That was the most thorough and detailed review I've ever seen by someone just doing it for fun. No BS review....great stuff. You're awesome man! Thank you so much! Just bought the 5C full pack because after watching this. Was on the fence for a few days after finding it. I've subscribed and will be checking your channel out...haven't checked yet but do you do any knife reviews?
Thanks man! Appreciate it. I don't have any knife videos, I don't have a quality knife, but I've been meaning to do a quick video on the one that I do have, just to show what I use and how I sharpen it. I show it in ruclips.net/video/_BAK6hrlDTk/видео.htmlm32s I was also thinking of doing a review on my Leatherman PS4 Squirt, it's my keychain knife. Awesome to have. I also use the SwissChamp a lot. What kinda knives do you have? Cheers! David.
David Sunshine Oh man...I never saw or wrote back to your reply. If you're just getting into or want to get into knives and you're already familiar with Gearbest I highy recommend trying either Ganzo or Sanrenmu knives. Ganzo for large folders and Sanrenmu for smaller ones. If you want to start cheap (by no means does that reflect on build quality!) check out the Sanrenmu 7010...if you want to go a little larger the Ganzo G727m. And if you really want an eye catcher the Ganzo G753 in carbon fiber is unbelievably nice but it's quite large. These brands get you the most value for knives that are under $20-25! Let me know if you have any questions...I'd love to help.
David Sunshine One more thing...I want to buy a Convoy C8 but don't know which variation to get. My knowledge of flashlights and LEDs I'd very limited. I understand lumens, power, build quality and the temperature ranges but that's about it. FYI - I also prefer the more natural/warm colored lights. My main question is which led is better in that light...the XP-L or XM-L. Read a review that said the C8 might not be designed for an XP-L and that it sits too deep...? Does that sound right to you?
hovan-A-sec Hey no worries! That happens to me sometimes and I see it a year later, I don't know if I should even reply after that point lol. Thanks for the reply and great suggestions! I haven't seen those before and they look great. I like the CF, does it make it lighter? But I probably wouldn't go for CF because I want functionality, and the rough textured plastic ones will probably help maintain grip even if you have a sweaty hand or use it in the rain right? I looked at the 7010 and 727s, but the G7393P-BK popped up and I'm really thinking of getting that one, it seems to have a nicely sized grip. What do you call the blade lock release and knob to help you open it with the thumb? My question would be, do those function well and have good spring tension, but are still operable by one hand and thumb? If so I think that might be the knife I've been searching for! Thanks for pointing me in this direction, answering my questions and educating me in knives. The steel is good quality stainless? Holds a good edge and isn't too brittle? It's $18.18, great price! Cheers, David.
***** Hi, the C8 is a great light, and I've tested the XML2 version, but not the XPL HI version. I did however dedome an XML2 and throw it into a C8, and it worked well, that's because the reflector is large, so the more light you throw sideways, the better the throw cuz more light hits the reflector and gets pointed down range, the downside to that, is that you lose flood light, a higher amount of your light goes into your beam, if you're looking in your back yard for something, you'll want that flood or spill light, in addition to the throw, the best light that is for that is the Convoy S2+ and it's orange peel reflector, it has a lot of flood, but still good throw. The C8 XML2 version provides a good amount of flood and has better throw than the S2+. What is your objective? If you want a compact thrower, I would get the C8 with the XPL HI, in fact I just ordered the new clear version with new firmware from Convoy directly, here's the exact one I ordered, C8($24.77 tidd.ly). I think it'll be worth every penny, I'm not into throwers but I gotta have one in my collection, and I've been waiting for a reason, this new firmware and the XPL HI was a good reason, I'll test it out and see if it's good. If you don't want to wait, get one, I'm sure it'll be good. But I can give you a quick synopsis of my take on it once it gets here, should be in the next week or so, it's been almost 3 weeks. If you're after the ultimate thrower, I am thinking of cone-doming a bunch of LEDs to see how well that works. If my calculations are correct, it should make them the best throwers available. If I'm wrong, then it'll be a waste of time lol. It'll be a couple months before I can get to that testing. The new firmware should be good, way better than any old C8 firmware, but we'll see once it gets here. Hope that helps! Cheers, David.
Thank you! Glad you appreciated it! FYI, I'm still using the M3 as my EDC, the battery is still working well too. 3 years of service, not bad! For the price, you can't beat this. Cheers, David.
Thank you! My pleasure. Ya I know what you mean. Too many flashlights! I keep them in a box. Gonna have to get a bigger box! I like the M3 though, I was working in my E46 just now and with the magnet in the clip, it works really well under the car, puts light anywhere you need it, the tail magnet is good too, but sometimes you need the side mount. Cheers! David. PS: I asked them if they'll sell the battery separately, they said they don't, that's a shame cuz it's a great battery and I wanted spares!
You're welcome. My pleasure. I was always using a cheap XM-L2 key chain 16340 flashlight(twist on and off, I added batteries to the tail and side with tape, ghetto), and it was a great size and powerful, but this is way better with it's side-switch and of course the proper magnet and modes. It's a killer for $26.01! And that battery is so good, they gotta sell that thing separately, I could use a spare. Cheers! David.
Nope, it won't really help, the body is so small the thing gets really hot anyways and just starts to reduce the output. At 4m40s I show how I unscrewed the front ring, you gotta unscrew the reflector after that, and you can take the LED out after that, you can add thermal grease to the back of it if you want, but they've already put enough back there so I don't think it'll help. If you throw a copper 16mm pad in there it might help hold turbo for a tiny bit longer, but still not much more. It'll be insignificant, so I wouldn't bother unless you want to change the color temp, or throw in an XPL HI to get more throw out of the light.
Thanks for another informative and in-depth review. Any chance in the future you could provide a link to some of the graphs you display, perhaps in an imgur album or something, sometimes it's a little hard to pause the video to read them. Again thanks for the great review, I'm definitely considering this for an EDC.
Thanks Isaac!! Glad you found it informative. Sure I can PDF them and leave a link for them in the description, I'll do that tonight! Thanks for the good idea. Best regards, David.
Hi, I haven't had it accidentally turn on before, but it could happen. The click of the side switch is very pronounced, and you need to give it quite a bit of pressure to activate it, so it's not as prone to being turned on as a switch that's too easily clicked, but with a firm accidental push of it, it will turn on. To turn it on, you have to press and hold > 0.5s, so that helps reduce the accidental activation, but it can still happen if you sit down and it pushes in the button. The lockout would be twisting the battery cap partially to disconnect the battery, this works well to prevent accidental activation. Turbo is only turned on by a quick double click as well, so that keeps it from entering turbo accidentally. Hope that helps. Best regards, David.
Thanks for your in depth reviews and explanations. I was wondering if I made the right choice by buying the M3 with the battery or not. What would you suggest as a comparable battery for this as a backup?
Hi, You're welcome! I don't think I can find a better battery than the On the Road M3's 700mAh battery, it's insane at 799mAh, the Nitecore 650mAh preformed very well, and giving 698mAh is very good for a protected battery. I don't think the On the Road battery is protected, but I could be wrong, I didn't unwrap it, but I doubt it's got protection, which is probably why it can deliver almost 3A. Any battery you buy will probably be protected. The Nitecore 650mAh I had worked well in the light though, so protected cells still work fine at these high current draws. I'll email GearBest and ask them if they'll sell On the Road M3 700mAh batteries as spares, cuz I wouldn't mind one. As a compromise, the Nitecore would work, I've tested it to 698mAh so we know it's good. If you want to experiment, the Fenix 700mAh looks good, and might be similar to the Nitecore but a little better, won't know till we try though. Fenix 700mAh www.fasttech.com/products/0/10008963/5302403-fenix-arb-l16-icr-16340-3-7v-700mah-protected Nitecore 650mAh: www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001848/1134001-authentic-nitecore-nl166-rcr123a-650mah-3-7v Hope that helps! Cheers, David.
Ya I didn't expect it to be as good as a stock S2+, but it impressed me!! Don't think there's much room for improvement though, since a 16340 can only deliver so much current, and this is probably maxing it out.
John Sims Ya, if you want the larger diameter of a 16340 flashlight, the M3 is awesome, I like the magnet on the back, and by adding a magnet on the clip it becomes really handy, and that's the whole point of an EDC light. The lumintop is good if you're looking for a slim package, good for a suit pocket, the M3 is too big for that. All these lights have a purpose, from the Lumintop to the Convoy L6, even the cheap eBay lights have their place, lol, I have too many.
Lol we should start an FA, flashlights anonymous. Ya the side magnet works really well, allows you to mount it any way you want and throw light exactly where you need it, lucky it is positioned in the middle so that it is balanced.
Awesome review! I purchased the convoy s2+ after watching your review. I also purchased two rechargeable 18650's that are 5,000 mAh. Do you think this battery is ok for the s2+? Or too powerful of a battery? I love the s2+
Thanks man! Ya the S2+ is great. Ratty is correct, the highest capacity 18650 is the Sanyo 3500mAh that I know of and have tested. If it says 5000mAh, it will be less. The convoy has 8 x 7135 current limiters so it'll only pull 2.8A max, so no worries there, and as long as the battery voltage is 4.2V max, it'll be compatible. There is one danger, and that's overcurrent of the battery, if the battery can't handle 2.8A, and the flashlight tries to pull 2.8A, it could overheat the battery and the battery may blow up, that's why I recommend the Sanyo 3500mAh cell, it has a low internal resistance and that means it won't heat up while delivering 2.8A. The 5000mAh cell may have a high internal resistance and not be able to deliver more than 1A safely, but you'll have to test that out. The Sanyo 3500mAh is about $18 for 4 on GearBest, you can buy them separately but that's the best price. You can use the 5000mAh cell, just make sure you don't run it too hot, and that you don't run it on high for too long. Hope that helps! Cheers, David.
Those 5000 mah 18650 are probably rewraped junk batteries less than 2000 mah. I would avoid them big time. Gearbest recently lost their battery shipper and now charge a lot for battery shipping. For folks in USA, I'd recommend either Illumn or Mtnelectronics for batteries. Good, protected 18650 are only $10 each.
Do you have a smart charger? If so you can run them down to about 3 volts and then see how much mah they charge back up. I've heard that some 5000 mah Ultrafire batteries actually measured out at 700-900 mah. This is due to the poor chemistry in the battery design. The big 4 battery companies have their special proprietary mix of chemicals to get their 18650's up to such high storage levels. This is also why other sizes like 26650 and 18350 don't seem as efficient. They are made by other companies that don't have such a good chemistry inside. I've personally only used 2 different protected 18650 batteries. The Keeppower protected button top 3500 mah which uses a Sanyo NCR18650GA core and is good for 8 amps from Illumn. Also the Evva protected button top 3400 mah which uses a Panasonic NCR18650B core and is good for 7 amps from Mountain Electronics. They are the same 70mm length, but the GA battery is a tiny bit larger diameter (I think Keeppower double wraps them). This might cause a snug fit in some lights. I've got one of those batteries and 5 of the B's. They seem to run forever. lol Keep in mind that the big battery companies only make unprotected cells then other companies will buy them and add the protection circuitry and rewrap them. So with protected batteries you have to look at 2 factors, the original cell inside as well as the protection circuitry that was added. This is where reading battery reviews comes in handy.
Thanks! Actually check out the M3 Pro, it's like this and has a USB C port! Everything else is exactly the same, just as awesome, but no side clip. Wish they included the pocket clip, but most people don't use it, so I guess they excluded it. Cheers! David.
Lol, ya it's great! I've been testing the S1R, and it has a turbo timer, so you can only stay on turbo for 30S, that's for safety. The M3 doesn't have that, so it's dangerously powerful, but a powerful beast because of that! It's 700mAh battery is also very good, so the beast has a powerful heart as well!
Yup, turns off at 2.8V, protects your 16340s really well. It goes to low, then shuts off. You can keep turning it back on and using it on low, so if you really need light, it'll give you some, then turn off again as the voltage drops. That's good since sometimes you need to have light, and forcefully reduce the battery voltage. It's a great light and I'm still using it as my EDC, with the stock battery! It's been a couple years! Cheers, David.
I am looking for something small like this for safety. How strong is the strobe light? And should I maybe go with 1A for more light to shine in those bad guys' eyes?
Yup, this M3 is very powerful for safety, and perfect for walking around. Strobe uses max power, so 920+lumens, you triple click to strobe, but double click to turbo is good for blinding as well, if you get an eye full of turbo, you will have temporary blindness in a dark environment, moreso than strobe since the constant exposure to turbo will overexpose their retina quicker than a strobe will(That's my theory anyways). If you use it on LOW or even moonlight while walking, people will think you have a tiny light, and when you need it, just double click and you can blind any bad guy you want. (tidd.ly/a3bcab81 1A-6500-7000K) You are correct, get the higher color temperature to blind and glare bad guys' eyes even worse, it will cause their iris to close quicker and further, and temporarily blind them for a longer period of time, by the time they can see again, you will be long gone, provided it's in a very dark environment, if there are street lights around, it might not be enough to blind them, and you might be better off with a Convoy L6, however a double click will strobe, but that's enough to blind them. The L6 is a very good defense light, check it out if you want something bigger, and better for walking around trails and in dark places. It also has a tactical ring so you can grip it a lot stronger. Check out my video here if you are interested: ruclips.net/video/h6KlvFASrQ4/видео.html Cheers, David.
Anytime! I don't have the M6, but they say it's 80 more lumens, and it probably is because it'll hold the amps better with a bigger battery, but it won't be noticeable if both are charged fully, the on the road will lose voltage much quicker, and get dimmer, but that's what you give up with the small size. I only walk 10 minutes to my car so I don't need much runtime, so it works for me. I found that I don't carry the larger light with me, so it gets less used, but the M3 is so tiny I actually can carry it with my when I need it. It depends on what you want. If you wanna carry something bigger, the M6 will work great, along with the Sanyo 3500mAh, you'll have 5 times the runtime at max lol. Since it's bigger you can run it on high for longer before it gets really hot too, but still not that long cuz 10W it's a lot of heat. The M6 is a good side switch defense light though because you can get to turbo or strobe quicker than a tail switch light. The convoy S2+ is half the price but you won't have double tap for turbo so that's not a very good defense light. The M6 is a good option it seems, but I don't have one so I can only speak to it's functions, not the experience of it. Cheers, David.
The Convoy S series will be getting new firmware soon called biscotti. It has many mode options including strobe. For right now you can order from Convoy and ask Simon for the upgraded firmware. It only adds $1 to the cost.
JasonWW2000 Thanks for the heads up! I ordered the new firmware drivers, but it didn't have a name, I wonder if that's the same as biscotti? Is it the one in the new C8 clear finish from Simon? I'm waiting for it to show up still, been shipping for a while now. Hope it works well!
