Review: Aleto XML-T6 5 Mode 26650 "Zoomie" - The big brother to the Sipik SK68! *PIC HEAVY!*
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 19:19
Aleto XML-T6 5 Mode 26650 Zoomie
(Ebay photo)
Date Ordered: 2/26/13
Date Received: 3/9/13 (<2 weeks in transit to USA)
Price Paid: $12.99
Ebay Link: click here
Ebay Seller description
Description:
100% Brand New CREE XM-L T6 LED Adjustable Focus Torch
Made of high quality 6061T aluminum alloy, this flashlight is sturdy and durable enough for long time daily using
Lamp base: CREE, high power LED. With a lifespan of up to 100,000 hours or more, no need to consider replacing the cap for the whole life.
Waterproof, but don’t put it into water long time
Super Bright, blinding Effect
Crenellated strike bezel for enhanced self-defense
7 Mode: high / middle / low / strobe / sos / Zoom In & Zoom Out
Bulb: CREE XM-L T6 LED
Switch Location: Tailcap
Max output: 1800 lumens
Power by: 1× 18650 3.6v / 1X26650 Battery ( not include battery )
Size(mm):150 ×38(bezel)/28(body)
Net Weight (g): 150g
Color: Black
Package Included:
1 x CREE LED XM-L T6 Zoomable Flashlight Torch ( not include battery )
1800 lumens? No. 7 modes? How does “zoom in” and “zoom out” count as a mode? If that were true wouldn’t this light have TEN modes? H/M/L/Strobe/SOS x zoom in and zoom out =10?
I think its time I put this light under the microscope for some heavy scrutiny. Lets see what the judges think.
The fact they didn’t run away at 102 mph means they have spotted a few things they like.
Enough crummy jokes… on to the write up.
What I Like:
Great “chunky” feel with much more mass than a sk68!
Way better beam pattern than my sk68 clone
Runs on 26650
Solid construction
Square threads (although with some minor wobbling)
Good annodization
Big fat gitd o-ring around the bezel (6mm+ thick!)
What I do not like:
Noisy zoom/focus operation
Inside of lens scratched up quite a bit (only visible with light on)
Tailstands, but very wobbly
Light was pictured with a stainless bezel, but mine is black
Battery rattles (Trustfire flame) if shaken heavily (not a big deal, but worth noting)
General Overview:
All I can say is be prepared to want one – especially if you are a fan of the sk68. I have owned a few sk68 clones because they are cheap and fun. I have never been a huge fan of zoomie lights (flood to throw focusing), but this light peaked my interest as soon as I got my hands on it. Any I would like to blame garry again for forcing me to buy yet another light!
On to the photos.
Unboxing
Flash light arrived in the usual crappy white box which was half squashed by whatever happened to it in transit. No dings whatsoever in the finish and functioning perfectly!
Here are a few shots next to my sk68 clone for a size comparison.
Some other lights for size comparison (from left to right): Unprotected 14500, Trustfire flame 26650, UltraOK sk68 clone, L2m, Nitecore EA4L-2, Aleto Zoomie, 47s Maelstrom x10, BS Terminator, SR King, Keygos M10, Supfire X5, Ultrafire HD2010
Lens does not appear to have any defects until you turn the light on. The inside has a number of small scratches. I guess its what I would expect from a plastic lens.
The light does have well lubed square threads, however they are a little wobbly. Again, this is better than I was expecting when comparing it to the cheap sk68 clone I have.
Tailcap is a standard forward clicky and is constructed quite well. Resistance could be lowered easily by adding a copper wire from the top to the bottom of the spring. The switch does have a momentary on (half press). Switching modes can only be done by a full “off” click followed by a quick “on”. (ie – there is no momentary half press to switch modes while the light is on)
The light will tail stand, but is very wobbly and could easily fall over if bumped. (video below, me shaking the table a bit)
Very nice looking retaining ring and pill. Very heavy and seems to heat sink quite well! In my ceiling bounce tests output only dropped about 2% after being on for 5 minutes on high. Unlike the sk68 on li-ion, the aleto 26650 boasts mass and a well constructed aluminum pill which manages the heat quite well.
