Having finally received a Li-ion charger for my 14500's I can now post the promised beamshots on 2 single AA/14500 flashlights. The reason for this post is that I wanted to see if it was worth the effort changing from standard rechargeable AA's to Li-ion.
Sipik SK68 Clone was from Tomtop_w (ebay) (on 14500's and AA's) and the Romisen (AA only) was from budgetworks.
Camera Samsung L50 unfortunately does not have full manual mode so I did the best I could. All shots were taken at f3.2, 1 second exposure. This is my first review, I appreciate a whole lot more the effort that has gone into everything I have read from others...
All batteries were fresh from the charger, Eneloop measured at 1.4v, 14500 Trustfire Flames at 4.15v
Indoors was approximately 5 meters to the picture (taken on my honeymoon)
Outdoors was approximately 12 meters to the small tree
1. Control Shot (Indoors)
2. Romisen
3. AA Flood
4. AA Throw
5. 14500 Flood
6. 14500 Throw
7. Control Shot (Outside)
8. Romisen
9. AA Flood
10. AA Throw
11. 14500 Flood
12. 14500 Throw
13. Mouse off for AA Flood, Mouse over for 14500 Flood
Conclusion:
It was worth the move from AA to Li-ion, and am now in the market for some 18650 powered flashlights ;)
I've had no trouble going back and forth between alkaline, Energizer lithium, 14500, or NiMH rechargeables.
But I have no idea what if any drivers are used in any of these Sipik 68 clones. When I let one run til it goes dark it fades out slowly, no sign of any regulation. I haven't pulled one apart yet.
Has anyone looked inside some of them and determined what variations there are internally?
The Sipik clone running on a 14500 is one of the best flashlight buys out there in my opinion. I mean , what are we talking, like $7 with battery? That's a no brainer.
Really enjoyed that comparison. I own both a Sipik clone and 14500's, but have yet to actually try the 14500 in mine. I haven't wanted to chance not being able to go back to AA's.
True, but then you have the waiting and the "lottery". My first order of 2 of these clones never arrived (Ebay-Tomtop) so for some reason I'm hesitant about getting them on Ebay again.
I'm sorry Garry. I had great luck with E-Bay Tomtop. Ordered several times with fairly fast shipping. I also ordered twice from their website and had horrible results both times and would not go back. But I did receive all my orders ":o) I run my clone on 14500 with no problems. I was concerned however because I think the voltage max on the light is rated at 3.6V? I just now tried my light on AA and yes, it works. Take a chance! Those posted pics really show the difference, eh?
I recently got an SK68 clone from Tmart for 3.99 and it is unimpressive on AAs. But tonight I put in a 14500 that I harvested from a 14 year old camcorder pack and it made a very nice difference indeed. It now out throws my EDI-T P14. It's not even a horse race. The SK68 makes the P14 look sad. And while it does not put out anywhere near the same amount of light, it does throw a wee bit better than my clone SK98 XM-L T6. I'm probably going to get a couple more of these little SK68s. I think they're a good little light, and they're a very good light for the price.
This might be a little late, but I’ll post it anyway
Temperature of Sipik SK-68 clone within 5-10 minutes of use (at max mode), using:
a. Eneloop NiMH 1.2 volts - 38.6 degrees celcius
b. 14500 Li-on 3.7 volts - more than 45 degrees
Tests done without cooling the unit. I wish I could have used a better thermometer. Mine stops counting & complains beyond 45.
