Hidden Gem - Eastward YJ-XAQ5 18650 - Budget Dereelight!

[bessiebenny]

Kuderna, thanks for the info and photos!

It's hard to tell if yours is any different to mine.
But mine also does get fairly hot. (Which I mentioned in my review)
Also, I also noticed that mine flashes when the battery seem low.
I think this might be a low battery warning. I'll confirm this later.

That Aurora WF-600 has a smooth reflector so I guess the throw difference is expected.
But I actually like the bit more softer hotspot / floodines of OP reflector so it's not really a negative. Just preference. =)
I wish I had one to test so I can see how it compares in my light box at least to see which outputs more light overall.

Well, when it was $27, considering the $11 difference to the Aurora, it was great.
It still imo is a very nice light for the $4 increased price and will shock non-flashaholics nonetheless. hehe.

btw, my tail isn't that loose at all. I guess quality control may be lacking. =(

 

[Kuderna]

Kuderna, thanks for the info and photos!

It's hard to tell if yours is any different to mine.
But mine also does get fairly hot. (Which I mentioned in my review)
Also, I also noticed that mine flashes when the battery seem low.
I think this might be a low battery warning. I'll confirm this later.

That Aurora WF-600 has a smooth reflector so I guess the throw difference is expected.
But I actually like the bit more softer hotspot / floodines of OP reflector so it's not really a negative. Just preference. =)
I wish I had one to test so I can see how it compares in my light box at least to see which outputs more light overall.

Well, when it was $27, considering the $11 difference to the Aurora, it was great.
It still imo is a very nice light for the $4 increased price and will shock non-flashaholics nonetheless. hehe.

btw, my tail isn't that loose at all. I guess quality control may be lacking. =(

I have other lights that get warm. That's okay. But too hot to hold? :shakehead No thanks!

And I also could go with either beam when they start out, the tighter spot or the smoother beam. But why would the Eastward die after 1:40 while the Aurora is still chugging along after 3 hours? Well, because it's drawing twice the current (or more), but how can it do that without a noticeable brightness advantage? I don't have a light box and didn't do a ceiling bounce test, but they looked about the same overall.

I'm e-mailing Kaidomain about an exchange.


Luke

 

[Kuderna]

Yes, the flashing seems to be a low battery warning, which is nice.

I measured the AW cell again in the Eastward, and this time is was 2.4 amps!! (Where's that "poof" smily?) I didn't leave it on the Fluke for long!


Luke

 

[bessiebenny]

Dereelight Q5 1S pulls around 1.8A.
Eastward YJ-XAQ5 pulls around 1.4A.
Fenix TK10 pulls around 0.5A from 2RCR.

XAQ5 has regulation / brightness that is nearly on par with the Dereelight.
To me, that is quite efficient unless Dereelight is a "bad" light to base on.

Unless the Aurora WF-600 uses some magical driver that is more efficient than what Fenix/Dereelight/Eastward uses,
it just cannot run for that long unless the output is around half of the above three lights I mentioned.

If it really has such a driver inside, I might get one myself. hehe.
But saving up another $40 will take some time. Sad reality. =(

I do agree that Eastward YJ-XAQ5 gets very hot with extended use.
But I usually don't use my light for more than 10-15 minutes at a time.
And for this amount of time, the light just gets warm and not hot.
It gets really hot only if left for longer than 20-30 minutes it seems.

2.4A? wow. Maybe yours is not in 100% working order?

 

[Kuderna]

Dereelight Q5 1S pulls around 1.8A.
Eastward YJ-XAQ5 pulls around 1.4A.
Fenix TK10 pulls around 0.5A from 2RCR.

XAQ5 has regulation / brightness that is nearly on par with the Dereelight.
To me, that is quite efficient unless Dereelight is a "bad" light to base on.

Unless the Aurora WF-600 uses some magical driver that is more efficient than what Fenix/Dereelight/Eastward uses,
it just cannot run for that long unless the output is around half of the above three lights I mentioned.

If it really has such a driver inside, I might get one myself. hehe.
But saving up another $40 will take some time. Sad reality. =(

I do agree that Eastward YJ-XAQ5 gets very hot with extended use.
But I usually don't use my light for more than 10-15 minutes at a time.
And for this amount of time, the light just gets warm and not hot.
It gets really hot only if left for longer than 20-30 minutes it seems.

