First off I’d like to appologise to Swi @ Banggood for being really slow to review this light. I’ve had the light a bit over 3 weeks now and I’ve had various excuses that have caused me to not get on with the boring part of getting sent lights, the writing up of the review. The positive part of this is I’ve actually had time to play with the light a lot more than I usually do when reviewing a light and that can only be a good thing.
I normally don’t buy “cheap” lights as I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to flashlights. I was asked if I’d like to review a couple of cheaper lights so I thought what the hey I’ll have a play. The little review that follows is for a rather cheap yet nice Elfeland T6 flashlight.
“packaging”
The item arrived in a little white box with a light wrapped in bubble wrap. The box was bashed to bits and it looked like it was kicked around in the postal system but the light itself was in perfect condition. There was no spare o-ring in the pack but the lanyard was already on the light itself. I’ve never had to swap out an o-ring on a light before so this is no real issue for me. I do however keep all of the o-rings in a box incase I ever need to replace one.
Light in the hand
This light feels well made in the hand. It’s definitely not flimsy, it’s actually quite heavy and better than what I first expected. The belt clip is sturdy and you can remove it if you choose, it is just a case of grabbing a small allen key and taking off two screws (It’s a T1.5Bit so it is small!). After you’ve taken the belt clip off the light feels much nicer in the hand. I don’t use belt clips so it seemed silly to keep the clip on the light.
The clicky switch is responsive, the rubber is neither too stiff or too soft which is nice. Recently I’ve had a few lights where the switches are a bit “odd” and this light is not one of them. The tail cap has a small cut out on it to allow you to get your thumb to the button which is a nice touch. I think the ThorFire C8 had a second revision where they changed the tail cap to allow this cut out for ease of access so it seems that Elfeland made this light from scratch with the better design.
I powered the light up and tossed it into the bath to see if it failed yet after ten minutes it was still lit up and when I dried the outside off and opened it up there was no water inside so it seems nicely sealed and waterproof. I also clicked the light on/off/on a few times because I’ve had leaks from the power switch on other claimed waterproof lights before. This light passed this test easily.
I dropped the light a few times deliberately in the house to see if it cut out, again it was fine. It didn’t even flash off with a break of contact which some of my lights have been known to do.
on scales
head diameter
body length
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The beam of this light is neither super floody or super throwy but it is perfect for use around the house or garden.
The light starts off full brightness then drops down to 70, 50 and then flash and strobe. There is no specified lumen rating but hopefully my video will show you how bright it is compared to a ThorFire VG15S and a Convoy S2+.
The light does NOT have a memeory mode. You flick through the modes and once you’ve left it switched off and flick it back on it starts in high. The power button is like a Digital SLR shutter, full click = on/off, half press = mode change.
Video showing modes:
Summary:
I was pleasantly suprised by the quality of this light. I’ve deliberately put this light at the front of a shelf so that I grab this before grabbing other more expensive lights and I’ve not found myself putting it back to grab something brighter or more expensive. For a <$10 light this light really is quite nice and I’d actually be willing to suggest to some of my friends who don’t want to spend too much on their first light that this would be a good starting point. This light is defintely worth its selling price. I’m confident that if you purchase this light and appreciate the light is <$10 you will be very pleased.