damn when i see that budget flashlights can't resist xD
I like size and color
yep luxeon 3w sound so bad but what about upgrade to 2000ma xml?
that the link
http://www.focalprice.com/LF005L/Luxeon_3W_MXDL_V6_Super_Bright_Mini_Flashlight_Blue.html
the same on dx
Thanks for the heads up!
Ordered two. (I have one "coming" from DX, ordered 10/22, not even in packaging yet)
Planning to do a XM-L upgrade to pocket rocket.
Thanks to you also Mixo... I ordered one. Saw on DX one reviewer said that it takes the same thread as a p60 drop-in.
Here is a cut and paste of part of his review:
As said very useful for modding. The pill in this light has same threads and dimension as the pill in a P60 dropin.
Buy a R2 for throw or a R5 for flood and remove the reflector and springs from the pill.
Unscrew the original pill and replace it with the pill from the P60 dropin. Use a RCR123A and get the smallest and brightest little EDC light.
Maybe you have to sand down the opening of the reflector a bit to make space for the led depending of size. You may also have to put in a spacer between ledboard and reflector to remove any black hole in the hotspot. Try different thickness intil its gone
I prefer to install a R5@1A, XM-L is too much, remember it has Plastic lens and reflector!!
Damn I don't have enough in my debit card... I use debit card instead of credit because it's the only way to don't buy lots of flashlights and other stuff at first sight, but I always use all the money on the card so I don't even have USD2.5 hahaha
thanks alot for the heads up... hope they have some left when i get home from work. just posted that thats my next order next week, now its coming early lol
Well, the deal is over but this infomation is still interesting as regards this flashlight.
The linkster in me says: "Don't forget to read this link." #comment-86109
I am also The Cut and Paste King. The Master Mover of Much Material and I also found this for those wanting to hear the other side of the story regarding this particular light. Again it's a quote from an individual on a DX discussion about the MXDL 3W Flashlight . To give him credit for this his user name is brjbrj.
Contrary to the reviewer who caused a stir (and doubless a lot of sales of this light, including myself) by claiming this item accepts pills from P60 modules, I have to disagree, at least to the flat assertion.
On all the P60 pills I have, the threading does not continue all the way to the bottom of the pill. The threading is only on the top part, so it can screw into the original reflector.
So, when you unscrew the pill from the reflector, and try to thread it into the back of the MXDL head, you can only get it threaded about halfway in. Because the threading stops. If the threading continued, yes, it seems like it would work. The threading is compatible until it just runs out.
If you ALREADY have a P60 pill where the threading is completely from top to bottom of the pill, yes I think it would work. And if you do, please POST HERE which item has such a pill. The only one I know of which at least had such a pill, was DX's MC-E drop-in. I don't know if this is the case anymore with that item, and it's irrelevant to me because DX hasn't dropped the price of that drop-in, and it's at a ridiculous price considering both advancements in LED's and the fact that the pill itself is reportedly underdriven.
I suppose if you filed down the unthreaded part of a partly-threaded P60 pill, it might work. I'm not willing to put that kind of effort into such a project right now.
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My impressions of this MXDL 3W light: very bad.
Let's start with the LED itself. It is purple-ish/blue-ish and NOT bright, considering it's drawing 3 watts! And it does draw 3 watts (I measured it). But current draw does not necessarily equate to light output! It's output, not input which counts! The LED is a gold dot which seems very cheap, and I've never seen before. 3 watts means your battery won't last long either. On the other side of the spectrum, I have an XM-L drop-in which pulls 3.0 watts (.75 amps at 4.1 volts) on Medium, and has output comparable to an XP-G on high. I'm not comparing cost, but just how much output can vary, and how current draw should not imply ouput. They're almost advertising how inefficient it is.
Now for the body. Also very poor quality and feel. Worst for me, the light was larger than expected. They could've made it smaller. I could almost feel the sweatshop environment in the finish of my 'milky white' version, and felt guilty for buying it.
This flashlight convinced me to stop bottomfeeding. On the internet you can find photos of F*nix's factory in China, as well as photos of other Chinese factories which are frighteningly more primitive (sweatshops). I'm not saying I'm going to buy a F*nix, but I am saying I'm going to stop buying flashlights which are obviously aimed at squeezing every criterion to make something for the absolute least amount of money possible.
Considering I bought this specifically to mod it, and then couldn't mod it with the ease I expected, it was money completely wasted.
If you want a keychain flashlight, there are much better options for not much more money. And make sure you get something with a genuine Cree emitter if you don't want to risk wasting your money.
