So I ordered last Friday and had it today from CNQG. Can't really beat that!
Bottom line-if you're like me, a type A that has less than zero patience for waiting, use EMS. It is definitely worth the money. Not like I have it... good I have my own Paypal!
Ric or his assistant from CNQG were prompt and communicative with emails. Shipped within a day or two from Singapore, so there must be a warehouse there.
I can't stop handling the light, admiring it, turning it over hand to hand. Don't know what my shrink would think! It is very solid, flawless finish, emitters are perfectly centered, thanks to the little trim thingie that Skyray (or whomever) uses around the emitter. No Skyray markings. No switch issues, in fact, the switch has a nice feel and is in the perfect location for my large hands.
Lube those threads!! Please! Mine squealed like a freight train in emergency... if I didn't lube, they would probably fuse. (happened to me once-ruined a host) Now they are smooth.
Brightness: Not sure whether I'm disappointed or not... it is certainly on an equivalent with my triple AMC jobs, but no brighter. It's just about up there with the DRY warm I got from Chicago X. (that one being insane for a warm) I was expecting more of a death ray but I'm not really complaining, either! I'm using four brand new Trustfire pink 2600 MaH cells. I'm resisting the urge to try IMR's; they burned up another non-7135 light once.
I like the color, but it would really be sharp in black matte. It's nice enough that I don't know how to pimp it out except for blacking out the mirror finish around the reflectors. (too blingy)
I adore the body without battery carrier hassles. Nice gold springs, no battery rattle.
What I did out of the box:
Took off bezel, polished it with Mother's Mag polish. (MM) (Walmart) Cleaned lens with Invisible Glass. (any supermarket) Sanded each battery nipple to make sure there were no burrs. With MM I polished the driver contacts and all battery points. They will shine up to where you can see yourself. Squirted some Deoxit D5 into a small glass bottle. Took a Q-tip and swabbed every point that I polished with a thin layer of D5. Lubed threads, including the bezel.
What I like: Sheer looks! Fondle-ability. Switch placement/feel. Solid. No carrier. Nice quality.. Starting out in high every time... good for lighting someone up without mode switching. Great head cracker/fistload for self-defense.
What I didn't like: Fingerprints on mirror finish surrounding reflectors. Blacked it out with a Sharpie for now. Tones 'er down a bit. I want a medium mode! That's where they dropped the ball.
Bottom line summary:
1) Use EMS. 2) Lube threads. 3) A production light that I'm not disillusioned with and doesn't have to be gutted/modded out of the box, and that's saying a lot!
Comments about brightness are my impressions only-you won't be unhappy!
Rich