# What are some recommended/favorite lights in each of these forms?



## AlphaZen (Jul 28, 2010)

AAA?
AA?
123?
18650?

Edit: To remove the word "value" from the title and to add:
The intention of this thread is to have people state some DX lights that they own and like, or have heard good things about. 

Also, I would like to state upfront that the overall quality of DX lights seems to vary. It seems sensible to me to read the reviews and comments on a light before purchasing it to determine the current quality.


----------



## mvyrmnd (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are the best value DX lights in each of these forms?*

It depends on what it is you value in a light.

Output?
Throw?
How hard you can throw it at a wall?

Value means something different to each person.


----------



## fishx65 (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are the best value DX lights in each of these forms?*

As far as 18650 goes, the 501B is tough to beat for the price. Good thread, I'm looking forward to seeing what others post here!


----------



## joe1512 (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are the best value DX lights in each of these forms?*

Right, you need to quantify what you are looking for. Do you want lots of floody light or do you want a thrower, or just a general purpose light?

I would assume you want the best combination of build quality and lumens output, possibly with multiple modes?


If you are wanting to buy, keep in mind that itp and Romisen make lights that are pretty budget minded but are much better build quality than the typical DX light. I presume this is just an informational/curiousity thread? That said, many will go with itp/Romisen from a USA dealer rather than roll the dice with DX.


There are so many DX lights and nobody has seen more than 1 or 2 per person Id expect at most, so you are going to wind up with various recommendations based on what people had luck with. However, the quality varies GREATLY and they change lights all the time. For example, the Trustfire TR1200 was a great light! 50 bucks, 3x18650, 5 emitters for more than P7 output and good throw. However they seemed to have ruined the driver so it puts out extremely low amperage to each LED, vs the old models shown in the comparison videos and reviews.

So while your question is a great one, I think you will have a lot of trouble getting very good answers.


Finally, it would be great to LINK your lights you want to discuss. The moderator might complain, but it is hard to find specific lights with DX crap search tool, AND its a DX-recommendation thread so it is hardly 'advertising'.


----------



## AlphaZen (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are the best value DX lights in each of these forms?*



mvyrmnd said:


> It depends on what it is you value in a light.
> 
> Output?
> Throw?
> ...



I mean the most highly regarded. The ones with the best repution or user feedback. I don't want to specify output or throw type parameters. I guess asking for favorites from each category would be more appropriate?


----------



## DREW297 (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are the best value DX lights in each of these forms?*

I agree with joe1512. You cant go wrong with itp or Romisen. The Romisen rc a4 from Bryan at Shininingbeam.com is a great single cell cr123/rcr123 light for around $20. I have bought about 15 of these for my wife, coworkers, and myself. The guys i work with are hard on them and they are surviving fine. also the customer service from shining beam on it's worst day is 100x better than dx on it's best. shipping is fast fast fast.
I have bought multiple items from DX before i knew better, and really i maynot be such a flashaholic if not for them but every light i have from dx has some issue or another that either had to be fixed or trashed. example..aurora ak p7, poor solder and only 1/2 of the p7 die light up. my single mode xpg drop-in went  with in 4 months. etc.....


----------



## AlphaZen (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are the best value DX lights in each of these forms?*



joe1512 said:


> Right, you need to quantify what you are looking for. Do you want lots of floody light or do you want a thrower, or just a general purpose light?
> 
> I would assume you want the best combination of build quality and lumens output, possibly with multiple modes?
> 
> ...



All good points! I am aware of the fluctuating quality of DX lights and the higher quality US brands, but am still curious. Links would probably be frowned upon, so how about SKU #'s.


----------



## IamMatt (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are the best value DX lights in each of these forms?*

AA: I don't have one but the Akoray K-106 3-mode AA gets very good reviews, but you have to watch out about ordering it from DX because apparently they sometimes send the lesser-regarded 5-mode version. Some recommend ordering it from KD.

123: The Akoray AK-16 (not always available at DX and sometimes called the PDC AK-16) has gotten good reviews as well. KD has these too, and they are primarily a 123 light but have internal spacers that allow them to run on an AA, though it is a little work to get the AA installed correctly due to the spacers.

