UltraFire UF-H2

ThunderDuck

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Ive got one of these coming on the slow boat from honkers ... maybe ten days away. I wanted a cheap alternative to a ZL to throw in the travel bag, and @ $33 delivered I thought it was worth a try.

Does anybody own one yet or perhaps any reviews about? Im particularly interested in AA Nimh runtimes.

Cheers.
 

ThunderDuck

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UF-H2 arrived yesterday. No retail packaging but fairly well protected in double bubble wrap. Initial impression ... very nice indeed, with a real precision machined look and feel.

Crunch time. Insert battery hit the switch .... nothing. Repeat procedure with various other batteries ... nothing.

Wake up this a.m. and decide to check if its the tailcap by arcing battery across to body with a paperclip ... bingo. Beautiful wide flood beam ... no hotspot.

Press once for high. Press and hold switch for gradual high to low over the space of about 5 seconds.

If i can fix the tailcap and remove the pocketclip (which makes the headband lumpy) Ill be happy with the purchase.
 

ThunderDuck

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Quick update ... clip is removed quite easily. Attached by means of two 1.5mm hex head screws. Headband is quite comfortable now.
 

Ajay

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:welcome:ThunderDuck....awesome handle...lol.

Why don't you do a full review with pics? Thanks for the updates, is it waterproof?


Ajay
 

ThunderDuck

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Hi Ajay ... unfortunately Im not able to do a full review atm. I will try to add a little extra informatiion.

Waterproof ... definitley looks splash / showerproof. I'm not going to submerge it for you ... as I suspect it would leak ... perhaps around the lens or the switch.

Beam pattern is circular with some artifacts around the corona? which are not visible in normal use. Cannot perceive in any colour tint.

Have fixed the tailcap problem with a strategically placed piece of tinfoil, and is now operating reliably until a blob of solder is applied.

Overall Im happy with the purchase now. Tried on low setting with my ebook reader last night and performed well. Will aslo be used for cycling and hiking on my travels.

Was originally drawn to the H501w for all the usual reasons, but could not justify the purchase price ... Is the UF-H2 at least half as good for half the price?

I suspect so.
 
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ThunderDuck

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IMPORTANT UPDATE!

So ... my skilled brother arrives with soldering iron this afternoon and examines the problem ...

I had not tightened the tailcap sufficiently to create the circuit.

:oops:

So its all ok ... perhaps Ill do a dunk test for penance.

:)
 

nk08

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Hi thunder!
Now im thinking on buying one of these headlamps, but i haven't bought it yet cos of one thing
do they have "modes"?
how is that, you press the on off switch and the brightness go down?
please explain clearly cos i'm spanish lol
how brighter is this compared to an UF C3 SS?
Thanks all ;)
 

ThunderDuck

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Hi nk08

* Press switch once and release to turn on with high power.

* Press switch and hold .... beam will dim smoothly from high power to low power over the space of 4 or 5 seconds. Release switch when you reach desired power level.

* Press switch once and release to turn off.

I cant compare the output with other units, but it does have a claimed output of 220 lumens when powered by a li-on battery.
 

Rexlion

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ThunderDuck, can you confirm whether yours works ok with NiMH? Reason I ask is, the info I see at KD and such sites says battery is 14500, voltage input range 3.7 to 4.2 v.
 

ThunderDuck

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Hi Rexlion
I was wondering the same thing before purchase ... the answer is it will run on a standard AA 1.5v battery but seems fussy about nimh. All I have to test with at the moment are some cheap (varta) reachargables. Ill try to bring a fresh charged eneloop home from work tomorrow.
 

Rexlion

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Thanks. I'd like to try one of these (was about to buy a ZL when I saw this thread) and am deciding between H1 and H2. I tend to lean toward AA NiMH lights when I can, but if the H2 doesn't like 'em I'd get a H1 instead just because I have 3 extra 16340s sitting around but no unused 14500s.
 

ThunderDuck

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Update ... grabbed some fresh charged eneloops from work and results as follows;

Hi beam - a somewhat disappointing 1.5 hours before it dropped to low beam for ten minutes then switched off.

Low beam - has been running for more than eight hours ... still going.

Will redo the high beam test to confirm results.
 

ThunderDuck

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Ok I shut down the low beam run time test at 20+ hours and reran the high beam test. I can confirm the original results at 1.5 hours till it auto switches to low and then fades out over the space of ten minutes or so.

I popped the low beam test battery back in and there appears to be plenty of life left in it. The high beam run time is a little disappointing but not a deal breaker for me as I had planned most of the use on low beam as a reading light.

Forgot to mention the casing becomes quite warm to the touch when running high beam.
 

Rexlion

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Sounds good, thanks for the info! Running 1.5 hours on high with NiMH is plenty good for me. I've sent off for an H2. I was just concerned that NiMH might not have enough voltage for the light to function properly, but you've shown that it will. :twothumbs

I often have to go outside after dark and work a combo lock, and I think this will be the best type of light for the job. Something I can clip onto my shirt or jacket front and have both hands free. Headlamps work but they aren't as convenient as I'd like for this brief task. I'd gotten a Fenix Anglelight, and it worked sort of, but the light isn't a wide enough flood and always seems to point at the wrong spot. This wide flood on the UF-H2 will be great. And at $31 (from HK) it's less expensive than a used Zebralight.
 

