Solarstorm X2 battery

So I have the above light and battery. I sent the whole unit to Smudge at MTB Batteries and below is what he had to say. Its not good reading.

Many thanks in sending me the light and battery.. I am amazed what I found… The battery is actually a 300omAh if that. The cells used at only 1500mAh.. They are advertisied as 6400mAh, so the actual battery is less than half the amount they say it is… It also runs at 2.5Amps on full so hope there is a thermal cut out as it will get very very hot.

No wonder the times are so out on the peoples useage when they use the light.

It is also poorly sleeved as in only one direction, a good downpour and the battery would be useless after a week of 2 after the rust has set in

That’s why mines wrapped in cling film and gaffa.

*Heads for kitchen to look for clingfilm*

Its a great light with a sh*t battery. I would contact Smudge or Torchy and order a proper battery.

Marin – Member
That’s why mines wrapped in cling film and gaffa.

Sealed up both ends of mine with epoxy.

Not fussed if they dont last long, even with a replacement battery they’re still a good deal*

*unless the lamp goes bang

Its a great light with a sh*t battery. I would contact Smudge or Torchy and order a proper battery.

na its a shit light with a shit changer and a shit battery.

Widge, mine made it round dowies, shutcastle then died in the middle of the wood! Decent batteries ordered through Ollie from the other thread!

what’s this other thread?

Think it was the 5000 lumen thread that was up to page 10 last time I looked, sorry on my phone otherwise I’d paste the link

Thanks. Im going to order a battery from Smudge at MTB Batteries.

There’s been a few threads on this light. Would be nice to just have a definitive link for a decent compatible battery and charger from Smudge at MTBBatteries or some other reputable UK supplier.

eBay big_f_d_d

I mailed him today – he does two. One at 35quid for a 6600mAh and 29.99 for a 4400mAh

Edit: and he appears to be sold out

unfortunately it’s get what you pay for. I’ve had cheapie lights off dx and eBay in the past but the significant worry of burning your house or garage down isn’t worth it. buy some well and truly tested kit, hell that’s why we read these websites isn’t it?

I know people who leave their exposure lights on permanent charge for months at a time and hey no problem. couldn’t say the same for many other brands.

it’s a shame as some cheapo lights are ok but I wouldn’t risk my or the families life on them

Omg your so right ^
Or
Charge them at work, we all can’t afford £400 on the latest hope lights FFS.

you don’t need to buy expensive lights, just well tested ones that are better built than some of the potentially lethal ones.

would love to see my bosses face when things start melting and smoking on a desk due to a non PAC tested non work related device was being used as I bet his insurance wouldn’t cover the damage

The irony is that once you’ve bought the SSX2 kit, realised the battery is rubbish and the charger heats up alarmingly, then buy a new battery and charger it’s not going to be far off £100 anyway!

Plus the faff of sorting all that out and checking compatibilities/connectors etc.

For £100 I’d rather buy something else. Preferrably with a warranty, CE spec charger and optics that weren’t picked solely on the fact they’re the cheapest in the catalogue.

Really? Not if you do your homework….

I’ve bought 1No quality 4 cell charger (each charges independently)4No Panasonic’s must powerful protected 18650@s 1No battery box & 1No Head Unit only. Total price c £58.00

The charger automatically recognises and charges any battery type ergo its not a one trick pony plus the Panasonic cells can be used individually in my hand torches.

Of course the head unit could crap out on me but for £15 it s not a huge risk.

is my ay-up 7.4v 2600 mAh lipo battery of any use to me with a solarstorm x2?

Ironic people mention Exposure, everyone I know with one of their lights has blown up at least one charger, and replacing the batteries is a back-to-base job and not as cheap as it ought to be.

RicB – Member

The irony is that once you’ve bought the SSX2 kit, realised the battery is rubbish and the charger heats up alarmingly, then buy a new battery and charger it’s not going to be far off £100 anyway!

I find your lack of maths disturbing… But even if you were right, what costs £100 and competes?

I think there is an awful lot of FUD about these chinese lights.

There must be thousands of them in circulation but how many genuine instance of them failing catastrophically have there been. How does this compare to other light manufacturers? (Like Exposure who for years had crappy QC but great customer service)

I bought a SolarstormX2 plus a spare battery for £32.

8 years ago a Hope HID light cost me £289

Where do you think your hope charger is made?

Its more about the chargers than the batteries, specifically the build quality and the (non) CE approval.

Oh and we’ve had one of them chargers go bang. Stripdown revealed shoddy soldering on PCB and badly trimmed tails.

