Fenix TK35 820 Lumens XM-L Flashlight $76.93 + Free Shipping @ Amazon.com

Quote from Mike C : Yep, you are right, lowest price on amazon... by a long shot, for the last 2.5 years (since the light has been out I guess?). When I checked I used the ASIN#, which is how I always have used camelcamelcamel, and up until today that always worked. When I used it today to check, it said not enough data which I know could not be true because that ASIN has been there a while, so I assumed the camel was broken. I just tried again, and it still says the same thing (although the ASIN does indeed come back with the right item description, etc.). Then I used the Amazon URL method instead and it worked fine, showing that this is by FAR the cheapest it has been in the last 2.5 years, as in $15 cheaper than the cheapest price ever, and $25 cheaper than the average price, a huge drop! I am guessing this is to clear out the pre-U2 stock, but considering that the U2 only adds like a 5% gain in lumen output and no additional efficiency (negligible anyway, it says it last just as long as the pre-U2 version with higher output, so that translates to a marginal efficiency improvement, but nothing to write home about), and also assuming that once they DO clear out the preU2 versions and stock the U2 ones at the previous price point (around $100, or more probably $110-$125 at first given it is a new item and the Fenix diehards will pay it I am sure), to me, if you don't want to do the asavings.com deal I posted above for the U2 version (which is $10 cheaper and you get some free crap in the deal, but you are dealing with a potential unknown vs. Amazon who has the best CS ever), then this is a no brainer. Assuming Amazon happened to stock both of these right now, with the U2 being say $100(the lowest I am gonna guess they would add it as) and the Pre-U2 being $76, spending 25% less to get the pre-U2 where you probably couldn't tell the difference between the two anyway... well IMO this is an opportunity to get a great flashlight and save a good chunk of $. These are my favorite kind of Slickdeals, getting a last generation product at a relatively crazy cheap price compared to normal when the current generation really doesn't add much if anything compared to the price difference, of which this deal is a classic example.

I remember reading a thread on candlepower where someone ordered the light a month or two ago thinking it was the T6, and they were shipped the U2, but I have my doubts this will be the case when it arrives due to the pricing, but you never know.

Quote from mrveedo : wow there is a lot of bullshat in this thread. this light is awesome, and this is the cheapest i have ever seen it. they must be clearing out this model to make room for the updated U2 TK35, it puts out a couple more lumens, 860 i think. not a huge difference and most likely not noticeable. as for the lithium batteries, they are the way to go if you use flashlights a lot. much cheaper in the long run vs running primaries, and the run time is great if you use quality cells. sure rechargable AA's are nice too, but you are going to be loading in more than a few to crank out 800+ lumens and get reasonable run time. as for the quality, it is built very well imo. the only complaint i have about this light is the plastic tailcap, but it is fairly tough. i have used this light every day at work for a year and it has had the crap beat out of it. its fell down steps, dropped on a daily basis, rolled in dirt mud and ash, been submerged in water, and been switched on and off who knows how many times, but enough where i will be changing the switch boot soon. the anodizing has held up awesome (it does have wounds), and the glass shows little scratches. the tailcap has cracked on one corner where the screw is, but it took about a 40 foot fall bouncing off steal stairs and grating to get there i have my share of high end lights (yes even surefire and HDS) and a few budget lights, and by far this one is my favorite and gets used the most, i even have a spare just in case my work light ever desides to die. as for the size, i think it is perfect for what i use it for. i carry it my back jeans pocket and it doesnt bother me. the mode switch is great for one handed use, so its easy to remove the light with one hand, and flip through the modes without doing double clicks, holding switches, etc. if you guys are going to purchase this light, and decide to jump into the lithium cells, go with a quality panasonic 18650 cell. i made an offer of 20 bucks a pair for these recently, and he accepted. that is really good price for these cells, and they arrived in 9 days. i paid almost double the price last year at this time. http://www.ebay.com/itm/280928671...1439.l2649 as for the charger, there is a lot of opinions on that, but i am using the nitecore charger http://goinggear.com/nitecore-int...arger.html its been working great for me so far, and i have charged eneloops, 18650, 16340, 14500, & 18350 cells.

What are your thoughts on this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/150602289...948wt_1163

Can anybody reccomend a fenix/cree style flashlight that uses 3-C cell batteries? Maybe provide a link, Thanks a bunch! I have looked around and I'm coming up blank...

Those hid flashlights anygood?

