is well below the reported 3000 lumen spec for the S1, but quite consistent with other lights in this class.

Throw actually exceeded the reported specs for the S1 – I directly measured just over 55K lux@1m, which translates into an ANSI FL-1 beam distance of 470m. This matches my currently best throwing 2x18650 light, the Crelant 7G5.

The key point here for the S1 is that the max output spec is over-stated, and the max throw/beam distance spec is under-stated.

Output/Runtime Comparison:

I normally do all my testing on button-top 2200mAh AW protected 18650 cells, to ensure maximum reliability in all lights (and backwards-compatibility with earlier reviews). On well-regulated lights, you can generally approximate the performance of higher capacity cells fairly well (i.e. runtime is roughly proportional to the rated capacity, although there can be some variation at higher drive levels).

The Xtar S1 appears to be mainly direct-drive at higher output levels, so runtime patterns will be heavily dependent on the specific internal battery chemistry (see below for a discussion). Here is a comparison of a several types of cells, on Max:





The Redilast 2600mAh and 4GREER 2400mAh tended to produce a slightly "flatter" runtime pattern on Max, compared to the Redilast 2900mAh and AW 2200mAh. But with that "flatter" pattern came a more rapid drop-off as the cells neared exhaustion.

UPDATE January 19, 2012: I've added 4GREER 3100mAh runtimes above (based on the Panasonic NCR18650A). Interestingly the runtime profile of these cells is virtually identical to my Redilast 2900mAh on Max - just with an extra dozen or so minutes of runtime as the levels drops near the end of the run.

Let's see how the S1 compares to other high output lights I've tested (again, on standard AW protected 2200mAh 18650):



Direct-drive is typically very efficient at high drive levels, and you can see that in the Max runtime traces – the S1 does rather well for 3x18650 2200mAh.



The S1's lower output levels seem less efficient for the class, but still provide reasonable runtimes. Note that the S1 can go down to much lower output levels than most of the lights shown here. Based on my current draw measures at the lowest output I could obtain (~30 estimated lumens), estimated runtime would be two months.

UPDATE January 18, 2012:To really understand how the circuit is working, you would need to do proper current-voltage interrogation using a bench-top power supply. HKJ has done some of these in his excellent review of the S1 - I recommend people refer to his voltage sweeps for more info. Simply put, there does seem to be some attempt at flat regulation (i.e. stabilization) on Max output, but it is dependent on the ability of the batteries to deliver a high amp load at high voltage. Also, heat likely has some effect on lowering output and reducing the apparent regulation (i.e. HKJ has shown that the current can remain fairly constant while output drops and heat rises - but that is under specific laboratory conditions where just the head is being tested).

Potential Issues

Light uses visible PWM for its lower output modes, but at a frequency that is not particularly disturbing (486 Hz). I would prefer something 1-2kHz (or higher), if possible.

The continuously-variable ramp is a useful feature, but ramping time is fairly quick with no pause at the Min output. This makes it extremely difficult to accurately select <200 lumen output levels. UPDATE JANUARY 16, 2012: Xtar reports that they will increase the ramping time and add a 1-2 sec pause at the lowest output level on the shipping versions.

Due to its "thrower" reflector configuration, there are noticeable artifacts in the periphery of the spillbeam.

Light does not appear to be flatly regulated at any level, and seems to be dependent on the internal chemistry of the Li-ion cells for its specific output/runtime performance. UPDATE January 18, 2012: While I originally presumed this to be direct-drive, HKJ's results show there is some stabilization at Max output, only at a current draw that is hard for the cells to provide. Heat may also be an issue, reducing the apparent output further. See HKJ's review for more info.

Only single 3.7V Li-ion cells may be used in the light (i.e., doesn't support multiple CR123A primary cells)

Flat-top cells will not work in the light (although my raised-top Redilast cells all worked fine).

Due to the electronic switch, the light has a stand-by current when fully connected. But this current is very low (<1 mA), and will not be problem for regular use (i.e. will take about a year to drain three fully charged 18650 cells).

The indicator mark on the control ring is hard to see, making it hard to tell which mode you are in by simply looking at the light. UPDATE JANUARY 18, 2012: Xtar tells me that they will put a clearer mark on the ring for the shipping versions.

