I got a Banggood AA version. Quality seems good though I don’t have the other version for comparison.
The BG and CNQG versions look identical to me. Don’t have the CNQG version but the quality of the BG one is great. Pretty sure they are the same because BG has been getting a lot of the lights that CNQG carries. Rick at CNQG goes out and finds the nice lights and has them in stock first and then BG follows, usually with a lower price. Zoom Zoom, I posted that Mad Max was working on a discount before you bought, maybe you missed it.
It’s worth mentioning that there have been two or three versions of the brass 18650 light so far. The outer appearance changed on each rev, IIRC, and some of the internals changed too. The tailcap assembly has probably changed the most.
The first version had a bezel piece and a body piece, with the pill holding the two together. The tailcap could be disassembled from the inside by unscrewing.
The latest version has no seam between bezel and body, so the pill can only come out the back (and it needs to be threaded in pretty far so it’s harder to get out), but I think the head and body are still separate pieces. The tailcap disassembly is from the outside instead, and the inner portion uses a fitted plastic piece instead of a retaining ring. I hear it may also be harder on its o-rings now. And it may or may not have an extra coating to prevent oxidization, but my “coated” brass AA light developed a patina just fine with only a day or two of handling.
A standard 17mm driver should fit into any of the brass 18650 lights, but it may need to be one-sided or at least have only very small components on the spring side. However, the stock driver is flashable and can be pretty nice with different firmware.
The critical parts in a high current mod are the DTP copper mcpcb, it’s connection to the pill and the pill’s connection to the host but AFAIK there isn’t a tube style single 18650 host made that can handle 5A without getting seriously hot. Stainless isn’t a great conductor but even my mini01’s get hot at 3A. If your referring to the Brass Art light then for the few minutes it runs at 3A from a 10440 it will definitely get hot. But if the mini01 is any indicator then it should still be ok at 3A for short periods. I’d be very leery of putting an xph50 in there and using the long tube to run it at 3A but who knows?
Have you got a link for this deals thread please. Ta.
To find this sort of thing go to the messages page and all of the users show up to the right. Find which member you looking for, click on their name, and click “my posts”. You can also get there from any post they’ve made by clicking on their name.
Hehe LOL yeah i agree 
a XHP50 running DD or zener FET in the brass art would be a fun, hot & a very very bright mod 
But i will probably test out such ideas on some cheaper hosts first to get a handle on how feasible it really is.
How many 7135 chips are in this light stock? I’m thinking of a 7135*8 (or maybe 6) and a t6-3c neutral white. Probably the xml2 version from cnqg.
I assume the guts are pretty much the same as a convoy s series?
Thanks
Robby
Mine came with 4x7135 chips using a nanjg AK-101 driver. Due to the light’s smaller size, the pill, reflector, lens, and body are not compatible with Convoys. The MCPCB is smaller too.
Well, I finally got mine after a month of shipping from Banggood. Not bad, I put in a single sided 4x7135 driver with Dr. Jones Lucidrv/FT, my favorite for all mods, and a 4C tint XML2. Not bad. Just wish for a real clip (I’ve started using a suspension clip for it, not bad). I also replaced the head spring with a wide flat one that can compress flat because the body is so short.
It’s about the same size as a Zebralight SC62W, but much heavier. It’s a bit slippery, but I do like it. It is wide enough to fit my Redilast protected 18650, but the body is too short. I’m using unprotected cells for now. A nice compact Brass EDC.
I don't see how a protected cell could ever fit lol..
This is thing is a LOt smaller than I had even imagined. the convoy s5 (same dimension as the s3) seems huge after holding this one. Very impressed with this little light. Not so much in stock form, it sucked, but the machining is top notch. The body is 3 sections head/tube/tail, the pill has a retaining ring that screws in to hold the driver. the pill is super thin, but they somehow managed to thread it. Threads aren't lubed and don't need it, they feel impeccable.
I ordered 2 on march 8th and got the xpg2 one on 4/8, the xml2 came a day later on 4/9. the flashy modes were too much for me, I had to rip them apart and stick a couple FET drivers in them.
