I have had a love/hate relationship with Xtol. I love the way it can be so easily mixed at room temperature. I love the way it can bring out the full film speed without fogging the film base or compressing the highlights. And I like the fact that it keeps so well in a full or partly full bottle.(posted 9088 days ago)But I hate the fact that on at least three occasions I have opened a fresh package only to discover that Part A (Xtol must be mixed as a two-part solution) has caked in the pouch. It's supposed to be a powder. I have also discovered that if you mix the caked solution anyway you will end up with drastically underdeveloped negatives. Kodak has acknowledged producing a few bad batches and has even sent me replacement developer. (Thanks Kodak, but this didn't make my underdeveloped negatives any darker.)
Here's another problem: if you dilute Xtol 1:1 you will have to increase the recommended developing time by 15% to compensate for the developer's reduced capacity. If you dilute 1:2 you will have to add yet another 15% to the time. This fact is hidden in the fine print of Kodak's tech bulletin for Xtol, but believe me, if you try diluting Xtol without these increases you'll have thin negatives to show for it.
The bottom line is that I got tired of not knowing for sure how my negs would turn out. I'm now back to using Kodak TMax Developer.