UltraFire brand - has it got better?

[bjorn17]

I am becoming more and more interested in the UltraFire brand. I have previously owned Fenix, Olight, Tiablo, Surefire and lots of noname china flashlights. I have concluded that most people consider UltraFire flashlights to be the "best bang for buck".

So my question is - what is your opinion on UltraFire flashlights - have they got better from time to time and are you looking forward to their development? Can I be sure that if I buy one of their newer models, then it will be better then the old ones?

If you have owned some of their products, then what would be the top 3 you would recommend. I havent decided yet what to go for. Was hoping to get some good ideas here and then proceed to make my own opinion on them.

For starters, I have gathered from Searching that the C2 model is pretty damn good. Anything else?

Best regards,

Bjorn

 

[AlphaZen]

The C3 in stainless steel is pretty awesome. I have had it for about a week. Got it the same time as an AKOray K-106, which was DOA. The C3 has been great so far. It looks nice, has a very usable beam with a good mix of throw and flood, has GITD accents, mode memory, and well spaced levels. I am impressed - and I haven't even put a 14500 in it yet.

 

[wikes82]

I have the ultrafire C3 Q5 with extension tube and WF-501B R2
they are great lights for the $$

you might need to put more lube on the thread.
on the ultrafire C3, I had to resolder the connection on the head that connecting the (-) to the body.

 

[photonstorm]

had 3 UF come in this week.

First UF was the alum C3 with extender that I use to lego with my Quark MiNi 123. It's a great way to make the 123 even more versatile if you only have AA around.

Tbe second is the C3 in SS. The threads are a little tight and gritty but otherwise I'm happy with it. I like the GITD Oring they put behind the lens and the weight of the stainless. The Q5 isn't too bad for brightness esp with the 14500.

The WF-502b was a pleasant surprise. Came with an R2. Nice rounded edges give it a great ergonmic feel. Build quality is better than I expected. Decent clip and smooth threads The UI features high-med-lo-strobe and beacon. It gives me choices with the various 6P drop ins out there.

I don't have any experience with older UF so I can't say whether they've gotten better.

 

[Olef]

I have no experience of older Ultrafire's but have just (yesterday) bought an RL-2088 from a friend.

Today I stripped it down to components to examine / clean / lube and I found a very well made light with no obvious shortcomings either electrically or mechanically. Good threads, well machined with no sharp edges, quality anodising and heavy stainless steel ring, lots of mass to the head, direct thermal path from the pill to the flashlight body, good quality battery carrier, great polished aluminium reflector, O ring seals all round including the glass lens... in short, a solid, well made light and an absolute bargain.

I can't fault it and I'm very pleased with my purchase. With it's modular 'pill' design and the fact that its ali heat sink fits an led on a star PCB I'm already wondering what I can replace the Osram 6-die with. With the build quality, 3 x 18650's already on board and lots of mass in the head for heatsinking I'm thinking this light may be a bit of a gem for an upgrade

Olef

 

[old4570]

501A-B-C all good .
502B - Good , currently SSC P7
602C - Good
A20 - Good
C1 - Good

All of mine have been good functional lights , and have given no problems .
And the fit and finish has been very good .
All my somethingfire lights have been good , purchased 2009 .

For 2010 I just got another A20 , and its fantastic .. I just hope the trend continues , and they keep improving

 

[js-lots]

I have purchased multiple ultrafire lights and if memory serves me correct only one has been disfunctional and had to be sent back. Also, on one of my ultrafires, the belt clip broke off. Is it the best quality? I'd say no. But they are functional and inexpensive.

 

[bessiebenny]

Dunno. It still feels like a hit & miss really. To me, they are about the same as any other *fire lights. =P

 

[kramer5150]

I am becoming more and more interested in the UltraFire brand. I have previously owned Fenix, Olight, Tiablo, Surefire and lots of noname china flashlights. I have concluded that most people consider UltraFire flashlights to be the "best bang for buck".

