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

[bessiebenny]

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 25th 2009
- 4 new beam/kitchen shots finally added for AKOray K-106 review.

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 23rd 2009
- Small Sun ZY-C60 single RCR review posted.
- ROMISEN RC-29 AA Q5 & TANK007 E07 OSRAM AA ordered! Hope to review it next month. =)

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 1th 2009
- I have started transferring my reviews to my own little website. http://www.jayki.com (just copy & paste)
- 100% non-commercial personal bog/homepage that hopefully will allow me to update more often more easily.
- I will still update this thread with links to my newer reviews whenever available.
- My interest in flashlights is still there. It's just set to 5 lumen low mode instead of 200 lumens temporarily. =)

UPDATED JULY 5th 2009
- Many flashlight photos added to the EastwardYJ YJ-18WA Q5 2-mode 18650 review!

UPDATED JULY 1st 2009
- I really didn't do much on the last PART10 thread and it's already PART11..!! Wow.
- New Review - EastwardYJ YJ-18WA Q5 2-mode 18650
- I got tons of lights to review and put up. Really sorry for being
- Even with such backlog, I just received Aurora SH0030 XP-E Q5 1-mode AA.
- It looks and feels like Ultrafire C3. Feels well made, good throw, bright and tail stands.
- Will review it when I can as always..... Sorry...

UPDATED JUNE 14th 2009
- Bryan is selling new Romisen RC-G2 Q5 II. 75% brighter than the last Q5 model!
- 4 new budget flashlights will be reviewed and posted within next week or two. (I hope)


----------------------------


[Budget LED DX/KD Flashlights Review Roundup]


Continued from Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 , Part 8 , Part 9 & Part 10.
FYI - This main initial post carries over. (Except Part 4 that includes many of my older reviews)
But I will try and make sure you don't need to go back over time. (By re-posting them separate)

[BESSIEBENNY REVIEWS]

I will try to keep this list as much as in sync with my website. But may not be all the time.
So I do recommend you to visit my site www.jayki.com for latest reviews / updates.

Older Reviews - Check here and here for now. All of them will be transferred to my new site www.jayki.com over time.

[09 20 2009] ★★★★★★ - Small Sun ZY-C60 RCR Review
[07 01 2009] ★★★★★★ - EastwardYJ YJ-18WA Q5 2-mode 18650 (Body photos)
[05 15 2009] ★★★★★★- AKOray K-103 AAA CREE Q5 1-Mode (Body & Beam photos)
[04 25 2009] ★★★★★★ - MTE SF-22 SSC P7-D-SXO 5-Mode (Body & Beam photos)
[03 28 2009] ★★★★★★- Akoray K-106 3-mode Q5 AA/14500 (Body & Beam photos)
[03 15 2009] ★★★★★★ - Kaidomain 2-Mode HAIII Long Throw Q5 (Beam photos)
[02 22 2009] ★★★★★★- planet bike blaze 1W w\ superflash
[02 18 2009] ★★★★★★ - TANK007 TK-702 P4 (Beam photos)
[12 17 2008] ★★★★★★- KD Buckle V5 HAIII XRT
[12 10 2008] ★★★★★★- MTE C2-1 Q5 AA (Beam photos)
[11 16 2008] ★★★★★★- Romisen RC-T6 (Beam photos)
[08 24 2008] ★★★★★★ - Quick 6 flashlights Impressions
[08 10 2008] ★★★★★★ - Romisen RC-A8
[06 21 2008] ★★★★★★- Romisen RC-A3
[06 06 2008] ★★★★★★- Romisen RC-F4 Q5 Shiningbeam (Beam photos)
[05 01 2008] ★★★★★★ - Romisen RC-I3 (Body & Beam photos) Runtime graph link
[04 16 2008] ★★★★★★- Romisen RC-G2 Q5 Shiningbeam (Body & Beam photos)
[04 11 2008] ★★★★★★- Ultrafire C3 Stainless Steel P4 (Body & Beam photos)
[04 09 2008] ★★★★★★- Eastward YJ-XAQ5 18650 (Body & Beam photos)
[03 27 2008] ★★★★★★ - Romisen RC-N3 (Body & Beam photos)
[01 05 2008] ★★★★★★ - Romisen RC-G2 P2 (Beam photos)

fyi - If it doesn't say "New Lightbox", it is the OLD lightbox which is very different.