The size of the driver is 18.6+/- mm if anyone is wondering.
The pill is kept in place by a small retaining washer which is force fitted and then screwed into place with the pill.
This zooming in or out causes a bit of … unusual noise(video below)
Its not that horrible, and sounds like a large zipper oddly.
Beamshots
I am actually quite surprised at the nice clean and even flood pattern this light puts out. It is cool white for sure, with a hint of orange/yellow on the outside of the spill.
The zoomed in mode is also quite nice looking! Extremely uniform and NO artifacts! (exposure -2)
Here is the sk68 clone on a 14500 (on the right) next to the aleto (on the left) for a comparison. (exposure -2)
Both lights are on high and pointed at a grey colored wall about 16 feet away. The sk68 is on the right – and is responsible for the ugly rings around the hotspot. (exposure -2)
Output
I did some ceiling bounce tests to see exactly how much light this thing puts out. 100 lux = approx 900-950 lumens. (I came up with this figure by comparing several known outputs of various lights)
Here are the results:
Double halogen bathroom light (2800 bulb lumens, but bulbs are behind a diffuser)
High mode (approx 430 lumen)
Medium mode (approx 220 lumen)
Low mode (approx 4 lumen) – epic cat photobomb!
Conclusion:
At 12.99 – everyone should own one of these. I would even go so far to say that this light is a better light than the sk68. The aleto 26650 zoomie features longer runtimes, better beam quality, better construction, and better heat sinking. It is still a budget light, but for under $13 I think its a steal. One could easily mod this into a screaming 4 amp de-domed monster!
What are you still doing here – go buy one!
This is my first review – please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 19:41
#2
Fantastic review jmpaul,
Fantastic review jmpaul, thanks for sharing.
I really like the look of that light. I have an Aleto zoomie also and the build quality is excellent. I have a couple of questions though.
When I received my zoomie the biggest problem was a hollow pill – so very bad heatsinking, and also a very underdriven LED (I think mine was runnning at 1.2 amps when it arrived)
Did you check to see if the heatsinking is adequate ? and also I was wondering if you managed to take a tailcap reading on high ?
Thanks again
Spas
edit Ahh sorry, I must have missed it. You did mention the heatsinking.. Looks like it’s pretty decent judging by the readings you took on extended run.
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 19:45
#3
Real world result
Hi,
How did you rate it’s performance outside against the SK68 on a 14500? Threw just as far? Same throw bigger hot spot? Brighter? If the only benifit is greater run time from the 26650 the mauch larger size pushes it outside the realm of EDC which you can do with the 68. If it’s performance is much higher then it rates a buy.
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 20:19
#4
Great review! That beam puts
Great review! That beam puts the ZY-603 to shame.
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 20:30
#5
great review,
great review, thanks.
there’s no way I can resist owning this. I will hold off and use the desire to get me to finish other projects first, since i’m sure it will be modded.
any chance you could caliper that lens? outer diameter, bulge diameter and focal length, if it isn’t too much trouble 
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 20:43
#6
Great review jmpaul320! I’m
Great review jmpaul320! I’m ordering one. I was looking at these a while back. Thanks for reviewing it.
Edit: That’s the same seller that I got the Aleto 26650 thrower HD2010’ish looking light (aka UltraOK 26650). Good seller.
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 21:09
#7
btw, forgot to mention, I’m
btw, forgot to mention, I’m not sure if they claimed stainless bezel, or you assumed from the picture,
but DX had an sk98 style light out before the sk98 was released, “new c56” i think, and it had a bezel that looked like that. It was crummy silver anodizing, looked terrible and made mild artifacts.
black bezel is ok w/ me
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 21:37
#8
Great review jmpaul! Looks
Great review jmpaul! Looks like this one will go on my wishlist. Interesting mode changing with momentary on. Oh, and quit blaming me for making you buy lights! .