Food for thought.

>Its more about the chargers than the batteries, specifically the build quality and the (non) CE approval.<

For sure, so the best idea is to buy the light separately and get the best charger and batteries you can. As I set out above 😉

Exactly

2S2P holder with protection circuit module and 4 genuine Panasonic 3400mah battieries.

Decent Pila charger or intellicore i4 etc.

Gives you a quality pack that you can remove the batteries from and charge properly

Its more about the chargers than the batteries, specifically the build quality and the (non) CE approval.

Yep – I’ve heard far too many horror stories to trust those lights/chargers/batteries even if they are a bargain.

I bought a SolarstormX2 plus a spare battery for £32.
8 years ago a Hope HID light cost me £289

My Gloworm X2 cost me £150 – but it comes with genuine Panasonic 5800mAh waterproof batteries and a charger that yes, was made in China, but is CE-certified / GS Mark / TÜV / C-tick.

And the lights are really good too!

My Gloworm X2 cost me £150 – but it comes with genuine Panasonic 5800mAh waterproof batteries and a charger that yes, was made in China, but is CE-certified / GS Mark / TÜV / C-tick.

For nearly 9 times what I paid for my Solarstorm with battery/charger I would hope it came with all that and more 🙂

Not sure the mud slinging is really necessary chaps, its just (another) cheap lights thread, if they’re not your bag just don’t buy em (or bother posting)…

Smudge’s investigation is interesting, if the lamp is pulls 2.5A then I’m glad I decided not to run mine on “high” mode… I’d still be interested to know what current it uses in the “Low” and “Mid” modes…

like I said on another thread, my next investment will be in assembling a decent battery for myself, what it actually powers now doesn’t really matter so much as reliability and capacity, light heads are ~£15 a good battery will outlast several of these I would hope…

My own X2 is is in a black housing, and it switches low to mid to high without a strobe mode, is this the same as everyone elses? there seem to be a couple of variants floating about. Is it true as posted elsewhere that the Red anodized X2’s actually switch High to Low with a Strobe mode?
Sounds like they assembled different production batches with different drivers, what colour was the one sent to smudge?

As for the **** battery and chargers? We all knew they were gash when we bought them, I have enough spare compatible packs that it’s not actually an issue, and a decent charger(s) is generally worth the investment if you run more than one chinese special (as I do)…

stu1972’s point is a good one, build quality on many of these chargers is known to be pretty dire, and doesn’t seem to be improving, there is of course the old joke about the “CE” mark on Far-Eastern products standing for “Chinese Export” rather than “Conformité Européenne”…

See the bottom of this page on Torchy’s website for a brief investigation of a shonky charger. The battery round up is handy too.

I will say this, if better run times, less likelihood of emitter over-heating and low cost are your goals and you don’t need huge amounts of light the single emitter XML / P7 “Bastid” bike lights are still available and are pretty good at similarly low prices, and there are plenty of options for cheap, powerful (or not) Torches and mountings, they are all well worth considering as well as the SS-X2 IMO…

For nearly 9 times what I paid for my Solarstorm with battery/charger I would hope it came with all that and more

It does 😀

It’s tiny and light (80g for the light, 280g for the whole system). Has a remote switch that lets you click between customisable power levels. Selectable “special” modes. Interchangeable optics. Fuel gauge on the battery. Bar mount, helmet mount, headstrap.

Oh and it works underwater.

Sadly it doesn’t make strange noises and smells while charging – or spontaneously burst into flames. But you can’t have everything. 😉

I find your lack of maths disturbing…

SSX2 from ‘Dong’ £32
4 cell 5.2Ah battery from Smudge £51 (@ 2.5A that’ll give 2hrs on full)
2S (8.4v) charger from Smudge £26

I make that just over £100…..Yes there are cheaper batteries on eBay but except for Torchy I bet quality varies hugely

I know you can buy the head unit cheaper but most people will take a punt on the battery I suspect.

I have the Gloworm X2 v3 and a SSX2. The Gloworm really is better in every way, including battery life, beam patterm etc. The SSX2 has a mega hotspot which is ok for helmet use but not great for the bars.

Don’t get me wrong – I think the Chinese lights have been fantastic in opening up nightriding to people who can’t/don;t want to spend £150+ on lights.

But even if you were right, what costs £100 and competes?

Depends what you’re comparing. For price the SSX2 is bonkers spec. Don’t think I’d like to run it on high all the time or it’ll overheat. Mine gets very hot even whilst moving (Gloworm barely warm to the touch). I’d rather have a mtbbatteries V2 tbh – especially for helmet use.

