Out of pure curiosity, I decided to order a cheapie C8 that was posted in the BLF Deal Alert thread. Well, I received it today; even for $3, it's not worth it.
Summary
Bad:
- Generic Chinese emitter, probably 1W, tint is corpse blue. Side-by-side, it makes an actual XR-E Q5 look neutral white.
- Major hollow pill. There's a 1mm rim for the star to sit on. Also, the pill is not very deep so it only just threads into the head. Go too far, and the plastic reflector will rattle around.
- Ano is barely there on everything but the head.
- Machining is rough, threads are thin, rough, uneven, and sharp.
- Plastic Glass lens (edit: I was mistaken here, the lens is glass, dirty, hazy, cleanable, glass)
Good:
- There are O-Rings, one of which (tailcap) actually forms a partial seal.
- The reflector looks OK, even though it is cheap plastic.
- Glass Lens (Edited, glass was just hazy and looked like plastic)
- The head machining and ano isn't that bad.
Honestly, I didn't expect much from this light. If it had a Q5 (XR-E or XP-G) I would not have complained. As delivered, I have already asked for a refund.