Great in depth video! Btw any idea where i can get some extra batteries that the M3 came with? And also which battery tube works with it to take an 18650?
Thank you! We asked, and they won't sell the battery separately, we can only get it from them as a kit. Also you can't upgrade it to 18mm batteries, it's diameter is for 16mm only. I suggest you get the Convoy S2+ if you want to use 18650s. Cheers, David.
srvctek1 Oh I see. Ya that's probably it. This light is pretty awesome though, I just recently tested it and the percent flicker is very low, 11%, which makes this light awesome, other lights have 100% flicker, which isn't so great. They really did a great job with this thing. They also have the pwm at 500hz so no chance of noise from it. Cheers, David.
srvctek1 Cool! You'll be more than happy with it. Lol, collection. Ya I need a bigger shoe box for all my lights now. The L6 and SkyRay are my bigger lights, and take up some space.
The 1A (6500-7000K) light is considered brighter, as less light is converted to warmer light, or redder light, so it'll look more blue and read higher on a light meter, but the warmer 5C light (3500-4000K) will look better if used to light a scene with warmer colors, it may even be perceived to be brighter because it's bringing out more of the details. I prefer the warmer light in general, but if you're just going for lumem output and a glaringly bright light, the 1A will perform better. For camping, a warm white 2700K would be preferred, so it all depends on your use and preference. The color rendering index and R9 values are better for a good quality light, and the 5C most likely has better CRI and R9 than the 1A. There's also the gamut area index to consider too. If you want a quality light, all those play a role. But if you just want bright, go with 6500-7000K.
No idea who the OEM is, but I'll ask, I asked them if they'll sell it but they said they don't sell it separately. I'll let you know what I hear. But whoever it is, it's damn good and I want to be able to buy a spare without buying the light kit!
Add me to that list. Maybe if more people want just the battery, GB will sell them separately. Even if they just give up the name of the OEM. It's damn hard to find a decent cell of this size.
Will do. Ya I know what you mean, the current output of this battery is much better than the Olight and Nitecore, and those aren't cheap batteries. This one makes purchasing the kit to get the battery worth it, then you can give the flashlight out out to friends and families, they can use the Nitecore or Olight batteries since they don't need the insane output, it burns a hole in your pocket with the 700mAh cell so it's a little dangerous with that high output cell anyways.
My magnet is 6mm x 14mm, thickness is about 1.5mm but it's for a motor so it's semi-cylindrical. The flat face of the clip where you'd want the magnet is 7mm wide at the top, tapering down to 5.67mm at the bottom of the clip, and about 23.6mm long, so as long as you get a 20mm long magnet that's 6mm wide, it should work, 1.5mm thick would be plenty, 1mm would be fine too. Hope that helps, cheers. David.
You're welcome! I ordered some magnets for the Convoy clip too. Hoping to do the same thing to that light. Will be awesome for working on the car, or just about anything.
Most definitely at least 920 lumens OTF, it's pushing enough amps/watts to produce around 1000 lumens, after the reflector and lens, I'm pretty sure 920 OTF lumens is reasonable. It gets a similar lux rating(diffusing box with an iPhone as a light meter, used to read effective lighting level) to the Convoy S2+ and that's a very high quality light. I know it's not a scientific gauge, but it also burns a black bag in the same way as the Convoy, so I think that confirms it is pushing the same amount if energy out the front, if you try burning materials with cheaper weaker lights, they won't be able to do it, cuz they are over rated and probably only pushing 5W, not 10W like the more powerful lights. Hope that helps. Cheers, David.
ah ok thanks, its just that some folks on budgetlightforums were saying its closer to 550-600 lumens for the 5c model and i was wondering how it compares to the olight s1 (500 lumens) when it goes on sale for around 26 bucks occasionally
No problem. I think it uses a pretty high efficacy bin XML2, and with the high quality 16340 that has a low internal resistance, it seems to put out similar light levels to the stock Convoy with 8x7135, which is pretty close to 1000 lumens. They both get around 40 lux on my light meter in the diffusing box, so they must be both around 1000 lumens, or both at around 600 lumens, I guess you won't really know unless you have a controlled test with a know efficacy LED, I don't have that, but most of my lights perform the same, so chances are good that they are correctly stated T6 LEDs. If you use an RCR123 that has a higher internal resistance, it will only be able output limited current, then your light would operate at 600lumens, but the stock battery is impressive, and can run at 3A for some time. In summary, you'll find it runs similarly to the S2+, and that's pretty impressive. I asked if they can sell the battery separately, cuz it would make a great spare, but they don't, so that's too bad, I don't think you can get a better RCR123 than this one. Maybe in the future. Cheers, David.
Spectre I have the 5C model, and the lower color temperature does reduce lumen output a bit, but keep in mind that it's producing more red light, so it's R9 value is higher, and that makes it a more useful light, for instance, if you used it to light up a bunch of red apples at a grocery store, it'll look brighter to your eye than a higher color temperature light, so if you're looking to light up a scene, I recommend a lower color temperature, if you're going for glare, go with higher color temperature. You can take into account the CRI and R9, or even the Gaumut Area Index, CRI is kinda old now and obsolete. I guess it depends on what you want. Personally, I like 2700K light, all the lights at Ikea are that color temperature, and they are all 90+CRI, since that's a high quality interior light. I do use my light indoors, and camping, so it a good color temperature for that, it's a nice relaxing light. But it's completely personal preference.
John Lindborg Hi, the case is too small for an 18mm diameter battery, it only fits the 16mm diameter battery. The length is limited too. For reference the numbers mean: 16340(16mm dia. x 34mm length), 18350(18mm dia. x 35mm length.), the 0 stands for a cylindrical cell, it should have been o if you think about it though, lol.
Hi, Color temperature refers to the color of the light: 2700K is warm white like an incandescent bulb, as that number goes up, your light becomes less orange and more blue. 10000K is really blue light. I would say that 3800K is about neutral white, so inbetween orange/blue. Here I show a comparison between the M3 with 3800K-4000K vs the S1R which has 6000K, you can see the difference. Some people think 6000K looks better/brighter, and it is brighter since less energy is wasted making orange/red light. For those who are color blind, the higher color temperatures will work the best, since it'll help them see the most. But for those who aren't color blind, the blue tint can be very annoying, and you'll want warm white light, so no one color temperature is best, it's personal preference: ruclips.net/video/K6CiI8REamY/видео.htmlm20s You can watch my IKEA bulb review video if you want to know more about color temperature and how it affects most people: ruclips.net/video/eH5H8QiFjhU/видео.html As for the M3, it is still the best all around kit to purchase for an EDC, even though it's been out for over a year. There are other lights on the market like the Astrolux S41S(tidd.ly/b10174ae) which can put out 1600lm with the XP-G3 LED, but you'll need to buy your own high quality 18350 and charger for it. It'll cost more, but it'll have higher output and longer runtime(if used at a lower mode). I have no experience with the Astrolux or 18350s, but it's a good compromise between a 16340 light and an 18650 light. If you don't want to spend that much on a light, the M3 is still great value for your dollar. There's also the UT01 if you're looking for a good light that can use AA batteries, as well as 14500 lithium ions, the output is the same as the M3, but it doesn't come with a 14500 or AA batteries. Here's my review on it: ruclips.net/video/82sL-KGqhDA/видео.html Many options out there, it just depends on what features you want in a flashlight. Hope that helps! Cheers, David.
