For those who might be interested in the latest batch of Magicshine clones from Amazon,
Amazon.com: 4 Mode 1200 Lumen CREE XML T6 Bulb LED Bicycle bike HeadLight Lamp Flashlight Light Headlamp: Sports & Outdoors
I received two yesterday. Supposedly from different sellers, but they were absolutely identical in all respects (I'm even sure the same packer's fingerprints are on the padding materials). Only difference was different barcode numbers on labels stuck to the outside of the boxes. So it doesn't do any good to carefully select your "seller" as I did, buying from the two with 99% customer satisfaction ratings, if they are "fulfilled by Amazon", they're all the same.

Fit and finish on these lights appears quite good. Wiring connectors make a good tight fit with the original Magicshine connectors. Out of the box I fully charged both of them, using the supplied charger that came with each. One took 47 minutes to the green light, the other took 1 hour 52 minutes to green light. I realize this info is useless, I was just curious.

I mounted these two lights with their respective batteries on a broomstick in front of a fan to test them out. I also mounted my original Magicshine together with the Geoman replacement battery (now a couple of years old, though mostly unused). I turned all three on at their highest setting and timed them to the red indicator on the back of each light.

Brand new clone 1: 1 hour 17 minutes run time
Brand new clone 2: 1 hour 51 minutes run time
2 year old Magicshine: exactly 2 hours

As an aside, I noted that the Magicshine lamp got much hotter than the clones. The clone chargers got much hotter than the Magicshine. The Magicshine battery was much heavier-- 280g vs 198g for the clone battery.

I'm going to run a few more time tests in the near future, including a strobing headlight together with a strobing Magicshine taillight on a Y-cable. Also two strobing headlights on a Y-cable (red lens on one for taillight).

One of the things I'm wondering about is whether the clone batteries are worth bothering with--ie should I keep the lamps and dump the batteries and buy a more reliable battery (perhaps the real improved Magicshine or similar)? Or if I get a good clone battery, can it be as serviceable as a Magicshine battery? Or are all the clone batteries dogs which will fail after a very short service life?

I believe I would ask the seller to replace the 1 hr battery, as defective.......... and then go from there

I bought two more of these recently, a matter of months apart. My experience is slightly different - the two clones were not the same. Different packaging, different modes, and on one the battery plug is reversed (male and female). The most recent is exactly like the original I had purchased.

I think the battery packs are hit and miss, cheap because of little quality control and, I think, were never balance charged. One of the 4 cells winds up deficient, or not fully charged so that when the one is fully discharged, the whole pack stops.

I got the clone battery pack with two extra cells in it, and I've had pretty good luck with that so far.

It's no surprise that the batteries are spotty, and probably won't last long. $16 is a reasonable price for 4 16550 cells, putting those 4 cells in a pack with protection and throwing in a light and charger for $16, well, the cells are not exactly going to be Panasonics or anything.

FWIW my 4 year old Magicshine got 3 hours on a charge.

As luck (or lack thereof) has it, the following happened to me with one of these just today:

I bought on of these no-name lights from Amazon over a year ago (the ad looks identical to what I remember, including the the stripes on the cable in the picture) because my Niterider light needed a warranty repair, and I used it as a backup. So, Niterider needs another repair, so I sent it off, and I pulled this light out of the drawer to use in the interim.

The battery had a charge, and the light still turned on; so far so good. I plugged in the charger and charged the battery, and the little charge light turned green. My only worry so far is how long the battery will last. Then I pulled the charger from the socket, and discovered the that right at the base of the charger cord, the wire insulation had pulled completely away from the charging unit, exposing a couple of millimeters of bare copper wire. I have no idea how this happened, as the charger had barely been used, and I'm amazed that the whole thing hadn't shorted out during the charging.

So in my case, these no name lights looked like they would serve as a cheep backup light, but in practice, not so much. The light seems to work, but I can't charge it (it hardly seems worth risking an electrical fire). So what to do? Do I buy yet another one, and hope for better luck? Do without without a light for a couple of weeks until my Niterider comes back? But another flimsy charger (they do seem to be available on Amazon)? I'm not out a lot of money, but the thing that was supposed to help solve another problem has turned into it's own headache.

I think I had bought yet another of these before I got a Niterider, but returned it because the battery would last barely an hour. Some people seem to report having luck with these, but it seems like complete luck of the draw. Mine failed with very little use right when I needed it.

This thread appeared at the right time, so I took it as a chance to share and vent.

This is your lucky day. I have extra of these chargers and will send you one free if you pay me back for the postage. PM me your name and mailing address if interested.

I got a similar light from DX about a year ago. The battery is still good.
I get about 3 hours. About 1/3 of my commute is on bike paths; I keep
the light on low. It's the light module/head I'm having problems. Sometimes
it doesn't want to work. It's a good thing I always have a flashlight on my
helmet as a back up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLeZ...6zPoymgKaIoDLA

Similar happened to me to - the connectors were very tight and I pulled on the cable instead of the pug, snapping the wire inside. nothing that solder and tape couldn't fix.

I bought one of these to get a longer run time with my Fenix BT-20. I buy good quality 18650 batteries and have a good charger. I am sure you would get longer run times and longer battery life.

