Review: Sky Ray King 3xXM-L 4x18650 from Aurabuy

[ryansoh3]

Skyray King
Rating: ★★★★★

Overview:

Battery: 4 x 18650 in parallel
Switch: Electronic
Modes: 2+1: High, Low + hidden strobe
LED Type: 3 x XM-L (Neutral White)
Lens: Regular Glass
Tailstands: Yes
Waterproof: IPX-7
From/Price: Aurabuy.com $48.99


Pros:
+Good budget multi-emitter light
+Feels solid during use
+Hidden strobe
+4x18650 gives plenty of runtime
+Very bright
+Unscrew body for lock-out

Cons:
-Very loud low mode PWM
-Very distracting low frequency PWM
-Parasitic circuit drain (1.5mA)



Kevin at Aurabuy.com decided to send me the light as a review of both the light itself and the service.



The DHL shipping was extremely fast; the package was picked up on Sunday, arrived at Korea on Monday, and was attempted to be delivered on Tuesday but I was out so I got it Wednesday.

I had a few days to play around with the light, even EDC'ing it for a while to check it out.

Here's the package that I received:

As you could see, it was opened by the customs department...





Unboxing:

The light itself came in a clean white box, suitable for a gift:

The light came with a Chinese manual, spare o-ring, and a lanyard strap:

Some pictures:

The three emitters:

The rear end:

More shots:

The light has a hidden strobe feature that can be activated when the switch is pressed for three seconds when the light is on, both on high and low mode. (6-8Hz)

Opened up:

Tailcap Current measurements:

4.2V: 5.35A

4.0V: 4.89A

3.6V: 3.20A

Not too regulated, but I like the high currents going into the 3xXM-X's.



The 4x18650 battery holder:

Some more pics:

The three emitters again, perfectly centered:

Certainly a managable size, here's the SRK among my collection:

TrustFire X6 HD2010 Sky Ray King 2.3W Laser WF-606A C11 WF-008 C3

(Sorry about the white balance.)

Overall, this is a really solid light, and as this is the first multi-emitter light for me, it easily blows away my HD2010 and Crelant 7G9 (Well, maybe not in terms of throw).



I'll add more wallshots and beamshots while I fix my 7G9 up for comparison.



Thanks for looking and please feel free to post any questions.

Cheers!

 

[Blord]

Re: Sky Ray King 3xXM-L 4x18650 from Aurabuy

Thanks for the review. The King is surely a lumen beast.
A lot of talk is going about the driver. There are fake King in the shops with a different driver. Can you tell us if this King is real or fake ?

 

[ryansoh3]

Re: Sky Ray King 3xXM-L 4x18650 from Aurabuy

Thanks for pointing that out.

I concluded that mine is genuine, after comparing it with these pictures from this post: Skyray King (3xXML, 4x18650 Fatty) | BudgetLightForum.com

The 1st is genuine, while the 2nd one is fake.

Cheers!

 

[grainde]

Re: Sky Ray King 3xXM-L 4x18650 from Aurabuy

Nice review. However, you missed the 7G9 in the photo of your collection...

Hurry up with the beam shots! +1 :beer:

 

[ryansoh3]

Thanks, I uh.... killed my 7G9 during a feeble attempt to swap out the driver.

I burned the LED and am trying to unscrew the bezel, which is glued shut.

This post shows how hard it is to access the emitter:
Opening up a Crelant 7G9 to access the emitter area | BudgetLightForum.com

Cheers!

 

[grainde]

Noooooooo! :tinfoil:

Edit: Just had a look at that post and it looks like it was really glued on there. The 7G5CS and 3CS both unscrew and come apart really easily. There is no glue anywhere? :thinking:

 

[ryansoh3]

Sigh :undecided:

 

[grainde]

Oh well at least you didnt pay for it and you still have a nice host... :beer:

 

[ryansoh3]

That's very true, but I just can't get the darn thing open.

Seems like Crelant used some good epoxy to seal the threads shut!

 

[Blord]

They use locktite glue like in the ThruNite flashlights. Luckily with these straps you can make them open without damage to the tube.

 

[awillis2589]

That's a good idea blord!

 

[ryansoh3]

Thanks for the tip.

I've tried strap wrenches but apparently the Loctite's too strong.

I torched it about 8 times to loosen the epoxy and I'll try out the strap wrench again.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Nice review!

The parasitic drain, and the lack of a proper "medium" mode are the only things I really don't like about the King, if it also had a secondary tail switch, would be near perfect. It's an incredible light for the price though.

Second brightest in my collection. I have a gold one, and a black one coming from fasttech.

 

[BShanahan14rulz]

Thanks for the tip.

I've tried strap wrenches but apparently the Loctite's too strong.

I torched it about 8 times to loosen the epoxy and I'll try out the strap wrench again.

I think the parts need to be hot while you are wrenching them apart. Looks kinda like red loctite. There's an o-ring in the way, so I doubt the solvent method would work.
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/tds/T_LKR_RED_tds.pdf

For disassembly, heat parts up to 482°F (250°C) and separate parts while hot

 

[ryansoh3]

I think the parts need to be hot while you are wrenching them apart. Looks kinda like red loctite. There's an o-ring in the way, so I doubt the solvent method would work.
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/tds/T_LKR_RED_tds.pdf

Interesting, I'll give that a try. Hopefully I don't burn myself.

On a side note, just a warning about Sky Ray Kings from FastTech as they might not be the genuine one and may consequently under perform.

Check out this post here: Fasttech Sky Ray king $42 Fake? | BudgetLightForum.com

Cheers!

Edit: Any tips on getting a good grip on the hot bezel without burning myself?

 

[awillis2589]

I did see that fasttech sold it and kinda figured it would be a fake. By the way thanks for turning me onto that site I've been spending to much money on flashlights, electronics, ect... my girlfriend is starting to worry about my spending. Lol