Review: Aleto XML-T6 5 Mode 26650 "Zoomie" - The big brother to the Sipik SK68! *PIC HEAVY!*

LED Flashlights – General Info 26650 Flashlights
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Aleto XML-T6 5 Mode 26650 Zoomie


(Ebay photo)

Date Ordered: 2/26/13
Date Received: 3/9/13 (<2 weeks in transit to USA)
Price Paid: $12.99
Ebay Link: click here

Ebay Seller description

1800 lumens? No. 7 modes? How does “zoom in” and “zoom out” count as a mode? If that were true wouldn’t this light have TEN modes? H/M/L/Strobe/SOS x zoom in and zoom out =10?

I think its time I put this light under the microscope for some heavy scrutiny. Lets see what the judges think.

The fact they didn’t run away at 102 mph means they have spotted a few things they like.

Enough crummy jokes… on to the write up.

What I Like:

Great “chunky” feel with much more mass than a sk68!
Way better beam pattern than my sk68 clone
Runs on 26650
Solid construction
Square threads (although with some minor wobbling)
Good annodization
Big fat gitd o-ring around the bezel (6mm+ thick!)

What I do not like:

Noisy zoom/focus operation
Inside of lens scratched up quite a bit (only visible with light on)
Tailstands, but very wobbly
Light was pictured with a stainless bezel, but mine is black
Battery rattles (Trustfire flame) if shaken heavily (not a big deal, but worth noting)

General Overview:

All I can say is be prepared to want one - especially if you are a fan of the sk68. I have owned a few sk68 clones because they are cheap and fun. I have never been a huge fan of zoomie lights (flood to throw focusing), but this light peaked my interest as soon as I got my hands on it. Any I would like to blame garry again for forcing me to buy yet another light!

On to the photos.

Unboxing

Flash light arrived in the usual crappy white box which was half squashed by whatever happened to it in transit. No dings whatsoever in the finish and functioning perfectly!

Here are a few shots next to my sk68 clone for a size comparison.

Some other lights for size comparison (from left to right): Unprotected 14500, Trustfire flame 26650, UltraOK sk68 clone, L2m, Nitecore EA4L-2, Aleto Zoomie, 47s Maelstrom x10, BS Terminator, SR King, Keygos M10, Supfire X5, Ultrafire HD2010

Lens does not appear to have any defects until you turn the light on. The inside has a number of small scratches. I guess its what I would expect from a plastic lens.

The light does have well lubed square threads, however they are a little wobbly. Again, this is better than I was expecting when comparing it to the cheap sk68 clone I have.

Tailcap is a standard forward clicky and is constructed quite well. Resistance could be lowered easily by adding a copper wire from the top to the bottom of the spring. The switch does have a momentary on (half press). Switching modes can only be done by a full “off” click followed by a quick “on”. (ie - there is no momentary half press to switch modes while the light is on)

The light will tail stand, but is very wobbly and could easily fall over if bumped. (video below, me shaking the table a bit)

Very nice looking retaining ring and pill. Very heavy and seems to heat sink quite well! In my ceiling bounce tests output only dropped about 2% after being on for 5 minutes on high. Unlike the sk68 on li-ion, the aleto 26650 boasts mass and a well constructed aluminum pill which manages the heat quite well.

The size of the driver is 18.6+/- mm if anyone is wondering.

The pill is kept in place by a small retaining washer which is force fitted and then screwed into place with the pill.

This zooming in or out causes a bit of … unusual noise(video below)

Its not that horrible, and sounds like a large zipper oddly.

Beamshots

I am actually quite surprised at the nice clean and even flood pattern this light puts out. It is cool white for sure, with a hint of orange/yellow on the outside of the spill.

The zoomed in mode is also quite nice looking! Extremely uniform and NO artifacts! (exposure –2)

Here is the sk68 clone on a 14500 (on the right) next to the aleto (on the left) for a comparison. (exposure –2)

Both lights are on high and pointed at a grey colored wall about 16 feet away. The sk68 is on the right - and is responsible for the ugly rings around the hotspot. (exposure –2)

Output

I did some ceiling bounce tests to see exactly how much light this thing puts out. 100 lux = approx 900-950 lumens. (I came up with this figure by comparing several known outputs of various lights)

Here are the results:

Double halogen bathroom light (2800 bulb lumens, but bulbs are behind a diffuser)

High mode (approx 430 lumen)

Medium mode (approx 220 lumen)

Low mode (approx 4 lumen) - epic cat photobomb!

Conclusion:

At 12.99 - everyone should own one of these. I would even go so far to say that this light is a better light than the sk68. The aleto 26650 zoomie features longer runtimes, better beam quality, better construction, and better heat sinking. It is still a budget light, but for under $13 I think its a steal. One could easily mod this into a screaming 4 amp de-domed monster!

What are you still doing here - go buy one!

