I know they have been discussed many times but it’s new to me. I ordered the DQG Tiny 18650 version 2 from Wallbuys 10 days ago and just received it yesterday. 10 days from China to my hot little hands ain’t too bad.
It seems like with all DQG lights, (including the AAA and AA lights), it’s a hit or miss with them. Right off after taking it from the box, the threads were so dirty and stiff on both the head and tailcap, I had to spend a good hour cleaning and lubricating them. Also, the o-ring on the threads of the head was twisted and smashed. This is not that bad but being I had to deal with exactly the same issues with the DQG AAA it seems to be a recurring problem with DQG lights.
I also had to adjust the head in and out many times to get the tailcap tightened all the way in using the Panasonic NCR18650B protected cell I had and to just get the light to work.
One thing for sure, even after all the cleaning and lubing I had to do on the threads, this is definitely not a one hand operated light. That doesn’t bother me too much as I’ve had twisty lights come on in my pocket several times and this thing is definitely not going to activate while carrying it in my pocket.
The build quality is pretty good even with the dirty thread and smashed o-ring issues. The beam quality is very nice with a nice white beam which is not too cool. Unlike most folks, I prefer cool white over neutral white as all the NW lights I’ve tried have had green or yellow tint issues especially with the XM-L2’s.
What was kind of weird is the little paper instruction manual that came with it states to change modes using the tailcap. That seems weird to me and unintuitive. After all the adjusting I had to do, it now works fine twisting the head.
I have read that these came with an extra lens but mine did not. It came with 2 extra O-rings and a white plastic flat gasket which I guess is for the optic.
All in all, it’s a good little light with the key word being small. It has nothing going for it that other 18650 lights don’t have but if you’re looking for the smallest 18650 light, this is it.
Yeah, the DQG AAA light I received was so bad the threads had metal shavings in them and actual pieces of the threads were hanging off. The end of the light was so sharp in places it would cut you and I had to file for about an hour just to take the sharp edges off.
By the way, the description of the light states that there are double o-rings in the head but not so in mine. In fact I tried adding a second o-ring and the head wouldn’t come close to screwing back on.
Boy that sucks. I am glad that you like the light despite the shortcomings. I have held back for veeeryyy looong time from buying any of these because of the reocurring quality issues. If there had not been those reports I'd had bought at least a few of them. Thank you for the report. It is a shame though.
I have the DQG 18650 Mark I and I was not impressed.
The light felt quite flimsy in the hand and turning it on was a 2-handed operation. Even then it was easy to accidentally skip modes.
The worst problem was that the battery tube was too small for my protected 18650s. The tube seemed to taper at the bottom where the spring was… so the 18650s would go in … then get stuck and be impossible to remove. I ended up drilling a small hole in the bottom of the tube just so I could push out a stuck cell. The only 18650 I had that fitted with no issue was my 1600 Mah AW IMR 18650.
The beam was nice. It was a very nice neutral tint with a defined hotspot and a moderate amount of spill. It wasn’t exceptionally bright or impressive though.
I understand they fixed a lot of the problems with the light in the new Mark II version (it now has a removable tailcap so any stuck cells will be easy to push out). But I think I’ll steer clear.
I now wish I could change the title of this thread to DQG TINY 18650 LIGHT-NOT RECOMMENDED! UPDATE-CHANGED IT!
This thing gets more and more frustrating the more I use it. It was getting harder and harder to twist on and off and when I removed the head again, the second O-ring I installed was twisted and ripped like the first and I finally found out why.
When the manufacturer cut the threads into the top of the battery tube, they cut them too far down and the bottom thread is cut into the space where the O-ring is supposed to go. This thing is not a double O-ring head, it’s not even a single O-ring head, it’s now a NO O-ring head! Any O-ring you try to install is going to get ripped up by the threads.
I suppose I could try and file down the bottom two threads but man, what a hassle and I’m not sure if that would even work.
It’s also now flickering and missing modes when activated. This is the most frustrating and maddening light I’ve ever tried. Talk about “buyer’s remorse”! I’ve read about all the problems Version 1 of this light had and I thought being the “improved” Version 2, it would be safe to buy. Not so.
These DQG lights are certainly a hit or miss. You would have thought that they would have worked these problems out by now. I’m going to contact Wallbuys where I purchased this and see if they will send me a replacement. It’s probably a long shot but I can only hope.
I got my cool white one for $26 or something from Wallbuys Hourseckill and I’m very happy with it!
When I received the light the o-ring was in shreds, but the new one has remained intact. After cleaning and lubing the threads, operation and mode switching is very smooth and easily done with one hand….
Only thing I don’t like, is the need to use unprotected batteries, I prefer protected ones! But since this was known in advance, there is no-one to blame for it, I just had to get a couple unprotected ones…
I really like the size and lack of blinky modes and when upgraded model appears, I’ll probably get a warmer one…
This light is crazy and drives me nuts! I’ve tried everything to get it to work and it will work fine for a few tries and then it suddenly will leave out the high mode or start on the high mode.
Anyone have any ideas that might solve this? Thanks much.
Thanks for sharing. Y’know, on paper at least (and looking at the photos) it looks like a darn-good light.
I almost pulled the trigger on this one. Now I know better. :zipper_mouth_face:
It was getting harder and harder to twist on and off and when I removed the head again, the second O-ring I installed was twisted and ripped like the first and I finally found out why.