What's with the popularity of this light --- besides price?

[RBWNY]

Take a look at this cheapo light.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006E0QAFY/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Now, I think I already know what the problems with it would be. But I'd like someone else's opinion. I'm almost tempted to buy one, just to have a direct comparison to how it would look against a similar sized light...perhaps my Sunwayman Dolphin.

The fact that people would buy a light like this in the first place astounds me. I'm also amazed at the amount of positive reviews it gets! The stupid things zooms in and out...and when it's zoomed all the way in, the beam is actually "the shape" of the LED...completely square! And some of the reviews actually think this is great! They say..."oh wow, this is fantastic, I love this light...I sure hope it lasts". I mean...have they EVER seen a Fenix before? Do they have any conception as to what a 'good' LED beam is meant to look like? Maybe I could us a different analogy here. What if I'd never seen a TV before…ever. So someone brings me a black & white Philco set from the 60's. I plug it in and say "wow! I can see pictures and hear sound at the same time, this is amazing". Is it then the same with this $3 flashlight? And who knows if the claims on this light are even accurate or not? 300 lumens from this thing on 1 AA battery? Probably not. Then again it might with a 14500. Even so, the latest reviews are amazed at how bright it is. Could it even be much more than 100 lumens on an alkaline? The lens on it looks like a magnifying glass!

I guess I just don't understand the mindset that buying one or even two or three of these things (should one break or arrive DOA) is more cost efficient than paying $30 for a lower-end JetBeam or something equivalent.

I operate an affiliate marketing website for flashlights. I discuss their benefits, review new lights, and try to educate folks on areas they may not be too familiar with...as well as directing them to QUALITY sites and QUALITY lights. But, when I see stuff like this on Amazon for instance (and I know DX is full of them too) it just doesn't compute!!

Can anyone 'shed some light' on the reasoning behind the popularity of these Chinese knock-offs? :thinking:

 

[schizeckinosy]

Its the Sipik SK68 - the funnest light in the world! some of your criticisms are valid, but most are not, as it actually works quite well for a cheap aspheric. For example, seeing the led clearly at full zoom is considered a good thing because it means that the focus is well done. I picked one up recently and whenever we go camping, it is what all the kids want to play with. They drain the battery quick!

 

[RBWNY]

Interesting. So I've reached someone who's had first-hand experience with it! So, where did I go wrong in my assumed criticisms?

 

[schizeckinosy]

I guess I thought you went wrong mostly in your criticisms that were specifically of the aspheric zoom part. For example, the lens looks like a magnifying glass because it exactly is one. It magnifies the LED to give more throw with no side spill. That is why you see the LED when you zoom out. And actually, for what you pay, the quality is pretty good. They are known to be pretty indestructible. Mine has been trouble free, which is more than I can say for the stainless C3 that I got for modding. It quit after a couple of days - but no matter, I wanted to gut it anyway and now it has a new driver and XML2 for my son.

Anyway, it is a super fun light to play with. Plenty of downsides such as short runtime from the inefficient driver and bright output, not waterproof, and the fins rip your pants when you clip it. But, it is not a badly made piece of junk like so many knockoffs are!

 

[Norm]

Can anyone 'shed some light' on the reasoning behind the popularity of these Chinese knock-offs? :thinking:

Price versus performance, most folks want to spend as little as possible on a flashlight, the Sipik 68 may be a POS to you and I, but for a lot of uneducated buyers it offers fantastic performance for very little money.

There is a very long thread about the sipik 68, I tried to find the thread but my Google Fu is failing me, any help finding the thread which would help answer the OP's questions, the thread title is something like "sipik 68 and associated clones".

Norm

 

[caddylover]

I have one also. It is a cheap little light that will light up a room if you need it to and you can drop it and not give a crap about it. It has turned on everytime I needed it to. I rather crawl under the house with this than one of my Deft-X's. The zoom does work very well on it also.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Price versus performance, most folks want to spend as little as possible on a flashlight, the Sipik 68 may be a POS to you and I, but for a lot of uneducated buyers it offers fantastic performance for very little money.

Norm

I got my sister to buy 4 of the Spiik 68 single mode clones to use around the house and they cost $24 shipped. I got back to play with them, even bringing with me, a Sanyo 840mAh li-ion to run and while they're not my cup of tea, they work pretty well for her and pops with basic allaleaks.

I'd imagine that the 3 mode version is in the same ballpark. Closer to 100-150LM than 300LM, is my guess.

For me, I'd want some to give away during a hurricane, to my condo neighbors, because I'm not out a lot of cash if they don't return them.

Chris

 

[RBWNY]

Thanks schizeck -- I appreciate the info. I guess then it's more of a 'fun light' than anything else...which is fine. The aspheric zoom was the most puzzling part to me, since when zoomed to the point of seeing the LED 'shape', (in videos that I've seen) it doesn't appear to add throw or anything of value to the feature, other than shrinking the beam down to a square spot. Then again, I could be wrong on that point.

Obviously I would expect a few rough spots, but am now able to better understand some of the high praises it's received.