-Garry
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 21:56
#9
Love all the pics and video,
Love all the pics and video, thanks for sharing them. I like Aleto’s lights they always have new designs dirt cheap. And they ship pretty quick compared to most Chinese vendors.
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 22:16
#10
garrybunk wrote:Great review
Great review jmpaul! Looks like this one will go on my wishlist. Interesting mode changing with momentary on. Oh, and quit blaming me for making you buy lights! .
-Garry
its not a bad thing garry keep it up!
i will take some more measurements of the lens
for those who are wondering… it has the same throw to my eye as the sk68 clone on 14500… it looks like this light is just a ‘scaled up’ version of the sk68… bigger light… but bigger die emitter so same throw… but far better beam quality and better heat management
im not sure if the pill is hollow, although i would just assume so at this point… heat sinking could be improved by filling it with solder
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 22:28
#11
Great review jmpaul320. Very
Great review jmpaul320. Very good in-depth review with excellent video’s and pic. 
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 22:56
#12
Thanks for the terrific
Thanks for the terrific review. Apart from one thing your review was perfect. You stopped the jokes. looking forward to your next review.
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 00:48
#13
Nice review of a surprisingly
Nice review of a surprisingly nice light. I ended up buying one just now thanks to you. 
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 01:08
#14
Memory
Nice review!
Does it have mode memory or do you have to cycle through each one?
7 Mode: high / middle / low / strobe / sos
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 01:11
#15
thanks for the review, and
thanks for the review, and thanks for making me buy another light. nah it was half garry’s fault too, for finding the light …
did you purchase yours from that link garry posted?
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 13:50
#16
i have one
i have one of these also…
it is a pretty good light…
runs well on 18650s…with a sleeve…
i have a 4xAAA adapter which works in it also…
the slide feels a little sandy but doesn’t hang up
like some 26650 zooms i have that are junky….
this does not have the nice feel of a keygos m-12….
but the price is so low….
i think keygos m-12 is worth the extra money
i still prefer the sk-98….
the same led in a smaller size that fits in your back pocket
btw, fasttech’s sk-98 is higher quality than you will find
randomly on ebay
there are 26650 zooms on ebay that are awful p.o.s.
this is not too bad and the cheapest by far….
i’ve been watching it for a while thinking it looks
too much like a sk-68-98 to sell for the higher price…
i didn’t think anyone would even notice it…
it used to run 16.00 but they had to lower the price
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 03:07
#17
cat eyes wrote:i have one of
i have one of these also…
it is a pretty good light…
runs well on 18650s…with a sleeve…
i have a 4xAAA adapter which works in it also…
the slide feels a little sandy but doesn’t hang up
like some 26650 zooms i have that are junky….
this does not have the nice feel of a keygos m-12….
but the price is so low….
i think keygos m-12 is worth the extra money
it is a pretty good light…
runs well on 18650s…with a sleeve…
i have a 4xAAA adapter which works in it also…
the slide feels a little sandy but doesn’t hang up
like some 26650 zooms i have that are junky….
this does not have the nice feel of a keygos m-12….
but the price is so low….
i think keygos m-12 is worth the extra money
i still prefer the sk-98….
the same led in a smaller size that fits in your back pocket
btw, fasttech’s sk-98 is higher quality than you will find
randomly on ebay
there are 26650 zooms on ebay that are awful p.o.s.
this is not too bad and the cheapest by far….
i’ve been watching it for a while thinking it looks
too much like a sk-68-98 to sell for the higher price…
i didn’t think anyone would notice it…
it used to run 16.00 but they had to lower the price
that is too wierd that you just posted this. i was just gonna come back to this thread and say before i make another impulse buy, does jmpaul have the m12 to compare and now it can be answered. so we know the m12 is of better quality, but how about in terms of brightness in flood mode, which is brighter and floodier, and throws further?
jmpaul, is this as bright as your m10, no right?
do you or jmpaul have one of those tubed lights like a 2100 or a hd2011 , s2/s3? or anything you can relate in ccomparison to let me know how bright this 26650 sk98 is. i know he mentioned 1000 lumens or so, but i doubt it looks 1000 lumens in flood mode. all my zoomies in flood mode look rather dim.
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 07:56
#18
Lips wrote:Nice
Nice review!
Does it have mode memory or do you have to cycle through each one?
7 Mode: high / middle / low / strobe / sos
it has memory
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 09:44
#19
updated post #2 with answers
updated post #2 with answers to questions!
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 11:14
#20
is there a 18650 version of
is there a 18650 version of this light?
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 11:20
#21
ltcdata wrote:is there a
is there a 18650 version of this light?
Sipik sk98, or you can get a sleeve and use a 18650 for this light.
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 14:29
#22
prices
let’s face it….
for the price this light is good…
i was just trying to resell it
and did not even notice the square threads…
that’s a great feature and i am surprised the chinese would do that….
and then not use it as a selling point…..
i do not have any more keygos M 12s..
i had about 10 of them….
they are a very good light…
but i doubt they had square threads…
i would spend the extra for the keygos
below is the 18650 version of this style…
fasttech’s model is top quality for this version…
(well, i only bought one of theirs and it’s great)
they do not have heatsinking
but are good when used carefully..
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 14:16
#23
Nice review, lucky for me its
Nice review, lucky for me its a zoomy. Resistance is no problem, its the one kind of light I absolutely will not make the mistake of buying another of.
Incidentally, the 26650 Gary made me buy was an aleto too…..
Care to explain yourself Gary? 
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 14:50
#24
jmpaul320 wrote:
I unscrewed
I unscrewed the bezel – the lens is approx 35mm in diameter. I could not remove the lens from the head – it appears to be held in place by a retaining ring which is a piece of the bezel and thus cannot be removed from the inside. I also could not remove the large green glow in the dark oring on the outside as it appears to be glued in place…
it does not look like replacing the lens is possible unless the green gitd plastic oring is removed on the outside.
Interesting, thanks.
I guess when I order I’ll get 2, so that I still have one after the other gets destroyed getting the lens out lol
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 14:54
#25
Umm. . . I'm just passing on
Umm. . . I'm just passing on good finds to my fellow BLF'ers!
-Garry
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 17:15
#26
garrybunk wrote:Umm. . . I’m
Umm. . . I’m just passing on good finds to my fellow BLF’ers!
-Garry
anything garry recommends is something you must have.
if you doubt that simply look at his defiant 3c thread… its…. huge.
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 23:07
#27
hmm..so this only puts out a
hmm..so this only puts out a bit more lumens vs the sk68 both in flood mode? that doesnt sound very bright at all.
so that means this light is no match for that m10 you got right?
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 05:33
#28
Now I'm confused
Should I get this zommie, get the M10 or the M12? And don’t say all of them!
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 08:19
#30
Garry makes everyone spend
Garry makes everyone spend money! I think I need to use him on my taxes to try and recoup some of my money. Lol Resistance is futile. He should have been in sales!
Nice review this will complete my set of sk68 style lights! Thanks!
My buddy likes the sk68 lights and showed him my sk98 this weekend and he wants one but he wants a neutral tint installed in it though after seeing some 4c and 3c tints this weekend.
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 11:18
#31
Thanks very much for the
Thanks very much for the review! Frontpage’d and Sticky’d.
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 16:23
#32
ive got a xml t5c1 im
ive got a xml t5c1 im debating putting in this just to see how it changes the beam… its basically purple now
Tue, 03/12/2013 - 00:19
#33
Nice review, i like the video
Nice review, i like the video review.
Tue, 03/12/2013 - 01:48
#34
4 lumen low zoomie with
4 lumen low zoomie with memory, tail stands and fits long protected 26650's. That sounds like a winner.
