coolperl
Newly Enlightened
Some time ago, the thread about these flashlights showed up in marketplace (in manufacturers section HERE). They looked quite interesting and for the price (below 20$ each), so I thought, I'd give'em a shot.
I paid regular price for both of them, also paid shipping costs, so this review won't be biased by gratitude to the manufacturer... In fact, I'm a quite sceptical person, when it comes to budget flashlights. I've bought some of DX and KAI offerings and almost in every case, straight out of the box, they need some fixing. OK, go back to the flashlights and their specs:
Aurora SH-032
emitter: CREE XR-E Q5
batteries: 1x18650 or 1x17670 Li-Ion
modes: hi-med-lo-sos-strobo with memory function
switch: reverse clicky
weight: 128g (without battery)
material: stainless steel in satin finish
tailstand: no
1.5V AA
emitter: CREE XR-E Q5
batteries: 1xAA (Ni-MH, Alkaline, Lithium)
modes: hi-med-lo-sos-strobo with memory function
switch: reverse clicky
weight: 62g (without battery)
material: stainless steel in satin finish
tailstand: yes
Fit and Finish
As you can see, both of them are made of stainless stell and have a satin finish. They both have laser engraving on the head. What's abstract to me, is that the smaller one (1.5 AA model) is marked as Ultrafire :shrug:. Oh well... I guess the whole "branding" thing with those budget flashlights, is beyond me. The SH-032 has also small misprint. According to specs (and my order) it should use Cree Q5 emitter, yet it has "CREE R2" engraved on the body. Apart from engraving fuss, the finish, considering such low price, is very good. The lenses and reflectors were clean, threads were lubed, although little dirty (some small particles created faint "gritty-feeling"). After cleaning the threads and relubing, they're quite smooth. Nothing to complain about. :thumbsup: Also the body is well machined, without any marks, scratches. Frankly, I didn't expect such nice workmanship from a light that costs below 20$
oo:. On the "complain" site, one of the orings (the body has two o-rings on each end) on SH-032 was ragged. The manufacturer doesn't provide any spare o-rings.
Both flashlights have GITD tailcaps. The small Ultrafire model (1xAA Ni-MH) has also GITD oring in the head. I think it's a nice feature in EDC flashlights. The reflectors have OP surface. The beam is typical for that size of reflector. Typical Cree XR-E rings are also present, but in real use, they are not noticable [see beamshots below].
Due to pure stainless steel finish and no other external surface, the lock-out is not possible.
And some comparision to other lights in that size class. From left: Quark Mini AA, Jebeam C-LE v1.2, NiteCore Defender Infinity, Ultrafire C3 SS, Aurora SH-032, EagleTac P100C2, MG L-Mini II
Internals
The lights can be disassebled in a couple of seconds. No glue in the head. The LED engines are made of brass and look very solid. Frankly, it was a nice surprise to me. The SH-032 model, was equipped with spring in the head, which is another nice feature (you know, in case, you'd like to mount it on a gun and avoid recoil effect, LOL).
There is also a proper amount of thermal grease under the LED board. In short, everything is well done inside.
User Interface
Both flashlights use reverse clicky with typical UI - tap lighly to change the mode in preset sequence (h-m-l-sos-strobe). The circuit has memory, so afrter turning the flashlight on, it'll start with the last mode used. Pretty simple.
Modes, PWM, etc.
The smaller one, Ultrafire C3 uses pretty visible PWM frequency. I would estimate it at 200Hz :green:. It's very, very similiar to the Maratac AAA. On the other hand, the PWM frequency of bigger SH-032 was high enough, that I couldn't detect it (I have no problem with detecting 2500Hz frequency of Quark Mini AA).
As far as the output goes, I'd estimate the preset modes at:
SH-032: 180 lm - 70 lm - 20 lm
Ultrafire C3: 100lm - 40lm - 10 lm
These estimations are based on comparision with my other flashlighs (Nitecore, Fenix, Jetbeam, Eagletac, etc.) and reflect "LED lumens". There is no super-low mode unfortunatelly. The modes are quite well spaced. Again, nothing to complain about, considering the price and other factors.
I've measured the current draw from fresh batteries. Here's what it look like:
SH-032 (1x17670)
hi: 0,98A
med: 0,23A
low: 0,05A
Ultrafire C3 (1x AA NiMH)
hi: 1,15A
med: 0,37
low: 0,07
The regulation on these lights is not a flat line. As the battery depletes, the brightness decreases. Apart from L-Mini II and exotic EagleTac T10L, I don't know any other light that designed to run from 1x18650/1x17670, has perfect regulation. So again, pretty standard.
Beamshots
I've compared Aurora SH-032 and Ultrafire C3 Stainless Steel to other lights in their size class. They performed quite well, I must say...
As you can see, the SH-032 has the brightest spill but rather narrow. Hot spot seems to be less intense than on EagleTac P100C2. Also, the SH-032 has the most visible artifacts in the beam. The L-Mini II is from the latest batch, with cranked-up circuit (1.2A to the LED).
