# What's with the popularity of this light --- besides price?



## RBWNY (Feb 19, 2014)

Take a look at this cheapo light.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006E0QAFY/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Now, I think I already know what the problems with it would be. But I'd like someone else's opinion. I'm almost tempted to buy one, just to have a direct comparison to how it would look against a similar sized light...perhaps my Sunwayman Dolphin.

The fact that people would buy a light like this in the first place astounds me. I'm also amazed at the amount of positive reviews it gets! The stupid things zooms in and out...and when it's zoomed all the way in, the beam is actually "the shape" of the LED...completely square! And some of the reviews actually think this is great! They say..."oh wow, this is fantastic, I love this light...I sure hope it lasts". I mean...have they EVER seen a Fenix before? Do they have any conception as to what a 'good' LED beam is meant to look like? Maybe I could us a different analogy here. What if I’d never seen a TV before…ever. So someone brings me a black & white Philco set from the 60’s. I plug it in and say “wow! I can see pictures and hear sound at the same time, this is amazing”. Is it then the same with this $3 flashlight? And who knows if the claims on this light are even accurate or not? 300 lumens from this thing on 1 AA battery? Probably not. Then again it might with a 14500. Even so, the latest reviews are amazed at how bright it is. Could it even be much more than 100 lumens on an alkaline? The lens on it looks like a magnifying glass!

I guess I just don't understand the mindset that buying one or even two or three of these things (should one break or arrive DOA) is more cost efficient than paying $30 for a lower-end JetBeam or something equivalent.

I operate an affiliate marketing website for flashlights. I discuss their benefits, review new lights, and try to educate folks on areas they may not be too familiar with...as well as directing them to QUALITY sites and QUALITY lights. But, when I see stuff like this on Amazon for instance (and I know DX is full of them too) it just doesn't compute!! 

Can anyone 'shed some light' on the reasoning behind the popularity of these Chinese knock-offs? :thinking:


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## schizeckinosy (Feb 19, 2014)

Its the Sipik SK68 - the funnest light in the world! some of your criticisms are valid, but most are not, as it actually works quite well for a cheap aspheric. For example, seeing the led clearly at full zoom is considered a good thing because it means that the focus is well done. I picked one up recently and whenever we go camping, it is what all the kids want to play with. They drain the battery quick!


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## RBWNY (Feb 19, 2014)

Interesting. So I've reached someone who's had first-hand experience with it! So, where did I go wrong in my assumed criticisms?


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## schizeckinosy (Feb 19, 2014)

I guess I thought you went wrong mostly in your criticisms that were specifically of the aspheric zoom part. For example, the lens looks like a magnifying glass because it exactly is one. It magnifies the LED to give more throw with no side spill. That is why you see the LED when you zoom out. And actually, for what you pay, the quality is pretty good. They are known to be pretty indestructible. Mine has been trouble free, which is more than I can say for the stainless C3 that I got for modding. It quit after a couple of days - but no matter, I wanted to gut it anyway and now it has a new driver and XML2 for my son.

Anyway, it is a super fun light to play with. Plenty of downsides such as short runtime from the inefficient driver and bright output, not waterproof, and the fins rip your pants when you clip it. But, it is not a badly made piece of junk like so many knockoffs are!


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## Norm (Feb 19, 2014)

RBWNY said:


> Can anyone 'shed some light' on the reasoning behind the popularity of these Chinese knock-offs? :thinking:


Price versus performance, most folks want to spend as little as possible on a flashlight, the Sipik 68 may be a POS to you and I, but for a lot of uneducated buyers it offers fantastic performance for very little money.

There is a very long thread about the sipik 68, I tried to find the thread but my Google Fu is failing me, any help finding the thread which would help answer the OP's questions, the thread title is something like "sipik 68 and associated clones".

Norm


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## caddylover (Feb 19, 2014)

I have one also. It is a cheap little light that will light up a room if you need it to and you can drop it and not give a crap about it. It has turned on everytime I needed it to. I rather crawl under the house with this than one of my Deft-X's. The zoom does work very well on it also.