I put a pocket clip from a sk68 on mine today, will get a pic later if anyone is interested. I used the sk68 screws that are brass looking with a weird hex head, just threaded them into the tailcap, they seem to fit just perfect, it'll hold!
Anyway, the xpg2 version came with a crappy 7135*3 ak-47 driver. There is NOT room on the board to add any more chips, nor is there room in the head to stack any 7135 Chips. The xml2 came with what I believe is an ak-101, 7135*6 with room on the board for 2 more chips On the spring side.
Please Post pix!
I just want to clear something up about the heating issues. THE STOCK AK-47 7135*3 CAUSED THE XPG2 TO HEAT THE LIGHT UP!!!!! So, that being said, there is not a way to run one of these that WONT cause them to get hot!!!!!
now with that being said.... The FET drivers cause the light to get hot faster. Not necessarily any HOTTER than any aluminum convoy S light I own, and I have several in different trims.
On medium mode the xml2 with FET driver get super hot but as long as you hold the back half your hand will help dissipate the heat and it's not TOO hot. The head gets warmer than you'd want to touch but I had it on medium in my hand for about 20 minutes and it never got hot enough to burn me or anything.
now that ive explainEd the heat issues, I'll say that I would much rather have the absolute maximum amount of light possible for at least short bursts since there is always lower modes that still put out plenty of light and don't get too hot.
With the xpg2 version I only swapped the driver and used 22ga leads that came with the FET driver kit. instead of using a spring I used a brass button on the bottom of the driver. It keeps the battery down off the pill, and I'm afraid a spring could melt, slide sideways on the battery+ and cause a short to the battery or housing (-) resulting in catastrophic failure of a battery. (read fire or explosion) I did the same with the xml2 version.
I'm not sure if it's the aluminum MCPCB or the lead wires, but on high mode the xpg2 is only drawing and holding a steady 2.9A.
For the xml2 version I had a spare xml2 noctigon so I carefully lined up and filed the wire grooves for perfect holes and perfect centering, then I soldered the noctigon to the pill. I swapped the stock xml2 from the aluminum MCPCB to the noctigon. I built the driver and bent the leads to have the most direct path to the noctigon pads, the shortest leads possible. I then installed the driver using the stock retaining ring and soldered the. + & - wires on.
The xml2 is drawing 5.15A steady on high mode. In my convoys the same exact setup will pull 6.5A+. I believe this is where and how the difference between brass and aluminum conductivity come into play.
so.... On to pics, incoming!!
Uploading pics here is somewhat of a chore, I might try tomorrow if I get time, I just uploaded 15 to my photobucket account, see if you can view them through this link... Should work but I don't know, bedtime sorry lol...
I uploaded to a new folder titled "flashlights"
http://s844.photobucket.com/user/mykromisfit/library/Flashlights?sort=3&page=1
I know, right? 
I <3 my little brass lights.
Are you talking about the spring itself actually melting or the solder? If the driver is generating the heat and the solder melts I would think it would melt with a brass button as well. Asking as I’ve contemplated using a brass button a couple of times for this very reason. Thanks.
Now have three of these lights from Banggood, an XP-G2 ordered several months back and two XM-L2 just received. The XP-G2 and one of the XM-L2’s can only use flap top unprotected batteries. The other XM-L2 is so short nothing will work. The battery is being pushed into the driver and the light is continuously on, can’t be turned off by the switch.
im talking about the spring itself melting and somehow going sideways shorting + to -. A situation very similar to what the post above me is doing except the battery is grounding against the pill so the juice is still being fed through the driver and led so it's not a dead short and there is resistance keeping the battery from straight draining and ...catching on fire or whatever happens when 18650s go wrong. The button pretty much ensures the battery doesn't get shoved up against the pill, which would possibly let the battery casing ground against it.
I doubt it's going to get hot enough to melt the soldER and if it does I hope it's not in my hand. I look at these flashlights as tools. Tools need to be respected, and its on individuals to be responsible, and learn proper use, care and maintenance. I can see why manufacturers don't produce this type of product, can you imagine the lawsuits if some dummy let their kid get ahold of a Pipebomb in the form of a flashlight?