Review: BTU Shocker (3 x XM-L T6 NW | 3 x 18650)

Just posted up all the data and the video on my BTU vs TK75 thread. New info on post #125

Well. Now it is! Time to buy one yourself? ;)

Ahhhh I’m tempted to get it for $120!! The extra $30 can be used for some good batteries. What batteries are you all using?

No more bullet. Getting S6330 is next plan. 8)

At $120.00, I had to pull the trigger!

I now feel this Ric fella is a pure asshole. To some he sells it for $180 .some get it for $150 and then within a few weeks (not months or a year) drops it to $120 (He still is making a profit even after shipping such a heavy light for free and dropping the price a massive $60 !!!!).imagine how buyers who bought it for $150 and paid $15 customs fees feel when it does not even have a ar coated lens and is beaten by the same price tk75? This light is only worth about $100 .trust me i own one. Never EVER i am buying from CN quality or the other fancy what ever it is. The least he can do it provide us with free AR coated Lens since we OVERPAID for it

Thrunite was worse…I bought the TN30 and TN31 before the huge price drop. It still hurts!

Plus it had all those flickering, sloppy selector ring, fingerprints in the lens/reflector, high resistance battery carrier coating issues, even when it was cheaper.

I can feel how bad is it.
Maybe yours are better in quality. Many China manufacturers don’t scrap or disassemble final product, they sort them into different quality category.

Now dropping the price on a product is a deplorable thing to do.
If you decide that $180 is a good price and pull the trigger, why is a future price drop suddenly changing that?
Really, you’re just second-guessing your own decision; that’s not the vendor’s fault.
If you don’t like the price, don’t buy. Simple.

Il give YOU a Reason . "FALSE ADVERTISING" . The way it was advertised and even Reviewed .Buyers thought good lord this thing will beat everything currently out there.

THIS IS THE REASON PEOPLE PAID $180 !!!

Specs:
◎3* Cree XM-L LED (U2) with a lifespan of 50,000 hours
◎Battery: 3 × 18650---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -CRAPPIEST HOME MADE LOOKING BATTERY HOLDER ON A $180 LIGHT
◎204 mm (length) x 52 mm(body width) x106 mm(head diameter)
◎1200-gram weight (excluding batteries)
◎4 levels of brightness: Turbo (3.8A*3)>High(2.2A*3)>Med(0.8A*3)>Lo(0.05A*3);with mode memory
◎Brigh tness:Turbo(3000lumens)>High(2000lumens)>Med(600lu mens)>Lo(80lumens)-------------------- -ITS NOT 3000 LUMENS
◎Digital Current Regulation
◎Capable of standing up securely on a flat surface to serve as a candle-------------------------------------------YEAH SURE ONE BUYS A 1 KG LIGHT TO BE A CANDLE
◎Tail cap click Switch- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SHITTY SWITCH (one dollar SWITCH)
◎Made of durable aircraft-grade aluminum
◎ Super deep Aluminum Alloy Reflector;Shotrange up to 800meters------------------------------------------------DOES NOT THROW 800 METERS !!
◎Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
◎Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating ---------------------------------------------------------WHAT A LIE! (tests show lens is holding back 100 LUMENS)

AND MAY I ADD HORRIBLE CHEAP PARTS INSIDE IT

( OUTSIDE LOOKS ALL NICE AND CUTE)

I see three potentially valid points there:
The output was off by 400-600 lumens, off by more if you go with T6 NW.
The lens is not AR coated. I do hope Ric addresses this at some time in the future.
I believe the U2 version misses the throw mark by about 100m. Again NW will have less throw. The NW differences could be better documented on the listing.
The rest appear to be a matter of opinion, not fact.
The battery holder has been improved; mine came with the springs reversed which greatly improves the battery retention. I have no issues with it.
It tailstands, you can call it a candle or whatever you want, it still does tailstand.
I’ve had no issue with the switch, it has a very low on resistance (I tested it, like all my lights).

One thing is for sure, when it comes to spec matching, Ric is not getting much slack. Virtually every other vendor on the internet has VERY exaggerated specs and I do not see too much of an uproar over those. We come to expect it for something like a TR-J18 (6000lm is over double the actual), but the BTU gets beaten up over a 20% spec inflation which could simply be actual emitter lumens.

These guys hate on the BTU so much it is almost suspicious. Who doesn’t lower prices? Go bark at Thrunite for a while. How about Nitecores on Fasttech? Ric MADE HIS OWN BRAND and created a light people wanted - a shortened TK70 that uses 18650. He made it cheaper ($180) and brighter than the TK70. When he got competition with the TK75 and abundance of multi-emitter lights recently he has promotions and price cuts to continue to sell his product.

DENGOH is just a Fenix fanboy mad at BTU for besting his beloved TK70 by “stealing” it’s head.

Shaquille however goes back and forth from love to hate with the light…. I don’t get it.

Skyray King was a direct copy and used to cost twice as much, I don’t see people blasting it except on the other forum.

I am fanboy of good flashlight brands those don’t cheat. Not just Fenix, I buy Olight, Zebralight, BlackShadow, Trustfire, Ultrafire, Thrunite, Nitecore.
And I don’t think BTU besting TK70. They are at different level of quality standard and innovation.

Shaquille, don’t get too upset with just a flashlight. I know how it feels when seeing those dirty or foggy lens. It is just annoying.
If you really can’t get over it, and if you didn’t modify your BTU at all and it is as good as new, then maybe rdrfronty can buy your BTU as I remember that is what he guaranteed for satisfaction, but it was one or two months ago.

Again guys? Seriously? Haven’t we been there and done that, like 10 times already?

I am not commenting on BTU. Just suggesting way out for Shaquille.

Anyway, yes I’ll still hold my end of that deal. At least at the current pricing. I wouldn’t mind have a stock BTU and then another one that I could do some fun mods on.

Already ordered u3 and its going under the knife end of this week.THIS ISN'T only ABOUT THE BTU .I STILL LIKE LIKE THE LIGHT .

I am talking about in general terms. He isn't being a good salesman .What im pissed of is - the massive price drop within a few weeks. I'm saying imagine how customers who paid $180 feel upon seeing the same lighting selling for $120 WITHIN A FEW WEEKS .IS HE KIND OF ADMITTING THAT HE OVER PRICED THIS LIGHT??. He could have priced it at $120 and held on to that price for 1 year . I'm sure he opened up the light saw how things looked inside and had long discussions with the manufacturing factory and machine shops about the costs.the quality of parts inside. best pricing for long term sales.

The SR90 still sells for 300 bucks plus . customers who bought it 2 years ago pay almost the same price as customers who will buy it today and so there a pride is holding the light even if you buy this few years old model

get what im saying??? I don't know how else to explain this. lets say you bought a BMW for 30 grand .next week your neighbor buys it for 20 grand from the same dealer . wouldn't you question the Dealer???

Shaquille, I guess you didn’t notice that up until this weekend the BTU Shocker was on for $150 with a $50 credit at Fancyflashlights.com. Effectively, $100. That’s how much I paid for mine, as I’m sure others did too. Maybe you didn’t want to know that. Oops :wink:
I would have also paid $120 straight up for it too.
I would not have paid $180 or $150 though. That’s not hindsight; I was looking at it when it was just $150 (no $50 credit), and passed on it.

Hypothetically, If I did happen to pay $180, I would be disappointed that I missed the future $150/$100/$120 price, but I would not be angry at or question the seller’s integrity. I decided that it was a good price for the light and a price drop later on will not change that decision.
Now, if the price dropped in the next week or so (i.e. before or just after receiving the product), I might contact the seller to see about getting a credit on their store.

Price drops tend to have the opposite effect on me. If I buy a product at a ‘regular’ price and I like what I get, when it goes on sale I’m tempted to order a second one. That may not happen with a big ticket item like the BTU, but it’s already happened with other lights (ex. HD2010, numerous SK68s).

I do hope that at some point your frustration passes and you can enjoy your BTU as much as I enjoy mine.