Imo i don’t like magnetic charging. Especially for my edc light
I need to bring a special cable for my light, one more thing to forget( i usually bring powerbank and micro usb for my edc, so as not to worrry about my phone battery)
I have 1 USB torch a lumintop SDmini and just used a USB Volt Current Voltage Meter and am surprised at the 800ma
for some reason I just figured it would be 500ma
Well my joining here was a blessing, if I had not found BLF I would have treated my first 18650 cell poorly. An Ultrafire bought with a poor G700 clone and no name rattling charger, oh the horror.
I really love lights with good build in changing and would not give anything with li ion away.
I have been testing and searching for the good lights with build in charging.
I prefer using a separate charger my self but as gifts Convoy BD series and now Thrunite TC12 are very nice.
So I just purchased an Eagle Eye X5R - that will be my fifth USB rechargeable light. I’ll let you guys know how I like it when it gets here.
it does use any totally stock standard 18650, i thought that was well known
it;s a pretty good light
smaller than most 18650s, almost pocketable to me
wle
Then how is it “not ok” if you want to quickly load in a fresh battery?
If it uses a standard battery then you have both options, there is literally no down side of the USB recharging because you have the option to just put a new battery in.
Well waterproofing is an obvious downside of most
That is why I love the Convoy BD series.
What’s special about them?
What I don’t like about that is it’s a special small bit to have handy with the torch when you want to charge it. Small bits tend to get lost or damaged, and how easy is it to find replacements? It’s not the sort of thing they sell in convenience stores sitting next to the USB cables. At least I haven’t seen them. It defeats a lot of the convenience of USB charging IMHO.
I’d say a better solution is something that’s sealed with an O ring and you unscrew to reveal the USB socket. Properly sealed and a universal connector and nothing to get lost.
I’d say most people who are going to buy, or be given, a USB rechargeable torch are going to keep it in the house and might have to go out in the rain, but are not going to spend hours in downpours or drop their torch in puddles. So while I have reservations about the captive rubber plug, it’s probably good enough for most.
I totally agree, especially with the part about it being O-ring sealed. :+1:
Specified to IPX-7, which I think is something like submerged to 1 metre for half an hour and showing no signs of leaking.
IPX-6 is splashproof and there are specifications for the kind of splashing, which I believe is quite severe.
The Eagle entry for the X5 says it’s waterproof to IPX-8.
The entry for the X2R doesn’t go into how waterproof it is, so I’d assume not very. I certainly wouldn’t dip one in a bucket of water just to see what happened.
I like USB recharging. Perhaps not around water, and not on all lights, but overall I like the option and look forward to further development in technology and design. Rubber/silicone ports seem okay so far hiking/camping in the rain to be fair, although I still feel iffy about it; I prefer threaded designs most. I liked the idea of magnetic charging, and considered until I realized I had to carry a proprietary cable, which is a reason against why I wanted to standardize to usb/micro usb in the first place, but it still feels promising for future. That said, I use dedicated chargers at home to the point it never occurs to me I can just plug a light in like a phone; and for now I prefer it that way til further advancement… And even mobile, there is the danger of breaking the port or plug if device is dropped or bumped (ie setup action camera on tripod, connected to a battery bank to provide continuous charge, so I could do extended time-lapse of windy day—windy enough to be blown over and now the micro usb port of camera is broken)
Roadtripping for honeymoon, I had most of our stuff standardized to micro usb rechargeable and the convenience was significant (consequently, most of the lights below we use in pairs). When we woke up in the morning, we could top off our battery packs while we made breakfast and packed up camp via backpacking solar panel; when we were driving to the next location we could charge the battery packs, phones, flashlights, headlamps via multi usb port car chargers (2.4A capable per port with IQ/smart-charging), and at night we could top off from the battery packs. Topping off here and there, rarely actually completing full charge. Wash rinse repeat daily. Traveling around and essentially living out the car or tent for a month in a primarily dusty high desert environment, there was dust on and in everything—strangely enough, the ports never had an issue significant enough to recall (although we were mindful to replace cover properly when not in use—and anyways our phones didn’t even have port covers…). I had a bit of dust ingress when I removed a cell from its host flashlight, to test Nitecore F1 charger/bank with solar, but I’ll chalk that up to my user error.
Not all micro usb charging is the same, and I appreciate the ones that include good chargers that work with non proprietary batteries/connectors/etc. I’m not too into the battery bank output function, since I use dedicated gear for that, I haven’t felt the need, and rather have light to walk out vs more charge to my phone.
