7w 300lm Mini Cree Led Flashlight

Just got an email advertisement on this light from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006E0QAFY/?tag=cpf0b6-20

I'm curious if anyone has any experience with this light. Can anyone give me any approx run times or beam shots?

I carry a Quark AA for EDC, and I'm pretty sure that this light is going to be of noticably lesser quality and performance, but for less than $6 delivered, I couldn't pass it up. Looks like it has a 1" body, so it's going to be a little too big for my taste (at least for EDC in my pocket), but I'm thinking that it should make a good light to keep in the truck, or for the bicycle, or in my hunting pack.

Thanks,
Mark

fields_mj said:

Just got an email advertisement on this light from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006E0QAFY/?tag=cpf0b6-20

I'm curious if anyone has any experience with this light. Can anyone give me any approx run times or beam shots?

I carry a Quark AA for EDC, and I'm pretty sure that this light is going to be of noticably lesser quality and performance, but for less than $6 delivered, I couldn't pass it up. Looks like it has a 1" body, so it's going to be a little too big for my taste (at least for EDC in my pocket), but I'm thinking that it should make a good light to keep in the truck, or for the bicycle, or in my hunting pack.

Thanks,
Mark

Click to expand...

This is the iconic budget flood/zoom Sipik SK68, or one of the many clones. It's a favorite of budget light fans (just google it to find many reviews, comments, etc.) and it's quality can vary widely. It, or some version of it, can be found on many of the China based dealers sites for anywhere from approx $5 to $12.

The best ones I've found personally are from Manafront, but I'm sure there are plenty of others that could potentially be good quality. The ano is typical of budget lights, and it's quite small and heavy with sharp fins and clip and usually has a single mode, reverse clicky.

If your example functions as it should you will get a nice cool tinted, although some are a really good almost neutral white, artifact free beam. In full zoom mode it will show a bright perfectly magnified image of the emitter (usually a CREE XR-E), and in full flood you'll get a dimmer nice area of all flood with no hotspot or artifacts (presuming the resin optic is well formed and smooth), with several rings around the outer perimeter. These lights aren't very effecient, and have poor regulation or none at all and will dim as your battery v drops, and are usually a single mode light. The good ones allow the alternating of both AA's and 14500 Li-ions without damaging the driver. These lights are decent on AA's giving out around 90/110 lumens, and pretty amazing on a 14500 and probably are around 300 lumens. Going out on a dark night (especially in there is a mist of fog) and using a 14500 will impress with it's puncy, no spill, bright beam reaching out 100/150 yards.

Their kind of a gimmicky light and the sliding head moves loosely along the body and usually cah be easilly jostled out of place and won't have much, if any water resistance. They're fun lights to play with but for most, aren't really suited to good EDC carry, but some might disagree. For $5 they're really quite a bargain and even the most avid flashaholics with extensive collections probably have several of these lying around.

Yes. I bough one for my 11 year old son, and liked it so much that I bought another for myself. It's 14500 Li-ion compatible (and the only way you get the higher output), but it works well with a AA as well (although obviously less output). The zoom feature works very well, and all in all I think it's a great little light for the meager price. The stitch is a little rough, but continues to work well despite the rough feel. If I remember correctly, I paid like $6.50 on DealExtreme, but this is an even better deal.

Regards,
John C.

Sounds about like what I expected. A pretty good deal for $6, but a FAR cry from the $30+ lights. Still sounds like it would be a good one to keep in the glove box of the truck, hunting pack, or even my tool bag a work. Not sure how it would hold up on a bike though.

This one is supposed to have a high and low mode (and a flashing/strobe). Any idea what kind of run times can I expect on a AA?

fields_mj said:

Sounds about like what I expected. A pretty good deal for $6, but a FAR cry from the $30+ lights. Still sounds like it would be a good one to keep in the glove box of the truck, hunting pack, or even my tool bag a work. Not sure how it would hold up on a bike though.

This one is supposed to have a high and low mode (and a flashing/strobe). Any idea what kind of run times can I expect on a AA?

Click to expand...

Run time between 20 to 45min on high depending on the batt. chemistry and Ah rating. Also, this is a surprisingly robust light as many have reported...dropping on concrete, and oil vats, etc, and after cleaning/drying it functioned perfectly, of course ymmv. You'll probably be happy with how good this light is for the money.

Throw a Li primary in it for extended stays (years) in the glove box, bag, etc. and it'll be good to go in the summer heat or freezing cold.