I ordered this when it was on sale awhile back and I have to say, I was impressed with the quality. Integrated shelf, good overall build and quality for the price and a real XM-L2 (be it a low bin and cool tint).
Now that I have some 22mm (or was it 20mm?) drivers I want to mod it and see what it does.
Recently I’ve heard about the brand “Pop Lite” which appears to be the OEM for coast and LED lenser. They certainly fall under the “hidden” criteria of your post, but I can’t personally promise that they are gems.
BLF users Fritz t. Cat and Chicken Drumstick have written a few reviews and modded some of these lights.
This is basically a full stainless LED lenser P5 with an XR-E emitter.
I’ve seen a few reviews of the anodized aluminum version of this light, the pop-lite T22. Reviews seem to be favorable. I’m hoping that the stainless version will be a step up. The light engine in this host is certainly outdated by today’s standard, I’m counting on using this as host only.
For a 1 AA I like the Coast hx5. It’s the same price, or cheaper, as the Pop Lite but comes with a clip. I also like how the hx5 supports 14500. I don’t think the Led Lensers support li ion, looks like Pop Lite doesn’t either. The Coast hp1 was a steal for 10 bucks but now it’s 20 or more which sucks. Let us know how that Pop Lite is though. It’s nice knowing what emitter is supposed to be in it, unlike LL and Coast.
but i wouldnt call on the road a hidden gem, it is a very popular brand now because of gearbest and group buys etc… I would say it sells pretty good. I was a bit disappointed with my on the road M6 because only unprotected cells will fit and i had to buy one especially for that light. There was not a single word about that problem in the article description.
To be fair, I’m only assuming that the emitter is an XR-E. The specs list it as a “Cree Q4-WC”. The T22 however claims to use an XR-E, so I’m just assuming they’re similar.
Yeah that’s true. I am also wondering about the 320 lumens claim in that one you linked. If so, and the emitter is correct, that’s a good little light. My hx5 only claims 130 lumens off an AA. 345 with a li ion. Maybe you found a hidden gem indeed