Hi David, I've ordered a Nitecore NL166 RCR123A battery from Fasttech and tried it in the M3 flashlight but it didn't work. Do you know if the supplied charger from the M3 flashlight supports the RCR123A battery? Perhaps i need to buy a separate charger :| Thnx. Cheers
Ed Kastanje Hi, nope, you won't need a new charger. The charger for the M3 charges a little high, to 4.28V. What may have happened is that the protection circuit disconnected the cell due to high voltage. I have the and battery I think and can test it too, but the cell should come back to life when you remove it from the charger for some time. Do you have a volt meter that you can use to check the cell? You shouldn't need a different charger though, I think I've charged my Nitecore on it and it still worked, even if it was a little high.
Hi, i have tested the Nitecore battery with a voltmeter but it reads 0,0 volt. The supplied On the road produces 3.7v. I'll contact Fasttech maybe my Nitecore battery is dead. Thnx for your help.
Hi, Yup, it could be a faulty battery. My Olight actually came faulty, after the first charge, it's protection circuit would drain and heat up the battery, then kill itself within a day. I got a refund for it, and purchased the Nitecore, and it's been working fine for me. I guess every manufacturer could have their bad batteries. This is why I don't typically use batteries with protection circuits, just another thing to go wrong. I think the On the Road battery is unprotected, from what I can tell. I'm charging my Nitecore RCR123A up in the M3 charger, it started at 3.8V, but the charger is putting out 4.28V, so I think it's gonna overcharge it(Which I think was ok the last time I tired), but we'll see how it ends up, and whether it works or not. You may want to get a new charger that charges to a 4.20V maximum voltage. The M3 charger seems to overcharge things, which is ok once in a while, but will reduce the life-cycle of a battery over many charges. Cheers, David.
Hi, So I let it charge for a long time, and the voltage at the terminals of the charger were at 4.27-4.29V with the battery in there, it indicated a full charge, however when I pulled the battery from the charger, and measured it's open voltage, it sat at 4.16V, so the protection circuit did exactly what it was supposed to, and provided a voltage drop or opened the circuit as required to protected the lithium ion cell within the battery. What this proves, is that you can charge your protected cells or cells capable of 4.29V in the M3 charger, no problem. The battery works just fine in the M3. So I guess yours is DOA, you should be able to get a refund for it, or a new one. Their customer service is pretty good. Good luck! Cheers, David.
What is the Difference between ON THE ROAD M3 920Lm Cree L2 U2 1A 16340 LED Flashlight And the ON THE ROAD M3 920Lm Cree L2 U2 5C 16340 LED Flashlight. What does 1A mean?and what does 5C mean? Please help
5C is 3800-4000K, the 1A is 6500-7000K, or warm white and cool white, respectively. 1A looks brighter, creates more glare, but I personally go with lower color temps since it has more variation on the spectrum, or has a wider spectrum of light, that's considered a higher quality of light, and has less glare. It depends what you're using it for. For general lighting I recommend warm white.
The M3 is a great light if you want to wipe your ass with $25.I bought one 2 months ago and after using it for 8 days the button that turns it off and on fell off the light and it will not stay on the light any more.I sent pics to gearbest.com and ask for a refund but they wouldn't even answer my email.I bought 9 flashlights from them in 3 months and this is how they repay loyal customers.Better stick with Amazon because they are honest vendors and not crooks like gearbest!
Ya, I bought many lights from them too, I haven't had a problem with my M3, and still use it as my EDC, so it's been going good for 1 year for me. That's unfortunate the button fell off, sounds like they forgot to glue it in or something. I haven't taken the bezel out that holds the button on, but I assume it's friction or glue that holds it in. Is it something you can superglue back in, and it'll work? Gearbest's return policy isn't as good as amazon's, that's for sure, so if you have a problem with a product, you're kinda screwed, because they want you to pay for return shipping(LIKE WTF???). Amazon will provide free return shipping. But Gearbest customer service has been pretty good when the product is lost in the mail, they either ship a new one, or give you full in-store credit. Not as good as amazon, who will give you a full refund though. Amazon is great, but it's still worth buying the dirt cheap lights from Gearbest, some of them are pretty awesome for the price. Gearbest shipping is slow as hell tho, amazon ships in a few days, not a few months! So I guess it depends on what you want. Some things aren't on amazon yet, like the UT02, so we got no choice but to buy from Gearbest. If it were, I'd probably pay a little more for the quicker shipping though.
I tried glue but no luck.I'm glad yours is OK. What bothers me is gearbest did not treat me fairly.I sent them pics and explained that the button just fell off. They just lost a good customer so it's their loss.
Oh I see. Maybe silicone or something can hold it in. Ya, that's a little concerning that Gearbest customer service couldn't help you out, that's totally unacceptable. So they just totally ignored you? That's not good at all! WTF, we as the customer is what brings their bread and butter home! If they treat us like crap, and we stop buying, they will go out of business, so they should really help you out. The crappy part though, is that they won't pay for return shipping, so you'll have to pay $20+ to ship the broken thing back to them, and that's just a waste of your money. I understand they have a tight profit margin, but they should cut losses sometimes and provide customer service at the sacrifice of profit, the additional business of that service will more than cover any losses. That's how I'd run my business. I think that if they shipped you a damaged product, they should pay for return shipping like Amazon does, and give you a new one at no cost, they should even compensate you for the time wasted, so give you in-store credit or something. If I were you, I'd keep trying to get some customer service on this one, but I can see that sometimes it's just too much of a hassle. Sometimes I just let it go. So for the button, does the silver metal ring come out and then the rubber piece comes out? I wonder if you can flare out the bottom of the metal ring, then hammer it back in there forcefully and that'll retain it. Would be nice to fix it so you can keep using it. Or maybe clean the surfaces with rubbing alcohol and then use gorilla glue super glue or something to glue it in there for good. The M3 is an awesome light, and I like it better than all my other lights as my EDC. The user interface is awesome compared to anything else I have. I recently go the DQG 26650 Tiny, and it's side switch sucks compared to the M3, lol. The user interface also sucks compared to the M3.
You really hit the nail on the head. I think gearbest takes customers for granted and they only care about the money and not doing business the fair and honest way like Amazon does period!
That was the most thorough and detailed review I've ever seen by someone just doing it for fun. No BS review....great stuff. You're awesome man! Thank you so much! Just bought the 5C full pack because after watching this. Was on the fence for a few days after finding it. I've subscribed and will be checking your channel out...haven't checked yet but do you do any knife reviews?
Thanks man! Appreciate it.
I don't have any knife videos, I don't have a quality knife, but I've been meaning to do a quick video on the one that I do have, just to show what I use and how I sharpen it.
I show it in ruclips.net/video/_BAK6hrlDTk/видео.htmlm32s
I was also thinking of doing a review on my Leatherman PS4 Squirt, it's my keychain knife. Awesome to have. I also use the SwissChamp a lot.
What kinda knives do you have?
Cheers!
David.
David Sunshine Oh man...I never saw or wrote back to your reply. If you're just getting into or want to get into knives and you're already familiar with Gearbest I highy recommend trying either Ganzo or Sanrenmu knives. Ganzo for large folders and Sanrenmu for smaller ones. If you want to start cheap (by no means does that reflect on build quality!) check out the Sanrenmu 7010...if you want to go a little larger the Ganzo G727m. And if you really want an eye catcher the Ganzo G753 in carbon fiber is unbelievably nice but it's quite large. These brands get you the most value for knives that are under $20-25! Let me know if you have any questions...I'd love to help.
