Review: New 612 - A great budget P60 SIZED alternative for 10$ (+ mod and beam shots)

NEW-612 Cree XP-G R5*

Bought from DX,10$. LINK

I guess this light will always be NEW, since it holds that strange name… :stuck_out_tongue:
This is not a P60 light (compatible with P60 drop-ins), but its P60 sized, and basically have a reflector the same size of a P60 (without threads).
Its a very good alternative to a P60 host if you can do basic modding stuff. I consider this light to be a nice mod-host. Difference between an empty host and this is that you get a free emitter and useless driver included in the price. :smiley:

Numbers measured by me:
Weight: 70g (That is not much for a complete flashlight without battery)
Length: 131,38mm
Body thickness: 22,98mm
Tail cap thickness: 24,99mm
Head thickness (front) :31,01mm

In comparison with some known lights. (OEM D4/Convoy M1 - Ultrafire 501B - NEW 612 - Solarforce L2T

Look at that! Its got a decent pill! And its not hollow. Good room for a driver.

XP-G with centering ring and a plastic bit to raise it. 16mm PCB.

Pill is screwed in from the back. Holds a 17mm driver.

Driver circuit have next mode memory mode. Tail cap reading up towards 2,2A with a good battery. Around 1,7A @ 3,88V. I never measured to the emitter. Drivers with next mode memory are not worth my time. This light was bought with the intention of being modded. With a driver swap as a minimum.

Threads inside the head. Very flexible since the pill go much higher and lower than needed (mod friendly, see mod post below)

Tailstands, and one lanyard hole. A small mark in the paint.

Unscrew the ring of the back and you get this view. You can easily swap the button to about any type of button you want since there is so much space. Very simple, easy and mod friendly.

Omten switch. No amp ratings visible from the top (have not opened it up, yet).

Backside of the 22mm switch board. A nice gold plated spring. Nicely attached soldiered onto from 1 of the 3 points… Not so good from the other 2 (easy fix that is not really needed)

Between the body and the head there is a thin and very soft spring. The light can work without it, but its recommended to have it there for good contact to the driver. The light can flicker and even turn of if its not there.

All the parts. The inside of the SMO reflector is essentially like a P60 reflector. It seems to fit XM-L too.

Slightly ringy beam on the edges when you light up a wall from very close range. I know it looks bad on the picture since I am very close to a wall. But not really noticeable in real life use. From 3 meters its not really much noticeable at all. You have to look for it.

Anti roll-ring does not work on a flat surface for obvious reason.

Good stuff!
-»P60» sized, but very compact and lightweight
-Gun metal grey… Looks really nice!
-Nice clean design
-Bright and good throw for a 10$ light (emitter seems to be well driven based on tail cap reading and brightness)
-A fairly good screw in pill (considering size of the light and price)
-Heat sinking fins on the body
-Takes 16mm emitter and 17mm board
-Super easy to change emitter and board (see cons)
-Comes with centering ring for the reflector
-Aluminium reflector
-Tailstands
-Lanyard hole
-No branding on the light (makes it clean looking and not associated with cheap Chinese lights)
-Takes batteries up towards 71+mm. Take most thick batteries out there too 18,85 (mm wide tube).

Okay, as expected
-Not 100% perfect paint, but for the price, I would consider the overall impression to be good.
-XP-G with CW tint. Not that much blue tint.
-Threads are not premium quality, but for the price, they are good.
-Threads and O-rings were lubed but it was close to nothing.
-Flimsy soft thing spring in the middle of the body (flashlight works without it). Probably to improve connection.

  • Modes are: High- Low- Strobe

Not so good stuff:
-Next mode memory
-A slight donut hole in the hotspot (not much)
-Edgy spill (see beamshot) when used on close range on a white wall (not an issue «in real life»).
-Plastic lens
-No O-ring on the lens (I would not gamble that its waterproof without an O-ring there!)
-No thermal paste/silicone under emitter
-Press fit driver circuit (not soldiered for best possible contact)
-No lanyard
-Anti-roll ring does not work

Summary:
Due to next mode memory this is not a light I would buy with the intention of using the stock driver circuit. As a mod-host I think this is a great light! Most cons are easily fixed. This light is also easy and fast to change out parts on.
I really like the tail-cap “engineering/design”. I don’t know why more manufactures don’t use it. Simple and does not take a lot of space. It basically makes the light shorter.
This light is a very nice alternative to a P60 light! (Id you don’t need a P60 drop-in that is :wink: )

When this light have had some parts changed out I am fairly sure I will be taking this light over a typical P60 thanks to its compact size, light weight, looks and feel, all combined with decent heat sinking.
This light also have the potential to become a quite awesome pocket rocket thrower!
Mods to come in the future…

Rating:
Stock light: 3,5/5 (I would have given it a 4 if it had mode memory.)
Modded light: 5/5

Thanks for reading. Hoped you liked my first review.

Mods done:
-Slight improvement on soldering work to tailcap spring
-Better lubed threads and O-rings
-Thermal grease on pill
–29mm AR coated lens

As you can see much thicker than stock. Which is no problem at all since the pill is adjustable upwards and downwards… :slight_smile:
I could still add an O-ring and fit a long battery.

Stock lens was 28,xx mm. 28-29mm lens will work nicely.

I removed the outer top edge of the pill and drilled two holes to get the wires further out.

This is why. Now room for 20mm Noctigon copper mcpcb with XP-G2 R4 5A. Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste.

As you can see, no brass or copper ring. Thats not a very good thing. But the inner edge seems to give good contact to a Qlite. Im getting full output, so press fit seems to work. (pill scratches made be me when working on it outdoors).

