A compact high output keychain light from XTAR with three UV side emitters
MSRP: $30
Manufacturer page: https://www.xtar.cc/product/XTAR-T1-UV-Keychain-Light-162.html
TL;DR
The XTAR T1-UV is the all-UV variant of the T1. Similar in form factor to Rovyvon’s Aurora series of keychain lights, the T1-UV has a high output main emitter and three UV aux emitters.
I’ve already reviewed the T1 (read that review here), and they’re so similar that I’m not going to be quite as detailed on this one.
Packaging
The XTAR T1-UV comes in a small metal tin with a plastic window. Inside this tin is a plastic tray which holds the light, and all of the accessories are behind the tray.
Contents
The box contains:
- An XTAR T1-UV
- A manual
- A very short USB A to USB C cable
- A spring clip keyring
Build
The T1-UV is exactly the same as the T1 as far as build is concerned. The body is one piece of aluminum with a keyring hole on one end and the main emitter behind a TIR optic on the other. One side of the body has the switch and three aux emitters behind a plastic lens. Another side of the body has a small rubber flap that covers a USB C charging port.
One difference is the color of the anodizing. The T1-UV has a lovely purple/grey anodizing, probably to fit the fact that it’s a white/UV light.
It’s a compact little light. Only a bit thicker than my car key fob and a bit shorter than my car key. Very reasonably sized for keychain carry.
The aux emitter window comes covered by a clear plastic film for shipping reasons, but when I tried to remove it for the photos of this review, I accidentally took the whole plastic window off. It was held on by a soft, sticky black substance. I don’t know what it was, but it was a pain to wash off of the little plastic piece. I wasn’t able to get it to sit flush when I put it back in either, which is unfortunate. I’m sure if I had it in my pocket long enough it would pop off again.
The charging port cover flap looks very similar to the one on the T1, but this one is a bit different. The part that goes into the charging port hole isn’t quite as long so it sits a bit more recessed, and it seems to be made out of a slightly different rubber. Where the last one didn’t like to stay in place, this one is much more secure, and I didn’t have any problems with it popping open or off in my pocket.
Power
The XTAR T1-UV is powered by an internal li-ion pouch cell. The capacity of this cell is not stated, but I would assume that it’s around 330mAh, as many other keychain lights that size use that size of cell. The T1-UV pulls an average of about 120mA during its charging cycle.
The charge state is indicated by lights under the switch, though the switch boot rubber is so dark that they’re easier to see through the aux light window.
Modes and UI
The T1-UV has a simple single switch UI.
| Starting State | Action | Result |
| Off | Single click | Main mode rotation (memory) |
| Off or On | ≥2 clicks | UV |
| Off | Press and hold for 1.5s | Momentary turbo (30s) |
| Main mode rotation | Single click | Rotate Moon, Low, Med, High, Turbo |
| Any Mode | Click and hold for 1.5s | Off |
The manual for the T1-UV says the modes are the same as the T1, but the text “Strobe” is crossed out with a ball point pen. It’s kinda funny.
In practice though, the spacing is messed up. The moon, low, and med are all well spaced, but there’s a huge jump from med to high, and then the difference between high and turbo is almost imperceptible. These issues weren’t present on the T1, so it makes me wonder if the removal of strobe messed something else up. On the plus side though, a lack of strobe means the mode memory isn’t as much of a drawback as it was previously.
One fun thing the T1-UV does is fade up when you’re in high or turbo. It’s about a 1 second fade from nothing to whatever mode you’re in. This occurs when single clicking or long clicking to go to turbo.
Beam and Tint
(Note: The next section is pretty subjective. I’ve become snobby over the past five years, and beams can vary from light to light because not all LEDs are exactly the same.)
The T1-UV uses an XP-G3, like the T1. If I had to guess I’d say the color temperature is somewhere in the 5000K to 5500K range. The TIR optic does a good job working with the XP-G3, and there are only some minor tint artifacts in the beam that are only visible on a white wall.
The UV beam isn’t focused at all and simply projects the shape of the opening. It’s not a super bright beam, but I don’t think it needs to be. It’s good quality UV light though. Not a whole lot in the visible spectrum, but makes things fluoresce easily.
Modding Potential
(Note: Opening up and modifying your light will void your warranty. Don’t do this stuff if you don’t know how to do this stuff.)
Driver: ???
MCPCB: ???
Don’t try to mod this one. Too small.
Bottom Line
Pros:
- Compact
- Bright
- Good UV
- Strobe not in main mode rotation
Cons:
- Mode spacing is bad
- Build quality on the side window might be iffy, but I may have just gotten a bad one
Thanks for reading my review! If you have any questions, put them in the Reddit thread here:
https://old.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/o7by9v/review_xtar_t1uv_a_whiteuv_keychain_light/?
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