DX 8W 350lm flashlight

[shao.fu.tzer]

Check this light out - sku.34949 - DX claims 8W 350 lumens out of a single RCR123 flashlight with an only 1A draw - for $7.03....

Can anyone else smell some major bullshit here?

I'm tempted to buy one just to see how bright it is.

I mean, they don't even advertise the LED so what gives??

Shao

 

[sol-leks]

This is just a guess, but I've noticed a lot of the time when it says 5W or maybe in this case 8W, it is usually .5 or .8, although the fact that they actually list a lumen number leads me to believe the entire item is just hokum. I personally don't think you should waste your money, I only buy things on DX with at least a few reviews, although I will say the host looks pretty nice.

 

[vasp1]

Save your money. I think your BS detector is working fine.

 

[LEDninja]

The fact the manufacturer listed 3.7V RCR123A instead of 3V CR123A leads ma to believe it is a direct drive light.

If you replace the emitter with an XPG R5, you will most likely get 350 LED lumens. There is no driver to limit the current to the LED. The XPG will let 1.4+A through so an RCR123A Li-ion will be at the max 2C safe level. May be better with an IMR.

bigchelis tested an Elektrolumens DeCree XPG direct drive with an 18650 in an integrating sphere and got 297.7 (1 sec) dropping to 269.2 OTF lumens (3 min).
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=260659
This light with a XPG R5 upgrade should perform similarly.

The (UNKNOWN!!!) manufacturer can not do simple math. 1A*3.7V=3.7W, NOT 8W. So forget any numbers you see.

Additional comment: Don't you think the light is rather small to have a strike bezel.

EDIT
I came across a 1AA version with a claim of 270 lm. Now that is pushing it. sku.34950

 

[moviles]

I think the name of the model its 8w 350lm

the led appears to be 0.5-1w led

 

[joe1512]

Check this light out - sku.34949 - DX claims 8W 350 lumens out of a single RCR123 flashlight with an only 1A draw - for $7.03....

Can anyone else smell some major bullshit here?

I'm tempted to buy one just to see how bright it is.

I mean, they don't even advertise the LED so what gives??

Shao

Hmm. I think you have a logic disconnect here. Isn't this line of reasoning kinda doing exactly what they want to trick you into?

You: DX marketing is lying like crazy about this light! Its BS!
You: I wanna buy one just to see.

 

[gcbryan]

The fact the manufacturer listed 3.7V RCR123A instead of 3V CR123A leads ma to believe it is a direct drive light.

If you replace the emitter with an XPG R5, you will most likely get 350 LED lumens. There is no driver to limit the current to the LED. The XPG will let 1.4+A through so an RCR123A Li-ion will be at the max 2C safe level. May be better with an IMR.

bigchelis tested an Elektrolumens DeCree XPG direct drive with an 18650 in an integrating sphere and got 297.7 (1 sec) dropping to 269.2 OTF lumens (3 min).
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=260659
This light with a XPG R5 upgrade should perform similarly.

The (UNKNOWN!!!) manufacturer can not do simple math. 1A*3.7V=3.7W, NOT 8W. So forget any numbers you see.

Additional comment: Don't you think the light is rather small to have a strike bezel.

EDIT
I came across a 1AA version with a claim of 270 lm. Now that is pushing it. sku.34950

The fact that it's $7.03 leads me to believe it's direct drive.

However, it does say it's "super bright" so what more do you want for $7.03?

 

[phlowcus]

I have a similar priced light of the same brand, which is NOT direct driven. I assume this isn't either (can't tell for sure of course).

 

[shao.fu.tzer]

I have a similar priced light of the same brand, which is NOT direct driven. I assume this isn't either (can't tell for sure of course).

How bright is it?

 

[shao.fu.tzer]

DX 8W 350lm flashlight - SHORT REVIEW

OK... I got mine in the mail yesterday and can say that for seven bucks and some change, it's pretty darn impressive.

The machining is surprisingly decent, with slightly dirty but thick threads. The walls are quite thick and it appears durable. The lens seems to be plastic and it's a reverse clicky. The reflector is smooth and slightly recessed from the bezel.

