Review: PX-513 (XM-L T6, 1x18650)

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

PX-513

Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

Summary:

Battery: 1 x 18650
Switch: Tail switch, Reverse clicky
Modes: 5: High, Med, Low, Strobe, SOS
LED Type: XM-L T6 (CW)
Lens: Glass
Tailstands: Yes
Price Payed: $10
From: eBay
Date Ordered: Oct 2012

Pros:

  • Quite small & very lightweight
  • Very high PWM (7.9kHz)
  • Clip, Tactical anti-roll grip ring + Lanyard included
  • Tailstands
  • OK tint (for a CW)

Cons:

  • Infamous next-mode-memory
  • Blinky modes
  • Low could be lower..

Features / Value: ★★★☆☆

The light comes in bubble wrap. Nothing to tell home about..

Included are:
- The light itself
- Clip
- Tactical anti-roll grip ring
- Lanyard

The clip is removable and reversible. Here it's shown in the reverse position:

Features are pretty normal: Three modes (about 400, 200, and 70 lumens OTF), tail switch (reverse clicky).

UI is "not-so-good": Infamous next-mode-memory, combined with blinky modes (cruel strobe, fast SOS) :(

Value for money: OK.

Design / Build Quality: ★★★★☆

Design is nice. Quite slim, very lightweight, and has clip + tactical grip ring for cigar grip.

The anodization is ok, glass lens looks ok, and the switch feels as good as an electric switch can feel, so let's see some details..

Front end threads are clean and smooth, but not lubed. O-ring looks good & tight.

Emitter is well centered, but the bezel is aluminum and looks already quite used:

The threads at tail section are smooth and well lubed, but quite shallow. The O-ring is smaller and looks like it could have issues keeping in place:

The whole light except tailcap taken apart, posing together with infamous DD "Rechaigealle Balleiy".

Parts from the head. The bezel is very thin and made of aluminum, probably to make the light lighter. Lens is glass, but quite thin. There was no O-ring between the reflector and bezel.

Here's the bottom of the pill and driver:

Driver removed. As we can see, the pill is not hollow. For DIYers: Driver diameter is 17 mm and it's easily replaceable.

The business side of the pill. Plastic centering ring is a good idea, since in addition to centering the emitter, it makes sure that the aluminum reflector doesn't cause a short circuit. It was a bit twisted, which didn't harm the operation at all.

Inside of the tail cap. Note the covered spring and excessive amount of lube.

And the internals of the tail cap, together with all other parts.

Some measurements:

Length: 129.5mm

Head diameter: 26.1mm (Reflector 22.1mm x 22.0mm)

Body diameter: 25.4mm

Tail diameter: 25.4mm

Weight: 124g with cells (= ready to use), 81g without

..and here are some pictures confirming the measurements:

Battery Life: ★★★★☆

Good.

Tailcap current measure did show 1.25A, 0.65A and 0.17A, which results about 2h, 4h and 14h runtimes with a good 18650 cell.

Light Output: ★★★☆☆

This light pushes out about 50% of lumens of my XinTD C8 V3 NW

My estimate is about 400 lumens OTF on high, 200 on medium, and 70 on low.

White wall beamshots (WB: Daylight)

Summary: ★★★☆☆1/2

A lightweight flashlight with interesting design, high PWM and serviceable construction. Consider this as an inexpensive way to learn modding.. :)

Recommended, at least for the price paid.

The End (pun intended):

Thanks for reading & watching. Hope you enjoyed the review!

2

I have the same driver in one of a cheap ebay lights.

3

Hey, thanks for the review, _the_. Your's sure came fast! I ordered one this week just to compare with it's design inspiration, the N-Light ST50. Except for the flutes on the head, SS bezel, HA III finish and different UI, they look identical. I even got out my caliper and they have the exact same dimensions with the exception of reflector depth, which is 15.5mm on the ST50. And of course the ST50 has a turbo mode that does about 650-700 lumens.

4

Thanks very much! Frontpage’d and Sticky’d.

5

Nice size/form to the light. Could’ve been really good, ya never know. Thanks for the review.

6

As I mentioned above, the PX-513 appears to be a direct clone of the N-Light ST50. After receiving my light ($12 Shipped), I can confirm that to be true. Comments/Comparisons below. In all pictures, the PX-513 is on the left, the ST50 is on the right. Thanks to _the_ for letting me tack on my impressions to his excellent review.

While overall dimensions are the same for both at 130mm, each section differs slightly in length, with the battery tube shorter on the PX. Both lights are 26mm at the head and 25mm at the tail cap. Both will tail stand, but are very shaky. The tactical anti-roll ring on both lights is easily removed.