The smaller Ultrafire has a fairly wide spill (good for EDC) and quite nice beam pattern. Also the tint was very nice. Pure white without a hint of other hues. Since the tint is a lottery in much more expensive lights, I won't dare to say, that every model will have similiar nice white colour. Just for the record, the NDI on above beamshots is a Q5 version and running from NiMH. Thanks to shallow reflector, the spill of Quark Mini is second to none..
Stainless Steel?
While it's a very good looking material, it has some disadvantages. The most imporatant are weigh (it's much heavier than aluminium) and poor thermal conductivity. While the heft is a matter of personal preferences, the thermal conductivity is definitely an issue. That said, the head of bigger SH-032 model, after 3-5 minutes in high mode is not comfortable to hold. My highly unscientific thermometer (my hands) estimate the head temperature at ~50C. And thanks to poor conductivity, the body stayed fairly cool in the same time. While it has no impact on the user (since holding body of the flashlight, not head), it could on the LED engine :shrug:. I've tested it in home, sitting on a desk. I guess, during normal night-walk, with a little air-flow, it should warm up a bit slower. Anyway, the common sense is required, when using SH-032 on high mode.The heat is not much of an issue in case of smaller one, that runs from AA's. It's less powerful, so less heat has to be dissipated to the enviroment. It gets warm, but not too warm.
In the beginning, I was affraid of another "disadvantage" of stainless steel. Fingerprints (iPod owners for sure know, what I'm talking about). Well, it's not that bad. Thanks to the satin finish, the fingerprints are not noticable. Unless you have very sweaty hands. When it comes to "scratchability" (yes, another cool feature of stainless steel)... I didn't notice scratches yet. But I'm sure they will show up. Well, that's the charm of stainless steel. It looks smoking cool, but requires an aware owner.
Conclusion
I must admit, that these two flashlights made a good impression on me. I expected flickering problems, dirty lenses, poor LED engine design ...but for 17$ and 19$, I didn't get it. Everything was nicely made and assembled (except the one ragged o-ring). Both lights are working flawlessly. Especially, compared to much higher priced competition. Maybe, it's because they were bought directly from manufacturer (that was aware of selling his products to CPF member). I don't know, but I'm happy, that for such a small price I received such nice, shiny, lights.:thumbsup: Unfortunatelly, the use of stainless stell, requires reasonable owner, due to potential overheating probelms in case of SH-032 model.
Aurora SH-032:
+very nice look and finish
+good internals design
+bright
+double o-rings
+flawless operation
-too powerful for this kind of body (potential heat issues)
-ragged o-ring
-small spill
-can't tailstand
Ultrafire C3 1.5V Stainless Steel:
+very nice look and finish
+good internals design
+bright (for its size of course)
+flawless operation
+can tailstand
-low PWM frequency (~200Hz)
I paid regular price for both of them, also paid shipping costs, so this review won't be biased by gratitude to the manufacturer... In fact, I'm a quite sceptical person, when it comes to budget flashlights. I've bought some of DX and KAI offerings and almost in every case, straight out of the box, they need some fixing. OK, go back to the flashlights and their specs:
Aurora SH-032
emitter: CREE XR-E Q5
batteries: 1x18650 or 1x17670 Li-Ion
modes: hi-med-lo-sos-strobo with memory function
switch: reverse clicky
weight: 128g (without battery)
material: stainless steel in satin finish
tailstand: no
1.5V AA
emitter: CREE XR-E Q5
batteries: 1xAA (Ni-MH, Alkaline, Lithium)
modes: hi-med-lo-sos-strobo with memory function
switch: reverse clicky
weight: 62g (without battery)
material: stainless steel in satin finish
tailstand: yes
Fit and Finish
As you can see, both of them are made of stainless stell and have a satin finish. They both have laser engraving on the head. What's abstract to me, is that the smaller one (1.5 AA model) is marked as Ultrafire :shrug:. Oh well... I guess the whole "branding" thing with those budget flashlights, is beyond me. The SH-032 has also small misprint. According to specs (and my order) it should use Cree Q5 emitter, yet it has "CREE R2" engraved on the body. Apart from engraving fuss, the finish, considering such low price, is very good. The lenses and reflectors were clean, threads were lubed, although little dirty (some small particles created faint "gritty-feeling"). After cleaning the threads and relubing, they're quite smooth. Nothing to complain about. :thumbsup: Also the body is well machined, without any marks, scratches. Frankly, I didn't expect such nice workmanship from a light that costs below 20$
oo:. On the "complain" site, one of the orings (the body has two o-rings on each end) on SH-032 was ragged. The manufacturer doesn't provide any spare o-rings.
Both flashlights have GITD tailcaps. The small Ultrafire model (1xAA Ni-MH) has also GITD oring in the head. I think it's a nice feature in EDC flashlights. The reflectors have OP surface. The beam is typical for that size of reflector. Typical Cree XR-E rings are also present, but in real use, they are not noticable [see beamshots below].
Due to pure stainless steel finish and no other external surface, the lock-out is not possible.