So my question is - what is your opinion on UltraFire flashlights - have they got better from time to time and are you looking forward to their development? Can I be sure that if I buy one of their newer models, then it will be better then the old ones?

If you have owned some of their products, then what would be the top 3 you would recommend. I havent decided yet what to go for. Was hoping to get some good ideas here and then proceed to make my own opinion on them.

For starters, I have gathered from Searching that the C2 model is pretty damn good. Anything else?

Best regards,

Bjorn

The 503B is a great 18650 compatible P60 host for the $$. No complaints about mine. Every bit as good as a solarforce.

The C2 is a really nice light, but on mine the switch had an intermittent contact with the tailcap. once I fixed that its fine. So despite how much I like mine, I can't openly recommend it.

My cheap lights and my more $$$ lights.... I like them all!!

 

[mfm]

Part of the problem is that there is no single factory making all UltraFire lights and it's hard to say if some are clones or just sloppy QA.

For example, the Aurora company makes a version of the UF C3 SS... The C3 SS that everyone got excited about was 93mm long, now DX sells one that is 98mm with lower quality and probably not a Q5-emitter. The Aurora version is 96mm long according to them, so that could be the crappy version or a third version.

Of the UltraFire-lights I have can I say:

Normal C3 - Probably not a P4 anymore and the driver has been upgraded. But the one I received had massive flicker problems so DX sent me another one. The other one also had massive flicker problems so I fixed them by inserting a 19mm o-ring before the lens and leveled the solder blobs. No more flickering, but now the spring is pushing very hard on the battery so I don't want to use them with Eneloops (too much scratching on the bottom of the battery). Going to give them to people who use alkalines. Will not buy again.

UltraFire A10 - Better quality than the C3, the switch is much nicer and no flickering problems. Have been using it daily for almost 6 months and no problems. Ordered a second one to give away for christmas and I tested that one before giving it away, it had no problems either. Could buy again.

 

[oldzed]

I actully use the wf-501b and wf-502b lights in work.

I am a mechanic so they get a really hard life.

They are "throwaway" lights to a certain extent.

The anodising wears off in a matter of a few weeks.

The tailswitches in the 502b lights tend to loose contact with the wall of the tail after you drop them a few times.

the pill usually needs to be loose on the reflector for the light to stay on reliably.

BUT
They are cheap. Relpacement tail switches are REALLY cheap .

They are small so you always have it in your overalls when you need it.

They are pretty robust bodies.

I run mine on 17650 unprotected cells from a laptop pack.

The batteries last for a good few days of intermittent use.

In the Months I have been using them All the leds/drivers have survived.

I have had 4 of them so far ( 1 in use 1 spare)

I killed the first one when it got driven over . The second one stipped its tail threads , a 502b .

One thing to note is that these lights have all given a decent spot with a good spill . perfect for peering into engine bays . and being small you can get them into all sorts of spaces.


would I use a "good" light for this ? Not any more

 

[gcbryan]

The only think I don't like about Ultrafire and all of the other DX lights (and I do buy them) is that most of them have the "attack" bezel...I don't get it.

I also don't get why there are so many Chinese lights sold at places like DX that are alike. There are 20 of any one model that are almost exactly alike.

For all of the quantity at DX there is little variety.

It seems if they copy another good light they come up with a good product but if they have to come up with something themselves there is no thought that goes into it.

There is a good backup dive light W200 that is a copy of Tillytec W20 as I recall. It is a good design.

There is a MC-E dive light that works but it has sharp external heat fins (not needed in a dive light) and they use an attack bezel (again not needed or wanted in a dive light). It's just common sense not to do those things and yet they do.

 

[bjorn17]

Thanks for all the great responses. Getting masses of info now on this topic.

Anything else I should be aware of that I might have missed while googleing.

Are there any notoriously bad/problematic models that are being sold to date?

Bjorn

 

[wikes82]

Thanks for all the great responses. Getting masses of info now on this topic.

Anything else I should be aware of that I might have missed while googleing.

Are there any notoriously bad/problematic models that are being sold to date?

