Mini Review, Jaws light.... super compact, super deal!

Hey everyone,

I'm always on the lookout for cheap 18650 flashlights and for $10.44 you normally cant find much. I really like this little flashlight and I think its a great deal and has a lot of features you would not expect in this price range. The light was purchased on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/270684246507?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_7310wt_1018 and took about 15 days to arrive to the USA from China.

Not only does this light Have a Brass pill but it actually has heatsink compound on the emitter. It also has a glass lens and an aluminum reflector.

The light is pretty bright considering the small reflector and the cost. The tail cap readings on a x-tar 2600 where 1700mah Hi.... 780mah Med... 150mah low The light does heat up pretty quick as you would expect given the small size and brass pill. The threads where pretty good and greased. It also comes with a glow in the dark switch cap. So far its taken every battery I own, X-tar, CK 3100 protected and un-protected, Hi-max TF Flames ect.

Now for the bad. Not much to really complain about. Its not super bright but with the reflector being so small its got to be expected. Its a 5 mode with no memory ( I prefer no memory since I normally want it to start out in Hi) It was kinda dirty inside but that's par for the course on most budget lights. The checkering is pretty poor and the finish is ok nothing great but its not really bad. It heats up pretty fast and there is wobble on the tail stand. There is also no front gasket on the lens. You could run a small bead of silicone on it if you worried but in all honesty I don't really expect these cheap lights to be waterproof.

For such a small light it has a pretty good throw. I think it would make a great backup light or a great little pocket light. For $10.44 I don't think you can go wrong. It does come in a black version but I kinda like the silver for a change.

Great review XXL. I like the compact XR-E 18650's, and "Jaws" appears to be an unusually well constructed compact for the price. How long before it gets to hot? Id say you've stumbled onto a very worthy budget light.

Thanks xxllmm4, nice to see a review on a budget flashlight, a true budget one.

Seems great value for either standard use or a mod host.

This torch is very reminiscent of the Aurora/Trustfire/Uniquefire V6 lights, at a better price.

Thanks for the review !!!

Thanks for the review xxllmm4!

I received my Jaws Light in the mail today and am very impressed with it. Mine arrived coated in a thin film of oil on the body. Once I wiped it dry on my t-shirt I could appreciate the remarkably even finish with the anodizing. Unscrewing the head and tail cap I was impressed with the lubricated and buttery smooth threading. The o-rings on either end of the body were too thin, however, and would not provide water proofing. This was remedied by replacing them with thicker o-rings from my stash. I also added a GITD o-ring to the lens to make it a complete air tight torch.

HEAD:
The brass pill is very ample and threads cleanly into the head. Thermal epoxy on the emitter and a press-fit brass ring holds the driver in place. Like yours mine has 5-modes and no memory which is fine by me. There is a spring on the positive of the driver so you won't have to deal unexpected mode changes. Uncoated glass lens and smooth aluminum reflector are a pleasant surprise for a light of this price. The lens and reflector on mine were clean.

TAIL:
The tail assembly is nicely designed. There are two slots for a lanyard with a notch in between them in case you use a tiny split-ring to attach a clipped lanyard. The slot allows the ring to use one hole but gives it a place to go when tail standing so it's stable. This would be great but the GITD tail cap sticks out far enough to make the torch wobbly and unstable. I remedied this on mine by replacing the tail cap with a lower profile that sits nicely recessed. The switch on mine is in an aluminum housing that fits perfectly into the tail and is then held in with a thick brass ring that screws in smoothly. The negative spring is covered with a brass pin.

LIGHT:
Modes are nicely spaced. Strobe is not too slow but not too fast either. SOS is a true SOS for a change. Very tight hotspot for a light this size. With the XR-E Q5 this makes a decent little pocket thrower with a very even spill that is less ringy than I would expect with a smooth reflector. High is pretty bright and the low is pretty low but with the small hotspot not too great for map reading.

CONS:
O-rings on body too thin to be useful.
No o-ring on lens.
Tail cap sticks out too far to allow stable tail standing.

PROS:
Great finish and build quality.
Glass lens and aluminum reflector.
Brass pill with great heatsinking and upgrade potential.
Both battery connections sprung.
Prelubed threads.
Perfect lanyard holes.

For $10.45 shipped you can't go wrong with this torch! Based on my example I can safely recommend it as a no brainer.

Johnny

I think I'll grab one of the black ones then........

Thanks Johnny, I'm glad I'm not the only one who really likes this light! This is the second light I have bought from this seller. The other was a little zoomer that I have been really happy with.

Have you checked out some of the other lights they have? This looks like it might be another good deal http://www.ebay.com/itm/CREE-Led-600-Lm-Flashlight-Torch-Camping-R5-Lamp-Light-/280584708132?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item415426e024#ht_6322wt_1018 with an XML??

This kinda caught my eye also http://www.ebay.com/itm/CREE-LED-Camping-Flashlight-Torch-310-LM-Diffuser-Tip-/280588799521?pt=AU_Torches&hash=item4154654e21#ht_6903wt_1018

This one has a compass! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tactical-flashlight-300L-LED-Torch-Lamp-Compass-Charger-/280531245587?pt=AU_Torches&hash=item4150f71a13#ht_7139wt_1018http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Bright-CREE-Q5-LED-400-Lumen-5-Modes-Flashlight-/280724577754?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item415c7d1dda#ht_6549wt_1018

The Jaws Light is terrific but the UF 502B with an XP-G R5 (your first link) is hugely overpriced given that you can get the same with an XM-L in it for $5 less at MF.

Where did you get tail cap from ?