Quote from Starbaby2012 : What are your thoughts on this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/150602289...948wt_1163

Better clarify with the seller, he states 900mAH, which is TERRIBLE for a 18650, never seen one that low. I have seen some eBay or overseas sites claim up to 4000mAH 18650's (the same ones that advertise 5000 lumen lights for $20 ), but the highest I have seen for GOOD protected cells is 3100mAHs. This determines how long the cell will last. In a good flashlight like a Fenix, you will have constant light output up till the cell is more or less dead due to the Fenix's current & voltage regulation circuitry, so between a good torch and a high capacity 18650, even on turbo you are typically looking at 1-4 hrs depending on the lumen output in turbo mode, assuming mAH in the 2500-3000mAH range. In my case, I rarely need turbo as high or medium is plenty for most situations, so 1 18650 lasts much longer than that for the lower output lights (saw 6 hrs of use avg for one good cell from full charge?).

Another thing to be careful about is buying ANY li-ion batteries from eBay or un-reputable sites, whether from overseas or from Jersey, basically anywhere that the price is too good to be true. Another red flag is when you see typos like that 900 mAH thing, no way is an UltraFire Black 18650 900mAH. Buying "somewhat" fake 18650s is not worth the risk, where "somewhat" means they may charge, etc. but if they are not protected and/or you are not methodical about always testing the just charged cell voltage before putting them in your torch (or even if you are), the crap fake 18650s can still blow up in your face and take your hand off or worse. I have seen pics of several occurrences of this on the candlepowerorums, trust me, it is not worth saving a few bucks to risk getting fakes. If they are fakes, and you put them in a flashlight like a Fenix, the Fenix is so well made that as soon as you finish screwing down the end-cap, the circuit has completed, and you have effectively just built a pipe-bomb given almost all Fenix torches are waterproof, therefore there is NO pressure relief once that tail-cap is tightened, that is how powerful the explosions are. In addition to the injuries I have seen pics of, I also saw the collateral damage caused by the larger pieces of shrapnel from the flashlights, a microwave (full size) completely destroyed, a steel mixing bowl from a high end dough mixer (the $500+ Kitchen-aid ones) with a several inch deep dent WITH penetration in the side of the bowl, rather large holes in the walls 20 ft away in another room, etc. Granted this was a worst case scenario, but it has happened many times. If any of those bigger pieces had hit the guy in the head, eye, chest, etc., it is a good chance it would have killed him. EDIT: I found the post, pictures are worth 1000 words: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/...A-exploded, and this is just ONE example. Also not for this case it was UltraFire cells that did this.

If those are the real things it is an excellent deal *I think* (depending on what the real mAH is), but I have my doubts... the price looks too good to be true. For me at least, I would rather spend a couple of $ more per cell from a reliable source and will NEVER buy unprotected cells,and without hesitation spend the extra purchase a good charger. I define a good charger as any CC/CV... aka chargers with control circuits to manage the current and voltage applied to the batteries over the life of the charge to give them the best possible charge while being safe at the same time. In addition, NO MATTER WHAT, ALWAYS test the voltage of every cell you put into a torch before you do so, and for an 18650, if it is above 4.2ishV(no more than say 4.25V), don't do it, it is over charged (even a CC/CV charger charging a protected cell can fail), it only takes a coupe of seconds with a $5 volt meter, no reason not to test them considering the danger and the stakes.

One other thing about the Ultrafires (even the blacks)... I have read that their quality has been going down hill, and that even real ones have been found without the protection chip in the cells... so you may want to look to another brand, up to you. Most, if not all Ultrafires either come straight from China, or from someone in the states who buys them from China in bulk. Based on their popularity in order to keep up with demand and increase margin, cutting corners wouldn't surprise me.

P.S. it has been about 6 months since I have done research on the highest safe, quality, protected cell mAH batteries available, but the last I saw was 3100mAH. I have seen some claim 4000 mAHs, but call BS given the price and no mention of specs like protected cells, etc. Probably time to search again to see if they have come out with better ones from reputable manufacturers (like above, Panasonic is an excellent brand, although their mAH is typically rated more conservatively, not a bad thing, but in reality you may actually be getting more for your $ than you know). There are new manufacturers being introduced all of the time(which could and mostly likely be just rebranded versions of current cells), and I normally wait until the candlepowerforums battery gurus have done extended testing on the newest cells before I consider buying them. The EagleTecs I bought are great, but they have gone up $50 a pack of 10 since when I bought them only about 6 months ago. I *almost* hit that sweet spot where it was confirmed they were great cells... but before they got slammed with orders and raised the price due to demand (people before me got them even cheaper for the exact same cells). It is quite possible there is a new cell in that position right now that may be even better than the EagleTecs, I recommend that you search the candlepowerforums for the most recent 18650 cell tests. It is a bit of work, but worth it if you buy in bulk so you don't have to worry about buying more again for a while as I did. I am satisfied with my supply for some time to come, so it will be at least another 6 months before I research again givenit takes a good bit of time (but worth it, I like my eyeballs and fingers right where they are ).