Bjorn

if you planning to purchase the light from DX, I recommend you to read the comment on the product page.
Some users who already bought the light, might already reported it, if that specific product have problem.

 

[joe1512]

Agreed with above. Do NOT buy any light with no reviews. Even with reviews, be sure to check the forums for that particular model... paying attention to posting date.

 

[ma_sha1]

WF-500: Great light, cheap incan thrower but not bad quality.
Upgraded to 5XCree drop-in & throw as far as Mag 85.
Runs on 2x18500, making it mag C size. I love this light.
This is my go to user light, while all the Mag mods are shelf queens.

C3 Stainless: Great quality, almost seemless, made several Mac SST-50 clones by cutting theses down to Run CR2/14250. Had one left in stock format & my son played with in bath tub, no leaking. Good enough for snoorkling use, Stainless also resist sea water corrosion.
Try that with your E2DL :naughty:

C2: If I remembered correctly, looks like a smaller version of WF-500,
had one that I upgraded with P7 & sold it. No issues as I remember.

 

[easilyled]

Dunno. It still feels like a hit & miss really. To me, they are about the same as any other *fire lights. =P

Surefire? :naughty:

 

[Ilikeshinythings]

Ultrafire makes cheap chinese knockoff budget lights. They don't have to get better. I owned a C3 Stainless for a short time...it did the trick but had some flaws. I doubt it was truly worth the money I paid. So no. I would say they have not got better.

 

[Bigdazz19]

I have to agree with the above comment, bought a bog standard C3 from DX but dropped it from waste height and in a holster. No marks on the light but wouldn't work properly after.
Tried re soldering etc but the thing died.
Better off paying for better quality light IMO.

 

[Chauncey Gardner]

WF-500: Great light, cheap incan thrower but not bad quality.
Upgraded to 5XCree drop-in & throw as far as Mag 85.
Runs on 2x18500, making it mag C size. I love this light.
This is my go to user light, while all the Mag mods are shelf queens.

C3 Stainless: Great quality, almost seemless, made several Mac SST-50 clones by cutting theses down to Run CR2/14250. Had one left in stock format & my son played with in bath tub, no leaking. Good enough for snoorkling use, Stainless also resist sea water corrosion.
Try that with your E2DL :naughty:

C2: If I remembered correctly, looks like a smaller version of WF-500,
had one that I upgraded with P7 & sold it. No issues as I remember.

Have to echo some of the comments on the C3 (q5 cree) in stainless steel.

I have had 4 or 5 now & love the ergonomics (perfect built in cigar grip) & feel of the thing in hand. Had one dud & the rest good in allr and the last one I recieved one last week (to replace a gifter) that was perfect in all respects. The new lights that handle both 14500/AA are the best of the bunch. Older lights were 14500 only.
It looks like they are being cut & finished on new equipment from the improvement in tolerances & slight machining differences when looked at closely next to an older light (also a q5 from 2 years ago).

The custom work ma_sha1 does on these things is great & show what kind of potential (decent as they are stock for $14!) they have as a mod platform. Considering trying to bore one of mine for 17500's or trying to talk someone into modding one for CR2's...

The MCU-C7 was another winner. CR123 based & a size clone for the Fenix P2D. Another q5 cree, back to back against the P2D q5 it's hard to tell the difference between the two (P2D is slightly brighter on turbo). The Fenix filters & diffusers also fit these lights. This light has been used as a modding mule also by a couple veteran flashaholics. It's another cheapie I'd never sell. Partly becuase it is such a great light for the price, but also (unfortunately) because you don't know what kind of quality a replacement would be.

My experience with Ultrafire's has been like many: You get a good example & it's such a bargain you are willing to put up with the occasional doa or poorly machined light. I don't risk trying a new model without reading multiple reviews of it or experiences here.

I'd also add the service can be hit or miss with many of the sources selling this brand or it's multiple clones, unlike the higher end Chinese light manufacurers that have representation on CPF / marketplace.

I would rank also rank Ultrafire lower than Romisen for consistency of quality from model to model in the upper tier, budget Chinese lights.