Obvious differences include: Bezels - Cheap aluminum on the PX, Stainless Steel on the ST50; GITD boot on the PX, Custom black boot on the ST50; PX is 5-mode reverse clicky (H-M-L-Strobe-SOS), ST50 is 5-mode forward clicky (L-M-H-Strobe-SOS) but with a twist of the head, additional Turbo mode. The switch feel is decent on the PX, very firm on the ST50.

Disassembled. Besides the bezels, threads and internal bit colors, the only obvious outward appearance difference is the flutes on the head of the ST50. Emitters well centered on both lights with nice plastic isolating rings:

Probably the most notable difference is in the head assembly. Note lack of O-Rings and how thin and cheap the lens is on the PX compared to the ST50, which has two O-Rings. Also note the pronounced length difference in the reflectors (both aluminum). Both are pretty nice quality, however:

A look at the pills from the bottom and the tailcaps, where the superior quality of the ST50 shows through:

Threads on the PX are also no match for the square cut threads of the ST50. Note the rear battery tube threads on the ST50 are annodized, allowing tail cap lockout. Putting them together, the ST50 feels like butta; The PX is scratchy and hard to line up.This is a good time to talk about finish: The PX almost looks to be painted with a speckled shiny coating. The ST50 is HA III with an even satin finish. Ive been using this light cycling for the last year - narry a scratch on it.

White wall shots on High at 1 meter with my iPhone 5. Mouse-over is PX-513, Mouse-out is ST50 on High (ST50 Turbo looks no different on the camera). The deeper reflector on the PX translates to a much tighter hotspot and a surprisingly nice beam profile. Visually, the PX appears to throw better and is a cooler white color. A quick check in the back yard on a dark, rainy night shows no discernible difference between the two, but keep in mind my 55 year old eyes ain't what they used to be. How it looks in practice is what counts to me anyway.

Light Output was checked on both lights using a Callie's Kustom 3100mAh. Tailcap measurements for each:

PX-513 - 2.13A High, 1.03A Med, .52A Low
ST50 - .01A Low, .36A Med, 1.52A High, 1.91A Turbo

Well, that explains why my PX-513 appears brighter. I apparently got a harder driven version than _the_ did.

Conclusion:

While the ST50 is obviously a superior quality light, when it comes to practicality, the PX-513 is a helluva deal. ST50 at IOS is $37, cost for the PX on ebay is only $10-$13 (depending on the mood of the seller at accepting an offer). This is a pretty damn good light for $12. Small form factor, estimated lumens output at around 600-650, decent throw for such a small reflector. The N-Light ST50 has always been one of my favorite helmet lights when cycling - now I have two! For the money, I would rate this as a 4 out of 5.

Thanks for reading.

7

Thanks for your impressions & comparison to the "real thing"!

I wish mine would be driven as hard as yours.. ;)

8

Nice review of pretty uncommon light! Interesting, I think this would indeed be a very good mod-candidate for Nanjg-105 or KD driver.
I think I will try to offer a 10 or 11$ :wink:

9

12.77USD and I offered 10. Got counteroffer of 12.76USD :smiley:
What A Deal! :smiley:

10

Here you go, CheapThrills: $10.40 but act fast!

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/12917

11

Thanks but I was on my mobile then and so I decided to skip it…

Some other vendors on eBay, notice the other color option!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1600LM-CREE-XM-L-T6-5-Modes-LED-Alloy-Flashlight-18650-Torch-Light-/300799402037?pt=AU_Sport_Camping_Hiking_Lamps_Torches&hash=item46090aa035

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1600LM-CREE-XM-L-T6-5-Modes-LED-Alloy-Flashlight-18650-Torch-Light-/290795847827?pt=AU_Sport_Camping_Hiking_Lamps_Torches&hash=item43b4c88093

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1400-Lumens-CREE-XML-T6-5-Mode-LED-Aluminum-Alloy-Flashlight-Torch-/330801840063?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item4d05537fbf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1400Lumen-Cree-XML-T6-LED-5Mode-Aluminum-Flashlight-Torch-Light-Clip-Hand-Strap-/271070899655?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item3f1d15adc7

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1600LM-CREE-XM-L-T6-5-Modes-LED-Alloy-Flashlight-18650-Torch-Light-/190740416830?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Cycling_Bike_Lights&hash=item2c6903c93e

12

Kiadomain are sellling it as the Romisen RC-880

13

I used this on a recent night ride as a helmet light - worked great and it's so small and light that I couldn't tell it was there. Throws surprisingly well for such a small reflector.

14

anybody know where i can find a replacement lens and bezel for this light. i ordered it because it was so inexpensive, very pleased with it for the money, do not notice the pwm at all. just woke up one day and the bezel and glass were gone, one of the mysteries of life i guess. i think i paid $10 delivered and it is one heck of a light for the price.

ken

15

btw,mine has mode memory

ken