Here's some new budget lights from the company Small Sun which appeared at DX few days ago.
Smallsun ZY-C81 Cree Q3-WC 3-Mode (Black or Grey)
This looks to me like a pretty decent budget RCR light for only $10.
3 modes. High-Low-Strobe. Tactical-like rear clickie.
Looks like the more expensive Nitecore light.... =P
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.33602
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.33603
Smallsun ZY-C01 Stainless Steel Cree Q5-WC 3-Mode
Not so cheap is this stainless steel version of RCR light.
It seems to use the same driver as above.
From the photos, it's a bit weird how the o-ring is so visible.
Very round and smooth = very slippery and rolls away easily.
I'm not so sure about this one. I'll pass.
Smallsun ZY-C80 Cree Q3-WC 3-Mode
Last but not least is this much bigger flashlight for under $20.
Again, same 3 mode driver.
One rare point about this light is how it uses 3 x AAA batteries.
This to me isn't attractive as AAA batteries are a bit too small.
But seems it might be able to fit 18650 or at least an 18500. So no issues then.
Another interesting but also disappointing feature is its huge deep smooth reflector.
It looks like it could have been a serious thrower if it wasn't plastic....
At the end, from what I can see, ZY-C81 seems like the only light that may possibly be worth getting.
'4' Comment
old4570
- 2010.02.01
- 08:04:02
I had a bad exp with Smallsun ZY-C41 .. Very cheaply made , the emitter sits on a tube [ hollow ] and there is not much in the way of heatsinking , you think they would have coughed up the extra 5c to make a real heasink rather than a threaded tube .
Also the driver died within a week of getting the light , I did have a replacement , but only in 4.2v , so no more AA capability .
Im interested in the C81 , but , would like to know what the emitter sits on , a heatsink or a threaded tube .
Same goes with the C80 , looks very interesting , but those internals .
jayki
- 2010.02.02
- 08:56:11
Yeah. I also feel Small Sun is a bit too low in their quality. Well, the last few I've tried anyways.
But like all things, the quality should go up over time I guess. Just positive thinking. =P
@sb56637
That ZY-C82 does indeed look interesting. It's almost incan-like beam color.
It also has a colloimator lense it seems. Hmm, very tempting indeed. =)
I'm interested in the
SmallSun ZY-C82which seems to be a very new product. DX doesn't have it yet. It's supposed to have a yellow LED. I'd like to know about quality and runtime. It looks beautiful though.