# AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode) *UPDATED* w beamshots, added AK-16, pic heavy!!!



## RepProdigious (Feb 22, 2010)

Hi all, this will be my first review here and English is not my native language so please be gentle! I'm also aware that this tiny light has been reviewed before but since all those different reviews helped me choose i figured one more couldn't hurt :candle:

I recently bought two different versions K-109 (3 and 5 mode) at KD/DX resp. to compare the lights _and _shipping times.... Unfortunately i forgot about the whole new-years thing over in china so there was no real way to compare shipping but here's my little review on these two lights!

*1) K-109 - bought at KD, JAN 2010 - ID 6975-SKU S006968, 3-mode orange rings/clicky - $19 - right light in pics w orange accents*
*2) K-109 - bought at DX, JAN 2010 - SKU 28545, 5-mode GITD rings/clicky- $13 - left light in pics with green accents*
*3) *UPDATE* AK-16 - bought at KD, MAR 2010* - ID 6671-SKU S006734, 3-mode orange rings/clicky - $23 - The pics with black backdrop sometimes next to the 3-mode*

*) Note; On KD this light is labeled as "PDC AK-16" and not AKOray. Also, like my other AKOray ordered from KD this one took its time; from order placed to actually shipped took 1 month (and then another 5 days from hong kong to the Netherlands)! It is however worth the wait!!!





















































*1) 3-mode* _Overall experience_; Wow! What a great light for this kind of money! Very nice machining on the entire light, nice surface treatment and a good amount of O-rings! _A 20 buck light that feels like a $50 worth!_

*HEAD:* _Shell_ - 9,5/10! Mine came with just the slightest scratch and thats why it didn't get a 10 for me. The head is completely anodized (or whatever it is), including the threads so those are not good for conductivity (but they don't have to).
_Reflector/Lens_ - 9/10. Lens is just simple, no nonsense lens. The reflector seems to be chromed aluminium, there's some roughness on the bottom that looks like a solder blob but it isn't... Doesn't hurt performance tho. There's a nice O-ring where the lens meets the head shell.
_LED pill _- GREAT! 10/10. Nice machined aluminium puck to hold the guts and LED, great deep square threads and two o-rings on the LED side (top) that meet with the flat end in the head after the threads! The terminal to connect to the battery looks like brass placed in a thick plastic base. I have not opened up the pill.

*BODY:* _Battery tube_; 10/10, machining just as perfect as the head, beautiful deep square threads and two o-rings where the body meets the head. These two O-rings however are not thick enough for a good tight seal! The inside dimension is somewhat large for a primary (slight rattle), protected cells should not be a problem. The whole body has the same treated surface as the head, the top of the tube has been machined clean to provide good conductivity for the LED pill, as are the threads on the bottom where the body meets the clicky-housing. There's also two little notches for the clip in the body.
_Markings front/back: AKOray / P.D.C. 0.7-4.5V DC K-109_

*BOTTOM:* _Clicky housing_; 10/10, same great quality as the head and body. Only the part that's visible when assembled has surface treatment, the threads and inside are bare metal. There's one O-ring where it meets the body.
_Clicky;_ 6/10 The clicky is of low-ish quality and this in combination with the flat/stiff rubber button makes it slightly hard to operate. The clicky is squeezed in place by a plastic ring (no soldering here) that ring also holds the somewhat flimsy spring, but its all stiff enough to do its job.

*CLIP:* 7/10. I don't really like the thing but its pretty OK i guess, even has a rubber on it so not to damage the light's body.

All the threads and o-rings came untreated, even a bit dirty! After a quick clean and lubejob it was all incredibly smooth!

*FUNCTIONALITY:* 
-3 Programmable modes with memory (0-100% - two speed blink - strobe with adjustable speed - SOSOSO)
-White light, bright for a cr123 light, nice throw
- 880mA @ 100% brightness on fresh AW 16340
- 14mA @ lowest low on fresh AW 16340

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
*2) 5-mode *_Overall experience_; Disappointing. It's all just less quality than the 3-mode. I know its cheaper but only by like $5 dollars it feels way cheaper than that however! I took it out of the package, put a battery in and turned it on; No light :S Threads were incredibly dirty....
A 13 buck light that feels like a $9,99 light from the discount bin.

*HEAD*: _Shell_ 7,5/10. The head has been surface treated but it appears the threads has been cut after that because they are bare aluminium. The threads are also not cut as deep and clean as the 3-mode. The heads inside diameter feel to wide for the LED-pill, its sitting loose in there when not screwed down tight, and it feels all wobbly on disassembly.
_ Reflector/lens_ - 8/10. Lens is quite a bit thicker than on the 3-mode. The reflector diameter appears smaller than on the 3-mode and the outside its tapered in stead of straight like on the 3-mode so its also wobbly. There's a very thick O-ring between the glass and the head-shell.
_LED Pill_ - Horrible! 5 /10. The pill-housing is made from the flimsiest thinnest aluminium they could find and the machines threads are as flimsy as the material. The LED sits in a plastic ring with too small dimensions and the bottom has nothing at all, just exposed electrical board with a circle and a ring on it, the inner circle makes the connection to the battery and the outer ring is soldered to the outside pill housing. Because of the thinness of the housing its a sh!tty job to take it out because you cant get a nice thick tool in there to turn it out. Not a friendly design!

*BODY:* _Battery tube_: 7/10. Same rough sharp but not deep enough threads as the head again without any surface treatment. The head screws on horribly bad, there's a lot of play between the threads and all feels rough! The two GITD O-rings that mate up with the head however are great, nice and thick! The inside diameter is just right for a primary, might not fit all protected cells. The threads are the conducting parts here and not the top of the tube. There's two notches in the body for the pocket clip.
_Markings front/back: AKOray K-109/CREE LED_

*BOTTOM:* _Clicky housing;_ 9/10, better in quality than the head and body. Only the part that's visible when assembled has surface treatment, the threads and inside are bare metal and rough. There is a single GITD O-ring where it meets the body.
_Clicky;_ The clicky is of low-ish quality and this in combination with the flat/stiff GITD rubber button makes it slightly hard to operate. The clicky is squeezed in place by a plastic ring (again, no soldering here) that ring also holds the somewhat flimsy spring, but its all stiff enough to do its job. This bottom is harder to disassemble than the 3-mode.

*CLIP*: 5/10. I don't really like clips anyways but this one is crappy for any clip. Flimsy steel, no rubber to protect the body

The GITD O-ring actually were lubed on this one but unfortunately everything was so dirty that the light wouldn't even turn on at first. Everything was covered in a thick layer of aluminium chips/powder and excess solder. 

*FUNCTIONALITY:* 
-5 permanent modes without memory (high, medium, low, medium strobe, SOS)
-Very ugly green light, about 60% brightness of the 3 mode [*edit* this green tint only becomes visible if powered with anything under 3.3 volts give or take]
- 310mA @ 100% brightness on fresh AW 16340
- 15mA @ lowest low on fresh AW 16340

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
*3) AK-16* _Overall experience_; Quality wise exactly the same as the 3-mode 109 so this is another keeper!!! Inserting a CR123a sized cell is just as easy as in the other lights, inserting a AA sized cell however is a bit fiddly so if you're planning on running this primarily on those i suggest you try the 106! But if you like me intend to run it 99% on 16340's and only see the AA as a nice backup feature in case of emergencies this is recommended 101%

*HEAD*: _Shell_ - 10/10! Exact same part as 109 3-mode.
_Reflector/Lens _- 9/10. Exact same part as 109 3-mode.
_LED pill _- GREAT! 10/10. Same story as the 109 3-mode, with one obvious exception; The bottom of the pill (where it meets the battery) has a sleeve and a spring to compensate for different size batteries.

*BODY:* _Battery tube_; 10/10, again basically the same as on the 109 3-mode but then 16mm longer.
_Markings front/back: _AKOray / P.D.C. 0.7-4.5V DC AK-16

*BOTTOM:* _Clicky housing_; 8/10, same part as on the 109 3-mode, however the plastic part to hold everything in place has a sleeve like the head and the spring is a bit weaker and tapers more heavily (so it can flatten a bit better i guess). This 'new' plastic part however also has a disadvantage: The lip running around the outside of the part (to prevent it from slipping into the bottom-part completely) is too thick and because of this the bottom wont screw in all the way! Functionality-wise this is no biggy (the o-ring still meets up with the wall like its supposed to do, so its still waterproof) but it just doesn't look right hence the lower rating.......
_Clicky;_ 6/10; See 109 3-mode

*CLIP:* 7/10. See 109 3-mode

All the threads and o-rings came untreated an dirty as suspected! After a quick clean and lubejob it is now all incredibly smooth!

*FUNCTIONALITY: 
*-Above all; Able to run on all AA and CR123a sized cells and alike (heck, i even managed to get a AAA in there and the AK16 even ran good on that one.... however i highly doubt 1.5A+ will do the little cell any good)
-3 Programmable modes with memory (0-100% - two speed blink - strobe with adjustable speed - SOSOSO)
-Nice white light, bright on li-ion secondary - dims fast on 1.2-1.5V cells
- 830mA @ 100% brightness on fresh AW 16340
- 13mA @ lowest low on fresh AW 16340
- 1.4A @ 100% brightness on fresh eneloop
- 60mA @ lowest low on fresh eneloop
- 1.3A @ 100% brightness on out-of-the-box exp. 2017 Panasonic ESSENTIAL power Alkaline
- 55mA @ lowest low on out-of-the-box exp. 2017 Panasonic ESSENTIAL power Alkaline


*---------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
*Moral of the story *REVISITED**
If your in the market for one of these, its 101% worth it to break the bank p) and get one of the more expensive programmable versions because the only thing the 5-mode has over the programmables are the GITD goodies (if you're into that kind of thing). So if you're looking for a CR123a only sized light i suggest the 3-mode, if you'd like the AA as a backup feature you can also consider the AK-16 but DONT buy the latter for running primarily on AA-sizes because fitting those cells is a fiddly business!

