Try to set similar brightness (if your flashlights are multimode) and go for a walk. You'll see the difference even better.
As far as a 70% low sometime when it comes to run time 70% can give many hours vs 1 hour on high.
fenix E21 is an hour or more on high and 11 hours on 1/3rd the power .. but the difference between 150 and 50 lumens is barely perceptable ...So why not get the longer runtime .
Yes, I've received one and two more are on the way. No markings, Q5 emitter and quality is excellent. Takes 14500 or AA. All is good so far.
Definitely Q5? Since this thread started I've read all I can find in the archives about these lights and recall quite a few members wishing they had Q5 emitters; something about brighter due to higher current draw? (beware, Noob Learning Curve..)
I'm just relating what a another member said regarding the Q5 led in this light - I'm no authority on specific leds, I just know for a fact it's a cree. Certainly not an osram. But I am personally not 100% sure about the Q5 - sorry if I may have mispoke.
@ boomhauer:
On the contrary, I'm sorry if I seem pedantic; the important thing is that yours are all good. Just that I have 6 of these now (at least four are down as Xmas gifts for mates) from a different seller,. They impressed me hugely, but before I buy any more I'm waiting to see if there really is an updated model out there, e.g. three mode, brighter emitter etc..
I have the Ultrafire version of this light from Manafont (1-mode version) and a couple on the way from eBay (Tomtop). I have mainly used the light with Trustfire flames. I had used the light for quite a while without checking the voltage on the 14500 and suddenly the light "died". In my case the light shut down immediately, no blinking.
I checked the Trustfire with my DMM and it showed 0V. The PCB had triggered so I connected the Trustfire to another fully charged Trustfire 14500 for a few seconds and checked the voltage which now showed 3.042V so apparently the PCB triggers at ~3V. (Not that I had intended to test it, I just forgot to keep track of the voltage on the 14500 
.)
DAMN! Nobody outbid me. I had to pay for it and o well...it will make for a good lending torch :)
My understanding was that you shouldn't discharge your li ion batts under 2.4 - 2.8v. So the PCB engaging at 3v is a good thing?
Yes, I've received 6 of them from TomTop. All are unbranded and of the same quality, which seems to be very good.
As to the Q5 thing, I can confirm that these are indeed Q5. I have an ultrafire version of the Sipik that has the Q3 in it, and there is a difference between these and my old ultrafire version (they are brighter).
Sorry to hear. That really sucks the big one.
it is about 2.5V under load, so it's ok if you measure 3V wthout load.
Yep, received mine yesterday. It is very nice. 2nd one on the way. 1st was $6.99 I think, 2nd $6.16. Great light, giving one away tonight.
I tested with a Trustfire flame 14500 @ 4.10V and my DMM (UNI-T UT33A with new leads) showed ~1.31A on my Ultrafire 1-mode Sipik clone. Also tested it with a fully charged Eneloop NiMH and it was also ~1.31A.
@ GETEMER: "I have an ultrafire version of the Sipik that has the Q3 in it, and there is a difference between these and my old ultrafire version (they are brighter)."
Is it much of a difference? Mine are all Ultrafire branded as well. (You can see where I'm going with this, can't you?)
Haha! Actually, there is a difference! These with an AA are almost as bright on flood as my ultrafire with 14500.
I was afraid you'd say that.
"Don't do it! The Ultrafires you have are perfectly bright enough already."
"Go on! Couple more can't hurt. And these are Q5! You know you want to.."
I ordered a silver one from ebay seller bestelectronic-store. This one was supposed to be hi/lo/strobe. First I got some net book cover / binder. Emailed them and they sent out a silver Sipik clone.
This one is a little different than my other ones. The threads on the bezel are deeper and the pill actually has an O-ring instead of a metal snap ring. The lens is not glued in like the other ones but there is no O-ring there so it still may not be water proof. Could maybe be made that way but the O-ring I tried was too thick and then the bezel wouldn’t tighten over its O-ring.
The switch was put together with the spring backwards so it wouldn’t work reliably. I discovered that it was a press fit and I could get it apart. Put together correct and the switch works fine now.
This is probably the best of the clones I have. However, it is not a multi-mode light as it was advertised to be. I emailed them to complain about that as well but we are stuck in a loop of them not getting what I am trying to say. I simply want a multi-mode version of this light. They first said to do a half-click. I told them I know how to change modes. They told me they would give me one half refund. I said that I would be happy to give them half price for another light if it really was a multi-mode and they just repeat that they will refund half my money. They don’t seem to get that they aren’t selling what they say they are. The also didn’t get that I said I would buy even more if I could see that the light actually was what it said it was. Very frustrating.
FWIW, this is a US branch of the Yail store.
Wade
I am giving mine a gifts with a regular lead acid battery. This light even with a conventional AA is the brightest small flashlight most non-flashaholics have ever seen. I do not wish to assume the role of flashlight battery tech support person for my friends and relatives. Therefore, I will give it with a AA alkaline or a conventional lead-acid AA 1.5 V. and keep the 14500s for my own use. Most people outside of our high performance world do not care about maximum light output, when they push the switch they just want to the light to work properly every time and produce a useable light output.
OK. So I got my sipik clone, the one from Tomtop or whatever. Yep, nice little light and all , but. What's all the hype? It's bright on a AA, but can't be any more than 30 lumens.
I've got a budget CE Tech single AA from Home Depot just recently that blows it away. I give it merit for its FLOOD ability however. Just not that impressed when I can get retina scorching lumens out of another single AA for less.
On a 14500 I guess the sipik clone would be what? Maybe 60-100 lumens?
I laugh when I see them advertising 300 lumens from this little guy...