My UltraFire RL-2088 has landed !

[TAIGERSX]

So after nearly 2 weeks of uneasy waiting, the beast has finally arrived !

Manufacturer specs:

• Emittor: Osram 15w
• Manufacturer over-rated lumens: 1300 lumens
• Reflector: smooth aluminium
• Finish: type 3 HA aluminium
• Battery : 3*18650 ( side by side)
• Lense: glass
• Circuit: buck circuit
• Switch type: clicky switch
• Modes: High/Low/Strobe
• Water-proofness: yes

This is how it came with:
The light came with no instructions, no warranty card except the contact information of the seller from HK.

The hexcore :thumbsup:
The hexcore is a nice feature.

Stainless steel bezel ?

Battery tray. Gold plated everywhere.
The battery tray is very well constructed.

Metal Switch

For some reasons, this metal switch has a slow tactile response. When you press it down, it takes a half second for the switch to come back up. Then the light comes after. In other words, it has no momentary-on feature.

Tailcap

Driver

Body tube
One word: beautiful. Type 3 HA is a plus. The threads are very beefy and well machined.

Glass lense with glow-in-the-dark O-ring
This is just the regular glass lense.

Size reference in hand
This is definitely a big light.

Outdoor beamshot (Distance: 126m or 413 ft)
I didn't have enough time to take better beamshots as after a few sample shots, the cop came and said the park is closed ( and she ran an ID check on me too :huh. So sorry for the bad quality. The target is the white bench.

M2XC4 (coolwhite) vs. Ultrafire

M2C4 (P7) vs. Ultrafire

ULTRAFIRE 1300l( 7*SSC U2) VS. RL-2088 VS. M2XC4

Ultrafire RL-2088 vs. WE-Pilot Whale

Runtime Graph ( source:http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&langpair=ja%7Cen&u=http://www.bam-boo.cc/diynikki---2009nen-6tsuki/rantaimuultrafirerl-2088)

Initial impressions: The light is bigger than I thought. The light came with holster and lanyard and that is it. However, this light really impressed me with the quality in term of fit and finish except the minor tail switch issue as described above. The threads are very beefy and well machined. However, the threads are not very well lubed so I lubed them right away. The battery tray fits snugly inside the body tube without any rattling regardless any direction I shake it . This light in fact delivers more punching power out the front comparing to my ex-Solarforce L950m (with 650 lumens OTF). This effect is caused by two elements: more intense hot spot and brighter spill.

Outdoor impressions: Man, this light has an incredible output. It has a huge bright hotspot and very bright spill too.Comparing to my ex-Solarforce L950m spill this light spill is noticably brighter. The throw is also very impressive because of its smooth reflector. Does it throw like Jetbeam raptor ? the answer is NO. However, the total amount of light it pushes out is insane. After being on for around 5 minutes (and the cop came) the head of the light got really warm, which indicates good heat sinking and being hard driven ? ( I hope).Overall, I'm totally happy with this light and I think it would save me lots of money for a long time until a brighter light comes out.

 

[csshih]

interesting!

I didn't know the osram Ostar came in a Matte lens.. I wonder how that came to happen?

oops.. EDIT: it seems they sell ostars like that.. wonder how much that affects the beam?

 

[TAIGERSX]

interesting!

it seems they sell ostars like that.. wonder how much that affects the beam?

Whatever dome they used, this monster is still extremely bright :naughty:.

 

[richardcpf]

this monster is still extremely bright :naughty:.

Prove it to us with beamshots

 

[csshih]

bit of poking around on digikey..

seems there's a filter over the dome that is possibly removeable?

oh.. and about that switch.. it sounds like it needs a stronger spring or something..

try opening up the tailcap?

 

[TAIGERSX]

Yea the texture on my dome looks exactly like that in the pic. Changing the spring ? Hmm, I think I would skip that step .

 

[MrGman]

interesting!

I didn't know the osram Ostar came in a Matte lens.. I wonder how that came to happen?

oops.. EDIT: it seems they sell ostars like that.. wonder how much that affects the beam?

I wouldn't call it matte I would call it a "frosted" lens. Makes sense so you don't see shadows between the dice projected out the front. Better to frost the little lens then make the reflector deep orange peel. Can't wait to see some really good outdoor beamshots at various distances. G.

 

[alfreddajero]

So wheres the beamshots.........

 

[Tora]

Congrats...I shall be waiting for the beam shots.

You wouldn't have a Legion ll to match it up against....would you?...Probably not...wishfull thinking...:tinfoil:

I love mine...I know you shall too.:wave:

 

[jahxman]

I opened my switch up and took a few shots - sorry about the quality, I'm not a photographer:

And the other side of these parts:

The spring is soldered on; it looks beefy but is actually quite soft. The metal button has an o-ring around its outer edge, and I think part of why it doesn't spring back instantly is the air seal around this. To be fair, mine seems to have a pretty good action; the light doesn't activate until the button travels back, but that seems to happen in less than a quarter second for me.

And here is the emitter taken out, best macro I could do with an iphone:

 

[phantom23]

I'm wondering how would Luminus SST-50 focus in this reflector. It's a little bit smaller (5 mm^2, Ostar has 6,72 mm^2) and much more efficient (and of course has 6x lower Vf).

 

[mmbeller191]

Gman, Someone else posted you had put the RL-2088 in your integrating sphere but I don't see it in your chart. Care to share the results? By the way thanks for the chart, you've done us all a service.

 

[MrGman]

Gman, Someone else posted you had put the RL-2088 in your integrating sphere but I don't see it in your chart. Care to share the results? By the way thanks for the chart, you've done us all a service.

I never tested this light. I tested another one that had an Osram 6 dice chip in it that made a little over 600 lumens. Its posted on page 3 or 4 of my thread where I said I went to a party and tested various lights. With this battery configuration it certainly has the ability to go well over 800 lumens but there is only one way to know for sure. G.

 

[sims2k]

All I can say is...wow...wow...want one too...thanks for the review.

 

[learnyee]

hi Taigersx, any idea on the comparitive brigtness of Mid and Low output compare to EagleTec M2 (or any light that within his class)?

 

[TAIGERSX]

hi Taigersx, any idea on the comparitive brigtness of Mid and Low output compare to EagleTec M2 (or any light that within his class)?

On High, the Ultrafire does not throw as far as my ex-M2XC4 (cool white). However, it covers a wider area with brighter spill .Put it this way, at the building 80m away the M2XC4 lighted up only half of the building but the Ultrafire lighted up the whole building. I rarely pay attention to Low or Mid so I couldn't recall.

 

[zgundam]

damn it, just picked up the UltraFire WF-1300L just a couple of weeks back >.>

looks smaller and easier to hold... would you be able to post a indoor beam shot in a corridor against a wall? Just want to compare against my 1300L.. thanks

 

[Haz]

thanks for the review

 

[toby_pra]

Very nice review and impressive light!

 

[LightJaguar]

Nice thats an impressive looking light. I must say Ultrafire has improved some of their products greatly. I recently picked up an Ultrafire Recoil 008 and the quality is great.
With that being said I must that for some reason my R2 flashlights are starting to look dim in comparison to the newer crop of hand cannons.