Best price for Trustfire R5-A3 on KD

You have actually put a AA into it though? It needs more than an amp to get going on AA...?

Just be aware that these leds are mounted on a fiberglass material base (PCB with lots of vias) instead of an aluminium base, so thermal conductiivity away from the base isnt as good.

I'm in the market for a good cheap EDC, so this thread caught my interest. I had some more questions about the light but then I remembered that there was a sticky review on this one. here's the link in case you wanted to refresh your memory ;) https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/348

Thanks for the info. I've heard conflicting stories on whether this one is capable of tailstanding. Is yours able to tailstand or does the GITD clickie boot protrude too much?

Thx

-ZX

It can tailstand! The GID clickie dont protude at all. Its flush with the tailcap.

Well I got mine from DX today and I am sad to report the quality is just a bit lower than when first introduced.

The star is no longer screwed in or even glued, it just has some standard heat sink compound applied to the star and a white plastic LED centering/insulating washer fits between the star and reflector and it is all held together by the reflector assembly being tightened down on the plastic centering device. I don't think this is a real big issue as it seems to fit well and do the job but it is a step backward in my opinion. (at least they remembered heat sink compound!)

The driver has also been changed so I don't know if it is configurable anymore or if it is 14500 safe. The driver I think might be OK on 14500 if it is the one piece driver. It is the red driver without the trace which is the one that seems to work with 14500, but I'm not sure. I'm not sure if it is a one piece driver or 2 piece though since I didn't completely disassemble the pill.

The good news is that it is well driven and pretty bright although it is very cold/blue tint LED.

The low is also nice and is a true low.

On high my sample was drawing 2A from tail and low was 200mA on a slightly discharged NiMh.

Overall I am happy but I wish I had ordered from KD!!

My favorite and best tinted budget torch I own is still my SkyRay S-A1!! It is a beautiful torch!! I wish there were more out there that ran the XP-E LED. It is my favorite LED in a torch with a small reflector.

It's the same with mine (I bought it a few month ago from DX).

I wanted to make the strobe mode as described on this thread (https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/2179), but the driver is not the same.

I really like this light so I recently bought another one (from KD). I hope, I'll be able to make the strobe and Xm-l conversion.

Which one is the fake Trustfire R5-A3? ...

Aloha and welcome to BLF samol!

I wouldn't call the one I got from DX a fake. It is a pretty good torch really. It just isn't the same as when it was first introduced. It is typical Chinese manufacturer...introduce a good product that sells good then find every way possible to cut cost without too many people knowing!

Had I not know the first one was better I would be very very happy with the current offering although I feel as though this is a 15 dollar torch.

Which is the price at KD

Yep. I wish I had ordered mine from KD but I just wanted to make sure I got one with a good low and I knew the current batch from DX had a real low.

I would recommend anyone buying this torch to get it from KD since the price is $14.70USD

But I can confirm current supply from DX has a nice low and a well driven high.

Recieved my R5-A3 this weekend. I'm pretty happy with it. However, the tailcap seems to be a little odd. I've had to adjust it multiple times and the light flickers on and off. Hoping I can fix it.

lightmall has this for 14.00.. I have no idea about light mall but 14 is the cheapest I've seen it go for yet .. have one on order from KD. feel a little behind the times on this one .

The one I got a few weeks ago was from KD. It's a good one...with a real low. for a little over $14 it was a good deal.

That's what I wanted to hear .

I just got the KD R5-A3 and it has the good low and the modable PIC, I am so happy.

burnt mine up immediately .. hows Kd's return?

If you somehow manage to get a peep out of them, it's pretty much on par with DX. And that's a big if. You might as well sacrifice a small goat on the altar at midnight and pray to the mail order Gods now, because chances are, they will just ignore you. That's pretty much their MO and I've given up entirely on communicating with KD and whenever there's a problem, I go through Paypal.

That's also the reason I tend to avoid KD. If you can't be bothered to reply to your customer's emails, I'll just vote with my wallet and take my business elsewhere.

KD have reacted very fast and positive on my recent problems with them,

so will recommend to contact them anytime.

And besides, they ship fast for the moment.

Now, finally, after 243714620 price match requests, DX decreased the price, now is cheaper than KD

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-r5-a3-cree-xp-e-r5-3-mode-230-lumen-memory-led-flashlight-1-aa-1-14500-39062?r=43033281

(When this flashlight appeared, it was 18,93USD)