When I first got them I wondered if the tint was too warm and wondered if the body was a little too slick.
Now I find it's one of my most used lights ..I added a big rubber band near the tail to get rid of the slickness and use as a semi-cigar grip .
As a 16$ light I find it does very little wrong ..A light good enough that modding seems silly.
The more I use it the more I like it .
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The SRM 763
When I got it I got other knives too and thought I liked them better...... 6 months later i like this one the best . I wasn't visually attracted to it and thought the shape was a little odd. But using it and carrying has absolutely changed my mind on this knife .
Initially I just thought it was a nice little light. Bought from Manafont last year in a box pack with E01 for about $35 shipped.
At first not overly "wowed" by the output from such a small AAA light but gradually realised that most of the time it gives me more light than I need for walking-around purposes and day-to-day tasks.
M-L-H sequence means most times the output is fine as soon as I turn it on (always starts on M)
No blinkies
Easy to hold in the mouth
So small there is no excuse not to have it with me, usually in a shirt pocket
After 12 months of pretty much daily use, it still is difficult to turn on with one hand but the upside of this is that I've never had it come on accidentally
Spare AAA battery is easy to slip into pocket/wallet/etc
Bit of a battery vampire though I only ever run it on Eneloops/Imedions - steps down ever so slowly but have occasionally not really noticed the battery was exhausted until I found it wouldn't turn on again
The LD01 has become one of my favourite lights.
The second light is my Dereelight Javelin. Mine is the XP-E version in Neutral White.
Most of the time it lives with the 16340 body (or with extender for 14500s) as a "shorty" but I can slip the AA body (and AA extension tube) on if I want a longer runtime when camping.
3 modes, no blinkies, pocket-rocket that throws very well for its size. Not a highly efficient circuit but I always have plenty of AAs to feed it on longer trips.
Well made and versatile with different configurations possible. Small enough to carry with adequate output for everyday use. When I think that I had to carry and feed my old incan D maglites for years I realise just how far we've come.
I have other/bigger options including a very nice P60 Neutral 1.5A XM-L from Intl-Outdoor (NLA) running in a cheap Sky-Ray host but for most of my daily activities, the LD01 and Javelin would suffice.
It is fun having bigger and brighter to pull out and marvel at when out of the metro area (DBS, TN31, etc) but for daily use these are just too much output. YMMV.
When I first got it I was not impressed at all. It seemed much bigger than I had initially thought... ( I still do not know how that can happen to me - I ALWAYS check the size from several sources before I buy anything - just me I guess)
It was to be my worklight at sea so popped in a battery and went out with it. Impressive flood - but blueish. Not impressive throw but blueish.
I brought it with me regardless and soon found myself picking it for the daily work over other lights. Something about its small size for a 18650 and the zoom was good enough for my need.
Later I have "downgraded" (is that actually a word?) it with a warm white XRE from manafont and now it is the only light I bring to sea. It only pulls 1,5 A on the original driver, it is not regulated in any sense on high, it gets hot with a freshly charged battery in it and the clip is not close enough to the tailcap for deep pocket carry. Not flawless. But I haven't seen any light on the market I'd consider trading it for. And now I've seen them sold for under 10 usd. Pretty nice light for the price if you ask me :-)
I thought the Olight I6 was ok when I received it. Nothing special just another light similar to what I had already. The more that I have used it the more that I like it. The tint is probably something around 1C. The more I use it the more I like the beam pattern and the way it fills in my hand! Its a nice light, especially for $19. Knowing what know now I would still pay $30-$40 range for it. Which is strange because most of my lights are in the under $20 range and probably more like $15 and under.
When i received the Maratac AA copper I wasn't too wowed (see my review on it). It was heavier than my 4sevensminiAA, the output was not much more than the copperAAA version, and on first impression the runtime is just not what mostly appeals on a light. It was impossible to get the pill out so I was stuck with the cool white led that i did not like. In the review I did not much emphasize on the performance on 14500, although the light had a respectable output with them, and was able to be run continuously on high with the ~300 lumen output. Since then I finally got the pill (and a lot of silicone gooey) out by blowtorching the h*ll out of the flashlight head and applying brute force on the pill (still don't understand how the electronics survived that). Now the light has a xpg2-3C led, the weight just feels very nice, it is still really small, and I like it much better as my EDC light than the EagletacD25Ati2013 that I bought after this one (that is a perfect EDC-light, but just more boring than this copper Maratac ).
