My review of SkyRay S-A1

fran82 said:

<< INTRODUCTION >>

http://img545.imageshack.us/i/dsc00561cg.jpg[img]


This flashlight has impressed me. [url=http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.33544~r.43033281]$13.25 - SKYRAY S-A1 Cree XPE-Q3 5-Mode 160-Lumen Memory LED Flashlight (1*AA/1*14500) - Cree Lights[/url] .

It has become my perfect AA light (among the budget ones). After receiving it and testing it, the AA-S1 is in second place. This flashlight has practically all the good things of the AA-S1 except for the lack of clip. It has better performance than the AA-S1 and it has modes!. Also throws much more, and the flood capabilities are similar. The tint is not neither warm neither cool. Is good for me.

The 5 modes are usefull (specially the H M L ones) and are well spaced. The driver accepts AA/14500 with no issue.The most important thing: among all the AA lights I have, this has the better performance with just a Ni-Mh cell from all. I eye-estimate 150 lumens or more with a Ni-Mh cell.

I dont know if my unit has a new driver revision. In DX forums, there are reports of low frequency PWM... and even some people say that below 1,2volt this light is unusable...

In my unit, the PWM has high frequency, and works below 1,1volt (It switchs on perfectly, and I can change modes). However, below 1,1volt the light produced is 15 lumens or less maybe.



<< EXTERNAL DESING >>

The desing and build quality impressed me. I dont give 5 full stars due to the lack of clip and due to the fact that it came completely unlubed and with some dirty in the lens.

The body is pretty, painted with dark gray color, well mechanized, weight less than F20...

[img]http://img851.imageshack.us/i/dsc00547n.jpg

I love this desing, I didnt had a flashlight painted with this dark grey color. Also the knurling is very good and deep. It can be diassembled in both sides (head and tailcap).

The switch is one of the best I have seen (can be replaced, DX sells it), it has a firm and mechanical feeling...

The threads are smooth but needs some lubing when you get it. In the head, has more threads than in the tailcap. They are not anodized.

It is difficult to see, but inside battery tube there is a sticker showing how to insert battery (polarity) and the manufacture date (mine is 12/2010)

Compared to F20:

<< RUNTIME >>

I dont give 5 full stars due to the fact that with 14500 it draws 1,8 Amps (I dont know why) so the runtime should be 25 minutes or less on HIGH.

With Ni-Mh, of course, depends on the capacity of the cell, but it surprised me due to the fact that only draws 1,55Amp on HIGH.

Some measurements:

Alkalinas a 1,50v

H -> 1,3A About 130 lumens
M-> 0,6A About 70 lumens
L-> 0,1A About 15 lumens

Ni-Mh a 1,41v

H -> 1,5A Perhaps more than 150 lumens
M-> 0,65A About 80 lumens
L-> 0,12A About 20 lumens

14500 a 4,20v

H -> 1,8A About or more than 200 lumens
M-> 0,65A About 120 lumens *
L-> 0,12A About 40 lumens *

* with this driver, when you use 4,2 volt batteries happens the same as with the F23, it gives a lot more output in MED and LOW

Driver board:

It is the typical "sandwitch" driver board, 2 boards joined together (2 floors)

<< BEAM QUALITY AND SOME BEAMSHOTS >>

5 full stars due to the beam quality/characteristics and due to the performance on Ni-Mh.

Beamshot at 1 meter with 14500 on HIGH:

Beamshots of SkyRay on HIGH, MED, LOW, from 3 meters with 14500:

The PWM on MED and LOW is clearly visible with a camera. With naked eyes, not easily.

As you can see in the photos, produces similar beam to the F23, a central spot NOT well defined with a big spill, which fades as you reaches the outter part of the beam. Near the central spot, the spill is maximun intensity and it begans to fade....

The tint, is not warm, is not cool. Similar to F23.




<< FINAL THOUGHTS >>

In my opinion, this light is a must have in the AA category. It has caused to place the AA-S1 into second place due to the fact that it is multimode, supports AA/14500, throws much more and the flood capabilities are almost the same.

The desing, is new for me, good knurling, good grip, good paint job, good mechanizing....

However it lacks clip, which is important for me.



Pros:

* Veery good performance on just Ni-Mh (+150 lumens on High.).
* Good desing, good knurling, lightweight. Pretty dark grey color.
* Memory mode works perfect.
* Modes well spaced (100% 40% 10%).
* Supports AA/14500 without destroying the driver.
* Very throwy (more than AA-S1) . Good flood (similar to AA-S1).
* O-rings everywhere.

Cons:

* Lacks a clip (important for me)
* Came completely unlubed and dirty
* Can not tailstand (unless you do an easy mod)

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