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## ChrisGarrett (Feb 19, 2014)

Norm said:


> Price versus performance, most folks want to spend as little as possible on a flashlight, the Sipik 68 may be a POS to you and I, but for a lot of uneducated buyers it offers fantastic performance for very little money.
> 
> Norm



I got my sister to buy 4 of the Spiik 68 single mode clones to use around the house and they cost $24 shipped. I got back to play with them, even bringing with me, a Sanyo 840mAh li-ion to run and while they're not my cup of tea, they work pretty well for her and pops with basic allaleaks.

I'd imagine that the 3 mode version is in the same ballpark. Closer to 100-150LM than 300LM, is my guess.

For me, I'd want some to give away during a hurricane, to my condo neighbors, because I'm not out a lot of cash if they don't return them.

Chris


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## RBWNY (Feb 19, 2014)

Thanks schizeck -- I appreciate the info. I guess then it's more of a 'fun light' than anything else...which is fine. The aspheric zoom was the most puzzling part to me, since when zoomed to the point of seeing the LED 'shape', (in videos that I've seen) it doesn't appear to add throw or anything of value to the feature, other than shrinking the beam down to a square spot. Then again, I could be wrong on that point. 

Obviously I would expect a few rough spots, but am now able to better understand some of the high praises it's received.


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## RBWNY (Feb 19, 2014)

Norm said:


> Price versus performance, most folks want to spend as little as possible on a flashlight, the Sipik 68 may be a POS to you and I, but for a lot of uneducated buyers it offers fantastic performance for very little money.
> 
> There is a very long thread about the sipik 68, I tried to find the thread but my Google Fu is failing me, any help finding the thread which would help answer the OP's questions, the thread title is something like "sipik 68 and associated clones".
> 
> Norm



Thanks Norm... Yes I get that part. And I guess what I found frustrating was the acceptance of the light and the theory that everyone they showed it to, wanted one. I thought, wouldn't they be the least bit curious to see what a Sunwayman light would look like...just to compare? Guess not.

YES, I'd love to see that explanatory post.


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## marinemaster (Feb 19, 2014)

Is there a 1xAA model with multiple modes ?


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## caddylover (Feb 19, 2014)

marinemaster said:


> Is there a 1xAA model with multiple modes ?



the light we are discussing has hi, lo, strobe.


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## RoGuE_StreaK (Feb 19, 2014)

Norm said:


> There is a very long thread about the sipik 68, I tried to find the thread but my Google Fu is failing me, any help finding the thread which would help answer the OP's questions, the thread title is something like "sipik 68 and associated clones".


It was only three pages deep
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...nexpensive-little-AA-light-Sipik68-amp-Clones



RBWNY said:


> it doesn't appear to add throw or anything of value to the feature, other than shrinking the beam down to a square spot. Then again, I could be wrong on that point.


Yup. You need to do some research on aspheric throwers.



marinemaster said:


> Is there a 1xAA model with multiple modes ?


Yup. Actually getting one _as advertised_ can be a bit of a crapshoot though, some order multi-mode and receive single, others order single and get multi-mode.
I'm awaiting the arrival of a driver board from fasttech to rectify this on one of mine; ordered multi but got single (got most of my money back on it). Good AA boost drivers are available for about $2.


Bottom line, they are a dirt cheap reasonably well made torch with genuine Cree emitters, either XR-E or XP-E, with a semi-useful flood-to-throw that can spotlight things pretty well. Better on a 14500, but get hot quick. On an AA, it's the kind of thing you can give to your kid for a camping holiday and not worry if it gets lost/smashed/etc., and they can use it for both general flood use (walking) and spotlighting (animal spotting). A good cheap intro to the world of aspherics.


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## okeenu (Feb 19, 2014)

The sipik sk 68 and its clones are some of my favorites.. i use them daily

They are available in two types 1mode and 3 mode Hi Lo Strobe..

sometimes you order one you may get the other.........

All accept a AA Or 14500..

They are VERY BRIGHT compared to any conventional light most people have owned...

If you dont like the cree die image at full zoom ..back it off a bit 

I like to show the die image to people to explain why its so bright "this is what the ""bulb" looks like"...

