Very nice first review jekostas, thanks! Hope it's just the first of many. Great shots too. Frontpage'd and Sticky'd. Quick tip: If you set the horizontal size of the pics to "50%" or "80%" and leave the vertical size blank, they'll scale automatically for smaller screens.
Looks like a great light for the price. I personally can't get over the aesthetics, though. ;) The zooming mechanism is push-pull, correct? Not rotating threads?
As for the 5-star reviews recently... Hmmm.... Interesting point. I would say the quality of Chinese lights is generally going up. But additionally, at least in my case, for lack of time I have only been reviewing lights that I really like. I have several that I need to review that are mediocre (4 nice little ultra-cheap 1xAAA generic lights, would probably average out to 3-stars), the infamous Eastward J09 (probably 4-stars), a junky zoom light which was my first and last purchase from Neverbuying.com (probably 2 or 3 stars overall) and the Sipik SK58 zoom light, which probably would get 4 or 5 stars. So lots more reviews coming up, not all roses either. :)
Thanks for the comments all. I guess the thing that really pushed my final rating was simply the absolute output you can get from the light for the price paid. There are some detractions (especially in the build quality), but I think they're fairly trivial - none of them truly negatively affect the functioning or usage of the light.
I bought a ton of these on dx. Q3 or not those were all great. Kept the most warmer of all coldies i got and eventually gifted it a few days ago.
Everyone was amazed at those. Often a L2 with XP-G R5 shown right after the sipik did not look even remotely interesting to others.
Well... zoomies are fun but after a while you eventually not like them that much. This one is still a kepper in my book and eventually i get myself one along with a 14500 but there were reports the driver is crappy and often burns the driver to a degree that AA's cannot be used again. It's cheaper nowadays on DX at 9,9usd. Used to buy them at 10.40usd. LT is just being silly with over 12usd...
I bought this light in grey at DX a while ago and like it very much. I use it often as an edc when going to work and not needing a specific light. The zoom makes it versatile and carrying one 14500 and one NiMH makes it "2 modes".
Just two comments about the light:
1. Even with the clip on it's not water resistent due to the slide zoom function. Using it in rain has caused no problems for me yet but I would not want it to get really wet.
2. Regarding your pictures I believe there is no heat sinking paste between the emitter base and the pill. At least in my light there was nothing there and I think it's a good idea to add some heat sinking paste before any extended use particularly with 14500s.
This isn't perfectly comparable because of the vastly different beam size, but on the right is the Sipik Sk68 on 14500 at full flood, on the left is my 4Sevens Quark Mini AA2 at high, which has an OTF rating of 180 lumens.
I think the Sipik is pretty respectable in comparison
I fully agree to your fine review of this handy light only I also like the flood and find it sufficient. As you possibly know I have equipment to measure the tint, and I found mine to be 6970 K, bin 1A (lying on the neutral curve) in the center (it tends to be warmer towards the periphery).
I actually did stick this one on my DX wishlist but never even gave it much of a second look. I'd definitely take one or two for $8.50 - guess I'll be keeping an eye on eBay. ;)
This my first post, as the FNG here. There will be 3 requests at the end of this post. I am a firefighter/fire investigator rank of Sergeant. My lights are actually used to save lives and protect property. This forum is AWESOME for FLITE GEEKS like me; several of my like-afflicted friends will find out about this place when I tell them about it.
I recieved 2 of these from Meritline.com for 9.99 each with free shipping. Meritline said upfront that shipping was from Singapore and could take up to 2 weeks. It took an agonizing 23 days from the day I recieved notification it had shipped. I rolled the dice and asked customer service for free shipping on my next order or a partial credit-meh, maybe i'll get something, maybe not.
The SiPiK impressed me first with a REAL GLASS lens. I am not as put off by the tail cap as others. The light throw is mindblowing for one AA battery. I get my regular duracells for free as i use them on the firescene so that will save the Department money versus 3 AAA's at whack. I buy my own rechargeable Oneloops and Duracells for my personal lights. I did notice about a 10% boost in light going from a regular new Duracell to a fully charged Oneloop. Both of these will became work lights immediately. I will not be using them in heavy rain but will risk a light drizzle. It amazes me that in total darkness, pulling the focus all the way out to spot shows the exact square outline of the Cree at 100 feet. Over the next few weeks I will be demonstrating it to other firefighters and police. Most police officers are addicted to their "Stinger" line of lights-I want to see how it works up against one with a 2450mh fully recharged Duracell in my SiPik.
Request #1 - Does anyone here know of a way we could find out how to get them in bulk, direct from the Maufacturers of SiPik?
Request #2 - Barring request #1, what is the best deal for up to 10 at a time from sites like this;
Most websites will provide discounts for purchasing in bulk, as well as bulk rate shipping options. Dealextreme does carry the Sipik, as well as number of other places. I would be very careful in dealing with Everbuying, as their customer service practices are somewhat shady.
As for ignoring other lights... well, there's a reviews section at the top of every battery specific forum, you're quite welcome to go through them. However, if you already have a light you like and you know is reliable there's definitely value in that.
It will be more like 500 or 600 lumens if it is driven well. Less than that if not. Don measured a similar light and figured 580 lumens at On, sagging down to 488 after 2 minutes. I wouldn't get an MC-E or P7 light now that XM-L LED's are available. Some of the MC-E and P7 lights have a donut hole of darkness.