I also figured out that you need to feel good about your keychain flashlight, because you'll be carrying it everywhere. So if every time you pick up your keys and see it, you feel negative sentiments toward the flashlight, it's not worth it. However if you feel good about the flashlight, it's much nicer. To me, that meant getting the 4s*vens Quark Mini CR2 (Cree XP-G emitter), although it costs 6 times as much as this. However it is more than 6 times better. For about 1/3 to 1/2 less there is the iTP EOS; they make a CR123 version currently with a Cree XP-E (less bright than an XP-G but still good). There are plenty of good CR123 Cree lights on DX but not many CR2's, and those which are are often not any smaller than CR123 versions. I'm just saying there are other options. None this cheap, but if it's money wasted, you saved no money.
My impression is that this light would only impress someone who had never seen or owned an LED flashlight, or at least a 1-LED flashlight. I'm baffled by the positive reviews. If you know what a decent LED light is, or have several LED lights and know rubbish from something good, despite the price, this flashlight is not for you.
If for a gift, only for people who wouldn't know a good flashlight from bad under any circumstance--but then, why would you be giving such a person a light which runs on cr123a's.
I have a black one already that I once modded to an XM-L at 3A and it was insane! It's about the smallest you can get in a 16340 light and a hell of a conversation piece when someone wants to show off their pocket rocket. Yes, the body is thin and the emitter sucks but I didn't buy it to keep it stock. It takes an 18.5mm solid aluminum reflector and a P60 pill just fine but you do need to grind/file down a hair from the unthreaded portion of the p60 pill so it threads all the way down. It's a ridiculously simple thing to do and not worth whining about like the poster from DX.
This blue is a cool looking color and well worth the bargain price of $2.49 when you absolutely, positively have to have the smallest pocket rocket.
Thanks JohnnyMac. It's nice to hear the positive side to this little inexpensive light (it is BLF). I think I will get a lot of bang for the buck just thinking about modifying it let alone doing it.
Just remember that if you mod this, the driver cannot be grounded to the pill or else it will come on the moment the threads connect between head and body. The tube end should connect to the negative ring of the driver board and turn the light on. This is one of few lights that can’t have the driver soldered to the pill.
Could you solved the problem of "on-off"? i did same modification and i can't "off" my light. Nautic said ground part of pill shouldn't be soldered to the pill. But, as i understand the pill that i already demounted from manafont drop-in soldering done by factory. Do you think there is a solution?
Yeah, you can’t use a prebuilt soldered pill unless you remove the solder then clean up the driver and pill making sure the driver is not grounded to the pill. Easiest to make your own drop-in if you are able to.
have received this light. so so, not so bad.
but want to mod. has anyone tried this?
Is the driver 17mm?
i got mine a few days ago also. they take a p60 pill, but you dont want the driver soldered to the pill i guess. also you need one thats got threads the hole way down the pill, or probably could file some away to work. any one know where to get a pill with threads the whole way down the pill?
Yes.
Just file/grind enough of the smooth part of the pill to clear the threads. Doesn’t take much to clear and it’s cheaper and less aggravating than hunting down a fully threaded pill.
thats what i figured.
one thing i did notice about this light, or mine atleast... if you have the head screwed in enough to still be off but almost on, i can do like a cigarette hold on the head, and my thumb on the end and its very comfortable way for a momentary on.
mine had some pretty big burrs on the lanyard hole that was just annodized over, took me a second to take them off with my finger, would have been nice if someone did this before anno...
besides that, for $2.50, just the color and the fact a p60 pill will work makes this thing a bargain
thanks for the heads up on this deal MixoMaxo
Today after I put together a couple of p60\SF lights I took a look at this thing. As I took it apart I had a few ideas on how to proceed with it. I was thinking of maybe just using the driver in there and direct drive it with an XML. I also started figuring out how I would use a different driver and isolate it in a P60. Had a few simple ideas there also. What I did was use a one mode XML dropin that KD once sent me by mistake. My plan was to use some desoldering braid and remove the solder at the pill\driver junction and see if that worked. If it didnt then I would remove the driver from the pill and mod from there. I removed the spring from the dropin and ground off the pill just below the threads. When I test fitted it I put the battery in and tried it just to see what it looked like. To my surprise it works perfectly without isolating the driver. The threads are anodized on this little bugger and the end of the body makes nice contact with the neg ring of the driver when twisted on. It works flawlessly and is a true pocket rocket now. I measured exactly 700 lumens. Heat sag is pretty dramatic but not much worse than a P60 with no extra heatsink. The stock reflector actually works great. I will replace with an aluminum reflector at some point.
I was thinking of using a high temp rtv to isolate the driver and pill. But even better. Theres an aluminum reflector at dx that fits, know where to get a glass lens?
Now thats a pocket rocket.
Thing is that so much more could be taken off with a lathe. One day, one day.