My First LED light, CMG Infinity Ultra

[Badbeams3]

I bought a AA Arc. And I must say it was a tough decision. The Ultra or the AA Arc. Twice as much money and the performance very close...maybe the same. I`m not unhappy with my decision...the Arc is well made. Guess I felt that if I bought the Ultra I would always be wondering if the Arc was really any better...and probably would end up buying both. So I spent $35 rather than $50 (Arc $35+$15 Ultra). But now...I still want a ultra. Damm...can`t win!

 

[Mark_Larson]

From what i've seen, the Ultra looks comparable in quality to the Arc. Sure it doesn't have the stand-on-end capability of the Arc AA, but even Arc didn't have that till recently.

Its a solid billet of aluminum - how wrong can you go? And they've been producing this light since last year.

 

[UnknownVT]

[ QUOTE ]
Mark_Larson said:
The reviews i've read put the Infinity Ultra at considerably dimmer than an Arc AAA.

[/ QUOTE ]

Really?
which reviews? any references please.

Here's my comparison:

ArcAAA vs. Ultra-G

 

[paulr]

The Arc AAA and Infinity Ultra are about the same brightness (I have both) with the Ultra perhaps a tiny bit brighter. The regular Infinity (non-Ultra) is about half the brightness but has much longer battery runtime (40 hours on an alkaline). Apparently the Arc AA is somewhat brighter than the AAA (I don't have one so can't report from my own observation) and therefore also somewhat brighter than the Infinity Ultra. On the other hand, that means it overdrives its LED considerably, leading me to worry a bit about the magic smoke inside. I think trying to make these lights as bright as possible is a misplaced priority. They are best used for walking in the dark or for close-up tasks, and even the regular Infinity is plenty bright enough for that. If you need a brighter light, use a Luxeon or an incandescent.

I think the Arcs are better made than the CMG's. Sure, the CMG's are very rugged, but they don't show as much refinement in the design, knurling, etc. I wouldn't go as far as to say that makes a real functional difference, but cosmetics do count for something. Whether it's worth the extra money is up to you.

Stand on end capability is VERY useful and I keep wanting it in the various lights I use.

I haven't tried the Dorcy 1AAA but gather it's much larger than the Arc AAA. That defeats the purpose of an AAA light as far as I'm concerned. If you want a bigger light, use an AA.

 

[BC0311]

Mark, it sounds like you are confusing the Infinity Ultra with the Infinity.

BC

 

[Mark_Larson]

The Arc AAA is similar to the Dorcy AAA in size.

 

[MR Bulk]

Hi Mark, that's my picture, and that dark green light is a CMG Infinity. The rightmost light is actually the Arc AAA head, on a custom AAAA body...

 

[UnknownVT]

[ QUOTE ]
Mark_Larson said:
The Arc AAA is similar to the Dorcy AAA in size.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't mean to be picking on you...... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
but the Dorcy 1AAA is noticably bigger than the ArcAAA -

left to right: ArcAAA, Dorcy 1AAA, Ultra-G

please see this post:
Dorcy 1AAA vs. ArcAAA vs. Ultra-G

 

[Mark_Larson]

[ QUOTE ]
MR Bulk said:
Hi Mark, that's my picture, and that dark green light is a CMG Infinity. The rightmost light is actually the Arc AAA head, on a custom AAAA body...

[/ QUOTE ]
I thought the green light was an Arc AAA.

The secret of my n00bishness is now out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
OTOH, i can now think of buying a Ultra-G without thinking that it'll be too big to EDC (I currently EDC a Dorcy AAA - the poor man's LED light)