Cheap Chinese vs Genuine Cree?

[stuartv]

I'm looking at the variety of cheap (or just inexpensive?) Chinese-made dive lights on eBay.

I ordered one today as, what I consider, a cheap gamble. The seller assured me that the light has genuine Cree XM-L2 LEDs in it. It has 5 of them. I just got a DGX 600 which has one of those LEDs and it is dang bright.

The eBay light I bought says 8000 lumens. Clearly, that is complete BS. But, that LED is rated at up to 1052 lumens, so I suspect the DGX light's rating of 600 is probably reasonably accurate. In which case, if this eBay light pushes the same current, it should be (5 x 600 =) 3000 lumens?

Unless it the LEDs in it are not genuine Cree XM-L2 LEDs.... which brings me to my question:

Is it possible that these cheap Chinese lights will claim to have genuine Cree LEDs, but actually have some cheap knockoff of an XM-L2 that is not as bright? Or maybe a genuine Cree LED, but some inferior model to the XM-L2?

I understand that one possible reason to not buy these cheap lights is the possibility that they will flood or the switch fail. I'm just wondering if there is any other risk and the "lied about the LED" possibility is the only other thing I can think of.

 

[tursiops]

I'd be much more concerned about flooding,switches and not good materials (e.g., crappy "stainless steel") than about knockoff LEDs.

 

[stuartv]

From other posts I've read, I gather that, if I install good nitrile O-rings and lube them properly, I'll have a pretty good chance that it won't flood. And if it floods right away, I can at least get my money back.

For $50, if it puts out 3000 lumens and lasts 50 dives, that seems like a bargain.

If I were going to do anything technical, I might want to spend the money for a light that gives me more confidence that it won't crap out mid-dive. But, for Recreational poking around in reef holes and recreational night dives, the $50 Chinese light and a DGX 600 for backup seems like a pretty decent plan.

 

[tursiops]

Not sure why you'd need 3000 lumens for "poking around in reef holes and recreational night dives."
Is the beam narrow or wide? If wide, that might be nice for video.
Especially at night, if there is any viz, a realy weak beam will let you see more life. And a red light is even better.

 

[Scubanoobi]

I bought a cheap Chinese light, flooded on the first dive, very cheap o-rings on it. Still works on land. I now have the DGX light, works great.

 

[stuartv]

Not sure why you'd need 3000 lumens for "poking around in reef holes and recreational night dives."
Is the beam narrow or wide? If wide, that might be nice for video.
Especially at night, if there is any viz, a realy weak beam will let you see more life. And a red light is even better.

It's more of a spot beam. It has adjustable power levels, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100, IIRC. My thought was that I can use it on 25% and have the battery last for many hours, but be able to crank it up if/when needed.

 

[jboneng]

Have a Magicshine 810 diving torch that have been with me on 100+ dives without problems.

 

[KeithG]

in most cases, you get what you pay for. cheap is cheap.

i tried this route. it was a gamble. i lost....

eventually ended up with 4 lights being shipped to me due to defects. i was able to repair a second unit. tried 1 underwater and it hit the trash bin after the dive due to flooding. 1 of the 2 supplied batteries and the charger died after a few months. just poor design, build and material. the leftover light is kept indoors away from water.

i also have a excellant quality chinese made dive light. hog edge morph backup. great design, build and material.

 

[eelnoraa]

Cree is just a LED manufacturer, one of the a few that is capable of making high power LED. The cost of Cree LED die alone is very low. Chinese dive light makers do use LED from Cree, so by definition, they are genuine Cree light.

And not everything made in China is low quality. Think all your smart phones, I device ... the much praise DRIS 1K and DGX 600 are also just rebranded Chinese products.

 

[BRT]

I think you may have more issues with the batteries than the lights. That has been my experience. The lights seem to draw so much that the cheaper batteries will not take it.