My3kidsfather
Enlightened
We received twenty UltraFire one-mode C3's today from DX. Those who had them really, really liked them. Discussions on threads here at CPF members recommended them, even though recent testing describing iffy QC in the recent C3's. We decided to take a chance on the UF C3 and hope that we would get good ones.
We took a methodical approach to cleaning, inspecting, and greasing each of the twenty C3's. Each light was rolled slowly in the hand inspecting for anodizing faults. Threads were checked for roughness as the light was disassembled. After any cleaning/wiping out required, tubes were checked for conditions. Next Heads and clicky ends were checked for rattles, loose parts, bad soldering. Any tightening required was done carefully. Nyogel (available at LightHound) grease was lightly applied to 0-rings, head was tightened as much as hands would allow. Then the light was tested for consistant brightness with an Eneloop 1.2v. NiMh, and then an unprotected 14500.
We found every light included two orange o-rings in perfect condition. Twenty holsters, as promised, were included in the package. Each light was repackaged in the box with a supplied holster and assigned a number.
The results pleased us on the whole. Lights number two, five, and eleven had slight imperfections in anodizing. Now I did not get really, really picky about this anodizing. It is after all a US $15.00 light. However I decided to simply note any faults I could see on quick inspection. These imperfections were insignificant on the whole. The anodizing surprised me in general as it was similar to Romisen's finish in quality.
Light number 13 had a stiff thread in the head. After cleaning the theads were still rough although functional. Light number 12's pill/reflector was loose in the head. I decided to remove them and did so, only to find everything looked right. I reassembled the head and installed the battery. No light, nothing. After rechecking everything this light simply did not work. Number 12 is on the spare parts heap, bad-ordered. Actually, it is our spare parts heap.
Lights number 1-4, 6-10, 14-20 all worked perfectly with both 1xAA NiMh and unprotected 14500, had perfect anodizing, smooth, well-cut theads, tightly fitted parts, and were uniformly bright compared to my UF Q5 SS C3 on medium.
When you add in lights number 2, 5, and 11, all perfect with slight imperfections in the anodizing, and number 13 with a stiff head thread but perfect otherwise (I am keeping this one for myself), we get 19 satisfactory lights.
Thanks DX. All lights have been assigned to family members appropriately.
We took a methodical approach to cleaning, inspecting, and greasing each of the twenty C3's. Each light was rolled slowly in the hand inspecting for anodizing faults. Threads were checked for roughness as the light was disassembled. After any cleaning/wiping out required, tubes were checked for conditions. Next Heads and clicky ends were checked for rattles, loose parts, bad soldering. Any tightening required was done carefully. Nyogel (available at LightHound) grease was lightly applied to 0-rings, head was tightened as much as hands would allow. Then the light was tested for consistant brightness with an Eneloop 1.2v. NiMh, and then an unprotected 14500.
We found every light included two orange o-rings in perfect condition. Twenty holsters, as promised, were included in the package. Each light was repackaged in the box with a supplied holster and assigned a number.
The results pleased us on the whole. Lights number two, five, and eleven had slight imperfections in anodizing. Now I did not get really, really picky about this anodizing. It is after all a US $15.00 light. However I decided to simply note any faults I could see on quick inspection. These imperfections were insignificant on the whole. The anodizing surprised me in general as it was similar to Romisen's finish in quality.
Light number 13 had a stiff thread in the head. After cleaning the theads were still rough although functional. Light number 12's pill/reflector was loose in the head. I decided to remove them and did so, only to find everything looked right. I reassembled the head and installed the battery. No light, nothing. After rechecking everything this light simply did not work. Number 12 is on the spare parts heap, bad-ordered. Actually, it is our spare parts heap.
Lights number 1-4, 6-10, 14-20 all worked perfectly with both 1xAA NiMh and unprotected 14500, had perfect anodizing, smooth, well-cut theads, tightly fitted parts, and were uniformly bright compared to my UF Q5 SS C3 on medium.
When you add in lights number 2, 5, and 11, all perfect with slight imperfections in the anodizing, and number 13 with a stiff head thread but perfect otherwise (I am keeping this one for myself), we get 19 satisfactory lights.
Thanks DX. All lights have been assigned to family members appropriately.
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