To google .. try cree q5 aa ...(many clones dont use the sk68 or the SIPIK name in the title)


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## The Burgh (Feb 19, 2014)

Ditto on all of the explanations for the apparent popularity of Sipik and its clones. I do empathize with the unintelligibilty of the popular comments. I am an audiophile and marvel at the popularity amongst the current generation of MP3 music recordings, one of the worst lossy, compressed and truncated forms of recorded music in history.

I own a Sipik (as well as a few other lights, listed below). I suggest you buy one, pull the focus back to its widest spread and marvel at the big, round, uniform, artifact-free ball of light in the room!

But hey, they're listening to music and looking at flashlights. Let's "upgrade" them, making both hobbies more vibrant!


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## Norm (Feb 19, 2014)

RoGuE_StreaK said:


> It was only three pages deep
> http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...nexpensive-little-AA-light-Sipik68-amp-Clones


That's the correct thead seven pages but let's no quibble , thanks for posting.

Norm


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## RoGuE_StreaK (Feb 19, 2014)

Norm said:


> That's the correct thead seven pages but let's no quibble , thanks for posting.


<quibble enabled> three pages _deep_, as in three pages into the budget lights threads


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## duckied (Feb 19, 2014)

I own a few I stashed around the house and gave some out also. I mean for a few dollars they are a pretty good value. And the square beam you explain, actually does help throw the light. Not something I'll have on me tho lol


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## Bullzeyebill (Feb 20, 2014)

We all start out somewhere, and when I started looking at LED lights, I too was looking at DX lights, in my case, some of their drop ins for my Surefire flashlights. They worked fine. Later I was willig to look further, and my DX experiences were gone. However, many of our excellent moddrs look to DX, and other off shore companies, for their excellent LED drivers, and use them to make some quality flashlight mods and complete flashlights.

Bill


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## RBWNY (Feb 20, 2014)

Bullzeyebill said:


> We all start out somewhere.
> 
> Bill



Yes we do Bill. My introduction was with Inova at Target.


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## ven (Feb 20, 2014)

I own one of these lights for at least 2yrs maybe 3,No issue,iirc i paid around £5 at time,the misses now has it along with a convoy s8 in her handbag.

I like it,yes you see the led when zoomed out...........no big deal for me,tbh most chaeap zoomable "cree" lights i have had do the same on walls.Not as obvious outside.....

The zoomable option is a useful addition for me,hence why my most used of all my lights is the lenser t7.2(i know a far better zoom) but its handy for various applications for work.

What you think is "stupid" i think is useful,so my point there is that everyone has different opinions/tastes etc,no right,no wrong.

Just a cheap,good value light imho and would recommend to anyone who wanted a cheap zoom light from *my* trouble free experience.

Another personal thing i like about cheapie small lights is that they can be chucked in with anything and not be gutted if ends up scraped(i would be on a £300 light anyway).

Just my take:thumbsup:


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## RBWNY (Feb 20, 2014)

I like your take, ven. So I see it's now time to get off my 'flashlight snob' pedestal and accept the fact that _some _budget lights are perhaps useful in their own way. And of course the 'budget' part is what is putting LED lights into the hands of many who might otherwise not be able to get one. I suppose it's good on an introductory level too.


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## Tmack (Feb 20, 2014)

Have one of these too. Granted just a host, with a laser in it, but I found the little rayvac Walmart lights battery tube screws right in allowing me to use a 14500 cell.

.


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## mikekoz (Feb 20, 2014)

They are a good deal for the money, but at $4.00 a piece, they would have to be pretty bad NOT to be a good deal. I have 4 of them. I bought 2 thinking they were multimode. I bought 2 more later that had the high-low-strobe. They are nowhere near 300 lumens, at least with a standard AA. They are thick and heavy (I like overbuilt lights!), crudley made, but should stand up to most tasks thrown at them. I am not sure what the failure rate on them would be. If mine failed, I would just throw them away and not even bother to fix them. Maybe that is why you do not see too many posts of problems with them. It is also possible they just have a low failure rate due to their simplicity. There is no way of knowing. I only use them in wide mode and am not a fan of the focusing mechanism like some are. You can buy a decent light pretty cheap that has a well made reflector that will out throw and out spill these. I like them, but would not buy another.