[REVIEWS POSTED BY OTHER MEMBERS IN THIS THREAD]

[SEP 11 2009] AkoRay K-109 quick review by Superpila
[Aug 27 2009] AkoRay K-106 comparison review by CampingLED
[Aug 26 2009] Spiderfire P7 Review by randomlugia
[July 21 2009] Aurora SH0030 mini-review by Superpila
[May 31 2009] AKOray k109a Review by Wiggle
[May 20 2009] Ultrafire A20 Q5 Cree 5-mode RCR by old4570
[May 02 2009] Romisen RC-N3 v SmallSun ZY-C61 by Luau
[Apr 15 2009] RCR123A Battery Test Roundup by old4570
[Apr 04 2009] Ultrafire 503B & Trustfire TR-C2 Pics and 503B REVIEW by kramer5150
[Mar 29 2009] Ultrafire WF-502B / 501B by old4570
[Mar 28 2009] AKOray K-106 beam shot comparison by vali
[Mar 13 2009] Ultrafire 602C vs KD Cree Q3 by old4570
[Mar 09 2009] Akoray K-102 / Romisen RC-H3 / MTE C2-1 by copperfox
[Mar 04 2009] SacredFire NF-011 Cree P4-WC by Phill
[Feb 18 2009] Akoray K-102 by Hrvoje
[Feb 18 2009] Romisen RC-A3 by seaside
[Feb 18 2009] Kaidomain 2-Mode HAIII Long Throw R2 (sku:S004798) by skyva
[Feb 17 2009] Romisen RC-G2 (non-Q5) Review by rockz4532
[Feb 12 2009] Romisen RC-N3 & Akoray K-102 by vali

- PM me if I missed yours. Some I didn't include as I wasn't sure what light was reviewed or was just a bit too short etc.
- If your review is in the closed thread but you want to update/modify it, just copy your review into this new thread as a new post then PM me.


----------------------------

PLEASE SEE PART 4 FOR ALL THE REVIEWS THAT ARE NOT LISTED ABOVE. EXCEPT LOW RATED ONES WHICH ARE HERE INSTEAD.

[RESULTS AT A GLANCE]

Star Rating
★★★★★★ - Buy it now! Amazing bang for the buck!
★★★★★ - It is excellent. A great buy! Won't regret it.
★★★★ - Pretty darn good. It's not the best but not bad either.
★★★ - It's 'ok' but there's nothing that great about it imo.
★★ - Not good. Avoid if if you can coz it's not worth it.
★ - Why am I even reviewing this?! Total waste of $$$.

Chart Download Links
High - http://sharebee.com/67ec17d1 (Uploaded April 5th 2009)
Low - http://sharebee.com/94696242 (Uploaded April 5th 2009)

[HIGH PERFORMANCE / HIGH RATED LIGHTS] - - Link to reviews prior to Romisen RC-T6 are HERE

[LOW RATED, LOW PERFORMANCE or DISCONTINUED] - Link to reviews for below lights HERE

NOTE: Output values are for the near absolute peak while batteries are fully charged at its highest voltage.
Always check the runtime graph if available as you cannot expect all light to maintain such values for very long.


[FLASHLIGHTS] - Not all flashlights reviewed may yet be shown below. (very outdated now)


Submitted by MetalZone

[FYI]

- GITD silicone tailcap I mention throughout are all DX sku 5714 unless stated otherwise. (Orange ones are not GITD but are same size)
- Measurements are using my own DMM and Light Meter in near-identical controlled conditions. (Still assume around plus or minus 10% error)
Throw = Firing the center of the hotspot directly at the sensor from 1m away using fully charged batteries. (Close to initial peak)
Lightbox = My own cardboard box where I fire light in through a hole and measure the lux reading inside after 1 minute. (no direct light to the sensor)

[Output Photos]
1. Wall Shot - Taken in a near pitch dark room with lights firing at a white wall from around 40cm away. (F5.0 1/60sec ISO 400)
2. Kitchen - Taken in a near pitch dark room with lights firing at the back corner of my kitchen from around 7m away. (F2.8 1/25 ISO 800)

[Runtime Graphs]
Light is shone on to the light meter's sensor from about 1 inch away.
There is a small camera lense in between to collect most of the light.
Current output of the light sensor is measured by my datalogging DMM.
Current output is close to the overal amount of light and not just throw.
So it is relatively comparable with graphs of other lights in my review.
But do take into account that my graphs may have up to 10% of error.

