Ok, so this has been a long time coming. Xtar was nice enough to send the new Xtar D26 2500 light for review before the holidays and I finally got around to putting something together. Life has just been really busy, so apologies for the delay.
XTAR D26 2500 Dive Light For Caving & Wreck Diving
I like the light. I compared it to the D36 5800, the D26 1600, and the D26 1100 (all made by Xtar). It's substantially brighter that both the D26 1600 and 1100, which had me pretty impressed (which you can clearly see in the pictures). That thing really packs a punch!
In the pictures the largest is the D36 5800 (but only with "flood" turned on. If just "spot" is turned on it's the same light as the D26 1600), the second is the D26 2500, the third is D26 1600, the fourth D26 1100, and then finally is a DGX Dive Rite BX2 (at least I think, I've had it for a bit but I think that's correct).
Sadly I was sent the long version of the D26 2500. I would NOT recommend this version for diving (****edit below), but they do make a short version that takes just 1 26650 battery (same as the D26 1600 and the D26 1100). If I had to choose between the 3 middle lights I would choose the shorter version D26 2500 hands down. At the time of writing this the only place that I could find the short version was Aliexpress for about $118;
118.15US $ 15% OFF|Original XTAR D26 2500 diving flashlight CREE XHP50.2 LED 2500 lumen Max 320 meter Magnetic switch torch 100 meter diving depth|LED Flashlights| - AliExpress
The D26 2500 has the older (much, much better) style locking switch which I REALLY like compared to the "press and hold" locking switch on the D26 1600... that drives me crazy as it will without a doubt be the light that's always on in my bag and always the 1st one dead. I'm really happy they went back to their original design of the "twist to lock" type. I have zero issues with these lights turning themselves on at all to the point that I trust the D26 1100 over the slightly brighter D26 1600 any day.
I have dove with this light in Pompano Beach FL as well as the mud hole that I dive locally. No issues at all with any of the Xtar lights and I owned my 1st one having been with me as a backup my last 57 dives which equates to about 68 hours underwater for me. I add some grease every once in a while and clean the o rings and they just keep on working.
All batteries were charged to full capacity the night before. All lights were switched to high for the pictures and in the video.
This was also reviewed by @ScubaAnts here (with much better pictures I might add
);
Review: XTAR D26 2500 lumens
Please feel free to ask any questions. Also, please excuse my video... first time using my sons Go Pro. I tried to keep it as stable as possible to avoid any seasickness.
****the long version doesn't fit my type of diving, but I can see where it might fit someone's type. I'm biased and I prefer short portable lights.
XTAR D26 2500 Dive Light For Caving & Wreck Diving
I like the light. I compared it to the D36 5800, the D26 1600, and the D26 1100 (all made by Xtar). It's substantially brighter that both the D26 1600 and 1100, which had me pretty impressed (which you can clearly see in the pictures). That thing really packs a punch!
In the pictures the largest is the D36 5800 (but only with "flood" turned on. If just "spot" is turned on it's the same light as the D26 1600), the second is the D26 2500, the third is D26 1600, the fourth D26 1100, and then finally is a DGX Dive Rite BX2 (at least I think, I've had it for a bit but I think that's correct).
Sadly I was sent the long version of the D26 2500. I would NOT recommend this version for diving (****edit below), but they do make a short version that takes just 1 26650 battery (same as the D26 1600 and the D26 1100). If I had to choose between the 3 middle lights I would choose the shorter version D26 2500 hands down. At the time of writing this the only place that I could find the short version was Aliexpress for about $118;
118.15US $ 15% OFF|Original XTAR D26 2500 diving flashlight CREE XHP50.2 LED 2500 lumen Max 320 meter Magnetic switch torch 100 meter diving depth|LED Flashlights| - AliExpress
The D26 2500 has the older (much, much better) style locking switch which I REALLY like compared to the "press and hold" locking switch on the D26 1600... that drives me crazy as it will without a doubt be the light that's always on in my bag and always the 1st one dead. I'm really happy they went back to their original design of the "twist to lock" type. I have zero issues with these lights turning themselves on at all to the point that I trust the D26 1100 over the slightly brighter D26 1600 any day.
I have dove with this light in Pompano Beach FL as well as the mud hole that I dive locally. No issues at all with any of the Xtar lights and I owned my 1st one having been with me as a backup my last 57 dives which equates to about 68 hours underwater for me. I add some grease every once in a while and clean the o rings and they just keep on working.
All batteries were charged to full capacity the night before. All lights were switched to high for the pictures and in the video.
This was also reviewed by @ScubaAnts here (with much better pictures I might add
);Review: XTAR D26 2500 lumens
Please feel free to ask any questions. Also, please excuse my video... first time using my sons Go Pro. I tried to keep it as stable as possible to avoid any seasickness.
****the long version doesn't fit my type of diving, but I can see where it might fit someone's type. I'm biased and I prefer short portable lights.