 

[RBWNY]

Price versus performance, most folks want to spend as little as possible on a flashlight, the Sipik 68 may be a POS to you and I, but for a lot of uneducated buyers it offers fantastic performance for very little money.

There is a very long thread about the sipik 68, I tried to find the thread but my Google Fu is failing me, any help finding the thread which would help answer the OP's questions, the thread title is something like "sipik 68 and associated clones".

Norm

Thanks Norm... Yes I get that part. And I guess what I found frustrating was the acceptance of the light and the theory that everyone they showed it to, wanted one. I thought, wouldn't they be the least bit curious to see what a Sunwayman light would look like...just to compare? Guess not.

YES, I'd love to see that explanatory post.

 

[marinemaster]

Is there a 1xAA model with multiple modes ?

 

[caddylover]

Is there a 1xAA model with multiple modes ?

the light we are discussing has hi, lo, strobe.

 

[RoGuE_StreaK]

There is a very long thread about the sipik 68, I tried to find the thread but my Google Fu is failing me, any help finding the thread which would help answer the OP's questions, the thread title is something like "sipik 68 and associated clones".

It was only three pages deep
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...nexpensive-little-AA-light-Sipik68-amp-Clones

it doesn't appear to add throw or anything of value to the feature, other than shrinking the beam down to a square spot. Then again, I could be wrong on that point.

Yup. You need to do some research on aspheric throwers.

Is there a 1xAA model with multiple modes ?

Yup. Actually getting one as advertised can be a bit of a crapshoot though, some order multi-mode and receive single, others order single and get multi-mode.
I'm awaiting the arrival of a driver board from fasttech to rectify this on one of mine; ordered multi but got single (got most of my money back on it). Good AA boost drivers are available for about $2.


Bottom line, they are a dirt cheap reasonably well made torch with genuine Cree emitters, either XR-E or XP-E, with a semi-useful flood-to-throw that can spotlight things pretty well. Better on a 14500, but get hot quick. On an AA, it's the kind of thing you can give to your kid for a camping holiday and not worry if it gets lost/smashed/etc., and they can use it for both general flood use (walking) and spotlighting (animal spotting). A good cheap intro to the world of aspherics.

 

[okeenu]

The sipik sk 68 and its clones are some of my favorites.. i use them daily

They are available in two types 1mode and 3 mode Hi Lo Strobe..

sometimes you order one you may get the other.........

All accept a AA Or 14500..

They are VERY BRIGHT compared to any conventional light most people have owned...

If you dont like the cree die image at full zoom ..back it off a bit

I like to show the die image to people to explain why its so bright "this is what the ""bulb" looks like"...

To google .. try cree q5 aa ...(many clones dont use the sk68 or the SIPIK name in the title)

 

[The Burgh]

Ditto on all of the explanations for the apparent popularity of Sipik and its clones. I do empathize with the unintelligibilty of the popular comments. I am an audiophile and marvel at the popularity amongst the current generation of MP3 music recordings, one of the worst lossy, compressed and truncated forms of recorded music in history.

I own a Sipik (as well as a few other lights, listed below). I suggest you buy one, pull the focus back to its widest spread and marvel at the big, round, uniform, artifact-free ball of light in the room!

But hey, they're listening to music and looking at flashlights. Let's "upgrade" them, making both hobbies more vibrant!

 

[Norm]

It was only three pages deep
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...nexpensive-little-AA-light-Sipik68-amp-Clones

That's the correct thead seven pages but let's no quibble , thanks for posting.

Norm

 

[RoGuE_StreaK]

That's the correct thead seven pages but let's no quibble , thanks for posting.

<quibble enabled> three pages deep, as in three pages into the budget lights threads

 

[duckied]

I own a few I stashed around the house and gave some out also. I mean for a few dollars they are a pretty good value. And the square beam you explain, actually does help throw the light. Not something I'll have on me tho lol

 

[Bullzeyebill]

We all start out somewhere, and when I started looking at LED lights, I too was looking at DX lights, in my case, some of their drop ins for my Surefire flashlights. They worked fine. Later I was willig to look further, and my DX experiences were gone. However, many of our excellent moddrs look to DX, and other off shore companies, for their excellent LED drivers, and use them to make some quality flashlight mods and complete flashlights.

Bill

 

[RBWNY]

We all start out somewhere.

Bill

Yes we do Bill. My introduction was with Inova at Target.

 

[ven]

I own one of these lights for at least 2yrs maybe 3,No issue,iirc i paid around £5 at time,the misses now has it along with a convoy s8 in her handbag.

I like it,yes you see the led when zoomed out...........no big deal for me,tbh most chaeap zoomable "cree" lights i have had do the same on walls.Not as obvious outside.....

The zoomable option is a useful addition for me,hence why my most used of all my lights is the lenser t7.2(i know a far better zoom) but its handy for various applications for work.

What you think is "stupid" i think is useful,so my point there is that everyone has different opinions/tastes etc,no right,no wrong.

Just a cheap,good value light imho and would recommend to anyone who wanted a cheap zoom light from *my* trouble free experience.

Another personal thing i like about cheapie small lights is that they can be chucked in with anything and not be gutted if ends up scraped(i would be on a £300 light anyway).

Just my take:thumbsup: