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

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.

so where is it sold for $120?

In this specific example, I’d be disappointed with myself, not the dealer… if I paid 30k for a 20k car I definitely did not do enough research on the car’s value ahead of time.

Ok I found it now. HOLY CHIT!!! BTU dropped to $120!!!!

Yea, don’t feel so bad, if the seller is trying to lure more people into buying the remaining of this stock? It’s like same thing with computers. Some new unit comes up at a store… for example best buy. It’s a real deal. Some smart folks find a cheaper middle man usually a third party website for 20-30 dollars cheaper. Finally Newegg or Tigerdirect has a sale equal to that middle man. After the initial buying etc… Price goes back up to the full retail price. 3-6 months later people wonder how did other people get such an item for so cheap.

Notable personal examples: 2002-04 off ubid.com

Got a 500 dollar sony flat screen for 250 dollars which retails for 500 dollars. 2-3 years later it comes out at best buy for roughly 233 dollars. Got my first 10MP Casio digital camera when in the us there were only 5-7MP cameras for under 300 dollars. Retails at high end stores for 500-700 dollars.

Modern examples: Best Buy Sandisk 32GB sdcard are 69.99 retail. Online at amazon from (sandisk) they are $33.56 and 58.11 at walmart. So if you bought it at Bestbuy and complain that you got rip off and want 2 of them, they probably think you’re crazy.

xtar 18650 protected…

I will pay no more than $80

Guess you’ll be waiting awhile then.

LOL. This thing rocks the TN31 as far as output goes, has almost identical throw, and costs less than the Thrunite already. I don’t get the hate.

Anyone who doesnt have one loves to hate on them. Curious…

Dale, I’m working on going your direction on the BTU. Maybe a step beyond. I’ve already got my copper sink pads, have XM-L2’s ordered from two different places - hopefully one will make it by the end of the month, but who knows.
And I think I have found a UCL lens for it too. I have it ordered anyway, just have to get it in, make sure it fits, and do comparison testing.
XM-L2 U2’s on copper sink pads, along with a UCL lens - I can see it being in the 3400-3600 otf range and would keep its lumens higher for longer with better heat dissipation. And all of that would be without any more stress on the batteries or runtime.
I assume nobody has has any XM-L2 U2’s on hand I could buy or borrow, so I don’t have to wait a month or whatever for mine to come in?

People always pay more to be the first kid on the block with the latest toy. Been that way forever. Like any other retailer I know of, initial retail is always highest to capitalize on this fact. Anyone who wants the best price waits a few months for the initial price to lower. That's what most folks here did because they all knew it would happen. It always does. Sometimes it only takes a month, sometimes nearly a year. I can understand you kicking yourself for being an early adopter, I know I'd be kicking myself too, but to get pissed at the seller is ridiculous. Ric is a business man and is in the business of making a living, not giving stuff away. He created this light and the BTU brand himself and worked to make the light a reality. He has the right to make all the money he can off of his work. As sales at $180 slow to a trickle you lower the price to get the next market segment who weren't ready to spend $180 but thought $150 was a great deal. Now we are down to $120 and eventually we might see $100 and possibly even less. You spending the $180 is no one's fault but your own. Stop complaining.

Now the light not having an AR coated lens is a legitimate issue and Ric should either offer a partial refund for the false advertising or ship the advertised lens to all those who've bought the light and either ship an AR lens with all future sales or remove it from the advertised specs. The rest of the light is just like advertised and you knew exactly what you were paying $180 for.

Ah the 120 dollar is a has Dry drivers or Directdrive for 4.5 amps. Whereas the original had it’s own drivers.

I wanted to have it at that time and I have got it for the price it was sold then. I might be up for another one if the price goes below 100 bucks.

No, it has

BTU driver (current regulated, 3.8A)

or

DRY driver (direct-drive, up to 4.5A)

I ordered the standard BTU driver, and I’d recommend that. It’s resistor mod capable to get up to 4+ amps anyway. This way you know what current you are getting. Most people report that it’s not a huge jump anyway.