Same thing on chargers, see what their latest charger reviews/comparisons are on chargers. Mine was the best budget charger available at the time, but a lot can happen in 6 months in the battery and charger world . Just make sure you go with CC/CV, even if it is pulse CC/CV when more than one cell is being charged at the same time (which is what mine does, and probably why it was only $30, but both my experiences and hundreds of others have been great with this charger having consistent results on never over charging, and always getting to almost exactly 4.2V every time, the perfect fully charged 18650).

Quote from ek9cv5 : Those hid flashlights anygood?

I bought one of these HID torches, the most powerful OOB (i.e. no mods) HID flashlights I know of that is a hand held torch, from this very seller(http://www.ebay.com/itm/320928921521), although it cost me about $27 more back in April when the 85W versions were still new not as widely available, and from what I could find today this same seller is the cheapest if you want to get all of the different color filters, the case, etc. Based on my past experiences with trying to get warranty help from the straight from Chinese sellers (black hole, they have no obligation to help you), i chose this one from Australia given I figured it would be easier to get warranty help from them, and a ST warranty sure wouldn't hurt, these things aren't cheap!

In short, this thing is everything I expected it to be. I use to find my dogs when they run away in the forest across the street from our house, and this thing lights up the forest to a degree that is insane(where there is no lighting installed in the forest I am talking about). Both throw distance AND flood is awesome. The only negative is that the supplied batteries don't seem to hold a charge very long, which could be because I leave the battery in the flashlight when stored. That should be OK under normal circumstances, but my guess is that at this price point, there is some leakage concurring in the flashlight.. given Li-Ion should have 90%+ of its charge for years. After charging it for the first time after receiving it, the first time I used it (about 2 weeks later), it was fantastic, I could see for a few hundred yards in front of me as clear as day, and I want to say the spill was at least 100 yards as well, it was like walking through the woods in better than daylight given during the day the canopy of the woods is so thick not much sunlight gets through very much. The next time I needed it about 6 weeks later it was completely dead, so I used my TK41, which was still great, but no comparison AT ALL. I plan on ordering a separate battery and charging them both to pull capacity and storing them both outside of the flashlight after I make some mods to the foam in the case to make room. I was pissed when I couldn't use it the second time, won't let that happen again.

One other downside is that with the HID lights, they give off a lot of heat(unlike LED lights, which do heat up, but NOTHING like a Xenon HID torch!), and these flashlights WILL turn off if you run then in high or turbo for more than say 10-15min at most, and you will have to wait before it cools down before you can use ANY setting on the light, even it lowest setting. This is a good thing given it is protecting the Xenon bulb from premature failure, but annoying when you are in the middle of the woods .

I don't own a TK70 (2200 Lumen Fenix) or any other light of that caliber, so I don't know about it being 8500 lumen, but I can tell you that I was able to light up a tree top over 500 yard away where I could make out leaves on the tree at least 100 ft high (confirmed with my Bushnell 1300 ARC laser range finder, awesome tool if you are a hunter/target shooter). My TK41 could not even hold a candle to that performance (no pun intended ).

EDIT: I just checked my 85W flashlight, and it would only work on medium and low settings, and after about 10 min on medium, dead as a door nail, and that is after letting it cool and trying again. Probably been 2 -3 months since I last used it. Charging overnight to see if this fixes the issue or if I have a bigger problem. Regardless, I am ordering a second battery, given with the light output of this even on high, the battery doesn't last very long.

EDIT: NEVERMIND on second battery, after finding the cheapest 2nd 8700mAH battery is $70, I think I will hold off a bit on ordering a spare, I will just manage the battery I have better, I would rather spend a bit more and have two of these . That is another thing that sucks about these Chinese HID flashlight designs, most of the circuitry and even the tail cap switch is build into the battery, NOT the flashlight, meaning to replace the battery, not only do you have to get the exact same battery to maintain compatibility with your flashlight, they cost and arm and a leg . Might as well just buy a second flashlight so that you have all of the possible failure parts, and when going on trips you can just bring the battery and bulb from the second light is you don't have room to bring both torches.

