So they do! i wonder if that's for both the 18650 and 16340 ones or just the 16340 ones?
Either way that's awesome, you don't really see that very often, especially not in budget lights.
Is anyone willing to test it out with a 18650 light?
I have the 18650 version, if you put the battery in upside down you get bright red lights.
I assumed it was about to burn out, so haven't done it since.
brilliant! purchasing now :D
Just taken a closer look at my 18650 version, the red LEDs seem to be alongside the white ones... I'd assumed the same ones created both colours somehow, but there seem to be 8 seperate emitters.
How intriguing! I really look forward to mine arriving! :)
I ordered the 18650 version and I can't say I'm too impressed. It's not that it's a bad light. It's sort of like the flashlight equivalent of buying a new Saturn and turning up at work, only to be upstaged by the guy who brought a really nice Beemer. Doesn't take anything away from your car or make it worse in any way, but all of a sudden, it seems like you're missing some of the features you never knew you wanted.
It's an okay light. The threads are flawless. It does take protected 18650s (tight fit with gray and Flame TFs though). And it does come with a clip (not a very good one, but still). It doesn't come with a box, head strap or any accessories (like the H2, H3 or H4), but it never said it did so I'm not blaming DaZongTong or Manafont (ordered 9/27, delivered yesterday, btw). Same goes for the "reverse polarity, get red light" gizmo, which was advertised for the 16340 version but not the 18650 light and does not appear to work on the light I received: if I put the battery in the wrong way, I get nothing. No red light, no white light, no nothing. I haven't opened it up yet because, frankly, I have more exciting toys to play with at the moment and I am no Geordi La Forge, so maybe I am just doing it wrong.
There's no memory. Instead you get a two-stage reverse clicky (ie. you have to cycle through mid to turn the light off). There's no ramping UI. The clicky feels mushy and doesn't inspire confidence. I am tempted to say the output is disappointing but I'll reserve judgment for now. All I will say is that next to my H2, it didn't look all that impressive inside the house or the parking garage at work. I haven't had a chance to test it outside though. Mine is very much on the warm side of white and I haven't yet made up my mind whether I like the tint or not.
If this light was ten bucks, I wouldn't be complaining but at $15, I'd much rather spend a few bucks more and get a Z1 or H2. Yes, I know, apples and oranges: this is a 18650 light and the Z1 and H2 are not, while being more expensive outside of group buys and what not. But I think I'd rather sacrifice runtime and get what is my opinion a far better light (FD: I have a few H2s, which I use all the time and a Z1, which I like but never use).
I've had my 4-LED light for about three weeks now, and and a couple of days ago the switch died and the light is inoperable.
i'll probably disassemble it and put a toggle switch in instead.
I helped a buddy work on his car this weekend so I decided to take the DaZongTong. Great, now I sound like a gay superhero. :D
Anyway, I really wanted to like this light. I wanted to find some sort of redeeming feature. Well, I didn't and I don't. There's just too much, I don't like. For starters, the clip might as well not be there. If it won't hold a light securely, I don't have much use for it and I wasn't doing jumping jacks or juggling on a tricycle. Pulls 1.35A on high and .16A on low from a fresh blue unprotected TF 18650 from way back from when dinosaurs were still roaming the earth and Steve Jobs wasn't a religious figure (because that's all I had at the time). Visually, there isn't that much of a difference (between, to be honest, meh and more of the same) so I went back and re-checked. And got the same results. I guess runtime shouldn't be much of an issue then.
I tried a dozen different 18650s and got no red light. I have to admit that may be clouding my judgement because I mainly bought this light for the cool factor. And there really isn't anything cool about it. A whole big lot of so-so, but nothing cool.
There's no magnet, but we knew that. What else is there... Right, runtime test. I was going to do one but, frankly, I just don't care. I know I won't be using this light much, if at all. It's just not what I wanted and had hoped for - if I was shooting for mediocre, I could have got myself any of dozen cheaper lights.
There's also an upside. I paid $14.55 for this flashlight (there is no logo on the body as shown in Manafont's pictures, btw so it might be a good idea to watch out for that, but honestly I'd just pass on the 18650 version altogether), not $145.55. It's a light I don't particularly care for, but I did pay less than 15 bucks for it so I think I'll get over it. Wait... Waiiiit. Done. ;)
And that's one of things I love about our hobby. You win some, you lose some but if you do, at least you didn't blow $100+ on something you won't ever use again.
Edit: red LEDs do work, see below.
After reading your post, I went back and played with mine a little more. I realised the 'red lights with reversed battery' only works with one particular type of 18650 I have, some pink ones reclaimed from a laptop battery pack. These cells have a very slightly raised negative pole, and they are the only ones to make the connection in the DaZongTong when reversed.
All my other 18650s do not work when placed in this light backwards.
Cool. Thanks, Pantaloonie. :)
I don't think I have any 18860s that would work. Looks like I have a reason to order some RE magnets now.
I'm happy to report that after trying (what feels) like a million different types of 18650s and almost giving up, I found one that actually works: the red, gray and black "3000mAh" Ultrafires that nobody likes. I'm still not too crazy about the light itself, but it's a lot more fun now. Thanks again, Pantaloonie.
Dang. I was so ready to like this when I stumbled across the CR123 version ($13.25 at Manafont, down at the bottom of another page)
How's it holding up for those who bought one?
In my work bag just now. Not had cause to use it this week though. Still working as of today.
The red beam is still hideous and appears to use one or three LEDs depending on mode. The white beam is OK and it is still surprisingly bright for a device of that size.
To addition there i would like mention that mine arrived from manafont with logo and even with the nice clip. Clip is convenient. You can attache it to body or not without screws. I just wonder what type of leds are there. Mine draws on high 1.2A. If there are 0.25w keds, than it's really too much 1.2/4=0.3A. This current is good for 1W leds. I can not assume that there is 4W inside DaZong. Want to decrease current but don't know yet how and where to place limiting circuit. Do not want to disassemble again the switch. Led has very thin and ugly wires that don't want to touch again or I'll have to solder it again. Maybe I will do something on tail cap.
BTW for me I like it :) I own UF-H3 but nevertheless I like my DaZong. I like its light. Construction and quality isn't the best, but for the price it's ok IMHO. Maybe I will buy one more for fun LOOL
I have looked everywhere for one of the 16340 ones, but cant find them to purchase one. Do anyone know of other suppliers for this little light ?