2.4A? wow. Maybe yours is not in 100% working order?

That's what I'm assuming (and hoping). Also, mine didn't show good regulation, with 0.8 amps after an hour.

Look at the beam shots, especially the second one. Do you think the Eastward is significantly brighter than the Aurora? Maybe my eyes are just fooling me. But rather than assuming an super-efficient Aurora, I'd rather posit an inefficient Eastward.


Luke

 

[bessiebenny]

I have received my Eastward YJ-XAQ5 yesterday from KD. (1x 18650 version).

Does someone knows the runtime on low ?
Hope it offers minium 3x the runtime from high mode.

I have done a runtime test on low and set the datalogger to 7 hours.
But it was still going after 7 hours with same brightness as beginning.
So I can safely say that Low mode is super constant for first 7 hours. =P
I'll re-do the test when i can and see how long it really lasts. hehe.

 

[bspofford]

If you like the YJ-XAQ5, you should also consider the YJ-18WF (black HAIII) and YJ-18WD (natural HAIII) also at KD for about the same price. These seem to have the same Q5 emitter and circuit as the YJ-XAQ5. The body is somewhat sleeker and lighter, and the reflector gives a slightly tighter hotspot for a little more throw. Both of these models are HAIII, and I like the feel in hand a bit better.

 

[rantanplan]

I got my YJ-XAQ5 yesterday and am a bit confused. This light is very bright and has awesome throw for such a "small" head. Its brightness is on par with my Fenix TK10 when I compare their hotspots on a wall (different distance to wall so that both hotspots had the same size). So far, so good ...

... but when I checked the currents, I couldn´t believe it: Mine pulls 2.3 Amps from a 18650 ... and not only from a fresh cell. A second DMM showed the same value and the tailcap has a resistance of about 0.1 ohms, so the influence of the DMM plus leads instead of the Tailcap should be insignificant.

I unscrewed the pill from the body and connected it to my bench power supply. From 4.2V down to 3.1V, the flowing current stays constant at 2.2-2.3 A, below 3.1V its falling down fast. I haven´t checked the emitter currents yet, but maybe I´ll do the necessary unsoldering to check it out. The whole light ist getting hot fast, much faster than my Fenix TK10, so the question is whether the emitter gets all the power or the circuit ist wasting a lot. The driver seems to be single-sided, because the visible side of the pcb has a lot of conducting path, but is not populated ... yours too?

 

[bessiebenny]

If you like the YJ-XAQ5, you should also consider the YJ-18WF (black HAIII) and YJ-18WD (natural HAIII) also at KD for about the same price. These seem to have the same Q5 emitter and circuit as the YJ-XAQ5. The body is somewhat sleeker and lighter, and the reflector gives a slightly tighter hotspot for a little more throw. Both of these models are HAIII, and I like the feel in hand a bit better.

Wow. Thanks for this info. I did not know. I have updated my thread accordingly and have dropped the XAQ5 rating to 5 stars coz of it.
I might get the YJ-18WD very soon and will compare. I love HAIII finish so I guess once I get the 19WD, it's the end for XAQ5. =P

rantanplan - Here's my pic of the driver looking down the battery tube.
I'm trying to find my XAQ5 but seems my baby has hidden it somewhere. =P
When I do, I will re-measure the current while my 18650 is not fully charged.

 

[rantanplan]

Thanks for the pic, the driver in my YJ-XAQ5 looks similiar "empty". I´ll check later when I´m back at home.

I´m relatively sure, that my light has a serious flaw and I´m thinking of either modding it oder sending it back to KD. In the beginning my YJ-XAQ5 was really bright and in terms of brightness on par with my P3D R100, VB16 Q5 and Fenix TK10. Now, after about 2 hours of "tests" it still sucks 2.3 Amps from a fresh battery, but is noticeable dimmer than the others ... my guess it, that the poor Cree gets close to 2.3 Amps and has therefore already degraded due to this "abuse".

I´ll keep on testing ...

 

[bspofford]

Wow. Thanks for this info. I did not know. I have updated my thread accordingly and have dropped the XAQ5 rating to 5 stars coz of it.

