Where can I get a non-branded Sola Dive light?

I’ve noticed various “name brand” lights can also be gotten direct through Chinese suppliers without the branding for a cheaper price.

Does anyone know where I could find the Light & Motion Sola lights?

I checked their range and I have not seen a budget manufacturer clone any of their lights. As dive lights go, they seem to be pretty unique, and as such, those that clone lights probably would have difficulty in cloning them.

Cool… thank you.

In general, how do you know if you’re getting a clone as opposed to a non-branded version of the “real” light?

Would you say there’s a difference between a clone and a “knock-off”? When I hear clone I think someone put the time in to replicate something in both appearance and quality. Where with a knock-off (or maybe bootleg) it’s more appearance, but doesn’t hold up in terms of quality. Would you say that’s an accurate way to look at it?

I pretty much use both terms, clone and knock-off, interchangeably. They mean the same thing to me. There have been clones/re-productions of a popular light here, the SkyRay King 3*XML, which, as it grew in popular, the manufacturers started making compromises to its internals and as such, the quality of it has gone down.

How to tell between a clone to a “real” light? Unfortunately, most of the time you won’t know until you’ve received the light. Some vendors have no clue on what they’re selling and it can be difficult to get useful information from them. Having said that though, it’s still worth a try and asking the seller for more in-depth information on the light which you can then use said information, to give a more informed choice as to whether it’s the real deal or not.

Don’t get your hopes up. Seriously doubt anyone will put the effort in. Solas are unique, very good, and very expensive….as you know.

The main real difference between ‘real’ and ‘clones’ can be little, to ending up with a piece of junk that merely looks somewhat like the original. The Chinese even make ‘fakes’ of clones, with even more quality drop. The IMAX B6 charger is a known/popular recipient of this attention. The original is decent, not great but good enough. The fake is cheaper and often has problems.

For dive lights I would stay away from fakes, not worth the risk(in many ways).

I looked at Sola but ended up going with dual i-torch 6+ lights on a BTS tray from housingcamera.com maybe check them out? They look perfect for my Hero cam.
I am going to Hawaii in 2 weeks and I will do a review of them when I get back.

I guess one of the things is knowing if you have a fake or a real, unbranded one from China…