Cree makes some of the best and most dependable LED's, with consistent coloration. The question isn't whether Cree LED's are good, it's whether these are counterfeit Chinese knockoffs. With that said, these are DEFINITELY not junk. I've bought a pair about 4 years ago. I use them a LOT, especially the one I keep in my car. I've dropped that one a dozen times or more, used it in the rain, and it works as good as the day I bought it. If you buy it, I would recommend that you buy the 18650 Lithium Ion battery, 1 for each. They last considerably longer than 3 AAA alkaline batteries, and in the end, they work out cheaper, since they are rechargeable. Aside from using them to power the flashlights, I use them on any device that accepts them.
This looks to be the exact same design of all the other cheap ones. 600 Lumen for $5? Unless they have found a magical secret to circuitry cost savings, I don't know. The other clones have comments how they are no brighter than the freebie Harbor Freight models. The output photos also clearly look generic.
This is the same rebranded generic flashlight that’s being sold all over the internet for $3–$100. It’s decent for a couple of bucks, but barely so. You know you are buying garbage when the battery costs more than the light itself. I guess it’s better than nothing as a throw away or an emergency light, but don’t expect any miracles out of it, such as 600 lumens...
original point was that Chinese manufacturers love to lie. Cree is not a category of LEDs, it's a quality brand that the Chinese counterfeit and pawn off on people.who think they got a deal. this deal may be a good product, but if it's really made with Cree LEDs is questionable at best.
^ In this case, 600lm from a XM-L LED isn't off by much, not like when so many other generic 1 x 18650 lights (let alone lesser current capable battery configs) claim over 1000lm.
Where are the quality lights? At triple the price point and up. I for one would like at least two modes. Most generic lights have the first (or only) mode being as high as it can be without overheating (sometimes not even that limitation) just so they can claim high lumens.
That's great if you never need to use it for more than ~1 hr between recharging, but I'd rather have a 2nd mode where I get at least a few hours per charge. If you use a light a lot then it can be even more significant that you're not taking the battery out too often which puts more wear on the crude cut body tube threads.
You might be interested in something like a Thorfire C8. It has square anodized threads, overall is better quality but still under $20, and while it is multi-mode, it has mode memory so it can be just turned on/off to the same mode you last used.
Note that there are also lesser quality versions of this C8 light, one tip off that it's the higher quality version is the square anodized threading.
^ Just get a major brand like Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, or LG, from a reputable seller so you know they aren't fake. If in doubt there are now sources for genuine battery models' weights so you can compare the weight of a questionable cell.
Comments & Reviews (13)
This looks to be the exact same design of all the other cheap ones. 600 Lumen for $5? Unless they have found a magical secret to circuitry cost savings, I don't know. The other clones have comments how they are no brighter than the freebie Harbor Freight models. The output photos also clearly look generic.
Where are the quality flashlights that are just on/off like a proper, sane flashlight should be?
(and "600 lumens" my arse)
Where are the quality lights? At triple the price point and up. I for one would like at least two modes. Most generic lights have the first (or only) mode being as high as it can be without overheating (sometimes not even that limitation) just so they can claim high lumens.
That's great if you never need to use it for more than ~1 hr between recharging, but I'd rather have a 2nd mode where I get at least a few hours per charge. If you use a light a lot then it can be even more significant that you're not taking the battery out too often which puts more wear on the crude cut body tube threads.
You might be interested in something like a Thorfire C8. It has square anodized threads, overall is better quality but still under $20, and while it is multi-mode, it has mode memory so it can be just turned on/off to the same mode you last used.
Note that there are also lesser quality versions of this C8 light, one tip off that it's the higher quality version is the square anodized threading.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AOVLBWK
Thank you!