Some induction whine (i.e., buzz or hum) was present on non-Max levels. As an aside, it is important you tighten the tailcap securely, to make sure all three cells are engaged. On the few times when the whine seemed unusually loud, I found it could be reduced back to normal low levels if I tightened the tailcap further. This suggests to me that not all the cells were initially engaged, leading to excessive drain on the one or two that were (i.e., induction whine is highly dependent on the specific characteristics of the power source). This is speculation on my part, but it is interesting that just tightening the tailcap further could lower the intensity of the hum.

Light is a good size, with substantial weight (grip is good, though).

The various published specs do not seem to be accurate for max output (specs overstated) or max throw (specs understated).

Packaging and extras are unknown at this time.

Preliminary Observations

The S1 is an impressive light, with very good build quality and performance characteristics.

Output is well within the range of other 3x XM-L lights (i.e., Nitecore TM11, Olight SR92). No, the "3000 lumen" spec is not believable – I would rate the light at just over 2000 estimated lumens at start-up, with a measurable drop-off over time dependent on the battery chemistry (more on that in a moment).

What distinguishes the S1 from most other 3x XM-L lights is the throw – this is the best throwing multi-emitter light I've seen so far. In fact, throw well exceeds the Xtar specs (I measured it at just over 55K lux@1m, or 470m beam distance). That puts the S1 in the same category as my best throwing single XM-L lights (e.g. Crelant 7G5). Of course, this kind of throw in a multi-emitter setup comes as a price – expect significant artifacts in the peripheral spill (which will be narrower overall than other lights with shallower reflectors).

The other distinguishing feature is the continuously-variable control interface. This allows you to exquisitely control your output level, down to a rather low ~30 lumens in this case. Unfortunately, the S1 ramp is fairly quick with no pause at the lowest level before reversing direction (i.e., making it very hard to accurately select anything <200 lumens in practice). I recommend Xtar make a few revisions to the ramping pattern, to facilitate practical use of this excellent feature (i.e., extend the ramp time, add a pause, and make it more visually-linear). UPDATE JANUARY 16, 2012: Xtar reports that they will increase the ramping time and add a 1-2 sec pause at the lowest output level on the shipping versions.

The three 18650 cells are arranged in parallel – this means you can run a lower number of cells, but with increased current draw on each one. I don't recommend you try to run most output levels on anything but the full complement of cells. However, an IMR 26650 could be an interesting option to explore (I don't have one to test, but it should work well in the light). UPDATE January 19, 2012: Actually, I doubt this would work very well - I have tested a single IMR 18650 in the light, and get a lot of buzzing/whine at all output modes (increasing with output intensity).

Looking at my runtime traces, it would appear that the S1 is relying on the internal chemistry of the Li-ion cells for quasi-regulated output. As my battery comparisons show, you can expect slightly differing profiles of output and runtime depending on the type of cells you use. Further battery runtimes are ongoing. UPDATE JANUARY 18, 2012: To really understand what the circuit is doing, you would need to do voltage sweeps with a bench-top power supply (that I don't have). I note that HKJ has performed some in his excellent S1 review, which shows clear signs of stabilization on Max (but at a current draw and voltage that is difficult for standard Li-ions to supply).

While many here may decry the lack of flat regulation at all levels, direct-drive-like performance can be quite efficient at high drive levels (and you will not be able to notice the slow drop-off in output provided by the internal resistance of the Li-ion cells). Overall efficiency does seem to suffer somewhat at lower output levels (compared to the fully-regulated, or stabilized, competition), but the S1 has infinitely more output levels to choose from – including ultra low levels with the concomitant extended runtimes to match.

I was impressed to see the relatively low standby mode current (suggesting about a year before it completely drains fully charged cells). But as always, I recommend you store the light locked-out when not in use.

Despite its size, I find handling of light is good (i.e., well balanced, good grip, etc.). I quite like the feel of the control ring, and the overall interface. That said, I would like to see a few tweaks on the S1 – most notably an improved ramp, higher frequency PWM, and a clearer indicator mark on the control ring. But it is definitely an impressive new offering in the high-output/multi-emitter space, with some fairly unique features.

----

S1 provided by Xtar for review.
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