Charger for Christmas gift

stolikat · 2018-12-02T06:15:03.000Z

I have bought my Aunt a Convoy S2+ for Xmas and need to give her a charger as well. I was hoping you all could give me suggestions for something $10 and under. One that came with a single battery would be nice as well. She is not a flashlight person just needs a decent light for around the house and will need to be able to recharge the battery.

Happy holidays and thanks for the advice.

Andrew_Debbie · 2018-12-02T06:58:01.000Z

The 1 and 2 slot LiitoKala chargers are inexpensive and easy to use. Don’t bother with the “engineer” model.

Might be too late to order one direct from China.

JasonWW · 2018-12-02T07:09:51.000Z

I don’t know what country you are in, that data is missing from your profile, but if your in the US you might consider the Xtar Ant MC1 Plus from MTN E. Shipping is fast.

It’s got a 1A charge rate and a little readout to tell you when it’s done. You just need a usb jack and cable to power it.

What I typically buy family members is the Eagle Eye X2R and a protected cell. It’s a simple 3 mode tail clicky with built in USB.

Taking the battery in and out can be tricky for new people. Make sure she knows how to tell the positive from negative on the battery and that the positive goes toward the leds.

TheIntruder · 2018-12-02T08:25:02.000Z

I was gonna make the same suggestion — XTAR MC1+

It’s cheap, performs well, and is simple to use. Plug it in just like a phone, and once all the blue lights illuminate and stop flashing, the cell is fully charged.

Still comes with a cable and carry pouch, so it’s nice little package. Quite satisfying for the $4-5 it can be had for.

stolikat · 2018-12-02T09:55:18.000Z

I am from Washington State, USA. That Xtar looks great! I will look at those LiitoKala chargers too! Thanks all!

tatasal · 2018-12-02T10:28:22.000Z

Contact Jason (Jake25 here in BLF): Jake

He is currently on closing out sale, Xtar MC1+: $ 2.49…hurry, stocks running out.

He has other nice items too. http://www.sbflashlights.com/

Email: jason@sbflashlights.com

Got 5 of them myself on the way.

JasonWW · 2018-12-02T10:55:22.000Z

tatasal:

He is currently on closing out sale, Xtar MC1+: $ 2.49…hurry, stocks running out.

This particular model looks like it doesn’t have the blue indicator bars that show progress.

It looks like it has a red light when charging and a green light when finished.

mortuus · 2018-12-02T12:35:04.000Z

i would say get the xtar vc2, doesnt cost much and shows u nice progress how much it charges etc visual easy to understand and if has a spare battery can charge 2 at the same time, imo good charger.

also its safe charging at only 0,5A not that it matters perhaps…

JasonWW · 2018-12-02T13:08:07.000Z

With 0.5A you might be looking at 8 hours to charge an 18650. With 1A, maybe 4 hours?
1A is safe for all 18650.

Just a thought.

Andrew_Debbie · 2018-12-02T15:41:08.000Z

JasonWW:

Make sure she knows how to tell the positive from negative on the battery and that the positive goes toward the leds.

Take a look at the Lii-S1. The battery can go in either way.

HKJ review —> Review of Charger LiitoKala Lii-S1

JasonWW · 2018-12-02T16:19:38.000Z

Andrew_Debbie:

JasonWW:

Make sure she knows how to tell the positive from negative on the battery and that the positive goes toward the leds.

Take a look at the Lii-S1. The battery can go in either way.

HKJ review —> Review of Charger LiitoKala Lii-S1

I was talking about the flashlight.

Lightbringer · 2018-12-02T18:37:39.000Z

A bit late, but wouldn’t you rather get, say, a SC31 kit? USB charging, with cell and charger included.

No overly complex modes, perfect for muggles, can’t really hurt themselves.

Here, I put my own stank on it… [review] Sofirn SC31

Given that it’s for someone who’s “not a flashlight person”, you might want to let her avoid having to actually remove the cell, charge it, put it back in (hopefully not backwards), and so on, and so on.

So something like the ’31 would be perfect.

TheIntruder · 2018-12-02T23:37:29.000Z

JasonWW:

tatasal:

He is currently on closing out sale, Xtar MC1+: $ 2.49…hurry, stocks running out.

This particular model looks like it doesn’t have the blue indicator bars that show progress.

It looks like it has a red light when charging and a green light when finished.

Murky marketing strikes again. Of course, only the newer “ANT” model has the progress display.

VC2 has a display, but not as much of a no-brainer; not everyone thinks in terms of volts and amps. And worst of all, it become useless if that special input cable is lost, and is much harder to replace than a typical micro-USB cable.

Polarity is at least something anyone who has ever used a battery-power device has encountered, so it’s not an entirely foreign concept.

Jerommel · 2018-12-02T23:46:56.000Z

You could get a 18650 battery with USB charging port too.

stolikat · 2018-12-03T01:43:49.000Z

Thanks for all the input. I think I will go with the ANT. The SC31 would have been perfect sadly I already ordered the S2+.

Lightbringer · 2018-12-03T02:09:38.000Z

So keep the S2+ for yourself.

stolikat · 2018-12-03T04:06:41.000Z

Lightbringer:

So keep the S2+ for yourself. :laughing:

I already have one.

Don’t tempt me!

Lightbringer · 2018-12-03T06:02:55.000Z

Only one? Hell, at this point I could probably open Convoy America…