Evening guys,
Review of the Solar Storm XT40 with battery box
$52.82 SolarStorm XT40 4*Cree XM-L2 U2 4-Mode 3000LM LED Bike Light / Headlamp - black / 1*battery pack / US plug at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
After running the SSX2 and SSX3 the XT40 is my new fav trail daylight bringer!
XT40
Looks fantastic on the bars...
Daylight! ...
Beam shots
Comparisons
Some low, medium, high comparisons
LOW...
MEDIUM...
HIGH (the distance, height, and throw of the light is phenomenal. Look at the trees and the ground after the trees)...
Battery box fits snugly in the Blur frame
Heat concerns
When moving on High the XT40 is warm to the touch, after a fast descent its timid to the touch. Once stationary it gets hot to touch, after around 2-3 minutes it dims down slightly and puts itself into medium mode!
This is great as sometimes I forget to turn onto low when stopping for a mid ride snack etc.
On low and medium modes, both moving and stationary heat remains low.The heatsink appears to work as intended, heating up quickly on high mode and dissipating the heat efficiently when moving, with built in protection once stopped. The above tests have been on the recent balmy 16-18*c nights too, come next weekend riding in single digit figures i'd wager it to run even cooler.
Xtar VP2 Charger
Xtar VP2 charger considered to be one of the best 2 bays on the market. Has a 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 amp charge setting, volt reading, and took around 2.5 hours for a pair on full setting. (This is quicker than my old Nitecore I4 which only delivered 0.375 amp when all four bays used)
Perfect cutoff at 4.19v...
Four Torchy 3400 mah unprotected 18650 fit perfect in the solarstorm battery box and lid seals fully...
Nice secure screw down top cap...
Batteries @ 3.76 from 4.19 volts, not bad after a 2.5 hour ride on x4 CREE XM - L2 U2 with a mix of medium and high...
Conclusion
Overall i'd rate the XT40 very highly, I don't really feel the need to wear a headtorch anymore, the beam cast in terms of width and throw is truly astonishing. SSX2 and SSX3 are confined to the drawer for spares. Medium setting is really enough for anything but the steepest of trails, high is just mind blowing.
Review of the Solar Storm XT40 with battery box
$52.82 SolarStorm XT40 4*Cree XM-L2 U2 4-Mode 3000LM LED Bike Light / Headlamp - black / 1*battery pack / US plug at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
After running the SSX2 and SSX3 the XT40 is my new fav trail daylight bringer!
XT40
Looks fantastic on the bars...
Daylight! ...
Beam shots
Comparisons
Some low, medium, high comparisons
LOW...
MEDIUM...
HIGH (the distance, height, and throw of the light is phenomenal. Look at the trees and the ground after the trees)...
Battery box fits snugly in the Blur frame
Heat concerns
When moving on High the XT40 is warm to the touch, after a fast descent its timid to the touch. Once stationary it gets hot to touch, after around 2-3 minutes it dims down slightly and puts itself into medium mode!
This is great as sometimes I forget to turn onto low when stopping for a mid ride snack etc.
On low and medium modes, both moving and stationary heat remains low.The heatsink appears to work as intended, heating up quickly on high mode and dissipating the heat efficiently when moving, with built in protection once stopped. The above tests have been on the recent balmy 16-18*c nights too, come next weekend riding in single digit figures i'd wager it to run even cooler.
Xtar VP2 Charger
Xtar VP2 charger considered to be one of the best 2 bays on the market. Has a 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 amp charge setting, volt reading, and took around 2.5 hours for a pair on full setting. (This is quicker than my old Nitecore I4 which only delivered 0.375 amp when all four bays used)
Perfect cutoff at 4.19v...
Four Torchy 3400 mah unprotected 18650 fit perfect in the solarstorm battery box and lid seals fully...
Nice secure screw down top cap...
Batteries @ 3.76 from 4.19 volts, not bad after a 2.5 hour ride on x4 CREE XM - L2 U2 with a mix of medium and high...
Conclusion
Overall i'd rate the XT40 very highly, I don't really feel the need to wear a headtorch anymore, the beam cast in terms of width and throw is truly astonishing. SSX2 and SSX3 are confined to the drawer for spares. Medium setting is really enough for anything but the steepest of trails, high is just mind blowing.