Form Factor & Build

1- Modern industrial interpretation of the classic hand-held flashlight form. Geometry is a radially symmetrical (less spring clip) round cross-section / featuring some geometric elements including: a basic cylinder that is modified by a crenellated or 'notched' bezel, scalloped head, scoop transitional collar and an agressively textured body section. These aspects give the OMBU X-55 an understated industrial elegance. Most of these details help to alleviate the monotony of mono-form design so typical of flashlights. The OMBU X-55 pays more than cursory homage to the original flashlight on which its design seems to be closely based.
2- The notches at the front of the bezel are useful in non-lethal compliance as well as to indicate that the light is still on even if it's head down on a table. oval 'scoops' around the head -behind the bezel add a touch of flair without serving to allow for head removal. The head is cemented in place against the body section. These scoops do not stop the light from rolling on a smooth flat surface, but the attached spring pocket clip does. The strategically located aggressive knurling ensures a secure grip even with wet or oily hands. The strong spring clip speaks of secure and rapid deployment and stowage.
3- The head of light is wider than the body & tail-piece which are approximately the same diameter.
4- The flashlight feels significantly lighter than many flashlights of comparable output. Solid construction and 'just enough' heft contribute to giving the OMBU X-55 excellent balance in the hand. Ideal for individuals with small to medium sized hands, it's quite holdable by users with large or extra-large hands as well.
5- One's hand surrounds the aggressively textured body section.The body of the light easily fills a medium (*1) sized palm with no protrusion.
6- A scooped collar behind the head assists in indexing the front of the grip.
7- The aluminum wall thickness of the battery tube is 2.0 mm.
8- The two sections fit together fairly well with only a slightly rough threading action.
9- Black Hard Anodizing Type III (Matte) on the outside and on the inside of the tailcap and body section provide protection against corrosion.
10- The black finish minimizes reflections/glare by day by night
11- There is only some battery rattle. Substantial 'O' ring seals provide shock absorption, a snug fit and a seal against the elements- especially water.
12- Very rugged look & feel with substantial toughness. It's suitable Military/SWAT/Law enforcement caliber flashlight that would more than satisfy the needs of a consumer demanding an overbuilt product even for everyday use.

1- Ambidextrous. Center of balance slightly in front of the midpoint on the body section.
2- A medium palm completely surrounds the body of the OMBU X-55, with the thumb and first or second fingers- naturally positioned on the front of the body section just behind the head-portion and indexed to the scooped collar. Ideal for individuals with small to medium sized hands- it's quite holdable by users with large or extra-large hands as well. It is specifically designed to be held using various 'tactical' grips including: Harries Flashlight Technique , -Rogers grip, forward, upward and downward pointing 'standard' flashlight hand-held modes.
3- A medium duty Click On/Off tail-piece switch and rubber button allow for either constant or intermittent light de-activation-especially with one hand.
4- No native mounting options for firearms use are evident, though the mid-section is gripable by clamping brackets or other improvised and custom designed attachment solutions.

1- Stowage- An extra heavy duty spring steel clip allows for head-up stowage in pockets of all fabric thicknesses up to about 1/4". A 1.5" long clip has a 1mmX 3mm cut-out in it to allow the attachment of rings, and lanyards.
2 - Activation-In normal use- light emits from the front of the flashlight when activation occurs through an inward pushing of the rubber covered tail cap click switch . A partial (soft) de-activation causes the light to turn Off momentarily . Turning the light permanently 'Off' requires a repetition of the button clicking procedure. This dual functionality is known as a 'toggle'. Intuitive use involves the thumb or first or second fingers of the flashlight's supporting hand- pressing the switch while the light is held in one of various possible grasps- or is supported by a tripod, clamp or other support. One hand may therefore be used to activate the light in 'full-momentary-On' -in the Harries or /Rogers holds for example. The tailpiece may not be turned anticlockwise into a 'lock-out' position to prevent unintentional activation.
3-The head is threaded to the body section but is cemented in place- preventing user replacement or crossgrade of the head assembly.
4- The removable tailpiece protects the battery compartment from the environment by a single 'O' ring and allows for click switch maintenance. Battery replacement entails the removal of the tail section from the body section-batteries are then fed into the battery compartment -as is common in most tactical type lights.

1-Matte anodizing protects a surface that is finely machined throughout .
2-The OMBU X-55 design promotes intuitive grip focus on the region between the tailcap and the scooped transition ring.
3- We did not perform a 'pull' test but we judged the combination of aggressive body texture pattern, combined with matte anodizing to be effective mitigators against hand slippage- especially under wet or oily conditions .
4- The lightness, brightness and sturdiness of this light make it suitable for critical inspection, law enforcement, military and security. It is additionally suited for rough outdoors,and other rough environmental use .It's viability in water-sports or underwater is probably very good (untested)-due to the impressive, medium duty 'O' rings and precision threading both at the head and tail sections. it really deserves to be used anywhere where a combination of lightness, brightness and ruggedness are all equally important.
5-The toggling push for click On/Off activation procedure is an intuitive and fast implementation of the switch.
6- Due to a protrusion of the rubber switch button- the light may not be stood on its tail for ceiling bounce mode. Candle mode is also not an option due to the inability of the user to separate the emitter from the rest of the head section and exposing it. NOTE- The shroud surrounding the switch button is no more than 1.5 mm short of being adequate for enabling this light to stand upright on it's tail. In mimicking the original light too closely, the designers of the OMBU X-55 fell short of improving on it's shortcomings - by 1.5 mm!
7-The integrated emitter assembly is not user accessible or modifiable.

The OMBU X-55 scored Maximum Distance for Object Identification or MDOI at 130 feet -and did so while displaying one of the brightest/ widest coronas we've seen to date from any flashlight of its class. The OMBU X-55's brightness is more than adequate for general law enforcement, security,and general searching- as well rugged outdoors use.
Beam-shots Page >>

1- The OMBU X-55 is a medium/heavy duty rough use flashlight that's ideal for general flashlight tasks in a number of everyday and several demanding applications. Due to its robust construction and waterproofness- combined with bright beam, we judge it to be an excellent choice for any flashlight tasks that demand reliability and a relatively long-life bulb.
2- Though longer lived than Xenon bulbs of comparable brightness- the 5 Watt Luxeon LED that the OMBU X-55 uses has a substantially shorter life (800-900 Hrs) than a the same flashlight with a 3 Watt Luxeon LED (10,000 Hrs) - making it around 30% brighter than a 3W flashlight but in exchange for 1/10 of the lifespan. While one solution would be to offer a version with a 3W Luxeon head, a better option would be to include a dual or variable power setting to help preserve LED lifespan as well as battery power in situations that do not require the full force of the 5 Watt LED's output.
3-Value. With new flashlights in the Luxeon market space -being released weekly- it's hard to define a relative value when comparing non-comparables. The OMBU X-55 is a good value in a class with one best in class and few other competitors. At this point in time, the OMBU X-55 rates 4.0 stars out of a possible 5 stars.
Our gripes were... A) Shorter lived LED - no low power option B) Cannot stand up in Ceiling-bounce mode C) Non user accessible head section

4.0 Stars- Recommended