Just got in a couple of these to try out. My intention was to have them on hand for loaner/rental for night dives.
Pros:
- Decent copy of this existing design
- Throws off good light in LED
- Has good advertised duration
- Some rubberized inserts that add "grippiness"
- Sturdy lanyard included
Cons
- Fit and finish is a little cheap-looking
- Fiddly switching mechanism (see below)
Comment: It's a good overall design that would suit my group's intended purpose. However, the main vulnerability of this design by other manufacturers has been the switch as a possible failure point. Unfortunately here, I feel XS has taken the historic weak point of this design and made it potentially weaker.
There is a locking mechanism built into the power switch so that is it possible to lock in the off position. A nice idea, though I don't know if accidental "on" has been a problem with this design in the past. I've owned two of the UK version and never noticed an issue. The XS version has a very small vertical-actuating locking switch placed and the small, horizontal-actuating power switch.
Very complicated and in my foreseen use, I don't have high hopes that this will last long. I sadly fear that loaner/rental users who are not familiar and briefed on the way the switch works will try to "power" it open thus breaking the locking mechanism, and who knows what effect that will have on the power switch....
Pros:
- Decent copy of this existing design
- Throws off good light in LED
- Has good advertised duration
- Some rubberized inserts that add "grippiness"
- Sturdy lanyard included
Cons
- Fit and finish is a little cheap-looking
- Fiddly switching mechanism (see below)
Comment: It's a good overall design that would suit my group's intended purpose. However, the main vulnerability of this design by other manufacturers has been the switch as a possible failure point. Unfortunately here, I feel XS has taken the historic weak point of this design and made it potentially weaker.
There is a locking mechanism built into the power switch so that is it possible to lock in the off position. A nice idea, though I don't know if accidental "on" has been a problem with this design in the past. I've owned two of the UK version and never noticed an issue. The XS version has a very small vertical-actuating locking switch placed and the small, horizontal-actuating power switch.
Very complicated and in my foreseen use, I don't have high hopes that this will last long. I sadly fear that loaner/rental users who are not familiar and briefed on the way the switch works will try to "power" it open thus breaking the locking mechanism, and who knows what effect that will have on the power switch....
