Cheap 18650 light

I bought two of these in Wallbuys year end sales last year for $3. They both come with XP-E actually and they have solid pill.

I have the S5 version of that…

the pill isn’t even threaded in, it’s a smooth block that just slides down and uses a screw ring to hold it in…
Threads are thin and unanodized, body is thin, no real thermal management so driving it hard is out of the question

The kids enjoy it but it is NOWHERE near the quality of the Convoy

Plus I have to replace the click switch in it…it’s split and no longer works

For $3, it makes a good toolbox or beater light…

The UF S5 I bought both have threaded in pill, but the switch is not very good.

Mine are all the floating pill model, pictured in post #90 here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/20152 - the thread referred to earlier. Looks like there are 2 distinctive cheap S5 designs then - chinese lottery, but I'd expect the floating pill model. If you get the threaded one - you got lucky Smile. Switch's will always have issues in these cheap lights unfortunately - sometimes piece by piece, or just poor in general, or you can get lucky.

I guess for 3 bucks you take what you get. Any confirmation as yet as to the actual status of the pills in these particular lights?

As to the form factor, as mentioned in another thread, I’ve become quite enamored of mine, with 60° Optics. But I got threaded pills so they get warm quite quickly.

More likely it means they made bazillions of them thinking they’d all sell for 3x Cost, then after the layers of dust blocked the silk-screened logos, they cut prices (perhaps several times — I notice eBay claims them to be “4.99” until you click on them) to make room for the next bazillion gimmicks.

Or maybe the Chinese taxpayers subsidized the whole lot…

these are couple last picture of it before i gifted them away, somewhat similar i guess


its extremely throwy on mine, probably around 100~150 lumens on my estimation. cheap anodization that chips off easily- the whole thing is super cheap overall.
its an okay light overall for the price, but for us probably just another crap, but good for modders

Another one for $2.98 at AliExpress.
If you trust the pics (no guarantee you get what you see) it’s XR-E and solid top brass pill.

If it actually has a pill, might just be worth it

If you notice, there’s a groove cut around one end of the body. Like maybe for a fat O-ring… They always show these assembled with that groove at the head end. Why??

Turns out, at least on mine which happen to have matching-pitch (but different length, just like in the one Pregulla showed us) threads on each end of the body tube, assembling it with that groove at the switch end makes it a lot easier to click it. Bonus: that groove is the only haptic way to tell which end is which when you pick it up, so having it near the switch makes for less fumbling.

Having said that, one of the “quality” things I wish for on these, since the end pieces have so much of a “skirt” or “apron” (i.e. excess material) beyond what’s needed to engage the O-rings, I really wish they’d cut the body threads identically symmetrical - with each end providing just-adequate thermal via. It makes no sense at all to have one end with almost twice the threads of the other, especially when you find that “groove grip” trick. That might lead them to understand the logic of trimming the excess “skirt” from the head, and that would let these become much much shorter (therefore easier to EDC)…

Nice EDC 18650 torches, if you mod them right, but still much room for improvement. Any word yet on the ones in the OP? Their pictures look like they’ve improved the thread/skirt situation, but if the pills are junk…

Grabbed one, good excuse to buy some of the cheap 18650 pack pulls. Seems like a good candidate for a toolbag light.

They suck

The convoys are so cheap and so much better you're kidding yourself if you're wasting your time with this junk.

By the time you modded one with a good driver and emitter you'd have about 3$ less in it and it would still have that crap paint job with no weight to it ,crappy threads ,no knurrling ,bad switch and some retarded reflector that was made for an xre .

I agree with you in principle. In arithmetic, not-so-much:

Convoy S5 clone host: $6.87
Nanjg 105c 2800mA: $3.05
Cree XM-L2 T6-3B: $3.62
60° Optic to make it useful for work & to blend the ooky Cree Colors: $0.322 (If you want a 10° pencil-beam “thrower”, the cost is ~the same)
Total Homemade Cost: $13.86

Convoy S5 Host ONLY: $13.64
Convoy S5 Cree XM-L T6-3C: $17.50, and it will still need the 32-cent Optic to make it useful. Call it $17.82 apples-to-apples.

That’s with the host I know. If the OP host has a decent screw-in pill, that total cost (not counting the leftover LED you can use for other projects) goes to $9.98!!

I wouldn’t throw that Convoy in my tool box, but I loan out my EDC “S5 clone” constantly & would build another if it didn’t come back.

Not saying you’re wrong, just maybe you’re being a little-bit hyperbolic. I’m (we’re) impressed with the Convoy’s reputation. Everyone I meet is impressed with the actuality of this little light I made.

$3.96 less for my “clone” host or $7.84 less with the OP one, not counting the “I made this” bragging rights.

Just sayin…

Dim

I picked up a couple of these today. About $3-3.50. I like to carry a backup to get home if my C8 etc goes out. Although if its a wide beam could be good. These look small.

So it’s an XR-E?Any idea about amps, lumens, modes? Says 5 mode.

L>M>H>STROBE>SOS would be my bet

I agree with Boaz though

Would these need an 18650 with a bump on the pos end, solder blob etc?

I believe they have springs on both ends

My cheapy S5 clone (labeled S6 did)

The light arrived yesterday.

It's not an S5 like was suggested, but the internal are the same. Floating pill with a retaining ring, plastic reflector, and plastic lens. Lens O-ring is slightly too small so it wont sit flush under the lip. I can't tell for sure, I think the emitter is an XP-C... I'll probably drop an XP-G or G2 emitter in with an OP or Wide TIR optic and a low-powered driver, 101AK or similar. Maybe glob some Fujik in to fill the space around the pill. I don't think it's up for any more than that.

Cosmetically, the host is a scaled-up version of the 602C host from Fasttech.

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10002463/1198401-ultrafire-602c-diy-led-flashlight-host-with

Look for a more detailed write-up/comparison soon now!

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/30302

ebay seller now has Price: US $3.99

Got one today. I like it. $2.99 , took less than 2 weeks from Shenzhen!

Looks like glue, so I couldn’t take it apart, though I haven’t tried yet. A mixed blessing! Pulled about 0.4 A on high, 0.1A on low, so not a bright light, but not bad.

Fairly light and small, though I have a zoom that’s a little smaller.