Now that’s a bad deal.

Available from Wallbuys for $2.99 last week, and now it’s even down to $1.99.

http://wallbuys.com/Product/Mini-CREE-XPE-20LM-3-Mode-Cool-White-LED-Flashlight-with-Clip-Black-1xAA—9836

3mode $1.99 at least when I clicked it.

XPE, 3 mode, and black color are only differences I see.

I had somewhat similar issues with the price changing thing as well. On sale from $7 to $5, coupon to $3. Came back and it showed full price (7), added to cart, applied coupon and it discounted $4 instead of $2. Still ended up at $3 final price though.

Looks good, but only 20 lumens?

Unless that’s a mis-print it would not be of much use to me except as a reading light.

I noticed the 20lm, I missed the 14500 capability of the ebay version… hmm.

Get bigger pockets and holster a Sipik sk68 for a few dollars more!

I have got SK-68s for as little as $3.50, with nothing worse than tail cap threads that could easily be cross-threaded. Three modes start around $5, the best I remember.

I bought these at 2.99 And they said 1 mode but were three modes ,

They say 20 lumens but it's a mistake and they do about 100.

I like them for the price and as a change of pace from a sk68  which I really don't care for much just because of the feel .. .. They are what they are ..

As far as value they are a great 2$ light ,crappy old BLF delights were almost 2$ and were lucky to put out 20 lumens .

I bought another 6

still think the 4$ edi-t p-14 is a hard ftt  to beat for 4$ 3 modes with ramping  which gives you a very very low mode if youcatch it just right

Bought more of them too ..It's going to be  a much easier light to mod than any AA light.

Think about it – for $2, you can only normally get the boost driver. Everything else – body, lens, spring, tailcap, XPE emitter – they’re free

I don’t have and don’t know this light. According to its description, it has a smaller head than the SK 68.

http://www.buyincoins.com/item/4630.html

These lights (wallbuys and ebay) are 100% the same, 3-mode and same brightness.

phlowcus wrote:

These lights (wallbuys and ebay) are 100% the same, 3-mode and same brightness.

You’re certain? I’d be interested if the WB $1.99 version is 14500 capable.

It says right there on WB description, 1.2V – 4.5V.

What I find really weird is why the manufacturer severely understate their lumens rating. Opposite day?

Well they do tend to have conflicting, or incorrect details often on WB, and I have yet to see someone actually get a positive result from claiming such a thing if it ends up being wrong…

DrVette wrote:

It shows as a 1-Mode in the check out.

Couple of days ago, the low price changed, clicking on it showed a much higher $
Now it changes from 3 to single mode, hmmm. I dunno bout walbuys.

See my walbuys uh-oh posting.

I believe I may have found the issue with the 3 to 1 mode thing… maybe?

http://wallbuys.com/Product/Mini-CREE-XPE-20LM-1-Mode-Cool-White-LED-Flashlight-with-Clip-Golden-1xAA—9837

This is the golden version, claims 1 mode, #9837 shown in your cart there. The black version, claims 3 mode. Both are $1.99, and don’t change when I throw them in my cart and checkout.

unknown00101 wrote:

I believe I may have found the issue with the 3 to 1 mode thing… maybe?

http://wallbuys.com/Product/Mini-CREE-XPE-20LM-1-Mode-Cool-White-LED-Flashlight-with-Clip-Golden-1xAA—9837

This is the golden version, claims 1 mode, #9837 shown in your cart there. The black version, claims 3 mode. Both are $1.99, and don’t change when I throw them in my cart and checkout.

DrVette wrote:

Fritz t. Cat wrote:

I have got SK-68s for as little as $3.50, with nothing worse than tail cap threads that could easily be cross-threaded. Three modes start around $5, the best I remember.

Yup yup, I agree, however plz note my wish for a light that’s easier to “holster”

I found some 68’s for $3.25

I should mention SK58s, if I understand what you mean by holster. They are similar to 68s but nearly cylindrical. The original Osram led is out of date, but some are available upgraded to XR-E or XP-E “Q5”, and some to 3 mode drivers. I have a 3 mode XR-E that I like, and I gave my daughter an original 1 mode Osram Golden Dragon one. There is not the same price competition as there is with 68s, but I don’t think I paid over $10 for either. There is also a similar SK-78.

