peter munn
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2006
- Messages
- 9
I have quite a collection of LED lights including several ARC AAAs. I always carry an ARC with my car keys.
The reason for this post is I recently bought an Ultrafire 1 watt AAA off ebay and it is incredible. The construction is superb - every bit as nice as my 5 watt Surefire. It is beautifully machined and anodised. It has O rings in all the right places and no chance of cuttting them in half when you reassemble the light - unlike the Fenix.
Using an alkaline AAA the output remains close to the initial level for 30 minutes (measured with a light meter) then drops off rapidly. It draws 1.3A with a new battery. At an hour it stops altogether. So I regard it as a 30 minute battery life. They offer a 3.7 volt lithium battery and charger as an option but I really would prefer to be able to replace the AAA any time with a common alkaline. The LED housing also unscrews and reveals the luxeon (or clone?) led in a position which would be very easy to unsolder and replace for you tinkerers out there.
The output is very bright and evenly distributed by the rear reflector. It gives a beam similar to a standard sized flashlight which is pretty amazing for such a tiny piece of machinery.
The seller said that output is brighter with a lithium but I would be surprised as it seems to be well regulated. You operate the light by turning the head or pulling the head in to the body for momentary operation. There is tons of thread so I doubt that the head would ever work its way loose when hanging with car keys. They also make a AA model which is still coming but I like the small size of an AAA light with car keys. Both models sell for about US$20 including postage from Hong Kong which is very good value. It is very slightly fatter and about a cm longer than the ARC AAA.
My everyday use trusty ARC AAA is finally going to be replaced.
Sorry if someone has already posted a review of this light or it's not in the right place but I'm only an occasional browser on this forum and thought others might be interested.
Thanks - Peter Munn - down under in New Zealand
The reason for this post is I recently bought an Ultrafire 1 watt AAA off ebay and it is incredible. The construction is superb - every bit as nice as my 5 watt Surefire. It is beautifully machined and anodised. It has O rings in all the right places and no chance of cuttting them in half when you reassemble the light - unlike the Fenix.
Using an alkaline AAA the output remains close to the initial level for 30 minutes (measured with a light meter) then drops off rapidly. It draws 1.3A with a new battery. At an hour it stops altogether. So I regard it as a 30 minute battery life. They offer a 3.7 volt lithium battery and charger as an option but I really would prefer to be able to replace the AAA any time with a common alkaline. The LED housing also unscrews and reveals the luxeon (or clone?) led in a position which would be very easy to unsolder and replace for you tinkerers out there.
The output is very bright and evenly distributed by the rear reflector. It gives a beam similar to a standard sized flashlight which is pretty amazing for such a tiny piece of machinery.
The seller said that output is brighter with a lithium but I would be surprised as it seems to be well regulated. You operate the light by turning the head or pulling the head in to the body for momentary operation. There is tons of thread so I doubt that the head would ever work its way loose when hanging with car keys. They also make a AA model which is still coming but I like the small size of an AAA light with car keys. Both models sell for about US$20 including postage from Hong Kong which is very good value. It is very slightly fatter and about a cm longer than the ARC AAA.
My everyday use trusty ARC AAA is finally going to be replaced.
Sorry if someone has already posted a review of this light or it's not in the right place but I'm only an occasional browser on this forum and thought others might be interested.
Thanks - Peter Munn - down under in New Zealand
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