18650 Flashlights at Princess Auto?

Hi all,

I'm new to BLF but have been shadowing for a while. I'm wondering if anyone has tried out the 18650 lights they've started stocking at Princess Auto (Canada). Going price is $20 and it's a package deal:

http://www.princessauto.com/all-seasons/farm/security/flashlights/8378861-8w-led-aluminum-flashlight

I happened across it by accident tonight when I was browsing on my way home. The store was a minute from closing but I had to ask. Checked out the package, and this set comes with a 1200 mAh 18650 cell, the black "block" style charger (looks like the 4sevens one except with no switches/options or markings), and the light (which is unmarked on the badge area) that seems to have reasonably decent machine work.

Gazing down the business end, the emitter looked to be either XP-E or XR-E, and after checking the company's website it turns out they show a photo of this model with "Cree Q5" stamped on the side. I know I've seen these somewhere before, and they might have been going by a different name, I just can't recall what it was.

Seems to be a decent thrower by the look of things. They let me test one out in the store and the beam output is pretty tight, roughly on par with my 3D Mag LED @ tight focus. I found out after returning home, though, that I might not have been using this light at its brightest, as the package had next to no documentation and I assumed it was single-mode.

Def. has the specs to be a budget light, and seems to be not a bad thrower.

Anyone got a review close to hand? Like I said, I've got a feeling we've done this one before.

The Page You Were Looking For Is Not Found...

Re-checked and the link works, no issues.

If it's not being recognized by your browser, you could do a search for "8W LED Aluminum Flashlight" via the main site on the top right (http://www.princessauto.com), that will get you there too.

If the site still won't open even at the main page, call your ISP because it might be a DNS routing issue.

http://www.princessauto.com/all-seasons/farm/security/flashlights/8378861-8w-led-aluminum-flashlight

?

Looks like a C8.

looks like a c8 to me

Thanks!

Sure enough, it's been re-badged as Trustfire C8, Ultrafire C8, etc.

The reviews I'm finding deal with a newer XM-L variant, but regardless, it was weird to feel the low weight of this Q5 and realize it's delivering at least as many lumens as my Mag. I'm used to big clunky things with big clunky batteries.

As is, I'm impressed with the simple value this pack offers. We see very little in the way of 18650 where I live and even House of Knives here has stopped carrying its high performance lights in favour of more popular AA/D models.

Anyway, I've got a 4sevens charger and some 18650s in the mail already (with eyes on a Solarforce L2T) but am strongly considering at least one of these cheaper lights to mount on a helmet. If/when I do it, I'll post a detailed review. Here's hoping for another excuse to finally give D cells the boot.