Here's alot of pics, apologies for the lube on the 3-mode:














































Here you can see the quality a bit better on the 3-mode, nice and clean:





Result if you put the best bits of both models together;










*[Update 5 march 2010]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
I received my rechargeable batts today and immediately ran some tests with the *3-mode*, beamshots will follow shortly;

-The AW's cells will fit with room to spare!!
-On full power given enough time the 'head temperature' will rise up to as much as 45 degrees Celcius at ambient 15 °C! So these will double as nice hand-warmers during winter-times! I did some heavy duty heatsinking and thanks to this the lights temperature protection didn't kick in (without this little mod it would kick in under 5 minutes). The battery tube also warmed up quite a bit but not even close to the temperature measured at the head so in my book its still safe enough for the Li-ion cells (this temperature could shorten lifespan in the long run tho)
-It will drain a fully charged battery (750mAh @ 3.7V nominal new generation protected AW) in about an hour at 100% output, so that would be about 1C so the batteries can handle this light OK.
-If the light is set to run on 'unprotected cell' mode the lights protection (i guesstimate 2.5V under load) will kick in before the battery circuit (2.45V) by lowering output and blinking twice on a 5 second interval or so(and in minutes the cells undervoltage protection will kick in and kill the light)

*[Update 8th April 2010]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
I promised you guys some beamshots, here they are! My apologies for the quality (and the un-ironed drapery sheet) but this is my first go at this kind of thing!

The setup:




FLRT: TK11 - AK-16 - 5-mode - 3-mode - fresh AW 2600mAh 18650 - fresh eneloop - new Alkaline - 3x fresh AW 750mAh 16340

Shots are taken from 1.4meters from the sheet, lights were placed 1.2m from the sheet, hight visible in pics (top-bottom) is roughly 1m.

All *single beam beamshots* were taken at the *same aperature/shutterspeed* (F4.0 1/8 ISO50 for those interested  ), *the multishots vary* because the brightness produced was too high for that same setting so only use the multi-shots to compare the beams/brightness you see in that single pic.... and i kinda 'eyeballed' the white-balance on the camera so the beam tints look like i felt like they should look  I added the TK11 as sort of a comparison/control piece.

Light tint/current wise the AK16 and the 3-mode are very very similar (this confirms my hunch that the internals are exactly the same but ill have to open em up one day to be 100% sure) so when comparing the primary cells in the AK16 i measured that one up to my 3-mode.

TK11 @ high





TK11 @ low





AK-16 16340 @ high (830mA)





AK-16 eneloop @ high (1.4A)





AK-16 16340 @ low (13mA)





5-mode @ high (310mA)





5-mode @ low (15mA)





3-mode @ high (880mA)





3-mode @ low (14mA)





FLTR TK11 @ low - AK-16 @ high (830mA) - 5-mode @ high (310mA) - 3-mode @ high (880mA)





FLTR AK-16 @ low (13mA) - 5-mode @low (15mA) - 3-mode @ low (14mA)





FLTR AK-16 eneloop @ high (1.4A) - 3-mode @ high (880mA)





FLTR AK-16 Alkaline @ high (1.3A) - 3-mode @ high (880mA)






Oh, and ALL of these lights have the same outside dimensions on the head part, so all fit my 'gynecologists-tool' (i cant help it, thats how my lady calls the thing)




Click the pic for more info!


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## vali (Feb 22, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Nice review. I think the same can be said about the AA models. My K-106 is just like your K-109 programmable (but with AA instead of CR123, of course).


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## compasillo (Feb 22, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

And there is also the AK-16, with the same programmable UI than 106 & 109, but can be powered either by CR123/RCR123 or AA/14500. Outstanding quality as his brothers and one of the best budget flashlights I've seen.

BTW: Nice review!


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## kramer5150 (Feb 22, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Nice review, another member gave me a K109-DX version. Its an OK light, for the $13. Too many flashy disco modes though. I EDC it every once in a while.


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## Radiophile (Feb 22, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

I've got the programmable one from KD and the 6 mode from DX and they look exactly the same. The only difference is the driver. I even paid about the same for them. I enjoy them both. Only time will tell which lasts longer.


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## brted (Feb 22, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Nice review. And from the 5-mode's logo I can see why it is sometimes called Nkoray. I'm not liking that logo. Thanks for getting both and doing the comparison.


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## ky70 (Feb 22, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Hello All,

I received the Akoray 106 from DX the other day (sku.16607) and I can not get the light out of the 2 blink beacon mode. I've tried many different soft press combinations but I can't get the light to anything except blink twice. I think I have bad light but any of you with experience with this type of light knows anything I can try, I'm all ears.

Thank you!!!


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## RepProdigious (Feb 23, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Thanks all for the compliments! 

I hope this review will be of use to anyone but the consensus is that you should away from the 5 mode and get the 3, its really a world of difference! 



ky70 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I received the Akoray 106 from DX the other day (sku.16607) and I can not get the light out of the 2 blink beacon mode. I've tried many different soft press combinations but I can't get the light to anything except blink twice. I think I have bad light but any of you with experience with this type of light knows anything I can try, I'm all ears.
> 
> Thank you!!!



What battery are you running in there? An alkaline perhaps? If i remember correctly the light will do something like blink when its working on a battery below the voltage cut-off point if set in protected mode.

Turn it on and almost immediately soft-press 3x (so press, tap-tap-tap). This should change the protection setting (but of course don't do this when running a non-protected lithium rechargeable, it will destroy it)

Also, and this may sound stupid, clean the light! Completely disassemble, set the LED pill aside and use an old toothbrush and dis-washing liquid to clean the heck out of every little notch and especially the threads. My 5 mode didnt turn on out of the box and after some fiddling worked intermittently and blinked and stuff, and that was all due to dirt.

-edit-

Another point worth mentioning is that the clicky isn't soldered or anything. One of the two connectors is sandwiched HARD between the plastic ring and the clicky-housing and isn't going anywhere but the other lip is just folded over and should meet up with the little metal plate behind the spring and thats where things can go wrong (happened to me twice after disassembly). If you want to permanently fix this disassemble the clicky completely, then take the click-button and place the thin metal plate _behind _the folded over lip and press the plate and button together back in the plastic housing AFTER you put the spring back in (this will now be hard so take your time). This will guarantee a proper connection.


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## ky70 (Feb 23, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

RepProdigious, WOW...thanks for all these suggestions!! I'll give them a try tonight. 

Also, thanks for the great review...it really makes me want to get my light working.


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## LeifUK (Feb 23, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ky70 said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I received the Akoray 106 from DX the other day (sku.16607) and I can not get the light out of the 2 blink beacon mode. I've tried many different soft press combinations but I can't get the light to anything except blink twice. I think I have bad light but any of you with experience with this type of light knows anything I can try, I'm all ears.
> 
> Thank you!!!



You might wish to add your experience to the mini survey: 

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/260148

As you can see, whilst most are fine, a significant number have issues.


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## RepProdigious (Feb 23, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Well, my nice 3-mode actually started acting up tonight! I was just walking outside playing with my light and all of a sudden when on max it would all of a sudden dim.... After turning it off for a minute or two i could put it back on full but after a while it would lower output once again! Battery was still fine, so i guess is has temperature protection! Thats a good thing! Only imho it kicked in way too soon (head didnt feel even a bit warm) so my guess was that it had problems getting rid of the heat so here's what i did:
I removed the pill from the head and worked quite a substantial bit of CPU thermal grease into the threads and i then did the same with the threads on the led pill. I put it back in, removed excess thermal grease and now i can feel the head warming up so i guess its working! I haven't had the temp protection kick back in since but not enough burntime yet to call it fixed, but im pretty sure its way better than before :twothumbs


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## gcbryan (Feb 23, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Regarding the 3 mode version...can you describe the programming in a bit more detail? It says infinite levels 0-100%. This isn't ramping though I don't believe right?

It has 2 fixed modes I guess for the strobes and SOS so does this mean there is only one programed mode or is there still 3 programed modes?

I'm guessing that there's 3 and that you can set each of them anywhere between 0-100%.

So in other words you could set the 3 mode version to be exactly like the 5 mode version...is that correct?

Also, did you say that the 3 mode version on high is a lot brighter than the 5 mode version on high with both using CR123's?


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## vali (Feb 23, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

In the programmable version you have 3 slots. In every one of them you can put whatever you want. I have low, med, max. No disco modes at all. You can, if you want, put the SOSOSOSO... signal in each slot.

@Ky70. I saw your problem in DX forums (I think it was you) but didnt have a clue until RepProdigius mentioned the protection. This light have a low voltage warning, so when your 14500 lithium cell reachs a 3V (I think it was 3V) the light will start blinking to warn you about this to not to damage the cell from overdischarging. With 3 taps it will blink twice and the warning should be disabled. Tap 3 times again and it will blink once and the warning is enabled again.

Of course it can be too that all 3 slots are set in a disco mode. Using 6 taps you will enter in programming mode. The light blinks once and then shut off. After a second or so it will start ramping from off to full brighness in a somewhat fast way, then it will cycle between disco modes and starts again. Just tap once when you reach your desired output and it will blink twice to mark "slot 2". Repeat for slot 3 and this time switch off the light instead tapping (or you will be in slot 1 again). Let it rest for a few seconds to save the selection.


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## ky70 (Feb 24, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Thank you RepP and Vali for all the suggestions. I've got good news and bad news. I "made" this light work by taking everything apart and putting it back together over and over and switching batteries back and forth (Nimh and alkaline). I screwed the pill down tighter, then not so tight and then tight and then not so tight...finally the light started working as it grew weary of my abuse (Thanks folks for chiming in with advice, it's the only reason I kept at it).