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## jorn (Feb 23, 2014)

Dedeome the led, and it throws like crasy for a small aa/14500. I love mine. Got it for free when i bought a used hf ti on the markedplace. Outthrows my ~20k lux malkoff hound dog with ease. It cant out throw my 45-50k lux solarforce masterpice 1. So i guess my dedomed sipik is somewhere in the 30k lux range. A impressive amount of throw from something that fits your pocket  
Nice litte light to improve. And it's fun modding it 

The nice thing with a beam with no spill is it lets you see further compared with a reflectored light with spill. 
Impossible too see some few lux at several hundred meters, when the bush beside you gets blasted with several hundred lux from the spill. The eyes adjust for the hundreds of lux from the spill, and you wont be able to see the stuff down range that good.


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## FlashKat (Feb 23, 2014)

I bought an 18650 battery version. I used it to work on my car one night for several hours having to replace the battery in between, but the light worked flawlessly even after I tossed it a couple of times just to move it out of the way. It still works with many scratches.
It is not the greatest build, but it worked, and I was pleasantly surprised.


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## RoGuE_StreaK (Feb 25, 2014)

PS. if price is the determining factor, then you can buy the exact same torch from "Heider Super Torch" for the heavily reduced price of $50, down from $100  It's all over facebook, so must be teh shiz (just saw the ad again and it reminded me)


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## RetroTechie (Feb 25, 2014)

RBWNY said:


> I thought, wouldn't they be the least bit curious to see what a Sunwayman light would look like...just to compare? Guess not.
> 
> YES, I'd love to see that explanatory post.


Veeerrryy cheap, and good enough (as in: does the job). Most folks stop reading / looking @ that point, and just pull the trigger. What's more: if cheap enough, many people will buy something even if it _isn't_ good. Even quality-sensitive folks... just to check it out, as an expendable item, giveaway, for modding fun, whatever. The better products among those cheap ones just gain more in popularity, and stick around longer.

Once you have a $5 thingie that does -reasonably- well what *you* use it for, why waste time on comparisons with a $100 product? Especially if perhaps you're not even aware of that $100 product's existence.

Yes psychology is interesting and/or confusing at times,  but in this case I think that's all there is to it.


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## StorminMatt (Feb 25, 2014)

I don't have a Sipik SK68. I do, however, have my fair share of cheap lights. And I do have to say that cheap lights are GREAT in the sense that they can really set you free. When you spend even $50-$100 on a light, you're almost afraid to use it. And when you do, you use it for things that are less likely to damage it (like maybe a nighttime walk). Heaven forbid should you drop your nice, new SC52 on the ground and put an ugly scratch in it! But an SK68 (or other cheap light)? No biggie. If you want a clean example, buy another for less than $5. This means you can also use it for all those other things you would NEVER use a nicer light on, like working on a car.


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## sol-leks (Feb 25, 2014)

I've actually bought that exact light from that exact amazon listing. Many times as a matter of fact. I use it myself, it's a great light for around the house because it can light up such a large area, handy for walking the dog too.

I also sometimes repair computers and I like to give these out to new clients.


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## GrizzlyAdams (Feb 26, 2014)

LOL I just bought one in all colors to give away. At least CPF didn't cost me $150 a pop like it usually does


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## Behavior (Feb 28, 2014)

GrizzlyAdams said:


> LOL I just bought one in all colors to give away. At least CPF didn't cost me $150 a pop like it usually does



When I'm not sure of the quality of a product I default to the economic guideline of, "Buy the absolute best that you can afford and buy it once, rather than buy cheaply many times over."

A simple man's guideline.


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## mikekoz (Feb 28, 2014)

They should call this light the Tebow 68...it is overpublicized, does not do any one thing really well, but is solid and respected!!! LOLOLOLOLOLOL :laughing:


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## nerrad (Mar 4, 2014)

Great light to give to the non Flashiholic. I just got a deal on 5 Green ones to give to my nephews for camping and having fun with the zoom! The quality on this batch was not as good as the 2 I purchaced years ago.


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## ElliDee (Mar 4, 2014)

Then again one is comparing a 3-4 dollar flashlight to a possibly 20-100 dollar flashlight. One cannot compare.


