[img heavy] DX Eastward YJ J06 CREE XM-L T6 LED Flashlight REVIEW

after buying a P7 light, I wanted something brighter and more throwy. When DX introduced lights with the Cree XM-L leds I went ahead and bought this one:

$32.70 - Eastward YJ J06 CREE XM-L T6 3-Mode 900-Lumen White LED Flashlight with Strap (1*18650) - 18650 Cree Flashlights

so here's my review!
camera used: my sister's Cannon IXUS210 14,1Mpix(the pics look a bit blue, I forgot to set the white balance)

Shipping
order palced on Jan 16, shipped Feb 19 and arrived today (Mar 10). it took almost 2 months
atleast it arrived undamaged!






Rating: 4/10

Overview


right out the box (the light was pretty cold)


front (the led is a bit off-center)


excellent tailstand!


compared to my MTE P7 and 18650 battery

dimensions: 15cm x 4cm (reflector) x 3cm (tailcap), the same size as MTE P7
light color: cool white (cooler than MTE P7)
output: about 2 times the output of MTE P7

3 modes: Hi-Mid-Strobe (about 2Hz)
current: 1.5A-0.7A-1.5A
visual brightness: 100% - 60% - 100%
flood/throw:2/8, best preformance: <150m (actual range is over 200m)

Build Quality
nice finish, feels solid in hand (18650 fits perfectly). spring on both pill and tailcap battery contact
forward clicky switch. this is usually good, but it's a bit harder to switch between the modes

takedown time!



the led

this thing should draw 2.1-2.4A, but draws only 1.5A from the TrustFire 18650's . I bought these with the light. when I tried to use them, their over-current protection shut down. so I used other (older) 18650's and those work fine
since the current draw is only 1.5A, I wanted to open the led pill and I broke off the battery spring ... few seconds with soldering iron and it was fixed


final shot

Overall rating: 7.5/10

now I need to open the pill and increase the current... or can it be caused by battery's protection circuit (and I need to remove it)?
more pix coming tonight!

it's time for better pics!


overall


front


in hand


these shots are cooool




tailcap




disassembled


next to my MTE P7


smaller package, more power!


and here's a small mod I did:

on the left middle image, you can see the 2 overlaying wires. these were pushing the reflector a bit to the side and that disorted the beam. I desoldered them and twisted them over, so that they're much more flat and don't pust the reflector

short video is up

Whoaa!
That's a lot of photons.
So these XM-L leds are better than SSC P7s, I reckon?

afaik they're more efficient with better thermal properties and since they're only 1 bin, they're better throwers than other multi-bin leds like P7

I like that... haha I think I may have to buy one myself.
Just wondering, do you know how it would compare in terms of brightness and throw to this one?
$20.10 - UltraFire WF-502B XM-LT6 5-Mode 510-Lumen Memory White LED Flashlight with Clip (1*18650) - Ultrafire Lights
To me it looks like it would be about half as bright as the eastward because it is 1400mA instead of 2800mA. Sorry if I'm threadjacking but I wanted to ask someone who owned one of the two.

yes, the light you linked should be around 1/2 of my light's brightness (assuming good build quality and real >=1400mA draw). but this one will be flooder, not a thrower

thanks, and I'll probably end up getting the one you did. One last question; Is the model that is $.20 more any different? Like, is it exactly the same besides the physical appearance?

EDIT: I also noticed you said it only draws 1.5A from the battery. Did it draw any more than that with a different battery?

I removed the protection PCB from battery and it drew 1.75A
idk if there's any difference between these 2 lights

ok, I just bought the $32.90 model since the other one was backordered. Would you mind if I made a post here saying how the two models compare once I get it?

yes, that will be helpful to other people that want to buy one but don't know which one is better... :thanks:

I bought this same light. Shipping was about 2 months or so, but hey. Its the brightest flashlight I own!

I placed my order 3/18 around 10pm and today the status changed to packaging. So far my experience with DX has been good and has taken ~1 month to get to me. This however, seems to be in packaging much faster than the other items I've bought from them so I'm hoping to get it sometime the week after next.
Meatball, how much does yours draw from the battery on high?

I'll have to get back to you on that one. I'm on vacation in DFW away from all my tools!

thanks guys. pls feel free to submit your current draws, I wanna see how bad is my light :thanks:
updated post #2 with better pics

If I'm up to it, I'll just make a separate review and add a link to this thread. But I will still post the current draw from the battery here when I get it.
Also, very nice round dot with the mod. If only 445s had that kind of dot unfocused...