Found this sale the other day: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/USB-Charging-Zoomable-Lantern-CREE-L2-Powerful-LED-Flashlight-Waterproof-Torch-Aluminum-Alloy-Outdoor-Camping-Hiking/32802630625.html
Cheaper than cheap. ;-)
Cheers ^:)
Wellp, for about 12bux (use the blf discount) you can still get the DV-S9 which has most of the niceties you list (more or less) except for usb charging. The slider’s a “ramping” UI if you use your thumb slowly. :laughing:
Plus, it’s quite literally waterproof and then some! Ie, you can use it in and under a pool, not just in a heavy rain.
No pesky strobe, hella bright, easy to find the switch, good solid lockout, nice crisp hotspot, pretty awesome little light. And the 26650 is a bonus. Nice and grippy, balanced, good hand-feel.
And the color just blows me away, that nice deep indigo, moreso with the red trim.
Dunno, there’s budget, and there’s “budget”…
The Light Which Must Not Be Named seems to be “budget” as in “cheap”. Works, sure, but maybe with lots of little “shortcuts” taken, eh? For about the same price, I’d stick with a solid-as-a-rock light like the DV-S9. I’m biased, sure, but it doesn’t mean it ain’t true. 
Starts-on-high and no-memory is an instant deal-killer for me. Hell, even as great a light as the Nichia version of the Lumintop Tool might be, its start-on-medium keeps me from pretty much ever EDCing it. Hell2, after playing with it a while, it just kinda went back in its box and is languishing there. Can’t bring myself to part with it, but unless I can flash it to use a different UI, even a stinking 1-mode 100% full-tilt on/off “UI”, I don’t think I’ll be using it.
Damned shame, as it’s a nice solid light.
Okay, for 7 bux, it’s probably worth playing with.
Given the UI as described, I still wouldn’t use it, though. Life’s too short to be annoyed on a daily basis…
Might gift it to someone I hate, or at least someone who wouldn’t care about a “you-eye”.
Nice find!
Proof that people are different and have different views and needs.
I despise mode memory, to me it’s extremely annoying to never know what brightness level a light will fire up in.
This has a lot to do with my own memory function 
Starting on high every time? Depends. Bedside light? Absolutely not! Household utility light? Yeah that be be great. Emergency light? Yeah great for that too.
~ ~ ~ ~
Now back to the DV-S9 derailment…
I’ve been considering this very similar Uking, I like the green color version and the large lanyard slot tail. And it’s suppose to be a neutral tint.
I’m not really into blue, but…
As many time as you’ve commented on how nice the blue is I have to admit it’s got me thinking, and starting to like the blue :person_facepalming:
Plus knurling would be nice too, especially if it’s not too lame (smooth)…
The one statement of concern about the Uking vs the DV-S9 (made by Flydiver in your DV-S9 thread) was about the smoothness of the slider:
That kinda bothers me cause I’m only getting it for the slider function.
So you’ve got me pretty much sold on the blue one, now where can I get one for 12 bux?
Fasttech: $16.27 (after BLF code)
Gearbest: $17.72 (GB17LED code expired!)
That’s just it. It’s my own “discipline”, if you want to call it that. I always reset my lights to their lowest settings when I think I’m done with ’em. Except for lights (C8F, ferinstance) where I’d grab it for its brightest setting if anything.
I’ve been carrying my SP10A instead of the ’B for a while. With the ’B, I had doubleclick-for-high anywhere, even from off. Reset to firefly, that’d be what comes on with my first click.
Now with the ’A, regular low is what I reset it to. Then I have to click-click to get it to high if I need it.
Each one takes some getting used to, but I’m getting used to them.
Part of the reason I shelved all my stock S2+es is because of the damned blink-on-low. If you just want to use it for a few seconds, and turn it off in that ohnosecond right after it blinks, well, now you got those annoying strobes in the main cycle, and have to undo it to get rid of them.
Yet despite all that, I still reset my lights after I think I’m done. So my ’A, even if I click through to high, gets reset to low immediately after.
Takes a little bit of extra work, but once you get used to it, it’s nothing.
The right tool for the job, yeah. I’d still rather not blind myself just to have to throttle down to a lower setting. And once you are blinded, you pretty much now need at least a higher setting than you would otherwise had you not been blinded in the first place!
That was it. Wouldda sworn I got my last one for about 13bux or so with a GB coupon. Was one of those “Do I really need a third one?? Hell, for that price, yeah…” deals.
Maybe I burned off some points as well, don’t recall. Was late last year (December-ish) if I recall.
well, at Gearbest it woulda been $15.59 if they’re code worked, IDK what’s up with that, they’re still showing GB17LED in they’re ad on the left side of this page. But FT not much more at $16.27
I read even the aff linkers are having a hard time getting codes from them. But when I’m ready I’ll try and request a code from one of them.
I also wonder if these Ultrafires are the same internally as the DV-S9, although they look more like the Uking and have the Uking style tailcap:
I actually don’t like that style tailcap. Makes me wanna change the channel or something.
I like the flat UF-style one better.
Here’s the purpose of (why I like) that tailcap’s big lanyard slot (smaller light but same idea):
I’m trying to visualize how big it is, Is the DV-S9 about the same size as an Ultrafire F13, being only slightly shorter?
I’d love to see a photo of those 2 side by side.
Since most members here have a Convoy S2+ and C8 flashlight, I took a couple of photos of the DV-S9 next to them.
Wow thanks! I do have both the Convoy’s…
And a nice patriotic color line up!
Yeah that DV-S9 is huge, bigger than I imagined until I really paid attention to the listed dimensions, that “bowl” of a tailcap probably adds some length!
This is the first (actual) photo I’ve seen of it too, I must admit the blue color is rather nice, and with the red accents.
These photos need posted in the DV-S9 thread too!
Thanks for the suggestion. Didn’t realise there was no photo of it on the DV-S9 thread. I have copied and pasted the post from here over to it as well.
Please also note that the DV-S9 shown on my photos are not fully screwed in. It comes with two O-rings, and you can just make out one of the first O-ring. It is probably at least 5mm shorter once fully screwed in. I make it a habit of unscrewing the tailcap on this flashlight, as it drained one of my Panasonic 18650B 3400mAh battery after several weeks of not using it.