Xtar DL1 Laser initial impressions

[davecampbell]

Xtar was gracious enough to provide me with a DL1 laser to review after I expressed some interest in one. The plan was to use it on a recent trip to Curaçao, where we would be doing a mixture of day and night diving, but sadly the laser was held up in customs, and arrived two days after our departure. Our local diving season begins in a couple weeks, so I'll use it soon underwater, get some photos/video, and update with the outcome. In the meantime, I'd like to give my initial impressions.

The DL1 ships in nice retail packaging, and includes the "light", a protected Xtar branded 3600mah 18650, a lanyard, and 2 spare o-rings. The battery is shipped in place, with a plastic isolator installed, to prevent accidental turn on in transit.

Machining is all very good, and the anodizing is very even. The lens is AR coated, and the magnetic switch works smoothly. Threads screw together nicely, and the o-rings were lightly lubed upon receipt. It has a nice weight to it, and feels good in the hand. Overall, build quality is pretty high, especially considering it's not overly expensive.

The beam is bright, and does what you would expect it do. It's a green lazer, and it works well. Perhaps even a little too bright, but use underwater will determine if this is true. On dry land, the lazer travels much further than you would ever realistically need, as a pointer.

I've included a shot with a D26 2500 , the DL1, and an 18650 for scale.

There are a lot of positives, but there are a couple areas I'd like to see some improvement. I'd love to see the addition of the mechanical lock that Xtar commonly uses on it's lights. The edges of the tail cap attachment point are a bit sharp for my liking. We're not talking razor sharp, but a little chamferring would go a long way here. Lastly, the body is a little smooth, and could benefit from some texturing of some sort to increase grip.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the DL1. If it performs as I expect it to, and doesn't leak (which I don't expect it to) I'd say it's a very handy tool, and a good value. Used as a pointer or as a signaling device in an emergency, I'd be happy with the purchase.

Update with findings after underwater use, and photos/videos to follow in the coming weeks...

 

[davecampbell]

Hey everybody! I just wanted to add a little update to this review. Unfortunately, (or fortunately depending on your outlook) the weekend we had in Tobermory was wonderfully sunny, with incredible visibility. Photos and video of the lazer just wouldn't show up well on camera, no matter what we tried. I'll try to get out on a twilight/night dive soon.... where hopefully, we can get some shots that actually depict how well the lazer works underwater.

What I CAN tell you though is that the DL1 worked exactly as I had hoped. We took it below 100 ffw, @ 39°F, and it performed perfectly over 3 dives. It turned on when I wanted it to, and turned off when it was supposed to. The switch was smooth, and easy to press, even in drygloves with liners. Upon inspection after the day of diving, the interior was completely dry, and very little of the battery had been used despite me playing around with it quite a bit during the weekend. Underwater performance is very good, and the green spot is quite visible to the eye, even under the amazingly bright conditions we had. It was really handy for pointing out features on the wrecks, and our dive buddies on the charter were quite impressed. I imagine it would be superb for signaling at night.... Underwater or topside.

All in all, I think it's a pretty nice little product. The price is very reasonable for what you're getting, the quality seems to be top notch so far, and more than anything else, it's fun and handy. If you're in the market for a lazer pointer...for instructing, guiding, signaling, etc... you would be hard pressed to find anything better for less $$$.

So far, I give it a

 

[davecampbell]

another update.... got the DL1 out for another weekend of diving in Tobermory, this time with a better camera setup. We were finally able to capture how the lazer actually looks underwater.

The photos were taken on the Forest City, @ a max depth of 150 ffw, 40°F. Lazer worked as expected, and survived without an water ingress. I'm very pleased with how effective it is, and it is incredibly bright.

I do have a complaint, and it is one I've already expressed concern about. This thing needs a physical lock, similar to the d26 2500, etc... Look at the pics, and you'll see why...