In case you don’t own one, or wanted one, now is the time…
Is there any reason to get this if you have an HD2010 and a XinTD v3?
A true flashaholic never has enough lights — there is no “reason.” I just think that KeyGos makes a decent torch for the price. The host is reliable enough for modding, and the torch itself is well built. All the KEs are getting a little dated, but it seems that all T6s are now dated with U2s, U3s, and now the new XM-L die, the XM-L2…
It doesn’t throw quite as well as those (maybe as well as the V3 Xin), but it’s about the brightest T6 around using one cell. Mine is driven at about 4 amps and is a pocketable “wow” light with X8-like spill. The only C8 I now have that beats it is a U3 driven at 3+ amps. It about ties my U2 on copper. Get it. It’s a great makeshift weapon and a nice host/gift budget tool. Mine is irreplacable. I love it.
Ask Gary bunk what he thinks of a ke-5 with the intloutdoor 4a driver.
It’s a fairly easy mod (need a 20mm contact board to fit the driver) but it makes the light a hell of a versatile tool.
If I did it again, I’d use a nw xm-l2 and the same driver. Love the mode choice on that driver.
I went with the Keygos M10a (26650/18650), very similar size, bigger battery possible, better size for bigger hands.
From CWTCO, but still did not receive 
Checked Keygos.com today and the have both for very similar price but also offer registered shipping.
I guess CWTCO sent it via unregistered 
Even though it’s a Standard International Shipping, it’s unregistered, which sucks. If it’s not here in 35-40 days will ask for refund.
Next time I would just get it from Keygos directly and pay for the registered shipping.
I ordered a Romisen from them in November. Yep, they ship without tracking number.
Everything’s fine with this seller, there was delay, I didn’t raise any claims because it was due to our slow post and New Year, and the torch arrived in the end.
This is only a buck cheeper than keygos.com. Personally, I would go with keygos.com. Have bought a whole bunch from them for gifts over the past 6 months, and ALL have been great. Perfect in fact.
As for a HD2010 and xin c8 shootout, the ke5 is a LOT lighter. Kills the xin, at least it does mine, and come very close to the 2010 output at half the weight and about 1/2 the size. The ke-5 is possibly the best T6 BUDGET light out there in the $20 range, to my way of thinking. Not a lot that is brighter. Maybe the Fandyfire V3 throws farther as does the dual 18650 small sun, but not by much.
Most Keygos resellers (go_market, redlog,cwtco) are just Keygos employees. All ship from the same place. I am an Ebay member since 1998 and have bought from Keygos resellers for a long time, no problems, and Ebay has covered me on 10 bad flashlight purchases from non-established “fake” newbies…
But here is the KeyGos site link:
Edit:
I own one of these, it is a SST-50, there is no SST-80, but this is a nice light, one of my favorites:
>>>>and Ebay has covered me on 10 bad flashlight purchases from non-established “fake” newbies
Yup, you can’t beat ebay for that!
Man TEN bad purchases? And they all had good 99%+ feedback? Wow that’s rough. I think I have had five bad ebay purchases out of maybe 1000 since 1999, but I used to buy so much more on flea bay. The new ebay is only a shadow of what it used to be. They charged the sellers out of existence, plus the no-seller feedback rule pretty much was the end of keeping crazy buyers in check. Buyer gets ticked at you because his wife yelled at him, and he can pretty much put you outta business with bad feedback in a couple days.
Meg “Witless” Whitman single-handedly destroyed ebay, attempting to turn it into another amazon. and we need another amazon why?
Sorry for the ebay soapbox segue. Back to the ke-5: Keygos.com doesn’t have fasttech shipping, but it’s much faster than a lot of other chinese vendors. Maybe three weeks? Never had to do a return so I don’t know how they are with that.
IF YOU DON’T HAVE A KE-5, GET ONE.
You’ll go back for three more!!! Almost small enough for an EDC. Certainly small enough for an EDC with cargo pants.
AND they make coyotes run for the hills! Bumbled into a coyote in close quarters in suburban Huntington Beach (Surf City) a couple nights ago. No pepper spray (dumb — forgot it). Direct beam in the eyes just seemed to freeze him but the wife switched her ke-5 to strobe and that brush wolf headed for the hills like a bullet. I HATE cycling through those stupid disco modes, but for dogs (and now coyotes), that strobe mode really is a great detterant. I find they either get hypnotized by it and then totally blinded by staring into the strobe for 20 seconds, or (like the coyote), they run away. I have seen many a growling snapping aggressive dog turn into a whining chicken whimp, slinking away blinded into the darkness after a strobe blast from a bright torch.
