Maxtoch X PRO

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Maxtoch X PRO specifications

Brand/model	Maxtoch X PRO
LED	Osram KW CSLNM1.TG
Lumens	1,000 lm
Beam intensity	1,000,000 cd / 1Mcd / 2000 meters
Battery config.	1*21700
Material	Aluminum
Modes	Ramping
Blinkies	Strobe
Reflector	Smooth
Waterproof	IPX8
Review date	June 2021

After reviewing the Maxtoch Xsword L2K, I was intruged by the Maxtoch Hunter X PRO. The main reason for this is the claimed distance of up to 2000 meters. That is unheard of from a ‘normal’ production light. I almost can’t believe it can reach that far, but we’ll see.

Only up to very recently, 2000 meters was only possible with high power, big reflector flashlights like the Astrolux MF04, Lumintop GT etc. Maxtoch got me excited, but I’m still a little reluctant to believe these claims, even after the L2K I bought , overperformed.

Package quality.

The X PRO was shipped in a plain carton box. Inside the box is a carrybag with the following bits and pieces inside:

• Maxtoch X PRO flashlight
• Lanyard
• Spare o-ring
• Spare switch
• Spare rubber boot
• 3 Colored filters: red, green and yellow
• Warranty card
• Optional: USB charger with USB power adapter and USB-C cable.
• Optional: 21700 battery

Unfortunately, the X Pro has been discontinued. Have a look at the following buyer’s guides instead:

• Best long-range flashlights
• LEP flashlights

Even though I’m pretty accustomed to large reflectors, the X PRO has the largest reflector of any single-battery flashlight I own. Its reflector is even larger than the popular Noctigon K1, and therefore not really pocketable.

Fortunately though, Maxtoch included a lanyard, and there’s probably also an optional pouch/holster you can get.

The rear switch is a forward-clicky switch and is only used for power. And within the package is an extra switch and rubber boot, in case yours breaks. Not many manufacturers include a spare switch. Come to think about it, actually, no other manufacturer does that!

The side switch is an electronic switch that you can click and press and hold. Continuously pressing will ramp up the brightness, and if you briefly let this go and press the button again, it will ramp down in brightness. At both ends (the lowest and highest output), the light blinks to indicate you can’t go any further.

There are only a few manufacturers that focus on 1 particular audience. Maxtoch focuses on hunters, and nothing else. Yes, they do have other flashilght types, but 90% of them are throwers.

That being said, the build quality seems just fine, but it misses the feeling of a high-end flashlight. Maybe, if they started using stainless steel parts, that perception would change. Just keep in mind that these flashlights aren’t made for appearance but for their performance.

Threads on both sides of the body are anodized. This means that you can easily mechanically lock the flashlight and don’t need to worry about any parasitic drain. On the driver side, as well as on the switch side, is a single gold-plated spring.

The bezel is used to keep the colored filters in place, but the threads are easily misaligned with some consequences. This is definitely 1 thing Maxtoch should re-think.

And this is what Maxtoch says about their warranty:

1 year warranty – MAXTOCH offers free warranty work if the problem is caused by normal usage within 1 year after receipt.  
Lifetime warranty – For the life of your light, repairs will be made with no labor chargers and as long as parts are available from MAXTOCH. You will be charged for the parts needed to repair your light. 

Here’s where things get really interesting. Maxtoch doesn’t focus on appearance but performance. And the best way to get the longest reach out of an LED flashlight is using a very large reflector, including a high-intensity, powerful LED. Only this combination will make a flashlight throw really far. I admit that some manufacturers are very creative and use TIR optics to do a fantastic job.

One of the most exciting characteristics of this flashlight is, of course the colossal reflector. As far as I know, there’s no other mass-produced flashlight with these reflector dimensions. It’s pretty amazing how big and deep it is for a single-cell flashlight, and larger than anything in my current collection. Even larger than its competitor, the Noctigon K1.

I don’t believe hunters really care about the beam color, as long as it is not too much on either side of the spectrum, yellow vs blue or even green. The beam temperature is definitely on the cold side.

One thing that I’m not a fan of is the colored filter system. At least, not the way you have to attach them. There are 3 colored filters included in the package, namely yellow, green, and red. To use the filters, you have to unscrew the bezel and put the filter in front of the glass lens, behind the bezel. There’s no doubt the filter will get some fingerprints doing this in the dark. Also, the bezel has pretty thin threads, so I accidentally cross-threaded it once, which made it an even less enjoyable experience. As one flashlight seller from New Zealand told me, it’s much easier and better if it used slide-on filters; filters that are fitted in a rubber ring and slide on the top of the head. That way, you don’t need to unscrew anything, and you have less chance to drop it.

Or, instead, extend the bezel a few millimetres so it’s much easier to hold while screwing down.

• Length: 183 mm / 7.2 ”
• Head diameter:  78 mm / 3 ”
• Inner Reflector: 69.8 mm / 2.7″
• Body diameter: 25 mm /  0.99”

Weight with rubber cigar grip ring: 

• Empty: 342.2 g / 11.44 oz
• With battery: 398.4 g / 14.06oz

Thrower Flashlights compared

Size compared to other well-known thrower flashlights

Throwers from left to right: Maxtoch X PRO, Noctigon K1, Nitecore P30i, Astrolux FT03, Astrolux FT02, Olight Warrior X Turbo, Weltool T11.

