Customer Reviews

Inova X03MT-WB X03 Lithium Powered Flashlight with 5.8-Watt LED, Black

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my second product from INOVA. I bought this light after my X5 was stolen from my car in a parking garage.

I am an electrician and often have to do serious work in poorly lit areas. 2cell AA Maglites have basically been the standard carry around flashlight for years because of their size and build quality. But these maglites had many problems/shortcomings, which INOVA has addressed.

First off, the light output of the maglites are barely enough for most situations, forcing one to guess what objects are.

Second, focusing your flashlight might sound great, but why? The focus basically makes one part of the light beam bright while the rest becomes dim. I often found myself searching for just the right spot to keep the beam focused. These LED lights give a uniform circle of light that illuminates everything.

Third, while the build quality of maglites are good, if you ever drop it the light bulb blows. The light bulbs are to sensitive. The LEDs on the other hand will last for years.

Also, if you have ever left your mag in a tool bag or stored for a long period of time, you probably know that it won't work. I've had the issue several times. The batteries leak, corroding inside the flashlight and rendering it useless.

There are other qualities that make the Inova outshine the others, but the botttom line is, is it worth it?
I say Yes. Its American made, profesional grade, water proof, drop proof, long lasting, and innovative. If you want a tool that is serious about quality.

I had this flashlight for two days before my work partner bought it from me. I am now ordering several more for my co-workers.

After the power went out in our apartment building for two days over New Year's -- and a neighbor broke an ankle in the unlit stairwell -- I decided we needed a good emergency flashlight.

Our maglite wasn't cutting it; in the cavernous parking garage, its beam got lost really quickly. And, it took up all of the room in the glove box.

After researching online a lot, I chose the XO3, and don't regret it a bit; this is a great flashlight. Yes, it's expensive, but the beam is *very* bright, very even, doesn't dim through the life of the batteries, and throws for a long distance. The light itself is almost indestructable, because it's a LED, and the body is extremely well-made and feels good in the hand.

The batteries deserve a special mention; they're lithium 123 photo batteries. Whatever you do, don't buy them off the shelf; they'll cost $5-$10 in stores. However, if you look around online, especially with flashlight manufacturers, you can get them for less than $2/battery, which is far more reasonable. As a bonus, they have a 10-year shelf life, which is better for an emergency flashlight.

One of the advantages of a Mag-lite is its size and heft; if you need to, you can use it for self-defense. The XO3 is probably too small to be used very effectively in this fashion (although you could still probably give somebody a nasty bruise with it); however, it's apparently a "tactical"-class flashlight, which means that it is bright enough to stun someone for around 30 seconds. I looked at the beam out of the side of my eyes once, and I'm not eager to again; it gave me an immediate headache.

I've never owned an LED flashlight. I've always stuck with the trusted Maglite. I know they make an LED model and conversion kits now, but I wanted a smalled flashlight for hiking and to keep in my car's center console. This is it!! Despite the previous review I couldn't help but to shine the light towards my eyes for just a second.... yeah, it's blinding. Great light, looks and feels great, nice feel in your hand. Feels just as, or stronger, than a Maglite.

UPDATE***

I, too, had a problem with the tail piece of the flashlight, but I spoke with a VERY friendly customer service person and received a FREE replacement tail piece in the mail, I paid no shipping and didn't have to send the flashlight in for inspection. Awesome customer service!

This 3 watt flashlight vastly outperforms the 5 watt Chinese model that I no longer use. The battery life is extended by 3-5 times. The beam is a sweet spot that penetrates into the windows of the water vessels that I need to peer into on a regular basis.

I buy the batteries on line for a dollar a-piece, rather than $7-8 at the sporting goods store.

I had a small problem with the tail cap making the momentary function to work with reasonable force. Inova is sending me a replacement free of charge. ....sweet!

I was tempted to give 5/5 but on absolute value rather than comparative it has to be a 4. This is a much better light than most Maglights and other quality lights. But where they and many others go cheap rate is on the switch. This is a solidly constructed light with a good beam pattern, they don't have anything to improve in that area. However, what most of these lights share is a cheap-to-make momentary action switch. This isn't a good solution on ten bucks worth of parts with an asking price in the fifty buck range. Cheaper Maglights have a vastly better switch, there are even cheaper lights of this configuration with a better switch. But when all is said and done it's a very good light and better value than any alternative I know of. But take a look at a Surefire G2 as an alternative, same type of switch though.

Very reliable and durable. The diameter light distance is clearly seen from 180 ft away and lids the area very well. I just wish the flashlight had the button the top rather at the end of it. It's very akward to push the button and sometimes is troublesome to keep it on. I prefer to turn the knob all the way to leave the flashlight on constantly rather than keep pushing the button to keep on for a few seconds. Battery life is good so far, but i will update this on a later time.

The X03 flashlight did not disappoint me. I bought it last month and took it with me on my spring break backpacking trip to the Smoky Mountains. The LED is incredibly bright, and I like the simple twisting motion to turn it on and off. No comment on battery life, but I would guess it lasts for a while. Definitely would recommend it.

Like most people, when I saw this flashlight in the store, I thought it was ridiculous to pay $55 for a flashlight. I tried one out in the store, and nearly blinded myself using it. I purchased one, and took it home to play with.

The big plus, is the range of this thing. Probably mainly because of the glass with all of the different rings(I think it's called Tiros), you can lighten up objects at least 200 feet away. I've never been able to do that with a maglite. I purchased it mainly for hiking use, which it's well suited for.

The beam is fantastic, it's a solid white circle, with many rings around it, no adjusting is ever necessary.

The 123 lithium batteries can be a problem if you go to Walgreens and actually pay $15 for two batteries. However, I have seen them go for less than $4 for two batteries, you just need to look around.

Regardless of the cost, lithium batteries are great for flashlights. If you haven't noticed before, mag-lites use regular alkaline batteries, and the brightness constantly fades during use. When you use lithium batteries in the Inova, they are around 100% brightness for two hours, and then near immediately die.

The flashlight case appears very strong, I have only dropped it once though. It's also water resistant.

Definately worth the money.

I bought this flashlight to take it hiking at night. With this flashlight its like carying a bit of sunshine in my pocket. The trails illuminate as if it were daytime. The beam is nice and has a long range. I wish the batteries lasted longer. I bought some rechargables from [...] The batteries last throught my 1.5-2.5 hour hike but dont last much longer after that.

I highly recommend this flashlight I am an inspector and I use it every day and it is always keep it by my side. I can easily see up a 30 story elevator shaft and its very durable, you can buy the batteries cheap online THANKS!!