Dealextreme Flashlight Review

So in my latest support of sweatshop labor, I've ordered a couple of flashlights from DX aka Deal Extreme. Recently, DX has created a drop ship warehouse in the US rather than shipping everything from their suppliers in China.  While browsing their site, I came across a rather small and unique flashlight that seems to be perfect for EDC.  Rather than the traditional baton style flashlight design, this one is a mini angle head with a reverse clicky switch on top.

This thing is deceivingly small as it runs off of a single CR123A or RCR123A battery.  Although the belt clip seems to be of quality similar to my E2E, it is only secured with two screws of unknown length and quality.  We will see how long it lasts. The anodization appears quite thick and not the usual cheap finish found my some of my other lights.  It may actually be type III hardcoat.  Only time and hard use will tell on this one. 

For a size comparison, check out the next picture that shows the light disassembled into its main components.

You'll notice that the barrel of the light is approximately the length of a CR123 battery. Being an angle head design, the reflector projects from the bod at a 90 degree angle; which shortens the overall length compared to a traditionally flashlight design.  The lens is glass and the LED appears to be a CREE XP-E. In typical Chinese fashion, all o-rings and the power switch are glow-in-the-dark material.  If you don't like the GITD switch cover and o-rings, you can order replacement switch covers from DX and find regular o-rings at your local hardware store.  It comes fairly dry, so a dab of dielectric grease is in order.

This thing is proving to be pretty useful as it is smaller than a roll of dimes and puts out more light as a Surefire G2 LED.  There are three modes accessible through the reverse clicky switch on top of the light. The user interface also remembers the last state the light was in and reverts to the last known mode upon activation. The one annoyance is the strobe "feature."  It really serves no purpose and is just an extra step when switching between high and low modes.  Other than that minor gripe, this light has so far exceeded my expectations for a $12 flashlight that takes rechargeable or primary batteries.