Klarus Mi7 Flashlight Review
The Klarus Mi7 flashlight uses a single AA cell and has a side e-switch. The emitter of choice is a Cree XP-L HI. Read on for thoughts!
Klarus Mi7 Official Specs
Here’s a link to the Klarus Mi7 flashlight product page.
• CREE XP-L HI V3 LED; 50,000 hours life
• 3 output levels, 2 strobe patterns
• Voltage Range: 1.0V – 4.2V
• Battery: AA x 1; Li-ion 14500×1
• Color: Black, Red, Blue
• Reflector: Orange Peel
• Switch: Side Switch
• Dimension: Bezel 19mm (0.75″); Body 17.6mm (0.69″); Overall Length: 87.2mm (3.43″)
• Weight: 26.4g (0.93oz) (without battery)
• Material: Aerospace Aluminum Alloy 6061-T6
• Protection: IPX-8 rating (up to 2 meters submersible)
• Lens: Hardened Mineral Glass; AR coated; Scratch resistant
• Maximum output 700 Lumens; Maximum runtime 67 hours.
• Battery Capacity Indication displays remaining power for easy monitoring
• One Touch Access to Moon-light and High output levels
• Unique high efficiency circuit with broad voltage range to accommodate both AA (Primary/Rechargeable) and Li-ion 14500 batteries
• Constant Current Control with no PWM flash; suitable for photography illumination
• Over-Discharge Protection automatically lowers output levels to protect rechargeable batteries
• Lock-Out mode is specially designed to prevent accidental activation of the flashlight
• Reverse Polarity Protection for ease of use
• Exclusive Stainless Steel switch; Elegant, Ergonomic, Easy to use
• Aerospace grade Aluminum Alloy body; CNC precision machining; Military grade Hard Anodizing (HAIII) protection; Superior heat dissipation
• AR (Anti-Reflective) coated MineralLens hardened for scratch resistance
The above section contains the manufacturer’s descriptions and claims, not my impressions or results.
Short Review
Great light for Sundays, or if you’re always wearing dress pants but often need to throw a little. Smallest XPL-HI format light I know of, and maybe the only AA XPL-HI.
Long Review
Key Features
- XP-L HI emitter
- Battery Check (very general)
- Lockout to prevent accidental activation
- Low voltage protection (for AA [0.8V] and 14500 [3.0V] both)
- Constant current control (no PWM!)
- Comes in three colors!
What’s Included
- Battery (alkaline!)
- Lanyard
- Flashlight
- Locking S-biner
- Split ring
- Spare o-ring
- Manual
Quality, Build, and Disassembly
The Klarus Mi7 is nicely built and feels great in the hand. Probably the first thing to notice is that it has the “pineapple” style knurling. I love this kind of knurling, and it’s ok in this light. It’s a cross between what the MecArmy PT series has and more regular knurling. Not quite smooth, not quite grabby.
It has very smooth square-cut threads (they are, but it’s hard to tell from that pic, sorry), and a big beefy tailspring. Meant to get the tailspring in this pic, but it ended up showing off the unanodized battery tube, so oh well. 🙂 I will say that the threaded area is kind of short, so getting them to grab when installing a battery can be tricky. That’s one reason I’m glad it has square-cut threads. With non-square threads, I’m usually very afraid I’ll wreck the threads.
The head of this light too thwarted my attempts to unscrew it. I feel like it could be done, but as I’ve said before, I have the hand strength of a 5-year-old girl. The head on the Mi7 is quite large – of course, there has to be room for a side switch and reflector, but the overall length of the light is nearly twice the length of the AA cell itself! (50.4mm vs 87.2mm)
There’s nothing to disassemble on the tail end. It’s one full tube, with no threading or potential for incursion at all.
The side switch is easy to find, even if you just fiddle with the light in your pocket. It’s also easy to press, with reasonably responsive feedback – you can generally feel you’ve clicked the button.
Package and Manual
Plastic box suitable for hanging displays. The light is in a plastic tray, and the goodies are in a tiny box inside. The manual is robust: one side is English, one side is Chinese. Like some other products from GearBest, this one has a sticker placed by GearBest, with their product code and a date.
The manual has all the specs and a good description of the user interface and light features. It’s a pretty nice one-sheet manual!
Power
One cell: AA or 14500, with a working voltage range from 1.0 to 4.2V. 14500 has a timed step-down of 3 minutes on high. (No stepdown with an AA.)
