Slick looking 1-AA Q5 Zoom, price Drop, $4.24 from $5.99 shipped

Chloe wrote:

Any pics of one next to an SK-68 clone? ^^

Not at the moment. I can take one tonight.

As far as the clip on the SK68 goes does it function if removed and are the screws flush when tightened down w/out the clip? I can’t seem to find any good pics of this. The review I found kind of gives an odd angle and not assembled.

Edit: Found a thread where the clip screws tighten down into the threads… Not sure if that is with or without the clip. I guess the screws could be filed down.

Couldn't pull up BLF last night to post this. I have the numbers written at home, but these should be close based on memory. I will double check tonight. I used an unprotected Sanyo 14500 cell for all the measurements. I'm calling the light "Slim" for lack of a better name.

Slim Gold - 4.4kcd at .47 amps - Lens diameter 18mm
Slim Black - 6.2kcd at .63 amps - Lens diameter 18mm

SK68 ranged from 9.5kcd to 10.8kcd. 10.8kcd was at 1.2 amps - Lens diameter 23mm

Clip does not screw on. It stays in place via a ring that is clamped between the body and the cap. The o-ring holds it nicely to the cap when the cap is off the body.

The SK68 caps fit the Slim lights, but not the other way around due to counter sink on SK68 body.

Sorry for the blurry pics. I set to macro mode. I think that is the wrong mode for the distance of most of the shots.

Slim beam on the right.

Thanks ImA4wheelr, this is what it is all about at blf: research to the bone on lights that cost almost nothing .

This gives insight in the performance. So if the 'slim' would be upgraded to 1.2A the throw would more or less match the throw of the sk68, with a smaller hotspot.</p>

That sounds about right to me, but you know way more than me about this stuff. I don't know if the different emitters have different efficiencies. I think the SK68 emitter XRE? has a narrower, more concentrated beam pattern.

I got what seems like a nice glass 18mm lens from ebay for cheap, but it doesn't work in the "Slim" (does this light have a real name?) because it's focal length is pretty short.

yes, the XRE is a bit narrower than the xpe, but not that much, and if both emitters are Q5 bin, they should be just as efficient. The XRE tends to be a bit cooler tinted than the xpe in most cases.

If you manage to get the new lens a bit closer to the led one way or another (sanding a bit off the head-tube perhaps?) it could focus well. You'll get more flood, a bigger hotspot, but about the same throw.

Updated post 29 with the numbers I had written down at the time. No real change, but wanted to have the actual numbers documented. I really like the light because it's so easy to carry. Next mode memory isn't too bad in a 3 mode light, but I would like to get rid of that. Also need to drop a Nichia 119 H1 in his baby.

Someone should do a review on the light when they get one. I just have too much going on at the moment.

I bought a black single mode one for $3 (auction) on ebay. Happy with it so far. It is slightly dimmer then SK68 but has a nicer beam, it focuses to a tighter spot and flood beam is smooth and very wide - 1.5-2 times wider than SK68 (depends on SK68 model). The zoom mechanism was very loose - the head would slide a bit under it’s own weight if pointed up or down. Adding a layer of teflon tape under the o-ring on the pill fixed it. It accepts 14500 but doesn’t get any brighter on it.

Bought two black from Wallbuys, real jeans pocket edc size. Mine are brighter with 14500 but not as Sipik. Like the size and will use it.

I bought 2 of these from WB also when they had them on sale for $2 each. The tint is more of a purple/blue and it’s not brighter than my SK-68 clones. Also, the beam is a little ringy when zoomed out. I really like this thing. I checked the tail cap current and got 900mA on high and 200mA on med/low with a 14500. Also, mine resets to high after a while.

I also got 2 black. I tried AA in one… dimmest light in collection. With 14500 they’re actually worth the $1.99 (echoing, no where near Sk68).

I like the easily removable clip too. Having to file down the screws for the SK68 clip was tedious (unsure if the clip will even be able to be put back on now).

> nowhere near the SK68

Only problem I have with the SK68 is overheating if I try leaving it on (like to work under the house on wiring or plumbing).