This charger: $25.61 Authentic Soshine SC-S1 Max 1-4pcs Li-Ion Battery Charger - black / US plug at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
I'd get these: Panasonic NCR18650B Protected 3400mAh

Thank you for the offer. There's a charger available on Amazon Prime, so I think I'll order that. I need it in a hurry, and the difference in cost is just a a few bucks. I just hope it works, and I'm not throwing good money after bad.

The light itself looks sturdy, and works well when it works; I haven't had trouble with it yet. I have no idea how the battery pack has held up, and the charger has already proved to be shoddy. It would be a decent light if everything worked properly. My only complaint is that long wires connecting battery to light are inelegant on my bike. These lights would be a great buy except they're a total crapshoot. So far I've struck out twice.

Then again, my much more expensive Niterider has failed twice in two years. Their customer service is quite good, and they're repairing it for free, but I have to return it to them and pay the shipping, and I'll be without the light for a couple of weeks. I have one of their taillights, and I've had the seat post mound and the clip break, and they're sent me replacements at no cost, and with no questions asked.

This is certainly true. I'm thinking about fabricating my own wiring harness--would require soldering iron, solder, flux, heat-shrink tubing, probably better wire, and a good bit of research--I've never touched a soldering iron before, but how hard can it be?

I'm getting interested in this concept. I'll probably do it after my current overabundance of cheapo batteries has run its course. Thing is, to build a 4-pack, it's $40 for batteries, another $12 for the Pannovo box plus $25 for the individual-cell charger. That's $77.

Also I'm interested in why you chose the charger you did (Soshine) rather than the highly-touted Nitecore Intellicharger i4 version 2? Any particular reason? I've been reading all the battery stuff over on the mountain biding forums and don't believe I've seen it mentioned.

Also I'm interested in why you chose the charger you did (Soshine) rather than the highly-touted Nitecore Intellicharger i4 version 2? Any particular reason? I've been reading all the battery stuff over on the mountain biding forums and don't believe I've seen it mentioned.[/QUOTE]

This guy is the guru of the light forums. Review: Soshine SC-S1max V3 Charger | BudgetLightForum.com
I bought two two bay version and it will charge two 3400 Panasonics in less than 4 hours.

Cool! I'm reading the review--Thanks!

Do you make your own battery packs by soldering together or use the pannovo box (link below) or other box? My biggest hesitation now is that from what I've read the protected cells will only fit in the box if they are kinda crushed down; and I'm afraid their construction may not be robust enough to handle the crushing without damage? What do you think?
PANNOVO B-C04 Water Resistant 4 x 18650 Battery Pack Case for Bike Lamp - Black - Free Shipping - DealExtreme
Amazon.com: 4PCS 3.7V 3400mAh NCR18650B PCM Rechargeable Li-ion Protected Battery for Panasonic: Cell Phones & Accessories
Also, what's the difference between the black-and-silver batteries you recommended (out of stock) and the light green ones sold by Amazon, banggood, wallbuys, etc?

I've been using the Pannovo box with protected Panasonic batteries for about 3 months and have had no problems.
The only problem I have had with the batteries is when I have dropped one and it landed on the protection circuit and damaged it.
I have the green batteries from FastTech. Delivery from the Chinese sites for batteries has become very slow. That's why I suggested the other site.

Will the Pannovo box take both button top and flat top of the Panasonic protected? I can't see hardly any difference from the photos, but if clearance is tight . . .

Battery test-review 18650 summary

You can find the length and circumference of many common 18650 batteries at the link above. Plus lots of other geeky and interesting info.

You're right, Thanks. The problem is that the dimensions of the batteries don't help when I don't know the dimensions of the individual battery spaces within the box. So I should probably just buy the damn box and go from there. Thank you for helping dispel my confusion!

And that battery test review really is good!

Yes. Mine does.

Thanks, Guys--

One more question, please.

The chargers that came with the Magicshine are rated at 1.8 amp. The chargers that come with the clones are rated at 1.0 amp. Since the Magicshine charger seems more robust/trustworthy than the clone chargers, I would like to use it for charging the clone batteries. Any reason why not?

I can't see any reason not to.

In general, you want to charge lithium batteries at 1C, which in layman's terms is 1 x the mAh rating. If your batteries are 3400 mAh (I think that's what I've read of these lights) then you can safely charge at 3.4 amps. Lower than the 1C rating will just take longer to charge.

I have two of these BT-20 setups and also the Magicshine. For the money, the clones and Magicshine are good especially if one lives in a concrete apartment and fire hazards are less of a personal consideration.

Prefer the Fenix running Panasonic 3400AH 18650 batteries. Nitecore Intellicharger. Carrying spares is easy.

I also have 14.4 AH pack of 4S2P Panasonic batteries. Only weighs 400g and will run Fenix for an anticipated 30 hours on the medium setting. Probably overkill.

Just the info I wanted-Thanks!

another good test might be for waterproofness. but if any fail you've damaged your personal property. I too have a magicshine and battery replacement. love it. I also bought a knockoff but haven't done much with it beyond charging and testing in the house. the magicshine performed well through years of rain and I would trust it still in rain sleet snow, etc. I carried the battery in a water bottle with a waterproof cover while commuting in bad weather. now the battery rides in my rear trunk