DQG Slim AA Ti (or 1/2AA or 14250)

Scallywag · 2019-07-16T20:56:09.000Z

First: This light was purchased for my own pleasure, with my own money. I've received no compensation in any way for this review.
I got me a DQG Slim 1/2AA Ti. I also purchased a Ti extension tube with it, so I'll probably mostly be calling it a slim AA, and I can only test it with AA/14500. I will only refer to the light with the extension tube installed, and I doubt I'll ever take it off.

First impressions: Wow, this is small. It is about 1mm longer than my D25C Ti, which takes a 16340. It's much thinner, too. It's also remarkably smaller than my ThorFire TG06S, the only other light I own that accepts a 14500. The DQG's outer diameter is almost as small as the TG06S's battery tube's inner diameter. The threads are a bit gritty, and unlubed, so I'll have to fix that. The fit of the extension tube into the head was a tiny bit off, so it was very tough to tighten down. It was bad enough that I was worried and checked multiple times to make sure I wasn't crossthreading. It just really puts the TG06S to shame, which is actually as long as my ZL SC62.

My ThorFire 750mAh 14500 (yes, I know, I need to grab a Vapcell or that new Shockli) fits fine. I believe it is a protected cell. I haven't tried alkaline or NiMh yet. I will eventually, but probably not soon enough to be relevant for this review. It supposedly works even better with NiMh than Alkaline, so I'm happy with that. I didn't realize that I could have gotten three (instead of one) extension tubes to gain 2xAA capability. I may still, as the tubes are available super separately (and have been put to great use by CRX making flashlights out of just the tubes). This suggests that the boost driver in here is pretty nice. I'd imagine you could even run 3xAA and it would treat it pretty similarly to a single 14500, but that would be a loooong flashlight.

The mode order is L->M->H and it loops as you'd expect. There does appear to be the dreaded next mode memory. I'm not 100% sure, but it seems that the light comes on in whatever mode is after the mode I turned it off on, and pretty consistently. My example came without a pocket clip (oops) but with a tiny keyring on the tail. It can tailstand with the keyring (or, alternately, a lanyard or something) installed. The tail switch is metal and clicks with authority. There's a trit slot in the tail switch button, so now I have to go explore that world (side note: are purple trits at all bright?).

The bezel does unscrew, and there is an interesting optic on the light. Rather than a cylinder over the LED, it looks to be a cone-shape. The beam is beautiful (I opted for neutral white) and without artifacts. There is a tiny strip of GITD tape inside, below the upper edge of the TIR optic. The LED is visible below a shelf, and part of what appears to be a driver/MCPCB combo is visible. Make sure you know what you're doing if you want to swap LEDs on this one. The driver is not visible from the battery tube, only a copper-looking positive battery contact surrounded by a black foam. The tail has a small steel spring, surrounded by a white plastic. I've not disassembled the tail, as someone else had a bit of a misadventure there and I don't have any mods planned currently.

As far as build quality, the light is built incredibly compact. With that, there is a feeling of lightness that could be mistaken for cheapness. There are some bits that actually seem like they might be a bit cheap, in particular in the tailcap. However, I've not disassembled that section, so I can't say for sure.

LumenHound · 2019-07-16T23:36:34.000Z

Has it chewed up any o-rings yet and did you get more than one spare?

Reason I ask is because the three DQG lights that I’ve owned in the past were notorious for eating their o-rings.

MascaratumB · 2019-07-17T00:05:59.000Z

Scallywag:

There does appear to be the dreaded next mode memory. I’m not 100% sure, but it seems that the light comes on in whatever mode is after the mode I turned it off on, and pretty consistently. My example came without a pocket clip (oops)

Hey, nice you got one too This is surely a compact little light! For a while I’ve been thinking about using it without the “AA tube” but I didn’t bough the 14250 batteries yet :person_facepalming:

Hum, the next mode memory is more or less “true”. If you wait +/-4 seconds, it will turn on in the last used mode.
About the pocket clip, you need to buy it separately! I did it too when I bought mine

If you try to open or mod the flashlight please be attentive to the tail “ring” near the switch. I damaged mine in the first time I tried to open it :person_facepalming:

Also, do yours have a rosy beam? Mine does and got even better when I put a small pebbled TIR

LumenHound:

Has it chewed up any o-rings yet and did you get more than one spare?
Reason I ask is because the three DQG lights that I’ve owned in the past were notorious for eating their o-rings.

They have more than one spare, but in the first times I used mine, it chewed the o-ring too. Then I lubricated it well and it didn’t happen again!

Scallywag · 2019-07-17T13:27:43.000Z

LumenHound:

Has it chewed up any o-rings yet and did you get more than one spare? Reason I ask is because the three DQG lights that I’ve owned in the past were notorious for eating their o-rings.

My light came with two spares. However, I used one of the spares on the extension tube, because it came without an O-ring.

MascaratumB:

Hey, nice you got one too This is surely a compact little light! For a while I’ve been thinking about using it without the “AA tube” but I didn’t bough the 14250 batteries yet :person_facepalming: Hum, the next mode memory is more or less “true”. If you wait +/-4 seconds, it will turn on in the last used mode. About the pocket clip, you need to buy it separately! I did it too when I bought mine If you try to open or mod the flashlight please be attentive to the tail “ring” near the switch. I damaged mine in the first time I tried to open it :person_facepalming: Also, do yours have a rosy beam? Mine does and got even better when I put a small pebbled TIR

The beam, I don't know if it is quite into rosy territory, but there's no green in it at all. It's even more pleasant than the XP-G2 in my CRX UF-T1, which is already quite a nice beam. Does the next-mode memory trigger if you change modes and then turn it off too soon, or if you turn it off and then back on too quickly? For me, it seems to actually be the latter, that I need to stay in the mode for about five seconds before shut-off or I get the weird memory.

MascaratumB · 2019-07-17T14:58:59.000Z

Scallywag:

The beam, I don’t know if it is quite into rosy territory, but there’s no green in it at all. It’s even more pleasant than the XP-G2 in my CRX UF-T1, which is already quite a nice beam.

Yes the beam with the original TIR is quite nice indeed First I thought I would get a crazy tint shift but then it was pleasant
If I can (due to the cellphone camera quality) I will try ti take a photo to show how mine looks like!

Scallywag:

Does the next-mode memory trigger if you change modes and then turn it off too soon, or if you turn it off and then back on too quickly? For me, it seems to actually be the latter, that I need to stay in the mode for about five seconds before shut-off or I get the weird memory.

The next mode memory is more when I turn it OFF and quickly turn it ON. If I leave it alone 4 “exact” seconds, it will turn ON in the last used mode. Less than that, it will enter the following one.
It doesn’t bother me much, but one needs to be attentive to that when using it OFF/ON quickly! :+1:

Gebe · 2019-07-17T16:39:53.000Z

This is one of my favorite tiny lights. I have several DQG lights and I didn’t know this 1/2 AA/14250 light existed until about a year ago as it kind of passed under the radar without a whole lot of exposure and I went for one.

I use the 14250 cells in mine, (easily obtained on Ebay), and it is just a excellent little thing. Great beam and mine has no O-ring issues though I have had DQG O-ring eaters in the past. Highly recommended!