David Sunshine One more thing...I want to buy a Convoy C8 but don't know which variation to get. My knowledge of flashlights and LEDs I'd very limited. I understand lumens, power, build quality and the temperature ranges but that's about it. FYI - I also prefer the more natural/warm colored lights. My main question is which led is better in that light...the XP-L or XM-L. Read a review that said the C8 might not be designed for an XP-L and that it sits too deep...? Does that sound right to you?
hovan-A-sec Hey no worries! That happens to me sometimes and I see it a year later, I don't know if I should even reply after that point lol. Thanks for the reply and great suggestions! I haven't seen those before and they look great. I like the CF, does it make it lighter? But I probably wouldn't go for CF because I want functionality, and the rough textured plastic ones will probably help maintain grip even if you have a sweaty hand or use it in the rain right? I looked at the 7010 and 727s, but the G7393P-BK popped up and I'm really thinking of getting that one, it seems to have a nicely sized grip. What do you call the blade lock release and knob to help you open it with the thumb? My question would be, do those function well and have good spring tension, but are still operable by one hand and thumb? If so I think that might be the knife I've been searching for! Thanks for pointing me in this direction, answering my questions and educating me in knives.
The steel is good quality stainless? Holds a good edge and isn't too brittle? It's $18.18, great price!
Cheers,
David.
***** Hi, the C8 is a great light, and I've tested the XML2 version, but not the XPL HI version. I did however dedome an XML2 and throw it into a C8, and it worked well, that's because the reflector is large, so the more light you throw sideways, the better the throw cuz more light hits the reflector and gets pointed down range, the downside to that, is that you lose flood light, a higher amount of your light goes into your beam, if you're looking in your back yard for something, you'll want that flood or spill light, in addition to the throw, the best light that is for that is the Convoy S2+ and it's orange peel reflector, it has a lot of flood, but still good throw. The C8 XML2 version provides a good amount of flood and has better throw than the S2+. What is your objective?
If you want a compact thrower, I would get the C8 with the XPL HI, in fact I just ordered the new clear version with new firmware from Convoy directly, here's the exact one I ordered, C8($24.77 tidd.ly). I think it'll be worth every penny, I'm not into throwers but I gotta have one in my collection, and I've been waiting for a reason, this new firmware and the XPL HI was a good reason, I'll test it out and see if it's good. If you don't want to wait, get one, I'm sure it'll be good. But I can give you a quick synopsis of my take on it once it gets here, should be in the next week or so, it's been almost 3 weeks.
If you're after the ultimate thrower, I am thinking of cone-doming a bunch of LEDs to see how well that works. If my calculations are correct, it should make them the best throwers available. If I'm wrong, then it'll be a waste of time lol. It'll be a couple months before I can get to that testing. The new firmware should be good, way better than any old C8 firmware, but we'll see once it gets here.
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
David.
Fantastic review, appreciate the level of detail
Thank you! Glad you appreciated it! FYI, I'm still using the M3 as my EDC, the battery is still working well too. 3 years of service, not bad! For the price, you can't beat this.
Cheers,
David.
Thanks for all the work!
You're welcome! Glad to do it, it was fun!
Another great review !
Thank you! Glad you like it!
Great review! Tempted to buy another flashlight, again. Thanks for this!
Thank you! My pleasure. Ya I know what you mean. Too many flashlights! I keep them in a box. Gonna have to get a bigger box! I like the M3 though, I was working in my E46 just now and with the magnet in the clip, it works really well under the car, puts light anywhere you need it, the tail magnet is good too, but sometimes you need the side mount.
Cheers!
David.
PS: I asked them if they'll sell the battery separately, they said they don't, that's a shame cuz it's a great battery and I wanted spares!
Always wondered about this light and how it performed thanks for the video
You're welcome. My pleasure.
I was always using a cheap XM-L2 key chain 16340 flashlight(twist on and off, I added batteries to the tail and side with tape, ghetto), and it was a great size and powerful, but this is way better with it's side-switch and of course the proper magnet and modes. It's a killer for $26.01! And that battery is so good, they gotta sell that thing separately, I could use a spare.
Cheers!
David.
Thanks so much for the helpful feedback brother. Great review 👍🏻
You're welcome. Thanks man, hope you enjoyed it. Cheers, David.
Will adding thermal paste make turbo run longer? If so, can you do a video on how to do it?
Nope, it won't really help, the body is so small the thing gets really hot anyways and just starts to reduce the output.
At 4m40s I show how I unscrewed the front ring, you gotta unscrew the reflector after that, and you can take the LED out after that, you can add thermal grease to the back of it if you want, but they've already put enough back there so I don't think it'll help.
If you throw a copper 16mm pad in there it might help hold turbo for a tiny bit longer, but still not much more. It'll be insignificant, so I wouldn't bother unless you want to change the color temp, or throw in an XPL HI to get more throw out of the light.
Thanks for the quick response, will keep that in mind
How do you suggest I throw in an XPL HI?
Love my black light and regular s2's. Thanks for sharing your knowledge
Awesome! Ya those are cool lights.
You're welcome! Hope you enjoy them!
Thanks for leaving a comment and your feedback!
Heatshrink, that's a neat trick.
Haha ya man, the magnet and the heat shrink has made my flashlights so awesome and useful!
Thanks for another informative and in-depth review. Any chance in the future you could provide a link to some of the graphs you display, perhaps in an imgur album or something, sometimes it's a little hard to pause the video to read them. Again thanks for the great review, I'm definitely considering this for an EDC.
Thanks Isaac!! Glad you found it informative. Sure I can PDF them and leave a link for them in the description, I'll do that tonight! Thanks for the good idea.
Best regards,
David.
Hi Isaac, I've put the graphs and tables up here: www.dropbox.com/s/6yk5lvtwu2671cb/M3%20SLIDES.pdf?dl=0
Thanks!
Is the side switch prone to being turned on by accident? Does the light (the M3) have a lockout mode to preclude accidental activation?
Hi,
I haven't had it accidentally turn on before, but it could happen.
The click of the side switch is very pronounced, and you need to give it quite a bit of pressure to activate it, so it's not as prone to being turned on as a switch that's too easily clicked, but with a firm accidental push of it, it will turn on.
To turn it on, you have to press and hold > 0.5s, so that helps reduce the accidental activation, but it can still happen if you sit down and it pushes in the button.
The lockout would be twisting the battery cap partially to disconnect the battery, this works well to prevent accidental activation.
Turbo is only turned on by a quick double click as well, so that keeps it from entering turbo accidentally.
Hope that helps.
Best regards,
David.
Thanks for your in depth reviews and explanations. I was wondering if I made the right choice by buying the M3 with the battery or not. What would you suggest as a comparable battery for this as a backup?
Hi,
You're welcome!
I don't think I can find a better battery than the On the Road M3's 700mAh battery, it's insane at 799mAh, the Nitecore 650mAh preformed very well, and giving 698mAh is very good for a protected battery. I don't think the On the Road battery is protected, but I could be wrong, I didn't unwrap it, but I doubt it's got protection, which is probably why it can deliver almost 3A. Any battery you buy will probably be protected. The Nitecore 650mAh I had worked well in the light though, so protected cells still work fine at these high current draws.
I'll email GearBest and ask them if they'll sell On the Road M3 700mAh batteries as spares, cuz I wouldn't mind one.
As a compromise, the Nitecore would work, I've tested it to 698mAh so we know it's good. If you want to experiment, the Fenix 700mAh looks good, and might be similar to the Nitecore but a little better, won't know till we try though.
