just bought my first set of flashlights march 1 2014

[949]

hey guys i just ordered my first set of flash lights. newbie here! :twothumbs

i have been looking for a while and never pulled the trigger but i couldn't resist any longer and wanted to buy them.
personally i have no real use for these expensive lights but the design looks so nice.
ill be looking to buy more once i learn more about what works for me.

i hope i made a good decision.
i bought the eagletac sx25L3, XM-L2 KIT version

http://www.eagletac.com/images/sx25l3/features/efficiency/images/hd_video_rohs.png

and
the nitecore SRT6, military grey.

http://www.nitecore.com/UploadFile/Images/Tuji/1-1_SRT6_04_l.gif


plus i bought the nitecore intellicharger i4.
http://www.nitecore.com/UploadFile/Images/Tuji/1-1_20120619105532_l.jpg
...no batteries yet. as i am still researching those. no rush just having fun looking to see whats good like i did with these flash lights.


i wanted to share my purchasing experience.
my lights and charger came from a really good online seller.
i originally found them on ebay. i guess it was to find people like me who want new items but for cheap. well they are brand new and had a very good pricing. i was able to negotiate prices with them. who knew?! right?
so when i got the prices i wanted they combined shipping. well they waited for me to make my final decision and since i had told them everything i wanted they shipped it the same day. usually i expect the items to arrive to me in one week or one and a half weeks, these came in three days. i was super surprised. they also didnt charge for shipping, as it was free. and trust me the price of the lights are the lowest around. so im not sure where they got the shipping cost from.
what impressed me was that even though they communicate with email, they responded within a few hours every time. i emailed them late at night once, say about 11pm, i got a response soon after. i was like wow!!
i thought they had to be a scam, but i have my lights.

negatives:
no negatives about them. trust me i wanted to have a negative but so far nothing. dam it!

positives:
- fast delivery.
- price is negotiable.
- items are new as described.
- communication is just awesome.
- they carry all the popular brands.

i am the biggest A-hole in the world when it comes to customer service. i will nit-pick at sellers and look for their weak areas and ill even point it out, but these people just dont have one.
i was dealing with everett.

here is the store link.
http://www.andrew-amanda.com/

 

[Ryp]

Congrats! Be careful though, if you hang around this forum enough you'll be heading down a slippery slope...

 

[UnderPar]

Get the batteries now to appreciate your new torches. For sure you'll gonna add that...

:welcome: :welcome: :welcome:

:thumbsup: :twothumbs :thumbsup: :twothumbs

 

[matlocc]

Get good batteries. Be very careful on here. I joined a cpl months ago and now have 11 lights with three on order!

 

[Onestep]

Congrats. Now come over to the darkside and start drooling over the NightSword in the Spotlight forum.........

 

[mcnair55]

To quote you

personally i have no real use for these expensive lights but the design looks so nice.
ill be looking to buy more once i learn more about what works for me.

I would have nipped into an outdoor store and bought non branded at a fraction of the price and just as good.

 

[Torpedo]

Nice lights...enjoy!

 

[949]

oh my godddd. you guys are are funny! :laughing:

THANKS!!!

i have been researching on batteries and its been very informative.

the consensus seems to say panasonic is the best brand. brands are usually good if only they are relabeled over the panasonic batteries. they can be labeled as MR. cheap batteries but if under the plastic re-wrap is a panasonic it will be just fine.

the normal original ones that panasonic are in green with 18650B labeling. the highest output ones will be 3400mah 3.7volts. 18650.
anything else is just fake labeling. some will say 4000mah or 3.8volts but those are fake and will not output as much.

as for size, some are saying that other brands may have issues with fitment in certain batteries. a millimeter here there can make the battery un-usable in some flashlights. having a protected battery will mean a few more millimeter is added to the original.
18650 denotes the size of the lithium battery, 18mm x 65mm.
the "D" at the end tells us the shape of the batttery. the ones that are new and protection is labeled as 18650S.

so for now the most common question is answered as: what is the best battery?
18650S 3400mah 3.7volts. panasonic or any variant of it.

please correct me if any of my findings is incorrect. ill edit this to reflect it.

 

[ven]

Congrats on your purchases,nice choice

Worth looking in reviews just in case some 18650 cells dont fit,as these get tested by reviewer.

Once very happy and purchased,head over to vinh,then enjoy spending your hard earned on good lights made fantastic:twothumbs

The 3.7v are actually 4.2v charged,when at 3.7v they are around 40%(not exact just a guide)charged.

Decent branded protected cells and cant go wrong,presume you have researched judging by your info:thumbsup: so know the safety side,not to be left unattended or over night charging.Topping off cells after use is also good practice to extend life,maybe a multi meter to keep an eye on the cells,checked every month or 2 so can keep an eye on them,making sure they are all good:twothumbs

ENJOY:twothumbs

 

[UnderPar]

oh my godddd. you guys are are funny! :laughing:


so for now the most common question is answered as: what is the best battery?
18650S 3400mah 3.7volts. panasonic or any variant of it.

please correct me if any of my findings is incorrect. ill edit this to reflect it.

Personally, the battery brand that I buy are those that come from manufacturers of batteries and not from manufacturers of flashlights. Panasonic is really my choice.

 

[mcorp]

I use Keeppower 3400mAh which essentially is a slightly improved protected version of panasonic unprotected 3400mAh ones

 

[949]

ill keep on eye on keeppower batteries.

I just picked up another useful light. sunwayman v11r. I like how powerful the small light is. super awesome bright new toy. not that the others are old. lol.