Usually fakes start out good then degrade as time goes on so at the outset it is possible that we get decent emitters but on the other hand it would also be a good idea to start scarfing up any deals on genuine product also.
Much the same here. Most of the budget lights come with a way-to-bluish cool white emitter, and those lights that i use daily i end up swapping them with a better tint.
I would suggest contacting Cree and sending them info. I do not think they will take it lightly and even though their facility is in China, the US offices should be able to at least file law suits in the US.
It is shoddy and it is one of the biggest reasons I do not like to work with the Chinese. Sorry, I know not everyone is bad, but the present culture there, seems to applaud, condone and give incentive to this type of thing. Of course, if the rest of the world, (meaning all of us), didn't approve and demand it, there wouldn't be monetary incentive to do it.
Good points OL. While some may be good, ( well atleast ok maybe) other CREE “Clones” will likely be more inefficient, inconsistent tint claims, low CRI, etc. I am even noticing some of the Latticebright emitters even only have one bond-wire. (good bye to trying to drive more amps through that to achieve more output.
Of course, the other question would be, "Is Cree making these and selling them?" Well, it is a possibility. There's only so many facilities that can make these leds. If not Cree, then who is manufacturing them?
I feel that we will be safe for the time being to expect established brands like Olight, Nitecore, Fenix, Sunwayman, 4sevens, etc. will still come with premium CREE emitters, but those one-off brands & over-cloned lights, (all the various *fire brands, etc.) will soon be showing up with unknown, low-cost LED emitters with little QC ( and already may be using them)
I decided some time ago to buy only premium lights, olight etc. Sometimes there are bargains to be had. $44 for an olight warrior, $18 for a Skilhunt x0 are just some examples. It is not worth taking the risk buying more budget lights, by time you mod it, it ends up being more expensive.
I recently went against my own instinct and bought a convoy that was fake and someone pointed out they also had fake drivers! Now with the possibility of fake LEDs as well. No thanks!