Nuwai ALX-233C

Just got my Nuwai ALX 233C led light from Amondotech.

Fit & finish is nice and the size is comparable to a M@g 3D in length but the diameter is "C" sized. Flat tailcap so it will tailstand. There is a flat cut into the body to allow you to index the light to find the switch easily. The switch is just below the bezel and activates easily (short travel on the switch).

It has 4 modes of operation--100%, 50%, 25% + blink. The first 3 are available by a simple push of the switch and are in decending order of output. Blink is activated by holding down the switch for about 3 seconds. Light turns off by pushing the switch again.

The light is very white in color, especially on high power. It's whiter/warmer than my TM301-x3, with no unpleasant tints.

The light disassembles remarkably fast--it has o-rings where needed but no loctite (YEAH!). The star looks pretty neatly soldered and has Lumileds printed on it. The aluminum retaining ring unscrews easily giving access to the top of the star. Not wanting to damage it, I did not pry out the star to see what bin it was.

The reflector is half-stippled (lower) and smooth on the upper half. I think the lens is plastic and I may get a UCL to replace it.

No runtimes yet, as I don't have any NiMh C's. It's currently running on some 'heavy duty' cheapo C batts I had laying around.

--Vic

ALX-233C





Beamshot at 100% Brightness




Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

Ern, thanks for supplying some photos! I appreciate it.

Vic,

I've had my ALX-233C for a couple of months. It's my favorite "C" size light. IMO, the machining is exceptional...very smooth, no rough edges anywhere...a joy to run your fingers over... :laughing:

Thanks for mentioning the "flashing" mode...I hadn't discovered that.

jb

Gentlemen,

Could you give some idea of the throw from the ALX-233C? I don't see it on Quickbeam's throw & output charts, but did find it at ledmuseum, and Craig shows it having some pretty amazing total output. It would be helpful if you could give an "eyeball" comparison with some well known 3 watt lights.

I'm always looking for a good walk-the-dog light (we live in a semi-rural area), and multi-level lights are my favorites for this purpose. I would also cut a PVC adapter and use AA NiMh cells in it.

Thanks for any info.

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to try this light out. I am also interested in the throw of this light compared to something else. or night time beamshots at about 30-50 ft would be nice.

Thanks!
AlexGT

In use I find it to be a more floody light and not that far-reaching, which to me anyway equals throw. It is nice and not too heavy to lug around. I like the 3stage output too. I suspect there is a mod out there to put a new reflector in that will make it more of a thrower. Sorry I have no realworld beamshots.

vic, thanks for the post.

It is a good compromise between throw and flood. On a wall at close range, the hotspot looks small and you would expect it to be a throw monster, but in the "real world" it is not. It has less throw than a Streamlight 4AA Propoly, but more than the Fenix L1P/L2P. It is a very very nice medium range light. The build quality is amazing. What I like about the most is the size. It's JUST big enough and heavy enough to use as a "bashlight", yet not so big that I can't fit it into my center-console.

One thing I always wonder is if this light flickers on 50% and especially 25% mode.

The ALX-332L does, but the ALX-352L is very smooth according to flashlightreviews. Since the Lux5 @ 50% puts out as much light as LuxIII, it's a much more versatile light IMO (can replace a LuxII without flickering, but has a brighter max output).

I see no flicker on the ALX-233C or my ALX-654C.

OTOH, after disassembling and reassembling the head - including prying the star out, only to find it attached to another star-shaped piece of material (which I did not attempt to remove), and reassembling, it was somewhat flaky after impacts until I pulled it apart and reassembled it again. Dissassembly is probably best left to people more experienced than I am.

The 233C has a tighter hotspot, and less flood, than the 654C (LuxV 4C) variant.

I see no flicker on either of my ALX-233C lights,
Had it since November and it has been very reliable.
Great multipurpose light

I'm new to this forum and am interested in the ALX-233C. I read the review of the ALX-032L (cr123 powered) over at flashlightreviews.com.

I'm hoping someone with the ALX-233C can answer a couple of questions:
1. A couple of posters (torch_boy and nadrek) in this thread have said the ALX-233C does not flicker (unlike the ALX-032L, which does flicker accoring to flashlightreviews.com). What happens if you move the ALX-233C quickly- is any flicker noticeable then?

2. How are the button presses on the ALX-233C when switching power levels? Can you quickly tap the button to get to a desired power level, or do you have to use slow, deliberate presses (as described in flashlightreviews.com for the ALX-032L review)?

Thanks. I'm really glad I found this forum....tons of useful information. The only drawback is I stay up all night to read the posts!