DQG III AAA
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★★
Summary:
| Battery: | 1 x AAA |
| Switch: | Twisty |
| Modes: | 2 (Low, High - No memory) |
| LED Type: | Cree XP-G R5 |
| Lens: | TIR, plastic |
| Tailstands: | Yes, perfectly! |
| Price Payed: | $30 + shipping |
| From: | CNQG |
| Date Ordered: | April 2012 |
Pros:
- Very small, perfect for key chain
- Stainless steel, durable material for key chain use
- Good grip
- Tailstands, perfectly
- Good beam pattern
- No PWM
- Constant brightness
- Long (enough) runtime
- Well spaced modes
- Good UI (mode order, no memory)
- Magnet in tail (or glow dot, the choice is yours!)
- No battery rattle
- Doesn't eat O-rings any more
- Claw + 2 extra O-rings included
- Comes in a nice tin box, suitable for gifting!
Cons:
- A bit pricey (but I paid the difference with joy - this thing is so good!)
Features / Value: ★★★★★
The light comes in a tin box:
..which contains the light itself, two extra O-rings, split ring, and claw.
Features are quite simple: Main "feature" is that the light is so small that you can hook it to your key ring and forget it - until you need light. The light has two well spaced modes, about 5 lumens and 60 lumens.
UI is very good, or actually the best for this kind of light: Tighten head to turn on (= low). Loosen to turn off. Turn off and on again for High. No memory means no unpleasant surprises and makes sure you won't lose your night vision by accident!
Value for money: Good! Even though the light is a bit pricey, the small size, low weight and good features are worth the price difference.
Design / Build Quality: ★★★★1/2
Design is just prefect. The size is great for key chain use, and so is the material. Stainless steel can take some extra abuse, which is needed when the light repeatedly hits your keys during the next few years.
Knurling is nice, not as aggressive than Sunwayman R01A, but well suitable for a pocket light.
Here's a comparison to "old" DQG Tiny II (III above, II below). Please note how the knurling position is changed a bit, making it even easier to turn on/off with one hand. Note also the damaged O-ring peeking from the old version..
A look to inside. III on left, II on right. Nothing there, not even a tail spring.
The threads were smooth and well lubed, even better than in the old version. The slot for O-ring is now clearly separated from the threads, helping to keep the O-ring in place and prevent damage. A small, but very important enhancement!
Another important new feature can be found on top of the driver board: A foam insert, which eliminates the battery rattle, also when turned off!
The TIR lens is flawless and emitter perfectly centered.
Some measurements:
Length: 57.4mm
Head diameter: 12.6mm
Body diameter: 11.9mm
Weight: 26g with lithium primary cell, split ring & claw (= ready to use), 13g without
And the bottom line in the quality: Machining is a bit rough at the tail (-1/2 stars), but nothing else to complain! And the included claw is the best I have seen so far!
Battery Life: ★★★★☆
Good!
I measured the current draw to be 620mA on high and 20mA on low -> theoretical runtime would be way up to 2h on high and up to 50h on low (with a good lithium AAA primary).
Current draw on high is actually a bit more than in the older brother, which took about 540mA.
Light Output: ★★★★★
Just what I want from a EDC pocket / key chain light! About 5 lumens on low -> enough for small tasks and doesn't ruin your night vision. On high the promised 60 lumens seems to be a quite accurate figure and is certainly enough for walking on a small path or similar. The TIR lens provides a really nice beam pattern, which makes the beam look even brighter than 60 lumens!
The tint is perfect and the hotspot is smooth and small enough. This can be seen in the following white wall beamshots (WB: Daylight)
Low mode (Left II R4/NW, right III R5/CW)
High mode with same exposure (Left II R4/NW, right III R5/CW)
High mode, larger view, increased exposure to show the spill (Left II R4/NW, right III R5/CW)
Beam angle (Left II R4/NW, right III R5/CW)
..and then there is the GITD-feature. The head glows nicely after use:
Summary: ★★★★★
The DQG Tiny II has been my favorite key chain light since the famous BLF group buy. The only things I ever complained about it were the battery rattle and the fact that it eats O-rings. So I had really high hopes for the new version and it lived up to expectations. The best just got better!
Highly Recommended!
The End (pun intended).
Thanks for reading & watching. Hope you enjoyed the review!