Fenix 700mAh www.fasttech.com/products/0/10008963/5302403-fenix-arb-l16-icr-16340-3-7v-700mah-protected
Nitecore 650mAh: www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001848/1134001-authentic-nitecore-nl166-rcr123a-650mah-3-7v
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
David.
Nice!
Ya I didn't expect it to be as good as a stock S2+, but it impressed me!! Don't think there's much room for improvement though, since a 16340 can only deliver so much current, and this is probably maxing it out.
Still bad ass. I ordered one. I also like the Lumintop AAA penlight
John Sims Ya, if you want the larger diameter of a 16340 flashlight, the M3 is awesome, I like the magnet on the back, and by adding a magnet on the clip it becomes really handy, and that's the whole point of an EDC light.
The lumintop is good if you're looking for a slim package, good for a suit pocket, the M3 is too big for that.
All these lights have a purpose, from the Lumintop to the Convoy L6, even the cheap eBay lights have their place, lol, I have too many.
I have too many too! I like the magnet in the clip trick. Looks awesome!
Lol we should start an FA, flashlights anonymous. Ya the side magnet works really well, allows you to mount it any way you want and throw light exactly where you need it, lucky it is positioned in the middle so that it is balanced.
Awesome review! I purchased the convoy s2+ after watching your review. I also purchased two rechargeable 18650's that are 5,000 mAh. Do you think this battery is ok for the s2+? Or too powerful of a battery? I love the s2+
Thanks man! Ya the S2+ is great. Ratty is correct, the highest capacity 18650 is the Sanyo 3500mAh that I know of and have tested. If it says 5000mAh, it will be less. The convoy has 8 x 7135 current limiters so it'll only pull 2.8A max, so no worries there, and as long as the battery voltage is 4.2V max, it'll be compatible. There is one danger, and that's overcurrent of the battery, if the battery can't handle 2.8A, and the flashlight tries to pull 2.8A, it could overheat the battery and the battery may blow up, that's why I recommend the Sanyo 3500mAh cell, it has a low internal resistance and that means it won't heat up while delivering 2.8A. The 5000mAh cell may have a high internal resistance and not be able to deliver more than 1A safely, but you'll have to test that out.
The Sanyo 3500mAh is about $18 for 4 on GearBest, you can buy them separately but that's the best price.
You can use the 5000mAh cell, just make sure you don't run it too hot, and that you don't run it on high for too long.
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
David.
Those 5000 mah 18650 are probably rewraped junk batteries less than 2000 mah. I would avoid them big time.
Gearbest recently lost their battery shipper and now charge a lot for battery shipping.
For folks in USA, I'd recommend either Illumn or Mtnelectronics for batteries. Good, protected 18650 are only $10 each.
JasonWW2000, Really? Ok thanks. What's a good brand to buy. I use the batteries daily and no issues yet.
Do you have a smart charger? If so you can run them down to about 3 volts and then see how much mah they charge back up. I've heard that some 5000 mah Ultrafire batteries actually measured out at 700-900 mah. This is due to the poor chemistry in the battery design.
The big 4 battery companies have their special proprietary mix of chemicals to get their 18650's up to such high storage levels. This is also why other sizes like 26650 and 18350 don't seem as efficient. They are made by other companies that don't have such a good chemistry inside.
I've personally only used 2 different protected 18650 batteries. The Keeppower protected button top 3500 mah which uses a Sanyo NCR18650GA core and is good for 8 amps from Illumn.
Also the Evva protected button top 3400 mah which uses a Panasonic NCR18650B core and is good for 7 amps from Mountain Electronics.
They are the same 70mm length, but the GA battery is a tiny bit larger diameter (I think Keeppower double wraps them). This might cause a snug fit in some lights. I've got one of those batteries and 5 of the B's. They seem to run forever. lol
Keep in mind that the big battery companies only make unprotected cells then other companies will buy them and add the protection circuitry and rewrap them. So with protected batteries you have to look at 2 factors, the original cell inside as well as the protection circuitry that was added.
This is where reading battery reviews comes in handy.
JasonWW2000 Thank you. These batteries are not protected. Is that an issue?
excelente review just order one🖒
Great! You'll like it for sure!
Cheers,
David.
Great review! I'll be buying one asap. and will subscribe to you're channel,
Thanks! Actually check out the M3 Pro, it's like this and has a USB C port! Everything else is exactly the same, just as awesome, but no side clip. Wish they included the pocket clip, but most people don't use it, so I guess they excluded it.
Cheers!
David.
I love this little powerhouse!
Lol, ya it's great! I've been testing the S1R, and it has a turbo timer, so you can only stay on turbo for 30S, that's for safety.
The M3 doesn't have that, so it's dangerously powerful, but a powerful beast because of that! It's 700mAh battery is also very good, so the beast has a powerful heart as well!
does it have low voltage protection?
Yup, turns off at 2.8V, protects your 16340s really well.
It goes to low, then shuts off. You can keep turning it back on and using it on low, so if you really need light, it'll give you some, then turn off again as the voltage drops. That's good since sometimes you need to have light, and forcefully reduce the battery voltage. It's a great light and I'm still using it as my EDC, with the stock battery! It's been a couple years!
Cheers,
David.
I am looking for something small like this for safety. How strong is the strobe light? And should I maybe go with 1A for more light to shine in those bad guys' eyes?
Yup, this M3 is very powerful for safety, and perfect for walking around. Strobe uses max power, so 920+lumens, you triple click to strobe, but double click to turbo is good for blinding as well, if you get an eye full of turbo, you will have temporary blindness in a dark environment, moreso than strobe since the constant exposure to turbo will overexpose their retina quicker than a strobe will(That's my theory anyways).
If you use it on LOW or even moonlight while walking, people will think you have a tiny light, and when you need it, just double click and you can blind any bad guy you want. (tidd.ly/a3bcab81 1A-6500-7000K)
You are correct, get the higher color temperature to blind and glare bad guys' eyes even worse, it will cause their iris to close quicker and further, and temporarily blind them for a longer period of time, by the time they can see again, you will be long gone, provided it's in a very dark environment, if there are street lights around, it might not be enough to blind them, and you might be better off with a Convoy L6, however a double click will strobe, but that's enough to blind them. The L6 is a very good defense light, check it out if you want something bigger, and better for walking around trails and in dark places. It also has a tactical ring so you can grip it a lot stronger. Check out my video here if you are interested: ruclips.net/video/h6KlvFASrQ4/видео.html
Cheers,
David.
Thanks for this! Any thoughts about their M6 - a bit bigger and a bit more powerful and long lasting.
Anytime! I don't have the M6, but
they say it's 80 more lumens, and it probably is because it'll hold the amps better with a bigger battery, but it won't be noticeable if both are charged fully, the on the road will lose voltage much quicker, and get dimmer, but that's what you give up with the small size. I only walk 10 minutes to my car so I don't need much runtime, so it works for me. I found that I don't carry the larger light with me, so it gets less used, but the M3 is so tiny I actually can carry it with my when I need it. It depends on what you want. If you wanna carry something bigger, the M6 will work great, along with the Sanyo 3500mAh, you'll have 5 times the runtime at max lol. Since it's bigger you can run it on high for longer before it gets really hot too, but still not that long cuz 10W it's a lot of heat. The M6 is a good side switch defense light though because you can get to turbo or strobe quicker than a tail switch light. The convoy S2+ is half the price but you won't have double tap for turbo so that's not a very good defense light.
The M6 is a good option it seems, but I don't have one so I can only speak to it's functions, not the experience of it.
Cheers,
David.
