Dereelight bashing :)

OK, Fastcar - I'm going to arouse your ire. But, based on your glowing reviews of the DBS and general love of Dereelight, I ordered a CL1H.

Ugh. Well, it's not horrible. The beam is pure, smooth and white, and focusable! This makes a nice hotspot or a good combination of spot and spill. Throw isn't up there with the Olight T20 or Tiablo A9S, but that's OK. I didn't expect it to be.

Workmanship is another matter. The switch is OK. The method of changing levels is hideously crunchy - rough and spotty. To get low, you loosen the head. To get high, you tighten it. The threads are awful -the flashlight grinds as you tighten the head. Contact is intermittent to the point that light goes out while changing levels.

Maybe all this will improve with some silicone o-ring grease - heading to Lowes tomorrow to pick some up. But yuk! Surefire it ain't in terms of body workmanship and UI. Not even Olight.

Many of these types of lights need a good cleaning and re-lubing. My CL1H is nice a smooth.

For the price difference between a Dereelight and a Surefire, I don't mind doing some cleaning and lubing to improve it's function. You should get some deoxit (radioshack, online) and clean all the contacts. Also be careful if any of the threads make electrical contact as you won't want to put on grease that would break the connection. I know fenix-store.com sells a deoxit lubricant for threads, dials, etc, and I use that on threads that need to conduct.

Also, for throw, what reflector are you using? Have you tried the smooth? The smooth won't out throw a Tiablo, but maybe an Olight. Especially the 3-stage Q4 with a smooth reflector.

I was chomping at the bit to get the DBS Dereelight, from what I've learned now I am waiting for the Q5 Lumapower MRV.:twothumbs

tsask said:

I was chomping at the bit to get the DBS Dereelight, from what I've learned now I am waiting for the Q5 Lumapower MRV.:twothumbs

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Even though he's the first Dereelight owner to report a problem like this, while everyone else has glowing reviews?

I think he just needs to clean the threads and re-lube them.

Q5 MRV, unless they change the reflector, will still be behind the DBS in the throw department. Especially with 3-stage Q5 modules from Dereelight on the way.

WadeF said:

Even though he's the first Dereelight owner to report a problem like this, while everyone else has glowing reviews?

I think he just needs to clean the threads and re-lube them.

Q5 MRV, unless they change the reflector, will still be behind the DBS in the throw department. Especially with 3-stage Q5 modules from Dereelight on the way.

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+1

If any poster who reads a negative comment from one poster would quit buying a "fill in blank brand" light, then CPF's dealers/manufacturers would go out of business. Because virtually EVERY brand/model of flashlight gets some kind of a negative rep here on a daily basis.

WadeF said:

Q5 MRV, unless they change the reflector, will still be behind the DBS in the throw department. Especially with 3-stage Q5 modules from Dereelight on the way.

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Thanks for the info. I was hoping that was NOT the case!

tsask said:

Thanks for the info. I was hoping that was NOT the case!

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No way of knowing for sure until the new MRV is out and we get some reports.

Hasn't the Q5 MRV been out for several weeks now? Mine is a Q5 in the MRV SE.

+

MikeLip, is that what you call a poker face? :lolsign:

Glad you like it, the o-rings are silicone on my CL1H, so you may want to get something other than silicone grease. Silicone on silicone is a no no.

Synthetic grease is fantastic if you can find it.

http://www.super-lube.com/

Would be interested in hearing more people chime in that have bought these lights. I too, was just about ready to pull the trigger and or both lights.

Fit and Finish from the two or three people I have followed seemed to indicate right up there with Surefire.

The cleaning and lubing I can handle, the fit, finish and mechanical roughness I would question.

Outdoors Fanatic said:

+1

If any poster who reads a negative comment from one poster would quit buying a "fill in blank brand" light, then CPF's dealers/manufacturers would go out of business. Because virtually EVERY brand/model of flashlight gets some kind of a negative rep here on a daily basis.

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You go that right! Go ahead and get one - I may have just gotten an oddball.

orbital said:

+

MikeLip, is that what you call a poker face? :lolsign:

Glad you like it, the o-rings are silicone on my CL1H, so you may want to get something other than silicone grease. Silicone on silicone is a no no.

Synthetic grease is fantastic if you can find it.

http://www.super-lube.com/

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Hmm. How about good old petroleum jelly then?

Shrug


My 2 Deree lights are fantastic.If you like them....or buy them does not effect me 1 bit.

I had problems with my 1st generation CLH1.

My Cree module only worked intermittently than not all all.

The 18650 battery I was using had a big ding in the negative end caused by the battery tube being short.

My CL1H.2 is one of my two favorite lights.

Fit and finish is superb. Threads did
need some wiping off , though.

I put a dab of Magic Lube (Teflon grease) on the
threads and everything was fine.

My other favorite light is the new L1 Cree.

Joe

I have some comments in the sales thread for CLH1 v2, that point out some of the faults. I still like the light, but I'm a bit upset that v3 is out only 1 month after v2, or 2 weeks after deliverey. It's suppose to fix some things, maybe it does.