Overall though, for the $, this is one heck of a flashlight, I would guess if manufacturers like Fenix built torches like this, you would *easily* pay north of $500.

Quote from Stumpy : I remember reading a thread on candlepower where someone ordered the light a month or two ago thinking it was the T6, and they were shipped the U2, but I have my doubts this will be the case when it arrives due to the pricing, but you never know.

If it weren't for the fact I just ordered two from the other site saving $20 ad being guaranteed to get U2's, I would have gambled. Assuming given this price Amazon is going to get slaughtered with orders, I am assuming at least some will some straight from the manufacturer to to fill all of these orders. Worst case I still would have gotten excellent flashlights at a great deal with the 1st gen. The only thing that is weird is that Fenix lists both models as active items so perhaps the U2s are not a replacement of the current models, rather additional to their line up where you can get relatively minuscule improvements for $30 or so more $. I am sure that many will be wiling to pay that, while your more typical budget conscious (i.e. not addicted to torches) buyer has the choice of saving a good chunk of $ to buy the first gen T6. I really don''t know the Fenix play here is with these U2's, which are listed as "special editions", at least for the TK21 of which I am going to buy a few to replace my 35's as weapon lights.

Whoa, I will be getting the LD22.

I didn't know there was a 820 Lumen flash light o.o!

Quote from Mike C : Better clarify with the seller, he states 900mAH, which is TERRIBLE for a 18650, never seen one that low. I have seen some eBay or overseas sites claim up to 4000mAH 18650's (the same ones that advertise 5000 lumen lights for $20 ), but the highest I have seen for GOOD protected cells is 3100mAHs. This determines how long the cell will last. In a good flashlight like a Fenix, you will have constant light output up till the cell is more or less dead due to the Fenix's current & voltage regulation circuitry, so between a good torch and a high capacity 18650, even on turbo you are typically looking at 1-4 hrs depending on the lumen output in turbo mode, assuming mAH in the 2500-3000mAH range. In my case, I rarely need turbo as high or medium is plenty for most situations, so 1 18650 lasts much longer than that for the lower output lights (saw 6 hrs of use avg for one good cell from full charge?). Another thing to be careful about is buying ANY li-ion batteries from eBay or un-reputable sites, whether from overseas or from Jersey, basically anywhere that the price is too good to be true. Another red flag is when you see typos like that 900 mAH thing, no way is an UltraFire Black 18650 900mAH. Buying "somewhat" fake 18650s is not worth the risk, where "somewhat" means they may charge, etc. but if they are not protected and/or you are not methodical about always testing the just charged cell voltage before putting them in your torch (or even if you are), the crap fake 18650s can still blow up in your face and take your hand off or worse. I have seen pics of several occurrences of this on the candlepowerorums, trust me, it is not worth saving a few bucks to risk getting fakes. If they are fakes, and you put them in a flashlight like a Fenix, the Fenix is so well made that as soon as you finish screwing down the end-cap, the circuit has completed, and you have effectively just built a pipe-bomb given almost all Fenix torches are waterproof, therefore there is NO pressure relief once that tail-cap is tightened, that is how powerful the explosions are. In addition to the injuries I have seen pics of, I also saw the collateral damage caused by the larger pieces of shrapnel from the flashlights, a microwave (full size) completely destroyed, a steel mixing bowl from a high end dough mixer (the $500+ Kitchen-aid ones) with a several inch deep dent WITH penetration in the side of the bowl, rather large holes in the walls 20 ft away in another room, etc. Granted this was a worst case scenario, but it has happened many times. If any of those bigger pieces had hit the guy in the head, eye, chest, etc., it is a good chance it would have killed him. EDIT: I found the post, pictures are worth 1000 words: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/...A-exploded, and this is just ONE example. Also not for this case it was UltraFire cells that did this. If those are the real things it is an excellent deal *I think* (depending on what the real mAH is), but I have my doubts... the price looks too good to be true. For me at least, I would rather spend a couple of $ more per cell from a reliable source and will NEVER buy unprotected cells,and without hesitation spend the extra purchase a good charger. I define a good charger as any CC/CV... aka chargers with control circuits to manage the current and voltage applied to the batteries over the life of the charge to give them the best possible charge while being safe at the same time. In addition, NO MATTER WHAT, ALWAYS test the voltage of every cell you put into a torch before you do so, and for an 18650, if it is above 4.2ishV(no more than say 4.25V), don't do it, it is over charged (even a CC/CV charger charging a protected cell can fail), it only takes a coupe of seconds with a $5 volt meter, no reason not to test them considering the danger and the stakes. One other thing about the Ultrafires (even the blacks)... I have read that their quality has been going down hill, and that even real ones have been found without the protection chip in the cells... so you may want to look to another brand, up to you. Most, if not all Ultrafires either come straight from China, or from someone in the states who buys them from China in bulk. Based on their popularity in order to keep up with demand and increase margin, cutting corners wouldn't surprise me. P.S. it has been about 6 months since I have done research on the highest safe, quality, protected cell mAH batteries available, but the last I saw was 3100mAH. I have seen some claim 4000 mAHs, but call BS given the price and no mention of specs like protected cells, etc. Probably time to search again to see if they have come out with better ones from reputable manufacturers (like above, Panasonic is an excellent brand, although their mAH is typically rated more conservatively, not a bad thing, but in reality you may actually be getting more for your $ than you know). There are new manufacturers being introduced all of the time(which could and mostly likely be just rebranded versions of current cells), and I normally wait until the candlepowerforums battery gurus have done extended testing on the newest cells before I consider buying them. The EagleTecs I bought are great, but they have gone up $50 a pack of 10 since when I bought them only about 6 months ago. I *almost* hit that sweet spot where it was confirmed they were great cells... but before they got slammed with orders and raised the price due to demand (people before me got them even cheaper for the exact same cells). It is quite possible there is a new cell in that position right now that may be even better than the EagleTecs, I recommend that you search the candlepowerforums for the most recent 18650 cell tests. It is a bit of work, but worth it if you buy in bulk so you don't have to worry about buying more again for a while as I did. I am satisfied with my supply for some time to come, so it will be at least another 6 months before I research again givenit takes a good bit of time (but worth it, I like my eyeballs and fingers right where they are ). Same thing on chargers, see what their latest charger reviews/comparisons are on chargers. Mine was the best budget charger available at the time, but a lot can happen in 6 months in the battery and charger world . Just make sure you go with CC/CV, even if it is pulse CC/CV when more than one cell is being charged at the same time (which is what mine does, and probably why it was only $30, but both my experiences and hundreds of others have been great with this charger having consistent results on never over charging, and always getting to almost exactly 4.2V every time, the perfect fully charged 18650).