RicB…

To adjust your maths somewhat.

£13 for x2 lamp only (or £28 for the whole thing from ebay)
£8 charger from Torchy
£20 4400mah Battery from Torchy (5 hours+ on medium, so plenty good enough)

So…. my worst case scenario (having bought the X2 bundle with crappy charger etc) is £56. Nowhere near £100. And even cheaper if I’d bought lamp only.

The other way to do it would be £10 SS X2 battery box and £17 for 4x protected 18650 batteries and a £10/£15 Torch battery charger.

None of the above methods even approach £100.

Also, the x2 is not dissimilar to the Moon X-power range beam pattern.

I dare say the Glo-worm is an excellent light, but it’s not even approaching being in the same price bracket.

I may be wrong but it comes across to me that all these “cheapo Chinese” haters are just annoyed with the fact that they have spent a fortune on a different light as it’s branded. And maybe still trying to justify it to themselves how much they have spent. Just my opinion

In a better mood now – sorry for ^^^^^ that peeps!

Oh i’d love all of the gadgets on the ‘better’ lights I’m just more comfortable paying me £30’s and charging them at work.

PS has anyone actually found a use for them being able to work submerged…aside from scuba diving at night 😆 it does look a great marketing tool though 😀

PS has anyone actually found a use for them being able to work submerged.

I don’t think they really expect you to use them underwater. 😆

They are IP67 certified which means they are rated for full submersion in one metre of water for 30 minutes. Not exactly scuba depths.

Mostly that just assures me they will still get me home when it’s chucking it down.

having just looked out the window, you’d have needed them to be full submersion to ride in this!
😆

They are IP67 certified which means they are rated for full submersion in one metre of water for 30 minutes. Not exactly scuba depths.

I am only 8″ tall so maybe…i’d need a step up to the tank though 😀

I may be wrong but it comes across to me that all these “cheapo Chinese” haters are just annoyed with the fact that they have spent a fortune on a different light as it’s branded. And maybe still trying to justify it to themselves how much they have spent. Just my opinion

I bet they are not, they are just happy they have a set of decent and reliable lights – they were cheaper lights around at the time they bought them but they determined it worth paying more for something of higher quality.

v666ern ready for action:

😀

I bet they are not, they are just happy they have a set of decent and reliable lights

I was going to post a suitably scathing reply but TurnerGuy has summed it up more politely for me. I’m not a “cheapo Chinese hater”, I’m just very pleased with the lights I have and I’m happy to endorse them.

I looked at the cheaper options, but they didn’t meet my needs. If they meet yours then cool, you’ve got a bargain.

RicB – Member

I make that just over £100…..

By choosing the most expensive sources you could find, top work 😉

p8ddy – Member
RicB…

To adjust your maths somewhat.

£13 for x2 lamp only (or £28 for the whole thing from ebay)
£8 charger from Torchy
£20 4400mah Battery from Torchy (5 hours+ on medium, so plenty good enough)

So…. my worst case scenario (having bought the X2 bundle with crappy charger etc) is £56. Nowhere near £100. And even cheaper if I’d bought lamp only.

The other way to do it would be £10 SS X2 battery box and £17 for 4x protected 18650 batteries and a £10/£15 Torch battery charger.

None of the above methods even approach £100.

Also, the x2 is not dissimilar to the Moon X-power range beam pattern.

I dare say the Glo-worm is an excellent light, but it’s not even approaching being in the same price bracket.

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST

Just ordered the fluxient 6600m ah 7.4v battery for £35 will this one work on the x2? 😕

shaggmiester…

It’ll work a treat. My light was still on (on med) 5+ hours when I eventually gave up and went to bed last night. I think you’ll be pleased with the battery life you get from the one you’ve ordered 🙂

Mine is a Torchy 4400mah fluxient.

My Gloworm X2 cost me £150 – but it comes with genuine Panasonic 5800mAh waterproof batteries and a charger that yes, was made in China, but is CE-certified / GS Mark / TÜV / C-tick.

Unfortunately, believe it or not, the Chinese have figured out how to make fake CE labels!! My burny Belkin and Dell charges were enough proof of that

p8ddy – Member
shaggmiester…

It’ll work a treat. My light was still on (on med) 5+ hours when I eventually gave up and went to bed last night. I think you’ll be pleased with the battery life you get from the one you’ve ordered

Mine is a Torchy 4400mah fluxient.

POSTED 27 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Ok Cheers for that.