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## GrizzlyAdams (Mar 4, 2014)

Behavior said:


> When I'm not sure of the quality of a product I default to the economic guideline of, "Buy the absolute best that you can afford and buy it once, rather than buy cheaply many times over."
> 
> A simple man's guideline.



If this was going on ones duty belt, night stand, EDC rotation, emergency kit, etc. Then sure, no argument from me. But to hand out lights to boy scouts on a camping trip, nieces and nephews to play flashlight tag after a BBQ, or just to goof around with, these fit the bill nicely.


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## matt304 (Mar 4, 2014)

caddylover said:


> I have one also. It is a cheap little light that will light up a room if you need it to and you can drop it and not give a crap about it. It has turned on everytime I needed it to. I rather crawl under the house with this than one of my Deft-X's. The zoom does work very well on it also.



How long is your house that you would possibly consider crawling under it with a DEFT-X? I mean, scratches--who cares? If you have purple spots in your eyes afterwards, you can't see the scratches anymore. 

To sum this thread up, I've seen it everywhere. It's the sheeple boom of the ASPHERIC LIGHT!

My friends think my DEFT is the coolest thing in the world, then I show them the light that was $22 I built that kills it in Kcd, and they forget about the DEFT although it's prettier machining. Yet now they all own $10 aspherics, and they are as joyous as you or I getting a mega aspheric thrower that would impress most the forum. Just the basic understanding of an LED in focus through a lens instead of a reflector, draws my friends towards those style of lights--Kcd meaningless to them in the end purchase. Once they own it they aren't comparing it to another light I put next to it anyways, they just know that the "square" goes far, to them. That seems to satisfy their tastes. I did train my friends on why an aspheric light is "better" in my opinion when showing them mine, sort of set the wheel in motion I guess for them buying the cheapo throwers. Oh, they get a real kick out of the fact that you can charge a light with a magical DC plug on the light's side, too. Me, well I still don't get it.


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## DIWdiver (Mar 9, 2014)

RoGuE_StreaK said:


> PS. if price is the determining factor, then you can buy the exact same torch from "Heider Super Torch" for the heavily reduced price of $50, down from $100  It's all over facebook, so must be teh shiz (just saw the ad again and it reminded me)



Holy C**P I thought you had to be kidding, but there it is! Those guys must be laughing all the way to the bank. Of course, they DID have to engrave their name on the side, so that costs something.


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## Fireclaw18 (Mar 12, 2014)

The Sipik 68 ... one of the most popular budget lights around. Advantages:

1. It's cheap
2. It's pretty reliable for its price.
3. Zooms
4. Bright enough considering the price.

An aspheric zoom lens set for maximum throw will project an image of the die off into the distance. This happens when the focal point of the lens is set right on the LED die. You may think all the lens did is shrink the output into a tiny square without improving throw... but you'd be wrong. Throw increases quite a bit in spot mode, but overall lumens goes down because much of the LED output is absorbed into the inside of the bezel. In spot mode, the Sipik 68 will easily out-throw any similar sized and similar power AA light that uses a conventional reflector or TIR.

Seeing the die image in spot mode means that the lens is properly focused and you're getting the most lux possible. The image is ugly, but this is mostly only noticeable in a white-wall test. If you're outside using it to look at something in the distance in spot mode the output looks fine.

There are many different variations on aspheric zoomable lights ... almost all of them budget. The Sipik 68 is one of the most popular. It has decent heatsinking, feels solid, and usually works.

It's not perfect though... like any aspheric zoomable light, the output can sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Unlike a reflector like you don't get spot and spill at the same time. The spill isn't as wide as the spill from many reflector lights. It's relatively big and chunky for a single-AA sized light, and it's shape isn't ideal for EDC pocket carry ... too many protruding pieces and crenelations.

On the other hand ... it's cheap. They make good inexpensive gifts. As a work or EDC light, they can be nice because if you lose it, it's no big loss. Kids also like them for the cool styling and laser-like beam.