The switch is not OK, it's junk. Electrically speaking it's crap. If you get a working one it 'works' OK, but it is not OK.

I commented on the spotty level adjustments. This aspect I think is fixed in v3 of the light, but I'm not sure if they did anything about the switch. I'm still waiting to hear. I'm very surprised people say this light is SF quality. The machining is great, but it has it's problems in the head and the switch.

Still the price is such that one can work around these things. The v3 might actually be a VERY nice light. I like my v2 but it's not SF quality. Lukily if you have a switch problem Alan will send you more. I'm not the only one to have problems, but most people don't post them.

So the CL1H v2 is a very nice light, parts of it are top quality, but not all of it.

I suspect the DBS is actually better designed overall, and CLH1 v3 hopefully is to. The other aspect is Alan is easy to work with, so they should take care of issues while they're still a small manufacturer.

What people haven't said about this light has reminded me to take these reviews with a huge grain of salt. I have no doubt that these light work great for many people, but a keen eye and understanding is required, not to mention time. You have to use a light in the real world for a while to be able to write a real review, and even then it is limited to one experience, and one sample in most cases.

orbital said:

+

MikeLip, is that what you call a poker face? :lolsign:

Glad you like it, the o-rings are silicone on my CL1H, so you may want to get something other than silicone grease. Silicone on silicone is a no no.

Synthetic grease is fantastic if you can find it.

http://www.super-lube.com/

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I'm pretty sure SuperLube is silicone grease with PTFE. They call it "Synthetic Grease". Not sure why you think it shouldn't be used with silicone o-rings. I don't think it will damage them, if in fact that's what they are.

I have a few of the lights being discussed and will comment. Excuse any randomness please:

The CL1H is an excellent all purpose light. With smooth reflector I think it outhrows my Olight T20. It is heftier than than the T20 using an 18650 battery vs the T20s 123s. The CL1H did have gritty threads when I received it so I wiped and lubed it and all was excellent. Thread machining is top notch IMO as is the exterior machining on both Dlights. The Dereelights will kick butt in black. The clip on the CL1H is very nice. There is no clip on the DBS or the T20.

The DBS obviously outthrows both the T20 and CL1H. I took the DBS and the CL1H for a couple dog walks and the DBS really outshines its cousin. However, I came away with great with respect for the CL1H as it holds its own very well. The C1H is my regular dog walking light for its useful combination of modes and power along with my EDC P2D.

The DBS three mode sequence is interesting: LOW-HIGH-MED. maybe the three mode CL1H is the same? I like it.

The modes on the T20 are set by 1/4 turns of the head. This is a nice way to "set" your mode (which is remembered) but requires two hands. It feels like you're locking in a mode. Dereelights also remember last mode.

The T20 gets warm on high mode. Never noticed any heat on either Dereelight.

The T20 is quite a bit smaller in form factor than either Dereelight. It has very good throw for it's size easily besting my P2DRB100. It's LED has a tight hotspot but a kind of blue/purple corona around it when compared to the CL1H. The build quality appears excellent on the Olight but sometimes I find it hard to activate the tailcap button with my thumb because of the way it is recessed and the pressure required to depress. Tailcap could benefit from a scallop.

T20 will tailstand. Dereelights don't.

I also cleaned and lubed all the threads on these lights.

Rather than bash the manufacturer for gritty threads on any light I'd rather ensure their greasing meets my specs so I just clean and lube them regardless. For me it eliminates a variable in judging the quality of the light. I've had good luck with all my lights doing this and I have to say they all respond well to a good clean/lube. Just lube it.

For me the T20 seems like kind of a tweener light. It's a little too big for the front pocket when compared to my P2D at half its length. I'm more likely to pack it away for possible use. Those with bigger pockets YMMV. I have no doubt the T20 is a good all-around light but if I'm going to pack something bigger that is non-EDC I'll choose the CL1H with its useful clip and better output. The T20 would be a better "power" light in situations where I didn't have my usual man purse and the smaller size and relative high power make it a good trade off (eg. when wearing a sport jacket or blazer). I imagine it is similar in size to a P3D. Plus regulation on 18650 is fantastic on the CL1H (and DBS).

Lastly, the Dereelight drop in pills are cool. I'm sure I'll be getting a few.

To summarize, I really like both my Dereelights. Excellent function and workmanship. Great output. I will be buying more of their products. These lights are considerably more bulky than the Olight and use different batteries so I'm not sure it's an apples to apples comparison.

Olight T20 also an excellent light with great performance. For my uses this size is not ideal so I don't use it as much as my other lights. If a P3D is your size I think this is and excellent selection in that size range especially if you used the very functional included holster. The T20 has nice anti-roll head and tail and the metal surface is a little more matte than my Fenix giving it that Batman laboratory look. I could probably love this light if I was a strict 123 guy. Still not a bad light to have around.

In short, no complaints.

da.gee said:

T20 will tailstand. Dereelights don't.

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actually if you put in the slim switch cap it will tailstand :twothumbs