Boaz wrote:

still think the 4$ edi-t p-14 is a hard ftt  to beat for 4$ 3 modes with ramping  which gives you a very very low mode if youcatch it just right

Bought more of them too ..It’s going to be  a much easier light to mod than any AA light.

Fritz t. Cat wrote:

Boaz wrote:

still think the 4$ edi-t p-14 is a hard ftt  to beat for 4$ 3 modes with ramping  which gives you a very very low mode if youcatch it just right

Bought more of them too ..It’s going to be  a much easier light to mod than any AA light.

Where did you get it for that price?

http://wallbuys.com/Product/EDI-T-P14-Cree-XR-E-Q3-180-LM-3-Mode-Convex-...LED-FlashlightSilver-Grey1×18650—8172

I ordered a gold one for $1.99 .

unknown00101 wrote:

http://wallbuys.com/Product/EDI-T-P14-Cree-XR-E-Q3-180-LM-3-Mode-Convex-...LED-FlashlightSilver-Grey1×18650—8172

The ones with ramping might be harder to find:
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/5430

I got a black and a gold one DrVette.  I really like the compact form factor.  As others have noted, they have low output, bad tint, and next mod memory.  But hey, all that can be modded out of the light.

I got mine today. It may displace the SK68 as the standard general purpose flashlight design (Of course the originator will not dominate the supply for long).
It is smaller and lighter. A shortcoming of the SK68 is that its is big for it battery size.
The build seems as good so far: tail and bezel threads are good, the anodizing seem thinner, it is smooth everywhere no where could it be improved with 600 grid sandpaper, the zoom is neither too light nor too heavy.
The outer thermal management is good: It heats up almost as evenly as an SK68. The warmest is the vestigial fins. The near head is almost as warm and less warm forward. The body tapers off in warmth to the rear, but the tail cap is still warm. It may taper off more quickly than an SK as expected from the lower weight.
It seems to have a bit less current than an SK. It uses less of the led’s light, but that is the price of its slim size, and for practical purposes light output is not a weakness of these lights.
The tail cap is too big (and grooved) because some people complained about the SK68’s being too small.
The plastic ring holding the star in is black instead of the usual white, and there is no metal over it, as with some SK68s. The brightest ring is yellow on mine, so a black one will have a very clean beam. The silvery bezel reflects at a small angle where light is desirable.

This may herald the end of the period when flashlight collecting has been interesting.

Hurray! I have found a design error. It is not all over yet. Not counting its not using a Fresnel lens, the error is that, when the head slides back to zoom out, it stop about a millimeter before the pill overlaps the threaded part of the head. That makes it longer than necessary and makes the maximum flood and total light output, with or without taking the bezel and lens off, narrower and less than they could be. An SK58 has the head go back until the pill overlaps the threads by a few millimeters. It is only the sliding spring or o-ring that can’t overlap the threads. An SK68 has the threads on the outside of the head and the head slides until it gets the heat sink material I put on the pill on the outer part of the lens where it is obscured by the bezel. (The flood is as wide as the others only because the lens is thinner. As often happens, the error is in the requirement. The team was told to make the flood as big as that of an SK68, not as big as they could make it.)

I get 0.59 and 0.14 ampere at the tail cap with an IMR cell that measures at 3.95 volt open. The leads and shunt on my cheap meter probably add half on ohm resistance. With a Sipik SK68 I get 0.65 amp., around a 10% difference, but the Sipik is much brighter. Similar results to comparing them on 1.5V cells. The difference seems to be the efficiency of the optics, unless they have tapped a supply of very low efficiency XP-Es or much less efficient drivers. The cost of being able to zoom down to a small spot with such a narrow light. This is a light that you can use without bothering the people around you, and it is bright enough for most purposes. With future leds it will be brighter.

There was another thread about this light, besides my “What you got today” entry and this one. I have trouble finding the link.
Wallbuys has increased the price a bit more. I don’t think more than $4 is reasonable for this light. It is designed to be made in large numbers.
It is so odd, by US standards, that there is no brand name. How can we identify it? Being sold by Wallbuys seems a poor substitute for a bought brand name like Everedy or RayOvac, or even the almost meaningless UltraFire. Even the universally branded SK68 has a model number.
I am debating whether or not to buy a grocery bag saying “Smiling Shark”. They want too much money for it, and their flashlights have their own faults.

i keep seeing a price of $ 3.94, – not $1.99 at those links.