One from the distant past: the Saik SA-502. Not sure about the quality, and I only found it at Kaidomain: http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S010199
One good thing about the sk68 is the lens is quite big so it gives a decent flood.
Actually you don’t need a wide or deep lens to give good flood. I’ve probably modded a dozen budget zoomies and own all the ones listed in this thread. Here are the main factors related to optics geometry for for determining zoomie performance:
- Focal Length - the distance from the back of the lens to the focal point of the lens where the image of the LED is focused:
- Short focal length gives a wider hotspot in spot mode. The intensity of the spot (throw) is the same as a short focal length lens, but the spot itself is wider and illuminates a bigger area.
- Short focal length lens doesn’t need to move as far to cycle from spot to flood. Less travel distance often makes for a more comfortable light.
- Short focal length flood mode will be narrower, since the lens distorts the view to the LED more.
- Short focal length lens is thicker and heavier and may make for a larger, heavier light.
- Lens diameter - how wide the lens is.
- Just like with reflectored lights, a wider lens catches more light from the emitter and increases throw. Depending on the focal point, the image might not be any wider than a narrower lens, but it shoulder be more intense.
- The downside is a wider lens take a lot more space, both in width (requiring a wider head) and in depth (requiring a longer light). This may be a negative when it comes to EDC since having something that comfortably fits in the pocket is important.
- Distance from the back of the lens to the top of the emitter when the bezel is retracted in flood mode.
- This is the absolute main factor that determines floodbeam width. And for flood, generally wider is better.
- To get maximum possible floodbeam width the lens should retract as close as possible to the top of the emitter without actually touching.
- Often, cheap aspheric zoomies can be modded relatively easily with a handfile to dramatically increase the width of the floodbeam. Disassemble the light, then file down the back of the sliding bezel (and depending on the light, possibly the top of the pill above the LED) to allow the bezel to retract further.
- If you use a dedomed emitter, you can file down the bezel even further since you don’t need to stop at the top of the dome. This results in an even wider flood.
The standard Sipik 68 uses an 18mm diameter aspheric lens with a moderate focal length. However, there are some clone Sipik 68s that have a thinner bezel and use a wider 20mm lens. The super-slim Cree 3W led lights (gold one listed in post 2) all use 16mm lenses. Most of them have long focal lengths, though I do have a couple with shorter focal lengths.
Despite having a slightly narrower lens, the difference in throw between the light in Post number 2 and a Sipik 68 is basically unnoticeable to the eye. The light in post number 2 also has a wider slightly wider flood beam than the current XPE Sipik 68s.
Is the light in post 2 as solid and reliable as an sk68, though? I have used sk68 at work for 4 years and have never broken one or had it fail.
I’ve found the #3 zoomies as reliable as the SK68 clones, or even better (the only driver failures I’ve had are a couple of SK68 clones that lost modes or got flickery).
Amen on that. Lest anyone be confused “file down the bezel” means file the slidey part (not the shiny ring that holds the lens into the slidey part).
File the part toward the battery not the part where the lens and shiny rihg go, take a sixteenth of an inch off or so, to bring the lens closer to the LED.
By far my nicest is the one (and only) that I happened to get with a solid pill, where I put in a PC Rebel (10mm square) and accidentally dedomed it with the soldering iron
With the slidey part trimmed so the lens fits down almost touching the emitter, into the space where the dome would have been — great wide flood.
And since it was a solid pill, it still focuses a nice clean square image of the emitter at full zoom.
The “workaround” ones — hollow pill, with a copper disk put in (notched for the wires) and an emitter sitting on top of that, are surprisingly OK.
Doing that moves the light closer to the lens, getting a bit wider flood — and the narrow zoom, though not focused, is a small fuzzy squarish light spot.
i've had a few saiks
Seems like
Saiks are all thin junk . horrid metal ,poorly cut threads ...HA-0 < paint from a can instead of anno.foul tints .sad ui and cheap tail clickies ....virtually zero redeming qualities .(body on one model fits the sk68 making it a 2xAA light although the clicky is no better than the sipik)
I'd avoid all saiks