My TomTop tailstands just fine as well. I really hope the other 3 I ordered today from various sellers will tailstand also.
I thought about ordered a 3-mode but decided against it because I hate strobes.
That silver 3-mode you link above Moto says "1 Mode" on the Ebay page in their chart. It also says Q3. I think this is the first US seller with a 3 mode I've heard about, but then again I was searching "Q5" previously.
BTW- my order from US seller "campingsurvivals" just shipped yesterday, that's two days after order (although I did place the order 5 PM).
-Garry
Yeah I was just going to make a note that it lists it as Q3. Buy one and let me know if its 3 mode! I have noticed some on ebay that list them as 2-mode, but they are really just referring to the zoom-in and zoom-out as modes. LOL
Damn! Sorry, but like an idiot I ordered another ntxmas 3 mode yesterday because of the ludicrous price hike at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-Q5-LED-Zoomable-300lm-Torch-Flashlight-Light-7W-/130626380594?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item1e69f06332 and http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170758584629
There's something very fishy going on, because according to Paypal billing, all three Chinese sellers of these three mode clones (topicshop, ntxmas and eletrading) are the same person. Maybe that's why the price hike; they want every three-mode buyer to clear ntxmas's stock of these Ultrafire branded clones because maybe they're not as popular or well made and the seller wants rid of them. If that's the case I'm ashamed to say I fell for it..
@ motodeficient: "I just can't believe how many Sipik Sk-68 clones are on ebay. I find myself wanting one of each variation to compare! But that would be useless as I would have no idea which one came from which ebay listing when they arrive."
That's exactly what happened to me with my topicshop and ntxmas torches, and why I bought another one. It seemed the only sure way of finding out which of them sold me the solid tailstander. Clever, these Chinese sellers..
I'm wanting a 3-mode but i just don't know which seller would be reliable.
I guess the only verified 3 mode version I have heard of is the Ultrafire. Check this thread.
That thread contains two different three mode Sipik clones, the Ultrafire and the unbranded three mode, which is slightly different.
Oops sorry maybe it was eBay that I saw the ultrafire 3-mode.
There are at least two different 3 mode versions available: one unbranded version and one Ultrafire version. I've ordered twice from eletrading on Ebay, the first one I received a few weeks ago was the unbranded version and the second one I received today was the Ultrafire version. Both versions are 3 mode, hi-low-strobe.
The order I placed on TomTop's website on December 8th, had been M.I.A. the whole time. Finally, today I see that it has arrived in the U.S. on January 12th. Tomtop.com has slightly lower prices than ebay tomtop, but the website is much slower in shipping. IMHO, it's best to go through ebay and pay a tad more. Live and learn..., at least it appears I will get my order.
MIA = Missing In Action? That's what my Ebay tomtop has been since I ordered on Dec 7th and they offered me a refund today. It hasn't appeared in my PP acct. yet so I must remember to keep checking. I emailed them back promising to repay the refund if the torch ever finally arrives.
Yes, M.I.A. as in missing in action. From the start, even though I had a tracking number, it didn’t work either on the Chinese shipping sites, or on U.S.P.S. site. Then, about a week and a half ago, it reported that it had left Shanghai, then ‘vanished’ again until today, when I could see it left New York. Hopefully I’ll have it Saturday the 15th. From the experience you have had, it seems there is no rhyme or reason to shipping times, as I had the opposite experience with a quick delivery from ebay and slow delivery from the website. Hope it all works out.
@ r b: "Hope it all works out."
+1. I think a few of us are hanging with this one.
After yesterday's refund offer, I had another email this a.m. It was very vague, talked about Chinese holiday, shipping delays and backed-up orders, and how they "hope we can cooperate".. Remember, this is after a definite refund offer..
I replied that I'll wait till Monday 16th and that if the torch isn't here by then (unlikely) I'll email again, giving them time to reimburse my Paypal acct. before their hols start on the 19th.
I'll also explain in that email (as tactfully as possible) that if I haven't been refunded by 19th Jan I'll have to "notify" Paypal so as to be within the 45 day limit. I'll let you all know what happens.
FYI: My C78 ("130lm") bought from DX last year is visibly a bit brighter than the 3-mode Sipik clone ("300lm") bought from eBay seller topicshop. I was doing the comparision with AA alkaline and 14500.
Links:
I received my sk68 lights from tomtop and they all work, and are single mode. I got three of them and the brightness is comparable on all 3, color varies slightly on each, as does the sharpness of the focused beam. On 1.2v AA battery, it is bright enough. The 14500 really makes it bright, I will use it tonight on a night walk.
I did notice that if you unscrew the bezel and just use the bare Led, you get a very wide angle of light. It's strange, but it's about a 180 degree angle of light if you remove the bezel. It would be nice to have a clear screw on lens / cover to use just like that.
I just received one of the ultrafire Sipik clones (Manafont). Build is much nicer than the two I received from Ebay seller "campingsurvivals". Haven't had time to compare brightness or try a 14500, but so far I really like this Ultrafire one.
-Garry
Streamer, I can confirm that the " the cheapo Ebay light" does in fact thread into the Ultrafire clone from Manafont (I ordered the gray one).
-Garry
After reading the post about the 'el cheapo' extension tube, I checked my 'el cheapo' that I got from tomtop, and put the 'el cheapo' extension tube on the tomtop sk68. It fits perfectly, however, I do not see much brightness improvement, if any. The extension tube may increase runtime though. I am surprised that the brightness didn't increase with double the voltage. Weird. The lithium 14500 really brightens it up though.
When I tried it on my "campingsurvivals" clone it seemed to be a tad bit brighter to me (side by side with another identical campingsurvivals light without the extension).
I'm guessing best runtime with two cells will be with just running one cell til dead and then swapping in #2, rather than running two at once.
-Garry
I wasnt really impressed with mine from tomtop, its probably worth what I paid for it but its pretty useless for me.
The only thing I think is any good about it is that I can tail stand it and dimly light up a room but the battery doesn't last long before it starts to dim and get dark.
I'm not sure what to do with it, maybe Ill give it away.