More Fake Convoys from Gearbest.

Does GB real 2+ version comes with gift box?

This thread and the picture on post #12 make me worry whether I have a legit or fake Convoy S3 in hand (bought directly from Simon at Aliexpress).

Simon's source is safe.

Yes, it came with nice white sturdy box

I received both a fake S2+ and a fake C8 on the same order (but only after an order with a real S2+, which is impressively good). Both are being refunded by GB.

Here is what I noticed:

  • The real S2+ had a sturdy gift box with a big Convoy logo in silver. The other two came in white thin-wall cardboard boxes. The fake boxes had a bar-code and date sticker from the manufacturer. Other convoy boxes I have seen only show the model number and color bin number.
  • Both fakes have the ‘BIC pen’ driver side battery spring.
  • S2+ color is neutral white, C8 is cool white.
  • S2+ LED plate is glued down with what seems to be white bathroom RTV rubber. C8 plate has no paste.
  • S2+ has a totally inappropriate centering gasket. The gasket for the C8 fits OK.
  • Both have (poor) aluminum pills and rings throughout.
  • Both have the same small red tail switch. Spring on this side actually looks decent.
  • Both had Nangj 105C drivers, both measuring 2.8 A. But here is the kicker, they are fake too! The controller chip is not marked and has PIC style pin-out (this shorts out an USB programmer). The visible tracks on the PCB match the real thing, so the pin-swapping is happening underneath the chip. The S2+ has only the standard 5 modes. The C8 can toggle 3/5 modes, same as the latest Nangj drivers.
  • The quality of the fake S2+ body is not bad, but the C8 is terrible. The male/female threads do not match and fits very loose together until fully tight. A quarter turn back and it feels if it is ready to fall apart. The tail almost bottoms out before making electrical contact. Neither light came lubricated.

Hopefully the proliferation of fake Convoys does not hurt the reputation of Convoy. (People that think that this is what a real Convoy looks like). I have bought >10 lights/hosts from the Convoy Aliex store, ME and FastTech, and will not consider to buy Convoy elsewhere again.

Yes that’s real. It has a proper spring on the driver. Unlike the crappy copper coloured one.

OMG, is everything I buy from Gearbest.com fake?? 5 S2+ is fake then, and 3 C8 will be fake then…and my other cases. Bad power banks and crappy batteries. Whats next…have I wasted $1000 on just fake products from Gearbest.com?

Haha lol, yes it looks like it. But your power banks were not fake they were genuine crap!

Marc

Additional findings from quick inspection w/o complete teardown:

  • logo on both side of the tube.
  • logo mis-aligned
  • low grade smooth anodizing.
  • no brass cap and black retaining ring at tail.
  • comes with electronics/metal smell inside battery compartment (common for sub $8 lights).

Opening a ticket now. I have paid $141 for the flashlights, that now is most likely to be fake (the ones I’ve got is fake). And I have ordered at the same time as the other that has gotten fakes ones.
As soon as I have them, I will stat filing paypal claims, if they don’t settle this with a full refund by there self. And I have written in the ticket that I will not accept store credit, for all they sell is fake or crap, so I will not use anymore money on that store.

"Convoy" C8

My example has fairly tight-fitting threads , but although the rear threads are anodized , you can't lock it out .

On the plus side , the reflector is flawless , and the beam has a sharp hotspot .

Maybe this is some of the fallout left by the former Gearbest employee that ordered all the fake Convoy Red S2+? Maybe he ordered some fake Convoy C8 also? If this is the case, Gearbest needs to have a forensic accountant come in and look at every order that employee ordered from any supplier.

I have a bad feeling that this employee did far more purchases from rogue suppliers than just these two Convoy flashlights and has left Gearbest with a large headache.

With other stories of battery packs catching fire and these 2 counterfeit Convoys, that former employee might find himself sitting inside of a Chinese prison with a Chinese Bubba cellmate .

It’s a part of the culture over there. I got a friend that writes code for a living. One of the car radios/climate control designed for the USA big 3 had their boards manufactured in China. After the USA worker had the factory setup for the ISO standard and went back home, a factory manager changed things and suppliers so he could pocket a bunch of money. That ended up causing a product recall.

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again. China is getting taken over by the Aliens (Ferengi) and we can only see them if we wear a pair of Roddy Piper sunglasses. Excuse me while I adjust my tinfoil hat.

+1.
But even though the anodizing on mine looks OK and I can always swap out the insides, the ill-fitting threads on mine makes it a non-starter for me.

The threads on mine are bad. They fit way but are very sharp. The first time I removed the head it ripped the o ring in half.

I’m glad the C8 that I bought on June 13th was a real one. It has a beautiful 4C tint, new pill-less design, nice square cut threads and matte finish.

I’m still waiting for the replacement Red S2+ to arrive. They supposedly sent it unregistered so I have no way to track it.

You know, you can add some pictures to posts, if you like that sort of thing :bigsmile:

Against a U2-3C from ME:

Nice

Even if you got a fake one for “fairly cheap” a few minor DIY hacks can make it run VERY VERY good…simple spring bypass (solder some 22 ga wire on the driver spring and the tail cap spring, make sure there is some good heat sink goop under the star (better yet replace the aluminum star with a copper sinkpad/noctigon) and then throw a very light amount of heatsink compound on the threads of the pill…that should make it run substantially better (not change the tint, will need new emitter)

Just a few tweaks goes a long way even on the cheapies…but unfortunately there are so many manufacturers and liars from China it’s best to get them from reputable dealers…ALL the Convoy’s I got from Simon were authentic and impeccably built…a few bucks more…sure…but the quality was top notch.

At this point I’m surprised that GB is still selling fake convoys after the S2+ incident. If they said “they weren’t aware of the fakes” that’s pure BS, there are more than enough proof already.

I think we should have a Sticky thread so people stop buying from GB until they have solved this issue.

Too many are falling for it already and even those with genuine convoys started to doubt about their lights, this is definitely not good for Simon, but I don’t see he has taken serious actions on this?