Light comes in a cardboard box with a plastic window.

This review of the C-LE V2 is an update to the one done for the V1.2 because they're very similar. Differences between V1.2 and V2 are listed at the end of each section.

The first thing I noticed when looking straight into the head is a very pronounced silver reflection at the bottom of the reflector. It is very even all around and shows the practically perfectly aligned emitter and reflector. Also, the reflector sits on top of the XR-E's silver ring instead of around it on the PCB. The aluminum reflector has a medium orange peel texture, consistent and well done finishing. The lens is advertised as AR coated glass. From the exterior side, I was unable to find any evidence of AR coating. As far as flashlights go, the inner side is more important in terms of AR coating which will result in more light out the lens. Perhaps the inner side of the C-LE's lens is coated but I couldn't check this as the two segments of the head module are sealed together, probably with epoxy or similar substance.

The entire C-LE body is noticeably smaller than most other single AA lights, probably because it's a twisty. It's a good 1.5cm shorter than the LumaPower LM301. Coating on the body is very well done, smooth and evenly coated throughout. As an added bonus, the coating is done in Type 3 anodizing for better durability. The anodizing color is a very dark gray, almost black. Majority of the head and battery tube is finished with knurling, a good design idea since this is a twist activated light. Everything looks good on the exterior, no machining flaws, sharp edges or marks. At the tail end you will find two small holes for lanyard or key rings. Now, on to the one really bad flaw of this light. The threads, they are very rough and will initially cross thread quite often. They also tend to make lots of squeaky and grinding noises. I had to repeatedly screw/unscrew the head on mine about 50 times before they started to smoothen out a little. Keep doing this while occasionally cleaning out the metal dust produced between the threads with a stiff brush till no more rubs off. The threads should be pretty smooth now, apply some lubricant on the rubber o-ring and it's done. Which leads to another point, the rubber o-rings did not come lubricated. This is actually a good thing, because it doesn't cause the metal dust to stick on the threads making it easier to clean out after breaking it in.

Construction differences between V1.0 and V1.2.

1. Anodizing on the battery tube has a subtle shade of brown, and the head is more of a gray shade. Compared to V1.0 which head had a slight shade of brown instead, and body was more gray.

2. Threads on the battery tube of the V1.0 had a yellow colored chemical coating, the V1.2 doesn't.

3. Threads are thicker on the V1.2 than the V1.0.

4. The V1.2 comes with thicker translucent rubber o-rings, the V1.0 came with a thinner black colored ones.

5. Lanyard hole at the tail end is lop sided on the V1.2.

Construction differences between V1.2 and V2.

1. The C-LE V2 uses a push button instead of twist switch. Travel of the push button is quite short, similar to those in Fenix lights.

2. The V2 is slighter longer due to the tail cap and push button switch.

3. Anodizing on the battery tube and tail cap is a dark brown color.

4. Threads are better machined and smoother.

5. There are 2 rubber o-rings as the tail end of the battery tube which makes quite a tight fit when screwing on the tail cap. Light is rated waterproof to IPX-8 standard.

The C-LE has 5 advertised modes. Cycling between modes is done by switching the light on and off within 2 seconds.

The operating modes are as follows;
"Off" > "Middle" > "Low" > "High" > "Strobe" > "S.O.S."

The output is good for a single AA light, overall it's very balanced. The intensity is slightly less than the XR-E's potential on an AA cell but this is made up by better runtime. The output stays nice and white through all the output levels and doesn't turn a warm yellow tint on "Medium" or "Low". This is partly due to the use of PWM for the lower levels instead of lowering the drive current to the emitter, also I'm sure the emitters used in the C-LE are of good tint selection as well. As the battery runs down out of regulation, the PWM kicks in and the output level decreases accordingly. When the battery gets critically low and about to die out, the light warns you by strobing twice in quick succession each time it's turned on.

There is one aspect of the output performance which bothers me, that is the PWM used for the "Medium" and "Low" levels. To me it is noticeable when I occasionally glance at the bezel, or use it to pan across an area. It's even more noticeable when the light shines on reflective surfaces. This is my personal observation, you may not notice the PWM as different people have different sensitivity to it.

Output differences between V1.0 and V1.2.

1. PWM is indeed improved over V1.0, a higher frequency is used thus the pulsing on lower levels isn't as obvious.

2. The "Beacon" mode is no longer available.

3. V1.2 has a memory feature which remembers the last output mode used if it's kept on for more than 2 seconds.

4. Output intensity on high is slighter brighter on the V1.2 than the V1.0, by about 200 lux. However runs for 20 minutes less.

5. Runtime on medium lasts for about 1 hour longer on the V1.2 than the V1.0.

6. Fellow reader Bryan Spofford has tried running a 3.7V 14500 li-ion cell in a JETBeam C-LE V1.2. Basically it worked for about a minute and then died. Unlike the V1.0 (with the beacon mode) which can run on 14500 cells, the V1.2 can't. Stick to using NiMH, alkaline or lithium AA cells.

Output differences between V1.2 and V2.

1. V2 uses a higher Q2 bin emitter, however the lux readings seems to be slightly lower compared to the V1.2.

2. Runtime is slightly improved over V1.2.

3. Beam tint is slightly warmer on my sample of the V2.

4. Switching between modes is much more convenient with the push button.

The Good - Great quality exterior finish with Type 3 anodizing. Nice white tint on all output levels.

The Bad - PWM used for "Medium" and "Low" levels are quite noticeable to me.

The Relative - Uses a reverse push button switch. PWM results in a consistent white tint on all levels, the trade-off being a noticeable modulation effect.

Head (front view).

Head (side view).

Head (rear view).

Battery tube (front view).

Battery tube (side view).

Battery tube (rear view).

Tail cap (front view).

Tail cap (side view).

Tail cap (rear view).