Having trawled the usual sites DX,KAI, BoB etc...the current crop of XM-L single 18650 lights seem to have been hit repeatedly with the ugly stick as well as having drivers that are as old as the hills (some dont even have those).
At the moment I'm moving towards the Yezl lights from cnqualitygoods the Y6 (thanks Huny74 for the review) and the M6. Now I know the M6 is $37.99 at the moment and that BUDGET should always be in our minds, But does anyone have opinions on which would be the better light.
I'm starting to think that I should wait a month and a bit and see what rational thought out lights become available, instead of rushing it.
The obvious answer to your question, coming from a fellow flashaholic, is to purchase both.
In all seriousness though, from what I've seen, those Yezl lights are very high quality. Even their site has videos of them individually testing every light against multiple impacts on concrete, submersion in a tank of water, freezing in an ice block, and driving them over with a truck. A statement to quality thats for sure, especially in comparison to other budget brands.
I'd hold off for more reports on cnqualitygoods myself. I ordered and paid for a Yezl light more than three weeks ago. No communication, not shipped. If I didn't really want that light I'd cancel the order and get Paypal involved if necessary. I certainly will be filing a Paypal dispute before 45 days.
If they come across, all may yet be well. But if it isn't shipped before Chinese New Year, it is going to run out of time. China is essentially closed for business for the first two weeks of February.
As I said in the review I like the Y6 very much and can recommend it if you're not looking for max throw BUT the driver is nothing special. It has 3 IMO well spaced modes and no disturbing flashing but it is not regulated if I interpret the numbers correctly (will swap it as soon as a better options pops up). So I agree, it might be wise waiting a bit longer.
The more I think about this and see whats out there I see what happened with xp-g's when they came out. Some manufacturers just change the emmiter and keep the same driver just so it has an xm-l in it (4sevens has done it - bet its selling too), all the Chinese manufacterers have done the same with dropins and the standard chunky lights (c8 and the likes) same as happened with xp-g.
It was about 2-3 months down the line that you started to see drivers matched to the emmiter in bodies that could handle the heat. Its interesting that Fenix put a timer on the TK35 for 25 mins turbo, they wanted the 'Good God!' effect for turbo but knew it would toast itself if on for too long.
Some of the reviews on here and elsewhere are already starting to see a 2.5amp sweetspot for output and heat, problem is that I think the well thought out flashlights are going to take a while and we have to hope the Ugly Stick hasnt given them a hard time.
Problem is I want a new toy.... must wait, must wait....I think the Chinese New Year has been at an opertune moment, means that I wont Order anything till mid February anyway.
