BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part XII)

[Algeraist]

DX first light

Hi,
I'm new here but have been doing some homework on getting a next gen led flashlight - not the crap you can buy in oz

Anyway dealsextreme has my attension cheap and low grade maybe but my interest is just starting out

606A seems to be the best deal but I'm looking for some advise + also interested in p7 mods - as I want super bright super cheap to feed my interest.

I'd prefer aa or aaa bats rather than paying more and I'd also like some small that burns like the sun.....lol

 

[Quacker]

Re: DX first light

So you're moving from "crap stuff in Oz" to crap stuff from DX.
Not a wise move.
Pay a bit more and stick to Fenix, Tiablo, Jetbeam, Liteflux etc etc.

Believe me, I learned the hard way. Bought myself 7 DX garbage lights and they have all failed. Could've got myself 2 quality lights instead with the amount of money i wasted on those DX lights.

 

[lrp]

Re: DX first light

What Quaker said!!

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Re: DX first light

Stick with your OZ crap! When it comes to crap, no one can touch Chinese DX!! They are kings.

 

[[email protected]]

Re: DX first light

I respectully disagree.
I've bought a half-dozen lights from DX and Kai and have had no failures.
I have a fenix TK11 and a Jetbeam C-LE and carry neither, prefering my Maratac AAA and AKOray K106 (both under $25 lights) for edc.

We live in the boonies and my go to light for "What the heck was that?!" is an Aurora P7 that cost $35 and provides a wall of light out to about 100 yards.

My only caution is, wait until you read about it here before making a purchase fom either of these places.

 

[kramer5150]

Re: DX first light

If you want a light/host to tinker with then DX is the place. Many of their lights can readily be taken apart, with minimal effort.... some just fall apart in your hands (LOL). FWIW, my track record with DX lights has been hit/miss, half of them arrived DOA or with flickering output problems.

For any DX light I do a complete part by part tear down upon arrival:
-Bust out my dremel + tools and completely dis-assemble
-Remove any glue or adhesive, a plastics-safe electronics part cleaner (aerosol can) is perfect for this
-Re-flow solder
-Re-epoxy LED slugs
-Flush out and re-Lubricate click switches with part cleaner and a light oil
-De-bur all sharp metal edges
-Clean and re-lube gaskets
-Re-grind + polish any metal to metal conductive junction through the body/bezel/switch pill

Now all my DX lights (clone-fire) have been as reliable as my better surefire, fenix, Romisen, eagletac...etc...

The only light I was unable to 100% revive was a DIY job for bigchelis. He had one light with a finicky click switch, where one out of every 3 button clicks would flicker. I tried everything to free up the mechanism... but couldn't. It still works, except for that one click out of 3... LOL. But then you just click it again to get the internal switch plunger to rotate over to one of the next 2 spots.

I dont think AA sized lights are ideal for DIY though, many require smaller diameter DC-DC boards, in the ~15.5mm diameter range. 17mm is the unwritten DX/KD standard for DC-DC boards. Sometimes you can get away with trimming/grinding the PCB down to size, but that can only go so far. But certainly emitter swaps are possible with lights this small. You should be aware that some of the better made DX lights are glued and/or potted so getting them apart is difficult. Especially the potted lights... akoray for example.

I generally prefer P60 compatible lights for mods... surefire, solarforce and all the clone-fire derivatives. They can be completely taken apart component by component, including the switch modules. If you mess up, you can always buy a new 17mm DC-DC board for $3 and a reflector pill/module for $2.

I think a great 2AA project would be one of these:
http://www.lighthound.com/Solarforc...-Switch-all-Black-Type-2-Anodized_p_2629.html

Add this:
http://www.lighthound.com/Solarforce-L2-Flashlight-Extension-Tube--L2-ECR_p_1625.html

Add this drop in
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13658

And mod the DC-DC board with one of these (or something similar thats optimized for 2xAA)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4735
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7882

 

[KD7EIR]

Re: DX first light

:welcome:
The DX lights are great for getting you hooked on bright! Then once you are hooked you will most likely start looking to better lights from others.

 

[davidt1]

Re: DX first light

It's a freaking flashlight with an LED and a battery tube. It ain't rocket science. A majority of lights are made in China, probably from the same factories that churn out DX stuff. But the folks who get suckered into paying big bucks for brand name stuff would have you believe otherwise.

Don't worry about buying stuff from DX. I bought 2 lights, 1 charger, 4 batteries, and magnets from them. Although one of the lights (Tank TK-702) is not anywhere near the advertised brightness, everything has worked without any problem. Just be aware of a number of things about DX.

1. Items can take a long time to ship

2. Lumens ratings are often exaggerated

3. You can get a bad product now and then

Read BessieBenny's review of budget lights. You will find some informative stuff there.

 

[qwertyydude]

Re: DX first light

There is a difference in quality of the lights. I'm absolutely no snob when it comes to lights but keep in mind that it is usually a good idea to carefully disassemble and rebuild your DX lights to make them reliable but I wouldn't say you have to start with Surefire especially for the price. I had two 606a's and while nice they were quite delicate. If you disassemble them do not touch any area near the led and do not remove the foil led shield which protects the led from shorting and don't over tighten the head or you'll short the led with the bottom of the reflector. If you need to get good quality lights from DX I'd stick with Romisen. Out of all the different brands my Romisens never failed me. But if you really want output and good runtime I would consider li-ion all my good lights run 18650's and they're pretty much a requirement if you want to get into high power P7's and MC-E lights.

 

[shark_za]

Re: DX first light

I would suggest your first DX light be a Romisen RC-N3.
The only thing about DX is you are not sure what you will get.
Will it be single or multi mode? Forward or reverse switch? P2 or P4/Q2 LED?

BUT, no matter what variable above comes into play the RC-N3's I have a really good and functional torches. (single mode forward click)
I have one in each car of mine. Great carry light with 1xCR123 if you have nothing better and awesome practicality for general use when using 2xAA.

 

[mfm]

Re: DX first light

I'm very happy with the DX lights I have bought too:

Ultrafire A10 (Bright with eneloops, very good regulation. No problems. I just cleaned and lubed the threads).

Small Sun ZY-559 (Single AA light with 8 LED mode (not super bright, but useful as a medium level light with long run-time) and a red laser (quite powerful and focused, which is why I bought it)).

I can see the point in buying expensive brand-lights too, I'm thinking about buying a Jetbeam Jet-I Pro V3.0 for the programmable modes, nice look and better quality... But for $60 with the chance of getting one where the anodizing of the parts doesn't match, I don't know... The 3-mode programmable AKOray K-106 would be a less costly alternative, but low output with eneloops (unlike the A10) is not acceptable, and that seems to be the case.

 

[jimmy1970]

Re: DX first light

For people just starting out with this torch thing, I wouldn't suggest buying an expensive light/lights until your sure you interest will endure.

My interest in lights is only increasing so for me personally, I would love to be able to go back in time and have only bought high quality lights. I did the low quality light thing initially but very quickly got sick of having problems.

My skills do not extend to rebuilding brand new lights. So I just buy Malkoffs, Surefires, Fenix, Ra, Peak etc. I expect high quality and I generally get it everytime with brand name lights.

I have never bought from DX before so can't comment on their products. The many noobies here complaining of poor quality products put me off.

James...

 

[hyperloop]

Re: DX first light

my first lights were from DX, it's more a lottery than they being consistently bad. I'd check the reviews section of DX, then check if there are any views on a particular light here on CPF.

First light, i'd recommend a Romisen RC N3 but from HERE and not DX, it's a little but more and there is some shipping involved BUT their service is excellent and the light will reach you very quickly unlike DX where i have been waiting 2 months for a drop in module and its STILL 'processing'.

edit: as an example, i ordered the Romisen RC N3 II, 2 mode, 2xAA light and from order/paypal to shipping it out was less than 24 hours, amazing! same with my Fenix TK20 from 4sevens (it's going for $48.90 after using discount code "CPF8", if you really want a tough as nails light for outdoor use, get the TK20)

 

[Quacker]

Re: DX first light

It's a freaking flashlight with an LED and a battery tube. It ain't rocket science. A majority of lights are made in China, probably from the same factories that churn out DX stuff. But the folks who get suckered into paying big bucks for brand name stuff would have you believe otherwise.

