Preface
XTAR recently got in touch with me, and decided to send me this Moon RC2, and a Rocket SV2 charger for a review. The Rocket is upcoming, but here’s the Moon for your viewing pleasure! Thanks to XTAR for sending these items for review!!
XTAR Moon RC2 Official Specs:
- CRI of 80+
- Moonlight: 3LM
- Low: 30LM
- Medium 60LM
- High: 120LM
- Strobe: 120LM
- 2200mAh Li-ion battery
- Compatible with any USB power (including solar)
- IPX6 Waterproof
- Safe to use while charing
- Flicker free
The above section contains the manufacturer’s descriptions and claims, not my impressions or results.
Short Review:
Fantastic little light for it’s designed purpose. And it fits its designed purpose well.
Long Review:
What’s Included
- Moon RC2
- USB Cable
- Warranty Card
- Manual
Pictures
A few pics of the unit. And the beamshots (mainly so you can see the profile, which is completely flood of course!).
Build Quality, Durability, and Disassembly
Build quality is fine for this kind of light – it’s not meant to be abused. It has only IPX6 waterproof rating and that seems like it’s reasonable. I expect it’d be durable in it’s typical use-case and I have had no problem with it. My kids have not been able to destroy it either.
It is decidedly not to be disassembled though. I contacted XTAR about this and they said the two halves are “ultrasonically welded” together. Cracking that egg will break the Moon. It’d be nice for sure, to slip a higher capacity cell in there, but it seems like 2200 mAh is what it’s doing to stay. Now if you were inclined to open the light destructively then it’d be pretty easy – I expect those ultrasonic welds would pop right open with a hammer blow or two.
Package and Manual
Cardboard package with a window to see the Moon.
Not bad – clearly designed for retail. The back
has a pretty full instruction set. Side
and side
The manual
is useful but the light is not complicated, which makes the manual slightly superfluous.
Retention
There’s a non-removable clip built into the light. That’s the only real retention method – the light will also stand
or rest
in various ways.
I found the clip
to be nice but maybe a little big for what it actually does. But it’s great for shirt collars – I used it this way while reading a book, for example, and it works very well.
Power
A single, built-in 2200 mAh 18650, which is recharged by micro-USB. When the Moon actively charging, the button lights red. When it’s fully charged (while charging), the button lights green. During normal operation the button
is lit green.
If the battery gets low (as defined by having between 45 and 15 minutes runtime left) the button will turn red. If the battery will only support less than 15 minutes, the light will flash red. Below that, the light will turn off.
User Interface and Operation
There’s just one button on the Moon. The mode order is odd though, and they have to be clicked through in this order, every time. (even to shut the light off!). Low>Hi>Med>Moon>Off. They say the “quick way” to turn the light off is (from any mode) to double tap (which enters strobe) then tap to turn off. I don’t like that because that makes me use strobe, which I normally don’t want to do. Otherwise, one must just cycle through the modes to turn the light off.
LED and Beam
The emitter is a Samsung 5630, and has a high CRI index of 80+. There appear to be 5 of these in the light,
and it’s not stated which tint they are. But the light is very warm, so I’d guess it’s around the 3500k variety. If you’re wondering why this LED isn’t used in flashlights, one reason is likely the shape: it’s a rectangle (5.6mm x 3.0mm), which make for quite an interesting beam pattern in a flashlight with a conical reflector.
The beam is, of course, completely flood. Great for reading, or tent use (as pictured by XTAR). Completely great for what it is, but it’s not going to be your EDC light.
Beamshots
| Flashlight | 0.3s, f/8, ISO 100, CWB 5000k |
|---|---|
| XTAR | Moon |
| Skilhunt | H03 |
| Olight | R50 Seeker |
| Convoy | L6 (5000k) |
| Olight | S1A Baton 14500, AA |
| Convoy | C8 XPL-HI |
| JETBeam | JET-I MK |
| Klarus | Mi7 |
| BLF-348 | A, B |
| Manker | E14 |
| Astrolux | S41 |
| XintD | C8 XP-G2 S4 |
Runtime
4 hour, 120 lumen runtime on high is claimed. My runtime bears that out. Just over 4 hours on high, with a full cell.
Here’s the graph.
This is pleasing, as my graph matches XTAR’s almost identically in every way.
Size
Hard to compare it to any regular flashlight…. But here
you go anyway.
It’s just bigger than a large egg. 82.5mm X 55mm X 45mm. Not good for in pocket carry, but on pocket carry works. And beside a Chapstick
Conclusion
What I like
- Great tint
- Great runtime
- Clip is nice
- My kids love it
- and with LVP, I can let them play with it all they want
What I don’t like
- UI needs work.
- Would like it to be a little smaller
- Clip is a little big, and springs love to break
- 2200mAh cell (could be 9h runtime on a big mAh cell!)
Final Thoughts
I see this light going for $15 in some places – I think that’s a great price for this light, and I’d recommend it for that. For it’s designed purpose, it’s fantastic. I will absolutely use this light when I’m going camping, and I have already used it when reading a book to my kids. I used to laugh at the line in the picture on XTAR’s site “Best gift for strengthening relationships” but…. the way my kids actually do love the light…. I have to say that’s hard to disagree with!
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