Hey whats up! Its kinda been awhile what with Uni life, but studies almost over and I’m looking to dive straight back in!
I’m looking for a giftable light for use by someone uninitiated into flashlights and Li-ion’s. It can be any battery format, but rechargeable is what I’m looking for!
I’ve had a look at Olight’s R offerings but most vendors are out of stock, Eagle Eye has some interesting offerings as well!
However I’ve been out of the flashlight loop for some time.
really depends on the size and output needed.
I Had an EE X2R that went to a friend a week ago. Nice light for it’s size, Micro USB rechargeable. Quality built light on the level of Convoy. However, mine worked perfectly fine, there were a couple reports of lights that had no change in brightness from Med to Hi.
Also some stupid small keychain lights that are bright. Astrolux M01 nichia 219B has a nice tint and a micro USB charging port under the head. 2 modes too with green and red charge indicator LED.
Darn near any size has a rechargeable version out there today. I would lean on the micro USB port lights, everyone should have a charger and cable already. No proprietary chargers or plugs.
For myself personally that M01 looks very tempting! Only thing holding me back is that mode spacing…
However, for my gift light I’d prefer a larger sized light, its not meant to be a keychain light, but AA or 18650 seems ideal.
I’ll have a look at the X2R, looks promising, indicator light, bit low on high ouptut but seems to be a worthy contender!
The thing that kinda turns me off the X2R is the plastic flap implementation which covers the charging port. Doesn’t seem ideal from an aesthetic or functional point of view. Is there something comparable to the S15R that’s in stock and around the same price?
+1 on the EE X2R
I have had mine for 2+ months now and I really like it. I EDC it and use it for my bike light.
I don’t really notice the rubber flap….
I just ordered 3 more to gift at Xmas…. nobody needs to know (or have any idea) they were inexpensive, quite a nice light!
Thanks for the recommendation Fesso I may reconsider the X2R but open to other suggestions!
I’d rather stay at or under $40 I could just go out and buy an S2R for $73 USD, but with the current
exchange rate that’s almost $100 AUD. Which is just a bit over my budget to spend on a gift light personally.
For giving a gifts its hard to beat 4AA, no explosion risks. Which lights are available at your price ceiling, i don’t know of any, perhaps other BLFers can chime in?
I won’t call it a flap because it does not Flap at all. It is a perfect fit, seamless in what it does and I did not ever feel it was going to come off of the port in use. Well designed, materials and fitment are as good as it gets. I will not say it’s waterproof but if replaced properly I would not worry if it accidentally got wet.
Convoy BD01 or BD06 hands down
Smart clip for charging so nice water proofing, good quality, good charging the 06 is smaller so mugggles and well me too like the 01 more
They have a basic UI with strobe and SOS but memory and well people not knowing anything about flashlights seem to like blinkies as bonus.
An alternative would be the Olight R20, not cheap though…
It has a really nice screw ring to protect the micro USB charging port.
The battery is not standard, it’s a modified 18650.
The LED is an XP-L HI pure white.
It has a nice throw for its size and the UI is really simple L-M-H with tail clicky switch
Oh yeah that new Zanflare or what is the name from Gearbest has a neat ring protecting the charge port too!
I just hate build in micro USB connectors, wat to fragile, the Convoy BD series has it outside on a clip, yank it wrong and the clip detaches and the port is OK.
A lot of options to think about. Currently on my list of eligible candidates are the EE X2R, Convoy BD06, Nitenumen NE01 and Manker U11. The Zanflare is interesting but the looks leave a bit to be desired I think.
The U11 looks really nice and just about the sort of form-factor I’m going for. However it is a bit expensive compared to the others but justifiably so. The Convoy BD06 is in my opinion probably the best looking of the bunch with that square knurling, has the most well implemented charging system and a $24 price tag! But the size and weight are just a bit on the larger size of what I’m going for. Still undecided at this stage :person_facepalming:
The U11 is a great choice if your intended recipient has some technical abilities. For a noob to flashlight User Interface, not so much. Basically, if you click it too fast (not easy on accident, but can happen) and the U11 goes into the strobe mode, you are now in a different UI set. If pro mode is on, the menu is much bigger too.
The X2R is one of those “too good to be true” lights that hits everything right for an easy to use light. Three modes, no blinky menu and a good charger built in. The cover is better than the U11 one in my opinion, I have both.
Good luck and congrats on Uni!
EDIT: Forgot to mention, the convoy clip fits the X2R perfectly as well, so the light can be pocket carried like the U11 as well.
The Klarus G20 is awesome, especially if you can get in on the current group buy. It might not be a better light than the Olight R50 pro, but it’s much more reasonably priced and is definitely comparable!
If you want to go a little smaller than AA, but just as bright the Nitecore TIP would be worth looking at. Since it won’t be used as a keychain light, some of the questionable design decisions may not matter, and for a newbie the questionable UI decisions won’t matter either. It is available in a HI CRI version also, but either of them has a a nice beam profile. Light newbies love it. There have been deals on these as low as $20, there is a group buy running one a special holiday one, but I don’t know the price. For a newbie this is good first start.
The group buy on the Klarus G20 is a very good deal, but maybe more than you would want to spend still for someones first good light gift. If they have a real need for a good light though this would be worth looking at. Comes with battery and built -in charger so the price is all in.
manker U11 - its UI is not the best, but it does have a lot of features
as far as small vs cheap, yes, smaller is usually m ore $
it is easy to make a good cheap but big light
