Sky Ray King

For Owners of the SRK please help make a recommendation on this light.

I have read some 500 threads of the good, bad and ugly.

Now I'm totally confused ....

Fasttech ---- Mid $30's, Gold, Cool White, XML-U2, currently shipping unknown driver

Fasttech ---- High $40's, Gold, Warm White, XML-U2 color temp 4000, (might be too yellow ?)

Wall Buys --- Low $30's, Gold, White, XML-T6, color temp 3000, "Might have the sought after Toroid Driver"

CNQG ----- Mid $50's, Gold, NW, has been reported as an "original" ...

Where did you get yours?, When?

I do not plan on modding, just enjoying this light, as is, "Warts and All".

Please recommend

Thanks

FandyFire from Fast tech. I didn’t take it apart to see what driver, but it rocks. I think I got it in December it’s the more expensive one what is supposed to have less lumens.

I tried out three of the black ones from Fasttech, no issues with any of them, except the threads needed lubrication. They were $39 for the first, and $36 for the second two.

Tried a gold one from Manafont, it had some flickering, and really wasn't as bright as it should have been, it was $48 iirc. After a mod it was great though.

I also have an NW T6 one from CNQ, and it worked perfectly out of the box.

I'd go with either FastTech, or CNQ. FT ships fast, and is cheaper, and tends to be very communicative.

The CNQ SRK seems to be of the "original" and of the highest quality, but, I don't think it's worth the nearly 50% price increase, vs the fasttech sky rays.

+1

Got BLK and GLD from FT and no problem with it. Same here, just need a little lube on the thread.

:beer:

I have a Gold ” Original” SRK, but i want to mod it with three SST-90 CW emitters, but i can’t seem to find the SST90’s online anywhere for much less than 50 bucks each ! :open_mouth:

I have bought the Gold Fandyfire from Fasttech. It's a good light with the good driver. T alos bought the Black SRK from fasttech (the cheapest one), it is/was a joke. Very poorly assembled. Cheap lens and faults galore.

Ive got the Fasttech black, warm white version:
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10003058/1239701

Build quality is good, with led centering rings, no rattling switch, good threads. Only got the cheap lanyard, not the paracord pictured.
Output not too high, part because it’s warm white, but also not driven very high probably.

So it’s a good buy if you want a well build flashlight with long battery lifetime and nice tint, but don’t need crazy output. (the main reason why people buy this light :p)

unsure of the driver. Very bright & I love it…

Fandyfire UV-S5 ($45) from FastTech and black NW SRK ($52) from FancyFlashlights.

NW SRK is 10% brighter than CW UV-S5. SRK's build quality is slightly better and switch doesn't rattle.

CNQG black SRK, very very happy with it

I bought my SRK from CNQG when it first came out. I wish I could help with the new models. So many, I can see why a first time SRK buyer would be worried. Good luck on your hunt!

Black NW SRK from FancyFlashlights and Gold FandyFire from FastTech, both are nice but the FF SRK is a little nicer.

The black CW version currently shipping from FT is junk. Do not buy.

The new style driver runs the LEDs at wildly different currents (more than half an amp spread), poor machining, o-rings that don't seal, etc.

Isn’t the gold one the same too?

No idea. I only have the one I listed there.

If you don't mind it being gold, get the $45 FandyFire UV-S5. It's easily worth the price difference.

I just noticed that you posted in the thread I created about the Fasttech gold SRK I just got and figured you posted there because you had the same driver. Your picture looks similar.

Yes the black one I got last week has the same crappy driver as your gold one.

Look, these things change so often you'd have to buy, just from FT, all six versions they currently have listed and compare them. And then one of their suppliers would change something with no notice 2 weeks later and you'd have to start all over again. They even have two versions of the UV-S5, I don't know what's different between them. I have only personally seen the $45 UV-S5 (good) and the $37 black CW SRK (bad). According to their pictures on-site and reports of people who bought them a while back, the $37 CW SRK used to match the pictures, now it doesn't.

I haven't seen any reports of the cheap driver showing up in the UV-S5 yet, but who knows how long that will last. I will only buy another one if I can find a reseller willing to look inside and tell me what parts are in the actual unit that will be shipped to me.

I think that if one of these sellers were to verify the driver and find a “good” one they could definitely move more units. I would have paid more money to get a good one- one things for sure though- it looks like Fasttech no longer sells the desirable one. Oh well. I don’t have the time or money to play the SRK lottery. The only way I’d ever buy another is if I knew it was a good one or not.

No time for the SRK lotto? Pay a bit more and buy from CNQG then…

And let me be clear: Fasttech is getting screwed by their supplier/s with these, or by whoever is responsible for the, ahem, 'engineering' changes being made to either cut costs/increase profits. FT surely isn't requesting that these changes be made, they need to let the suppliers know they're being sent unusable junk.