Yes it's not rocket science to put a tube, switch and led together to form a light. Anyone can do that. It's the integration of these components and the design along with the UI that differentiates a 'real' flashlight from a 'craplight'
The problem with DX lights;
1) They are not HA. Because of this, you may receive a light that is scratched or chipped here and there. Through usage, it will also scratch easily.
2) Almost all DX lights are reverse click. I much prefer forward clicky.
3) UI is not very good.
4) circuit is not very good.
5) Contacts/soldering/components are not very good
6) Overall design and build is not very good.

IMO, spend a little bit more and you get a good quality light from the reputable Chinese brands. It's worth your money. Of course I am not suggesting the OP to get a Surefire. Surefires are very good lights, but once you go to Surefire, 'the law of diminishing return' applies greatly.

 

[mfm]

Re: DX first light

1) They are not HA. Because of this, you may receive a light that is scratched or chipped here and there. Through usage, it will also scratch easily.

My A10 is certainly HA-III.

 

[sparkysko]

That's a great mod there JC. Perfect for putting on a hat perhaps?

Regarding the Q5 5 mode Ultrafire Stainless Steel, just a word of warning. I think I ended up cracking/damaging/flexing the PCB by trying to put a protected 14500 in mine and torquing it down. After I tried putting a 14500 in, I'd get sporadic light output, and there'd be a 'sweet spot' of threading in the head where the light would cutoff or change in current coming from the battery (I know it's not a switch failure).

Save yourself the grief of having to do a driver swap on this beauty.

 

[Algeraist]

Re: DX first light

Thanks all

I bought a 606A & RC-G2

Know DX I should see them in about a month lol

 

[J_C]

That's a great mod there JC. Perfect for putting on a hat perhaps?

Regarding the Q5 5 mode Ultrafire Stainless Steel, just a word of warning. I think I ended up cracking/damaging/flexing the PCB by trying to put a protected 14500 in mine and torquing it down. After I tried putting a 14500 in, I'd get sporadic light output, and there'd be a 'sweet spot' of threading in the head where the light would cutoff or change in current coming from the battery (I know it's not a switch failure).

Save yourself the grief of having to do a driver swap on this beauty.

Hat, or shirt collar for reading. Then the 2nd o-ring taken off the tube can be put on the bottom switch pill groove where the clip was instead. If you only cracked a solder joint on the PCB you may be able to reflow that joint, hopefully keeping tension on it so the joint is reformed in a shape more tolerant of flexing by the different length batteries.

 

[NonSenCe]

quick thoughts of my latest DX purchases..

1. Nitecore ezaa Clone 1AA: tint and beam nice. lot nicer white shade of tint than expected. twisty action seems a bit irregular. it actually stays on when turned off! and when turning off there is rather loud buzzing/simmering sound for a while. (about 3.5seconds of bzzbrrbrrr)

2. Led Lenser p6 Clone 1AA: overall looks are similar to original. the dx version feels bit lighter weight. beam looks the same as led lenser does. dx tint is betteR! its whiter (my friends lenser has bluish tint)

zoom functions nicely.. from tight led emitter shape to wide round sphere by pushing/pulling the head. (very little artifacts or rings for a fake.. about the same as original has) the zoom function is a bit loose though.. looser than year old led lenser to actuate. (maybe changing the oring to thicker one would cure this feeling. overall the light just feels like a cheaper and lighter weighting copy.

**conclusion.. ledlenser copy/ torch light is worth it. ezaa clone wasnt. (gonna drop an lithium AA into the "ledlenser" and put it into my glovebox.)

 

[Mr_Light]

Why would anyone want this flashlight? UltraFire W300 OSRAM LED 1-Mode (2*D)

I found this at Kai - UltraFire W300 OSRAM LED 1-Mode Flashlight (2*D) SKU: S008922 $50.37.

Why would someone pay $50 for a single mode twisty light that runs on 2*D cells? Is this supposed to be a competitor to the Lumapower Mentor lights?