New XM-L Light,, 26650/18650/4xAAA Good Price and 57mm head ......... NOTE: The star is solid aluminium !!! :bigsmile:

Thanks for the details VFMaddict! Sounds perfect for a non-flashaholic buddy of mine. Any chance you could try 4AAA's (alkaline of course) and check runtime? And tailcap draw?

Thanks!

-Garry

No chance to do runtime tests yet. Draw on 4xAAA is 1.82A and on 4x(AAA) Eneloops draw is 2A. But WOW !!! It very noticeably outthrows my KD C8 XM-L with a TF3100 pulling 3A. More so than with a good 18650 in it. Strange. The bottom line is that I am both astonished and delighted by the AAA performance. I can’t think of any light at anywhere near this price which is capable of being non-lithium driven and which delivers this KD C8 beating performance. :bigsmile:

PS As I have a fair number of 1xAAA lights and other devices I always have a very good stock of AAA Alkalines usually three dozen or more… Its good to know that now if I’m ever in a situation where there is no possibility of using my chargers then I can still field a very capable thrower.

Thanks! Sounds great!

-Garry

I left it on last night using an unprotected Samsung 18650 and to me it does seem to have a low voltage cutoff since it reacts the same as my ITP C8 when the cell is getting close to low voltage…….my light blinks 3 times as a warning, has anyone here also notice that. The light was set to low and turned on about 10pm last night and when i got up around 830 my little one told me that the light was blinking.

Ordered! Couldn't take it anymore! Teetered on ordering 2, but decided on 1 for now.

So if the low PWM turns out to be a killer, what is a good driver to replace with that would work reasonable on the 4AAA's and keep output down to levels reasonable for the limited heatsinking? One could even be a driver which is direct-drive on high since I plan on 4AAA use only.

Thanks,
-Garry

Got mine yesterday. Looks good. I like it so far. Yes a few rings.in the beam but no worse than a maglite. PWM is barely noticeable to me, not bad by any means. Very happy for the price, think I will order a couple more for friends. Not tried it onAAA yet. Keygos 26650 fits nicely.

Sounds like it works ok with AAAs so a decent light for non flashie friends.

Don’t forget to put a bead of Fujik or other TIM (i.e. Arctic Silver, etc.) around the ledge that the star sits on. This improves heatsinking very significantly. I found this by checking tube heat (without the reflector head) before and after doing it. With a very good TF3100 in it (my best one) the light draws 2.7A. With 4xEneloops, 1.82A and with 4xAAA Alkalines, 1.65A. Runtime on AAA 90 minutes approx. Even at 1 hour it still throws on a par with a 3.0A P60 SMO XM-L, not bad for AA’s after an hour.

The reflector head also sucks heat away very effectively. Without the head the tube gets very warm Screw the head back on and it cools almost instantly. With the light pulling 2.7A on a very good 18650 there is no real need to switch drivers.

The only other problems with this light other than the extra TIM needed is that the driver spring may need centering and o-rings replacing.

This is an amazing light for the money and an ideal gift for non-lithium users once the above fixes are applied.

Runtime 90mins? Wow! That's much better than I expected! I guess that's with decreasing brightness?

-Garry

Yep, but still good throw. As I said earlier even after 1 hour of use the 4xAAA’s are still matching a P60 SMO 3A XM-L for throw and that P60 host had a TF3100 @ 3.99v. I have to say this lights ability with just AAA’s has surprised me.

IT’S ARRIVED!!! :bigsmile:

Initial impressions, I like it, it needs a set of o-rings, the threads lubing, I’ve wicked the thermal paste to the edge of the star, but I may see about machining an aluminium plug to build up the mass of the light engine.

As vfmaddict notes, its insanely bright on AAA’s, it has no right to be that impressive on such puny cells! 8)

My England (well Scotland to be totally accurate) sourced imr26650’s should arrive by Friday so I can play with it next week. The pwm is noticable, but I don’t find it overly irritating, although I’m thinking about an ld25 driver if I do make a plug for the heat sink. Over all though, now its arrived I’m very happy with it, nice heft, nice looking, jacket pocketable, would make a great gift for a none flashaholic who wants a bright light.

Good Call , VFMaddict 8) 8)

Not much to add to what’s already been said !

Fit & Finish is good
They are pretty darned impressive on AAA’s. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
I didn’t notice PWM on them. :slight_smile:
I hate the strobe, J) , but that’s not unusual for me.
Better o-rings & fujik on the star are about all they really need.
Copper slugs may be in their future , but for now I’m going to leave them as is !! :slight_smile:

Thanks Guy’s ! Well worth the money…

I like mine so much I ordered 3 more. This has to be one of the best value for money torches out there right now. Guess what my non flashy friends are getting for Christmas/birthdays?

Is there any seller who ships to germany?

Mine finally arrived, but with an issue. The bezel was loose, and it just wouldn’t screw back into the head properly. I removed the o-ring that usually sits between the bezel and the lens and noticed that the thread ‘bites’ really late, and that the o-ring was preventing it from doing so. After removing the head from the body however, I was finally able to get the bezel screwed down with the o-ring in place, but only barely. The first time I screwed the head back on the bezel popped out again due the pressure the pill was putting on the reflector (which in turn was putting pressure on the lens, then the o-ring and finally the bezel of course). The second time I screwed the bezel down as tight as I possibly could, and was careful not the screw the head back on too tight. It seems to be holding up OK now.

What I really want to know is if anyone else can relate to any of this? If they are all pretty much the same I wont bother trying to get a replacement, but if they’re not I definitely will.

All in all this is a crappy quality torch (even ignoring my bezel issue) which was to be expected. But it’s not incredibly crappy. It redeems itself somewhat with it’s nice styling, decent output and battery options. But if I’d had a chance to sample a unit before purchase, I would have kept my money.

Size comparison with a couple of other well known lights:

If it looks like it’s on a little bit of a lean, it is. As mentioned earlier, I can’t screw the head all the way onto the body with the bezel screwed in, so it’s kinda just sitting like that right now. Have contacted the seller regarding a resolution.

Mines ok tbh, o rings would have made it fine as delivered, I still see it as a functional host but I am thinking of getting a few as gifts, a none flashaholic would be very impressed with it I feel.

Aside from the issue I’ve already described, mine came properly decked out with o-rings everywhere they should be, nicely lubed threads and even had thermal paste applied to the bottom of the star.

QC is clearly all over the place, in an almost amusing sort of way.

Would not be surprised to find out that “assemblers” we’re shown the “right way” to put them together and then were paid for each assembled light with no QC. Sounds like this could be a decent host if you get lucky or scrap Alu if you don’t.

So far, none have arrived doa, otherwise their much the same as Amy cheap Chinese light - lube, o-rings the odd poor threading job, I think its petty much par for the course.

Thing is though, the AAA output is pretty damm amazing, not many other lights can claim that.

Pardon my hyperbole, it’s a lazy habit. This light actually has me intrigued as a host if the threading problems are fairly uncommon. The other shortcomings sound correctable even for the budget minded. Could someone post some pics of the inside and what’s in there?
Edit- sorry, see the pics, skipped over a page by accident.