I was going to say that I found the XP-1 even cheaper at $3.78 but on closer inspection it doesn’t look quite right.
The switch cap is shiny and the clip is different.
I just received another one of those S5 copies, this time it’s labelled Vander on one side and OUTDOOR (quite nice actually) on the other. Quite a relief from Ultrafire and CREE.
Also, Vanderbilt graduates can rejoice that their university is popular enough
The reason I am linking this is that it is a good host.
1. See the tailcap and its glorious screw-in tail. So much better than pressfit version that’s plaguing 90% of cheap lights.
2. The pill is… SOLID… for those solid-pill enthusiasts in here.
3. The pill is also connected to body through screw-in washer, put this on tight enough and you’ll still have good direct thermal conductivity to body.
4. It’s 3 bucks. Nice host and fresh branding for this price.
The driver and emitter is lame though. Bluish bottom end tint emitter, and cheap 3-mode driver. This is good for harvesting host only, and you have been warned. :bigsmile:
It says Q5 because much people (who bought this X2000 zoomie) know LEDs mainly by names like “Cree” and “Q5” - without knowing what it even means.
That’s why a lot of sellers write “Q5” somewhere.
I ordered the light from the second link about three weeks ago, and it arrived yesterday. This light is identical to the “Ultrafire” variant I reviewed previously:
It has the very-loose-fit drop-in pill, and the plastic reflector/lens combination and the same “XP-E” (counterfeit?) emitter. As Pulsar13 pointed out, a strong point of this light is that the tailcap has a removable/replaceable switch with a proper threaded retaining ring vs. the cheaper press-fit style. Also, as I mentioned somewhere I can’t find at the moment, the battery tube from this host is a good fit on a 501b host, if you’re looking for something a bit different.
Due to the poor heatsinking, I would only use this as a host for lower-power builds. My previous Ultrafire ended up as a host for an EDC-sized UV build, and it works very well for that. Keep the factory reflector, or replace with a 20 mm aluminum reflector, replace the plastic lens with glass, and swap in a 3535-sized UV emitter (purchased via eBay). I’ll likely end up using the Vander host for the same purpose, but with the newer 365nm UV emitters I received at the same time…
8)
Some time ago I’ve bought a similar cheap S5 copy from eBay in silver. It had the same loose pill. I’ve searched for a replacement and found a pill with the matching threads at Kaidomain: http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024126
Instead of the reflector I’ve used a 30° TIR together with a XML-2 and a 101-AK-A1 driver.
But there goes the bargin… together with the new parts it’s a nice, working light but to be honest too expensive compared to other cheap hosts.
…but you are right… after ordering a $3 light and a $3.30 pill, you’re better off ordering the C20 host for $6.87 + BLF discount. Then you have a quality light with a good switch and a brass pill to work with.
Not ebay, but $3.61 for Hugsby XP-1 is a great price
I love that Hugsby and a good deal so I ordered one (not 2). Aliexpress sent me email warning that the buyer protection was about to run out on the purchase. So I opened a claim and said please wait as long as possible for the package to arrive. Next day I was refunded. Aliexpress said the vendor could not produce tracking information.
Anyone else that bought from this vendor may want to see how much time they have left to open a dispute.