I might get the YJ-18WD very soon and will compare. I love HAIII finish so I guess once I get the 19WD, it's the end for XAQ5. =P

Last night, I did some side-by-side comparing the XAQ5 and 18WD, and the XAQ5 was slightly, but noticeably brighter. Maybe this is because the particular 18WD that I tested has a warmer tint, or maybe the sidespill is a bit greater. My visual inspection of the emittors, reflectors and driver boards suggests that they use the same components. The Eastward website also lists the max output for both at 230 lumens. My initial impression was that the only differences between these two models was cosmetic, but maybe the XAQ5 is brighter. Then again, the difference may be tint or some sample variation. I plan to swap pills in the next day or so to see if this has any effect. Regardless, the HAIII 18WD is a very nice Q5 light.

 

[bessiebenny]

Okay. I think I might have found the reason why people get such high current readings.

With mine, I get around 1.2-1.4A with a single 18650. BUT, if I press the battery down hard, I get a much higher reading. What seems to be happening is that the positive terminal of battery gets pushed down and touches other parts of the circuit on the back side of the driver. (either that or the tiny spring is doing it) I'm going to put an isolator such as this or this or make something of my own to make sure the battery only touches the middle spring and nothing else.

 

[rantanplan]

Okay. I think I might have found the reason why people get such high current readings.

With mine, I get around 1.2-1.4A with a single 18650. BUT, if I press the battery down hard, I get a much higher reading. What seems to be happening is that the positive terminal of battery gets pushed down and touches other parts of the circuit on the back side of the driver. (either that or the tiny spring is doing it) I'm going to put an isolator such as this or this or make something of my own to make sure the battery only touches the middle spring and nothing else.

Interesting point that made me thinking ... but then I remembered that I had done tests with the loose pill. I used a lead with a crocodile clip to connect positive power to the spring, hanging free without any force, so I´m relatively sure, that there was no cross connection to any point on the PCB ... 2.3 Amps as usual. But I noticed too that this small spring could be a weak spot. Mine got bent a bit to one side, maybe on the second battery change ... close to a faulty design imho.

 

[Centropolis]

I ordered this from KD two weeks ago and finally it's shipped! I can't wait to see how bright this flashlight is! I am charging my TF Protected 18650s right now. I hope they fit. If not, I will have to order the AWs.

 

[Centropolis]

If you like the YJ-XAQ5, you should also consider the YJ-18WF (black HAIII) and YJ-18WD (natural HAIII) also at KD for about the same price. These seem to have the same Q5 emitter and circuit as the YJ-XAQ5. The body is somewhat sleeker and lighter, and the reflector gives a slightly tighter hotspot for a little more throw. Both of these models are HAIII, and I like the feel in hand a bit better.

Just letting everyone know that DX is selling the YJ-18WF at almost $5 cheaper than KD.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4424

I think it's the same light.

 

[bigballer1]

Just letting everyone know that DX is selling the YJ-18WF at almost $5 cheaper than KD.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4424

I think it's the same light.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the one in the link is a Cree P4. Both the one from DX and KD have the same model number, but the emitter seems different. Is there any definitive way to tell a P4 from a Q5 by looking at the emitters? I hate to order one and get a P4 when it's supposed to be a q5.

 

[phantom23]

18WF has Cree Q5, new driver and HA-III.

 

[bessiebenny]

But the DX one was available since mid-last year when Cree Q5 did not even exist.
Would they now be the newer ones even when it's not mentioned at DX.

Also, generally, KD is cheaper than DX for the same items.
Fact that DX is this much cheaper makes me worry.

 

[Centropolis]

But the DX one was available since mid-last year when Cree Q5 did not even exist.
Would they now be the newer ones even when it's not mentioned at DX.

Also, generally, KD is cheaper than DX for the same items.
Fact that DX is this much cheaper makes me worry.

Sorry.....I thought I was bringing attention to a good deal. I didn't do much comparisons besides the fact that they have the same model number and they look the same.

Anyways, either way......I bought both and just waiting for them to arrive! Those 18650s take FOREVER to charge!

 

[bspofford]

But the DX one was available since mid-last year when Cree Q5 did not even exist.

Would they now be the newer ones even when it's not mentioned at DX.

Also, generally, KD is cheaper than DX for the same items.
Fact that DX is this much cheaper makes me worry.

The DX item is probably new old stock with a P4 emitter and type II finish. If you're lucky, you could order one and maybe get the newer model.