So if these are cooler as well as dimmer, it’d be worth having.

SK 68 3 modes on low don’t overheat, but small size is a big advantage. I also have on order two more SK 58s. SK 68s are probably OK left on high if you avoid burning your hand. They have a lot of cooling area, well shaped fins and they heat up uniformly, shoeing the heat distribution is good.

I’ve got a gold and a black one from Wallbuys. The black one works well and pulls about 1.5A from an Eneloop. With a dodgy 14500, I measured about 0.5A, and it did seem a bit brighter.

The gold one has issues, flickering on all modes, probably because of a bad contact somewhere in the head part. At some point it had a consistent output for a while, but it was a bit less bright than the black one. The lens unscrews easily, but I’ve not yet managed to get the pill out. Has anyone managed that? Is it threaded or press fit?

Manafront has same lights that look exactly the same listed as UniqueFire UF-V25 (with logo and type number printed on it):
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/uniquefire-ufv25-cree-xpe-led-3mode-floodtothrow-flashlight-black-aa-p-13750
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/uniquefire-ufv25-cree-xpe-led-3mode-floodtothrow-flashlight-golden-aa-p-13751

Threaded, same way sith sk68. I opened up quite a few using a tiny screwdriver. I have 10 of these ($1.99 ea) and love them. ESPECIALLY the high pwm. How is it I always get very high pwm on ultra cheap lights like these and the Ultrafire S5… but low lame PWM on more expensive ones (SRK, 3T6, MF drop-in… well expensive for me at least).

To solve flickering issue - the problem is the connection between driver and body. Take the pill out and push/tap the driver in with a small mallet. Works great.

I haven’t managed to get the pill out. Didn’t work with split ring pliers, and didn’t want to force it and damage them. Took a pretty strong U shaped nail and bent that to fit, but it twisted, trying to unscrew the pill, even with the nail put in a vise. In the end I just put a stick in the battery compartment part and tapped the driver board a few times, and that fixed the flickering issue. Thanks for the tip.

Any ideas about the tail cap? One of the boot rubbers isn’t seated quite correctly, and I can’t really push it back in properly from the back. So I guess I’ll need to remove the switch from the inside. But I haven’t found a way to remove the plastic piece with the spring yet (without damaging it).

Just got the boot out by just pushing from the back, after pulling out the switch boot. It’s just a single switch assembly with 2 contacts on the side.

I only measure 10% less current, but it seems to be a bigger difference without the thin leads of my meter. In addition to the lens being smaller and longer focal length, they must have tuned the driver for the smaller cooling area and mass. I think it is a great light for general use, just not for light hogs and collectors.

The other thread on this is 3-mode Zoom AA/1450 EXPIRED ! "Black" $1.99 Max 3ea.
On Amazon it is called “Foxnovo® 508 Focus Adjustable CREE Q5 3-Mode 250-lumen Mini LED Torch Flashlight with Pocket Clip (Black)” and sells for $11. My guess is that all are coming from the same production line and that they are making a lot and therefore marketing them in several ways at once.

cross-reference: Under $10, 1x AA/ AAA/ 10440/ 14500 flashlight reference

This is called “#3” in the topic about AA/AAA lights under $10 — a good and growing compilation.

And if anyone knows a reliable source for these with solid pills — I’m looking.
They happen to perfectly accommodate the 10mm square boards that Luxeonstar sells with all colors of Rebel emitter — drop right in, wire holes are open, four corners of the square center the emitter in the round cutout — and the solid pill (the … one … damn … solid … pill) makes a great heat transfer backing for the board.

Double checking — any solid pills among the many lottery versions of this light that y’all have bought?

(Only one I know of that has a solid pill is the Rustu from DX recommended at Rustu XL-03 mini zoom Sipik 68 replacement - review and mod )

(I like dropping Luxeon PC Rebel emitters of various colors into these — I found them from luxeonstar on a square 12mm board, which fits perfectly into the ring for these #3 and SK68 lights — touching at all four corners with the emitter centered. On a soild pill that’s perfect. On a hollow pill it’s almost zero contact for heat transfer)