We’ve already got a thread for what people use their lights for… but which lights do you never (or only rarely) use? Why? Which lights did you buy and not like? What lights went into your “box of shame”?
If possible, include pictures and/or links to the item.
Generic “X2000” 3xAAA zoom light. I don’t know WTF kind of LED it had inside, but it wasn’t a Cree. It wasn’t very bright, doesn’t run a long time, and is large for what it does. Get a SK-68 instead.
(photo copied from amazon)
This was one of my first, before I even knew what a SK-68 was. It’s now in my box of stuff to give away, because at least it’s semi-okay (perhaps good for a small child) and uses standard cells. The reviews suggest I may have just gotten a bad unit though, and that it’s supposed to come with an actual Cree XR-E.
This little guy. I got it for $4 iirc. It’s not a bad light; I like its looks, I like the compactness, I like the smooth zoom, but it just doesn’t have good output. I need to take it apart and mess with the driver or replace it. Someone has probably already done so.
Edit: yep I have one of those generic zoomies with the vertical machining lines too. I don’t like having the extension piece in order to use 18650, or its output, stock tint, or its aesthetics. An emitter swap and it’ll be an okay gift I think.
UltraFire SK-98 (1x18650, XM-L) from Wallbuys.
Wouldn’t fit protected cells (and barely fits unprotected, even with the tailcap loose), narrow zoom was wide and not very intense, wide zoom was relatively narrow for an XM-L zoomie (decent tint though), an O-ring got sliced in half simply by zooming the light (then floated around behind the lens), lens was scratched and cloudy, pill was hollow, bad PWM, next-mode memory (IIRC), seems likely to un-solder itself if run on high for more than a few moments. Totally fails to live up to the good reputation of the original SK-68. I can’t really even give it away, since it requires Li-Ion cells.
I hear that some other types of SK-98 are decent, but I’m just not that into zoomies any more. My Ultrafire 838 (also from wallbuys) works much better.
This may be a rather unpopular opinion here, but… I don’t use my SRK much.
I love my Skyray King. It’s an awesome light, and I’m glad I have one. I even got one of the really nice ones from CNQG. But I almost never actually use it. For distance, my XinTD C8 works better (and is significantly lighter / thinner). For up close use, I can use a 1x18650 flooder or even 1xAA flooder most of the time. My XM-L 2.8A Convoy S3 has almost the same beam pattern and is only one perceptual “step” lower on the brightness scale. And has a usable low mode for the 98% of the time I don’t want a photon grenade.
So, I have this totally sweet Skyray King and no practical use for it. About the only times I use it are:
Aside from a few rare special cases like the above, this light pretty much just sits on my desk looking pretty. I can’t say it was a bad buy (since I’ve enjoyed it), but it’s not a very practical light for me.
I’m embarrassed at myself over this, but the worst torches I’ve bought were the most expensive. I stupidly used some “found money” to buy SWMBO and myself some Fenix L1T’s. They were never “bright”, compared to the incans I used at the time, but they were handy and trendy and too expensive not to use.
They’re still hardly “bright” — I’d rank them as “dim” when new and “disgustingly dim” today, even with the latest LSD batteries — and my @$$ still stings from the huge price, and I still dislike Fenix for fooling me once. All they offer now is a clean “WHITE” color OTF (no lurid Cree colors), which is only useful very close-up.
For what I paid for one of them, I could buy 4 Trustfire F20s (apples-to-apples), any of which would be 3x as bright and easier to carry.
OTOH, we also never use the pair of Fenix P1’s I bought at the same time; but that’s because they’re stashed away in our bugout bags… They do make a decent light (quantity and quality) OTF, but the high-priced batteries and twisty switches make them not feasible for EDC. We’re banking on the alleged “shelf life” of primary Lithiums, if the you-know-what ever hits the fan…
Oh, before I forget!!! All those battery-hogging incandescent flashlights I used to carry!!! I’m not sure I could tell you where any of those are anymore!
Anyone else?
Ultrafire HD2011 from Wallbuys.
