Solaray Pro ZX-1 Review

Trying to find a tactical flashlight that not only tips the scales in quality but is also friendly on the pockets is no easy endeavor. However, Solaray may have created a solution to overcome this obstacle. Small enough to fit in your pocket yet durable enough to withstand the abuse of most outdoor activities, the Pro ZX-1 has everyone talking. Read our Solaray Pro ZX-1 review and find out more.

Features

Pros

Comes With A Kit

The Pro ZX-1 Comes with a kit.

The packaging is “short and sweet”. No fancy marketing materials endlessly promoting the product. Upon opening the actual box, we were impressed with how neatly packed everything is. The kit contained the flashlight, a wrist strap, two rechargeable batteries, a wall charger, a plastic sleeve to hold the three AAA batteries ( which must be purchased separately), and a tiny solar powered keychain flashlight.

Bright, With Multiple Modes

The first thing you’ll notice when you search for reviews and opinions on this flashlight is how well regarded it is.

The light is extremely bright (it’s perfect for defense purposes) and for that reason, we don’t recommend playing around with it idly. The punch this light packs can potentially render someone blind. For some, having multiple choices or options to pick from is a godsend. In this case, we appreciated being able to pick from the five various modes – the options gave us more flexibility, enabling us to adjust the brightness depending on the situation. It’s a great battery saver too. If we don’t need that much light, then we’d go for a mode that consumes less power.

Compact and Durable

We’re not sure if we’ll ever use any or all of these modes, but still, they are nice to have. The small compact size of this flashlight makes it possible to store in a small space for emergencies, or even take on outdoor adventures. Don’t be surprised if you have to buy another replacement Solaray Pro ZX- 1 Professional, if it comes up missing from its usual storage place, there’s a very high chance that your significant other may have “borrowed” it for themselves as was the case for me.

The Solaray ZX-1 Pro is made with durable parts.

Aside from the light modes, we were impressed with the high-quality design. While the flashlight is affordable for nearly anyone, it would be disappointing to have to try and replace the light after an accidental fall for instance. Speaking of falls, this flashlight seems to hold up fairly well.

So who’s the Solaray Pro ZX-1 for? You’ll notice a variety of people from various walks of life have decided to make this their light of choice. Hunters and preppers keep at least one in their glovebox and are all too eager to take it during their outdoor excursions.

Those who are in the military or who work for law enforcement enjoy the practical use of the light, but may complain due to the lack of a clip, lanyard, or a holster although it’s possible to purchase a holster for this flashlight separately. Both sexes can use this light not only to help shed light on things (pun intended), but the ridged bezel tip makes for an excellent defense weapon if you should have to use it as such.

Cons

Now, no product is completely perfect, but this flashlight comes pretty close. Consumers who did complain mentioned small and petty things. We suppose it’s a matter of taste and preferences, so what someone would consider a drawback, someone else may not even be concerned about the same quality. Here’re some of the things that other’s complained about.

Lack of memory

We’re not talking about the brains of the operation (your flashlight). If you’ve done research for any length of time on tactical flashlights, you’ll come across an interesting feature that is known as light memory (or something like that).

What this does is it enables the user to turn off the flashlight and “remember” the last light mode the light was on before being switched off. This feature may seem irrelevant to some, but it may be extremely useful to those who intend to use the flashlight for stealthy operations. Unfortunately, the Solaray Pro Flashlight lacks this feature.

Bulb Replacement

If you happen to drop your flashlight and the bulb shatters, you’re out of luck. Most tactical light manufacturers allow for the ability to change out the bulb and be back and running like nothing ever happened. Our Solaray Pro ZX-1 review finds out that the makers obviously missed this memo. Yes, that means purchasing a replacement flashlight.

Gets Hot Quickly

While it’s normal for a flashlight to become warm to the touch, it should never be hot enough to potentially start a fire. A few consumers have complained that the flashlight becomes unbearably hot after operating the flashlight for a time span of around 3 minutes. While there weren’t too many customers who complained about this issue, we felt it was worth mentioning.

Verdict

Overall, this flashlight offers a fair amount of features in a highly durable package. While we felt a few more accessories should be added to the Solaray pro zx-1 kit, we feel that there’s a sufficient amount of accessories to get started. We would like to remind you to purchase a holster if you intend to use this flashlight as a patrolling device.

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