Again, "Value" may mean the absloute cheapest single-mode light that will not fall apart immediately in your hands, or it may mean a $50 multi-mode light that is as good as other lights costing $100.


----------



## rekd0514 (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are the best value DX lights in each of these forms?*

Romisen RC-N3 @DX
Romisen RC-G2 @DX
Akoray K-106 3 mode @KD
Ultrafire WF-504B @DX


----------



## Deadshot11 (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are the best value DX lights in each of these forms?*



rekd0514 said:


> Romisen RC-N3 @DX
> Romisen RC-G2 @DX



I'll second these two. They've been excellent lights for me.


----------



## sol-leks (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

I also approve the romisens.
I've had good success with the MXDL brand too.
The skyray sr5 is great too.
I've heard good things about the hugsby lights and the stainless steel auroras.


----------



## moviles (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

wow efect and the best throw-size ratio:

the c78

good size-runtime ratio :

the trusfire tr 801


----------



## brted (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

I don't know why anyone would mention iTP lights and Shiningbeam since the question is about DX lights.

My favorites from DX have been the Trustfire XP-E F23 (AAA) and the Ultrafire WF-502B with a 1-mode XP-G R5 emitter (18650). 

The F23 looks great, only has 3 modes (including a nice Low), and is very bright on a 10440. But the runtime is only 15 minutes.

The 502B is a nice host (I prefer it to the 501B which is lighter weight) and the XP-G is very bright. I did wind up swapping out the driver so I could get it to 3 modes. I like the clip and replaced the black tail boot with an orange one which I think looks great.

I have the AKOray K-106 (AA), but I made sure to get the 3-mode from KaiDomain. It is a nicely built light with great flexibility in programming the modes, but mine isn't all that bright. I put a XP-G R5 LED in it and it still isn't super bright. I just don't think it is driving the LED very hard.

You can get all 3 of these for less than a single Quark or Fenix.


----------



## kramer5150 (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

My Akoray and Romisen lights have served me well.


----------



## Zatoichi (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

AAA the Ultrafire F23, it's a beauty.

AA the 2 I've had from DX were Romisen RC-G2 and Uniquefire S10, both very decent.

123 the only DX light I've had that takes a single 123 is the Romisen RC-N3 but I got mine from shiningbeam.com. 

Oh I had an RC-C3 (twisty) too. I wasn't too happy with mine, but only because the flimsy o-ring kept bunching out of the head when I twisted it, and I couldn't find another thin enough to fit it.

18650 there seems quite a lot of these. My favourite from DX is the Skyray R5.


----------



## mzil (Jul 28, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

Romisens are great values and when I can get 'em from shingbeam I usually do, however he doesn't carry the RC-A5 so I bought that from goldengadgets.com for cheap with their 10% off everything coupon (at the time) and of course free shipping [~ 1.5 wks to east coast USA, not bad] . It is like a baby brother to the RC-N3 Q5: 1xCR123 in normal and brightest mode but with the supplied itty bitty extension tube it takes *1*xAA (not 2).

Hardly anyone here has even mentioned it so I figured the easiest way to learn about it was to buy one for $15 shipped. 3 mode including strobe, which shingbeams never have, and I actually like having on at least one light (or hidden but accessible in a pinch.)


----------



## Zatoichi (Jul 29, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*



mzil said:


> It is like a baby brother to the RC-N3 Q5: 1xCR123 in normal and brightest mode but with the supplied itty bitty extension tube it takes *1*xAA (not 2).



1 x 123 or 1 x AA, that's interesting. How's the brightness with AA? (and AA runtime, if you've noticed).


----------



## kaptain_zero (Jul 29, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

The only lights from that source that I've been happy with are:

AAA= TrustFire XP-EF23 (Low, High and Strobe. It's like a tank, but slippery if you have dry hands).

AAA= Black Cat HM-01 (single mode clicky, super light weight and great output on on AAA).

AA= Romisen MXDL RC-G2 (1 mode, fwd clicky)

AAA, 10440, AA, 14500, RC123 or RCR123= (Yupp, it takes'em all) SacredFire NF-007 Cree (single mode). 