It was more of a show piece to start with, with early generations having its own problems, but my blinged up V10Rs have become one of the go to options for EDC duty.
The Simple to use UI, no flashy modes to accidentally get into, fully electronic switching (so no switch wear and maintenance issues, peace of mind for me that allows me to switch it on and off guilt free), high enough high, but most importantly a low enough low, and again, a UI that allows brightness to be pre-selected and easily varied. It is quite simply the easiest torch to use, with the lowest low of all my torches. Don’t regret putting in the many extra hours at work to pay for the upgrades, which make this a dress piece that I am proud to carry. Was originally scared to use it, afraid to scratch it, but after a year of duty, it really still looks as good as it did when I got it.
Surprisingly, no matter how much research you do into finding the perfect torch, the best ways are still to buy everything you see, and be surprised at what you actually end up using the most. I know this one isn’t “budget” in the absolute sense, but I have certainly spent way more money buying torches that never ever get used anymore, and that certainly makes this V10R, “great value” because it actually sees use.
Believe it or not, the lowly WF-501b. I ordered two, more than a year ago, and thought “Wow, these are really crappy dollar-store lights!”. But they worked, and now I have at least 6 of them in various vehicles and tool boxes. Not one has ever given any trouble. I recently upgraded two of them with 2.8 amp 3-mode drivers, more pleasing emitters and addressed the heat dissipation issues, and I’ve really come to respect their humble painted carcasses. One upside is that if I ever lost one I’d be out twenty bucks, tops. If I lost a TK22 I’d be mad for a week.
@TW48: If they do what you want them to do, when you want them to do it, then I for one completely understand how they can grow on you. For the prize, size and performance they are still great lights today.
I got a Quark 123x2 Turbo X around the same time as a bunch of other lights. I think I turned it on, and thought, ya ya ya, tossed it in a drawer, and forgot about it.
I've since rediscovered it, and I love it. It has one of the most beautiful neutral tints I've seen. It now has a place of prominence in my rotation.
My Xeno F7 with Nichia 219 high CRI from EDC+ has grown on me. Couldn’t find much buzz about this before buying - despite having a highly desirable emitter! Was a little hesitant because output is lowish with only 200 lumen high. Turns out this is a very useable, and well-built, light.
Modes are 200/80/8 OTF according to Xeno literature (EDC+ site has incorrect specs). UI is a simple forward-clicky with NO memory. You can use momentary-on, but will cycle modes too, so signaling is not possible. The reset on the memory [or lack thereof] is only 2-3 seconds, so I do find myself using momentary sometimes… it resets to high quickly, so momentary is feasible in some scenarios.
For ‘only’ 200 OTF lumens, it puts out very useful light. I find myself grabbing this F7 more & more. Since it is only about 1A, runtime is quite long and heat is never really an issue. It gets a little warm on high, but never really hot like 2.8A XM-Ls. Haven’t done exact testing, but I believe Xenos claims that it will go for about 3.5 hrs on high.
Color rendering & tint are obviously fantastic. Beam is totally clean & balanced. Excellent for a smooth reflector. No rings at all! Throw surprised me a little bit. The head/reflector is not huge, but it focuses a very tight spot almost like an XRE, but with better spill. Not quite on par with C8-sized throwers, but it is more compact. Great for general use outdoors to moderate ranges. (Spotted a fox about 30-40 yds behind my house the other night…. His coat looked a nice vivid rusty orange…) If you like [neutral] XPGs that fit easily in your pockets you will probably like this light.
Build quality is excellent IMO. This is my first Xeno and it has me interested in the F42 now as well. FnF are very good. Ano is smooth even and has a nice classy sheen to it. Logos are crisp. Button & switch have excellent firm feel (a bit loud, if that matters to you). Button is recessed. Light tailstands very solidly. I have a couple very tiny scuffs developing on the sandblasted bezel from standing it head down. These scuffs are very minor and I do not blame Xeno at all.
Two modes:
Very low first mode
Good Hi mode which will run one hour
Clicky switch with good feel and forward activating
Clip works for use on hats
Small enough for key chain
BUDGET priced!
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FnF are very good. Ano is smooth even and has a nice classy sheen to it. Logos are crisp. Button & switch have excellent firm feel (a bit loud, if that matters to you). Button is recessed. Light tailstands very solidly. I have a couple very tiny scuffs developing on the sandblasted bezel from standing it head down. These scuffs are very minor and I do not blame Xeno at all.