DQG Tiny II

DQG Tiny 26650 II flashlight review:

Introduction:

A long-time flashlight seller Cnqualitygoods.com has offered the DQG lineup of flashlights for more than 5 years. This review is from the 2nd edition of the DQG Tiny II with a 26650 battery. The light was provided by cnqualitygoods for review because of the problems I had with the 1st version. This review will include a comparison with the first edition.

Brand/model	DQG Tiny
LED	3 Cree XPG2
Battery config.	1*26650
Material	Aluminum
Modes	4
Blinkies	N/A
Reflector	TIR
Waterproof	IPX8

What you get:

• The flashlight DQG
• Tin case
• Lanyard
• 18650 adapter

I was pleased to see the Tiny 26650 II arrive in a tin case. Not only for aestatics, but also for protection during transport.
No Manual nor any other documentation was included. Neither any spare O-rings or holster.
The 18650 adapter has some rubber rings against rattling!

Handling of the light

I really like the size.  And with a 26650 battery installed, it gives the right feel to it. The switch is located at the same position as the first generation DQG tiny 26650. The switch has some kind of GITD sticker on it. I took the light with me, but it is quite difficult to find the switch by hand, because its so tiny.

Build Quality and Anodizing 

The gray color they used for this gen2 DQG Flashlight is much more appealing that the plain black of the first generation. IMHO. Anodizing is done well across the whole light. Only in the grooves of the head there are still machining marks visible. But anodizing is not missing anywhere. There are no prints on the main parts of the body, but the name of the light is printed on the bottom of the light, just like the 1st generation. Unfortunately, there is no distinction between the 2 versions.. At least I would have liked to see a Mk II sign or something.

Threads

The heads of both versions are NOT interchangeable, because the threads are different. It is good that they came well lubed.
The 1st gen sis built in 3 main pieces, while the 2nd gen is built in only 2 pieces.. And no tailcap. The tailcap and body are machined in 1 piece. See pics above.

LED, Lens Bezel and Reflector

The tiny 26650 II doesn`t use a reflector, but TIR optics. The lens has some coating on the outside though.  The bezel is made of stainless steel which gives it some kind of bling bling lol
The 2nd gen Tiny also includes a Glow In The Dark (GITD) O-ring under the lens, so its easier to locate when you just turned of the light. That is probably the only reason for using one, because its rather weak. It will dim really really fast, and at least you can`t see it anymore after a few minutes.
It also includes GITD switch button…
The switch on my Gen1 failed on me., so I had to open the light….. and added some extra lube.. but this could fail again I believe. This is also the reason why Rick sent me this 2nd gen for review.

The MCPCB in the 2nd edition is copper whereas the 1st generation only had an aluminum MCPCB.

Dimensions and weight:

• Length: 99 mm
• Diameter head: 38 mm
• Diameter body: 31 mm Weight empty: 97 grams
  Weight loaded: 186 grams (26650 cell)
  The DQG tiny 26650 consists of 2 parts..
  The Head and the body. The head weighs 55 grams
  The bodytube weighs 42 grams
  Very light.

Weight:

• ODF30 empty: 139 gr / 4.9 oz / 03.06 lb
• With King Kong 26650: 228 gr / 8.04 oz / 0.502 lb

Eneloop, ITP TI , 18650 battery, DQG II, Convoy S2, XinTD X3, Acebeam K40M

UI

The Tiny has 4 modes… with 3 main modes, and 1 hidden Turbo

1. Low
2. Medium
3. High
4. (TURBO)

Low, Medium and High are the main mode group;
turbo mode can be accessed from any main mode with a double click. But is not accessible from OFF. Turn on: Long press 1-sec Turn off: Long press 1-sec The light will always turn on in Low… so No Mode Memory once the light is turned off.
No momentary On.

Side note: this UI is upgraded from its previous version… DQG 1 had ON: with 1 click DQG 2 has ON: Long pressThe time for turn off has reduced from about 2 seconds long press to a 1 second long press

Blinkies

• none!

PWM

• Low mode: High
• Medium mode: unnoticeable
• High mode: unnoticeable
• High mode: unnoticeable

Lock out

Yes, and its very easy… Unscrew the body from the head with only less than a quarter turn.. and the light is locked out.. Very nice!

Performance

Ceiling bounce: Measured the DQG flashlight with 1x 26650 king kong battery. Ceiling bounce in lux (ceiling at about 1.5 meters from the luxmeter)
Numbers are not comparable with other user`s numbers, these are only comparable with my own numbers.
The DQG was a blast from the past, and this 2nd generation does not belong in the list of brightest flashlights available.

DQG II	Low	Medium	High	Turbo
Lux #	0	16	65	178
%	0%	9%	36%	100%

Lux ceiling bounce DQGII
Level 1: 0 lux
Level 2: 16 lux
Level 3: 65 lux
Level 4: 178 lux which equals in %
Level 1: 0%
Level 2: 9%
Level 3: 36%
Level 4: 100%

For Lumens reference:

	Ceiling bounce my #	Lumens mfg specs
Acebeam K40M	158 lux (4th mode)	1150 lumens
Sunwayman T45C	137 lux (max)	980 lumens
Sunwayman F40A	130 lux (max)	880 lumens
DQG II	178 lux (max)	1250 lumens

Looking at the above table, we can comfortably suggest that the DQG Tiny II produces at least 1200 lumens out the front in Turbo mode. If you compare this with the Lumintop ODF 30 I also reviewed, you can see that the step from 2014 to 2018 has been quite big. In 2018 we can pass the 3000 lumens mark, while back in 2014 the 1000 lumen mark was already impressive.

Current Draw:

Measured @ tailcap with the body taken off, and just the battery touching the positive spring on the head. And the probes touching the negative of battery and negative on driver side. Measured@ emitters with the positive wire unsoldered, and connected to my DMM.
(7.79Volts. Measured at the Emitters)

	Low	Medium	High	Turbo
Amp @ tailcap	0.01A	0.29A	1.17A	5.5A
Amp @ emitters	0.00A	0.12A	0.44A	1.58A

Turbo at 5.5A dropped rapidly, to below 5A..
But measuring the output in lux, it didnt drop as fast as the amperage, see my graphs below.

Runtime:

High.. (not using Turbo mode) (unfortunately I used 100% as max point on High in my excel file, but its actually 65% of real full output in Turbo mode).

Runtime is 210 minutes, which equals to 3 hours and 30 minutes

Medium Runtime is 14 hours and 20 minutes
No output sag noticeable.. the slight decline is actually only 1 lux less

Gen 2 has about 10-15% more output at start.
And while Gen 1 has a step-down-timer of 30 seconds,
Gen 2 has a step-down-timer of 3 minutes

THROW:

No, these are not designed to “throw”.. but they still put out a lot of light, so that will make up a bit for its throw.

• DQG Tiny 26650 NW gen I at 5 meters 6075 lux
• DQG Tiny 26650 NW gen II at 5 meters 6875 lux

Conclusion

Pros:

• Pocket rocket in 2014… 
• Runtime is 3 hours and 30 minutes on High. 
• Tint selection: they sold CW and NW
• Mechanical lock-out… with less than a quarter turn
• Stainless steel bezel
• Copper star
• Upgraded UI
• Coated lens/glass

Cons

• Body is pretty thin
• Knurling could be a bit more aggressive, but for some this is a PRO
• Driver is glued down. the retaining ring is impossible to move
• No manuals included