The Convoy S series will be getting new firmware soon called biscotti. It has many mode options including strobe. For right now you can order from Convoy and ask Simon for the upgraded firmware. It only adds $1 to the cost.
JasonWW2000 Thanks for the heads up! I ordered the new firmware drivers, but it didn't have a name, I wonder if that's the same as biscotti? Is it the one in the new C8 clear finish from Simon? I'm waiting for it to show up still, been shipping for a while now. Hope it works well!
Great in depth video! Btw any idea where i can get some extra batteries that the M3 came with? And also which battery tube works with it to take an 18650?
Thank you!
We asked, and they won't sell the battery separately, we can only get it from them as a kit. Also you can't upgrade it to 18mm batteries, it's diameter is for 16mm only. I suggest you get the Convoy S2+ if you want to use 18650s.
Cheers,
David.
+David Sunshine I wasn't thinking lol I thought I heard you say it but you were probably referring to getting the other light. Thanks.
srvctek1 Oh I see. Ya that's probably it. This light is pretty awesome though, I just recently tested it and the percent flicker is very low, 11%, which makes this light awesome, other lights have 100% flicker, which isn't so great.
They really did a great job with this thing. They also have the pwm at 500hz so no chance of noise from it.
Cheers,
David.
+David Sunshine Nice...I already ordered one after watching your video to add to my "collection" 😁
srvctek1 Cool! You'll be more than happy with it. Lol, collection. Ya I need a bigger shoe box for all my lights now. The L6 and SkyRay are my bigger lights, and take up some space.
Which is brighter 1A or 5C?
The 1A (6500-7000K) light is considered brighter, as less light is converted to warmer light, or redder light, so it'll look more blue and read higher on a light meter, but the warmer 5C light (3500-4000K) will look better if used to light a scene with warmer colors, it may even be perceived to be brighter because it's bringing out more of the details.
I prefer the warmer light in general, but if you're just going for lumem output and a glaringly bright light, the 1A will perform better. For camping, a warm white 2700K would be preferred, so it all depends on your use and preference.
The color rendering index and R9 values are better for a good quality light, and the 5C most likely has better CRI and R9 than the 1A. There's also the gamut area index to consider too. If you want a quality light, all those play a role.
But if you just want bright, go with 6500-7000K.
is the lens plastic or glass?
Glass with AR coating.
any idea who makes that battery?
No idea who the OEM is, but I'll ask, I asked them if they'll sell it but they said they don't sell it separately. I'll let you know what I hear.
But whoever it is, it's damn good and I want to be able to buy a spare without buying the light kit!
Add me to that list. Maybe if more people want just the battery, GB will sell them separately. Even if they just give up the name of the OEM. It's damn hard to find a decent cell of this size.
Will do.
Ya I know what you mean, the current output of this battery is much better than the Olight and Nitecore, and those aren't cheap batteries.
This one makes purchasing the kit to get the battery worth it, then you can give the flashlight out out to friends and families, they can use the Nitecore or Olight batteries since they don't need the insane output, it burns a hole in your pocket with the 700mAh cell so it's a little dangerous with that high output cell anyways.
can you measure that magnet? It is the perfect size and I want to order a few.
My magnet is 6mm x 14mm, thickness is about 1.5mm but it's for a motor so it's semi-cylindrical.
The flat face of the clip where you'd want the magnet is 7mm wide at the top, tapering down to 5.67mm at the bottom of the clip, and about 23.6mm long, so as long as you get a 20mm long magnet that's 6mm wide, it should work, 1.5mm thick would be plenty, 1mm would be fine too.
Hope that helps, cheers.
David.
perfect! Thanks
You're welcome! I ordered some magnets for the Convoy clip too. Hoping to do the same thing to that light. Will be awesome for working on the car, or just about anything.
is it really 920lm real life? a lot of chinese manufacturers exaggerate their lumen ratings by a lot (sometimes double or triple actual lumen output)
Most definitely at least 920 lumens OTF, it's pushing enough amps/watts to produce around 1000 lumens, after the reflector and lens, I'm pretty sure 920 OTF lumens is reasonable. It gets a similar lux rating(diffusing box with an iPhone as a light meter, used to read effective lighting level) to the Convoy S2+ and that's a very high quality light.
I know it's not a scientific gauge, but it also burns a black bag in the same way as the Convoy, so I think that confirms it is pushing the same amount if energy out the front, if you try burning materials with cheaper weaker lights, they won't be able to do it, cuz they are over rated and probably only pushing 5W, not 10W like the more powerful lights.
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
David.
ah ok thanks, its just that some folks on budgetlightforums were saying its closer to 550-600 lumens for the 5c model and i was wondering how it compares to the olight s1 (500 lumens) when it goes on sale for around 26 bucks occasionally
No problem. I think it uses a pretty high efficacy bin XML2, and with the high quality 16340 that has a low internal resistance, it seems to put out similar light levels to the stock Convoy with 8x7135, which is pretty close to 1000 lumens. They both get around 40 lux on my light meter in the diffusing box, so they must be both around 1000 lumens, or both at around 600 lumens, I guess you won't really know unless you have a controlled test with a know efficacy LED, I don't have that, but most of my lights perform the same, so chances are good that they are correctly stated T6 LEDs.
If you use an RCR123 that has a higher internal resistance, it will only be able output limited current, then your light would operate at 600lumens, but the stock battery is impressive, and can run at 3A for some time.
In summary, you'll find it runs similarly to the S2+, and that's pretty impressive.
I asked if they can sell the battery separately, cuz it would make a great spare, but they don't, so that's too bad, I don't think you can get a better RCR123 than this one. Maybe in the future.
Cheers,
David.
Spectre I have the 5C model, and the lower color temperature does reduce lumen output a bit, but keep in mind that it's producing more red light, so it's R9 value is higher, and that makes it a more useful light, for instance, if you used it to light up a bunch of red apples at a grocery store, it'll look brighter to your eye than a higher color temperature light, so if you're looking to light up a scene, I recommend a lower color temperature, if you're going for glare, go with higher color temperature.
You can take into account the CRI and R9, or even the Gaumut Area Index, CRI is kinda old now and obsolete.
I guess it depends on what you want.
Personally, I like 2700K light, all the lights at Ikea are that color temperature, and they are all 90+CRI, since that's a high quality interior light. I do use my light indoors, and camping, so it a good color temperature for that, it's a nice relaxing light.
But it's completely personal preference.
Will an 18350 work in this flashlight or does it have to be a 16340?
John Lindborg Hi, the case is too small for an 18mm diameter battery, it only fits the 16mm diameter battery. The length is limited too. For reference the numbers mean: 16340(16mm dia. x 34mm length), 18350(18mm dia. x 35mm length.), the 0 stands for a cylindrical cell, it should have been o if you think about it though, lol.
what is the difference between the 5c 3800-4000k and the 1A 6500-700k? Fter over a year from your review is this thing still worth buying? Thanks
Hi,
Color temperature refers to the color of the light: 2700K is warm white like an incandescent bulb, as that number goes up, your light becomes less orange and more blue. 10000K is really blue light. I would say that 3800K is about neutral white, so inbetween orange/blue.
