# Solarstorm X2 & X3 Lights - Fake or not fake, this is the question!



## lightrelief (Nov 27, 2015)

Hi fellow riders

Being a newbie to night riding and after reading lots of glowing reviews here, I wanted to purchase several original Solarstorm X2 & X3 lights. 

I thought I would share my experiences with you...
After seeing what appear to be loads of fakes on Ebay, I thought I would contact the manufacturer directly Shenzhen MingXiao Technology in China. I was communicating with a rep called Lily.

Firstly, I inquired offering myself as a UK distributor and was given the following trade prices for >200 units. I also inquired in 1000's and the price did not change very much.

X3 (U2 LED) - $24.17 per unit with a MOQ of 200 - £16.05

X2 (U2 LED) - $18.34 per unit with a MOQ of 200 - £12.18

Having re-searched Ebay and Amazon, it appears that nearly all units are fakes, as they are all under the manufacturer cost price. 

I asked the Lily who represents the manufacturer if seller 
'360digital2011' is selling originals, and was swiftly informed to my disappointment that these were actually fakes! 

I have attached a JPEG of the manufacturers price list if any of you are interested.

I would be interested to hear your comments..

Do you know of a seller that sells genuine X2 & X3 lights please without having to order from China?

Cheers


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Welcome to Chinese lights, and welcome to solarstorm. There is just no way of knowing what you'll get.

There is no where in the US you will get the real thing. And the fakes may or may not be as good as the real thing because the real ones arent built great either. Their decent but alot of better lights out there.


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## midnight_rambler (Sep 19, 2015)

Yes, as above: dont think that the originals are precision engineered top notch stuff and the knock offs are cheap tat. I got mine from lightmalls.com last year, and Ive been really happy with them. Fantastic performance considering the low price. One on bars and one on helmet and you're good to go.
This is the latest Solar Storm light as far as I know, its only been listed for a few months and id be very surprised if this wasn't a genuine SS product:
http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024280


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I know gearbest deals directly with solarstorm. Gearbest is the only one with neutral white x3 that actually has the output they say it does. But the light you linked is a new solarstorm light, haven't seen clones of it yet.

Sad thing is even the Chinese companies that are supposed to be better still have poor designs internally and under powered.


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## lightrelief (Nov 27, 2015)

Hi Geezers, cheers for your advice, looks like a nice light. Not sure if battery is inc though.
Do you run with standard batteries.

What do you reckon X2 or X3?

I was thinking of buying an 18650 box with some nice cells and a separate charger so I can keep the batteries balanced, as I have heard some horror stories re cheap batteries! I am in the UK and have never brought from Kaidomain before, what are they like?


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## nathan89 (Feb 7, 2015)

That shop name sounds familiar, think it's where I got my X2 & at the time they also has the Solarstorm battery box. Seems strange that a shop would sell a "fake" light but a genuine battery box.

To be honest, Solarstorm themselves probably have no idea who is selling what.

If you want to buy a light (not solarstorm) in the UK, there's a few places that sell decent priced stuff


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

I thought the original manufacturer of SolarStorm lights is Shenzhen BlackShadow Technology Co.:
Shenzhen Blackshadow Technology Co., Ltd.

-Garry


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## lightrelief (Nov 27, 2015)

*Solarstorm 1 stop shop!*

Hi Garry, Blackshadow are a re seller, I have added their price list also if you want to take a look. The prices you see here are their trade prices, as you can see they are more expensive than Mingxiao

It was my intention to set up a website, kind of a 1 stop shop that would allow the user to chose a Solarstorm light, battery box, a selection of different 18650 cells, and external chargers, splitter / extension cable etc.. all on one page.

However after looking at the business plan and the trade / resell prices, it just wasn't worth it.


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## lightrelief (Nov 27, 2015)

*Could this work?*

I thought that to, until i was told by Mingxiao that Blackshadow are just a re-seller. I have attached their trade prices to in case your interested!

You guys obviously know about these lights, can I run an idea past you?

What are your thoughts on a 1 stop shop, allowing the user to select an LED light, then the battery box, then from a variety of 18650 cells, then from a selection of chargers, then extra spliter / ext cables and mounts etc... all on one web page, all with a 1 year guarantee.

Do you think this could work?

Cheers


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## lightrelief (Nov 27, 2015)

Hi Gary, I thought this to, it turns out they are not, just a customer of Mingxiao!
I have attached the trade price list if your interested, as you can see they are more expensive. Cheers


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

This is NOT a test thread.


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