My first lightsaber

[Bishop]

Well not quite but getting there it's an Alonefire XML-T6, early christmas present from the wife.


Now I admit I'm not normally a big fan of Cree style flashlights. I would rather have some light no matter how feeble from a near dead battery than be plunged suddenly into total darkness without warning. But oh my! it's bright for a hand torch. Not set newspaper on fire bright but enough to get the dog chasing around the field like a cat after a laser beam. So for the pure childish amusement and sheer terror the beam must give car drivers speeding towards me on dark country lanes it gets a thumbs up.

Feels solid in the hand, weighs in around 190g and could probably crack a coconut given a good swing. Says it's waterproof but I'm not going to test that claim just yet however will be doing some battery life tests. Rather I will be when the LM18650's I ordered from andymak666 on Ebay a week ago finally arrive.

 

[Robson Valley]

I hope you're pleased with it. Shining it at an oncoming motorist here is a $738.00 fine.
My brother has a couple of them, the light intensity from such a small unit is impressive.

Yes, they do continue to work in the bottom of a horse-watering trough.

CREE is the manufacturer of the LED junctions in your flashlight. Probably the world's #1 device.
I have CREE LED lights in my kitchen and in my workshop for when my weak old eyes need to SEE what I'm doing.

 

[Bishop]

Deliberately distracting divers also carries a big fine over here. Alerting drivers to your presence less so.
Many of the country lanes I walk are like this, some are even narrower with no escape for pedestrians. Bad enough in daylight so after dark you really do want oncoming traffic to know somebody is there. I can't help it if they think I'm a 15 ton tractor and slow down

 

[Broch]

I have a couple and they are great but the problem is finding a reliable source of the 18650 batteries that aren't a) dangerous, b) hold a decent charge and c) don't stop charging after the third or fourth use. I have found it almost impossible to determine if I am buying a new battery or a recovered ex-laptop one.

If anyone knows of a 100% reliable source please let me know

Cheers,

Broch

 

[Robson Valley]

I was gifted one. Can't tell if it is a CREE or not.
Has a drop in cartridge that holds 3 x AAA.
Worked just fine. Then one day, it was too hot to pick up!!!!!.
Took out the batteries and have not messed with it since.

 

[sunndog]

Panasonic or Nite-core for batteries

 

[Bishop]

Was it one of these 9 LED pocket ones? Lots of variations but inside all much the same, the £shops have been selling them here a while.

Had a couple fail over time. One of the LED's typically shorts out and the batteries start cooking trying to deliver power.
Hate to say it but no easy fix though they would make a nice match case/ survival kit container.

 

[daveO]

Now I admit I'm not normally a big fan of Cree style flashlights. I would rather have some light no matter how feeble from a near dead battery than be plunged suddenly into total darkness without warning.

Last night I took the dog for a late walk and he had a crap on a patch of long grass up the road. I had my torch in my mouth so I could pick my way past the other dog crap to bag it up when the battery died. So I'm stood there in pitch black with a dog lead in one hand, an open bag of warm dog turds in the other, stood in the middle of a dog crap minefield wondering why LED technology couldnt just have a nice fade out system like the good old maglites.

 

[Toddy]

The image, oh god the image

M

 

[Robson Valley]

Thanks, DaveO. Somebody has to take one for the team. Bushcraft at it's finest.

 

[Bishop]

Where there is doubt, there is no doubt. Follow the dog.

Precisely my point, a warning beep, intermittent flash, switching to low power mode anything that gave a little warning to find a spare battery.

 

[sunndog]

i'v built torches with a driver that gives a lil flash for a couple of seconds when the battery gets low. It handy but generally i'm just in the habbit of topping up 18650's long before they would run out

 

[Nice65]

I have a couple and they are great but the problem is finding a reliable source of the 18650 batteries that aren't a) dangerous, b) hold a decent charge and c) don't stop charging after the third or fourth use. I have found it almost impossible to determine if I am buying a new battery or a recovered ex-laptop one.

If anyone knows of a 100% reliable source please let me know

Cheers,

Broch

These are highly recommended on the torch forums, they're all I use now. Note, they are unprotected, so good battery management is needed. I use a simple and cheap battery meter to keep an eye on voltage, especially important in multi cell lights.

https://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/aca...ttery---3.7-V-3400-mAh-Lithium-cell-1936.html

I get mine from Banggood and know them to be genuine Panasonics due to the number code under the wrap.

I've had torches that just die on me when the protection circuit kicks in to preserve the battery, but all my torches these days simply drop into moonlight or low mode so I'm not stuck in darkness.

 

[Broch]

These are highly recommended on the torch forums, they're all I use now. Note, they are unprotected, so good battery management is needed. I use a simple and cheap battery meter to keep an eye on voltage, especially important in multi cell lights.

https://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/aca...ttery---3.7-V-3400-mAh-Lithium-cell-1936.html

Thanks; I'll give those a go.

 

[Nice65]

Thanks; I'll give those a go.

There are Panasonic and Sanyo versions. Don't worry, they're the same company.

There are protected versions too, but I got so fed up with being plunged into darkness I took up good battery management instead. Anyone using Lithium Ion batteries needs to do this.

 

[Robson Valley]

Mine is crap. Has bolt like outlines at each end so it can't roll around. That's OK.
Nine LED in the head end. Unscrewed that piece.
No O-rings to suggest any waterproofing. Pulled out the battery unit, room for 3 x AAA.
No way to decide which end is up when you load it back in.
Accidently pushed on the rubber cap on/off switch button at the other end.
The whole switch assembly fell out in 4 pieces and I can't figure out how it was assembled.

Remember to smile when you get a gift like this.

 

[Trig]

I had a led torch like this that i used attached to an air rifle. I forget the name of it, but it was lithium batteries if i remember correctly.
It was good when it worked, but the screw on end cap never seemed to sit correctly.

One day, whilst sitting at my desk trying to screw it on correctly and having a look at it, the thing blew up in my face.

I was fortunate that i had it angled slightly away from my face, as it went off like a flare,flames and smoke shooting out the end of it. I reckon i would have been pretty badly burnt if it was pointed a bit more towards me.It blew the end cap out of my hand, which hit the roof and landed in the corner on my carpet. The o-ring rubber must have been burning inside it, as it set fire to the carpet.

But whilst this was going on, i was staggering about with tears running out my eyes. No idea whats in those batteries, but its incredibly bad for your eyes and breathing. Staggered over to the window to get some air in, then through to the toilet with my breakfast bowl to get some water for the fire.

I have had a bit of a fear of batteries ever since, and ive just read above someone sticking one in their mouth !

 

[Nice65]

Nasty! Glad you're ok. Many torch people are aware of the dangers, but the new generation of users are vapers, YouTube is littered with people's pockets exploding.

Thanks for posting, I can't stress how important it is the look after these batteries

 

[Trig]

Didnt realise it was a known problem, but just youtubed the vape explosions, and yep, pretty similar. No way id be sticking one of them near my face.
My batteries were fairly new, as was the torch, as the previous torch had the same problem with not working sometimes. Least it didnt blow up.


Great torches for the amount of light they put out considering their size, but definetly something to be wary of.

 

[IamRon]

Would someone please enlighten me what's with that Lumen / beam length obsession? I never had the need for a torch to shine further than say 50 feet.