Was it free after all?
I guess they offer free shipping to some locations on certain products
I have seen “free shipping” change to non free on multiple sites that sell worldwide. Hate it for sure.
Welcome to BLF!
Will update list later 
About total costs for somebody not having cells and charger ( please read li ion safety 101, link in my SIG )
Q8 $40
4 good cells ~$20
Liitokala li500 ~$20
~$80 that is of cheap for sure.
People, get your cells NOW or you may discover that your preferred source cannot or will not provide them. Many sites will list that they ship to your location and it’s only when you try to place an order that you will find out that they don’t 
Lights are no fun un-powered and the cells won’t rot while you wait for the light
The current mess with shipping Li cells probably wont be well-solved for another year or two as things move slowly regarding regulations and implementing them. And it may get worse before it gets better. A friend who is a drone hobbyist told me yesterday that some airlines now require that drone batteries be no more than 30% charged before they are allowed on the plane, and while this is bad for these LiIon packs but that doesn’t change the situation.
@Tom E
Agreed in revisiting the timed step-down, but I’d like to see it be as long as possible without over-doing it. While I’m all for making it ‘muggle-safe’, perceived warmth to the hand is very subjective and those who use this light will learn quickly if it gets too warm for them. If you try to please everybody there will be no room for performance so just keep the light itself safe and the step-down reasonably long.
It will soon be here so droolingly yours,
Phil
People in the US don’t need to purchase batteries from China. You might spend a dollar or two more purchasing in the US, but you will receive them in 2 or 3 days, versus 3 to 4 weeks, if at all. (talking to you gearbest)
And in Europe we buy from https://eu.nkon.nl
Only slightly more expensive (than from China) and delivery in just a few days.
I just ordered some more 30Q BT”s from BG for £18.29 or $23.50 for 4 delivered :+1:
Unfortunately they are showing as out of stock.
Well now that cells are a hot topic and putting trust in Thorfire to make a good Q8 worthy of good cells I asked M4DM4X if he can get a deal on
30Q
30Q BT
VTC6
Sanyo GA
Sanyo GA BT
I think I want a set of the GA BT cells besides the 30Q BT (got an email they are shipped YAY)
Though I must say we have no good as specified samples in our hands so also no GO has been given (the arrival of such samples will mean a topic title change and at least a bunch of posts from us about them. And giving of the GO sure means another topic title change and sending of PMs with link and codes)
Safest would be to wait till we have the samples for that is the first moment everyone can get an impression and should be the time for actual decision for purchase.
And Australians can buy suitable cells including VTC6 button tops and high current protected button top GAs from supersports600. More expensive than buying from China, but delivery in 2-3 days, safe packaging, and excellent customer support.
Yesterday I sent an email to Richard at Mountain Electronics about possibly stocking up on the recommended batteries. He got back to me really quick and said he would.
Now I’m off to check the Army surplus stores to see about smoke grenade pouches!
Ah nice so
USA Europe Australia covered for a higher price but faster and no fakes for sure
BLFer: BDWrabbit who just signed up to BLF in order to get on the Q8 list is the one I spoke with about the pouches, and he is the eBay store owner I ordered mine from. I checked and for $7.50 shipped, it's the best deal I could find for a quality one.
Here's the deal on his stock of pouches. They are bought surplus in large bunches, and it's a mixed batch, slightly different styles - some have a 4" deep pocket, some 4.5", some even closer to 5". All you have to do is message him first on eBay and tell him you want one with the deeper pocket of 4.5" at least. Then order it - he'll be sure he picks out a deeper pocket one. I'm gonna order a few more this way, because for every light I gift or buy for someone, I'm planning on providing one of these pouches with. Really the 4" ones are not bad, just more of the flashlight sides are exposed, but the velcro flap holds it down well.
Also, once his batch is gone, it's gone. No telling when he could get more and at what price, since it's all bought on auction.
Here's the listing of the pouch:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/272385613415?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Here's the listing of his full store:
http://stores.ebay.com/wrabbitsurplus?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
The surplus Pelican cases look pretty interesting. Add some custom fit foam and you got a nice carry case for a collection 
Thanks for the info Tom!
Thanks for sharing, Tom. I just ordered a couple. :+1:
For those interested, Tom posted photos of the pouches holding the Q8 prototypes here, in post #6308.
Hi Tom, would either 4.5” or 5” work for the pouch? Is 4.5” the best fit?
This is what 4.5" looks like:
5" should come up to the SS bezel, but 4.5" looks pretty good.
I just know the 4.5" is the good one - I have one already from 3 years ago and the labeling matches exactly. Dunno about the 5". Hopefully the rest of it is the same.
Hopefully I'll get my order in today for a few, and I'll ask for 1-2 of bigger than 4.5" size. He said they were up to 5", dunno if they vary between 4.5" and 5" or what. Think he's got them in like a big box, all mixed. I'm sure he could'nt go thru all of them, probably just spot checked a few.
(LVP shutting off at 3.0 volts is imho too high. Can’t say I’m dissapointed, but batteries can go down to 2.5 and the should be at least lowest low available, even when the batteries are flat dead, but not “off”)
There's issues with protected cells going that low. If you go below the PC low, the cell will shut down.
There is not much energy going down to 2.5V anyway. Look at HKJ's testing for example - his cutoff is 2.8V. Now look at the amount of Ah left between 3.0 and 2.8V.
Thanks Tom E,
As far as I remember it’s about 100 to 200 mAh left.
But still, I gave you an example with the EC2 - the battery is dead to 2.5V (and even lower) - and it works, lowest low, but I still have some usable lumens.
Shutting off at 3.0 can become a surprise in the middle of the night somewhere. And it’s the user’s life, not the battery’s, that matters.
Ah, that has 1% chance to happen. (Yes, I did want LVP-disable (“survival”) option, ok, I’m content with that 
Narsil gives a warning at 3,2V
On a low mode this should give time.
Curious though, what would be best:
Warning at 3,2V keep all cells in OR remove 1, 2 or 3 and start using those after the one(s) left to power it is(are) depleted?
Regarding Banggood shipping cells… If I read and remember my order correctly, cells for the US market are shipped out of Canada. That may be why we can get them and some EU countries can’t get them shipped.