The collection is getting bigger

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

A few weeks ago, this was the extent of my collection.......

Now it's grown somewhat -

L > R

Blue & Red "Powerlight" 1xAA http://www.focalprice.com/detail_LF601L.html http://www.focalprice.com/detail_LF601R.html

Grey & Black Sipik SK58 1xAA / 14500 http://www.focalprice.com/detail_LF554X.html http://www.focalprice.com/detail_LF550B.html

Grey & Black Sipik SK68 1xAA / 14500 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39584 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39585

Romisen RC-G2 1xAA http://www.focalprice.com/detail_LF013B.html

Romisen RC-29 1xAA http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/ledp/LP1084.htm

C78 1xAA / 14500 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29095

X2000 1x18650 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14450

Ultrafire C28 1x18650 from ebay

2 x 4D Maglites from ebay

I thought I'd share a few thoughts on these for anyone interested

Blue & Red "Powerlight" 1xAA fixed beam

I must admit I was expecting these to be brighter. I first turned them on at daytime and could barely see the beam on something a metre or so away indoors. However at night time they are a usable light if you just want to see where you're going or what you're doing. Effective range is about 5 metres up to about 10. Best thing about these is the price - under $3. They seem to be fairly well made (for the price) and look quite good.

Grey & Black Sipik SK58 1xAA / 14500 focusable beam

A lot brighter than the powerlights obviously, but still not very bright. Build quality is OK although the head has a rough feel to it when you slide it to focus the beam. They don't look too bad I guess, not a fan of the bulky lanyard it comes with though. For $6 or less you can't really complain, but I don't think I'll be buying any more of these.

Grey & Black Sipik SK68 1xAA / 14500 focusable beam

These are a nice bright light and can take a 14500 battery, build quality is OK, the clips on these particular ones aren't too bad, however previously I bought some and the clips were very dodgy. Any pressure whatsoever on the clip and the threads would just let go. The head feels a bit rough when sliding, same as the SK58. For $9 these are pretty good performance wise I reckon, but ugly in appearance.

Romisen RC-G2 1xAA fixed beam

I love this thing, build quality is excellent and looks good too. Only thing is it's noticably less bright then either the SK68 or the C78. I guess battery life will be better though. Can't take a 14500 unfortunately.

Romisen RC-29 1xAA focusable beam

Again, excellent build quality, but definately not as bright as some of the others. Not sure if I like the look of this thing or not. I guess it's OK apart from the tailcap. This is the only one out of these with twist focus, push-pull focus is lot faster, but twist focus is smooth and means the head doesn't rattle, unlike the others. As with the RC-G2, it takes AA's only

C78 1xAA / 14500 focusable beam

This is brightest out of all of them, and can take a 14500 which makes it even brighter still. Build quality is OK except for the switch which is rubbish - it's loose and jams up regularly. If this light had a better switch I would say it'd be the pick of the bunch.

Be warned that Focalprice and probably other places sell a very similar (in appearance) version of these - DO NOT buy these ones as they are absolute crap! The switch is even worse than the "real" version and they're not much brighter than the powerlight. http://www.focalprice.com/detail_LF602B.html

X2000 1x18650 focusable beam

Works well, looks a bit bland, acceptable build quality. Nice and bright but not quite as bright as the C78, flood is better though. A decent light but not very exciting (too me anyway)

Ultrafire C28 1x18650 fixed beam

Nice light, OK build quality, but again, nothing to get too excited about though. I have another one of these mounted to a riflescope and it works well.

4D Maglites

I only got these today and haven't used them yet as I haven't got D size batteries at the moment. I bought these secondhand on ebay for under $50 for both of them and plan on modding them, but haven't decided how just yet.

Summary:

Cheapest - Powerlight

Brightest - C78

Best build quality - either of the Romisens

Best all round? No clear winner, in my opinion!

Cheers, Dave.

2

Good taste Dave! Thanks for the mini-review.

I'll always have a place in my heart for the Powerlight, it's a great product.

3

Thanks mate. At first I though the powerlights were rubbish - but now they've grown on me. I'm keen to compare it to my cheapo multi LED light (the blue one in the first pic) once I figure out where I've left the damn thing!

4

Oh no! Surprised I think you're going to need some professional help too. :bigsmile:

5

I should add, that I'm pretty new to the world of flashlights and I'm learning as I go. What I do is keep an eye on BLF and the retail sites and when I find something that interests me I'll order anything from one up to about 10 or so to see what they're like. I keep one for myself and sell the rest to people I know, this keeps costs down and with a bit of luck I might even come out ahead.

From what I've found so far, the appearance of the light is very important as to whether someone will buy it or not. The Sipik SK68 is a good light, bright and fairly well made, but most "ordinary" (lol) people just don't like the look of it. They prefer the clean shape of the C78 even though I explain to them that the switch is a bit dodgy and will jam from time to time. Unfortunately I ordered a lot more of the Sipik than the C78! So that's a lesson for me. Aesthetics are just as important as functionality!

6

Haha, thats what the girlfriend says too! lol