I have been having quite a time with these zoomables. Recently got this one from ebay and love it. It says 300 lumens. I seriously doubt it, but I couldn't imagine being satisfied with such a cigar-sized light. Really cool distance viewing. I've blown probably $80 this month on a few such items, and then here I am back looking for raw power! At least I'm not in dire want!
As with anything cheap Chinese, the lumen claims are "shady" but the focusable ability of these abundant Q5 XR-Es is near amazing. What kind of experiences has everyone had with these emitters?
Nothing throws like an XR-E (or XP-E). I generally prefer one in my smaller lights because I like to have at least some throw even in a small edc.
The Sipik SK68 clone that was mentioned in the OP is my frequent edc, usually with a 14500 in it. One has to be careful though because there are two types of clones out there. One has a cheaper hollow pill and using a 14500 in it often burns the driver so that it will only work on 14500 from that point on and will no longer work with AA's or NiMH. I get mine here which is about 1USD cheaper than the link in the OP and I know that 365Digital's version comes with the better pill.
...it WAS one of the best fivers I ever spent, and thanks for the tip. At the time I was looking for a multi-mode and bought the Saintfire K25, but I've since bought one of these here , on your recommendation, for a friend. I've now got two more on order. Great little torches, astonishing value for money.
That's awfully interesting. I bought a Saik 7 watt 3 AAA / 18650. I used the latter and now it will only work with that type battery. Sounds the same, no?
As far as my little guy, I just sold him and am sad about it. I used a rechargable 1 AA and was never disappointed. So using the 14500 makes it brighter?
Rusty Joe- I just got that same torch about a week ago, my first ever, haven't gone back to 3aaa yet as I love the 18650 and never used them before.
Just popped the 3aaa adapter back in and works fine- suggest you check the polarity of the adapter- the slightly longer brass tip goes toward the LED Head.
Nice flood and throw from the Saik- but it's my first Torch, so not comparing to State-of the Art stuff.
I might get a few of the little ones for gifts if I could make sure they are the same quality- a great little glove box/ auto light I'll bet .
I was surprised when I took the 7 watt Saik 18650 version outside at night because I could see the beam in the air, not as dramatic as the big guns in photos but still has a strong focused beam and goes FAR and the flood as a candle lights a small room like a small fluorescent bulb would, only prettier.
I tried it again and you were right. I had done something wrong. It was a contact issue, which I resolved by putting a penny to strengthen the connection between the tailcap and battery holder. No more problems with the light flickering and such, either.
I got it with me on patrol today. Gave the other to a friend. I, too, plan to keep them around as gift lights. I have 3 more on order.
But yes, having experimented with this little light, it throws further than anything I have. I can't think of an exception, either. This will light up well the side of the hotel I patrol at 300 yards--with that's ambient lighting!
I'd like to know the OTF lumens of this thing if anyone has tested. I'm guessing 220-ish?
Don't forget to check out the Romisen RC-29... a few more bucks but from my own experience, Romisen has a solid build quality... it's available in a Q5 Xp-e or an XP-G R5 ranging from $15 to $21. Next paycheck I am seriously considering buying this one...
Rusty Joe- glad you got your Saik Sa 7 straightened out.
Thought it would be a great Police/Enforcement light
because of the dual function 3aaa or 18650 and the long throw and also the flood mode can light up a small room or car really well ( but I know little about Law Enforcement).
I read somewhere that a Lumens Test produced 250 and 70 Lumens on Saik Sa9 but on mine the 18650s are brighter than 3aaas .
Also mine only pulls about .85 amps on high and some are 1.5 amps on high- I want one of those 1.5 amps version or to get one modded to that because I think the 300 yard throw you get is great and the Cree Q5 can be pushed pretty hard- I don't know if mine goes 300 yards but I love the visible in air Laser effect and looooong throw also.
I wonder if at 1.7 amps these could throw 500 yards.
I'd say that version (led and driver upgrade) is worth $9.5 more than the DX one - if you buy it please do at least a mini review:) So hard to resist the orange...
edit: i wonder whether twisty or push pull is better - just found this video and twisty looks like a PITA
Not sure which may be better.... but the Q5 version from DX can be made much brighter with a 14500 but if one plans to run an Alky or Nimh the R5 version would be brighter. The twisty may take more time but I would think that longer term reliability and getting it exactly where you want it would both be better with the sliding one being easier to use initially but this is just a guesstimate.
yes nick, if you decide for the Shiningbeam, please do some mini review for us. me, after having experienced the 250meters (yards) throw of the 14500's and the 100% increase in brightness compared to 1.5V Alkaline, in addition to the utility of the Med-mode, i will never consider Alkaline or eneloops again. Never. so enthused am i!
Apart from all the features, which (maybe?) strikes me most is the unique and beautiful mini design. No clone (TrustFire, UltraFire, SpiderFire, etc.) exists.
and i still cant believe it: when i ordered 3 copies, my per-piece-total was 10EURO's only!! (in my review i mentioned that German sellers charge ~36EURO's for the old 1-mode model, well knowing about the high quality of this particular Romisen model.)
I like the twisty: it takes 2.75 full turns to get from "zoom 1x" to "zoom 8x". a long way!
In fact, that very picture actually put me off buying one for a while, it looks too weird and I imagined the battery tattling around like a stone in a tin can. But you're right, though, it must be a triple A in the shot because the actual AA fit is nowhere near this loose. Weird thing for them to do, though..
