SRKs, FandyFires, no name brands....

There are SO many budget lights in this exact format and look.

Which one is the most reliable? It doesn’t have to be the brightest, just built the best, with the fewest issues. Also, only “budget” lights. Brands like Nitecore, Fenix, Sunwayman in these formats are just WAY out of my price range.

I would probably go for the “original” Sky Ray
Clones are often a little bit off. Prices are about the same:

I wouldn’t buy anything that looks like an SRK (notches in the battery tube, merged reflector wells). These SRK (Skyray King) have been cloned a thousand times over and there are many out there that have very undesirable features (no heat sink is a major one).

Instead check out a far more consistent and better quality Supfire M6. They are similar to the SRK look, but aren’t plagued by the many inconsistencies SRKs now frequently have. The M6 also has non-merged reflector wells which is a huge step above the beam pattern of the SRK.

I agree with unknown00101 and say if you have a few bucks extra go with the RMM Mountain Electronics modified version of the SupFire M6. Should be available again shortly as he has quit modifying lights temporarily till after he gets caught up with the Christmas rush work and school. With 7 levels of output, no SOS or strobe, and using high frequency PMM so not noticeable to users it is a great enhancement over the stock light which construction wise is also a big step up from the SRK light and clones. I just today got back hs latest version of the M6 which incorporates temperature sensing control of step down from Turbo mode rather than a simple timer. This is supposed to become an option in the future and I got it first by loaning a already modified light back to Richard for him to use for development purposes so it is at the moment a one-off or close to it.

If you insist on a true SRK clone then the Securitying lights a carried by Amazon are good internal construction and are the lights that RMM uses for his modified SRK clone lights. I have one I bought from an Amazon seller and had RMM modify. At the same time I sent that light I also sent a black SRK marked light and it had a floating LED table internally so was a thermal disaster light, unsuitable for increased output without major modification including machined modified internal LED mountings.

Reportedly the Fandyfire 3000 Lumens 3 LED version of the SRK as carried by FastTech is the closest internally to the original SRK lights before they became a generic name with widely varied construction quality. The SRK clone versions with 4 through 7 LEDs output little more light than the 3 LED versions and have less throw due to smaller reflectors for each LED.

Thanks for the input! I would’ve never thought of the M6. It’s a nice looking light.

The Securitying lights also look interesting. Never heard of them and unless someone from this forum gave good reviews, I would’ve passed them right up because of the strange name. :slight_smile: What does the Securitying battery carrier look like? It doesn’t show on Amazon. Or does it not use a battery carrier?

No battery carriers in any of the SRKs or clones, or the M6. The back half of the light is machined so that the batteries are held in four slots in the back half of the light which unscrews from the front of the light. Makes for a more compact light and less to go wrong. The Nitecore Tiny Monster lights do the same thing.

Will it work with unprotected 18650s?

Mine have worked with both protected and unprotected 18650 batteries, both the M6 and SRK type lights. All use the batteries in parallel, the safest way to do so. Due to flat + contact plates they may not work with some flat top 18650 batteries like laptop pulls without adding solder bumps to the batteries.

Yes but you’ll need button tops or to solder a blob blob on top.

Sorry, I meant to ask if they work with flat-top batteries.

Basically depends on the flat top batteries. Some have the top slightly protruding above the rest of the + end of the battery. They work fine unmodified. Those with the flat top recessed at all will have problems unless a solder blob is added to raise the + contact. BTW if using laptop pulls with the tabs pulled the + ends need to be smoothed, particularly with the SRK clones as the + contact plate in the lights is a piece of PC board with the contact being thin copper plating the same general thickness as the traces on a PC board. The copper + contact on the M6 lights is MUCH thicker than on the SRKs and clones. The sharp weld points left on laptop pulls after tab removal if not smoothed off can damage the + contact plate.