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## GrizzlyAdams (Mar 17, 2014)

Just wanted to update. I ordered 4 from Amazon for "kitchen drawer" lights, kid use, and hand outs to family/friends etc. Of the 4, one was dead on arrival, one had a ring of metal shaving hanging out around the tailcap, the "fit" of all 4 varies from acceptable to laughable. But for a couple bucks each I'm not complaining. I've started an Amazon claim on the D.O.A light so we will see how that goes.


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## JacksBlackGuns (Mar 19, 2014)

I like those little lights, they pump out alot of light with one AA. I traded one to my Dad for his Surefire 6p. I bought him the 6p but he's too cheap to buy replacement batteries so it never gets used. He couldn't care less how much the light cost or what name is on it as long as it works and the batteries are cheap and easy to find.


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## ven (Mar 21, 2014)

This is my one(or rather one of the bosses lights)as she pinched it its at least 2yrs old,its got an AA alki in it........thats it,few pics to show and yes still works fine.













Couple of not very good beam shots,in day light against wall,1 zoomed in,other full flood from 1m away
What it does not show from poor pic is the well defined LED in the hot spot




Can easily get rid of that by just pushing head back a little towards flood

Flood




So a great bang for ........well not much more than a buck light
:thumbsup:


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## schizeckinosy (Mar 21, 2014)

I like the brand name on that one... it must be really really really "OK"


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## ven (Mar 21, 2014)

schizeckinosy said:


> I like the brand name on that one... it must be really really really "OK"





:laughing::twothumbs like it!!

Its been just really OK for a few year :laughing:


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## maypo59 (Mar 26, 2014)

I have several CR123 powered lights. Couple years ago I decided to get some AA lights, mostly due to the fact that I had/have a pile of niCad AA's. I bought 4-5 different lights, including a couple of these off the ebay, for like $7 delivered. They are decent, solid, flashlights. Nothing glorious or fancy, but I dropped a couple AA's in the things, and they work just fine. We keep a couple in the RV, the kids can drag them all over heck and gone, and if they lose one.. NO big deal. (and I have since bought a couple spares and placed them in the back of one of the drawers in the RV just in case somebody actually losses one, but so far.. 

I also bought a couple 5.11 lights, a single and dual AA, and honestly, on a $$ to Flashlight use, the little Sipik Clones are a better deal.


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## flitter296 (Apr 3, 2014)

I have two of these, and have been using them for over 2 years now. With eneloops or alkalines they are pretty bright, but on protected 14500's they ROCK! On high & it's widest focus I can light up half the block width-wise, and on it's tightest focus I can BRIGHTLY illuminate the front of a house 1 1/2 blocks away! They are not current regulated but I can detect no PWM on either High or Low. They are cheap and practically bomb-proof. I only use them around the house, in and outside, because the protected 14500, which is what I usually use, gives almost no warning before it shuts down due to low voltage. But I definitely think they are a great light for the money and have given some as gifts. Everyone who got one loved it.


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## vicv (Apr 19, 2014)

Ya. No difference in output from full charged to dead 14500. I have a couple of these. I keep one in the front pocket of my overalls at work. Single modes the only problem is many tasks it's too bright. Especially with the li-ion. I like these lights. Mine are the exact same as previously posted UltraOk


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## RBWNY (Apr 27, 2014)

Okay. OP here. I guess from all the responses so far, my question has been answered (I appreciate the feedback). I forgot whether I posted that I bought one of these clones to test for myself. With a 14500 it's definitely brighter...even if not by a WHOLE lot. If I was going to EDC this light, I'd need one of my 'regulars' too....just to fill in the 'holes' where the performance of the Sipik clone isn't quite good enough.


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## LanthanumK (Apr 28, 2014)

I used to EDC one of these, it was my introduction to bright flashlights for $8 (2 day shipping included). It has a very durable body for its price, although it is not water-resistant. It is advertised as 300 lumens, but outputs 80 lumens on a 1.5V AA. I got a couple of 900 mAh Ultrafire 14500 (more like 100 mAh) and a charger to increase the brightness to 180 lumens. The aspheric cuts off over half the lumens when zoomed in (square beam). The dim mode has bad PVM and is about 60 lumens on 14500. The sliding head is very loose, the flashlight can be flicked out to zoom the beam in and slapped on a surface to zoom it out. The switch and button is very cheap, and the light flickers occasionally. The flashlight acts up in cold weather with 14500, when turned on it rapidly dims to 10 lumens. It is good for $5 but too full of headaches for EDC use.


