When I’ve dealt with Shenzhen Wholesale before, which is a long time back, it seemed like I had to place the order, then wait a couple days for a shipping quote, then pay again for shipping. Is that still the case? If so, that may be too inefficient time wise for this purchase.
They would do shipping for $15 on the 15X but not on the TR-S700 I was going to do a group buy with it but it fell apart because of the shipping. They wouldn’t budge on it because it’s so huge. Their price only came in $10 less than Fast Tech. But I got the 15X for a total of $85 and they shipped halfway fast, Total was around 2 weeks or just over if I remember right. But it takes two days to order from them.
It sounds like the 15x is my safest bet. If I bought something like eBay item 231030305617, is that likely to be on par with the 15x units we’ve discussed here?
EBay stuff from China generally reaches me faster than stuff from Chinese gadget sites.
Here are some pictures of stock, unmodified lights.
SkyRay King
BTU Shocker
And that’s from the 1st batch of Shockers. Now they come with XML2s and are arguably 20% brighter than what you see in my pictures.
That’s 3000+ lumen goodness blasting all over the place.
I only mention the Shocker because you say it’s not a practical purchase. In no way is the Shocker practical. It doesn’t come with a holster, it is huge, heavy and awkward to hold. The only thing it has going for it is pretty good heat sinking capabilities and insane output and throw.
If I didn’t already have a Shocker I’d definitely get the Shocker with XML2s now. Especially for $114 since it’s on sale.
There was also no TR-J18, TR-x100, AK-47, 12xT6 or 15x on the list, all of which should be all brighter out of the box than the out of the box BTU (maybe not TRJ18). All can also use 18650s and are under $100, what you asked for. You have to remember, in those pictures, TomE has modified and upgraded both BTUs for higher output. Any of the above lights with the same upgrades would blow away the BTU (including TR-J18, you should look up TomE’s 5500 lumen TR-J18 mod).