The bad news is I broke the glass lens cover during my tighten/untighten excercise. I can confirm that my light is not programable but my dissapointment is lessened by the lights last mode memory feature.

Now, can anyone tell me where to get a replacement glass lens cover the Akoray 106? Thank you!


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## RepProdigious (Feb 24, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



gcbryan said:


> Regarding the 3 mode version...can you describe the programming in a bit more detail? It says infinite levels 0-100%. This isn't ramping though I don't believe right?



Lke vali said, its 3 slots that you can set to whatever you want!



gcbryan said:


> So in other words you could set the 3 mode version to be exactly like the 5 mode version...is that correct?



No, its still only 3 selectable slots! Maybe this nice manual will help understand it a bit better:



xcnick said:


> 1) Turn light on.
> 2) Quickly tap the switch 6 times. A tap is a half press something short of clicking it on and off.
> 3) The light will flash ONE time and then cycle through the following 6 modes:
> 
> ...








ky70 said:


> Thank you RepP and Vali for all the suggestions. I've got good news and bad news. I "made" this light work by taking everything apart and putting it back together over and over and switching batteries back and forth (Nimh and alkaline). I screwed the pill down tighter, then not so tight and then tight and then not so tight...finally the light started working as it grew weary of my abuse (Thanks folks for chiming in with advice, it's the only reason I kept at it).
> 
> The bad news is I broke the glass lens cover during my tighten/untighten excercise. I can confirm that my light is not programable but my dissapointment is lessened by the lights last mode memory feature.
> 
> Now, can anyone tell me where to get a replacement glass lens cover the Akoray 106? Thank you!



Great to hear you got it all working! Too bad about the little lens, unfortunately there's no real cheap way to replace it (compared to the overall price of the light itself) but for a couple of dollars you should be able to get one (of five  ). Measure up the diameter exactly, i could tell you mine but even between the two light is have the size is so different that i cant interchange between the two so the only sure way is to measure yourself.

I sure hope that yours has a 18mm lens, in that case you can get a couple cheap at kaidomain (sku 1653), if you need a dramatically different size you can check out flashlightlens dot com if they have you size (but they are way more expensive than KD).
Hope this helps!


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## rizky_p (Feb 24, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

thanks for the review, that was excellent. I Have akoray AA and i loved it.


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## ky70 (Feb 24, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



RepProdigious said:


> Great to hear you got it all working! Too bad about the little lens, unfortunately there's no real cheap way to replace it (compared to the overall price of the light itself) but for a couple of dollars you should be able to get one (of five  ). Measure up the diameter exactly, i could tell you mine but even between the two light is have the size is so different that i cant interchange between the two so the only sure way is to measure yourself.
> 
> I sure hope that yours has a 18mm lens, in that case you can get a couple cheap at kaidomain (sku 1653), if you need a dramatically different size you can check out flashlightlens dot com if they have you size (but they are way more expensive than KD).
> Hope this helps!


 
Thanks Again!!! 18mm would appear to be the size. Oddly enough, the lens appears to be the exact same size as the one on my Quark mini 123.

Edit: I bought a 17mm and a 18mm acrylite lens from flashlightlens. But now I have my eye on the KD progammable Akoray from your review...my positive impressions of my Akoray combined with your review, really make me want that light too.

Your help has truly been appreciated :thumbsup:


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## gcbryan (Feb 24, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Even though I already have the nonprogramable K-109 thanks to this review I've just ordered the programable one as well.

The extra brightness could come in handy but I'm more interested in being able to just not program in the strobe modes as well as being able to program in the exact output levels that I like.

I'll probably set up something like 100%,25% and whatever the lowest level can be.

I hate clicking through the levels and not being sure if you are on the lowest so you click again and get STROBES!

I think I'll set it up as low, medium and high in that order.


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## alfreddajero (Feb 24, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Nice review....now where are the beamshots....lol. Which one is brighter to the eye.


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## RepProdigious (Feb 25, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ky70 said:


> Thanks Again!!! 18mm would appear to be the size. Oddly enough, the lens appears to be the exact same size as the one on my Quark mini 123.
> 
> Edit: I bought a 17mm and a 18mm acrylite lens from flashlightlens. But now I have my eye on the KD progammable Akoray from your review...my positive impressions of my Akoray combined with your review, really make me want that light too.
> 
> Your help has truly been appreciated :thumbsup:



If memory serves me right acrylite is some sort of plexiglas right? Keep in mind that even tho this stuff is great at taking a beating and not breaking it is still a thermoplastic compound, so it could melt. I doubt that it would happen in something like a cr123 powered LED light but do keep this in mind if you experience a color change or something in the lens, that would be an indication to go back to glass (like the KD lenses i suggested earlier).

And if you're thinking about getting a 3-mode, dont... think about it that is, just GET ONE! Its a great light, WAY better than the 5-mode and you can use your old light for spare parts and stuff (like the GITD stuff, i love that)



gcbryan said:


> Even though I already have the nonprogramable K-109 thanks to this review I've just ordered the programable one as well.
> 
> The extra brightness could come in handy but I'm more interested in being able to just not program in the strobe modes as well as being able to program in the exact output levels that I like.
> 
> ...



You can set it up any way you'd like, and it has memory so if you turn the light off on moon-mode it will get back at that mode when you pick your light back up! Its great!



alfreddajero said:


> Nice review....now where are the beamshots....lol. Which one is brighter to the eye.



Beamshots? Erm... i could do a couple of those, but to the eye the 3-mode beats the heck out of the 5-mode!

Output wise the 3-mode on new primary cell even comes close to my TK11 on fully charged 18650 at low setting, just a little less throw..... I have a couple of rechargeable cells on route to check if that does anything output wise but we'll have to see about that.


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## ky70 (Feb 25, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



RepProdigious said:


> If memory serves me right acrylite is some sort of plexiglas right? Keep in mind that even tho this stuff is great at taking a beating and not breaking it is still a thermoplastic compound, so it could melt. I doubt that it would happen in something like a cr123 powered LED light but do keep this in mind if you experience a color change or something in the lens, that would be an indication to go back to glass (like the KD lenses i suggested earlier).
> 
> And if you're thinking about getting a 3-mode, dont... think about it that is, just GET ONE! Its a great light, WAY better than the 5-mode and you can use your old light for spare parts and stuff (like the GITD stuff, i love that)


 
Great info, thanks!! To be safe, I'll throw in a glass lens with my 3 mode Akoray order :twothumbs. I'll likely gift the current non-programmable Akoray and keep the 3 mode programmable for myself. I like the light so much that I'm foolishly pocket carrying it today without the lens (clip position is perfect for pocket carry).


----------



## RepProdigious (Feb 25, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Funny that your non-proggy will end up as a gift, mine is now in the purse of my better half also as a 'gift'. She's not as demanding as i am when it comes to flashlights... as long as there's light coming out of one end she's happy with it, she doesn't even use the 5 modes, just turns it on and off.... Oh well, everybody happy!


----------



## curiousone1 (Feb 25, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

:thumbsup: Thanks for the great review.......been looking for some pics of switch assy so I know what I'm in for before disassembling.


----------



## RepProdigious (Feb 25, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



curiousone1 said:


> :thumbsup: Thanks for the great review.......been looking for some pics of switch assy so I know what I'm in for before disassembling.



Thanks for the compliment!

Disassembly is easy (3/10) on the 3-mode and hard (9/10) on the 5-mode if you dont want to damage anything. 

The reason for this huge difference is one tiny small little baby 'flange' at the end of the plastic ring that holds the clicky inside the tailcap. This plastic ring is held in place by quite a bit of friction but on the 3-mode you can just work your nail behind the flange and work this gap round an round making it bigger every time en it will just pop out.

On the 5-mode however they left this nice flange out, so there's nothing really to wedge to get the plastic out.... So you need to use the power of creativity to get that one out! As you can see in my OP the plastic ring on my 5-mode has some nicks....... Ill give you 3 guesses how that happened but i bet you only need one


----------



## alfreddajero (Feb 25, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Yes i would love to see some pics of the beam......


----------



## RepProdigious (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ky70 said:


> The bad news is I broke the glass lens cover during my tighten/untighten excercise. I can confirm that my light is not programable but my dissapointment is lessened by the lights last mode memory feature.



Okay, i have to admit something here.... When i read this for the first time i laughed a little bit, asking myself 'how ham-fisted does someone have to be to break one of these lenses, they look SOO tough!?'

So, yesterday night i was in a dark place (no pun intended) and was in need of a light..... So this was literally my Akoray's time to shine! So i grabbed my keychain and felt my way to the little light and started pressing down on the endcap.... no cigar, so i pressed harder and harder thinking outloud how incredibly stiff this clicky was until i heard a high-pitched 'ping' :thinking: Now hat cant be good...... 





Guess what happened:
























Soooo, ill be ordering me some new lenses as well! Let me tell you something, plexiglas doesn't sound half bad now because if i had one of those lenses in there this would have never happened!

Little note, the lens in the 5-mode is 18.10~18.15mm in diameter (no exact measurment possible due to un-roundness) at about 1.6mm thickness, the 3-mode is 17.90 mm @ 1mm thick and the bigger lens will not fit the 3-mode its THAT tight!

So i had to actually grind the 5-mode lens down to size to get in my 3-mode but now with the thicker lens I feel i wont break by pressing it with my finger (and until the new lenses come in my girl just has to do without her new little light  )



alfreddajero said:


> Yes i would love to see some pics of the beam......



I have to order me some new batteries because the primaries i have are running too low and comparing output/color isn't really representative at the moment, so you'll have to wait till AW sends me a couple of his great stuff!