Boruit RJ02. Slow and dubious of termination. Charges without interfacing
Eagle Eye X2R
Eagle Eye X5R. Fast charge, good termination from what I hear, reliable but was confused first try; charging requires additional initial interfacing
Nitenumen NE01. I think it’s inbetween the Boruit and EE X5R for speed. Charges without additional interfacing
Nitecore TIP. No cover, charges without interfacing
Nitecore Tube. Like TIP but with cover
47 Maelstrom Regen MMRX. Threaded cover is beautiful, functional, oozes quality, pride in ownership (can you tell I have a preference for threaded covers xD). Not exactly budget, and the charger only works with the (somewhat low capacity) battery it comes with. It was a gift from my wife, then fiance, so I’ll always treasure the light, but that was a weird quirk I didn’t think to investigate.
Also some random mystery lights/headlamps/banks that are sorta crossovers, but otherwise not noteworthy
Seems E switches are already live, whereas the clickies need a connect pre-established; hence the additional interfacing before charging.
Just anecdotal observations, don’t quote me on tech specs 
USB ports from the computer are 500mah (I think… technology likely jumped since I checked), so if you or your intended giftee are plugging into laptop for charging, it might be worthwhile trying a dedicated charger:
Phone chargers typically 1A… well more like 2+A nowadays realistically
Tablet chargers typically 2+A
I like the multi port usb chargers with the smart charging technology, such as Anker or Aukey, supposedly providing the charge desirable for the connected device (ie automatically adjusts from low mah input to high, max current of 2.4A per port)
Woknblue, definitely check out amazon for some idea on multi port chargers, you’ll be glad to consolidate all those OEM power bricks into one unit, I know I was. Make sure it has some reference to smart charging or marketing-speak for similar. Anker seems to always put out good chargers, but there’s lots of other brands gunning for that ‘quality budget tech’ niche and willing to sell for less; Aukey is who I typically get chargers/banks from now, altho I also picked up a RavPower on sale and had similar results. Aukey build quality is good, I have no complaints from the products I’ve owned, but the Anker consistently has slightly better build quality and seems to put more attention to design (rounded edges, soft surfaces vs squared edges, typical black plastic); technology wise and even down to packaging and included papers, Aukey seems intent on being a contender (not saying either or, lots of other good ones, just some frame of reference from my own personal experience)
Eagle Eye X2R with coupon is what I’d choose for a simple gift to get someone introduced to modern flashlights and li-ion batteries. For all the reasons said above, specifically the charger seems reliable, the flashlight is well made with quality components and a simple interface. After they whet their whistle, they can come back and ask where the rabbit hole really goes 
…Sorry so much verbiage, think I must be bored waiting xD
Yeah, you got it right. Below is a little light reading about the subject…….
…meanwhile, a gray X2R 3C is on the way… :person_facepalming:
USB port vs waterproofing is certainly something to keep in mind when using such a torch. However, i tend to think that in most cases the convenience of the ubs charging ‘like a phone’ overweights this downside - unless you have a curse about being outside at night in unlit areas under the rain…
Speaking of magnetic interfaces and other means of transferring some energy inside a device, induction seems to become quite popular. I know nothing about it yet… but that is certainly waterproof. My clockwork toothbrush charges like that i believe.
simple, most USB charged light have a little rubber thingy protecting the port, weak point
The Convoy BDseries has a clip with micro USB on one side and it clips on the switch.
so no opening in the housing for charging, no rubber flap, even if it drops during charging the clips releases and the USB port stays good.
big wins on these two parts, the lights work with the clip on it, so one could leave it on.
Losing the clip would mean getting one from Simon, that is the only drawback of a unique system.
There are waterproof phones with micro USB ports, and nothing is covering the port.
If the flashlight is built right I’m pretty sure that the only purpouse of the flap is to keep dirt/debris out.
remember those phones only rated at ip67, and the warranty won’t apply if there is water in phone( tat least in my country)
Recently bought and Olight R50 Pro as my first light. Didn’t particularly like the proprietary USB charging system although the bundled USB power brick is a plus. I would have loved the Olight R50’s micro-USB charging system because I can just use any 26650 batt that I have. I also like Klarus’ and Acebeam’s micro-USB rechargeable lights.
Anyone have a link perchance, or anyone with experience finding replacement, to set some precedence? Convoy BD line looks interesting, but I’m afraid I’d lose that little adapter.
Manker Lad is a keychain light, 1oz weight, with USB charging, simpler interface than the Tip, both available with Nichia. Both use proprietary, not replaceable cell packs. both have almost undetectable PWM.
I DO Recommend the Manker Lad as a gift. LAD comes With a cable charge included. The Tip does not include a cable, so dont give one to someone with an iPhone without including a mini USB cable.
Astrolux M01,M02 and M03 offer Nichia, 5000k it seems, w USB recharge… 10180 battery, very finnicky mode switching, not recommended as gifts.