FYI, I redid all of my posts to resemble English, I posted way too fast and too late last night an didn't proof read, a lot of what I wrote didn't make sense. I also added a link to the quoted post above of *one example* of what can happen if you buy sub standard cells, over charge even good cells, etc. The basic lesson to avoid the above happening to you is to get good chargers that do NOT allow over charge, to always buy protected quality cells, and to ALWAYS use a volt meter to test the voltage of every cell before you put it into your torch, and the above will most likely never happen to you. I don't think many realize just how dangerous these things can be. Another danger (which is why you should always buy a GOOD charger) is that many cells take several hours to charge correctly, and many people leave them charging overnight (which is fine if you get a GOOD charger). If you don't buy a good charger and good cells, you may wake up at 3AM with your house burning down .

Quote from Mike C : FYI, I redid all of my posts to resemble English, I posted way too fast and too late last night an didn't proof read, a lot of what I wrote didn't make sense. I also added a link to the quoted post above of *one example* of what can happen if you buy sub standard cells, over charge even good cells, etc. The basic lesson to avoid the above happening to you is to get good chargers that do NOT allow over charge, to always buy protected quality cells, and to ALWAYS use a volt meter to test the voltage of every cell before you put it into your torch, and the above will most likely never happen to you. I don't think many realize just how dangerous these things can be. Another danger (which is why you should always buy a GOOD charger) is that many cells take several hours to charge correctly, and many people leave them charging overnight (which is fine if you get a GOOD charger). If you don't buy a good charger and good cells, you may wake up at 3AM with your house burning down .

Can you name a good charger and some decent batteries that wont become a pipebomb

Good deal.
I bought mine @ $100 last year and it is still working fine.

Quote from strossus84 : Can you name a good charger and some decent batteries that wont become a pipebomb

Get AW battery, Ultrafire charger is fine.
I have been using it for years without issues.

This is awesome! Thanks.

Quote from plumbum : Can anybody reccomend a fenix/cree style flashlight that uses 3-C cell batteries? Maybe provide a link, Thanks a bunch! I have looked around and I'm coming up blank...

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Prod...d=11659814

Thanks a bunch!