Maybe if i have enough time and feel like doing so ill hook a couple of 18650 up to the head for some comparison shots tonight, but no promises at the moment.


----------



## amigafan2003 (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Just ordered the k-109 from KD on the basis of this review :twothumbs 

Looking forward to seeing what it can do.


----------



## RepProdigious (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



amigafan2003 said:


> Just ordered the k-109 from KD on the basis of this review :twothumbs
> 
> Looking forward to seeing what it can do.



I would love to know if you get the same version/quality i have, if you do you won't be disappointed!


----------



## ky70 (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



RepProdigious said:


> Okay, i have to admit something here.... When i read this for the first time i laughed a little bit, asking myself 'how ham-fisted does someone have to be to break one of these lenses, they look SOO tough!?'
> 
> So, yesterday night i was in a dark place (no pun intended) and was in need of a light..... So this was literally my Akoray's time to shine! So i grabbed my keychain and felt my way to the little light and started pressing down on the endcap.... no cigar, so i pressed harder and harder thinking outloud how incredibly stiff this clicky was until i heard a high-pitched 'ping' :thinking: Now hat cant be good......



sorry to hear about the glass but thanks for the laugh. Interesting size on the 109 glass...I didn't get an "exact" measurement for my 106, but I think I'll be ok with the 17mm and 18mm replacement lenses I ordered...if not, I'll break out my sander and get it down to size (hoping against this as I'm not yet skilled with a sander).


----------



## RepProdigious (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ky70 said:


> sorry to hear about the glass but thanks for the laugh. Interesting size on the 109 glass...I didn't get an "exact" measurement for my 106, but I think I'll be ok with the 17mm and 18mm replacement lenses I ordered...if not, I'll break out my sander and get it down to size (hoping against this as I'm not yet skilled with a sander).



17mm will definitely be on the small size, i doubt you could get that to fit nice.

Dont go all powertool crazy on glass (or plexi for that matter). If too much force or too high grit abrasive is used you will chip the glass/melt the plexi. Just cover both sides of the lens with scotch-tape so it will not scratch and than use sanding paper and your hands to get a little bit off the diameter. Worked a charm on my lens!


----------



## ky70 (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



RepProdigious said:


> 17mm will definitely be on the small size, i doubt you could get that to fit nice.
> 
> Dont go all powertool crazy on glass (or plexi for that matter). If too much force or too high grit abrasive is used you will chip the glass/melt the plexi. Just cover both sides of the lens with scotch-tape so it will not scratch and than use sanding paper and your hands to get a little bit off the diameter. Worked a charm on my lens!


 
LOL, Thanks!. Regdaring size, I believe the akoray 106 (AA/14500) lens diameter may be smaller than the measurements you posted for the akoray 109 (cr123). I measured the pill and the metal thingy that sits on top of the pill and just underneath the lens/glass and they were both 18mm.


----------



## RepProdigious (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ky70 said:


> LOL, Thanks!. Regdaring size, I believe the akoray 106 (AA/14500) lens diameter may be smaller than the measurements you posted for the akoray 109 (cr123). I measured the pill and the metal thingy that sits on top of the pill and just underneath the lens/glass and they were both 18mm.



Oh dang, i forgot that you had a 106... But still, I did read somewhere in a review that the reflector has not been scaled up from the 106 to 109 (can't remember where tho) but since i dont have a 106 i cant confirm nor deny this claim. If this were true this could also mean the lens would be the same.... 

If you look at it, my 109 has a complete taper in the head from the body/pill width (20-ish mm) back to 18mm for both the lens and the reflector (both being 18mm in outside diameter) but the outside diameter on the head itself is like 21.6mm so there is a strange amount of excess room there.... If I had to guess i would say that that review i read a while back could be right, there's plenty room for a 20mm lens and reflector but for some reason they chose to fit 18mm.

Whats the outside diam on your 106 reflector?


----------



## ky70 (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



RepProdigious said:


> Whats the outside diam on your 106 reflector?


 
Forgive my complete newbiness, but I don't know many of the names of the parts. I have measured all 3 parts from your pic below on my 106...results are listed below the pic.






In order from left to right: Bezel? = 20.5mm, silver thingy = 18mm, pill? = 18mm (pill on 106 does not taper). 

Disclaimer: My measurements are not exact but should be within .25mm of the actual measurement.


----------



## RepProdigious (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Well, that would mean that the reflectors (aka silver thingy) on both our models are exactly the same size, hence it would be logical to assume that the lenses would also be the same size. 

So in stead of actually making use of the extra room they had in the wider k-109 (compared to the 106) the AKOray people apparently decided it was cheaper to make the actual inside diameter of the 109 head (bezel) smaller so they could use the same parts!



Oh, and about the 'terminology'.... Im making half the names up as i go along and i sometimes even doubt things are actually existing words but who cares? As long as everybody more or less understands what we talk about its good enough right? :twothumbs


----------



## ky70 (Feb 26, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



RepProdigious said:


> Little note, the lens in the 5-mode is 18.10~18.15mm in diameter (no exact measurment possible due to un-roundness) at about 1.6mm thickness, the 3-mode is 17.90 mm @ 1mm thick and the bigger lens will not fit the 3-mode its THAT tight!


 


RepProdigious said:


> Well, that would mean that the reflectors (aka silver thingy) on both our models are exactly the same size, hence it would be logical to assume that the lenses would also be the same size.
> 
> So in stead of actually making use of the extra room they had in the wider k-109 (compared to the 106) the AKOray people apparently decided it was cheaper to make the actual inside diameter of the 109 head (bezel) smaller so they could use the same parts!
> 
> Oh, and about the 'terminology'.... Im making half the names up as i go along and i sometimes even doubt things are actually existing words but who cares? As long as everybody more or less understands what we talk about its good enough right? :twothumbs


 
Very Interesting indeed about the sizes being the same. So I wonder if my lens is the same size as your 3 mode lens (17.9mm) as my 6 mode unprogrammable looks like your 3 mode programmable. Below is a quick pic of my 6 mode 106 (Image is darker than the light is in person).

I placed my order today for the 3 mode 106 :twothumbs so now the wait begins. Hopefully my acrylite lenses will make it to me on Saturday so I'll see that goes. I still have to order a 14500 battery so I can see the full potential of this light. Exciting stuff.


----------



## RepProdigious (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Yeah, waiting sucks! I just placed my order for a couple of AW-cells and i cant wait to get those (i also have a couple of cheap non-protected DX cells on route for 'experiments'). As soon as i receive those cells ill try and do some beamshots, never done those before so that should be interesting 

[edit] BTW, that 106 you have there doesn't look half bad quality wise! It looks like it does have the anodised threads and it also has the nicer LED-pill thingy.... Thats not the 'cheap-and-dirty' 106 with the GITD goodies.... Strange to see theres so many versions floating about....[/edit]


----------



## ky70 (Mar 1, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ky70 said:


> Thanks Again!!! 18mm would appear to be the size. Oddly enough, the lens appears to be the exact same size as the one on my Quark mini 123.
> 
> Edit: I bought a 17mm and a 18mm acrylite lens from flashlightlens


 
Received the lenses today from flashlightlens and they actually included two additional lenses (great gesture that is much appreciated). The 18mm lens fits perfectly. It's a nice snug fit and now my light is as good as new. The lens is plenty thick and suspect it will durable.


----------



## RepProdigious (Mar 2, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ky70 said:


> Received the lenses today from flashlightlens and they actually included two additional lenses (great gesture that is much appreciated). The 18mm lens fits perfectly. It's a nice snug fit and now my light is as good as new. The lens is plenty thick and suspect it will durable.



Good to hear that the lens fits! And im a bit surprised you received 2 extra, are you sure they weren't just there for protection?

Now i cant wait to receive my order, id love to know i get a couple extra! :thumbsup:


----------



## ky70 (Mar 2, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

I switched out the orange cap for an extra black cap from my Lumapower Incendio light. I like this look better though it can no longer tail stand. I wonder what the cap size is for the 106...I'll likely buy more caps.


----------



## RepProdigious (Mar 4, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Nice 'stealth' look with that black clicky, is it now any easier to use?

I received my batch of lenses today..... and for some strange reason the 18mm UCL lenses fit like a glove but the 18mm acrylics were to large for my 3-mode :thinking: But acrylic is quite an easy material to sand down so no problems. And i did not receive any extra lenses :mecry:


----------



## ky70 (Mar 4, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



RepProdigious said:


> Nice 'stealth' look with that black clicky, is it now any easier to use?
> 
> I received my batch of lenses today..... and for some strange reason the 18mm UCL lenses fit like a glove but the 18mm acrylics were to large for my 3-mode :thinking: But acrylic is quite an easy material to sand down so no problems. And i did not receive any extra lenses :mecry:


 
Thanks RP, I actually switched back to the original orange switch as the clicky was less responsive with the black clicky. 

Sorry to hear the acrylite lens didn't fit out of the box but it sounds like you're handy enough to make it work.

I read elsewhere that UCL lenses help improve the throw beam of a flashlight. I'm looking now at getting a "thrower" that will take a single 18650 battery so I may need to order a UCL lens to test this theory.


----------



## RepProdigious (Mar 4, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

I highly doubt that the lens would make significant change to any beam type (its the reflector that does this) but since the UCL is very VERY clear and also has a very nice anti-reflective coating on both sides i bet i woudn't make any beam worse!

I also have a 1x18650 light, the TK11. Those lights are really nice size-wise and if you dont go all power crazy on stuff like SST-90 leds the runtime on these is great! Good lights to bring when you know you need a light, as an EDC they fail imho (i actually EDC'd one for a couple of months) that why i bought the AKOray :twothumbs


----------



## ky70 (Mar 4, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Thanks for the headsup on the lens...sounds like any improvement would only be marginal and maybe not worth it.

