Brandaloo; welcome to the community! It sucks feeling like you’ve been ripped-off, but it helped you find this website which hopefully will be worth it. There’s a lot of awesome people here that make retina searing flashlights that make the sun look like a AAA Maglite 8) Newbie questions are always welcome so don’t hesitate to ask (although you may get more info than you bargained for)
Words of advice from a relatively new guy to the forum:
Ask a TON of questions. There’s so much info on this website that you could literally spend a lifetime learning about the in’s and out’s of how powerful flashlights work. And it’ll save you money in the long run.
UltraFire batteries are bad news; they are falsely advertised and have exploded before. Like will34 said, get some panasonic (my personal favorite), sanyo or samsung batteries. They last longer and work as advertised.
There are a few US stores that are worth looking at for your flashlight needs. They may not have a HUGE selection of flashlights, but every single one is “tried and true” so there’s no guesswork on what you’re getting. Check out Mountain Electronics (<— my usual go-to website), and Illumination Supply.
There are quite a few international sellers as well. Keep in mind these are in China so it takes a few weeks to get your order. Intl-outdoor is very reputable, Banggood.com has a TON of cool stuff along with Fasttech.com and Gearbest.com These China based retailers don’t always have 100% accurate details on their flashlights, so you’ll pay a LOT less, but it can become a crap-shoot on how powerful the flashlight is going to be compared to what they advertise. Do a little research on what type of emitter they are using, along with how many amps it’s running, and consult this Cree Flashlight Wiki page to see get a better idea of what you’re getting.
Be cautious of buying a “host” flashlight. It means that you’ll have to purchase a few extra parts and assemble it yourself (soldering). I started off just buying pre-built flashlights, took them apart, see how they worked and then moved on to the assembling them myself.
As far as a self defense flashlight, it really depends on how you want to use it. I prefer a small, handheld light with a pointy bezel on the front so you can crack someone’s skull if need be. Like this…
Whereas others like a long flashlight, like a 3D Maglite, and use it like a baseball bat. If that’s the case, Mountain Electronics has a great deal on the Maxtoch M24 Sniper that might work for you.
Like I said, tons of info. Welcome to the addiction hobby
I ordered a clone of this light from Amazon, which I was promptly refunded for after stating the not-so-obvious difference between a genuine CREE emitter and the “LatticeBright” or “LB” emitter the light came with. I am trying to replace the electronics of this light with a genuine MT-G2 emitter and a FET driver from mtnElectonics, however, the “reflector” and Teflon spacer provided with this light had to be drilled to accommodate the larger diameter of the emitter…. and I did a terrible job of it, and the “reflector” piece of thin metal is probably now ruined, as it has marks all over it. My question is, can I order replacement parts from somewhere reliable, or, is there a better zoomable host out there that I could get for cheaper than parts plus shipping? Thanks!
Ah well it could be worse. Saw at Fry’s a year ago a battery charger / flashlight combo with “2000 lumen” output (according to the box). The light source was a single standard 5mm while LED.
I still see posts on Facebook everyday with dozens of people saying that they purchased the light, and that it’s the brightest light they’ve ever seen. If they only knew! I’ve tried to warn people that they can buy the same light for 1/5th the price on Banggood, but people keep buying :weary:
I like how on their Facebook page they say they have special technology not found in stores that increases the output by 20%, I commented on it and asked if that technology was an xml2 used by just about every other manufacturer going.
Take a look at the hosts mtn electronics has added. Richard has added 3 new zoomies in the past month that should work. One is a single 18650 which could run a 6V led off of two 18350s, one is a single 26650/18650, and one is a two 26650/18650 host.
Only 2 posts? I have to wonder if the OP ever got his money refunded by “Lumitak”.
I’ve edited my original post because “Lumitak” just called me back from the voicemail I had left them. They asked some good questions and say I should expect to be receiving a refund within about 5 days. Will post follow-up to let all know whether or not that occurs.
“Our newly designed LED Emitter is 20% more efficient than the original XM-L models and emits a higher spectrum of whiter light. You WILL notice a significant improvement over the original XML-U2 version. Our revolutionary emitter has a silver backing and a more effective led pattern than the original XML LED.”
That’s just simply awesome. They have their own LED, a XM-L T-6…
Brother and his family live there. I miss it.
If they only knew! I’ve tried to warn people that they can buy the same light for 1/5th the price on Banggood, but people keep buying :weary: