Phaserburn
Flashlight Enthusiast
I recently recieved two LA's from DX, the 3.7V "10W" and 7.2V "15W. First of all, let's dispense with any marketing talk about actual wattage; they are not 10 and 15W. Having said that, let's talk about what are they really and are they any good?
The 3.7V draws a meaty 2.2A! This is a bright LA for your single 18650 light. The beam is super smooth, with no artifacts to speak of. It's a good mix between flood and throw, with a spot similar to the LF HO-4, but with more spill. I really like this LA better than the LF and WE lamps. Granted, the higher current draw will mean shorter runtime, but that's the tradeoff.
The 7.2V draws only 1.35A. It's not quite as bright as a LF HO-9. However, the beam is beautiful. Mostly a flood beam with nice gradual diminishing brightness from the hotspot, and great spill.
I'm VERY surprised and impressed with these LA's! I had bought them as a goof. They are only $3 or so each, and the lack of artifacts and relative equal brightness (for amps consumed, of course) makes them a treat. Both LA's have as good a color as the LF lamps.
For good measure: I bought an Ultrafire 502D Cree for around $19. My intention was to remove the Cree module and use this as a inexpensive beater incan host that uses 2 x 18650 cells. Success! The Cree module is a drop in and easily removeable. The protected 18650s fit, if trickily, into the body dependably with a little shaking required to get them out, but not bad. To get them in, I rotate the cell gently until it finds a path for the PCB strip to fit and in it goes.
The DX 7.2V LA fits easily without modification. Ultrafire has a plastic barrier between the battery compartment and the head, with a small piece of metal passing through for conductivity. Not sure why, but it will protect the cells some against LA heat. As the UF doesn't have the mass of, say, a WE light, the head heats up much faster. The LA itself doesn't have the mass of a WE or LF LA either, contributing to more heat in the host. Because of the length of the light, holding it is not a problem for burns of 15 mins or so (I think it could handle alot more, but I haven't been able to do so yet). But, overall, this is a good, cheap, well performing setup getting over an 80 mins/chg.
Another note: the DX lamps do NOT fit WE lights without a spring modification. The lamp base is too narrow for seating and the outer spring is too long. If the outer spring was clipped in the middle somewhere, it would probably work but I havent played with it any more than just a passing try.
The 3.7V draws a meaty 2.2A! This is a bright LA for your single 18650 light. The beam is super smooth, with no artifacts to speak of. It's a good mix between flood and throw, with a spot similar to the LF HO-4, but with more spill. I really like this LA better than the LF and WE lamps. Granted, the higher current draw will mean shorter runtime, but that's the tradeoff.
The 7.2V draws only 1.35A. It's not quite as bright as a LF HO-9. However, the beam is beautiful. Mostly a flood beam with nice gradual diminishing brightness from the hotspot, and great spill.
I'm VERY surprised and impressed with these LA's! I had bought them as a goof. They are only $3 or so each, and the lack of artifacts and relative equal brightness (for amps consumed, of course) makes them a treat. Both LA's have as good a color as the LF lamps.
For good measure: I bought an Ultrafire 502D Cree for around $19. My intention was to remove the Cree module and use this as a inexpensive beater incan host that uses 2 x 18650 cells. Success! The Cree module is a drop in and easily removeable. The protected 18650s fit, if trickily, into the body dependably with a little shaking required to get them out, but not bad. To get them in, I rotate the cell gently until it finds a path for the PCB strip to fit and in it goes.
The DX 7.2V LA fits easily without modification. Ultrafire has a plastic barrier between the battery compartment and the head, with a small piece of metal passing through for conductivity. Not sure why, but it will protect the cells some against LA heat. As the UF doesn't have the mass of, say, a WE light, the head heats up much faster. The LA itself doesn't have the mass of a WE or LF LA either, contributing to more heat in the host. Because of the length of the light, holding it is not a problem for burns of 15 mins or so (I think it could handle alot more, but I haven't been able to do so yet). But, overall, this is a good, cheap, well performing setup getting over an 80 mins/chg.
Another note: the DX lamps do NOT fit WE lights without a spring modification. The lamp base is too narrow for seating and the outer spring is too long. If the outer spring was clipped in the middle somewhere, it would probably work but I havent played with it any more than just a passing try.
Last edited:
'd an assembly (marked 3.0V, and sure enough, 3.7 was too much...) I took it apart. In this model, the reflector and lamp were separate, and screwed together. I did not see a source for replacement bulbs, but might look into using it as a mod starting point.
.