I was checking out the TK11 last night (online)...right now I'm leaning to the more economical eagletac t100c2 and the solarforce L2M (2009 version).


----------



## glenda17 (Mar 5, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

These remind me of the Deerelight CTH, are the RCR123a versions as bright?


----------



## RepProdigious (Mar 5, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



glenda17 said:


> These remind me of the Deerelight CTH, are the RCR123a versions as bright?



You mean Dereelight right? Unfortunately i dont have one of those but as soon as i receive my batteries i will do some beamshots against the TK11.


----------



## RepProdigious (Mar 5, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

I received my new cells today and you can read my findings at the bottom of the OP! :twothumbs


----------



## brted (Mar 5, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

What did you do to improve the heat sinking? Seems like the threaded pill should transfer heat pretty well already.


----------



## RepProdigious (Mar 5, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



brted said:


> What did you do to improve the heat sinking? Seems like the threaded pill should transfer heat pretty well already.



I figured as much on the threads part myself but as it appears the threads themselves dont transfer all that much heat so i filled em up with CPU thermal grease for a better conductive path and that worked perfect!

Keep in mind that - unlike by the 5-mode - the threads on the 3-mode have the same anodized finish as the outside of the light. The electricity doesn't flow through the threads on this model but go from the body's top (clean alu) directly to the pill..... The coating itself (whatever it is) really sucks at conducting electricity so the same could be true for heat and this would mean that without mods the heat would only sink into the body by the little contact there is between the body and the head!


----------



## mccririck (Mar 6, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

So where can I buy the 3-mode? I cant find it anywhere!


----------



## gcbryan (Mar 6, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



mccririck said:


> So where can I buy the 3-mode? I cant find it anywhere!



Kaidomain.


----------



## mccririck (Mar 7, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



gcbryan said:


> Kaidomain.



They have the 109A which seems to just take lithium batteries.


----------



## RepProdigious (Mar 7, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



mccririck said:


> So where can I buy the 3-mode? I cant find it anywhere!



So i guess you're looking for the 106 (AA/14500)? Just search on kaidomain for "AKOray" and the bottom three hits are 106, the 106 Kit and the 109A, all 3-mode. I don't know how the 106 3-modes compare to the 109 but if they are anything like them quality wise than they are all a great value for money light!


----------



## mccririck (Mar 7, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

I see, thanks!


----------



## mfm (Mar 7, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



mccririck said:


> I see, thanks!



Kaidomain lists it as 14500-only as it is dim on normal AAs.


----------



## gcbryan (Mar 17, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

I just received the 3 mode version today (I already had the 5 mode version) and on high it is much brighter. It's as bright as I had expected the 5 mode version to be.

I even switched batteries back and forth to make sure it wasn't just the batteries.

I've set it up with low, medium, and high. Luckily the programming instructions were on CPF as none come with the light.

Getting full output programmed is no problem and once you play around with it a bit getting a decent low is no problem. Medium is touchy. It's hard to not just end up on high since the ramping is so fast. It's not a big issue however.

It's definitely worth paying another $10 for the 3 mode over the 5 mode to get a real high and to get the modes in the order you would like them. It's especially nice not to have strobes to deal with.

Does anyone know why the 3 mode using primaries is so much brighter than 5 mode using the same batteries? I guess one driver is just more efficient than the other?


----------



## shark_za (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Holding thumbs that the one shipped yesterday from KD is in fact AA capable and not just 14500. 
While I will use it with 14500 I like the option of using common cells. 
I also have a big investment in NiHm setup.


----------



## vali (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



gcbryan said:


> I just received the 3 mode version today (I already had the 5 mode version) and on high it is much brighter. It's as bright as I had expected the 5 mode version to be.
> 
> I even switched batteries back and forth to make sure it wasn't just the batteries.
> 
> ...



14500, I suppose.


----------



## ky70 (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



vali said:


> 14500, I suppose.


 
But he said both lights were using primaries...and he may have the 109 version which uses CR123 primaries.


----------



## vali (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

My bad for not reading it correctly.

I have the 3 mode version that were sold from DX a year ago. I will not call it "very bright" using primaries. Did they changed the pill too or my sample have a lower high than normal?

Anyways, my K106 is working with no issues from more than a year now and most of the time I use the low (5 to 8 lumen¿?) or medium (~20) settings. A great light for the price.


----------



## ToneBeamer (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



gcbryan said:


> I just received the 3 mode version today....


 
On page one of this thread the photos show the K109 with a bronze-colored finish.
Currently on Kaidomain the photos show the K109A with a silver-colored finish.

I'm curious if the K109A you received has the silver-colored finish.
Thanks in advance.


----------



## gcbryan (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ToneBeamer said:


> On page one of this thread the photos show the K109 with a bronze-colored finish.
> Currently on Kaidomain the photos show the K109A with a silver-colored finish.
> 
> I'm curious if the K109A you received has the silver-colored finish.
> Thanks in advance.



To answer your question and the ones above it...I'm talking about the K-109 using CR123. The 3 mode was from KD and the 5 mode was from DX.

Regarding color, the color is the same on both of mine. The only difference in appearance is the 5 mode has the green tail button and the 3 mode has the orange. The clip on the 3 mode has a protector on the end unlike the 5 mode (I removed the clips on both of my however). The 5 mode has a green lens o-ring and the 3 mode has a black o-ring.

The 3 mode on low is brighter than the 5 mode on medium.


----------



## LeifUK (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ToneBeamer said:


> On page one of this thread the photos show the K109 with a bronze-colored finish.
> Currently on Kaidomain the photos show the K109A with a silver-colored finish.
> 
> I'm curious if the K109A you received has the silver-colored finish.
> Thanks in advance.



This is not really an answer to your question, but my 5 mode K106 purchased a few months ago is silver-grey with a bronze tint.


----------



## vali (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



vali said:


> My bad for not reading it correctly.
> 
> I have the 3 mode version that were sold from DX a year ago. I will not call it "very bright" using primaries. Did they changed the pill too or my sample have a lower high than normal?
> 
> Anyways, my K106 is working with no issues from more than a year now and most of the time I use the low (5 to 8 lumen¿?) or medium (~20) settings. A great light for the price.



How can I be so dumb? This thread is about K109 and I was talking about K106. Now I understand why it was bright using primaries. Sorry (again) for the confusion and forget what I said.


----------



## ToneBeamer (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



LeifUK said:


> This is not really an answer to your question, but my 5 mode K106 purchased a few months ago is silver-grey with a bronze tint.


 
That's okay, your answer is still very informative.
That's an interesting color scheme and I think I would like that.

I'm surprised no one mentioned that Kaidomain shows the entire line of AKOray in silver color.


----------



## ToneBeamer (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Anyone have an iTP A1 EOS SS or similar they can compare to the K109?
I'm curious how the brightness, flood, and throw compare between the two of them.


----------



## gcbryan (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ToneBeamer said:


> That's okay, your answer is still very informative.
> That's an interesting color scheme and I think I would like that.
> 
> I'm surprised no one mentioned that Kaidomain shows the entire line of AKOray in silver color.



It looks nice. I think, regarding the descriptions, it's just a matter of what you call it. I would go with the description above as well.


----------



## gcbryan (Mar 18, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



ToneBeamer said:


> Anyone have an iTP A1 EOS SS or similar they can compare to the K109?
> I'm curious how the brightness, flood, and throw compare between the two of them.



I don't have the ITP A1 but as far as flood and throw it's comparable to my other smaller XR-E lights. I have the Photon Pro and a Ultrafire 1 AAA light. They are both about 100 lumens and the spot/flood is more or less the same.

Regarding brightness on high it's probably 170 lumens or so OTF. It's noticeably brighter when you compare them side by side as it should be since it's rated at 220 lumens.

There's no doubt that the 3 mode version is much brighter. The 5 mode version was much dimmer than the other two lights I mentioned above.


----------



## gcbryan (Mar 19, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

I should add that both the programmable 3 mode and the non-programmable 5 mode have memory. It works correctly in the 3 mode but does not in the 5 mode.

In the 5 mode it remembers what mode you were in just before you last turned it off and then when you turn it back on it goes to the *next* mode.

Therefore, it is worse that useless. If you used it last on the low mode, when you next turn it on it will start in strobe mode!

In the 3 mode it works as expected and starts in the last mode you were in before turning the light off.


----------



## RepProdigious (Mar 19, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



gcbryan said:


> I should add that both the programmable 3 mode and the non-programmable 5 mode have memory. It works correctly in the 3 mode but does not in the 5 mode.
> 
> In the 5 mode it remembers what mode you were in just before you last turned it off and then when you turn it back on it goes to the *next* mode.
> 
> ...



My 5 mode has no memory..... If you turn it off rather quickly (within a timespan of 10 sec) it sure looks like it memorizes the 'next' mode but what you're really doing is just switching to the next more very very slowly, the light simply cannot distinguish between a soft press and a short full hard on-off cycle (thats just how a switch works). If i leave the light unattended for a minute or two it will just start back at high every single time!

As far as the color is concerned; On the pictures the tint appears to differ significantly but trust me, in normal daylight the human eye will not be able to distinguish the two unless you know you're looking for a difference and you put the two side-by-side!

And these light (as almost any light for that matter) are supposed to be used in the dark, so why actually care for the color? :thinking:


----------



## RepProdigious (Mar 19, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

Another point worth mentioning:

*These lights dont age well under hard conditions!!*

The coating is very very soft so as soon as you drop the light on concrete or any other pointy hard surface the body material behaves very similar to just untreated aluminium! The coating aka 'anodized' layer is basically only good for deflecting slight scratches from example keys worn in the same pocket. It doesnt hurt the functionality of the ligth but is sure looks horrible :shrug:

On a good note, i found a diffuser that 'sort of' fits on these 109 lights (NOT the 106!!). ITs DX sku 24123. It does need a bit of modifying because the diameter on the diffuser is just a tad too tight, shaving/sanding off the inside will make it a very snug fit and this is a brilliant opgrade for this light! Put the diffuser on, hang it from your neck and you always walk in enough light to do anything!! :twothumbs

I know you guys - like me - LOVE pictures, so here's some!