User Interface and Operation
Just a single button to click on this light, and it’s a small, responsive button with a very positive click. It’s easy to find, even accidentally. One of the nice features is that this light has an electronic lockout. And a very general battery check….
The UI:
| From | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Long click | Moonlight |
| Off | Click | High |
| Off | Double Click | Strobe |
| Off | Triple Click | Battery check |
| High | Click | Low |
| Low | Click | Off |
| On | Long click | No action |
| Strobe | Click | Off |
| Strobe | Double Click | SOS Strobe |
I’ll try to update this with a flow chart. Because I like flowcharts, and this user interface would be good pictured that way. I’m not on my flowchart-making computer right now, though.
Note that:
- There’s no way to get to moonlight if the light is on.
- From high, button must be pressed twice to turn off (but too fast and you’ll get strobe!) Ie, it takes conscious effort to turn the light off from high, which I strongly do not like. Really wish a long click from “on” turned the light off!
- Strobe is unusual (faster flash followed by fast flash).
LED and Beam
This is the first time I’ve used an XPL-HI emitter. I like it. It’s great, if slightly cool. The beam profile is great, the tint is fine for me, and I’m glad to sacrifice a few lumens to have the slightly better throw of a [factory] dedomed emitter. Go here for an actual explanation by DrJones on domed vs domeless emitters. Very interesting stuff, but I won’t reiterate it all here.
This little XPL-HI really cooks. It’s just an AA light, but the emitter really does churn out some lumens. The beam profile is really indicative of a larger light (intense hotspot with an even diffuse spill). But it’s not a “thrower” (if an AA light could at all. (I.e., I really doubt this image from Klarus’s site). It’s kind of a …. small thrower. The orange peel reflector keeps the beam nice and even and prevents any shenanigans with the profile.
I’ll be honest and say that I’m not sure what the “V3” of the emitter name means. Normally, you’d expect a flux bin or whatever, but the spec sheet doesn’t list a “V3 (of the HI), and other sources indicate that just means “version 3.” I did read that the temp is about 5700k, and that seems about right by my coloreyeometer. And it’s possible (and maybe most likely) that this is actually a flux bin. Glad to hear further discussion about that if you have input.
Runtime
Runtime on an Eneloop AA. That’s my first runtime graph ever, so please forgive if it’s not good. I’ll try to do better and more robust work in this area, now that I understand better.
I can say that the light continued on 1.5% output for…. maybe 2 hours? The graph is not useful if I include that data.
Final voltage for the Eneloop AA was 1.1V, too, not the claimed 0.8V. Also, the battery was not completely dead (though I did let the test go overnight, and still came on, but dipped straight to medium).
Thanks!
Beamshots
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
Sorry, but I failed to get a shot of moonlight on the Klarus Mi7.
Retention
Right up front: This light does not have a pocket clip. It does come with a split ring and a nice little locking S-biner, but no pocket clip. This light would be perfect for pocket clip-carry, but… It’s just not an option. There is a lanyard, but between the pocket clip and lanyard, guess which I’d rather have, and recommend for this light? Nice, strong holes for the lanyard, too.
Also, no magnet. There looks to be room in the tailcap recess where the lanyard would connect, to drop in a magnet, much like is done on the Eagtac d25aaa (which I love). But this one has no magnet. sadpanda
Size
It’s a small light! But is it small for an AA light? It’s definitely thin, but I think it’s a bit long. Just the right size for a fist lode – great for punching: if you’re in a bunch of bar fights, this might be perfect. I actually am in bar fights all the time, so this is perfect. 17.6mm x 87.2mm (head diameter 19mm).
Random Comparisons….
This little AA light with an XPL-HI isn’t going to compare to much in this size range. How about a couple of tint comparisons?
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
Olight S1 (brushed titanium, NW), Klarus Mi7
General size comparisons.
Summary
Pro
- Use of AA is great
- Great throw for such a small light
- Low voltage protection
- Battery Check
- Electronic Lockout!
Cons and Conundrums
- No pocket clip.
- Seriously, no pocket clip.
- XPL-HI in an AA format strikes me as odd
- Moonlight is way too bright.
- Starts on High.
- Light will accidentally activate if you don’t lock it out.
Final Thoughts
Great buy as a Sunday light, or if you need a light for your dress clothes. The user interface is ok for the light it is (tiny light made for tiny throw.)
Parting Shot
Just this one shot.
Notes
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