Hi,
i saw this video yesterday, I dont know what is the brand, and etc…
but looks good for $3.
what do you think ?
Looks like the host is made of plastic, I doubt it could sustain the claimed 500lm. It looks to have an interesting reflector, with half OP and half smooth, might help remediate tint shift in domed emitters. If you want a half-OP reflector, it could be a good way to get it, otherwise not that great for an enthusiast.
But, then again it is $3 and a light is better than no light, still better than what you can get at that price at the hardware store.
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Any flashlight is better than no flashlight at all is only valid if it is for your own personal use. I would NOT give it to somebody I care about.
Considering I recently bought an aluminum flashlight for a bit over €5. That has a lot of parts that have to be cut, milled, cleaned, anodized, and assembled. So it could be doable to make a one piece light out of plastic for $3. Less parts, and mostly press-fit. But still: such a big light and only 2,000 mAh? I would not let it out of my sight … ever.
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yes, i agree for $3 its okay.
yes, it is plastic. and I’m a little suspicious that it has that capacity of 2000 mAh
probably less 
Seems to have a nice hotspot if nothing else!
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there are many ways for it to be bad
most common:
resistor ‘driver’ [inefficient]
tiny tiny LED with blue / purple off-tint
random light pattern [no reflector, or cheap plastic lens]
batteries will be 200mah - i actually have some of those from ali, claimed 2000, actual 200
that is the world’s cheapest worstest switch ever
Why would you waste your money on that?
It’s landfill.
Just because stuff is cheap, doesn’t mean we should buy it… Same goes for all the other crap on AliExpress.
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super tiny led
huge reflector, means a mostly unusable light pattern, one bright narrow hot spot and not much else
would have been more useful with a floody, smaller reflector and maybe some orange peel reflector
I’m not suggesting this should be the flashlight of choice for Elon Musk to put in the glove compartment of his new rocket to the moon and Mars. For 3$ you get a device that emits light from one end. How much light and for how long? Nobody knows. Interesting question is: what does it take to convert this flashlight into something you actually (can) use. We could call that polishing a turd.
I did that with a 5$ aluminum light. The result is a light that is ready to be used. Not stashed away in the back row, or ready to join his buddies in a landfill. Not to act as an EDC, but for a specific task: finding the toy(s) of my dog. So it isn’t what we Dutch would call: “the operation was a success, but the patient died”.
if it took me 1 hour, already i consider my time worth more than $40 an hour, so i coulda bought an FW3A or something decent
OK. But not every hour I am awake earns me money, nor does enjoying doing something have to save me money. Sometimes the ‘doing’ earns one more than any monetary count. That said, we all call our own shots on whether or not something is worth doing for whatever reasons.
For such a small amount of money it’s worth taking a chance on . The next question is … is it worth any effort energy or the price of parts to fix it . Most really cheap lights for me fall into this category. I don’t like the light enough to put an emitter that I’m fond of in it . Or driver . I already have a few cheap lights that have leds I’d like to have back . So this is where I draw the line . I’d gift it as it is or shove it to the back of the pile and shrug it off . This is how we learn … this is the way
I think wisdom is knowing when or what to mod . If you like it even if it’s a two dollar$ zoomy then modding or tweaking it is totally worthwhile. If you dislike it or if it has way too many flaws then even spending time hitting with a hammer is wasted . My time isn’t super valuable but I’m not wasting it on garbage . The thread about wanting to buy the crappiest C8 on the internet just seemed a huge waste of time . Having bought plenty of junk not worth fixing before it didn’t make any sense to go do it intentionally.
Do all the super cheap mods before spending any money 
Wire mods , de-dome, add a 30 cent filter or make a lens cap type diffuser, etc
Or do nothing:)
Your light , your decisions . Let us know .
I still have a few cheap little Zoomie lights I bought for really cheap several years ago. They are scattered around the shop, the trailer, etc., and they get used a little occasionally. But I never considered modding them at all.
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OK. But not every hour I am awake earns me money, nor does enjoying doing something have to save me money. Sometimes the ‘doing’ earns one more than any monetary count. That said, we all call our own shots on whether or not something is worth doing for whatever reasons.
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true
i guess my real reason is, i don;t want to modify any lights 
[[bicycles are a different story :]]
Me: mod lights, make stuff from wood, restore/mod Volvo’s from the 60’s, and sometimes combine those. 
ha - my first car was a 59 pv544
i got it in alabama in 1973! [[of all places for a volvo in the 60s]]
I had a 58 PV544 once. All 120 series now. There is just something about them I really like
I understand the desire not to mod .
Because of this I opt for what I call the 3 minute 30 cent mod .
If you can make a light better with no effort or no time then why wouldn’t you ?? None of these lights are perfect .
My guess is most people here don’t mod or can’t . But why not break out an indelible marker and touch up a nick or file down a sharp edge if it’s bugging you .
I agree with you , I’m not into modding solely for the sake of modding … but why not add a piece of a plastic straw next to a battery or a piece of tape to keep it from rattling or bake a light or a clip ? Simple and easy .
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