1






2





3





On the pics you can see (1) the scuffs/nicks on/in the body from use and the modified diffuser (2) on low and (3) high beam. 

Also notice that little hole i made in the side of the diffuser? This was a must for me because i really didnt like how the diffuser fit too tight and i felt it was 'sucking' on the lens-rubber too hard when i pulled it off (made a vaccum like popping sound).


----------



## gcbryan (Apr 7, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

I still don't see how you guy's are getting to the clicky to change out the rubber buttons from orange to green?

I was able to disassemble the head and changed out the lens GITD o-ring. Actually, there was no o-ring in the 3 mode version so I found a black one to use on the 5 mode version after I swapped out the GITD o-ring. 

I can't get the white plastic ring out that is holding in the spring. It's not important of course but now that I've gotten this far I'd like to have the green tail switch button as well.

I can't get this out on the 3 or 5 mode versions.

(I have both the 3 and 5 mode K-109 just to be clear)


----------



## gcbryan (Apr 7, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*

For some reason I didn't pick up on the fact that the end of the tail cap unscrews.

You're right about the 5 mode press fit plastic ring being VERY hard to get out. I almost had to tear it up to get it out. The 3 mode was easy using your directions after I figured out that the end cap unscrewed.

I was trying to do it from the other end where the battery goes in.

Anyway, mission accomplished...now I have the green o-rings in the 3 mode light!

I also now see that I could have more easily removed the clip (which I don't want) if I had known that the end was removable. I just broke them off and sanded the broken end until it was smooth with the body.

It's all a learning curve.


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## RepProdigious (Apr 8, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



gcbryan said:


> For some reason I didn't pick up on the fact that the end of the tail cap unscrews.
> 
> You're right about the 5 mode press fit plastic ring being VERY hard to get out. I almost had to tear it up to get it out. The 3 mode was easy using your directions after I figured out that the end cap unscrewed.
> 
> ...



Hi!

I'm sorry to hear that you had troubles removing the lights butt  I indeed did not specifically mention that the end piece was a screw-in but i figured the pictures were clear enough:






But it doesn't really mattter, you got there in the end and thats what's important!

I will be updating my little thread in the oncoming days with another example out of the AKOray CR123 size line-up; the AK-16! I will also try to do the beamshots i promised but keep forgetting :thinking:


----------



## gcbryan (Apr 8, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



RepProdigious said:


> Hi!
> 
> I'm sorry to hear that you had troubles removing the lights butt  I indeed did not specifically mention that the end piece was a screw-in but i figured the pictures were clear enough:
> 
> ...



Looking forward to your next review. I did see the screw-in part in the picture but I thought it must be something that came out after the part that I couldn't get out! It's such a seamless screw-in that it didn't occur to me that it was there!

I'm just updating this thread so that it will be even more informative for the next person. This thread was the reason I decided to get the 3-mode after I already had the 5-mode and your pictures and descriptions definitely are the reason I decided to try the upgrade to the GITD o-rings.


----------



## RepProdigious (Apr 8, 2010)

*Re: AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode versions)*



gcbryan said:


> Looking forward to your next review.



Check the OP! Muchos goodies added; the AK-16! Now youll need one of those as well! :twothumbs



gcbryan said:


> I'm just updating this thread so that it will be even more informative for the next person. This thread was the reason I decided to get the 3-mode after I already had the 5-mode and your pictures and descriptions definitely are the reason I decided to try the upgrade to the GITD o-rings.



Great to hear my little review goes to good use!


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## RepProdigious (Apr 8, 2010)

Whoopsie, wrong button... them Edit and Quote buttons are too close for comfort 

[edit] Hmm... since every post (for me) has to add something, heres a pretty sort-of-wannabe-quick HDR shot on the AK-16 I made just because i felt like doing so:







[/edit]


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## mfm (Apr 8, 2010)

Ugly doughnuts in all the beamshots, just like with my first and last AKOray, the AK-12.


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## ky70 (Apr 8, 2010)

mfm said:


> Ugly doughnuts in all the beamshots, just like with my first and last AKOray, the AK-12.


 
For a sub $20 programmable light, I like donuts


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## kwalker (Apr 8, 2010)

Hi,
I have a 106 AA and enjoy it so I bought another one and received it today. It won't light up straight out of the package. I unscrewed the pill and noticed some ugly soldering on the one that does not work. (left in the pic) Could that be the cause and what do you suggest I do to make this work?


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## gcbryan (Apr 8, 2010)

Those are pretty mild donuts. They also aren't a factor once you use the light for something other than shining on the walls in your house.

MFM, I think maybe budget lights aren't for you.


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## gcbryan (Apr 8, 2010)

kwalker said:


> Hi,
> I have a 106 AA and enjoy it so I bought another one and received it today. It won't light up straight out of the package. I unscrewed the pill and noticed some ugly soldering on the one that does not work. (left in the pic) Could that be the cause and what do you suggest I do to make this work?



A larger picture would help. Have you done the usual, try several different batteries, clean the threads, take the end cap of and connect the battery and body to see if it lights?


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## kwalker (Apr 8, 2010)

I'm not real hard-core with tearing down lights ar anything, but I traded the body out (switch) with the non-working one and it didn't work - the other body/switch worked fine on the first one (working one). I'm suspicious the about the head and the solder bleeding over to the inner circle. Am I right to assume the inner circle is the positive contact and the section outside is the negative contact? Ideas?
I've tried several different good batteries. I don't want to go for a 14500 since you can't go back to a 1.5v cell.
Thanks


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## gcbryan (Apr 8, 2010)

kwalker said:


> I'm not real hard-core with tearing down lights ar anything, but I traded the body out (switch) with the non-working one and it didn't work - the other body/switch worked fine on the first one (working one). I'm suspicious the about the head and the solder bleeding over to the inner circle. Am I right to assume the inner circle is the positive contact and the section outside is the negative contact? Ideas?
> I've tried several different good batteries. I don't want to go for a 14500 since you can't go back to a 1.5v cell.
> Thanks



I tried blowing up your picture. That blob may be a problem. I'm sure someone will be along with a more definitive answer.

My light is the K-109 and looks a little different. I know from other lights that the very center is the + contact and while sloppy it doesn't look like the blob extends out that far.

It does cross the red circle. I'm not sure if that is a problem or not.

Since it sounds like you have isolated the problem to the head it's likely the blob is the problem. Either that or you just have a bad led.

If you or a friend knows how to solder/desolder you could easily try removing (with desolder ribbon) that excess blob.


----------



## RepProdigious (Apr 9, 2010)

kwalker said:


> Hi,
> I have a 106 AA and enjoy it so I bought another one and received it today. It won't light up straight out of the package. I unscrewed the pill and noticed some ugly soldering on the one that does not work. (left in the pic) Could that be the cause and what do you suggest I do to make this work?



I also tried blowing up your picture (  ), and from what i can tell from that is that there probably isn't a short in there (that would be nasty is you used a li-ion cell in there, one of those could go  ). I have to admit the soldering on that specific light isnt pretty.....

I do have a feeling there's some form of quality control on these lights, it just isn't very good. My guess is that they apply a control voltage to the pill base and check if it works that way, so without the use of an actual battery or a completed flashlight.

It could very well be that the blob on the picture on the middle circle is so thick that it pushes back on say the shoulder of the battery, just enough so the positive pole of you cell doesn't reach the connector. Try to desolder that blob, or if you dont have the means to do so just try to shave/cut the blob down till its as flat as you can get.

This is how one of those ends looks on my 109:


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## RepProdigious (Apr 9, 2010)

mfm said:


> Ugly doughnuts in all the beamshots, just like with my first and last AKOray, the AK-12.





ky70 said:


> For a sub $20 programmable light, I like donuts





gcbryan said:


> Those are pretty mild donuts. They also aren't a factor once you use the light for something other than shining on the walls in your house.
> 
> MFM, I think maybe budget lights aren't for you.



Why would i shine my light at walls? Thats one of the least interesting things i can think of to shine at..... Like gcbryan said, actually using this outside (or inside for that matter) for seeing in the dark these lights all rock!


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## ky70 (Apr 9, 2010)

gcbryan said:


> MFM, I think maybe budget lights aren't for you.


 
It seems that mfm likes to hit and run a bit in threads, so we're not likely to see a reply (though this jab might encourage one).


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## compasillo (Apr 9, 2010)

I would suggest everybody resizes their posted pics to 800x600 according to the rules 
so the horizontal scrolling won't be neccessary.


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## RepProdigious (Apr 9, 2010)

compasillo said:


> I would suggest everybody resizes their posted pics to 800x600 according to the rules
> so the horizontal scrolling won't be neccessary.



I dont have to scroll or whatever, you running old hardware there mate?

But i honestly didnt know about that rule, i will smallify the pics! Thanks for pointing it out.

[edit] And done! Apologies for the troubles![/edit]


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## kwalker (Apr 9, 2010)

No problem with the pic sizes on my PC....


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## compasillo (Apr 9, 2010)

RepProdigious said:


> I dont have to scroll or whatever, you running old hardware there mate?
> 
> But i honestly didnt know about that rule, i will smallify the pics! Thanks for pointing it out.
> 
> [edit] And done! Apologies for the troubles![/edit]



Thanks for such a quick and polite response.

FYI, take a look here, _part 3 - images

_http://www.candlepowerforums.com/Rules.html


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## RepProdigious (Apr 10, 2010)

compasillo said:


> Thanks for such a quick and polite response.
> 
> FYI, take a look here, _part 3 - images
> 
> _http://www.candlepowerforums.com/Rules.html



No problem, ill try to behave in the future 

Its just that im a member of so many boards that its impossible to remember which rules belong to every single board (many boards auto-resize pics on low res/view). So thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

And now back on topic!

I ordered some spare GITD rubber clicky buttons about 2 months ago and they finally arrived, and like i already knew they dont really fit the lights that good..... But if you fiddle em in there and trim the rubber pin on the inside just right it makes for a very very easy to use and responsive light! A bit too responsive for my book but my lady loves it so i only modded hers. Here's a pic:











As you can see the button protrudes out of the body quite significantly so you completely lose the ability to tailstand. Also, turning the light on/off wont really happen all that fast on accident (you still need to push it 'with aim', even tho is 100x more easy now that with the original button) but if you even look at the light it will change modes now. This can be a good thing or bad depending no what you want...... I use that tail only on my 3-mode when i want to re-program it, its just SOO responsive!!!

I do really like that chunky look......


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## gcbryan (Apr 12, 2010)

I have some green ones coming for my P60 host with XP-G as well.

Hopefully, Akoray will come out with a XP-G version of this light (programmable). That would be the perfect EDC for me...bigger beam pattern and brighter


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## RepProdigious (Apr 12, 2010)

gcbryan said:


> I have some green ones coming for my P60 host with XP-G as well.
> 
> Hopefully, Akoray will come out with a XP-G version of this light (programmable). That would be the perfect EDC for me...bigger beam pattern and brighter



I dont really need any brighter LED, simply because the power consumption would increase as well and with the LED it has right now it has runtimes between 40 and 50 minutes on full and any shorter than that would be pretty useless for me! Remember, this light only uses a tiny little cr123a sized cell, with current technology you'll get 600 to 700mAh MAX (and way less when going for protected cells or actually using the light on high setting).


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## gcbryan (Apr 12, 2010)

RepProdigious said:


> I dont really need any brighter LED, simply because the power consumption would increase as well and with the LED it has right now it has runtimes between 40 and 50 minutes on full and any shorter than that would be pretty useless for me! Remember, this light only uses a tiny little cr123a sized cell, with current technology you'll get 600 to 700mAh MAX (and way less when going for protected cells or actually using the light on high setting).



However the XP-G is the most efficient emitter out there right now (as far as I know) so it's kind of like arguing that I don't need a car with better gas mileage. :twothumbs


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## RepProdigious (Apr 12, 2010)

gcbryan said:


> However the XP-G is the most efficient emitter out there right now (as far as I know) so it's kind of like arguing that I don't need a car with better gas mileage. :twothumbs



My mistake then, i seem to remember those LEDS need up to 1.5A and with losses and all that would mean almost three times the current draw from the cell.... but that must have been another LED then. 

How much brighter would one of those XP-G leds be at comparable current (about 600mA)? Would be interesting to see if a swap would be possible.....


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## gcbryan (Apr 12, 2010)

RepProdigious said:


> My mistake then, i seem to remember those LEDS need up to 1.5A and with losses and all that would mean almost three times the current draw from the cell.... but that must have been another LED then.
> 
> How much brighter would one of those XP-G leds be at comparable current (about 600mA)? Would be interesting to see if a swap would be possible.....



The vf is lower and the max spec was 1A but recently was raised to 1.5A but at that point it would be outputting 460 lumens.

The XP-G R5 produces about 87 lumens per watt and the XR-E R2 produces about 68 lumens per watt...so about 21% more output for the same wattage.

The difference is that the brightness as measured in lux (at a particular spot) is slightly reduced but brightness as measured in lumens and in the size of the hotspot is substantially increased so it doesn't throw as far but for close-up and middle distances the light is more useful.

Instead of shining your light at your subject and getting that small hotspot you now get a more useful hotspot.

It's perfect for a K-109 sized light because you aren't going to buy a light of that size if you're interested in extreme throw in the first place.


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## RepProdigious (Apr 12, 2010)

gcbryan said:


> Instead of shining your light at your subject and getting that small hotspot you now get a more useful hotspot.



So, the beam actually isn't produced by the reflector? Looks like I still have a lot to learn....


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## gcbryan (Apr 12, 2010)

RepProdigious said:


> So, the beam actually isn't produced by the reflector? Looks like I still have a lot to learn....



It's the reflector and the emitter. The emitting surface of an XP-G is larger than that of a XR-E. The reflector shapes the hotspot as well.

The XR-E's output is 90 degrees while the XP-G's is 125 degrees so more of the XR-E's light misses the reflector by going straight out. Therefore more of the light from the XP-G does hit the reflector.

The end result is a larger hotspot (albeit not quite as bright as measured in lux at any one spot but the spot is larger).

To me the XR-E always looked a little odd when used up close since it had a tiny hotspot and an overly large spill.

Now, with the XP-G, the hotspot and spill look more in proportion (to me anyway).


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## ToneBeamer (Apr 13, 2010)

It seems everyone who reads the programming instructions doesn't have a problem entering into program mode.
Well I am having difficulty entering into program mode.

The problem comes in that the half-press is also used to change modes.
No matter how many times or how fast I half-press I end up changing modes and not entering into program mode.
The half-press method doesn't work for me.

I have entered into program mode, but by very quickly turning the K109 flashlight on & off 6+ times.
Can anyone enlighten me on how to program the flashlight with the half-press method without having to turn the flashight on & off?
(This is a new K109 that I just got on Friday)

Onto another problem I'm having.
After finally programming the flashlight I tried it out a few times and it worked very well.
But then the flashlight died.

I took out the battery and it measured 0.00volts.
Now this is very strange because it's a new protected 16340 battery I ordered with the K109.
The battery came with a 3.6volt charge and I topped it off to 3.88volts.
I only used the battery for about the half-hour it took to program the K109 flashlight.

I did order two batteries, so I then put in the second battery and programmed the flashlight and it died again.
The second battery also read 0.00volts, and also is a protected battery!!

I bought the K109 flahlight & batteries from KD.
The batteries are labeled as "KD Protected 3.7V 16340 RCR123A Batteries." 

Anyone want to venture a guess what's gong on with the two batteries?
Is quickly turning the flashlight on & off doing something to the batteries protected circuits?


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## gcbryan (Apr 13, 2010)

I can't tell you why the batteries are losing their charge so quickly but the reason they read 0 V is because the protection circuit has tripped. You'll have to recharge them to untrip the circuit.

As far as the programming mode goes I didn't have any problems once I found the instructions on here. Maybe you just have a finicky unit.

I just click to turn it on and then quickly "pump" the button (1/2 click or less) until it goes dark and you see the first programming flash.

Not that it should make any difference but I'm using a CR123 primary rather than the RCR123.

If you have a CR123 primary try using it just to see if you get longer runtimes (just in case something is wrong with your unit and it's shorting out the battery or something). You can also see if it makes any difference in programming.

If you are using your light on max I wouldn't expect the batteries to last must longer than 40 minutes or so anyway. Primaries should last just a little longer.


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## RepProdigious (Apr 13, 2010)

_


ToneBeamer said:



It seems everyone who reads the programming instructions doesn't have a problem entering into program mode.
Well I am having difficulty entering into program mode.

The problem comes in that the half-press is also used to change modes.
No matter how many times or how fast I half-press I end up changing modes and not entering into program mode.
The half-press method doesn't work for me.

I have entered into program mode, but by very quickly turning the K109 flashlight on & off 6+ times.
Can anyone enlighten me on how to program the flashlight with the half-press method without having to turn the flashight on & off?
(This is a new K109 that I just got on Friday)

Click to expand...


Sounds like one of 3 things:
-You bought the 5-mode (but since you got it programmed at the end this doesn't seem likely  )
-Your light is defective
-Your not doing it right

Cases 1 and 2 i cant help you with, sorry. If the third is the case however, i can only tell you to practice! Develop a 'feel' for the button; Hold the light firmly (or put it head-down on a table top) and press the button until you hear a click, now try again to about half that depth (doesn't have to be half, anywhere between 10-99% should do) but seeing you are able to change modes the depth shouldn't be as much of a problem but i feel its more of a speed/consistency thing. Just keep trying!



ToneBeamer said:



Onto another problem I'm having.
After finally programming the flashlight I tried it out a few times and it worked very well.
But then the flashlight died.

I took out the battery and it measured 0.00volts.
Now this is very strange because it's a new protected 16340 battery I ordered with the K109.
The battery came with a 3.6volt charge and I topped it off to 3.88volts.
I only used the battery for about the half-hour it took to program the K109 flashlight.

I did order two batteries, so I then put in the second battery and programmed the flashlight and it died again.
The second battery also read 0.00volts, and also is a protected battery!!

I bought the K109 flahlight & batteries from KD.
The batteries are labeled as "KD Protected 3.7V 16340 RCR123A Batteries." 

Anyone want to venture a guess what's gong on with the two batteries?
Is quickly turning the flashlight on & off doing something to the batteries protected circuits?

Click to expand...


First off, 3.88 volts is NOT topping it off, at that measured open voltage you'll only have about 30-40% capacity (even less if you measured the 3.88 directly after charging) and seeing the KD cells arent the best quality you could very well be talking about 10-15 minutes runtime on full there so your half hour tinkering sounds just right.....

Like gcbryan said, sounds just like the protection kicking in..... Its normal but you can prevent it from tripping by enabling the light protection (it will kick in before the cell).

