Does anyone have experience with the seller? Good or bad :-)
Does anybody have any experience with this specific light. I kind of like the looks a bit like my Sipik sk68 (which i love) since it has the same kind of finned head. Funny though that it has the orange bezel ring like my Romisen zoomie (which i never use since it has a dreadful twist to zoom where you have to twist and twist and twist to change from one end of the scale to the other.
I do realize that the xml led is NOT ideal for this kind of application - but still ;-) I like it.
It was a nice light, long runtime and wide flood. Lens is bigger but it travels further from led thus capturing less light from led. IMO not brighter than my RC-C6 with Q5, my RC-C8 was with R2...
I received mine this week from a different ebay seller (cyberp...) and it's my first 18650 powered led light.
It has a twist zoom as well and it kind of squeaks when zooming in and out quickly, especially when going back to flood mode.
Edit: What the heck happened to the rest of my rant? I noticed in a later answer that half of what i wrote was missing and went back over this to check. Da***t - I wish I was consistent enough to retrace my thought from yesterday LOL!
I received mine two weeks ago. Ordered this just because it looks cool and is XML. But I got a dud. Barely puts out 40 or so lumens and in a square shape. So dim you can stare right at the emitter. Doesn't seem to focus as well, anyway. I'm getting a replacement.
I currently have a 200LM Redline. But I gave it to my wife, to travel with, so I'm looking for a more powerful replacement. I found the Z3 in a number of places. The place that had the most complete package is one that I'm not familiar with. Has anyone heard of TopKing? Here is the link to the offer.
I have both flashlights: a Romisen RC-C8 and a Trustfire Z3.
I really love most of my Romisen flashlights, and in general Romisen is my favorite brand, easily more to my taste than Ultrafire flashlights. My problem with Ultrafires is that they have electrical problems, like not turning on, or not staying on, or changing modes all by themselves whenever they feel like it.
But anyway, despite my general favor for Romisens, I must say that the Trustfire Z3 is a better flashlight than the Romisen RC-C8.
Why?
Trustfire Z3's XML T6 LED's bright mode is significantly brighter than the Romisen C8's Q5 LED's bright mode. The bright mode on the Romisen is about as bright as the medium setting on the Trustfire.
The Trustfire has an energy-saving low brightness mode that is dimmer than the dim mode on the Romisen, so if you just need a little light the 18650 battery in the Z3 will last longer than the one in the Romisen will.
The Trustfire's solid angle of illumination, at widest, is about 40% larger than that of the Romisen.
The Trustfire Z3 has a minor aesthetic flaw of having a slightly square light field that has a trace of edge darkening. This is due to the larger size of the XML T6 LED in relation to the reflector, which is the same size as the reflector behind the Romisen's Q5.
Still, overall the Z3 is far the better flashlight.
I'm looking for a zoomie for a friend and this seems to fit the bill. He wants 18650 and bright. Also, it's from a name we can sort of trust (seriously.. no pun intended, haha). Hopefully the dud is a rare event and not the result of cheap manufacturing. I always wonder if these zoomie lights sell enough to command the same level of workmanship other popular budget lights are given or if they're too gimmicky for that.
Only difference with a zoomie is the front lens and the screw that moves it back and forward. The rest of the flashlight is about the same as for a non-zoomie.
- brighter and wider flood, but not by a wide margin.
- blueish tint
- 5 modes (hi/medium/low/strobe/SOS)
- slightly bigger and heavier, feels sturdier, more well built and the turning zoom feels solid
- uses 18650 with adaptor tube (diameter is 22 mm, could probably take a 22650 battery. A 22600 would probably also fit, the springs inside the torch seem to be able to compensate for the shorter length)
- tailstands, but not 100% level as switch protrudes slightly
To summarize: Both lights have their pros and cons, but the differences are quite minor. Considering the Trustfire Z3 cost me about 3x as much as the UltraOK, the UltraOK is giving a lot more value for the money. That said, now that I have it, the Z3 is now my preferred bicycle light because of the wider/brighter flood.
It's a likeable zoomie but the internals are very poor. The pill is hollow drilled through aluminium only. A bit underdriven also, a Q3 -Q5 low bin emitter, bad transmittance lens and not very wide flood. The switch is also press fit.
Hestinking should to be improved. Rough instructions here.
A better lens would be awesome but i have not find any suitables around. Lens is o-ringless and usually rattlle (did on 2 or my samples).
Isn't the RC-C8 well thought of, then? Been on my future-purchase list for a while now, and much cheaper than the Z3: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/romisen-rc-c8-cree-q5-wc-3-mode-210-lumen-convex-lens-led-flashlight-1-18650-2-cr123a-3-aaa-55750
I just ordered the Trustfire XM-L T6 Z3 (that the above post is about), with two 18650 batteries, AC charger, car charger, tube for 18650 battery, and a holder for 3 AAA batteries, for $37.33 US. The only bad part is that the batteries are Ultrafire, instead of Trustfire. I think most people think that Trustfire batteries are better. But at the very least, I have the two chargers and an extra battery.