Here I show a comparison between the M3 with 3800K-4000K vs the S1R which has 6000K, you can see the difference. Some people think 6000K looks better/brighter, and it is brighter since less energy is wasted making orange/red light. For those who are color blind, the higher color temperatures will work the best, since it'll help them see the most. But for those who aren't color blind, the blue tint can be very annoying, and you'll want warm white light, so no one color temperature is best, it's personal preference: ruclips.net/video/K6CiI8REamY/видео.htmlm20s
You can watch my IKEA bulb review video if you want to know more about color temperature and how it affects most people: ruclips.net/video/eH5H8QiFjhU/видео.html
As for the M3, it is still the best all around kit to purchase for an EDC, even though it's been out for over a year.
There are other lights on the market like the Astrolux S41S(tidd.ly/b10174ae) which can put out 1600lm with the XP-G3 LED, but you'll need to buy your own high quality 18350 and charger for it. It'll cost more, but it'll have higher output and longer runtime(if used at a lower mode). I have no experience with the Astrolux or 18350s, but it's a good compromise between a 16340 light and an 18650 light. If you don't want to spend that much on a light, the M3 is still great value for your dollar.
There's also the UT01 if you're looking for a good light that can use AA batteries, as well as 14500 lithium ions, the output is the same as the M3, but it doesn't come with a 14500 or AA batteries. Here's my review on it: ruclips.net/video/82sL-KGqhDA/видео.html
Many options out there, it just depends on what features you want in a flashlight.
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
David.
Hi David,
I've ordered a Nitecore NL166 RCR123A battery from Fasttech and tried it in the M3 flashlight but it didn't work. Do you know if the supplied charger from the M3 flashlight supports the RCR123A battery?
Perhaps i need to buy a separate charger :|
Thnx. Cheers
Ed Kastanje Hi, nope, you won't need a new charger.
The charger for the M3 charges a little high, to 4.28V. What may have happened is that the protection circuit disconnected the cell due to high voltage. I have the and battery I think and can test it too, but the cell should come back to life when you remove it from the charger for some time. Do you have a volt meter that you can use to check the cell? You shouldn't need a different charger though, I think I've charged my Nitecore on it and it still worked, even if it was a little high.
Hi, i have tested the Nitecore battery with a voltmeter but it reads 0,0 volt. The supplied On the road produces 3.7v. I'll contact Fasttech maybe my Nitecore battery is dead.
Thnx for your help.
Hi,
Yup, it could be a faulty battery. My Olight actually came faulty, after the first charge, it's protection circuit would drain and heat up the battery, then kill itself within a day.
I got a refund for it, and purchased the Nitecore, and it's been working fine for me.
I guess every manufacturer could have their bad batteries.
This is why I don't typically use batteries with protection circuits, just another thing to go wrong.
I think the On the Road battery is unprotected, from what I can tell.
I'm charging my Nitecore RCR123A up in the M3 charger, it started at 3.8V, but the charger is putting out 4.28V, so I think it's gonna overcharge it(Which I think was ok the last time I tired), but we'll see how it ends up, and whether it works or not.
You may want to get a new charger that charges to a 4.20V maximum voltage. The M3 charger seems to overcharge things, which is ok once in a while, but will reduce the life-cycle of a battery over many charges.
Cheers,
David.
Hi,
So I let it charge for a long time, and the voltage at the terminals of the charger were at 4.27-4.29V with the battery in there, it indicated a full charge, however when I pulled the battery from the charger, and measured it's open voltage, it sat at 4.16V, so the protection circuit did exactly what it was supposed to, and provided a voltage drop or opened the circuit as required to protected the lithium ion cell within the battery. What this proves, is that you can charge your protected cells or cells capable of 4.29V in the M3 charger, no problem.
The battery works just fine in the M3.
So I guess yours is DOA, you should be able to get a refund for it, or a new one.
Their customer service is pretty good.
Good luck!
Cheers,
David.
Hi, i've contacted Fasttech and opened a support ticket. Lets see what they say. Thanks again David.👍
What is the Difference between ON THE ROAD M3 920Lm Cree L2 U2 1A 16340 LED Flashlight
And the
ON THE ROAD M3 920Lm Cree L2 U2 5C 16340 LED Flashlight.
What does 1A mean?and what does 5C mean?
Please help
5C is 3800-4000K, the 1A is 6500-7000K, or warm white and cool white, respectively. 1A looks brighter, creates more glare, but I personally go with lower color temps since it has more variation on the spectrum, or has a wider spectrum of light, that's considered a higher quality of light, and has less glare. It depends what you're using it for. For general lighting I recommend warm white.
The M3 is a great light if you want to wipe your ass with $25.I bought one 2 months ago and after using it for 8 days the button that turns it off and on fell off the light and it will not stay on the light any more.I sent pics to gearbest.com and ask for a refund but they wouldn't even answer my email.I bought 9 flashlights from them in 3 months and this is how they repay loyal customers.Better stick with Amazon because they are honest vendors and not crooks like gearbest!
Ya, I bought many lights from them too, I haven't had a problem with my M3, and still use it as my EDC, so it's been going good for 1 year for me. That's unfortunate the button fell off, sounds like they forgot to glue it in or something. I haven't taken the bezel out that holds the button on, but I assume it's friction or glue that holds it in. Is it something you can superglue back in, and it'll work?
Gearbest's return policy isn't as good as amazon's, that's for sure, so if you have a problem with a product, you're kinda screwed, because they want you to pay for return shipping(LIKE WTF???). Amazon will provide free return shipping.
But Gearbest customer service has been pretty good when the product is lost in the mail, they either ship a new one, or give you full in-store credit. Not as good as amazon, who will give you a full refund though.
Amazon is great, but it's still worth buying the dirt cheap lights from Gearbest, some of them are pretty awesome for the price.
Gearbest shipping is slow as hell tho, amazon ships in a few days, not a few months! So I guess it depends on what you want.
Some things aren't on amazon yet, like the UT02, so we got no choice but to buy from Gearbest. If it were, I'd probably pay a little more for the quicker shipping though.
I tried glue but no luck.I'm glad yours is OK. What bothers me is gearbest did not treat me fairly.I sent them pics and explained that the button just fell off. They just lost a good customer so it's their loss.
Oh I see. Maybe silicone or something can hold it in.
Ya, that's a little concerning that Gearbest customer service couldn't help you out, that's totally unacceptable. So they just totally ignored you? That's not good at all! WTF, we as the customer is what brings their bread and butter home! If they treat us like crap, and we stop buying, they will go out of business, so they should really help you out.
The crappy part though, is that they won't pay for return shipping, so you'll have to pay $20+ to ship the broken thing back to them, and that's just a waste of your money. I understand they have a tight profit margin, but they should cut losses sometimes and provide customer service at the sacrifice of profit, the additional business of that service will more than cover any losses. That's how I'd run my business.
I think that if they shipped you a damaged product, they should pay for return shipping like Amazon does, and give you a new one at no cost, they should even compensate you for the time wasted, so give you in-store credit or something.
If I were you, I'd keep trying to get some customer service on this one, but I can see that sometimes it's just too much of a hassle. Sometimes I just let it go.
So for the button, does the silver metal ring come out and then the rubber piece comes out? I wonder if you can flare out the bottom of the metal ring, then hammer it back in there forcefully and that'll retain it. Would be nice to fix it so you can keep using it. Or maybe clean the surfaces with rubbing alcohol and then use gorilla glue super glue or something to glue it in there for good. The M3 is an awesome light, and I like it better than all my other lights as my EDC. The user interface is awesome compared to anything else I have.
I recently go the DQG 26650 Tiny, and it's side switch sucks compared to the M3, lol. The user interface also sucks compared to the M3.
You really hit the nail on the head. I think gearbest takes customers for granted and they only care about the money and not doing business the fair and honest way like Amazon does period!