When the xml-2 and appropriate drivers become available at reasonable prices, a ke-5 change-over will be one of the first I do. That thing should SCREAM with an xml2. Yeeee ha!!!
Great light for a great price. I’d get it if I didn’t already own one!
I gave one away……loved it, but it duplicated another favorite light.
If you want a kick ass driver for one, fit the intloutdoor 4a driver its brilliant in that host, and I agree, you’ll be shocked just how small the thing is when you get one.
i believe keygos main site is selling it for $20 as well on sale.
i really like this light also. one of my fav c8’s
Ubehebe your reviews on this light is what prompted me to buy it. Thank you sir is all I can say. I have a hard driven C8 with an xml t6, a c8 with a respectably driven xml u3 and a hd 2010. I am pretty certain that my ke-5 is brighter than any of them. The HD 2010 will out throw it by a little because of the much larger head but is not as bright. Awesome light!
hay max, where did you get your keygos ke5.
i think i may get another one from the same place you did. maybe mine is a bit underdriven. mine is not as bright as my hd2010, and wont come close to throwing with the hd2010.
have you guys got the kd c8 from kaidomain? that one out throws my keygos.
>>>>>> maybe mine is a bit underdriven. mine is not as bright as my hd2010
What are you using for batteries? The ke-5 REALLY needs high-output cells. Any Chinese battery that has less power than TFFs will underpower it. Even some TFFs can’t keep up with it. I have tried some TFFs that won’t even drive the ke-5 on high! Turbo just shuts down and the power drops to mode 2. Just refuses to go to high. Teneregys are also okay. But silver, blue *fires and all the others? Just can’t keep up with the power draw.
You’re best off with kumabear’s keepowers or other premium brands. Or unprotected panasonics, 2600 sanyos, pink/purple Samsungs — something in the 2600 mah range. More power the better. But you probably already know this.
Other sure test is to take the talicap voltage. Do you know how to do that? But even that is affected by weak batteries.
As for the Hd2010, it’ll come close, really close, in a shootout, but I haven’t seen the ke5 actually beat the hd2010, except maybe in the first 15 seconds or so when you initially turn on the ke-5, before it ramps down a bit.
>>>>>>>>>i think i may get another one from the same place you did.
I did 4 or 5 separate ke-5 orders from keygos.com this fall/early winter. ALL were PERFECT. Tailcap readings from like 3.7-4.7 or so. In fact, I just got another one for a gift less than a week ago. A-ok.
Hope this helps!
>>>>>>Ubehebe your reviews on this light is what prompted me to buy it. Thank you sir is all I can say.
Glad that it worked out for you. I harp too much on what a great light it is. I need to lighten up. 
It actually is a bit of a collection spoiler because it is so darn hard to find a single emitter light that’ll beat it in form and function. Fandyfire V3 may out spot it, as does the two-cell small sun, but it kills the uniquefire v3. I read such great reviews of the UF v3 that I even bought another, thinking I might have got an off one. Nope. Both the Fandyfire v3 and the ke-5 kill the uniquefire v3.
Can’t wait until the new xml2 comes out with a good driver that fully utilizes the 2’s specs. I’ll be swapping out the innards of a ke-5, hopefully taking it to new heights.
I run mine on unprotected panasonic 3100 and it is a beast! I put it on my light box and it started at 1150 lumens but was down to 950 after 30 seconds. Still very impressive imo. My HD 2010 started at 1030 and ended up at 770. I havent tested the keygos in throw yet but I figure it will be a legitimate 400m thrower to .25lux. The HD 2010 I did test in throw and it made 450m but not 500 so it is somewhere in between. To be fair to the HD I need to test it on the panasonics. Still the point is this Keygos blew my socks off. Btw both lights pulled right at 5 amps at the t/c.
I got mine directly from Keygos. Right now I would say it is my brightest single 18650 light. Period! I love this light!
Would the KD C8 be this one?
http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S020144
There is the Lightmalls to throw in there, a U3: