I looked at Fasttech’s. The thing I noticed was they have brass screws holding the clip on and they are the versions that seem to get good press. A bit like Tomtop’s where as Focalprice had smaller silver ones.
Marc.
I’m using mine mainly on the bike and always on strobe mode (yep, i know most around here would send me to a chinese re-education camp because of it). I don’t see the problem with it having three modes, since it can work as a single mode, just full press the tailcap and voila! single mode. Half press it, and you have a great multi mode cheap flashlight . If i get my single mode from fasttech (currently at customs) this week i will be able to compare quality and power against ebay’s one.
I blame ya’ll…
I have two from Tmart and they seem fine. Bright on NiMH, brighter and work great on 14500, decent finish, three mode (listed as 1-mode), not the lowest price, but in the ballpark.
Maybe I missed something. Mine came as Q5 and UF brand, maybe that’s a recent change?
Pulsar13, what was wrong with the ones you got from Tmart?
I got the red one, the anodizing was ok but the head wobbles as well, really bad. On normal use it will simply zoom in/out at will.
The black one is probably from different supplier.
My first SK68 was billed as a Q3. I found it to be less bright than my subsequent Q5’s. My Q3 also showed some purple fringing on the beam. The Cree website shows a minimum luminous flux of 93.9 for the Q3, versus 107 for the Q5 (in Cool White). There is quite a range in CCT (correlated color temperature), which may explain some of the variation in specific samples. Cree XR-E information is here:
Thanks for that. I know the Q5 should be slightly brighter but there is nothing better than someone telling exactly what the difference is from first hand experience.
Thanks again,
Marc.
I received two from Amazon seller BBQBuy, black three mode, next mode memory (can be resistor modded to no memory, start on high). I opened them up to improve the thermal path (compound on emitter base and pill threads). These were $5.40 each when I got them, so it was a no-brainer and definitely a good buy at that price.
- Cree XP-E emitter, this was a surprise. They are brighter than the UF XR-E based ones I have when running on one AA NiMH, but it’s the other way around on 14500 cells.
- solid pill
- decent ano
- very firm zoom, needed grease
- 14500 support, bright with this supply
- tailstands
- zoom loss is higher than XR-E based zoomies (XP-E has a wider light output angle)
Output measurements (flood mode, zoom loss ratio given)
BBQBuy
1xAA NiMH: 76 lumens
2xAA NiMH: 72 lumens
14500: 155 lumens
Zoom loss: 50%
Tmart UF
1xAA NiMH: 69 lumens
2xAA NiMH: 74 lumens
14500: 196 lumens
Zoom Loss: 41%
This is great if the silver ring is magnetic. Exactly what I wanted to do with my tailcap. Where did you get the photo from?
It and two of the sipik 98’s. Not sure of the specs.
Darn! Its the Q3… Thats alright… I’ll buy another one… lol
Specs…
Product Description Condition: Brand New. Model: SK- 68 - 3W. Adjustable Focus : Can adjust its focus for different usage . Zoom Mode: Zoom In & Zoom Out . Waterproof , you can use it in a rainy day !
Switch: End Tail On/Off button . Battery Type: 1x 14500 OR 1x AA Battery (Not Included) Material: Aluminum alloy. Color Exactly the same as pictured ! Size :92mm x Ø25mm x Ø20mm Net Weight: 63g.
My son and I each got a 3 mode Ultrafire from T-Mart USA warehouse when ordering a 1 mode - not my brightest (of 3) but it’s become my favorite. After a few seconds of being off it comes back on in the high mode, otherwise it’s next mode if turned off and back on immediately.
Yeah I gotta try ordering that black Tmart sk68 when I need another one, some good input on them it seems. What I bought was the red one.
I just received this
Was $5.93 including shipping when I ordered I see it’s now $7.99.
Three modes, fit and finish is good, running off a 14500.
Took 12 days to get to SoCal.
I got two.
5.40 each shipped a while ago. Very nice lights for that price.
Is this where I sign up for the Sipik-68-of-the-Month Club?
Sign up found lots of places -
Fasttech
Amazon
TMart
DX
etc.
Best suggestion on sk68s is to add thermal heatsink paste ...
I've had best luck with ultra ok's
the 3 mode versions are barely worth the hunt for them
What kind of output are you getting from these on AA’s. I have heard people saying 80 LM and yet other people say ‘extremely bright’.
What do you guys get from yours?
Marc.
I’ve bought more than 20 of these lights in the past year, because everyone wants one as soon as they see it. I’ve had at least 6 different versions. Starting with 2 of the real sipik68s then switching to the clones cuz they were just better lights IMO. I’ve tried the BBQbuy, Tomtop, Easebon, Manafont, Miniinthebox,and another ebay seller i cant remember name. The differences in performance are so very tiny if any between the clones in my opinion. I personally prefer the 3 mode version.
.
.
I make a slight modification to mine by unscrewing the lens and adding another O ring around the threads. This changes the distance from the emitter to the aspheric lens just slightly, and makes the beam a little tighter when fully zoomed at short to medium range, and it also makes the beam solid instead of the lines being projected (which I don’t really care for).
The switch on my UltraOK feels similar to my Sipiks. The main difference I notice between them is the zoom is tighter but smoother-feeling on the UltraOK. My BBQBuy is a bit rougher-finished than the others (mainly on the fins) and the domed lens that’s over the LED on the Sipiks and the UltraOK isn’t on the BBQBuy, which makes the beam a little different—it doesn’t have that ring around the outside like the rest do. The zoom on the BBQBuy is quite smooth. The unbranded SK68 I got from TomTop seems as nice as the Sipiks.