Tue, 03/12/2013 - 12:26
#35
Too bad it isn’t brighter. It
Too bad it isn’t brighter. It has a big battery, plenty of thermal mass, good heat sinking, and great beam profile. Yet it’s pushing what? 1.5 amps maybe? What a joke! Why couldn’t they drive it at a good 2.5 Amps so you can get a decent 800ish lumens in flood mode, and 550ish in throw?
Can you check the tailcap to see its amperage measurements? Maybe your lumen counts were done solely in throw mode and it loses a lot of lumens in throw, maybe due to blackened inside vs mirrored or whatever?
Tue, 03/12/2013 - 15:53
#36
joe1512 wrote:Too bad it
Too bad it isn’t brighter. It has a big battery, plenty of thermal mass, good heat sinking, and great beam profile. Yet it’s pushing what? 1.5 amps maybe? What a joke! Why couldn’t they drive it at a good 2.5 Amps so you can get a decent 800ish lumens in flood mode, and 550ish in throw?
Can you check the tailcap to see its amperage measurements? Maybe your lumen counts were done solely in throw mode and it loses a lot of lumens in throw, maybe due to blackened inside vs mirrored or whatever?
i dont have good enough leads to check the current, but with the lens off the ceiling bounce tests show that the lens is eating up a good 10% of the output lol.
Wed, 03/13/2013 - 00:03
#37
i put it up against a sk-98
i put it up against a sk-98 last night…
both with the same sanyo 18650 batteries…
they were the same, except the aleto is purple…
it is really a purple light…
and that made the sk-98 look brighter to me…
to me there’s no doubt the m-12 is much better…
the threads are square on this, but there is a noisy wire
instead of an o-ring in the zoom slide…
i can put an o-ring in there..
but the purple light is really too much…
i’m sure it will be good when completely rebuilt…
i would buy a sk-98 before this one
Wed, 03/13/2013 - 16:11
#38
Current/beam width?
I second measuring the current, please. Low quality leads don’t make the test not worth doing. Plus, I doubt the current is so high as to matter much.
Also, in WIDE mode, are they just as wide as each other? With that big lens, I’d hope the beam is wider than the SK68? Would really like to know!
Thanks for the review.
Thu, 03/14/2013 - 14:26
#39
Ive got one of these coming
Ive got one of these coming from the same supplier.
Thu, 03/14/2013 - 15:46
#40
warmurf wrote:Should I get
Should I get this zommie, get the M10 or the M12? And don’t say all of them!
m10 if you don’t want a zoomie lol
the M12 if you want high output
this is you want smaller size
ive got a xml t5c1 im debating putting in this just to see how it changes the beam… its basically purple now
you should test the emitter with just the lens before going through the trouble of swapping (although, depending on your set up, swapping might be the easiest way to test).
I’ve had several budget plastic lenses make output look purple and swapping to a glass lens made it nice cool white with no purple at all.
Thu, 03/14/2013 - 15:56
#41
budget glass lens
ok thanks,
where can you get budget glass lenses ?
and how do you make a zoomie zoom to a smaller point ???
my sk-98 zooms to a pretty big square….
i was hoping with a smaller square, it would throw further…….
Fri, 03/15/2013 - 10:16
#42
The only thing that would
The only thing that would make me want a bigger zoomie is because it will have a bigger lens and therefore smaller hotspot/better throw.
But this one just doesn't have that. They put the same diameter lens in as the sk98, with a thick green ring around it. Is this because that lens just happened to be available? A bigger piece of plastic would not have cost much more, and would have improved the throw significantly, would even have made the throw a bit impressive (which is quite an achievement with an XM-L inside).
Fri, 03/15/2013 - 10:18
#43
Just ordered one of these
Just ordered one of these too. Will have to wait and see I guess.
Fri, 03/15/2013 - 10:27
#44
Come on, jmpaul! I see that
Come on, jmpaul! I see that you have the same lux meter as I do. Forget the ceiling bounce and test the lux at 1m between this one and the SK68. Pictures can deceive but meters say believe.