Just an FYI - Any reading of 0.005mA or higher is still quite useable.
It's enough to find a key hole or see stuff in very dark environments.

[Batteries]

Some tips/recommendations for some battery types.

RCR123A
Check out Raymond's RCR123A battery test thread.
Also RCR123A Battery Test Roundup by old4570.

AA/AAA
If you use the lights very often and recharge often, get high capacity ones.
It should at least cost you about ~$5 for 2 AA or AAA if it's a decent battery.
LSD (Low-Self-Discharge) or 'Ready' batteries are better if you intend it as an emergency light. (Recyko, Eneloop etc)
Coz it holds around 80% of its charge even after not using it for a whole year.
Use a smart charger whenever possible also for best rssults.

[Glossary]
OP Reflector = Orange Peel reflector. Also called a rough / textured reflector. It helps in smoothing out the beam so there's less of ugly rings or black holes / artifacts. But it results in less throw output.
EDC = Every Day Carry light. For most people, it means it fits in their desired jeans/jacket/bag pocket and it's their most often used light. For me, it's a small enough light which fits in my jeans pocket. =)
Forward clicky - It's a switch which turns on the light when half-pressed while the light is off. So you can simply tap the switch to light it up without needing to press it fully and turn it on permanently. Good for manual flashing signals and quick usage. It's also called a positive clicky.
Reverse clicky - It's the opposite of above. Generally what everyone would think a normal switch would do. You need to full depress the switch to turn on the light permanently. While on, you can do half presses to turn the light off.
Throw - The ability to throw the center hotspot a long way. The intensity or the brightness of the center hotspot determines how far it can light up things. Usually, higher the throw value means smaller the hotspot or a less bright spill. So it may not be as useful for short distances. Flashlights that use smooth reflecters generally have more throw than ones with OP reflector.


[help~!] [help~!] [help~!]
I am constantly running short on funds to buy and review more recent lights. :mecry:
Feel free to send me $2 or $4 or $8 donations so that I can keep adding new lights. :devil:
(fyi - Paypal takes away ~40 cents per donation which sorta sux.)

All new lights from FEB 2008 will be bought with the addition of your donations. (if any )
I thank you for all for the amazing support so far. It helps greatly to keep this thread alive!

You may instead opt to use my referral id at DX. It doesn't cost you anything which is the best part. =)
To use my id, just add ~r.29749062 directly to the end of any product url address. (without "" of course)
Every ~$1300 spent using my referral id, I get $10. Not a lot but better than nothing I guess. =P

Donations received:
crescendopower < JULY '09 toby1275 crescendopower < JUNE '09 SleepEXE < MAY '09 bensonm < APRIL '09 tommy_tiger66, old4570 < MARCH '09 dp62 < FEBRUARY '09 AndreD, lenny, waddup < NOVEMBER '08 JEFFSR < OCTOBER holeymoley < SEPTEMBER FlemingWak < AUGUST gunnut, PhantomLights, tmlwyb, Dandan, Crescendopower < JULY RafS, ScottM, SteveZ, Rizky ,WarriorZ, kostas, yekimak, JoeBob, smootik, RepoUK < JUNE stinky, Wolf359, alohaluau, johnnyngo, OCDGearhead, Wagen < MAY Wolf359, Centropolis, amdaxiom, t3h, Deks, SPRocketman, Flash25296, Fabio, tip61 < APRIL Wolf359, dudu84, marcus, Pokerstud, wmissen, RecycledElectron, qtaco, fizzy, briiansd, meuge, SportyBen, Raymond < MARCH Schierle, HenryL, Andres(ocau), baconheist, Dougmeister, linterno, anarchocap, saedwards, docian37, violatorjf, MikeSalt, Debbie, Luke, dulridge, martinSE, mmbeller191, ReGet, Mascione, Probedude < FEBRUARY '08

I would like to sincerly thank everyone who supported this thread and my reviews. (donation or not)
P.S. Every dollar is put forward to purchasing more lights/equipment for this thread and nothing else!

