I joined this site a few nights ago while searching for flashlights via GOOG -- reason being, I ordered 11 cree xr-e q5 and a driver from DX a month back and made a light fixture for a planted tank. I had ordered an extra cree just incase one was a dud. I ended up with an extra one :)
So I had 6 dollars in ebay bucks last week and started to shop for a freebie. I came across what looked to be either a c30 or x2000 that my e-bucks would cover. The ad stated Q5, and included a case, I was sold!! The light makes it here and I dropped in the 3 AAA batteries into the holder and checked the draw at the tail cap. .320ma. I put the cap on, turned it on and focused the beam so I could see the "lego block" Boy was I shocked, what I saw was a yellow square with 2 wires hitting the center of the square and a blue spot in between them. I had been mislead by an ebay seller. I contacted that seller and said what gives, I have a square - not a leggo block as you do in the photos in the ad, he said he contacted the manufacture and they changed cree style but the output is the same. It was no where the same, the only comparison I had was 10 q5's running at 1amp at 5 inches apart. He said don't leave neg feedback if your not happy I'll refund you. Well he did and didn't ask to ship the item back.
Well you can guess where that extra Q5 I had laying around ended up going:) Now I'm pulling .940ma at the tailcap with the Q5 and I can watch those poor AAA batteries drain as minutes passed...... I came here and read about a post titled tenergy are back 14.99 shipped. So I bought my first li-ion's today. I then researched chargers and just made an offer on a xtar wp2 II for 16.49 which got accepted:) I also found an extension piece to accept 18650 cells for my flashlight for .99 shipped. Hopefully that threads in, I don't have a vernier caliper so hopefully I luck out, find out in a month...china deal :(
So now I'm uncertain which flashlight I should buy since I'm overstocked with 18650's, thinking along the lines of a cree xm-l but unsure of host - wf501b any good? All I do is walk the dog LOL - mating season for the deer around here, last year a buck almost killed my dog- pretty scary scene.
A P60 host such as a 501b, or far better a 502b, with a xm-l in it wouldn't be bad. But if I were to have only one 18650 light then I think it would have to be a C8. A C8 is almost as pocketable a p60 host but makes far better use on an xm-l emitter.
This one is small enough for pocket http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/lumapower-mrv-xml-t6-3mode-memory-led-flashlight-118650-p-7246 and low mode is low enough for walking with dog. And then the high is real throw to shine the sun at any deer :) recommended!
