$4.99 1xAA OSRAM Zoomable on eBay

Pull it forward then unscrew it. There may be quite a lot of threading. They are harder to put back on as getting them past the metal O ring is a pain.

Unscrew the lens from the sliding mecanism (shiny thing). Unscrew the pill with help of a pointed plier.

Then pull the sliding mecanism forward and off it comes. In there around the body you will find a metal

o-ring. Change this to a rubber or sillicone (not too big) and lube, and you will have a much better light.

In my opinion: Romisen RC-29 >> C78 >> DX Flood-to-Throw Zooming 3W .. just looking at the build quality. The Romisen has a nasty sharp switch... and is a little to big headed ;-). Review of the RC-29

The Romisen RC-29 is a (very) much better light than the DX 3W. It does not even come close.

Better is also the Romisen C6 which is even better than the RC-29. AA contra CR123 though.

If you want a hell of a thrower you should get this: http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=9567

They say its a Q2, but they keep sending Q5s. Nice. Battery is 18650. It outperforms both above mensioned Romisens,

and also a 504B with a R5 pill (throw!) In flood its only average.

Its only fault is the metal o-ring in the sliding mecanism. Change it to a rubber one and lube, and you have got an excellent light

I finally received the Sipik SK-58. It's a very nice little flashlight for the money. The beam is ugly though, unlike the generic "No. 5" zoomable light, which has a truly beautiful beam. But the overall quality of the Sipik blows away the generic version. I need to do a proper review on these soon.

On a related note, C78 1xAA flood-throw light is really cheap at Focalprice:

http://www.focalprice.com/LF602B/C78A_3W_2AA_LED_Flashlight_Lamp_Torch_Black.html

The description says it's 2xAA, but that's wrong. Focalprice's descriptions are terribly most of the time. But it does appear to be the same C78 that most reviewers at DX seem to like a lot. It seems too long and ugly to my eyes though.

Thanks for the tip sb56637, I just bought the C78!

5OFFONFP - 5% is better than nothing...

And a nice review of C78: http://www.xmanproject.com/reviews/c78/c78.php

lol i actually did use that code

Cool, please give us a review when you receive it, medieval10.

Sure thing. I also bought the light that Nautic recommended: MXDL SA-28. I hope it is one hell of a thrower! I'll compare those together with my Hugsby P31, Trustfire F23, and BLF Delight :)

So now C78 and SK-58 cost the same - which is a better deal?

Anyone has both and can compare?

They'll probably tell you that the C78 is better. But for me the SK-58 is a mighty handsome little light, and the C78 is outstandingly ugly, so that sealed the deal for me. ;)

Now why did you make me buy an ugly flashlight

Does anyone know whether the C78 or the SK58 has better output/focus?

Between the SK-58 and the No. 5 Generic, the Generic has by far a nicer beam.

I checked my C78 and it has really bad tailcap resistance - with a modded driver, it draws ~0.6A with the tailcap and 0.9A without.

Anyone else have a similar problem with their C78?

I got my C78 from FocalPrice. It's NOT the same as the DX one. The DX has a Cree Q3. I have no idea what emitter this is, think it's an Osram. When it's fully zoomed in, the beam is the worst I have seen. The rectangle thing inside is nice, but there's all this other stuff around it

I don't really recommend buying this light.

Hey there midieval10, thanks for the update on this!

So, there are multiplemutliple versions of this light floating around out there. Yes, that appears to be an OSRAM, looks identical to the Sipik SK-58 and its generic twin, both of which I own, and which both use OSRAM. In my opinion, that's not a bad thing, OSRAM makes some very fine LEDs, it's just that paired with cheap optics it often creates an ugly beam. I also have the zoomable SmallSun ZY-C85, which appears to have a Cree LED, and it also has an ugly beam at full zoom. At least it's a brand name LED in this light, and not a piece of glowing epoxy like the cheapest generic LEDs appear to be. For $6.07 it sounds pretty nice, but I would recommend instead the Sipik SK-58, which is very high quality and attractively styled.

Thank you Nautic for recommending the KD MXDL light. I just got it today and it's an awesome light. The body says Q5. Not sure if that's true, but it's very bright! It's brighter than my Hugsby P31, which has a Q3. Throws very well. The only thing I would have liked is more flood. I'm using 3xAAA right now because I'm still waiting for my 18650s to come in.

You are wellcome midieval10. Thats we all are here for!

Just wai to you get a 18650 in it. You are right the flood is not that great.

Have you changed the metal o-ring in the head to one of rubber? After that the zooming will be much better.