That’s good to know, the ke-5 was the belle of the ball when I joined, but they seemed to have a bad batch that scared everyone off, its almost forgotten now, shame, I never got one for the bad batch reason, if their coming good again its another on the list. It’s also nicely sized between a c8 and a 52mm bezeled light.
I do think the qc issues are the reason its not been mentioned, for the price a good one is a killer afaik. I will have a bad one inbound soon for a driver swap, so I can get a feel for it…
@ Ubehebe I really appreciate your input man! Thank you!
The KE-5 seems like a nice light even the M10 seems better power wise.
But to be honest I am not willing to risk my first 18650 purchase to have any faulty / broken flashlight just yet
@ rikr again thanks for recommending the UF 980L but as I said i find the UF 980L kinda expensive. And from a review I read here on BLF they mentioned its a great light for experienced user (which doesn’t apply to me yet ) it seems that it runs hot also which i dont feel compfortable to deal with yet.
I guess you can look at it this way.
There has to be a reason why the XINTD C8 V3 appears to be the choice of the 3 you listed in your poll.
I received my NW tint 3 mode about a month ago and I agree with the poll results.
Factoring in your requirements, it strikes a good balance of flood, throw, tint, heat, size and price.
You could pick up some batteries with the leftover change.
Very good all around light.
>>>>>the ke-5 was the belle of the ball when I joined, but they seemed to have a bad batch that scared everyone off
No doubt there were a couple bad apples, but there are bad apples from any light ordered from China.
I participated in troubleshooting at least one ke-5 a while back. A whole thread with many many entries was devoted to what a piece of the ke-5 was — when it was cheap chinese batteries to blame the whole time and had nothing to do with the light itself. But you have to read the whole thread to see that it was the batts and not the light. I suspect some/much of the bad press was due to bad batteries. You can’t try to power a high-power light like the ke-5 with red and white $1.50 36mah Ultrafires ;-).
So what I did was try to remove the bad press, as I said. Every time two ke-5s come in, I order two more. I have recieved 4 and should get another two in another couple days. I have spread the ordering over 1.5 months to test stock consistency. All have been fine. No low tail-cap readings. No missing modes. No difference between these and the original ones I ordered in may. I intend to order around 10 for holiday gifts and will post if I receive anything less than perfect.
In fact, in my informal outdoor test the other night, everyone was impressed with the 2010, but the only time a “wow” rippled through the crowd was when the ke5 powered up. The 7 informal judges had all handled it and were impressed that so much light was coming out of a light so small and light that it almost seemed like a toy.
Three of the guys also ordered one or two ke-5s after our light-testing party. I will post in the ke-5 dedicated thread I started if anyone gets a woofer, but I strongly suspect that the ke5’s woofer days are gone.
>>>> I will have a bad one inbound soon for a driver swap, so I can get a feel for it…
Try an unprotected panasonic or other good batt in it before you pull the driver, just for funsies. No doubt the light really is broken, but PM me if for some reason it’s not. Both my HD2010 and ke-5s act like a busted driver with probably 80% of Ultrafire (all types) and flamers (many of which look exactly the same; some work; some don’t). Even some of my xtars wouldn’t work. The keepowers work so far. I too almost returned my first one after trying to get it to work. Was just funky batts. Unprotected batts all work fine. It’s something in the battery protection circuit.
Um, the drivers already been pulled, the owner has two and has posted beam shots, its weak. The new driver should wake it up and I plan on adding a few other custom touches, just so he can tell them apart….
I’m really excited in a way, I just hope he agree’s to a flame jib in true blf style……
>>>>>@ Ubehebe I really appreciate your input man! Thank you!
>>>>>The KE-5 seems like a nice light even the M10 seems better power wise.
No problem. To me, that’s what BLF is all about. Helping other enthusiasts.
The M10 is also a great light. Not the brightest thrower, but certainly in the top 30% of budget throwers. Solidly built, nice machining. Good throw. And like the ke-5, you can use it for more than a spotlight — for walking, etc. The TF F15-T6, SkyRay (NOT king) A0 clone, Uniquefire uf-2220 have better, slightly brighter spots, but then they’re more long-distance lights.
The uniquefire c10 is slightly brighter than C8s I have tried, slightly better spot but not overpowering, so it also can be used for general exploring at night.
But really you can’t go wrong with any light any one has mentioned here. They’re ALL great!
And enjoy your time here on BLF. Hope to see more of you. We have a great group of people from all over the world. Welcome.
Okay guys i want to thank you all for contributing in my Poll/Thread!
I went ahead and ordered my XinTD C8 V3 coupled with Intl-Outdoors NCR18650B 3400mAh Batteries!
I know some of you may laugh at me for going with these batteries but i thought i might do it once and do it right.
Dealing with Hank @ Intl-Outdoor is a breeeeeeeeeeeeeeze! (first time experience =D)
Lets hope i am going to love my first 18650 setup.
What i would like to ask is it okay to use my Trustfire TR-001 charger for the NCR18650B batteries?
Also id like to ask if someone can point me to a good all in 1 charger (14500-26650) if there is anything like that. so in the future if i plan to go 26650 route to be able to charge some 26650 batteries with.
Again THANKS a million guys! I am loving this place, and i can say its DAMN addicting!
Those are very nice cells - I doubt that anyone will fault you for having chosen them.
Cradle chargers have limitations that make it hard to find one that is both safe and will charge a wide range of cells. You may want to look at a hobby charger if you really want one charger that does it all. This one is often recommended and is certainly inexpensive. If you like quality and think you will be using it for a while, I would recommend one of the icharger line.
Thansk for the input photon1k
regarding those big chargers (or what every they call them :P) i have zero knowledge on how to use one. Ill have to do some reading and watching some guides on how to use them.
I guess ill wait a bit till i see if i find it easy to function ill just get one
Mario, if you find the hobby charger a little intimidating as a new user, there are several really good choices in smart chargers available at reasonable prices. Amazon is a good source, but I'm not sure if they ship to where you are or if that is cost prohibitive, so here's a China source for you:
Both of these are well respected and highly rated, commonly used by BLF members. If I had to give the nod to one, it would be the i4, just for it's versatility in handling all types of batteries, sizes and 4 at a time.
And your choice of batteries was excellent. Too many new users choose crap cells their first few time (me included). Here's hoping you've started a trend.
Thank you bro!!
Well regarding shipping charges its not a problem at all
I have an account at a forwarding company that provides me with 3 addresses (China, UK, USA) Thats how i usually shop online
regarding the chargers you linked isnt the XSTAR SP2 the best among them? I saw some people saying that the XSTAR WP2 had some shorting issues.
Now your spoiling me man!
I guess the star sp2 would be a better choice coz it can charge 26650 batteries while the WP2 can’t right?
And the intellicharger charges at a lower current than the sp2
The WP2 can charge a single 26650 at a time at a max charge rate of 1mA, but I have to stick a dime in there to make contact when charging my King Kongs. With the i4, you can charge 2 26650s at a time, but you need to use bays 1 and 3 (or 2 and 4) to get max charge rate. Like I said, I'd give the i4 the nod due to versatility, but they're both first rate chargers. I use them both and a few others when I have a lot to charge.