This is my first review - please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

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updated 3/10/13 with answers to questions

Yes, I bought from the link Garry provided

It has memory

I will try to be a bit less serious next time :slight_smile:

I unscrewed the bezel - the lens is approx 35mm in diameter. I could not remove the lens from the head - it appears to be held in place by a retaining ring which is a piece of the bezel and thus cannot be removed from the inside. I also could not remove the large green glow in the dark oring on the outside as it appears to be glued in place…

it does not look like replacing the lens is possible unless the green gitd plastic oring is removed on the outside.

The output on throw mode is about the same to my eyes as the sk68 on 14500. The hotspot size is identical as it appears the aleto is just a ‘scaled up’ version of the sk68 (including the emitter size)

The Aleto will put out a bit more lumens in flood mode, although when the bezel is extended to throw mode, it loses about 25-30% of the output resulting in a hotspot similar to the sk68. The Aleto has less thermal sag and can run on high without having to switch to a lower mode to cool off like the sk68. The Aleto’s beam is also much nicer and 99% artifact free. The only thing imo the sk68 has over the aleto is the smaller size. Obviously unless you have cargo pants or a huge pocket the Aleto isnt really an EDC option … unless its holstered.

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Fantastic review jmpaul, thanks for sharing.

I really like the look of that light. I have an Aleto zoomie also and the build quality is excellent. I have a couple of questions though.

When I received my zoomie the biggest problem was a hollow pill - so very bad heatsinking, and also a very underdriven LED (I think mine was runnning at 1.2 amps when it arrived)

Did you check to see if the heatsinking is adequate ? and also I was wondering if you managed to take a tailcap reading on high ?

Thanks again

Spas

edit Ahh sorry, I must have missed it. You did mention the heatsinking… Looks like it’s pretty decent judging by the readings you took on extended run.

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Hi,

How did you rate it’s performance outside against the SK68 on a 14500? Threw just as far? Same throw bigger hot spot? Brighter? If the only benifit is greater run time from the 26650 the mauch larger size pushes it outside the realm of EDC which you can do with the 68. If it’s performance is much higher then it rates a buy.

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Great review! That beam puts the ZY-603 to shame.

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great review, thanks.

there’s no way I can resist owning this. I will hold off and use the desire to get me to finish other projects first, since i’m sure it will be modded.

any chance you could caliper that lens? outer diameter, bulge diameter and focal length, if it isn’t too much trouble :slight_smile:

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Great review jmpaul320! I’m ordering one. I was looking at these a while back. Thanks for reviewing it. :slight_smile:
Edit: That’s the same seller that I got the Aleto 26650 thrower HD2010’ish looking light (aka UltraOK 26650). Good seller.

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btw, forgot to mention, I’m not sure if they claimed stainless bezel, or you assumed from the picture,
but DX had an sk98 style light out before the sk98 was released, “new c56” i think, and it had a bezel that looked like that. It was crummy silver anodizing, looked terrible and made mild artifacts.

black bezel is ok w/ me :slight_smile:

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Great review jmpaul! Looks like this one will go on my wishlist. Interesting mode changing with momentary on. Oh, and quit blaming me for making you buy lights! :) .

-Garry

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Love all the pics and video, thanks for sharing them. I like Aleto’s lights they always have new designs dirt cheap. And they ship pretty quick compared to most Chinese vendors.

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its not a bad thing garry :slight_smile: keep it up!

i will take some more measurements of the lens

for those who are wondering… it has the same throw to my eye as the sk68 clone on 14500… it looks like this light is just a ‘scaled up’ version of the sk68… bigger light… but bigger die emitter so same throw… but far better beam quality and better heat management :slight_smile:

im not sure if the pill is hollow, although i would just assume so at this point… heat sinking could be improved by filling it with solder :slight_smile:

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Great review jmpaul320. Very good in-depth review with excellent video’s and pic. :wink:

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Thanks for the terrific review. Apart from one thing your review was perfect. You stopped the jokes. looking forward to your next review.

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Nice review of a surprisingly nice light. I ended up buying one just now thanks to you.

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Nice review!

Does it have mode memory or do you have to cycle through each one?

7 Mode: high / middle / low / strobe / sos

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thanks for the review, and thanks for making me buy another light. nah it was half garry’s fault too, for finding the light …
did you purchase yours from that link garry posted?

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that is too wierd that you just posted this. i was just gonna come back to this thread and say before i make another impulse buy, does jmpaul have the m12 to compare and now it can be answered. so we know the m12 is of better quality, but how about in terms of brightness in flood mode, which is brighter and floodier, and throws further?
jmpaul, is this as bright as your m10, no right?

do you or jmpaul have one of those tubed lights like a 2100 or a hd2011 , s2/s3? or anything you can relate in ccomparison to let me know how bright this 26650 sk98 is. i know he mentioned 1000 lumens or so, but i doubt it looks 1000 lumens in flood mode. all my zoomies in flood mode look rather dim.

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it has memory

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updated post #2 with answers to questions!

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is there a 18650 version of this light?