My order left Hong Kong 9 days ago and there is still no update on the USPS tracking site. I expected that it would show up on USPS within 2-3 days at the most. Did they put my light on a ship or what?

Most people, myself included, report about a 3 week delivery time. It showed up on USPS's website after about 15 days for me.

Took mine 4.5 weeks to arrive. Likely due to the holiday delays. You can use the tracking number on the USPS website though.

So I guess they are going by ship and not by air. Thanks for the intel.

DX ships by airmail. they don't seem to carry items that are heavy or large enough to not fit in the weight/size limit of airmail.

my items all arrived within 5~10 days. if it takes longer, it's probably getting stuck in customs.

Why would my stamp money be used to track a package in a foreign country?

Come on people, it is the United States Postal Service. It is not the Chinese Private Business Tracking System.

We want government off our backs and out of our pockets yet expect them to do what?

The USPS only tracks it once it hits the U.S., and in my experience, it doesn't do much in the way of tacking unless it was some kind of express delivery.

No, they ship by air. Shipping by sea from Asia to the US takes several months, not weeks.

shipping from china, HK, taiwan and japan via sea takes roughly 5~7 weeks, but certainly not more than 2 months

it depends on if your package makes it on the ship before it sails off.

Well this thread has caused me to get the 5 mode to supplement my Sol headlight. I am hoping those two should be all I need for the upcoming 24 hour.

I've ordered 9 shipments from DX to Vancouver, Canada. If it's in stock they ship it out in 2-3 days (goes to HK Post). Then about 2 days by air where it arrives at the Richmond Canada Post depot. Then about 5 business days clearing Customs. Canada Post doesn't deliver this type of package (expedited parcel) on weekends. On average 10 business days to get to my door. Oh, and I can track it all the way through the system on Canada Post up to the morning it goes out for delivery.
I've got the 15740 & 15691 P7 lights from DX.

I have been playing around with a 2 light combo that has worked wonderfully for me.. I have the p7 as my main light coupled with a Fenix Tk11 which is a great thrower.. I use the the p7 aimed about 15 feet ahead of me for main illlumination and then the fenix about 25 feet ahead because if has much better throwing ability than the p7.. They both use 18650 batteries and I normally carry 1-2 spares depending on how far I ride.. This is an ideal combo of lights for night riding..

Who do you think delivers your package once it gets to the US?!?! Once the package comes into the hands of the USPS (and presumably postage is paid by the sender at that point or there is some collaborative arrangement), why wouldn't it be tracked like any other package. What makes you think this is being done for free rather than as part of the postage that the seller pays?

Of course it would be tracked by the USPS once it is in America. I have no problem with that at all. But just because an item left Hong Kong nine days ago does not necessarily mean it is in the hands of the our postal system.

Rode with my P7 (MTE 8-mode) this morning and I had some problems. First, I started out with it mounted in my TwoFish holder but it didn't hold to the handlebar very well over the bumpy stuff. I can probably fix that with a little piece of rubber between the strap and the bar. I still had the conduit hangar on the bike, but I had no tools with me to tighten it up. Lastly, I experience what others have commented on. This thing changed modes on me when I hit some bumpy stretches. It was a real PITA to get it back to high mode once that happened. If I had it to do over again, I would get one without all the flash modes. Luckily I had my Romisen helmet-mounted which got me in quite nicely.

I'll search all the P7 threads for possible solutions to the mode changing problems (seems I've read some) but if anyone can point me to one (or tell me what they did), I'd appreciate it.

The lights change mode because the battery is rattling around, causing the electrical circuit to momentarily break. This is the same as momentarily pushing the on/off switch, which is how you change the mode on these lights. What you need to do is find a way so that the battery fits in the light more tightly, or you need to minimize vibration/shocks, or both. This is what I do:

1) Carry the light on my helmet rather than the bars. There's less vibration to the light, and on my helmet I don't need to resort to option 2 (but I still do).
2) Make the battery "longer" in the barrel so that there's more pressure on the springs near the head and in the tail cap. I do this by sticking magnets on the end of the light. I kept adding magnets until it was a tight fit (slightly difficult to get the threads started on the tail cap), and now I can't get the light to change modes no matter how hard I shake it.

Here's a pic of a battery with a few magnets on the end:

I got my P7 last night:
Aurora AK-P7-4 HA-III SSC P7-C 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight (1*18650) SKU#15691

I'm very pleased so far. It's super bright (4-5 times as bright as my MyNewt Mini USB) and easily lasted for my 55 minute commute on one battery.

I mounted it using the
Universal Bicycle Mount for Flashlights and Gadgets (2cm~3cm Diameter Adjustable) SKU#15642.

I'm happy with the mount as well. It held the light very steady and was easy to install/remove the light.

I'm glad I got only the two mode. I had worried I should have got one with a medium setting to conserve batteries, but for less than an hour I can run it on high with no problem and I don't want to cycle thru the useless (to me) SOS and strobe settings every time I use the light. I'm not even sure I'll ever use the Low setting (it's about the same as my MyNewt). Maybe if I forget my extra batteries some day?

The flashlight is very solidly constructed and only costs $36. I may even buy another one. My wife was very pleased to see how much light it puts out.

I did a little test in my garage last night. First I turned on my old halogen flashlight (state of the art 1995). It seemed reasonably bright. Then I turned on the MyNewt Mini USB. It totally washed out the flashlight. Then I turned on the P7. It totally washed out the MyNewt (at less than half the price).

After only one ride it's too early to know about reliability but I strongly recommend this based on my experience so far.

Just be aware that if anyone is going to order a light that many of the Hong Kong businesses close for the Chinese traditional Spring Festival for the next 2 weeks..

Just took mine out for a night ride. Amazing. Really nice to be able to see the road.

However, coming back, the light switched to the next mode every time I rode over a bump. And no, not big bumps, even little bumps like the cracks in the sidewalk. Does anybody know anything about that by any chance?

From what I read in the comments at DealX, this is not uncommon (more common with 5+ mode?) Suggestion was to wrap some tape around the battery to keep it from moving so much.

Yeah, I guess it wasn't really designed for cycling. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try it and report back.

See post 466 just above. It may help.

Thanks. I don't have any of those lying around but I'll see if I can't rig up something. I don't think I'd want to ride with that sucker on my helmet. I thought the weight of the Romisen in AA configuration was noticeable so I went with a CR123 for the helmet.

How waterproof are the DX P7 flashlights? Are they ok to use in a drizzle? How about a hard rain?

Thanks.

I've used mine several times in poring rain with no issues at all.