Roche M170 - 3 X U2 / 4 X 18650

hi Tom, and everyone, links on shoudian:
http://www.shoudian.org/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=307353
http://www.shoudian.org/thread-305262-1-1.html
and new review with many photos:

:slight_smile:

Ordered the Roche M170 aswell. NW T6. Will post photos when it arrives! :slight_smile:

I’m actually thinking of ordering a small tripod for it. I think it might make a good centerpiece. :bigsmile:

You can find a gorilla pod clone online for nearly 1/10th the price. I have one and it works pretty well for the most part. The one issue is the part that holds the camera/flashlight should be tighter. As long as the object is balanced well enough on the tripod then it really isn’t an issue.

Or just get this one for $14 and it’s shipped locally from one of the best online retailers. Oh wait, you’re in Canada so it might get costly for you, huh?

I can order that one from amazon.ca, but its too small to support the M170. I’ll need the larger one designed for heavy SLR’s. Ill wait til I get my light and then think about it.

Yeah, I forgot that it’s kind of a hulk of a light.

This one is supposed to be rated up to 2kg. That seller only ships to the USA but the same tripod is sold by other ebay sellers for around the same price.

The Giottos QU500 is a really nice heavy duty mini tripod.
Supports my DSLR+lens no problem and is a nice bit of kit.

Manfrotto have a similar one, MTT2-PO2.

I notice the M170 is $90 at Fancy Flashlights.

M170 at FF

in the description, it says Price will returned to 106usd after 30th!

I understand FF is the “shipping included” sister website of cnqualitygoods, and the banner confirms that - yet I find this text on each product’s page to confuse me:

This goods is Free shipping, it is not included in the total fee distribution when calculating the distribution amount !

Has anyone tested out their M170 as yet ? Interested in your comments.

Finally got the light from post office, since I was away for few days… I still haven’t received the 4 protected Panasonic 3100’s I ordered, so I tried the light with the two 3100’s and two 2900’s I already had… Didn’t work! :open_mouth:
Then I checked online and found out that protected cells are too long for this light. And since I want to use protected ones, I tried all different 18650’s I have and found out that the protected buttontop Xtar 3100 fits! :smiley:
Unfortunately I have only two of them, so I have to get two more. But since the four Panasonics from FastTech are already on their way, I wait for them before ordering a pair… Fingers crossed… :stuck_out_tongue:
Otherwise the light seems to be good quality considering the price. First all the emitters seemed a bit off-centered, but when I opened the bezel, I was able to turn the reflector a bit and now it’s OK!
I just tried the light with the two Xtars shortly to see it works and really liked the stepless dimming feature. The fact that you need to hold the button for couple seconds to turn it on, didn’t bother me at all, at least it turns off instantly… :wink:
It’s a bit difficult to use with less than 3 batteries, since the middle of the batteryholes is quite wide, so the batteries tend to move around a bit if using less than three… But it is possible, even with just one, although not recommended for long periods!
The removable handle does its job and feels sturdy enough, although it’s somewhat strange to use since the powerbutton is on the other side of the light. I will probably use the light without it, but it’s good to have the option…
The removable magnet will also remain unused, but again, it’s good to have options…

thanks for the info

I imagine I’d use the magnet quite a bit.

Yeah, Hank from IOS told me that few protected cells work. I really hope the Panasonic ones (3400 mAh) does. Or else I will use unprotected ones. He said that unprotected is not a problem. See my “Dry or sky ray king” thread. What length does your Xtar cells have? The Panasonic (protected) cells are about 69 mm and they probably do not work :frowning:

I ordered four NCR18650B protected in anticipation of ordering. Hank Wang checked for me and confirmed protected are too long but unprotected work fine. Oh we’ll. I’m going to order four of the same in unprotected today. The M170 has a low voltage warning, so I’m not too concerned.

Now I have four new protected NCR1650B. Maybe I’ll save them for a Black Shadow Terminator when the U3 version is released.

Actually my Xtars are about 69 mm long too, maybe a tenth short, but they seemed to work fine… :bigsmile:

I wonder how this light would run on IMR’s.

OK. I will probably wait until ouchyfoot gets his flashlight+NCR18650B before I order any batteries… I was planning to get the same protected batteries :frowning:

According to FastTech:

Panasonic NCR18650A:

Protected - 69.7mm

Buttontop Unprotected - 66.3mm

Flattop Unprotected - 64.8mm

Panasonic NCR 18650B:

Protected - 69.4mm

Flattop Unprotected - 64.8mm

Intl-Outdoor NCR18650B

Protected-68.9mm

I cant seen to find any sites that agree on the lengths of the Green Panasonic NCR18650 batteries. This is making my decision very hard indeed.

I already know they won’t work. Now I’m trying to decide on another set.

Ric says this light is a smidgen less bright than the King. But I guess the flipside would be longer and more manageable runtime without the hand-torturing heat.

Okay. You can’t believe any length specs anywhere.
I took a chance and went for the NCR18650A 3100 Unprotected Buttontop.
4 X NCR18650 = $28.82 Not bad.

My M170 was shipped today via SingPost. Batteries will come via HongKong Post.
SingPost arrives in Vancouver.
HongKong Post arrives in Toronto
I live in Toronto, so I’ll get the Batts. way ahead of the light.

Keep your fingers crossed, or I’ll be opening my own Battery store.

The flashlight includes adapter for flat-top cells -> the unprotected NCR18650B batteries will work. I just hope the adapter doesn’t build too much, if it does it won’t work either :smiley: Since it’s in parallel and it has low battery warning, using unprotected should be OK :slight_smile: You really can’t be sure until the flashlight and batteries arrive. You will be my test person, please post updates :smiley: