Ultrafire 1 watt AAA Review

peter munn

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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
 
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cmendoza

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Where did you get it for $20 shipped? I found it on eBay but shipping is an extra $10!
 

peter munn

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This guy has them for 10.50 pounds (less than US$19) including postage anywhere in the world from Hong Kong and he accepts PayPal

hkequipment [[email protected]] . Remind him that he quoted me that amount
 
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vcal

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Hello peter munn and welcome to CPF. Good review.
My own impressions:

The Ultra-fire AAA light arrived today from eBay seller cm15579. US$19.90 (+$10.delivery to our West Coast). $29.90 total.

This small light probably won't stay as handsome as it looks when new if the light is pocketed with keys, because of it's modest HA-2 coating, but with me, function is the priority.

BTW-I believe that the LED in this light is from the "Seoul Z" family of emitters.
EDIT I was wrong-this light DOES in fact use a Luxeon.

The output is very bright (a little less than 1 Watt) -making it a little brighter than the well known Micro-illuminator and other similar sized lights that I have. It does start to get very warm after being on longer that 2-3 minutes. it is not quite as bright as my AAA Lambda Pocket Illuminator, though. The tint of the LED is a creamy white.

This light, unlike the Fenix (or the Huntlight)?, offers a "candle" mode because the reflector/head unscrews allowing illumination with bare LED because the light has a flat bottom. This is also a focusable flashlight -because of the adjustable head feature. (Flood>Spot).

The barrel has some mild knurling where your finger twists the head for activation, but their extremely poor choice of the barrel O-Ring made operation very gummy and difficult! :(

ANY light in this size category that is NOT operable with just one hand, I have absolutely no use for. Lights like that wind up being "shelf queens" :thumbsdown:
-So, I took about 45 minutes to fix the problem, which was done by discarding their O-Ring (TOO BIG!) and substituting a smaller, thinner one from a cheap Dorcy mini flashlight that was laying around.
-Along with carefully cleaned threads and some Radio Shack Gel lube applied, the light is now really easy to activate one handed-and it's still water resistant as intended. :cool: Also, the base of the flashlight has two little holes to attach a ring or lanyard, if you need to. A perfect AAA pocket clip for this light is available from www.flashlightking.com

Considering the total cost, I think this light is on the whole a fair deal.
That's my 2 cents worth.. :green:

p.s.-the current eBay auction for this light is #150007082612
 
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x2x3x2

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Re: Ultrafire 1 watt AAA Review + a second opinion

@vcal

My Fenix, Streamlights and Nuwais all have square dies?
 

MillerMods

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I have a couple extra's of these lights (L0P clones) if anyone want's to get them quick. $29 includes Priority shipping anywhere in the U.S.
 

mcmc

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too bad - thanks for the update though.

pmunn or vcal - have you tried it on a 3.7v li-ion rechargeable yet? wondering if this would fry the emitter.
 

peter munn

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I've ordered a few more of these lights plus one of the lithium battery kits (includes 2 x 3.7 volt lithium batteries and universal charger for 9.50 pounds that's about US$17.50) I'll let you know how well the light goes on the lithium battery when it gets here.
 

vcal

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mcmc said:
pmunn or vcal - have you tried it on a 3.7v li-ion rechargeable yet? wondering if this would fry the emitter.
I just tried my AAA Li-Ion cell -measuring 3.91V open circuit in the Ultrafire.

Result: (in my arbitrary comparison of light units)
The measurement jumped from 245 minilux -with fresh alkaline to: 395 minilux with the Li-ion. BUT.....the light became very warm after about 45 seconds of use.
 

Brento

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where are you buying these lights and battery kits from? ebay or direct from the company? i think we all would be interested in getting them too at those prices if possible.

thanks.

-brento
 
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peter munn

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Back up the thread I listed the contact - I am buying them direct - he is a reputable Ebay seller with nearly 10,000 items sold and 99.9% positive feedback. He lists everything in pounds but takes paypal.

For reference here's his contact again - the lithium charger and two batteries is optional 9.50 pounds

This guy has the 1 watt AAA for 10.50 pounds (less than US$19) including postage anywhere in the world from Hong Kong and he accepts PayPal

hkequipment [[email protected]] . Remind him that he quoted me that amount
 
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