Zooming Model List (2018 Updated) Tell us about your newest zoomie!

LED Flashlights – General Info
321

Bleh. They don’t seem like real Thorfires, but more like someone took cheap-ass zoomies and slapped the Thorfire name on ’em. Definitely not the usual Thorfire quality…

Little to no lube on any of the threads. The tulip-head seems to be somewhat grippy and doesn’t flop around, so that’s good.

Angry Blue™ with hints of Hateful Purple™ coming from the old old XP-G that’s in there, so that’s bad.

Sipik-like body and switch, so probably rehashes of old ’68s but with a different head.

The driver is the usual crappy quality board, looks dirty, no spring, press-fit into the head.

Didn’t open it at all, but I’m betting there’s just a narrow ledge for the mcpcb in there, no solid shelf.

On the bright side it’s probably easily moddable, begging for an emitter swap and a better driver.

UI? High, low, strobe. Why do they hate me so? The LuxPros have that, this light has that, it’s the trifecta of pissing-me-off.

As-is, you can give one to someone you hate, else mod it to something better and keep it in a car or something. With a decent driver, even with only Li support, it could be worth something. But the emitter and driver gots ta go…

Buy ’em as hosts only, and you’ll do okay.

322

Well, The verdict is in about Coast HP450 from Home Depot purchased over the holidays. Claims 1400 lumens. Partially true. The 1400 lumens at spot is less. BUT at zoomed or focused beam more in tune of 1200 lumens. Loses to the most recent Bushnell 1500 lumen released during the same time. The flashlight is NO THROWER by no means. Unfortunately, zooming features still suffers from shadow rings artifacts once beam is zoomed in. For $25 for non flashlightholic maybe worth it.

Went back to Home Depot.

323

I’m curious about the “shadow rings artifacts once beam is zoomed in”. I’ve read other posters refer to these and discourage others from even trying Coast lights.

My Coasts with the PureBeam Focus have fewer artifacts and smoother beam when fully focused than my fixed beam lights, such as my Wuben E05 and BLF A6.

324

There is a reason why people DO NOT recommend Coast brand flashlights. The HP450 has PureBeam Focus ( Coast has trademark on this type of beam ). The shadow rings of light are evident once light is zoomed ” in ” Look at outer diameter of light beam. You will see 2 distinct shadow rings for sure.

Let me make it easier to understand. My HaborFreight Tools 588 lumen ( $10 ) blows the Coast away. Even though shadow light rings BUT very minimal. BTW, I sold this light already.

I dislike zoomies period. No more of those.

FYI, I did review on Wuben E05, Apollo 21, etc….

325

I don’t think I’ve seen this AAA zoomie before:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Adjustable-Focus-MINI-LED-Flashlight-Keychain-Runs-on-AAA-Battery-3-Light-Files-Zoomable-MINI-LED/32948978490.html

I like the looks but they could fit AA cell in 80x17 mm…

ADDED:
Here it’s called Skywolfeye B16 and they list 82x16 mm. Unbranded looks better…but is over 3 times more expensive :wink:

326

Recently found a brand that makes very high end TIR zoomies like led lenser:
https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/70bezk/favour_t1921_t2042_t2117_t222_flashlights_zoomie/
One of the ones reviewed is 18650, the others are AA/AAA

Also not sure if this 18650 zoomie is on the list yet: XANES® 1123A T6 LED 5 Modi Teleskop-Zoom USB-Taschenlampe mit Blitzlicht 18650 Sale - Banggood Deutschland sold out-arrival notice-arrival notice

327

Awesome beam, ok host quality…but that’s all good that I see in those Favours.

Maybe there would be a chance of a BLF special?

328

CRX Z1 approx. 130,000KCD. 739M throw.
2 x 26650’s.

329

Too bad that the UI requires clicking through all modes to turn the light off. At least there’s no strobe in the mode sequence when you want to turn the light off.

330

” any mode is on for >5s, the next click will be to “off”. ”

331

Thanks for clarifying. That’s tolerable.

332

Looking at their website I get the impression they probably make more lights primarily for other brands

333

Thanks Enderman,


That XANES 1123A really looks worthy. Anodized threads, an interesting tailcap with charging port and possible indicator of battery charge state?, Simple…

One of better ones we had here…

But I would like bit larger aspherical head, and when we talk about head it seems that it does not carry any pill?.. The head itself probably acts as a pill (maybe only some retaining ring that carries a driver).

334

Body of the Xanes zoomie must be reversible. Banggood pics show pocket clip in both directions.

335

This one looks nice:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10-Watts-High-Output-5-Light-Files-Adjustable-Focus-T6-Zoom-LED-Flashlight-Runs-on-18650/32947128153.html

I just like the looks. And the thin bezel. And it should fit 20650 cells, maybe even larger ones.

336

Oh, and this one looks even better.

Is is the smallest 18650 zoomie?
ADDED:
No, it’s not.
I found the maker:
https://www.pldflashlight.com/zoom-flashlight/non-rechargeable-zoom-flashlight/smart-led-zoom-flashlight.html
And the light takes only AA. :frowning:

337

That’s a clone of the classic Sipik 58 (yes 58 … not 68).

Sipik 58 was a one-mode light with a dimmer emitter than a Sipik 68. But the 58 has nice knurling and a much more pocket-friendly shape. They make great mod hosts.

338

Over the years I’ve tried literally dozens of small zoomies in an attempt to find or make the perfect one for pocket EDC. The most notable ones:

  • Aleto N8 - single 18650 zoomie. There is a very common 1xAA cheapie zoomie that has a fluted back half, heat sink fins on the body and then a ribbed front half. It is much narrower and smaller than a Sipik 68. The Aleto N8 was an extremely rare 18650 version of this light. It made a great mode host as it was (and still is) smaller than any other stock 18650 light, and unlike other options had good heat sink fins on the body. Unfortunately, I only ever found it from one source on Ebay and haven’t seen it in stock for several years. It appears to be unavailable. Made a great mod host though. I would buy more for modding if I could find them.
  • Wowtac A3S - this is an excellent relatively compact 18650 zoomie. Build quality is way above most compact zoomies with good anodizing, excellent UI, metal electronic side-switch, and very high output. Beam pattern is also the best I’ve ever seen on any aspheric zoomie with a nice wide zoom, narrow spot, and zero rings no matter what the zoom position is. The zoom also cycles extremely smoothly. A very simple and effective mod for this light is to swap out the battery tube for an 18350 one, making for a fairly compact light. The only problem with this light is the head is mildly crenelated and much wider than it needs to be…. a bit too wide for pocket carry except in loose pants. The Wowtac A3S is probably the best unmodified compact aspheric zoomie I’ve tried.
  • LED Lenser M10 - big and expensive electronic side-switch light, with no knurling on the sides. Ugh! On the upside, this LED Lenser does have a perfect beam in both max flood and max spot positions. Definitely an improvement over earlier LED Lenser optics. The light is too big for EDC though. If only it were 50% smaller.
339

I bought 2 of the cheaper Wowtac A3's, hoping to swap in LED's of my choice but getting the light cheaper. But I've been unable to budge the bezel loose. Kind of out of options at this point.

340

Is this rip-off of something else, or did they come up with this on their own? —oh nevermind, I’m clearly a few years behind.
Either way, looks interesting. 1x18650, 45mm head, UI seems better than the usual crap, 20 $….

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/AloneFire-HT08-Zooming-LED-Flashlight-Waterproof-Outdoor-Cave-Exploration-Climbing-Portable-Handheld-torch-floodlight/813358_33008162734.html