Question Persistent Issues with Xtar D28-3600 Diving Flashlight

[lexvil]

Switches are the bane of all dive lights, always have been but they are improving, they will never be 100% but can get close. It’s probably best if anytime you (collective you) dive where light is life critical you should have at least one twist head, as in no switch and no power level cycling electronics, light, the king that makes and breaks contact only. I have a few of these simple lights, I prefer a good switch type light for general use but in the critical area of use a simple, dead simple back up is important.

 

[XTAR]

We are so sorry to hear about this problem! Please kindly PM us for more details about this D28 light. When did you bought the light, and how about the warranty number of it? When you pressed the button, there was green light flashing around the power indicator, then was any light the torch produced? If you could take a small video to show this problem, it would be more helpful. And I'll help to check with our engineers. Thanks in advance!

 

[Cenotes]

"If the light is off and the power button is pressed for up to 5 seconds, the light will turn on and then shortly, turn off. Any attempt to turn it on with a quick button press will result in a green light power indicator. This appears to be a safety function to prevent accidental turn-on. To override this, with the light in the off condition, press the button for a few seconds and the light (torch) will turn on. At that point, you can turn the light off and on the light with short button pressing."

This is inaccurate. You may be thinking of a different Xtar light, like the D26 1600S, among others that Xtar makes, which has such a function. The D28 3600 is different in that it has a turning/locking push-button magnetic switch identical to the D26 2500, among others Xtar makes, such that when turned 1/4 way to the left, that switch locks, preventing accidental turn-on. As an aside, it would be great if more manufacturers would incorporate some type of lock in their on/off switch, as few do. Sola comes to mind, but the design of Sola's locking switch does not feel as robust in comparison. Simply, it makes no sense to have any light bouncing around in a gear bag that is prematurely and unintendedly dead by the time you need to use it. Of course, some will simply partially unscrew the end cap or body to prevent battery contact, but they will forget they did so and will subsequently flood the light with their next dive, potentially causing permanent failure. I dislike that "jerry-rigged" solution and prefer one from the manufacturer.

However, back to the main issue: we can strike the cause of the originally complained-about problem as being one of a "long-push" safety feature.