Got this C8 on promotion for $5 from Amazon.
It’s pretty cheap.
Shallow and not great threads.
H/M/L/strobe/SOS driver (1A max).
Plastic reflector with weird 1/2 Smooth 1/2 orange peel.
Angry Blue fake XP-E.
19kcd.
Ugly beam.
Would you keep it because it’s only 5 bucks?
Or would you return it and get your just 5 bucks back?
You get what you pay for kind of thing…
For $5 I wouldn’t have expected anything better, and personally I would never bother to return something this cheap.
And 19kcd is actually pretty impressive for the 1A current draw and cheapo LED!!
19kcd or 5 bucks isn’t that bad IMHO. I say keep it.
I think you can repair it on local shop, and then you can ask the seller to give the repairing fee back.
Yeah, I’m not bashing it for $5, though normal sale price is $10 and “MSRP” is $19.99
I was initially intrigued because they actually advertised it as XP-E and 320lm, not the normal blatant lie of “XP-L T6 3000LM!!!”. I thought maybe since the marketing was at least a little more believable than normal (I still assumed I would be receiving a fake emitter, I was right), but maybe the light would have a bit more quality as well. It’s not awful but it’s not great. The plastic reflector that’s 1/2 and 1/2 OP and Smooth is the part I like the least.
I figured there was a 80% chance I would get a $5 light for $5,but that there might be a 20% chance that I got a $10 or $15 light for $5. And Amazon’s return policy has always got me covered if needed.
Just curious how you all viewed the situation.
i say keep it. u can use the host for modding. if u really really dislike the plastic reflector, just order a metal one from BG/GB/FT. i just did a quick search, a metal reflector is about $2. or just use it as a beater light. u wouldn’t feel bad if it breaks.
If the reflector wasn’t so bad looking I’d buy it from you.
I would donate to friends
Drop in a FET driver, and push the snot out of it. See what it will do!!
I’d say if i paid 5$ and got a 5$ light than i got what is fair . i dislike people who abuse others return policies because they are armed with a bit of common knowledge …kind of like the fact that there even are fake cree emitters out there . I wouldn’t bother over a cheap light .lifes too short… you win some - you lose some .
the upside of cheapo lights is you get to mod and even YOU can make it better 
you can’t hurt it .//De-dome it ,.do a bad spring bypass,bake it , and sell it as a Sacman mod …$12
+1
My first mod was made in a flashlight similar to that, about 5 years ago.
The reflector is deeper than that of a normal C8.
XM-L on 20mm aluminium star and Nanjg 105 (single mode) and the “20mm copper wire adapter”, like this.
Better thrower than my best C8, a XinTD V3.
I would keep it because I have enough leftovers from other lights to make it better with no investment.
It is a $5 host, nothing more.
Is it worth the time and effort plus shipping cost to send a $5 flashlight back? I say no.
+1 and maybe a car battery and a fire extinguisher 
Please don’t forget to video the experiment if you try this one.
Not worth the time or money to send back a 5-dollar light, I don’t think.
What Boaz said: use this as a host for modding experiments. You could end up with something way cooler without much effort.
Keep it, driver a few dollars mcpcb with emitter $5 new reflector few dollars. Pretty much twice what you paid can have a high output light if you have solder abilities. Mtn electronics has all you need. Even bargin bin LEDs for couple dollars. From lights he removed them from. I’d keep it and mod. Or cheap enough to practice on at least
I made the mistake of getting marginally-better ones for about 8bux a pop. Got a bunch, expecting to mod each one anyway, so I was only getting them as hosts.
Plenty of craptastic LEDs on 20mm stars to pick from, so go crazy. Then again, there’re some really nice XP-E2s out there in wonderful tints and temps. You ain’t gonna push an XP-E2 all that hard anyway, so even though the cheap-ass pill is pretty chintzy, you can get a nice fullsize one from FT for cheap. Also, real Al reflectors, not plastic (and certainly not some weirdo SMO/MOP mutant).
To this day, one of my favorite toys is a 4300K XP-E2 in one of those beasties. Quite a nice tight beam from even that plastic reflector.
Found out, though, that for “real” LEDs and making “real” lights, forget these cheap clones even as hosts, and just get a nice real type 2 (integrated shelf, no pill) Convoy host from FT for 12-13bux. Ain’t worth the ag to try using cheap-ass lights/hosts for modifications, as by the time you get done replacing, oh, let’s see… the pill, reflector, switch, maybe even the O-rings and glass, you’ve already spent more than just getting a good host from FT in the first place.
Wow, you must really hate your friends… 
Oh yeah, you can push an XP-E2 to maybe 1.4A before you start getting too deeply into diminishing returns. An XP-G2 maybe 2.5A. I wouldn’t push any harder in a cheap host with crappy lightweight Al pill. Get a nice solid brass one from FT (about twice the height and thrice the weight), and you can push a little harder.
For me, the XP-E2 is great at 1.05A, and only marginally brighter at 1.4A. Not much more in extra lumenage to be able to tell that much of a difference, even at 33% more current, so I stick with my dumb 1.05A driver (no µC on-board at all, just 3 7135s and a diode).