ThunderDuck

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Sounds good, thanks for the info! I was just concerned that NiMH might not have enough voltage for the light to function properly, but you've shown that it will. :twothumbs Something I can clip onto my shirt or jacket front and have both hands free. Headlamps work but they aren't as convenient as I'd like for this brief task. And at $31 (from HK) it's less expensive than a used Zebralight.

Your welcome Rexlion ... glad to be able to make a contribution to this excellent forum.

The H2 is indeed a versatile light with headband, pocket clip etc ... and while Zebralight owners are gluing magnets to the base of their lights, you will already have an excellent strong magnetic base!

Good luck with your purchase.

:thumbsup:
 
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Rexlion

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My UF H2 arrived today from HK. It took 19 days... I was getting concerned. Tried a NiMH: nothing. Checked tailcap tightness based on your experience, no help. Tried a LiIon: nothing. Got out the alcohol and a bit of cotton rag and cleaned the contacts... tried again: everything works. Although, the tailcap still needs to be screwed down very firmly to make contact.

The closest thing I can compare the H2 to, beamwise, is my RGB. The floody beam is not quite as wide as that of the Quark RGB NW, but they are both similar in not having much if any hotspot and being pretty uniform. The UF-H2's output is obviously blue in tint and isn't quite as bright on high as the RGB is.

The H2 is now my most floody headlamp. Previously that would have been my Lenser H7. The Lenser, adjusted to flood, has a considerably tighter, brighter, less smooth (more ringy) beam than this new Ultrafire.

This UF-H2 is a convenient size to carry in a pocket, quick and easy to clip to a garment for handsfree lighting. It's great for fast, short tasks. If I want a headlamp for more than five minutes I'll probably opt for the Lenser, since it can attain greater brightness, is easier to adjust for light level, and can be focused to a spot. But the Lenser won't fit in my pocket comfortably, so I will have to go get it and strap it on my head. And most times when I need handsfree light, it's a task that lasts less than a minute, so I'd much rather use the light that requires no fuss... the H2.

One more light I'd like to compare it to: the Fenix MC10 Anglelight. The Fenix's beam is a bright hotspot along with spill that is about as wide as, but not as bright as, the H2's floodbeam. I bought the Angle thinking it would be my quick, convenient light that I'd clip to my clothes for short handsfree tasks. Well, the Angle wiggles around too much. It tends to be difficult for me to get it to point right where I need it. And I just about have to get the hotspot onto the work area, because that hotspot is often bright enough to wash out my vision when I try to rely on the spill. Even the included diffuser doesn't help much with that IMO. And it's hardly as pocketable... the Fenix is way longer and larger than the diminutive UF-H2, even though they both run on the same size cell. Both have a switch on the head, but the H2 switch is easier to activate and has better tactile feel.

I think I'll get quite a bit of use out of my new UF-H2. It's not a be-all, end-all headlamp. But it fills a need.

Here's a photo. From left to right: Lenser H7, Fenix MC10, Eneloop, UF-H2, and Maratac AAA (for size comparison).

IMG_0576.jpg
 
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moonfish

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I saw these ultrafire lamps on ebay, questions abound. How annoying is the UI? It takes 5 seconds to get to low(er) and only after enduring a brighter blast in the face?

The h1 says it is 60 lumen, not mention of battery life?
h2 claims 230 but that is 14500 only? What about AA? I don't know if I want the lithium strapped to my head or not yet.
 

Rexlion

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I saw these ultrafire lamps on ebay, questions abound. How annoying is the UI? It takes 5 seconds to get to low(er) and only after enduring a brighter blast in the face?

The h1 says it is 60 lumen, not mention of battery life?
h2 claims 230 but that is 14500 only? What about AA? I don't know if I want the lithium strapped to my head or not yet.
No doubt, you will start out with high. If that annoys you, stay away from it. But it doesn't bother me in the least. Keep in mind that the beam is quite diffuse so it isn't really blinding; there's no strong central hotspot to really blast the eyeballs.

Cycling hi to lo to hi (as long as you hold it down it cycles) is surprisingly rapid. But after watching it cycle a couple of times I was then able to hit pretty close to absolute low whenever I wanted to. You have to think ahead and anticipate a bit when you want low or something in between... you let go of the switch before, not when, it reaches the desired level, or you overshoot.

With a floody light like this I would not even attempt to make a guess about lumens output. Too hard for me to judge. All I could do is compare it to other lights. It's not as bright as the Quark RGB (which runs on 2 lithiums, so it's hardly fair to expect equal brightness), so if we believe the OTF lumens rating of that light I could estimate this one at... oh... maybe 2/3 to 3/4 as much output. Blinding bright this ain't. Bright enough to illuminate what my hands are doing, definitely. Bright enough to see just about everything in a dark room, you bet. Bright enough to bicycle with, or to blind an attacker, no way Jose. :grin2:
 
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