It appears to be a slightly modified Nuwai X1:
The biggest modification is the reduced area near the head for the pocket clip to attach to (the clip is under the flashlight in the picture). It's also black, while the X1 was originally grey.
What is not obvious from the picture is the finish is more of a matte surface, not smooth like a Fenix.
The tail switch itself is good. Not too stiff (the Nuwai Q1 will almost break your finger), not too soft either. But it is set a little deeper into the body than the standard version, or it looks to be anyway. I find it slightly inconvenient to click with one hand, but it works:
(it looks blue in this picture, but the rubber cap is actually grey)
The beam does have some small irregularities...
...but for the price it's pretty good. This picture is the best I could get the imperfections to show up, and you have probably noticed it's nothing significant.
The small imperfections do disappear at a distance, and aren't any worse than a lot of more expensive flashlights.
The color in that picture is pretty accurate. It looks perfectly white on its own, although compared against a better flashlight it does have a slight green shade. But no blue at all. You have to hold it next to a Cree or a 3-watt luxeon to think anything is wrong with it.
One thing about it that looks really crummy is the gasket sealing off the lens. It looks like the aluminum head has some weird little cutouts in a few places, and the gasket squishes through:
These weird things aren't all spaced evenly, so I don't know if it is done on purpose or not.
The lens sounds somewhat flimsy when I tap on it, like maybe it is too thin. But that might be in my head, as I don't have much experience with breaking lenses.
One thing I think is a functional drawback is how the clip is positioned:
It slides on OK, but when removed the sharp ridge of the sunken area of the handle scrapes at my pants. It would probably destroy a pocket after significant use. It stinks that the clip feature is unusable for some (I guess maybe people wearing heavier clothing might not care), but on the other hand the Nuwai version doesn't have a clip at all.
To give River Rock credit, they added the clip but still give you the [dorky] neck lanyard that the original comes with. Pick your option.
Overall, a pretty good flashlight for the price. The X1 looks like it usually goes for $30 online, so $23 isn't just a good price for a store, it's a good price anywhere.
The Dorcy Super 1-watt is $20 and hanging on a peg right next to the River Rock. Both are great flashlights, and both sell for $5-10 more if you bought them anywhere else. There are a few smaller differences, but overall they are extremely similar flashlights and I would suggest someone just buy whichever they find most appealing. The alkaline option for the River Rock is appealing for anyone who, unlike most of us, does not maintain a stash of cheap 123a's. But us enthusiasts can still put lithium AAs in the River Rock, so it's good for us too.
The biggest modification is the reduced area near the head for the pocket clip to attach to (the clip is under the flashlight in the picture). It's also black, while the X1 was originally grey.
What is not obvious from the picture is the finish is more of a matte surface, not smooth like a Fenix.
The tail switch itself is good. Not too stiff (the Nuwai Q1 will almost break your finger), not too soft either. But it is set a little deeper into the body than the standard version, or it looks to be anyway. I find it slightly inconvenient to click with one hand, but it works:
(it looks blue in this picture, but the rubber cap is actually grey)
The beam does have some small irregularities...
...but for the price it's pretty good. This picture is the best I could get the imperfections to show up, and you have probably noticed it's nothing significant.
The small imperfections do disappear at a distance, and aren't any worse than a lot of more expensive flashlights.
The color in that picture is pretty accurate. It looks perfectly white on its own, although compared against a better flashlight it does have a slight green shade. But no blue at all. You have to hold it next to a Cree or a 3-watt luxeon to think anything is wrong with it.
One thing about it that looks really crummy is the gasket sealing off the lens. It looks like the aluminum head has some weird little cutouts in a few places, and the gasket squishes through:
These weird things aren't all spaced evenly, so I don't know if it is done on purpose or not.
The lens sounds somewhat flimsy when I tap on it, like maybe it is too thin. But that might be in my head, as I don't have much experience with breaking lenses.
One thing I think is a functional drawback is how the clip is positioned:
It slides on OK, but when removed the sharp ridge of the sunken area of the handle scrapes at my pants. It would probably destroy a pocket after significant use. It stinks that the clip feature is unusable for some (I guess maybe people wearing heavier clothing might not care), but on the other hand the Nuwai version doesn't have a clip at all.
To give River Rock credit, they added the clip but still give you the [dorky] neck lanyard that the original comes with. Pick your option.
Overall, a pretty good flashlight for the price. The X1 looks like it usually goes for $30 online, so $23 isn't just a good price for a store, it's a good price anywhere.
The Dorcy Super 1-watt is $20 and hanging on a peg right next to the River Rock. Both are great flashlights, and both sell for $5-10 more if you bought them anywhere else. There are a few smaller differences, but overall they are extremely similar flashlights and I would suggest someone just buy whichever they find most appealing. The alkaline option for the River Rock is appealing for anyone who, unlike most of us, does not maintain a stash of cheap 123a's. But us enthusiasts can still put lithium AAs in the River Rock, so it's good for us too.