Fri, 03/15/2013 - 11:29
#45
JohnnyMac wrote:Come on,
Come on, jmpaul! I see that you have the same lux meter as I do. Forget the ceiling bounce and test the lux at 1m between this one and the SK68. Pictures can deceive but meters say believe.
sorry about neglecting this thread all week!
i am usually quite busy during the week – i will try to update post 2 with answer to questions and also take some lux readings over the weekend
Mon, 03/18/2013 - 07:07
#46
Picture of the dropin
Picture of the dropin please
have the dropin aluminium under the star?
That is all i need to know for decide If I should buy it
Wed, 03/20/2013 - 11:49
#47
Nice review, thanks!
Nice review! Thanks!
So nice that it made me to buy this light..
The pill is solid and there was even some Fujik under the star.
My sample is reasonably driven at 1.6A. Modes are 100%, 50% & 10%, no memory - starts at high after 3s off. Low mode is not 4 lumen, more like 40 lumen (I think your lux readings confirm this).
Wed, 03/20/2013 - 13:06
#48
Flood (for me) is the more
Flood (for me) is the more important feature of a zoomie.
Which zoomie would you choose?
I don’t care if it uses 1 o 2 18650.
This SK98 clone from FT?
Trustfire Z1/Z5?
Palight M900?
XXX?
Wed, 03/20/2013 - 15:14
#49
Just got mine through. Some
Just got mine through. Some very good and a little bad.
Plus points:
-clean and unbleamished
-surprised at the output. It’s way brighter than an sk68 on a 14500. I don’t have tail cap readings yet. But I’m certainly not disappointed
-tint is very good. Not sure if I’ve struck lucky but the tint it almost identical to my Klarus NT20. Very neutral white edging on the side of cooler. But a million times better than my z8 and as good as any of my other lights
Now the bad:
- the head is very lose and has no resistance. This mean tip it head down and it zooms. Tip it up and it slides all the way to flood. I guess there should be some kind of friction ring to stop this happening. Any ideas on what it need to do or adjust?
Thanks.
Wed, 03/20/2013 - 15:31
#50
sounds like they forgot to
sounds like they forgot to put the metal c-ring under the slide part.
I always take those out and put an oring in the slot anyway.
updated 3/10/13 with answers to questions
did you purchase yours from that link garry posted?
Yes, I bought from the link Garry provided
Does it have mode memory or do you have to cycle through each one?
It has memory
Thanks for the terrific review. Apart from one thing your review was perfect. You stopped the jokes. looking forward to your next review.
I will try to be a bit less serious next time
any chance you could caliper that lens? outer diameter, bulge diameter and focal length, if it isn’t too much trouble :)
I unscrewed the bezel – the lens is approx 35mm in diameter. I could not remove the lens from the head – it appears to be held in place by a retaining ring which is a piece of the bezel and thus cannot be removed from the inside. I also could not remove the large green glow in the dark oring on the outside as it appears to be glued in place…
it does not look like replacing the lens is possible unless the green gitd plastic oring is removed on the outside.
How did you rate it’s performance outside against the SK68 on a 14500? Threw just as far? Same throw bigger hot spot? Brighter? If the only benifit is greater run time from the 26650 the mauch larger size pushes it outside the realm of EDC which you can do with the 68. If it’s performance is much higher then it rates a buy.
The output on throw mode is about the same to my eyes as the sk68 on 14500. The hotspot size is identical as it appears the aleto is just a ‘scaled up’ version of the sk68 (including the emitter size)
The Aleto will put out a bit more lumens in flood mode, although when the bezel is extended to throw mode, it loses about 25-30% of the output resulting in a hotspot similar to the sk68. The Aleto has less thermal sag and can run on high without having to switch to a lower mode to cool off like the sk68. The Aleto’s beam is also much nicer and 99% artifact free. The only thing imo the sk68 has over the aleto is the smaller size. Obviously unless you have cargo pants or a huge pocket the Aleto isnt really an EDC option … unless its holstered.
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