1. If you already have SP36s, don’t bother buying another light.
2. GT Mini. Much throwier vs the C8F. A completely different class of light.
3. Ok.
4. Ok.
5. Wait, you don’t like the size of it? I have no problem carrying it in my pocket whatsoever. My 2nd smallest light.
For modding supplies:
The soldering station: Oof, why would they be using a fake firmware? At least it can be updated rather easily, and doesn’t impact functionality.
Dunno the “official spex” for each, as actual performance varies depending on the driver.
They both came out about the same time, ’though I think the ’35 was first.
The ’35 is throwier at the expense of raw lumen output, vs the ’70 which is floodier at the expense of throw.
Think C8T vs C8A.
I got the ’35, and even compared to my Q8’s ceiling-bounce, it lights up the room way brighter. I can only imagine what the ’70 would be like.
I’ll let someone else get into details about the driver fiasco, the TA driver replacements, the absconding with funds by a dealer from one group-buy to pay for another, all that fun fun stuff. It’s the making of a good soap-opera.
Start here… Haikelite SC26 *** CLOSED For U.S.A. and Canadian Customers only*** Haikelite cut me off at 100 units so GB is closed. :laughing:
My first ‘proper’ pocket light was an AA Inova X1. It lived in my pocket for a long time. Once I discovered nice AAA lights in the form of a Thrunight Ti3 I never looked back.
For my purposes, the AAA format is perfect. It tucks in next to my wallet so well I can’t tell it’s there. It weights nothing, has enough output to do what I need, enough runtime to not be annoying, and runs nicely on Eneloops. (OK, the Amazon version)
Specifically related to the SP10 - the one I have doesn’t thrill me. The side clicky on a small light feels awkward and I don’t trust it in my pocket. The high CRI of the one you linked to may prove useful if I wind up having to troubleshoot another door access system controller and wiring, but God Willing, I’ll not have to crawl around in ceilings ever again. 
Banggood went down right after i got my 150$ coupon. Is the website down for anyone else?
It seems to be up for me.
It's up.
They giveth with one hand & taketh with the other
Be careful buying cells from banggood. I ordered from from three “recommended” vendors and had to request refunds on all of them due to non genuine cells. They will rewrap crap sales or counterfeit all together and sell them. That’s why they’re so cheap.
Sounds like Aliexpress; Banggood is known AFAIK to sell genuine cells.
Yeah, does Banggood even have “recommended” vendors?
I don’t think bangood or Gearbest are selling fakes, more like they’re not selling grade A.
I’ve had good results buying flat-top cells from Banggood. They appear to be genuine (all the ones I bought were Samsung), and have held up well.
Not so good results from the after-market 30Q button-tops they sell. 33% I’ve bought have gone “bad” after little use. They suddenly develop very fast self-discharge, dropping as much as 0.1v per day. Small internal shorts? I’m not sure if they’re genuine or fake (the labels under the outer wrap appear to be Samsung), but they’re not good quality.
No idea why the flat-tops and button-tops are different quality. Perhaps whoever is applying their button-tops is using crap cells.
Amishbill, I hope you don’t rule out the SkyRC MC3000 charger. As Nev posted, the teething issues were sorted out long ago. I bought mine in the fall of 2016, and it came from the first batch with the reinforced spring posts. It has charged hundreds of batteries since then, from AAA’s to 26650’s, and it has worked perfectly. I have most of the popular chargers from Miboxer, Maha, Opus, and Xtar, and all of them do a good job, and each has some nice features. But they are no MC3000. Yes, there is a learning curve, but the MC3000 can do almost anything you want any way you want, and with the greatest precision and accuracy. Read HKJ’s review, if you haven’t already done so. And have fun with your new toys.
Weltool W3 is on BG.
I have an actual use for this and ordered the Acebeam W10(not on BG) while it was on sale. I’ll have it later this week!
Don’t hoard batteries!
Above….
How about when you have a sort out of older model torches. and end up with around 15 spare battery’s in drawer. And a dozen or so Never to be used again but don’t want to throw out Torches.
It’s More like DON’T have a battery for every torch like I did.
Trouble with Aust is it costs a fortune to ship anything anywhere from here.
I normally throw things away rather than waste money on adverts. Nobody answers
and if they do. Want whatever for nothing.
I hoard them, and stick them in long-term storage at around 3.7v. The issue is that I never know when the postal service will seriously ban shipments of lithium-ion cells. They’re actually pretty-much already banned, but the way that companies label them (incorrectly), they’re able to get through. At some point, they’ll crack down, and then no more cells. So, I like to have plenty of spares. They’ll store for a long time. I have 10+ year old 18650 cells that are still pretty good.
When I say recommended I just meant someone had told me this or that store were “great with unbelievable prices”. I bought from 3 different stores (all Samsung 30q’s). When I got them I went ahead and gave them a full charge. The next thing I do is test the IR of the cells using an Opus BT-C3100. I have a two dozen or so cells I’ve got from Illumn, Liion Wholesale and 18650 Battery Store I use as a baseline. They all register an IR of between 30 - 65. EVERY cell I received from Bangood was +200 IR. Do they work? Yes. Will they turn your light on? Yes. Maybe they are just cells that got passed on, but there are inconsistencies in the wrap color, texture and the flattops have come with 4 posts instead of 3. I would love to find a source on Bangood celling dirt cheap cells that performed like those that cost ~$2 more, but considering the danger to my lights and myself that could result from a flawed cell, my feelings are play it safe.
OK - I’ve made some progress.
Some was forward, and some was backward, but it was all progress. 
Many of the items I was looking at appear to be ineligible because they’re on a Summer Special sale. That knocks out the GT Mini and Convoy M3. Then the S21a is out of stock.
Items that are valid:
- SkyRC MC3000
- standard price Blue/Grey Convoy S11 (XHP50.2 & SST40 versions)
Now, I need another $90-ish dollars to fill the gap.
- Maybe a proper BLF version of the SP36 at $47? (The ones I have are Sofirn labeled - no idea if they have the nice LEDs or not, and I will be giving one or two of them away soon anyway)
- Convoy C8+ at $25
- FW3A at $50 ($37 at the Lumentop store on AliExpress)
- Grey Convoy S2+ SST20 at $20-ish — I just can’t decide where I want to be on the 7135x3, x4, x6, x8. runtime vs turbo scale.
This is weird. I’ve grown weary of finding new ways to spend my money. I need to go find a nurse and spend some time in her office. 
You need two mc3000’s 