I ordered a gold one for $1.99 .
Thx Boaz for that input, the 3-mode deal and the +ramping output +really is good to know.
The ones with ramping might be harder to find:
I got a black and a gold one DrVette. I really like the compact form factor. As others have noted, they have low output, bad tint, and next mod memory. But hey, all that can be modded out of the light.
added, maximum qty of 3 !
I got mine today. It may displace the SK68 as the standard general purpose flashlight design (Of course the originator will not dominate the supply for long).
It is smaller and lighter. A shortcoming of the SK68 is that its is big for it battery size.
The build seems as good so far: tail and bezel threads are good, the anodizing seem thinner, it is smooth everywhere no where could it be improved with 600 grid sandpaper, the zoom is neither too light nor too heavy.
The outer thermal management is good: It heats up almost as evenly as an SK68. The warmest is the vestigial fins. The near head is almost as warm and less warm forward. The body tapers off in warmth to the rear, but the tail cap is still warm. It may taper off more quickly than an SK as expected from the lower weight.
It seems to have a bit less current than an SK. It uses less of the led’s light, but that is the price of its slim size, and for practical purposes light output is not a weakness of these lights.
The tail cap is too big (and grooved) because some people complained about the SK68’s being too small.
The plastic ring holding the star in is black instead of the usual white, and there is no metal over it, as with some SK68s. The brightest ring is yellow on mine, so a black one will have a very clean beam. The silvery bezel reflects at a small angle where light is desirable.
This may herald the end of the period when flashlight collecting has been interesting.
Hurray! I have found a design error. It is not all over yet. Not counting its not using a Fresnel lens, the error is that, when the head slides back to zoom out, it stop about a millimeter before the pill overlaps the threaded part of the head. That makes it longer than necessary and makes the maximum flood and total light output, with or without taking the bezel and lens off, narrower and less than they could be. An SK58 has the head go back until the pill overlaps the threads by a few millimeters. It is only the sliding spring or o-ring that can’t overlap the threads. An SK68 has the threads on the outside of the head and the head slides until it gets the heat sink material I put on the pill on the outer part of the lens where it is obscured by the bezel. (The flood is as wide as the others only because the lens is thinner. As often happens, the error is in the requirement. The team was told to make the flood as big as that of an SK68, not as big as they could make it.)
I get 0.59 and 0.14 ampere at the tail cap with an IMR cell that measures at 3.95 volt open. The leads and shunt on my cheap meter probably add half on ohm resistance. With a Sipik SK68 I get 0.65 amp., around a 10% difference, but the Sipik is much brighter. Similar results to comparing them on 1.5V cells. The difference seems to be the efficiency of the optics, unless they have tapped a supply of very low efficiency XP-Es or much less efficient drivers. The cost of being able to zoom down to a small spot with such a narrow light. This is a light that you can use without bothering the people around you, and it is bright enough for most purposes. With future leds it will be brighter.
There was another thread about this light, besides my “What you got today” entry and this one. I have trouble finding the link.
Wallbuys has increased the price a bit more. I don’t think more than $4 is reasonable for this light. It is designed to be made in large numbers.
It is so odd, by US standards, that there is no brand name. How can we identify it? Being sold by Wallbuys seems a poor substitute for a bought brand name like Everedy or RayOvac, or even the almost meaningless UltraFire. Even the universally branded SK68 has a model number.
I am debating whether or not to buy a grocery bag saying “Smiling Shark”. They want too much money for it, and their flashlights have their own faults.
i keep seeing a price of $ 3.94, - not $1.99 at those links.
The 1.99$ off was finished some days ago…
It was supposed to be on sale until 24th October, but as per regular WB messed up wordings, 24th is not included. It reverted to normal price by the end of 23rd.
I know because I put some more in my cart for gifts, browsed around until midnight on the 23rd… and it was already back to old price by then. Ah well 
(my timezone is the same as CN).
The 1.99 deal is over. You can buy them for 3.43 using “TFFWALLBUYS” code.
I’m still waiting for mine to arrive, to see if they are any different from “Aleto” version I got from ebay.
Or $3.35 from BG
They’re decent for $2; I wouldn’t pay over 2.50 though. Mine were fine on the outside, but on the inside was a whole different story.
The pill oring was half squished out and laying on top of the pill. Pretty wel destroyed when pill was removed. Knicks and gouges all over the pill. The holes for tightening/loosening the pill were drilled through the sides. Took quite a bit of filing to get it hazard free.
I would far rather spend 3.50 on another sk68.
That is odd. Mine is nicely finished with no noticeable flaws. I don’t think it should sell for over $4 because it is cheaper to make than an SK68, but it would be worth more than that if it were not made in large numbers. I wonder why one has multiple flaws and others none. I gave up on one of my $3.50 SK68s because the tail threads cross threaded too easily and there was not enough thread to fix that.
The Banggood link is Zoombarer LED-Taschenlampe Meco XPE-Q5 mit 600 Lumen und 7W für 1xAA 1.2V Sale - Banggood Deutschland-arrival notice-arrival notice. The differences I notice on that page are that the colors are silver and black instead of yellow and black and that “Cree Q5” is on one flat face.
Added:
Amazon has it for $11.00 and calls it “Foxnovo® 508 Focus Adjustable CREE Q5 3-Mode 250-lumen Mini LED Torch Flashlight with Pocket Clip (Black)”. So perhaps we can start calling it the Foxnovo 508 ? Clearly they omitted permission to use the brand name at the lower prices in order to support higher price dealers.
http://www.buysku.com/wholesale/508-focus-adjustable-cree-q5-3-mode-250-lumen-mini-led-flashlight-torch-with-pocket-clip-black.html has it for $6.11 with the 508 but not the Foxnovo.
Here are some pics of one of mine I took apart.
