Finally got my Ultrafire C3 2xAA....really impressed!

[Kbreese]

This little light is awesome for the money! Looks and feels like a quality piece...metal and anodized...nice firm click in the switch too. But most importantly, I can't believe how bright it is! Now, to be honest I am pretty much a "noob" and the only other lights I have is a S&W Galaxy (w/cree bulb) and a Task Force 2C from lowes. Its not dark yet so I can't test the throw vs the Task Force, but it definitely appears quite a bit brighter than it in doors so far...and its so much smaller. When I first turned it on my reaction was "holy sh*t!" And I am only using cheapo radio shack alkalines. Going to get some eneloops soon I think. Best part was it only cost $14 shipped! Only complaint was it took forever to get here. but for something so small and so cheap...I'm blown away. If there's a better light bargain out there...let me know!

For the record I also ordered a WF-606A (Q5 bulb and extension tube) to try that out too...for $18, what the heck!

Anyhow, whats the latest consensus on these light's here? I did a search but could only find posts from 2007. And I saw one thread where people were ragging on these ultrafires saying they were crap, so I thought I might be dissapointed when it arrived, but thats not the case!

 

[Roberts30]

I totally know what your saying on these cheap little lights! I recently bought a Solarforce L2, and am absolutly amazed by how good of quality it has and how BRIGHT it is! :welcome:

 

[Kbreese]

Well, its dark now, and I took this light outside...and HOLY Sh*t!! ..this light blows away my Lowes Task Force 2C (cree bulb) which is much bigger, much heavier, takes 2 C's instead of 2 AA's and cost $40. It reaches just as far but it's much brighter and yet its so tiny. This thing is awesome....and for $14 shipped...insane.

 

[Chodes]

Well, its dark now, and I took this light outside...and HOLY Sh*t!! ..this light blows away my Lowes Task Force 2C (cree bulb) which is much bigger, much heavier and cost $40. It reaches just as far but if much brighter and yet its so tiny. This thing is awesome....and for $14 shipped...insane.

I have a C3. It's a good little light. The surprising thing is it has worked nearly everytime I have clicked the switch. It's the only super cheap light I have owned that does that.

If you think the C3 is awesome , you will love the bigger LED lights.
Tape 3 x C3s together and that would be similar to the quality Cree 3W lights like the Fenix, Olight, Jetbeam etc
You'd need about 8-10 C3s to get similar output to a good P7 or MC-E light.

 

[Kbreese]

I have a C3. It's a good little light. The surprising thing is it has worked nearly everytime I have clicked the switch. It's the only super cheap light I have owned that does that.

If you think the C3 is awesome , you will love the bigger LED lights.
Tape 3 x C3s together and that would be similar to the quality Cree 3W lights like the Fenix, Olight, Jetbeam etc
You'd need about 8-10 C3s to get similar output to a good P7 or MC-E light.

The Task Force 2C I have is a 3W cree bulb, but this little C3 is brighter by a significant margin. I compared them last night. Took them in my backyard and shined it along my back fence which is 100 feet away and up a tree too and the C3 was the hands down winner. Not sure if I got either a dud in my 2C or a ringer in my C3.

As far as the P7's or MC-E, I am not familiar with them, but this little C3 seems to put out plenty of light for my needs. Lights up every room in my house with ease...and lights up my backyard very well. (my lot is 130X200ft.) I'm sure there is definitely much brighter, but thats also going to drain batteries quicker or require different speciality batteries etc. I'm sure eventually I'll true some uber-torch, but very happy for now with this little guy.

Also, I have to note that the beam is super white...don't notice any blue-ish tint or anything.

By the way, anyone know how long this thing will go on 2AA batteries? I think I remember reading somewhere its like 3 hours or so? Is that at full strength?

 

[hyperloop]

The Ultrafire C3 (P4) was my first ever "decent" LED light purchase back about 2+ years ago, got it off ebay. It was incredibly bright to me then (not so much now ) and i loved the fact that it could run on 1xAA for EDC purposes.

Try it on a 14500 cell (just ONE mind you, stack 2 of those in the C3 and it will ) and be even more amazed. But it's a bit of hit and miss if you order it off DX or any other sites, the 2nd one i ordered was a bit of a disappointment, flickering issues which i couldnt resolve as im a techie/soldering cripple (or perhaps 'challenged' would be more PC).

The one that i originally had is still around, it's been given to my dad now. If you want something pretty amazing at a decent price, check out the Romisen RC N3 II Q5 from shiningbeam. That is a GREAT light for its price, runs on 2xAAs or 1xCR/RCR123. It's also got a forward clicky (meaning you can just half press for a momentary burst of light) and 2 modes when used in 2xAA configuration. Low mode is supposed to run for 12 hours and high mode runs for 3 hours then an additional 2 hours on low.

On RCR123s i get about 45 minutes of blazing bright output. Go check it out man. here's the link

 

[Twinkle-Plank]

Wait untill you get a surefire you will be extremely impressed.

 

[rizky_p]

Yeah i remember back when i received my Ultrafire C3 for the money it was worth it. Now put a SINGLE 14500 not switch it on. The next step up would be Solarforce L2 a cheap but quality light something that rarely goes together. I also had 606 but the one with P4 or P2 i cant remember.


Why quickly mentioning the surefire's quality? he just got his Ultrafire C3 let him enjoys it, one step at a time.

 

[hyperloop]

next step up is get an Akoray K-106 from kaidomain its a 3 mode programmable and runs of AAs or 14500s, i own one too