Just give the cells a full charge (between 4.1-4.2V but NOT higher) and try again!_


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## RepProdigious (Apr 13, 2010)

gcbryan said:


> It's the reflector and the emitter. The emitting surface of an XP-G is larger than that of a XR-E. The reflector shapes the hotspot as well.
> 
> The XR-E's output is 90 degrees while the XP-G's is 125 degrees so more of the XR-E's light misses the reflector by going straight out. Therefore more of the light from the XP-G does hit the reflector.
> 
> ...



This sounds very logical! I didn't know these 'modern' leds were angled (i do know the 'normal' leds do, ive worked with them alot!) but than again, this is just a new hobby for me I've just started 

I did some reading at cree's site (great information there btw!) and i learned alot! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!


----------



## gcbryan (Apr 13, 2010)

No problem...I'm new to all this as well. I ask a lot of questions of others and get help and try to give back and answer questions where I can.

There's a lot of good knowledge on here from a lot of different people!


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## Gregozedobe (Apr 14, 2010)

gcbryan said:


> The XP-G R5 produces about 87 lumens per watt and the XR-E R2 produces about 68 lumens per watt...so about 21% more output for the same wattage.


 
Cree have just announced a new, even more efficient LED - the "XM" series. We'll have to wait to see how good/suitable they are for flashlights, as they won't be going on sale for several months (and it will probably take a LOT longer than that for them to make their way into true "Budget" lights).


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## RepProdigious (Jun 4, 2010)

Well, i can scratch the AK-16 off of my list..... I found that i never ever use this light because its too big as a 16340 light and AA sized cells are a b!tch to get in there..... So i transformed it into a no-budget 18650 light! 









How cool is that


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## mccririck (Jun 4, 2010)

It looks like an Edding 500 disguised as a flashlight.


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## IamMatt (Jul 18, 2010)

RepProdigious,

First, THANKS!!! for this great review. Can you stand a couple more questions?

First, do the 3-mode K-109 and the AK-16 tailstand?

Second, what exactly is the problem with putting an AA in the AK-16? Is the body to narrow, too short, or what?

Third, would it be correct to say that the performance (output/brightness/runtime) of the AK-16 is basically the same as the 3-mode K-109 when running the same 123 battery, and the same as the 3-mode Akoray K-106 when running the same AA battery?

Fourth, is it possible to re-program just one of the 3 modes? Like if you decide you want the Low mode to be a bit brighter or less bright, but you are happy with the Medium and High settings, can you just reprogram the Low mode and leave the other two alone? Sounds like you can't (sounds like once you go into the programming mode you have to program all 3 modes sequentially and just hope you are getting the same settings you had before).

Thanks. The AK-16 sounds like a great light to EDC with 123 batteries with the option of throwing a cheap and easy-to-find AA in if you get caught somewhere with a dead battery instead of having to pay $6 for a single CR123A at a drugstore.


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## RepProdigious (Jul 19, 2010)

IamMatt said:


> RepProdigious,
> 
> First, THANKS!!! for this great review. Can you stand a couple more questions?



Sure!



IamMatt said:


> First, do the 3-mode K-109 and the AK-16 tailstand?



Yes they do, both of em!




IamMatt said:


> Second, what exactly is the problem with putting an AA in the AK-16? Is the body to narrow, too short, or what?



Well, its a bit difficult to explain but ill give it a shot: A cr123 is fat and short, a AA is long and slim. To make the light hold both sizes cells they made the inside of the light as long as a AA light and as wide as a CR123 and to prevent movement on both cells they fitted two short pieces of tubing on both ends of the battery tube. The inside dimensions of the tubes are exactly wide enough so the AA can fit inside and so will not be able to move but the 123 can not fit inside, that one stays between the tubes and stays put that way.... This means the cr123 will always go in straight but the AA can go a bit wrong.....

Wait, this explanation needs a quick picture: 




Oh yeah, am i the MsPaint king or what!

Blue is cr123, red is AA. The CR123 always goes in straight but the AA can go at an angle whether you open the light from the head or the tail so this can get a bit fiddly..... I hope this explains the problem!




IamMatt said:


> Third, would it be correct to say that the performance (output/brightness/runtime) of the AK-16 is basically the same as the 3-mode K-109 when running the same 123 battery, and the same as the 3-mode Akoray K-106 when running the same AA battery?



This is very correct! The circuits and leds are basically the same!




IamMatt said:


> Fourth, is it possible to re-program just one of the 3 modes? Like if you decide you want the Low mode to be a bit brighter or less bright, but you are happy with the Medium and High settings, can you just reprogram the Low mode and leave the other two alone? Sounds like you can't (sounds like once you go into the programming mode you have to program all 3 modes sequentially and just hope you are getting the same settings you had before).



Well, this is in fact possible and i found this very useful once you get the lowest low right! If you during programming directly soft-press after the 'memory-location-flashes' (by lack of a better term) it will skip this location, leave the current setting untouched and moves on to the next location.




IamMatt said:


> Thanks. The AK-16 sounds like a great light to EDC with 123 batteries with the option of throwing a cheap and easy-to-find AA in if you get caught somewhere with a dead battery instead of having to pay $6 for a single CR123A at a drugstore.



No problem :thumbsup:


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## IamMatt (Jul 19, 2010)

You are, in fact, the KING!!

I think the AK-16 may be my ideal basic light (other than fiddly bit LOL)--3 progammable modes, able to take my higher-voltage RCR123's, but can power with cheap and readily available AA's. Gotta order at least one now.


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## RepProdigious (Jul 19, 2010)

IamMatt said:


> You are, in fact, the KING!!
> 
> I think the AK-16 may be my ideal basic light (other than fiddly bit LOL)--3 progammable modes, able to take my higher-voltage RCR123's, but can power with cheap and readily available AA's. Gotta order at least one now.



I say; Go for it! You won't be disappointed! :twothumbs


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## IamMatt (Aug 30, 2010)

My AK-16 just arrived. First impressions are mostly favorable; fairly easy to program (once I found this thread again; I have since saved the programming instructions!). +1 on the comment on the difficulty of programming a really low low setting, but it is manageable. Very short threads, though; only takes a couple of turns before the light separates. I will play with it some more when I have time but so far it seems like a good value.


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## RepProdigious (Aug 31, 2010)

Hrm.. thats strange on the threads..... Does the gap between the parts close all the way?


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## IamMatt (Aug 31, 2010)

When you screw the battery tube and the head together there is no apparent gap. Jjust the opposite, in fact, both the orange o-rings on the tube disappear into the head when screwed together. I have not tried any dunk tests or anything, It will be a week or so til I can post some shots of the threads.

The AK-16 comes apart in about 1-1/2 turns (540 degrees) while my Fenix P2D, for example, needs 5 full turns (1800) degrees to seaprate the head and battery tube. The AK-16 threads are much coarser than the Fenix and look/feel shallower, that is, the lands feel as if they do not stick up as high from the surface as on the Fenix. 

The AK-16 feels lighter than the P2D even though it is longer. I don't have a digital scale to weight them on.


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## old4570 (Sep 3, 2010)

2 full turns for mine ... AK16 , to pull apart . 

AA's . 14500's , just need to use a little care with the alignment ...
The plastic sleeve is there to stop rattling .


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## 661randyg (Sep 13, 2010)

hi all, i dont want to rain on anyones parade but this light is like what you looking at and when i saw the beamshots in the yard i bought this instantly. it has the best beam i have seen in any light. it has a mellow hot spot that gradually gets dimmer as it gets to the edge of the spill. it only has 1 speed. i like the 5 speeds, low mid high sos strobe. with a 14500 it brightly lights up a yard to about 100ft and is a little too bright to work up close. so usually i use a aa nimh. battery to have the best of both worlds. i dont know why this little osram led works so good in it but it does. as i said before none of my other flashlights have such a practical beam (not includeing the aspherics)

check out the beamshots below. cheers, randy

** Moderated: massive copy & paste deleted - numerous links (some inoperative) and missing/unclear attribution. **
** If external material of this quantity is to be posted in this thread, please just include a reference and a link to it. **


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## JDest (Sep 24, 2010)

Got my K-109 yesterday and man do I love this thing. Can't believe this light is only $20. This is no doubt the budget light fans answer to the elitist light owners that feel that you have to spend large amounts of money to get a great light; or that factory assembled lights from DX/KD are garbage. I've owned brighter and more expensive lights (but not necessarily both at the same time, :laughing but none have felt the true value for the money that I feel from this little guy. Programmable? Yup. Bright enough for 99% of everyday use? Yup. Super crazy blinky modes in case you're feeling spicy? You bet. Great regulation on Li Ion? Sure thing. Pocketable for EDC? Too easy. Gee can you tell I'm in love?

[rant]The simple fact is that there are lights costing 3 times as much can't do what this light can, yet they remain among the most popular lights on CPF. If this light cost in the range of $40 (yes that's right, if this light cost double what it does now) and was sold by a different retailer under a popular brand name, this light would be owned by nearly every CPF member with $40 to spend. [/short rant]


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## Ecolang (Sep 24, 2010)

661randyg said:


> sorry about the mess. i only know how to copy and paste.
> <snip> ** Moderated: truncation of massive quote **


 
Please attribute my work if you quote it.


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## applevalleyjoe (Sep 24, 2010)

Nice review and lots of good interaction. Thanks all


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## brted (Sep 24, 2010)

applevalleyjoe said:


> Nice review and lots of good interaction. Thanks all


Or it would be if the review weren't just copied and pasted from another website, complete with oversized images, hotlinked images, and links that aren't allowed here.


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## Kestrel (Sep 27, 2010)

661randyg said:


> check out the beamshots below. cheers, randy


If external material of this quantity is to be posted in this thread, please just include a reference and a link to it.
Thank you,


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## 661randyg (Oct 4, 2010)

sorry i was just trying to be helpfull/

so try this for the osram aa-s1


http://www.jayki.com/6073


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