Thanks for reading! :party:
Excellent reviews. Thank you for the large effort.
Great review. I tried reading the Spanish one with the aid of google translate but this one is great.
Interchangeable heads with the AAA hey? Well, that’s two new lights on the horizon (my current DQG IV is the non lli-ion one). Does that mean that the SPY head will support 1.2V as well or just 10440 when swapped?
No, the SPY doesn’t support 1.2V battery.
I’ve been told today that the upgrade on the thread isn’t posible, as there is no room for compativility with the larger thread of the AAA version with the current SPY head size.
I’ll edit the review to delete that part. 
It is a real pity.
off-topic, but I have been interested in using 10180 li-ions as a rechargable alternative to 3xLR44 used in so many devices…
I think the max discharge rated ~200mA is a problem however, seeing that LR44 is maybe 75mA…
Any thoughts about this type of usage?
I have 5mm RGB colour fade led lamps which I think I would like to try with 10180 li-ion. They have embedded ICs and are rated to 5V so I think they would work ok, if you can remember to turn them off :bigsmile:
The DQG spy has finally motivated me to update my blog.
I think, I’ll leave the serious beamshots and runtime tests to others (like the OP), but here are few of my thoughts on the DQG spy:
Perfect reviews, fabulous pictures, and I like the most tiny flashlight in the world, small light with low capacity battery, which means I should recharge the battery frequently, the only pity.
They’re amazing lights!
I’m just wishing that DQG Fairy has more knurling on its body.
As always UPz, fabulous review and you are one of the best.
My brass Fairy arrived yesterday.The first thing I saw when I opened the package was the extra 10180 cell I had ordered and never seeing one before, I couldn’t believe how tiny the cell was. The light itself is also incredibly tiny. Pictures don’t do this thing justice as it’s so teeny, tiny you have to see it in person to appreciate just how small it is.
Of course like so many DQG lights, this Fairy light is no different than other DQG lights as it’s an O-ring eater! The O-ring installed on the light was ripped to shreds. I tried cleaning and smoothing out all the threads and installed a 2nd O-ring and with just a couple of activation’s, the 2nd O-ring was ripped to shreds. What’s up with that DQG?
I finally wrapped some Teflon tape around the threads because without the O-ring the head is too loose and the tape is working okay. You would think by now DQG could make lights that don’t rip up O-rings. I have 3 other DQG lights and all of them except one are O-rings eaters and have no O-rings in them.
On the positive side, this thing is more like a piece of jewelry than a light. The finish is beautiful with a nice semi-gloss brass finish. The Tritium vial in the tail is plenty bright and is a nice touch.
Of course this is a mule meaning there’s no beam to speak of because it doesn’t have a reflector but it puts out a nice swath of light. The high mode is pretty impressive for such a tiny thing. I like flood lights and this is a good one.
Except for the usual DQG lights hate O-rings thing, it’s a wonderful little light and well worth owning if not just for the “WOW, that’s so tiny!” factor and along with the Spy, it’s probably one of the best key chain lights out there.
Oh yeah, I also wanted wanted to say that at $20.00 less than the Spy, I think this is the real bargain of the two.
for what it’s worth, I haven’t had any issues with the o-ring in my dqg spy, so far.
Great review, thanks UPz, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Amazing how small these things are now. 130lm OTF from something this tiny is remarkable. And then when you stop showing off and need the runtime, there’s 4hrs of it on low. Excellent design! I might really get this someday.
What are you guys using for chargers for the 10180?
For charger the 10180, I use these two :
- USB charger veleno Design (12$ plus shipping) http://www.velenodesigns.com/?page_id=15
- Cottonpickers Charger. There is a guy on the CPF, he can customize it, I asked a 60mA charge. 17$
That’s good advice Trevi_Lux especially with Cottonpicker. He’s one of the best. I’ve been using his standard 100mA charger and it works great with the 10180 cell.
> machined brass
Can you identify the alloy used? The supplier should be able to tell you.
This (first few hits) will explain why it’s important to know the alloy:
https://www.google.com/search?q=brass+alloy+lead+surface
(briefly — because not everyone is as informed or as careful as possible, people should know this: in machining, the lead globules smear into a film on the surface of the metal, so the same issues as handling lead metal are a concern for machinists and customers)
How much lead are we talking about? Like lead paint exposure levels? Is there a test without going full chemical analysis? edit: looks like there are a few DIY methods.
Does anyone know what size o-rings the DQG Spy takes? I’m not sure how to measure them. Mine is eating o-rings right now, so would like to get a bunch more.
Thanks a bunch for the run times. Very impressive that it can still push out 60 lumens after 20 minutes on high.
Also awesome pics, love the comparisons with other lights!
I’d like to know also as mine is eating them too. As I stated above, all my DQG lights are O-ring eaters.