 

[sol-leks]

Romisen RC-T7

First time I noticed this light. Doesn't really look like what I'm looking for in an mc-e light but I do like the romisen brand. Anyone gotten one of these yet?

 

[DM51]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

Part 10 reached 400 posts, so here is Part 11.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

My RC-G2 and RC-F4 do not have the same LED as each other.

The bond wires come in different and 2 in G2 vs. 4 in F4.

What do you make of that?

 

[MerkurMan]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

My RC-G2 and RC-F4 do not have the same LED as each other.

The bond wires come in different and 2 in G2 vs. 4 in F4.

What do you make of that?

I believe the G2 has a P2 and the F4 comes equipped with a P4.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

Funny... every Cree P that I've yet seen has blue except this P2 is rather neutral.

Never realized it before but the F4 is within spitting distance of the size of a UF 505B or EagleTac P10C2.

And I'll be darned! Whatever DX pill (Q5 I'm sure) that I cobbed into this 505B has no apparent PWM!!!

 

[MerkurMan]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

Funny... every Cree P that I've yet seen has blue except this P2 is rather neutral.

Never realized it before but the F4 is within spitting distance of the size of a UF 505B or EagleTac P10C2.

And I'll be darned! Whatever DX pill (Q5 I'm sure) that I cobbed into this 505B has no apparent PWM!!!

I think that's just a product of the DX tint lottery. I have a couple of G2s, one is sickly green, and the other has a nicer neutral tint. My sole F4 has a fairly nasty green tint to it as well. Sure is bright on 2 RCRs, though.

 

[sadtimes]

DX MCE Drop in ??

Hi guys, I have one of the DX MCE's in a Solarforce L2 and I really like it.

I was curious to know how hard it would be to change the driver to one that only has 1 mode.

I need to be able to use the light monmentarily (less than a second) and I cant do it with the different modes...

Any suggestions on which driver? It can have more than 1 mode but it cant change from momentary power.. does that make sense?

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

I think that's just a product of the DX tint lottery. I have a couple of G2s, one is sickly green, and the other has a nicer neutral tint. My sole F4 has a fairly nasty green tint to it as well. Sure is bright on 2 RCRs, though.

My G2 as I said is pretty neutral with maybe a hint of green when shined into the kitchen from here although anyone would say WHITE.

My F4 tends to blue. As do MOST of my DX Cree drop ins. My MTE and Xtar P7 lights do the blue. My Ultrafire MC-E does some green but mostly WHITE. Shame it's too big (fat head) to EDC.

 

[bessiebenny]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

*As always (sorry), it's not 100% but better late than never so here it is.

★★★★ EastwardYJ YJ-18WA XR-E Q5 2-mode DX(Posted on Jul 1st 2009)
Throw @ 1m: High 10500 lux (18650 @ 4.15v) Low 2000 lux (18650 @ 4.15v)
New Lightbox: High 620 lux (18650 @ 4.15v) Low 120 lux (18650 @ 4.15v)

Initial Impression
- Solid feeling light. Firm reverse clicky on rear. Very bright output with nice throw.

Build Quality
- Direct drive with 2 mode resistor-for-low-mode switch.
- Cree XR-E Q5 emitter. Textured OP aluminium reflector. (but fairly smoothly textured)
- Reverse slightly recessed clicky. Need to click it using nail end.
- Unscrewable nice and quite heavy brass-looking pill.
- Cree emitter on standard star board. Screw mounted to the pill.
- Has white thermal paste on the bottom of star to the pill.
- O-ring infront of glass lense. O-rings on threads.
- Apparently it's HAIII anodized. It seems to be the case but quite thin.
- It can be scratched easier than other better HAII anodized lights.

Output
- Super bright. Great throw but still has bright spill as well.
- It's brighter than the old Eastward YJ-XAQ5 I had. (maybe not the recent XAQ5's though)
- Sample I have came with quite a cool-white tint to the beam.

Usage
- Switch is very slightly recessed. Sample I have can tail stand flat without issues.
- Switch requires quite a firm press. Well, it does feel better than being flimsy.
- It doesn't get extremely hot. Gets quite warm after 10 minutes but not hot hot.