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## RBWNY (Apr 28, 2014)

LanthanumK said:


> I got a couple of 900 mAh Ultrafire 14500 (more like 100 mAh) and a charger to increase the brightness to 180 lumens. The aspheric cuts off over half the lumens when zoomed in (square beam).



Is the 180 lumens before or after the lens cuts them in half?


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## electromage (Apr 28, 2014)

I don't mind the light, for under $6 it's hard to criticize, but it's styling is a blatant Nitecore rip-off.


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## Fireclaw18 (Apr 28, 2014)

Yup... classic budget light. 

It's not great... too bulky for comfortable pocket carry and it's not that bright. But it does what it's supposed to do. The flood mode is wide enough to be useful, and the spot mode is just plain fun. And it's CHEAP!


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## old4570 (Apr 29, 2014)

I hate that light , its cheap and nasty . ( Nothing about it appeals to me ) 

But my brother loves it , one of his favourite lights , I think he has 3 of them . 

Go figure !


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## mikekoz (Apr 30, 2014)

LanthanumK said:


> I used to EDC one of these, it was my introduction to bright flashlights for $8 (2 day shipping included). It has a very durable body for its price, although it is not water-resistant. It is advertised as 300 lumens, but outputs 80 lumens on a 1.5V AA. I got a couple of 900 mAh Ultrafire 14500 (more like 100 mAh) and a charger to increase the brightness to 180 lumens. The aspheric cuts off over half the lumens when zoomed in (square beam). The dim mode has bad PVM and is about 60 lumens on 14500. The sliding head is very loose, the flashlight can be flicked out to zoom the beam in and slapped on a surface to zoom it out. The switch and button is very cheap, and the light flickers occasionally. The flashlight acts up in cold weather with 14500, when turned on it rapidly dims to 10 lumens. It is good for $5 but too full of headaches for EDC use.




I think you hit the nail on the head describing this light. They are cheap, but that is their only real good quality. The two that I used to use (I now have them in a junk drawer) flicker, even after cleaning them. They also have poor runtime. They are very cool looking though!


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## ven (Apr 30, 2014)

Cheap/fun light,nothing more,nothing less,good value imo for what it is,one i have is a few year old and works fine still............BUT

Would not use for edc though as previously mentioned,maybe its just having confidence in cheap budget lights,for me thats a very important part,these lights imo dont offer confidence for regular use and potential emergency dependency .


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## LanthanumK (Apr 30, 2014)

180 lumens is the total brightness, with the whole head removed. With the head on it is dimmer, and zoomed in it is even dimmer.


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## mikekoz (Apr 30, 2014)

I would like it a lot better if it had a reflector.


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## RoGuE_StreaK (May 1, 2014)

mikekoz said:


> I would like it a lot better if it had a reflector.


I've seen ones with the same body but reflectored, somewhere on dx/banggood/fasttech...

Which Nitecore does it rip off?


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## mikekoz (May 1, 2014)

RoGuE_StreaK said:


> I've seen ones with the same body but reflectored, somewhere on dx/banggood/fasttech...
> 
> Which Nitecore does it rip off?



I am sure somebody else will get that information, but I believe it is a model they no longer make, and their version of it (the prototype!! :devil was either a 18650 or a single CR123 light. There have been many threads about this cheap light, and in one of them, somebody posted the name and pic of the Nitecore, but I have no clue what thread it was!


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## RepProdigious (May 1, 2014)

I recently bought the 18650 XM-L variety of this light (cheap sipik sk98 clone) and when ordering it also had some replacement bits fly over to get it working @4,5A under semi reliable conditions (your basic tail-resistance, wire-gauge, 7135 stacking and heatsink mods) just because it sounded like a neat idea.... and it turned out to a a blast of a little light! Good output, very acceptable flooder, it can throw a shabby bit (esp for its size), awesome for boiling a pan of water when camping. Beam pattern on throw and efficiency in general on it are basically non-existent as you can imagine but as far as a way to carry a spare 18650 with you for your real light its very very decent and fun.


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