Battery Type: AAA and 2xAAA AIMAI AF04 LED Cree XP - G2 R5 210Lm
Current price is $7.89USD with good neutral white tint and the built seems solid with 3 light modes. The only thing i dislike is the stiff clicky switch.
Hugsby XP - 2 XPE R3 85Lm
Current price is $7.64USD - good neutral tint and nice clicky switch. They also have single AAA version as well for similar price.
Battery Type: AA/14500 Odepro ED30 Cree XM L2U4 EDC
current price $10 USD but i got it on sale at $7 and the built is nice
ThorFire TG06
current price is $10.72USD from M4D M4X code
ThorFire VG10
This is the new version which have brass ring on the driver whereas the older version was press against the driveer- easy to mod and ok built
current price is $15USD from M4D M4X code
Fandyfire A10B. It was my first tube-style 18650 light and in fact one of the very first on the market. I could not believe that it would be able to stand the heat of the then brand new XM-L, but it did fine. At the moment it has an XM-L2 and a Foy-bezel :sunglasses:
It did not put out the promised 900 lumen (I measured 450 at the time) but the build quality is even by today’s standards good: standard switchboard, just a bit thicker built than the S2+ (but not longer), nice brass pill, a bit wider reflector than the Convoy S lights.
It is sold out at dx, but surprisingly Fasttech still stocks them, and the price has never changed since the introduction in I believe it was 2012.
I have both. I really like Thorfire flashlights, have made lot of reviews but Odepro ED30 at 10$ (if you are able to find at this price) is a steal!! I have payd 19 or more $ one year ago. It’s a very quality flashlight, trust me :+1:
odepro ED30 is more solid built and heavier than thorfire which provide better heat sink and their clip is designed to place on the hat. I know it’s abit odd but It didn’t bother me. The tint is more neutral white whereas thorfire is cool white.
Thorfire is slightly smaller and feels good in hand too. Both lights are fairly bright on 14500 batteries ( sorry I don’t have a lux meter but I would guess around 300-400 lumens). What I also like about this light is that it have high mode to medium and low ( no crazy flashing modes)
I like both lights and for the price they sell it for a bargain. But if I only got money for one then I pick Odepro as I can mod them later for more power and better heat sink.
Don’t mean to sound contrary today, but I have to disagree. The ’501 is great for unstressed setups, but the ’502 wicks away heat much better.
With empty hosts, it’s easy to tell the difference, that the ’502 is beefier/heavier than the ’501.
Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of ’501s that I use for UV, IR, misc colors, other “specialty” LEDs that aren’t rated for more than a watt or three, but I rarely drive them that hard. 700mA-1050mA for UV, ferinstance. Nice long runtime, and it doesn’t get too warm even when kept on for over an hour.
When I accidentally bumped on my ’502 with a 1A driver and it was on for who knows how long ’til I noticed, the whole flashlight was hot to the touch, almost too hot to hold. I was suitably impressed.
I like the ’501, but I think hands-down it’s the ’502 that belongs in the “gem” category.
Oh, and the reason I roll my own for the most part? I’ve been horrified to find emitters just floating on the pill without even any Fujik let alone AS5, cheap-ass drivers with no regulation, just a handful of parallelled smd resistors as ballast, etc. Horrible, horrible, horrible.
At least with the “homemade meal” equivalent of drop-ins, you know what’s going into it, vs getting whatever’s served up from behind closed doors.
I’ll add my 2¢… Hugsby XP-1 (AliExpress, GearBest). A nice, moderately throwy AAA clicky with XP-E that can be had for under $4. Smooth threads, glass lens, nice clip. Cheap enough that I put them around the house, gifted to relatives, etc.
They’ve been through the laundry multiple times, left outside overnight, throw around by the kids… still work great.
