Good single 18650 flashlights under $30?

surely BLF A6 is a bargain when on special

BG or GB sell the XPL hi S2+ but not with the new drivers. But they do sell the new drivers separately. Can you swap out a driver?

BLF A6 when on special with a 30Q battery included is about $21, and a Lii100 is maybe $3. I can’t see any performance package beating that. Comes in a presentable box as well.

If the intended user is not someone you would trust with instructions and heat issues, you can often get a grey Convoy s2+ with 6x7135 that puts out about 1000 lumens and is easier to use for $7-10, add a Lii100 and battery for less than $10 and you are at $15- $20, but no box.

Scratch that last comment, the newer Convoys do come with a nice box, maybe not the grey one though, it is always the cheapest option.

BLF A6. I’ve bought a bunch of these for the guys I work with for use at work and it’s my most used torch by far.

Convoy C8 clear if you need throw. Or both, cause it’s probably still in your budget!

astrolux s41 with ext tube should be more or less around 30$ ?

I am new to the flashlight world, but have conducted much research regarding “bang for the buck” in a similar price range, and repeatedly returned to the Wowtac A1S BSS for $39.95 which is available at amazon.com. Although slightly above the $30 budget you had mentioned, it includes a usb rechargeable 18650 (mini usb port on battery itself), and with the strike bezel, may be an interesting gift depending on your coworkers’ taste.

[quote=Zulumoose]
BLF A6 when on special with a 30Q battery included is about $21, and a Lii100 is maybe $3. I can’t see any performance package beating that. Comes in a presentable box as well.

+ 1

Convoy S2+
Thorfire TK15S - if you want momentary/forward clicky
Zanflare F1 NW - if you want USB charging

Here is the official Convoy Store on AliExpress, run by the owner of Convoy, Simon.

The Desert Tan S2+ will come with all of the newest features by default. Namely the newer XP-L HI emitter, smooth reflector, AR glass, and Biscotti firmware. Just choose the U6 3A (neutral white) or U6 4C (warm white tint) and either 6 or 8 7135 chips.

But if you want those options in a different color S2+ (including black, gray, red, blue, green, or clear) just message Simon through AliExpress. What he will likely have you do is proceed with checkout using the color of S2+ that you want, and include a message in your order listing your customizations. Just don’t enter payment information at first. Once the order is created and waiting on payment, he will adjust the price to account for the changes.

So let’s say you want a red S2+ with the XP-L HI, smooth reflector, and Biscotti. You would add the red S2+ to your cart and begin checkout. Once you get to a page where you can enter a message to the vendor, you would enter something like “Would like XP-L HI emitter in 3A tint, smooth reflector, AR glass, and Biscotti firmware”. Go as far as you can with the order WITHOUT entering payment information. You should be able to go to your orders and see that it is created, but listed as waiting on payment. Then Simon will adjust the price accordingly, and you can proceed with payment.

edit: This also applies to virtually ever light on the Convoy store. I recently purchased a Convoy M2 with XP-L HI and Biscotti, even though there is no M2 with those options listed on the store.

+1 for a set of BLF A6 with 30Q included

As a noo-b, this kind of detailed info is very VERY much appreciated! Thanks so much for the post! :THUMBS:

-Ben

Yesterday, I bought Outlite A100 18650 Flashlight. Price is only 13 bucks, 1000 lumens brightness with 5 modes. Not a bad deal. Although, It isn't my favorite 18650 flashlight. Here is my a few Best 18650 Flashlight From Top Brands 2018(August) and I have most of them in my collection.

I love the A6. It a wonderful light for what it is. The S2+’s are a decent light, depending on emitter and driver/UI. The guy who thinks the A1S is the best bang for the buck might want to do a bit more research in my opinion. For a new guy that wants a decent light, decent beam, won’t burn his hand on high and still gives plenty of light. A DQG Tiny 4th 18650. Check out M4DM4X website for a decent coupon for it. https://m4dm4x.com/m4d-m4x-deals/ and then check out the light too. DQG 4. Tiny 18650 XM-L2 850LM Kleinste LED Taschenlampe Grau Sale - Banggood Deutschland-arrival notice-arrival notice

No offense sir, but that light is junk. It’s most likely a cheap LB emitter or a knockoff there of. It will be horribly blue and give you a headache in about 6 seconds. You should have used that same money on a Ultratac or Lumintop AA light that would actually be brighter and have a better beam/tint. 1000 lumens will never come out of that TacLight knock off.

Oh good Lord… they’re still selling those A100s for more’n 10bux??

If you want a zoomie, get a SK98 and swap in a decent 20mm driver and decent LED-on-board.

This zoomie is pretty good:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/ThorFire-TA13-3-Modes-550lm-Zoomable-XM-L2-LED-Flashlight-Adjustable-18650-aaa-Torch-Light-for/32814167424.html

And here's a thread about zoomies that are worth getting:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/41081

RC, Looks like a decent one. Not a zoomie fan but it looks like it could be a winner. At least it’s a XM-L2. Worth the eleven and change they are asking for it.

I still have and keep more than a few SK68’s around the house. They are in almost every room. They work great and are dirt cheap to replace if they break. The only thing is, they don’t break. They just keep on keeping on. Yes they have a horrible tint if you don’t replace the emitter but, they do the job of getting light out there when you need it. Single mode, AA, love it. Never had a 98. Are they putting decent emitters in them now?

If anything, worse.

My whole ’502 saga began with getting really nice ’502s (and later C8s), with either real Cree or at least decent LB clones. CW, yeah, but hella bright, at least 500lm or so. I finally got enough ’502s to play with, then got into C8s.

Decent C8s, metal reflectors, decent switch, good emitter, ’though still a rather cheap/crappy driver (parallelled resistors for “regulation”), but then they started to go seriously downhill, a race to the bottom.

Lousy emitters, not even clones of LB clones, plastic(!) reflectors, the XP-E wannabe would throw a nice tight beam but maybe with a little luck would be in triple-digit lumens (I’d guesstimate 70-80 or so), and tubes so thin you’d think they were rolled Al-foil. Oh, and the dinky little Al pills maybe 1/3 the weight of a FT brass pill that’d fit. They’d only be good for an XP-E/-E2 if not pushed too hard.

The ’98s I got were also pretty good, would grab’n’hold the head position from one extreme to the other, had a decent switch, hollow pill but still would be… okay… for an XM-L if not pushed too hard (head would rarely even get warm if left on high, so that’s worrisome).

Anyway, the later ones I got for my gf, only a coupla months later, were garbage with a capital gar. The heads would grab but then flop around the middle, one lasted a whopping 30sec when we were trying it out for the first time, really lousy. Returned both without even looking at the other one.

Sad, too, as she liked the flexibility of a zoomie.

So no, I wouldn’t trust a ’98 clone to be worth a damn nowadays. I’d have to be really desperate to try one.

But then again, all the oohs and aahs about those cheap-ass A100s and G700s out there, what can you expect from reviews, either?

I might get a ’98 from FT if I really really wanted one (but then again that’s where I got those POS AT01s), but I’d avoid the usual grab-bag crap from Amazon and stick with the better-known no-clone lights like from Thorfire and/or Sofirn.

At least you’re not likely to get a SF11 or SP32 clone from some seller like ItchyPanda or AngryBeaver or anything.

You might want to check this ‘bundle’ out. Light, good battery, & single bay USB charger. There is also a 15% off coupon at Amazon.
There was a 30% off coupon by Sofirn here on BLF.

Black SP32A V2.0 Bundle

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07F8QTB2N?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title