I'm not sure what LED it uses but it looks like a SSC P4. I put in a grey Trustfire 16340, pressed the reverse clicky and was blown away by a wall of whiteness that reminds me of my Novatac 120T. Not 350 lumens by any means, I'd say maybe 150-160. The beam is very smooth, albeit slightly shaped by the strike bezel, with a pure white tint. Very surprising considering the smooth reflector. Maybe I've just become too accustomed to Cree rings. It gets warm after short usage which leads me to believe that either: A. It has good heatsinking , or B. It is being ridiculously, maybe dangerously overdriven. I like to believe the former.

The printing on the side of the light is hilarious with a Smiling Shark branding, a smiling shark logo, and 8W designation.

Overall, for the $7 or whatever I paid for it, I'm impressed. If anyone is interested, I'll do a more thorough review, replete with internal pics and beamshots.

Shao

 

[shao.fu.tzer]

Quick comparison beamshot to Nitecore Extreme R2 - 15ft

Here's a beamshot of a very bright example of a Nitecore Extreme R2 (I've compared with 4 friends and mine is noticeably brighter than theirs. Both flashlights are using the grey Trustfire protected 16340s, fresh off the charger at 4.21 volts.

Now here is the Smiling Shark 8W - both shots are from 15 ft in a semi-dark apartment.

As you can see, the Smiling Shark has a much wider, almost diffuse hotspot... Very smooth spill... All in all very happy and impressed with purchase.

Shao

In case anyone's wondering, I don't have a tripod and think I was zoomed in on one of the shots... I was standing in the same place for each picture...

 

[sol-leks]

Thanks for taking the dive and posting a review. Sounds like a good find.

 

[brted]

Does your camera have a macro setting? I'd like to see the smiling shark logo.

 

[vortex69]

I knew I should stop visiting the budget lights section...now I have another cheapie on my "To buy" list.
Looks like a nice light for the $7.

Also would love to see a photo of the smiling shark (and, if possible, of the LED emitter, so people can attempt to identify it).

*edit*
Still, it would be great if they stopped naming their flashlights as "? W" as people always assume it means "? Watts" and complain because of that, even if the light is decent for the price asked.

 

[shao.fu.tzer]

Does your camera have a macro setting? I'd like to see the smiling shark logo.

Also would love to see a photo of the smiling shark (and, if possible, of the LED emitter, so people can attempt to identify it).
.

Here are some pics - please forgive my poor photography skills. Apparently I missed out on the Asian photo gene.

Notice the deformed O-rings... came like that... easy enough to replace though...

 

[shao.fu.tzer]

Thanks for taking the dive and posting a review. Sounds like a good find.

No problem! I'm glad I lucked out on this one...

Overall light output seems on par with my Quark Mini 123 XPG-R5 with 16340s, maybe just a tad lower. Been playing with this light extensively over the past few days and hasn't seemed to have dimmed much so I'm guessing it has pretty good regulation... and just think! With the 8W designation, you can upgrade this light in say, the year 2017 or so when it may be possible to get 8W from a host this small.

Shao

P.S. - Thinking about unscrewing the pill when I have some time to more closely examine the emitter and take some pics... it does seem to have a gummy silicone dome. I would like to change the lens out with a glass one as well...

 

[csshih]

that *almost* looks like a SSC P4, but could very well be some off-brand emitter.

 

[qwertyydude]

Smiling Shark :laughing:

 

[shao.fu.tzer]

The logo's kinda grown on me. It looks to be easily removable with acetone or an equivalent solvent. For anyone interested - I dropped this light accidentally from about 5 feet onto a natural stone floor last night with absolutely no damage done to the finish. A 3 foot drop on the same tile floor put a giant gash in my Nitecore Extreme R2 (although it is considerably heavier)... So the finish/ano is at least halfway decent.

Shao

 

[pepekraft]

I ordered the AA version (34950) about a month ago, and it's finally crawling across the country to me - just a couple more days I hope. For some reason this one item was hung up in HK mail for a couple weeks, being passed by several other items ordered and shipped later.

I hope it's comparable to the OPs light, although I know that on AA it won't be so bright. At least I'll have the awesome logo!