Maxtoch uses it own ramping firmware. It ramps stepless up and down, and at both ends it blinks to show you reached the end. At the high end of the ramp I will call High, and Turbo can be accessed by a double click from On.

The electronic mode-switch (side switch) can only be used when the rear switch is activated.

Available modes:

• Ramping

From OFF:

• Half-press rear switch: momentary On
• Single-click rear switch: turns on to last used mode
• Side switch: nothing happens

Side Switch From ON: (Turned on with rear-switch)

• Single-click: nothing, unless you are in Turbo mode… it will then revert back to the previous output
• Double-click: Turbo
• Triple-click: Strobe
• Press and hold: ramp up, or ramp down

Shortcuts:

• To Turbo: double click when the rear-switch is activated
• To Moon: no shortcut
• To Strobe: double-click side switch from On

Mode memory:

• Yes

Blinky modes menu:

• Strobe

Low battery warning:

• No, output just reduces

Lock-out mode:

• No, just use the mechanical rear-switch

PWM:

• There is some visible if you shake the flashlight violently.

Firmware / UI Conclusion:

Ramping starts a little late when you hold the switch, and then ramps very quickly when it starts ramping. This ramping doesn’t go very smooth when you look at it. I’d prefer a more gradual increase and decrease, and no delay like it looks like its doing right now.

Maxtoch included a rechargeable lithium-ion battery with a button top. The label indicates we are talking about a protected cell, but it doesn’t say what discharge rate it is capable of.

The battery also doesn’t have a product code on the label, and there’s not USB port for charging. Mine included a charger as well, which is a 2A USB charger, including a EU USB power adapter. Depending on your location, they are adding the correct power adapter if you order the charging set.

Using flat-top, unprotected isn’t a problem, because there’s a spring on both ends. The charger charges the battery just fine, but I haven’t thoroughly tested the charger, and focus on testing just the flashlight.

Lumen measurements:

All output numbers are relative to my homemade Integrating Sphere. It is set up with an Extech SDL400 Lux Meter for measurements including a Kenko PRO1D ND-16 filter. The base measurement is done with a Convoy S2+ that has been tested at 255 lumens.

All of my readings were taken from a fully-charged Maxtoch 21700, 5000mAh.

Amps were measured with a Fluke 77III, at the tailcap with standard probes

Mode	Amps	Specified	10min	30sec	start
Lowest	0.09	50 lm	–	44.75	44.75
High	3.8	950 lm	563 lm	759 lm	777 lm
Turbo	3.9	1000 lm	560 lm	771 lm	817 lm

The advertised numbers weren’t even close to the real numbers.

Parasitic drain:

• There’s none because you can’t electronically turn off the light.

Runtime:

The runtime test was done with the 50cm integrating sphere, including the Kenko Pro1D ND-16 filter and Extech SDL400 data logging Lux Meter.

As you can see in the graph, both Turbo and High have very similar performance, except for the little boost Turbo gives at the beginning of the curve. And interestingly enough, both ended their runtime at the same moment at 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Both modes dropped after 5 minutes from around 720 lumens doen to about 560 lumens.

Specs show a runtime of 5+80 minutes. And my measurement seem much more generous than that.

Below you can see the runtime graph in terms of candelas, compared to some popular LEP flashlights.

Throw Measurement

Measurements were taken outdoors at 20 meters after 30 seconds with a professional Hagner E4-X Lux Meter.

Mode	Candelas	Meters	Yards	Miles
Turbo	776,000	1762	1927	1.09
High	752,000	1734	1897	1.08

I did a few more measurements, but this time at 30 meters (after the request was made by manufacturer) and measured 783,000 cd. Which is a bit more than the 776,000 I measured at 20 meters. Still using the same standard Amutorch battery.

Turbo and High are very very close, and a little too close in my opinion. That’s visible with the output as well as the intensity. I would have recommended 70% for High and 100% for Turbo.

First I compared the runtime in candelas with one of the best single-cell LED throwers, the Noctigon K1. I used the Samsung 50G, 21700 battery for this, compared to the Maxtoch. You see that it performs better than the Noctigon K1 for 70% of its runtime. The Noctigon continues a bit longer and starts to increase towards the end, and then tapers off.

Here is the throw measurement compared to some LEP flashlights. The dark, thick grey line is the Maxtoch X PRO.

And 1 more time, but compared to the small LEP flashlights, the thick Blue line/yellow

For the following beamshots, I used a Canon EOS 5D Mk2 and a 100mm lens with manual settings: ISO1600, .5sec , F4, 5000K

The first tower is about 450 meters / 492 yards away.

For the next round of beamshots I used a Canon EOS 5D Mk2 and a 50mm lens. manual settings: ISO1600, 1/4sec , F4, 5000K

The reflective fence is about 200 meters away.  

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent by Maxtoch at no cost. I have not been paid, and I didn’t hold back on any problems or defects I may have encountered during this review.