Heresy; E2 and Arc AAA bad, UK 2AAA, and Blast good

I know, heresay. I am stating that the Surefire E2/e and the Arc AAA are less adiquate than the UK 2AAA and the Princton Tec Blast 2AAA for the following reasons;

Bad; The E2/e is too big to fit comfortably in my pocket.

Bad; The Arc AAA is an LED and simply doesn't get the job done, insufficent quantity of light.

Bad; The E2/e has a great light, but costs too much to run.

I understand that the E2/e puts out a tremendous amount of light. Great. Too bad it costs so much too run and doesn't fit in my pocket.

I understand that the Arc AAA is bullet proof and gives a good long run time per battery, too bad it doesn't muster up enough light.

Good; The Blast puts out a fine volume of light and has a black, opaque bezel. It would be perfect if the profile was a bit slimmer. It has a wonderful beam shape and output. Awesome light, pound for pound.

Best; The UK 2AAA puts out a terrific amount of light and has a good throw. It has a slim light weight profile and is waterproof (like the Blast). It has two draw backs; the bezel is translucent and gets in my eyes when I am holding the flash light in my mouth (I covered it in electrical tape to solve this problem), and the beam shape is not as nice as the Blast. This brings up another point.

I quite often use a light of this size by holding it in my mouth while doing other things with my hands. The Blast and the UK 2AAA are plastic and are much easier on this old man's teeth! I would hesitate to put one of the other two between my teeth due to their construction and materials.

Don't get me wrong! I have purchased an E2e and an Arc AAA. I gave them to my brother. Everyday I carry and use a UK AAA (one of three, which cost less than the batteries for an E2e). I would rather use the Blast but that large bezel is too much.

Blast away.

Hi, I got an ArcAAA, UK2AAA, surefire E2 and D3
and I use ArcAAA and my D3 most.
Just because for more light I pick up the 105 lumen D3 and for small amount of light I use the ArcAAA.
I think different people want different amount of light for different tasks. For me, UK2AAA is, of course, bulletproof and already a nice light, but the ArcD3 combination fits me better!

P.S. can someone tell me what is the meaning of IMHO??? I know LOTC, EDC, but what it IMHO?
THANKS

Originally posted by llvo:

P.S. can someone tell me what is the meaning of IMHO??? I know LOTC, EDC, but what it IMHO?
THANKS

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">In My Humble Opinion.:^)

oic...

Originally posted by llvo:
oic...

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Very Good.

I do agree about the Blast and UKE 2AAA. I like the UKE 2AAA best of these, it puts out a little less light, but it's also smaller, small enough to fit easily into a watch pocket. It's a great little package. For the niche that these lights fall into, I now carry an Arc LS, which is tougher and outperforms them -- but which is 10-20 times the price!

I do also love the E2 and Arc AAA. Both have their niches, and are great within them. More often than not, the AAA (I actually have an LE) provides all the light I need. And there are definitely times when I want a pocket blaster, and while the E2 isn't something I'll carry around in my pocket 100% of the time, it's an amazing little package when I do want to carry it.

Joe

"oic" I was just going to ask what THAT meant, but I think I figured it out...

Anyway, regarding the UKE 2AAA pocket, has anyone seen the cool, translucent colors they're showing on their website? Would love to get one in every color, but just can't justify it...

flashfan said---"oic" I was just going to ask what THAT meant, but I think I figured it out...

You could have said, Oh I see, but could you tell the rest of us what it means?

Any comprable light to the UK 2AAA as far as output? How does it compare to a Mini-Mag? How about runtime? Does claim of 2-3 hours hold up?

I may be wrong, but to me, it says, "Oh, I see." (O - I - C).

Do I get any points?

edit: Shucks, witsend beat me to it.

I have my Arc LE attached, with a small chain, to my UK 2AAA (side by side). The Arc LE DOES have a nice beam and adequate light, but if I need to see further away, I'll use the UK. I just recently got a newer model, and it has a much better and tighter beam than before. The bulb appears to be slightly bigger too. I, also, did the electrical tape over the clear head trick. Anyway, I never leave home without them.

I have a probably-dopey question. When you put black electrical tape around the bezel, the tape absorbs all the light that would otherwise spill out. Is there any way to re-direct that light forwards again? If I put a piece of aluminum foil, shiney-side down, under the tape, would some of the light bounce around and come out the front, enough to be noticeable? If no one has tried it, perhaps I'll give it a shot.

Joe

I don't own the UK so maybe I'm way off here, but see if you can put the foil inside the light around the bezel.

I like the UKE 2AAA also, but have to give the edge in durability to the ARC AAA. I know that my ARC will not go out if I drop it. My previous UKE 2AAA went out after being dropped.

Still use both for different purposes.

Aloha

While UKE2AAA can not compare with ArcLE in bulb life, it does stand a lot of abuse.

I recieved a UK2AAA from a friend but I discovered the batteries inside leaked.
After replacing with new batteries, it can still function but the light sometimes flickers.
So, guess what I did?
I banged it on something to restore good electric contact or threw it on concrete floor hard. If this didn't work, ...then did it again untii it works

It also survived a shot by my airsoft BB gun while it's on. The velocity of the BB is up to 350fps! Just leave a little mark on the body

(I swear I won't do that to my surefire, EVER!)
Now that little light is still working and I gave it to someone else

really a great light

I used to carry a Solitaire till '94 when I saw a UKE2aaa on the rack near a cash register at Wallyworld. New EDC. UKE2aaa is twice the size, twice the weight and produces five times the light (mebbe more).

I was told I had to buy an ArcAAA so I could join CPF(something about initiation...) but, from now on, I will always have the ArcAAA in my pocket.

I think that even if you could line the inside of the bezel of the UKE with something to block the light leakage, some light would refract through since the bezel is one piece with the lens.

Try rubber friction tape instead of electrical tape. The friction tape provides a better grip for one handed operation.

I have to agree that the UK2AAA is a great pocket light. Another plus is that it's so inexpensive.

I EDC carry both the Arc AAA LE and a UK2AAA, and use them both for different purposes. The Arc AAA LE's strong points to me are runtime, quality of light (color temperature), and quality of beam (good "flood" type coverage). IMO, the UK2AAA's strong points are brightness, throw, and price.

I could never bring myself to EDC the Arc AAA LE in the bottom of my pocket all mixed in with a pocketknife, coins, etc..., but I have no problem doing that with my UK2AAA simply because it was so inexpensive. The Arc AAA LE rides in my watch pocket (when the Arc LS isn't there).

I use the Arc AAA LE most often, as generally a short range flood of quality white light works best for me. When I need something with better throw, the UK2AAA is always there.

And here was me thinking that AAA's are only good for remote controls. Thinking about it, the Pronto recharges on it's base... hmmm.
We don't use any of the individual remotes - I bet their Alks are leaking all over the place.

Anyway, can anyone show me photos of these 2AAAs next to an E2e please?

Thanks!

Al

The 2AAAs are bright, but NOT as bright as an E2e! Hardly! An E1 would be brighter, I'm sure. Not positive, since I've not seen the beam from an E1 in person. Still, a nice little cheap light!

Originally posted by Size15s:
And here was me thinking that AAA's are only good for remote controls. Thinking about it, the P
Anyway, can anyone show me photos of these 2AAAs next to an E2e please?
Thanks!
Al

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Did you mean the 2-AAA flashlight itself, or the beam it puts out?
The very small 3V.(side-by-side) UKE is a Keyring light, and can hardly be expected to put out a beam rivaling a 6V. Li powered E2.

p.s. photos of the UKE can be seen at www.ndsproducts.com or www.brightguy.com -search underwater kinetics.