I think that explosion was from using unprotected batteries.
I can't tell from looking at it if the battery is protected, but protected ones are usually a bit longer. The charger looks like a cheap Chinese model, so there's some risk of fire from that (either the charger itself could burn up, or more likely it could burn the battery). Plain 18650 cells are NOT meant to be used on their own like AA batteries. They need a protection circuit, and they are designed to be assembled into packs that provide protection and charging. Also, there's a lot of variation in quality of cells. I would trust a company like Panasonic, but there are a lot of no-name lithium batteries out there that are risky to use. It's not clear who makes the cells for Rigid batteries, but it looks like they put their own branding over them.
The flashlight itself doesn't look inherently different from the Chinese version. I guess I don't understand this product if it's new, because I've seen Chinese lights like that on the market for a while. Is this an American knockoff of a Chinese knockoff of a Chinese knockoff of a Surefire light? If it's "Designed, Engineered, & Assembled in the USA" can't they come up with an original design?
I've bought a few Chinese flashlights, and it's definitely hit or miss. I had one that ran on a single AA battery that was great, except for having flaky contacts. I've bought a couple since then that haven't been as good or didn't live up to expectations. It seems like a good way to select one is to figure out which Cree LED part number is good these days (such as XM-L) and look for lights that claim to use that part. You can get an idea of the typical lumens for a part, and vendors' lumen claims are useless. I buy flashlights direct from China on dx.com, and it's OK if you go into it with the right expectations. Namely, it will take about a month to arrive if you choose free shipping, and there's a good chance that whatever shows up will be junk for whatever reason (defective, doesn't meet specs, poor quality construction, etc) and go straight in the trash. Depending on what I want it might be worth the risk because most of the stuff on their is cheap enough. (It's a great place to get cheap cell phone cases.) But lately I've decided it's worth it to spend a bit more to get a reliable flashlight.
Cree is a reputable LED manufacturer in the US. People figured out that they made good LEDs for flashlights, so ones that listed a Cree part number were desirable. I guess that's evolved to Chinese companies putting the Cree name on their flashlights. They are probably using Chinese knockoffs of Cree LEDs by now, but for a while Cree was one of the only companies in the world making compact and very bright LEDs. Philips Lumileds, which makes Luxeon LEDs, was another one of the leaders in LED technology. But I don't keep up with the market any more, so I'm sure there are lots of reputable and Chinese knockoff companies making LEDs now.
so would i get the same deal?
