Sipik SK 58/68/78?

Nitecore Extreme, IIRC, even though the NE is not a zoomie.

EDIT - Yep. Pretty identical cosmetically.

DOUBLE EDIT - When will some manufacturers realise that raised clickie boots ruin tailstanding. At least Sipik didn't copy Nitecore's error there.

I don't consider it an error. I have very little need to "tailstand" but like the button to stick out so it's easy to get to especially if it has a momentary feature which I like.

The Sipik SK68 tailstands but the clickie it very accessible and easy to use no matter whether you use thumb, index finger or little finger. There's no reason that Nitecore could have done the same proving for everybody's preferences.

Is at Manafont....Q5.

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/ultrafire-floodto-throwing-zooming-cree-q5-flashlight-aa14500black-p-7586 (Black)

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/ultrafire-floodto-throwing-zooming-cree-r5-flashlight-aa14500gray-p-7587 (Silver)

Not at all (rude bugger).....But a bit of knurling on the tailcap would make it much easier to remove with oily/greasy/wet fingers.

that gave me a laugh Tas Smile I dont have any troubles with it but agreed some knurling wouldnt go astray

checkout 365digitalhe sells the ultrafire branded sk68's $7.49AU delivery included , I puchased from him and both lights I recieved had the solid pill , I found the link to him from an old post here at BLF

A couple of notes for someone searching in the future. Apparently there are different versions of these lights. I put a 14500 in mine (SK68) and it quit working instantly.

The SK78 looks similar to the SK58 (I have the SK78). The SK78 is slightly more expensive and doesn't have all the sharp edges/angles of the SK68 but the SK68 still seems better made. The pills are interchangeable however with a bit of a "push" :) I took the pill out of the SK78 and put it in the SK68. The lenses are the same size as well.

I haven't tried a 14500 with the new pills (for obvious reasons).

I'm curious if anyone with the SK68 has managed to clean up the beam of the rings. I've done something similar with an aspheric before but haven't done anything to this yet other than remove the metal disc. I'm planning to paint the Cree ring and retaining ring at some point.

the metal disc doesnt affect the beam the rings are created from the metal ring on the led dome , I painted mine and that cleaned it up real nice clean beam

I added some info here regarding the sk68

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/1001?page=2

my ultrafires & sipik run just fine on 14500's no probems whatsoever when going back to AA's

I wonder why mine burnt out with the 14500?

Does your have a higher output when you use the 14500?

all of mine pull around 1.2 amp on freshly charged 14500 , and are alot brighter on 14500's over AA's ...the only brand I had any trouble with was the mxdl running on 14500's melted the solder off the star Surprised

if you check the link above Ive up'ed some pics showing the hollow pill on the mxdl ..that most likely being the contributing factor to it getting so hot as to melt the solder .

they dont throw any farther using the 14500's only brighter at range

you may have just had some bad luck with yours burning out

If they take more current they will throw further. If they are brighter at range that means you could still see them if the subject moved a little further away. Maybe it wasn't noticeable given what you had to look at at the time but "brighter at range" will result in greater throw.

I think I will use mine backup pill on AA's for a while until I'm bored and then I'll try a 14500 again since I really don't need this light for anything :)

If it didn't get any brighter on 14500 then I wouldn't try it again as there would be no point (for me).

I hear what ya saying , ofcorse with 14500's its lights subject up better at distance , but throw is no further in my opinion , I do a lot of night hunting and the lower brightness off AA's doesnt hamper my night vision and will light them eyes up out to same range as 14500's

Yeah, it's probably hard to tell about throw when you are talking about animals reflective eyes. It's like talking about throw and street signs :) My ITP A3 might be able to illuminate a street sign 500 feet away but hold a piece of cardboard up over that street sign and all of my A3 throw went away :) LOL.

I went back and looked at the pill that quit working when I used 14500. I have hoping to find melted solder but on both the emitter and driver the wires are still connected. I guess there must be some component on the board that couldn't handle it but it's nothing obvious (to me anyway).

I ended up trying a 14500 in my replacement pill and it does work. Without having two lights (AA and 14500) side-by-side however I can't really tell if using 14500 is any brighter.

I painted out the Cree ring and it makes the beam a lot better looking in throw mode. In flood mode it's still ugly (as all zoomies that I've seen are).

I'll probably give it away after I tweak it a bit more. I was going to change the orange tail cap cover out for green but with the plastic retaining ring system (seems similar to Akoray K-106) I decided not to. I think it's a press fit system and once you pull those out it never fits tightly back in again. I dislike any lights that don't have a standard aluminum retaining ring system since they aren't really repairable.

I was hoping it would be as noticeably brighter as the difference between AA and 14500 with my single AA Ultrafire light but it's not.

If I had a real need (hunting or for a bike) for a zoomie I'd probably appreciate them more. As it is they just have ugly beams for what you get. For fixed aspheric throw there are better solutions IMO. Other than the tail cap issue though this one is fairly easily to take apart.

FYI- I check got out the DVM and checked the current draw and after you factor in the V difference between AA and 14500 they are both drawing the same current...approx 800mA. So they do throw the same but it's because the output is the same (on mine anyway).

but drawing 800mA from nimh and liion isn't the same, from nimh it has to be boosted do led vf -so it is seeing about the third of the draw

tailcap reading (A) * battery (V) = Wh / emitter vf = approximation of emitter draw

2.1A nimh * 1.4V = 2.94Wh / 3.6V = 810mA

.78A liion * 3.8V = 2.96Wh /3.6V = 820mA

I have a grey Sipik SK58 for $6.69 including shipping from T W - Fire on Alibaba.com. It draws a little more current and puts out considerably less light than an SK68, but it is smaller and some may consider it less ugly. The spot is smaller on throw. I am not clear whether it can use 14500s, but it does not seem a good idea, considering the size and lack of fins. The thermal setup is otherwise similar to the SK68, with the pill sliding in the head and screwed into the body. I put heat sink paste around the pill, which I think improves the feel of the slide. The pill came out easily with needle nose pliers in the slots.
I see SK58s with Q5s advertized, but failed to get one.