And some comparision to other lights in that size class. From left: Quark Mini AA, Jebeam C-LE v1.2, NiteCore Defender Infinity, Ultrafire C3 SS, Aurora SH-032, EagleTac P100C2, MG L-Mini II
Internals
The lights can be disassebled in a couple of seconds. No glue in the head. The LED engines are made of brass and look very solid. Frankly, it was a nice surprise to me. The SH-032 model, was equipped with spring in the head, which is another nice feature (you know, in case, you'd like to mount it on a gun and avoid recoil effect, LOL
).
There is also a proper amount of thermal grease under the LED board. In short, everything is well done inside.
User Interface
Both flashlights use reverse clicky with typical UI - tap lighly to change the mode in preset sequence (h-m-l-sos-strobe). The circuit has memory, so afrter turning the flashlight on, it'll start with the last mode used. Pretty simple.
Modes, PWM, etc.
The smaller one, Ultrafire C3 uses pretty visible PWM frequency. I would estimate it at 200Hz :green:. It's very, very similiar to the Maratac AAA. On the other hand, the PWM frequency of bigger SH-032 was high enough, that I couldn't detect it (I have no problem with detecting 2500Hz frequency of Quark Mini AA).
As far as the output goes, I'd estimate the preset modes at:
SH-032: 180 lm - 70 lm - 20 lm
Ultrafire C3: 100lm - 40lm - 10 lm
These estimations are based on comparision with my other flashlighs (Nitecore, Fenix, Jetbeam, Eagletac, etc.) and reflect "LED lumens". There is no super-low mode unfortunatelly. The modes are quite well spaced. Again, nothing to complain about, considering the price and other factors.
I've measured the current draw from fresh batteries. Here's what it look like:
SH-032 (1x17670)
hi: 0,98A
med: 0,23A
low: 0,05A
Ultrafire C3 (1x AA NiMH)
hi: 1,15A
med: 0,37
low: 0,07
The regulation on these lights is not a flat line. As the battery depletes, the brightness decreases. Apart from L-Mini II and exotic EagleTac T10L, I don't know any other light that designed to run from 1x18650/1x17670, has perfect regulation. So again, pretty standard.
Beamshots
I've compared Aurora SH-032 and Ultrafire C3 Stainless Steel to other lights in their size class. They performed quite well, I must say...
As you can see, the SH-032 has the brightest spill but rather narrow. Hot spot seems to be less intense than on EagleTac P100C2. Also, the SH-032 has the most visible artifacts in the beam. The L-Mini II is from the latest batch, with cranked-up circuit (1.2A to the LED).
The smaller Ultrafire has a fairly wide spill (good for EDC) and quite nice beam pattern. Also the tint was very nice. Pure white without a hint of other hues. Since the tint is a lottery in much more expensive lights, I won't dare to say, that every model will have similiar nice white colour. Just for the record, the NDI on above beamshots is a Q5 version and running from NiMH. Thanks to shallow reflector, the spill of Quark Mini is second to none..
Stainless Steel?
While it's a very good looking material, it has some disadvantages. The most imporatant are weigh (it's much heavier than aluminium) and poor thermal conductivity. While the heft is a matter of personal preferences, the thermal conductivity is definitely an issue. That said, the head of bigger SH-032 model, after 3-5 minutes in high mode is not comfortable to hold. My highly unscientific thermometer (my hands) estimate the head temperature at ~50C. And thanks to poor conductivity, the body stayed fairly cool in the same time. While it has no impact on the user (since holding body of the flashlight, not head), it could on the LED engine :shrug:. I've tested it in home, sitting on a desk. I guess, during normal night-walk, with a little air-flow, it should warm up a bit slower. Anyway, the common sense is required, when using SH-032 on high mode.The heat is not much of an issue in case of smaller one, that runs from AA's. It's less powerful, so less heat has to be dissipated to the enviroment. It gets warm, but not too warm.
In the beginning, I was affraid of another "disadvantage" of stainless steel. Fingerprints (iPod owners for sure know, what I'm talking about). Well, it's not that bad. Thanks to the satin finish, the fingerprints are not noticable. Unless you have very sweaty hands. When it comes to "scratchability" (yes, another cool feature of stainless steel)... I didn't notice scratches yet. But I'm sure they will show up. Well, that's the charm of stainless steel. It looks smoking cool, but requires an aware owner.
Conclusion
I must admit, that these two flashlights made a good impression on me. I expected flickering problems, dirty lenses, poor LED engine design ...but for 17$ and 19$, I didn't get it. Everything was nicely made and assembled (except the one ragged o-ring). Both lights are working flawlessly. Especially, compared to much higher priced competition. Maybe, it's because they were bought directly from manufacturer (that was aware of selling his products to CPF member). I don't know, but I'm happy, that for such a small price I received such nice, shiny, lights.:thumbsup: Unfortunatelly, the use of stainless stell, requires reasonable owner, due to potential overheating probelms in case of SH-032 model.
Aurora SH-032:
+very nice look and finish
+good internals design
+bright
+double o-rings
+flawless operation
-too powerful for this kind of body (potential heat issues)
-ragged o-ring
-small spill
-can't tailstand
Ultrafire C3 1.5V Stainless Steel:
+very nice look and finish
+good internals design
+bright (for its size of course)
+flawless operation
+can tailstand
-low PWM frequency (~200Hz)
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