Review: Yezl A1 CREE XP-G R5 3-Mode HAIII 1xAA

But medium and low are better ...

I swapped pills + emitter , so will re test

Emitter out of the Yezl pill and driver from Sky Ray ...

On a 14500

High 360 sags to 340

Medium 164

Low 35

Thats more like it ! ...

AA =

High / 123

Medium / 57

Low / 10

Hi Matt, thanks for the nice honest review! Frontpage'd and Sticky'd.

Glad to see it tailstands.

I own this body style in the form of the less than impressive Small Sun ZY-C41. I fought with DX for months to try to receive a 3-mode version of this light. I'm actually not a fan of the body style, but to each his own.

Sorry to read this, Matt, but thanks! I've PM'd Ric and posted as well trying to cancel my order in time. Hope he hasn't dropped it off at the post office yet.

I had real high hopes for this light and refuse to sink another penny into modding it as it just isn't worth it, especially if it scratches that easily. I was hoping to get a real durable torch I could rely on and use regular AA cells in in a pinch but this is definitely not the light. I should have learned from the original XM-L Yezl zoomer fiasco (fortunately I didn't buy into that one) and avoided Yezl lights completely.

According to Ric's website "a knife blow will not leave marks" but you were able to scratch it easily? Certainly not typeIII anodizing on it then! More chinese crap lies.

Sorry to read this, Matt, but thanks! I've PM'd Ric and posted as well trying to cancel my order in time. Hope he hasn't dropped it off at the post office yet.

I had real high hopes for this light and refuse to sink another penny into modding it as it just isn't worth it, especially if it scratches that easily. I was hoping to get a real durable torch I could rely on and use regular AA cells in in a pinch but this is definitely not the light. I should have learned from the original XM-L Yezl zoomer fiasco (fortunately I didn't buy into that one) and avoided Yezl lights completely.

According to Ric's website "a knife blow will not leave marks" but you were able to scratch it easily? Certainly not typeIII anodizing on it then! More chinese crap lies. Perhaps they would say they didn't lie because it only left one mark and not "marks" plural...

JohnnyMac I just got this light also and I can confirm it does not work well with AA batteries.

I noticed the Trustfire S-A2 is the same light and Cessnapilot posted a picture on DX of the driver and it appears to be the same modable driver that is in the R5A3. I ordered one from DX for $13 bucks to see if i can do the strobe delete mod

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-s-a2-cree-xpc-wc-q5-3-mode-230-lumen-led-flashlight-1-aa-1-14500-36358

Thanks, E! I can pretty tell you right now it will be going back to Ric for a refund. No way I’m paying $20 for that garbage. If all I did was run 14500’s in it then I might keep it as it’s very bright on them but I’m getting this for worse case scenarios and want AA performance. How is the finish on yours? Does it appear to be type III ano or not? Can you scratch it with a key or coin?

I tried scratching it with a sharp knife and it didn't do anything to it then I took a small screwdriver and dug it into the inside of the tailcap and with a lot of pressure I got it scratch so the coating on mine is pretty decent.

I put next to no effort into scratching mine , hmmm ?

But the mod has made it into a very useful light , I did have to sacrifice the Sky Ray to the mod gods , so its a $30 something dollar light now , @ Yezl-Ray if you will .

For $30 something , it should be a useful light !!! anyhow , first and last Yezl for me ... The Ultrafire M2 is still choice ...

So, Old, the M2is your choice as best overall AA torch? Any others coming in a close 2nd or 3rd?

Maybe the paint on yours isn't dry yet mine sat in 100+ degree mailbox all day.:) I have one really good quality Yezl the T3 and 2 low-medium quality ones the Z1 and the A1.

My AA collection :

Jetbeam 135A - Wonderful , pricey

Trustfire F20 - Varies on driver - Good if you get the right driver - Mine sticks on high mode - hard to get out of high if the light warms up

Tank007 TK-566 - great light - ringy beam that's annoying , should make for a wonderful XM-L mod - then its not stock

BLF AA-Y4E - Had contact issues - took for ever to sort out - currently running ok - Not a go to light any longer .

Ultrafire M2 - Cheesy clip - otherwise a good light -

Uniquefire G10 - Nice on AA's , but died on a 14500

Uniquefire AA-S1 - I liked it - gave it away as a gift - got another that was damaged , put in a 5 mode buck boost driver - its ok .

Akoray AK-16 - Great light - but emitter is dated now

Yezl A1 - Well the Yezl-Ray is good

Eastward J09 - More issues than I care to remember - might be sorted by now .

N-light B2 - Fantastic driver - very efficient - Stainless makes it just a little weighty , needs a really good clip

Ultrafire RL-168 - AA barely worked - good on 14500

Small Sun ZY-C41 - Died after 5 seconds on a 14500 - did a driver swap and now its a nice 14500 light

SKY RAY S-A1 - Decent for the money spent - mine died when I tried to remove the pill [ locked up in the body tube ] Aluminum has a habit of binding and welding shut when two surfaces of the same type are forced against each other [ too tight a tolerance ]

I had to cut the front tube open to get the pill out ,

Now I have a expensive Yezl-Ray - But it is nice , but took two lights to make it so .

For the money , the Ultrafire M2 seems to deliver . Is it the best ? Under $20 its the only one I can recommend at this time oh , and the TK566 if you dont mind a ringy beam . Cheesy clip or ringy beam ?

So many AA lights I haven't tested as yet .

I am really surprised you don't have a Trustfire R5-A3, that is my favorite AA light I actually have 2 of them. KD currently sells one with the modable driver right now.

I was going to get one till I saw there were two different drivers

I dont need nor want more 14500 lights ATM

how about this one 1 x 18650

http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1060

I just got the Trustfire S-A2 from DX and it is very similar to this Yezl. The driver is the same modable driver that is in the R5-A3 and I did the strobe delete mod.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-s-a2-cree-xpc-wc-q5-3-mode-230-lu...

The build quality of the Trustfire is not as good as the Yezl but the price is a lot better and it runs really strong on primaries as well as lions.

Here is the link to the strobe delete mod if anyone is interested to a budget version of this 3 mode Yezl light.

any one used the one in the link i posted i like the idea it runs on 1 x 18650 and its claimed a 2.5 amp draw on high (claimed)

Hi Benckie and welcome to BLF! You're in luck, there is a review in the 1 x 18650 forum section, check it out:

Also, I would throw my hat in the Trustfire R5-A3 ring, what a fantastic light (for the money). I would recommend to get it from Manafont, it definitely has the Hi>Lo>Fast Strobe driver, and it's driven quite well. I don't recall exactly what the tailcap readings were, but I recall being pleased with them.

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/1639 review

Thanks for the welcome and the link guys