Flashlight Comparison - XTAR D06 VS D26

For diving enthusiasms, a good dive flashlight is very important, not only for your diving experience but also for your underwater safety. It’s difficult to make a decision do you spend a fortune on your dive torch or do you buy cheap and twice or buy expensive and still probably buy twice. And there are many dive flashlights and flashlight brand on the market. Here we make a flashlight comparison of XTAR D06 1600 and XTAR D26 1600.

Appearance

The appearance of the D06 and D26 are almost the same. The only difference of them is the switch. XTAR D06 is an older model and the XTAR D26 is a younger model. D06 has a magnetic side switch, while the D26 has a button switch. Press once to turn on, press again to switch lighting modes and press for 1.5s to turn off the D26 flashlight.

Let’s see the size and weight comparison of them. The left number is for D06 and the right is for D26.

Head Diameter: 45mm; 46mm

Body Diameter: 29mm; 33mm

Length: 152mm; 156mm

Net weight: 185.5g; 252g

We can find out that the size of D26 is a little bit larger than D06. And D06 is lighter.

Lighting Mode

XTAR D06 has 4 brightness levels. From low to high, the luminance is changed from 10lm to 1600lm. And the XTAR D26 also has 4 output modes - turbo, high, medium, low which correspond to 1600, 650, 200, 60 lumens. Runtimes are stated as 2.48, 3.73, 9.9, 32.5 hours respectively.  

Power

XTAR D06 1600 is powered by a single 18650 or 2 x 16340 or 2 x CR123A batteries. While XTAR D26 1600 can not only support these battery sizes but also be powered by a 26650 battery, so its battery capacity is much better than D06. If use 26650s, the runtime of D26 can reach 2.48 hours at 1600lm lighting.

User Interface and Operation

The user interface of XTAR D06 1600 dive light couldn’t be simpler. There’s one switch on the light, and it’s a magnetic slide switch. When the light is off, the switch is most-tailward. Pushing the switch toward the head ramps the light on. There are no detents, and the ramp is smooth. It’s just a simple slide-for-on-to-desired-output. The XTAR D26 1600 dive light has two highlights, compared with D06. That is button function and battery indicator. Let’s see the details.

Button Lock function

The XTAR D26 1600 flashlight uses a press switch. It is a magnetic button that is spring actuated. Its travel feels comfortable and easy to activate in comparison to other lights which have a tighter feel and require a harder push. However the downside is the button is not recessed in any way and because of this it can be accidentally activated.

To prevent this, XTAR implemented a lock feature to prevent accidental activation. If you press and hold the button for three seconds the indicator light will flash green and turn the light off indicating that it is locked. You can't bump the button and turn on the light. To release the lock and turn on the light you have to press and hold the button for three seconds again. This is a great way to stop accidentally draining your battery or heating up the light head.

Battery Indicator

There is a battery level indicator on XTAR D26 flashlight which is nice to know how much juice you have left. It is green between 100% and 25%, 25-5% is red, and less than 5% is flashing red. When the red light is flashing, it remind you to change battery ASAP, otherwise the battery will be over-discharged. This design of battery indicator keeps you updated of the battery power, ensure your safety on the sea.

LED & Beam

Both XTAR D06 1600 and XTAR D26 1600 opted a Cree XHP35 HI for LED. The reflector is smooth and moderately deep.

Here are some lighting modes comparison. First is “as low as I could get it” which should be around 10 lumens in D06 and 60 lumens in D26, and then a few intermediate modes, and finally Turbo. 

XTAR D06 1600:  

XTAR D26 1600:

The D06 light is concentrated more closed and the D26 light is more open.

The beam throw of XTAR D06 1600 is 430m and the max intensity is 45970cd. It is similar with that of the XTAR D26 1600. The beam of D26 is 432m and the max intensity is 46700cd. The D26 has a wide light angle, up to 55°, which brings you a broader view, enables you to see more marine life. It ensures you much safer when you are fishing and diving.

You can read more features for XTAR D06 1600 and D26 1600 diving flashlight.