Not a bad light, really. 1x18650 cigar-like pocket rocket tube light. But the Convoy S series is soooo much better. I pretty much only use the HD2011 when I need a mule and don’t care about tint. The front part can come off, leaving a bare emitter with nothing ahead of it to block any light, so it’s nice if you want a 180-degree raw emitter beam.
Otherwise, it has rather slow PWM, the low modes don’t go anywhere near low enough, its beam is about a 7500K tint with low CRI, and though it has good mode memory it also requires cycling around (through blinky modes) to get back to high.
I got this one just a couple weeks before the first Convoy lights started to show up at stores… bad timing on my part.
Toykeeper;
I have a zoomy very similar to yours which was DOA. I really like the body style (mine can take 18650 as well as AAA) but I never got to enjoy it. At least I only paid about $5 for it shipped.
I plan on modifying it. I am thinking a 4 mode driver and 4C or 5B tint XM-L2. Both of which will cost way more than the light itself. 
From top to bottom:
Maglite Solitaire: I used to carry one of these before I knew anything about flashlights. The output is just… terrible, even by incan standards.
Ultrafire C3: One of my first forays into LED flashlights. It constantly flickers (I tested the switch, it works fine), and sucks up about 2A on high while still being dimmer than an olight i3.
Eagletac D25A2 clicky: My very first “premium” light. It has two mode groups that can be selected by twisting the head; tighten the head and you’ll get turbo and strobe, loosen the head and you’ll get L/M/H and some hidden blinkys. The only problem is, if you accidentally bump the head while in group 2, the light will cycle to the next mode, which is VERY irritating if you’re working in a cramped, confined space and end up blinding yourself.
Shadow GF1: Doesn’t accept protected 18650 cells, and requires a button top because of it’s mechanical polarity protection. On top of that, the side switch is way too easy to activate, and the light doesn’t have electronic lockout |(
not bright, super flimsy, flicker Ostart zoomy
gitira6, I have one which looks exactly like that.
I got it from ebay a while back though, and had been feeling too lazy to find a pic for this thread… so I’m using the one you found. 
The narrow zoom is okay-ish for a XM-L zoomie, which is to say… not so great. A SK-68 throws better. The wide mode is okay too, but not great. The tint is terrible (~8000K?) and it has next-mode memory and bad PWM and the zoom mechanism sticks and although the gold bezel looks kind of nice, it’s generally just a bit bleh all around. It’s currently in my give-away box since it can at least accept 3xAAA, so maybe one of my muggle friends can use it. It’s still fairly nice compared to the junk they sell in retail stores around here.
One thing I can say for these cheap zoomies though… they sure do make it easy to take pictures of the emitter. I pulled out my gold-bezel light to take a look, ended up holding it up to my eye while zoomed, and decided to try it with my camera (ELPH 110 HS). Here was the result:
Tank007 TK-703 (above). I don’t like the throwy beam profile, and the intermittent tailcap connection persists >.< (I was hoping to breathe new life into it with an IMR 10440). I prefer my E09s.
Fenix E01 Got it from Wallbuys on a second kill deal and it was like $5 not worth $2 if you ask me. Horrible purple beam. The beam isn’t even round and it’s terribly dim even for a little light. Absolute junk.
Well… that would include all the “cool whites” I’ve bought over the years - many of which I’ve given away already.
Everything just looks so flat and insipid compared to the warmer tints.
My worst (because of the $95 price) buy has to be my SC600 (that’s the one on the right 
)
The problem with the switch/not being able to select the needed mode means that it’s never used.
In fact I’d be willing to give it away if someone would just pay the postage.
That’s a very generous offer. Are the original SC600 heads glued? I’d be happy to swap the emitter to a warmer tint if that’s a concern for you.
I totally agree with you. To me, most of the cool tints are very unattractive !
PM sent.
post deleted due to above ahead post. Thanks.
I really liked my sf fury, bored it myself for 18650’s but after I got a zl I realized how ugly the tint/beam was on the sf. I didnt realize how green and not round the beam is. But the sf looks and feels good.
17 people line up with stamps in their hands.
High postal rates are