Making it a super tight press fit probably helped a lot. There was a lot of file work to get the Qlite in. And I pressed it in extremely hard… Its not coming out again easily, that is for sure!

Beamshots vs a few other known lights:

Should have brought at least a P60 or Convoy M1 to the fight… But for throw, the NEW 612 would have out thrown them despite lower output.
Maybe Ill add another time… I need to make a P60 thrower and test various set ups…

Modded - NEW 612 , Qlite XP-G2 R4 5A (NW) - Very nice throw and beam for such a compact light…

C8, Qlite, XP-G2 R5 (cheap CW LED from FT)on 16mm Noctigon, AR coated lens, modded spring.

My favourite beam for a fairly compact light XM-L light. More jacket pocked friendly than a C8 too. All the spill is usefull, because its bright, and throw is quite good too. T10 XM-L T5 5C on copper Sinkpad, Qlite + 2 x350. 3,7A total

ZY-T13 XM-L2 U2 on Sinkpad modded for slightly above 3A to the emitter.

SRK @ 6,5A+ (still stock)

The 612 heats up incredibly fast after the mod. Real nice. Of course, it will have heat issues if used in a warm environment on high.
I like it much better than the C8 I just modded. So much smaller, but can do basically the same despite lower bin and nicer tint. But then again, I have always preferred a more compact lights. If I want a proper thrower, there is not substitute for a large reflector light with an even harder driven emitter. But for the size, a modded 612 is a super nice light for the price.

After mod.
5/5

Nice review and great info for modding. Thank you!

This does indeed look like a nice alternative for the price. When you say “basically have a reflector the same size of a P60” can you tell if the reflector is deeper or larger in diameter compared to a p60? Thinking I might get one and put a XP-G2 with a 3.04A driver in it.

Thanks for sharing.

Same diameter. P60 on the right

P60 on the left, slightly smaller opening.

P60 is probably 2mm (?) shorter (if the threads were cut off)

P60 drop-in is made for XM-L. The emitter holes are the same size, so the plastic centering rings could be swapped around.

Looks like a very good reflector, now I just need to decide on which XP-G2 to use.

Thanks for the info, and the great pics :beer:

Beat me to it. I too just got one of these in yesterday. Have some pictures taken and was getting trady to do a review. But I agree with everything thast you said.

how high amps wise can an xp-g handle ? If I was to swap out the driver how many amps could be ran to it ?

The most I feel comfortable with is about 3A on a copper pcb, like sinkpad,etc for short bursts. I have not had any heat related problems yet.

:beer: Blazar

Thanks… Maybe it was you who tipped me on this light? I believe it was mentioned in a thread or two close to three weeks ago. I liked the design and price. I saw potential in it, and I was not disappointing with a hollow pill or anything like would be typical in this type of light.
I have only owned it for a few days, but thought that it deserved a review! :slight_smile:

XP-G and XP-G2 does officially handle up towards 1,5A. Pushing beyond 2A is not much point unless you have copper MCPCB. How much beyond 2 amps depends on the conditions you will run the light in an for how long time on high. Despite that this light have some cooling fins and a decent screw in pull does not make it much better than any other similar sized lights. If you plan on pushing close up towards 10W (3A) to the emitter that will result in a pretty high amount of heat.

Living in the Northern part of EU I dont worry that much about heat when used outdoors. I dont mind having the ability for a light to work as a hand warmer when used on high for longer periods… :wink:

For me, it would be tempting to push slightly beyond 3A, but I would not recommend it in such a small light. :stuck_out_tongue:
The pill have good room for some extra 7135s though… 0:) I have not heard about anyone killing a copper mounted XP-G2 on around 3,5A. But at one point, you will make enough heat that output will go down. So all depends on the use. Like Blazar said. For most, 3A to an XP-G in this sized light would probably be to push it far enough… :wink:

Or would I better of getting a 1400ma and adding 1 or 2 chips (7135) to it?
also want to get a glass lens.

I’m thinking about picking up its little brother in AA form.
http://dx.com/p/torch-light-w611-cree-xpg-r5-led-240lm-3-mode-white-light-flashlight-grey-1-x-aaa-1-x-14500-177426

Great review, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the review RaceR86. Its a real shame about the driver. $10.00 for a complete light still sounds like a bargain though even if you spend $4.00 on a driver.

Only you can answer how many amps (in high mode) is suitable for your type of use. But if you are using the stock XP-G on aluminium MCPCB there is no point in going higher than 2A. I would recommend to only add one chip. This chart explains why…

I remember looking at that NEW 611 too. Its nice. I might consider it some time in the future. If it uses a 17mm board Im pretty sure I will buy one some time in the future. If you buy it, please let me know what driver size it uses. Im guessing its more like a 15mm driver board …

Picked up a few of these for $7-8 on fast tech. Awesome light for the money! All it needs is a glass lens and it is a steal for the price. Nice little light for basic mods too!

Nice… I was not aware they sold it.
Price is 8.96$ (before discount)
LINK

Nice host, thanks for the review! The driver can have next mode memory removed with a resistor. The pic of the driver shows a capacitor partially hidden by the blue wire. A 330k or 470k resistor soldered in parallel with it makes it a no memory driver. I may pick one of these up for an XP-G2 NW on copper.

R86 -

This is awesome, and I love your pics . . .

Foy

Good tip!
If if do pick one up, feel free to share your experience. :slight_smile:

Thanks Foy!

Nice job on the review, Racer!

It really is a handsome host. Is the finish anodized or painted? I love the color. 8)