Review: TrustFire R5-A3 XP-G R5 1xAA 3-mode

This makes a lot of sense to me and would explain why some lights pretty much disappear the day they get announced on the new arrivals page. It might also explain the prices as the manufacturers test the market to see what it'll bear. It wouldn't surprise me if some models are a result of DX/KD test marketing for them then the maker makes it a bit different so as to be a new model and sells it at a different price. Which might explain the Ultrafire C3 stainless steel, the first ones were excellent though a bit hot running, the later ones weren't but were probably more profitable.

Just production tolerances I'd guess. I think the switch boot is the guilty party. It only takes a fraction of a millimetre - once I figure out how to get it out, it'll tailstand. The boot is probably too big but I have quite a few 14mm boots I can stick in there till I get one that works properly and takes up the excessive travel in the switch. The Solarforce forward clicky i bought has the same problem. Maybe some more dismantling this weekend - the weather forecast isn't good anyway.

The brightness of this rocket would do well in an indoor situation it would seem......or for short term use outside when one is not carrying a bigger light.

Or with a backpack full of spare cells. Actually the high is too bright for a lot of indoors stuff - and the low is still a whole heap of light. Great fun though. For lighting up the cupboard under the stairs - I'll get a pic - it is great if it'd only tailstand though a blob of Blu-Tak should sort that out

You can always make a small flashlight stand for the light......something small that you can carry around with you.

The infamous cupboard under the stairs. It is about 3 metres long and at its highest point about 3 metres high. There is good reason for that sign on the wall/roof - I have the scars on my head to prove it.

With the lights stuck to the wall behind me. It is probably illuminating my back very well.

High

Low

I can do similar shots for other lights if this approach interests anyone - obviously this is as total output rather than hotspot measurement. Here's the light in front of me. Obviously the exposure is different.

High

Low

As you can see, not a lot of difference between high and low in these two pics - while the exposures aren't the same this does capture the visual differences between the two levels quite well, i.e., it isn't really visible.

Hey Don, do you think my Eneloops are functioning correctly? I did another runtime test with a freshly charged Eneloop, and it held very steady until about 2:10, and at 2:21 it was as bright visually as the K-106 on Low. By 2:30 the glow is hardly noticeable. It seems that yours lasts quite a bit longer.

Yes i would say so.....it also depends on the driver. With time and more use your Eneloops will get better and better, so for the first few uses you might get short runtime.

You might be right Al. In fact, I am now convinced these are NOT just cheap knockoffs... I just started a runtime test with a cheap BTY 2700 mAh NiMH that came with my charger, and it's about done for already at 1:14. A full hour more with the Eneloop!

High Quality cells like the Eneloops will just get better with time it seems.......so enjoy them man. And as for fakes i never thought they were.Sealed Usually with new cells i like to cycle them first before they get put to use, so in your case i would just use them and put them back on the charger.

I was the one who was suspecting them actually :X the price was pretty good. But I think this is the proof that they are genuine, fully 100% more runtime than the BTY.

It must be said - BTY cells are reputed to be junk.

http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2010/03/01/dont-buy-bty-batteries/

Any cell claiming over 2300mAh is probably going to be junk very soon if it isn't immediately. High capacity NiMH (>2000mAh) have to make too many compromises to be useful. My reputable 2700mAh cells never gave me more than 2400mAh even after gentle forming. Now they are junk and are too big to fit in most AA using devices. Hence, Eneloops only for me. I have cheaper LSD cells but they aren't as good - but then they were half the price. With sensible treatment (not charging them above an amp), they should last for more than a decade. Most of my >2200mAh cells are in a recycling box and the rest relegated to cordless mice and the like.

Yup, I never expected much out of these BTY cells, they just came for free with the charger. But my point is that if these Eneloops were fakes, they would probably be every bit as cheap as the BTYs, which they aren't.

So you say that the BTY cells quickly lose their initial charge capacity and become even worse in short order? Mine are not noticeably lighter than the Eneloops, so they do appear to have a healthy dose of electron soup inside.

In the short term they may work well enough, and if you never overcharge them (This kills more cells than anything else) and never expect high currents out of them (anything over half an amp) then they might serve well. Or they might not. Modern NiMH cells contain a small and very carefully measured amount of water. If this is lost by overcharging, overheating or overdischarging they will irreversibly lose capacity. It is normally reckoned that cells have had it when they are down to 80% of original capacity. If the seals aren't very good even if you avoid all the above, then they will irreversibly lose capacity.

In a year's time they may well be useless - or, if you are lucky they will still have life in them. None of my very gently treated "2700mAh" cells made it to 3 and they were not cheap cells.

Hey Don do you remember the infamous Energizer 2500's......charge them up and discharged within a day and thats with the cells not being used. Those cells were truly crap, now the only ones i like to use are the 2300's and 2450's since they hold a charge longer.

We never got those here - first time I ever saw Energizer rechargeables was a couple of years ago - they are all over the place now. The only ones i have came with an Energizer 15 minute charger - aka "Death to all cells". That thing bungs more than 8 amps through the poor cells and kills them in 30 cycles. And that's with good cells.

I had some Vanson branded 2300mAh ones that were just as bad. In two years 10 of them couldn't run a 12V PC fan for more than 5 minutes - that fan needed less than 100mA.

I guess we all had our share of bad cells........

That's for sure! There are still loads of really bad cells out there that put people off rechargeables for ever. In the 80's I had no choice but to use rechargeables even the not very good ones available then - 300mAh was a high capacity AA then. Been using them for everything I can since.

What got me was that i had a lot of those cells and i always wondered at the time why they sucked. Nowadays i know better on what cells to spend my money on, but rechargeables are the way to go in the long run.

Do you reviewers with 1.2/1.5 NiMH also have 14500s? If you have both, please comment on whether there is a point to using the NiMH cells.

Generally if I can use 14500 I'll default to them. Ty