Conclusion
- To LED flashlight newcomers, this is a monster bright solid feeling light.
- Overall, this is an excellent non-premium priced 2-mode 18650 Q5 light.
- As it is right now, I can't really fault it for what it is and what it costs.
- Hence I give it 4 stars. Nothing special but nothing bad either. (more like 4.5)

[Measurements]
- Pulls 1.23A with 18650 @ 4.15V

[Photos]
- Just snaps of the flashlight from various angles using my new macro lense. =)

1. Tail thread.

2. Inner side of the tail piece.

3. After taking the plastic cap off the inner side reveals the spring. You can unscrew further for the switch module.

4. The switch module. Notice the resistor for the low mode. Black switch can be bought from DX/KD separately.

5. Rubber clicky end.

6. Aluminium reflector.

7. The star base with the Cree Q5 emitter. As you can see, it's easily swappable by unscrewing the 2 screws.

8. Fron bezel. There is an O-ring infront of the glass lense.

[Runtime Graph]
- Only tested High mode currently.

 

[Wiggle]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

Has anyone mentioned anything about the AKOray k109s connection to this light? Could these be the same light? Perhaps its one of those spin-offs like the spear clone from KD?

Oops, found out some more info in this thread. Seems to just be a re-brand rip-off. Its funny, I think the K109 could be marketed as a more expensive light, but I think $140 is pushing that a bit far

 

[Painkiller1009]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

Has anyone mentioned anything about the AKOray k109s connection to this light? Could these be the same light? Perhaps its one of those spin-offs like the spear clone from KD?

Are we even aloud talking about that light in this thread since its the budget led thread.:nana:

Looks just like it though. 6x the price

 

[vali]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

So you get what you paid for?

 

[phlowcus]

Re: BB's EastwardYJ YJ-18WA XR-E Q5 2-mode review

I got that light from KD (it is only 22 bucks there so cheaper than DX, which is quite unusual, for that price it deserves at least 5 stars methinks).
Well, I fully support BB's impressions: this is a nice and solid and very bright torch!

 

[bessiebenny]

Re: BB's EastwardYJ YJ-18WA XR-E Q5 2-mode review

I'm slowly going through my backlog of reviews and taking photos.
I hope you like my new better quality macro shots of flashlight bodies. =)

But I do know that beam shots are more important. =P
So I'll try and get that done soon for some old lights and new ones.

Can't believe my thread is still going strong (thanks to you all) after nearly 2 years! Time flies....

 

[Kantt]

Any review of DX TANK007 HC-508?

A newbie’s saying hi,

What I want of an 1AA light is just for around/in house, car and walking. Lot of AA lights produce a tie hot spot which doesn’t please me. Been searching for an inexpensive 1AA cree, no mode with flood beam and think I just found one:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.19619

The 100 lumens might be over rated, however it’s a cree so it shouldn’t be dim. What I like it most is the beam as shown:

I guess the big hot spot like that means it’s more food than throw. What do you experts with trained eyes think? And if anyone has the light please share some info like how good, reliable, tint color etc.. Or recommend me the other (inexpensive) one. Greatly appreciate!

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Re: Any review of DX TANK007 HC-508?

I have a Tank 007 HC-316 that uses a 3.7v Li-Ion.

It's a three mode (high,low & strobe).

I think it's said to be HAIII. The build quality is nice enough but the finish has issues.

Tint is quite good. Spot is a bit tighter than your example.

My only gripe with it is that low has noticeable PWM flicker.

It has no memory and comes on in high every time so can be used as a single mode.

Let's see if I can get a picture or two up in a little while.

 

[Meganoggin]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

Just got an AKOray 102.... I ordered an AKOray 103 from KD.. oh well

But I am very impressed, if you need a great backup / navigation lite this is the budget bomb. Very bright, very small and very frugal on an alkaline AAA.
My brother in law is a LEO and thinks it will be perfect for paperwork attached to a stab vest or back up to a larger flashlight.

Also if you pay the right price it is well cheapo!!!! :sick2:

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

Worthy of note: I'm still learning my Nikon P60 and white balance was auto for my beam shot.

My 'office' is well light by soft white CFL and sunshine. Blue shows up well on my walls. This has very minimal blue.

 

[asutherland]

Re: BessieBenny's Budget LED (DX/KD etc) Flashlights Review Roundup (Part 11)

Hey! I just wanted to give my thanks for this very informative thread. It's really helped me with my DX decisions on LED lights! lovecpf