The last one is my favorite "toss in the glove box/camper" for use with whatever battery I can find. I keep it with a Lithium primary so it's always ready to go, but if the battery dies, I just grab whatever battery is available. The one I got had a bit of contact problems out of the box but it was fixed by snugging up the LED unit in the head.

For the price, I think these are all good choices.... I've since purchased higher cost units and it's not hard to tell the difference in quality.

Regards

Christian aka

Kaptain "We pays our moneys and we takes our choices" Zero


----------



## AlphaZen (Jul 29, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

There have been a lot of mentions of the Trustfire F23. That is a sharp looking light. 

One that hasn't been mentioned yet, that I have and like a lot is the Ultrafire C3 in SS. It is a winner for sure. SKU 26122.


----------



## Zatoichi (Jul 29, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*



AlphaZen said:


> One that hasn't been mentioned yet, that I have and like a lot is the Ultrafire C3 in SS. It is a winner for sure. SKU 26122.



I don't know if you've bought one recently, but it no longer has a Q5 in it, I'm not sure what it's got but it's less bright. It's still a nice light but significantly less bright than it used to be. Some say it's not quite as well made too. The one I bought recently still looks okay, just not _quite_ as nicely made as the one I gave my girlfriend.

I still think it's worth a mention as a good looking, single AA DX light.


----------



## AlphaZen (Jul 29, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

My C3 has an XR-C in it, but the build quality is good and the look and feel are good as well. So, good call, it does not have the stated Q5 in it, but is still an excellent value at less than $14 IMHO.


----------



## gcbryan (Jul 29, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*

For a dedicated thrower (non-aspheric) the Uniquefire HS-802 is a good choice which uses one 18650.

For a compact CR123 type light the Akoray K-109 3 mode programmable from KD is nice.

If you get one that doesn't burn out as soon as you get it (50/50 chance) the Uniquefire L2 R5 which used a XP-G R5 emitter and one 18650 battery is a great general purpose light.

I have all three of these lights and that's really about all I can recommend from DX or KD.

There are decent one AAA lights but nothing can beat the ITP A3 for around $20 and DX doesn't carry that.

They have a decent XP-E R2 dropin and a decent XP-G R5 dropin (when it works).

They also have a few decent "parts" for modifying lights (TIR optics, etc).

I think I've ordered just about everything that they carry that I want at this point however.


----------



## Zatoichi (Jul 29, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*



AlphaZen said:


> My C3 has an XR-C in it, but the build quality is good and the look and feel are good as well. So, good call, it does not have the stated Q5 in it, but is still an excellent value at less than $14 IMHO.



Yes I knew about the change before buying my second one so I wasn't dissapointed with it, but it's a shame they downgraded it like that. It's still a very good light for the money, but it used to be a really outstanding one.


----------



## mzil (Jul 30, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*



Zatoichi said:


> 1 x 123 or 1 x AA, that's interesting. How's the brightness with AA? (and AA runtime, if you've noticed).



Unfortunately it's not only the only 1 x CR123/ 1 x AA light I own, it is also the only _1 x AA_ light I own, so I have nothing to compare it with in regards to what one should expect, best case scenario, as to how bright a single AA design can truly be. 

I can tell you that the CR123 brightness is good and is slightly less bright than my RC-N3 R4 but that's to be expected since they are different LEDs. The AA brightness is noticeably dimmer than CR123. Sorry I have no idea on runtime.

The RC-A5 has an annoyingly sharp scalloping on the assault bezel, unlike the RC-N3, which is so sharp I'm reluctant to carry it in my pocket for fear of holes, or worse yet, bodily damage to my private parts. DOH! Those who like this sort of thing may dig that, but I don't.

It has the same orange, non- GITD button cap as the RC-N3 and will not accept the extension tube of the RC-N3, only its own extension tube for AA use.


----------



## higbvuyb (Jul 30, 2010)

*Re: What are some recommended/favorite DX lights in each of these forms?*



moviles said:


> wow efect and the best throw-size ratio:
> 
> the c78


How's the tailcap resistance on your C78?
The current on mine is quite a bit lower with the tailcap on compared to through the multimeter.


----------

