spot the 10 differences!

China is a wonderful and mysterious country to me.

Yesterday I got a second unit of the Supfire A6 in the mail, same seller, ordered a few weeks apart. Apparently this one is from a new batch, left is the old one, right the new one, spot the 10 differences :

Ok, they changed the name a bit, the silly 'usa-tech' has disappeared, the 'T6' is gone as well (to have the U3 option?), Supfire is not a trademark anymore, the ano is also shinier (bit less nice IMO, matter of taste really), there is 'Supfire' on the lanyard now, but that's all, right?

No, ok, you could not have known that: new colour o-rings as well, but now were done!

.........................................

No, no, no, that is not all! Look well! EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT! Everything measures just a tiny bit different, even the overall length of the flashlight, even the clip! What is going on in that factory? As if Fred made a nice new flashlight and made a batch of them, it sold well so the boss asks Fred to make a bunch more and Fred answers "well, ok, did not expect that to happen, how did I do that again...., I did write the numbers down somewhere....., ok, seems I have lost the #@* piece of paper but no worries, I'll work something out".

The output is also a tiny bit less: high 545 (was 568), med 306 (was 318), low 68 (was 72). Well, that is within expected variance, right? No again, there's more going on, even the driver is (a tiny bit is the theme here) different, left old, right new:

Different FETS, different current limiting resistors (0.14 Ohm instead of 0.12 Ohm)!

Makes me really want to see how such a factory works. There were a few video's of the Tank007 factory a few years ago, but it all still remains a mystery to me.

Gotta love the consistency you get when buying cheap Chinese flashlights. :D

I actually hoped Supfire was a bit better. I prefer the anodizing on your first Supfire A6.

Looks as if they were sourced at different factories using same blueprint.
How one reads the blueprint vs the other.
Or, as they say “translates” the blueprint :slight_smile:

I like the one on the right, Knurling is better edges look better finished. Solder joints look better as well.
Thanks for the pics.

Keith

Fantastic examples.
At least my different C8s have different xfire names.

The grooves in the head look different too, did you mention that?

Serial numbers have changed in that the left has 10 digits, the right 8. No USA Tech label either.

I noticed in your review thread the light appeared black. But it now looks like the one I received, like your second one, grey Or is that not the same light in the review?

Edit: Top pic (in review) looks black, next pic in the review looks not black.

Oh boy - I got your "new" one also, yesterday. I measured Hi mode at 2.35A at the tail on a good Efest 35A cell and 578 lumens @30 secs, 6.5 kcd throw. So, mine is a little higher (variances probably), but maybe because of the cell?

Mine doesn't tailstand too well. The button feels like it's jammed up in the boot - tightly.

Hhmm, this is smell'n more like a clone. Getting rid of the little registered trademark symbol is troubling...

My second one tailstands better than the first one did (but I shaved a mm off the switch-button and now the first one tailstands fine as well). and it is not quite that the new batch is a cheap knock-off, I'd say the quality is the same, ...almost, just that tiny bit :-D

Yes - got mine to tailstand better too just now by the same way. Great minds think a like Smile. Yes - the pill is very similar to the design quality as in the SupFire L6 (nice quality), the switch is a good one, and the reflector is nice - so still pretty good quality. The F3 has the cheap switch often found in $10 lights, specially zoomies, though the rest of the F3 is pretty nice for a cheap zoomie.

Clip on the right looks a little bit better/thicker/cleaner-stamped... Or is it just the angle?

Oh man that’s not good to see, Jos and Tom what seller did you but from? I really want one of these lights.

The driver is the same driver as in the EagleEye X6 so atlease its easy to mod and the different resistor values explain the difference in output.

The modes are the classic 5, but it has good mode memory. From farfarled: dhgate.com-supfire-a6-t6

I got the L6, C8, and F3 from the same store - he's a pretty good guy, well packed stuff - no scratch's, etc. so far. H'es been posting deals and videos.

The one with the longer serial number, USA Tech and the registered symbol, the flat ano also works better for me.

Could I be lucky and get this one from the order I just placed? Time will tell…

Edit: The one on the right is a clone. Different type font for the name as well as the loss of the registered circle and different serial number. Perhaps it’s well done, but it’s a copy. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Edit: Pulled 2 lights off the shelf, the SupFire F9 I ordered directly from SupFire…it’s got the USA-Tech and the trademark, has the finer text and has the longer serial number. The L6 I got from a supplier has the fat text font, short serial number, no trademark, and shiny ano.

The F9 you bought earlier and the L6 later? Maybe same with djozz - early A6 vs. later A6? Hard to tell, but my A6 without the registered trademark symbol seems to be pretty good quality for sure, though I agree I'd prefer the flatter anodizing of the earlier one djozz got.

I'd say the quality of the pill though is classic SupFire - hard to find any other pill anywhere in the style they use, and decent quality (not great but above avg).

Crap - now I gotta check all my SupFires... Smile

The F9 came directly from SUPFire. Can’t be a clone.

10 differences?? Hell, I see at least 17 differences just on the exterior!

This is pretty much positive proof that SupFire, the manufacturer, changed the design, so the removal of the 'R' for registered trademark was removed by intention:

http://www.supfireenglish.com/Products/led_flashlight/small_flashlight/2014/0616/61.html

unless the clone company set up a clone web site Surprised. Anything is possible I suppose...

I'm about 95% comfortable the new version is an original...