Im happy with my A4 but being able to use AA's does appeal to me.
I’ll probably get one of those as well but didn’t want to admit it in my last post in case someone asked me to justify getting 4 versions of the same flashlight.
6 if you include the Smallsun ZY-C81 and SacredFire NF-555, though I definitely wouldn't admit to buying those and would feel suitably disappointed in myself.
Cheers,
Gary
Well i can tell you that the quality of the A4 is nice.......and that light does get used a lot.
Gary, if you were to rank all the variations you have of this light from the best to the least, what would be the pecking order?
Good to know, thanks.
Romisen do seem to make some of the better quality budget lights from what I've read.
I actually only have the 2 that take AA batteries just now and only got the Sipik yesterday so the jury’s still out.
Initial thoughts are build quality is similar maybe a few less sharp edges on the Sipik.
The zoom on the Sipik is a slide rather than being a threaded twisty so it grates a bit, still reasonably smooth though.
Any further impressions on this light? What do you think about the brighness? DX now carries this light and list the working voltage up to 4.2v but with the DX this could very easily be a mistake. I wish there was a way to verify if it can take a 14500 without frying the light.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39585
Hello,
It's definitely brighter than the MX-310 and I like the smaller size.
The zoom feature is great and really increases the throw but the beam pattern is square due to the shape of the die, don't know if that's an issue for anyone, just a bit ugly.
I'm sorry I don't have any exact test measurements, this is all done by the naked eye.
My only concern is the slide, I'm not sure how long it will last as I think it's metal on metal.
It looks like I'll have to take the pill out the top to get at the mechanism and lube it but I don't have the right tools just now.
As for the 14500, the manufacturer's website only states 1.5v and AA. Translated
But to confuse matters the listing in the Taboa (Chinese ebay style website) link I posted earlier might state that it does.
The literal translation is "The shop owner tests personally, uses 14500 lithium batteries to use the 5th battery to be brighter than!".
I read that as meaning he's personally tested that use of a 14500 is brighter than the use of a 5th battery (#5 is the Chinese reference for AA, though you probably already knew that).
Unfortunately I don't have any 14500s.
Hope this disjointed rambling is of some use.
Cheers,
Gary
Thank you Gary!! That's some great info you just shared!! I may have to buy 2 of these lights and use 1 light for a 14500 tester.
DX have just got them back in stock - mine was posted about 4 days ago.
With the SIPIK variation being 16mm shorter (using an AA type battery) and a few bucks cheaper than the MX version, I'm thinking of giving them a try...though I'm betting the MX will be brighter.
It will be interesting to see how the SIPIK handles the 14500 and the associated heat.
I guess it would depend on the heat issue, there is more aluminum to dissipate the heat then there is on the A4, but why use a plastic reflector epecially with these high powered lights.
Good luck with the test, I’m very interested to hear how you get on.
Looking at the AA extension, I'm pretty sure if I can get the plastic bush out that it'll run a 17500 which is more than double the capacity of an RCR123
More confusion for the Sipik SK-68 on davismicro.com.
Do the links below mean there are 2 models with different drivers?
Oddly the higher output one is cheaper.
No, that rather means that DM has 'transferred' offers of two other shops into theirs, including the pictures btw. I don't know how and if it might be totally legit, but that seems to be the reason. They probably have a formula like ourprice = othershopsprice*0.992 or something.
Totally same flashlight, I'm quite sure about that.
That does indeed sound quite plausible.
I suspected it was due to the random spec generator most of these websites use.
I'm not eaxctly sure what's going on but the lights listed as AA have a reported high if 80 lumens whereas the 14500 version has a reported high of 120 lumens. So there is a chance that there is both a AA version and 14500. Popbuying and everbuying list the 80 lumen AA version...DX lists the 120 lumen AA/14500 version...and Davis Micro lists both versions.
Two reviews are up on DX for the SIPIK light and 1 reviewer has used the light with a 14500 succesfully and the reviews are mainly positive. With the ability to use 14500 (assuming/hoping it works over time) and other AA formats, this could end being a great value light. I’ll be picking up one.