UKE 2L owners respond please.

I am planning on buying this light for a emergency kit light for one of my cars. It will compliment a ARC AAA on the keychain. I all ready have several Surefire lights, and while I know that they are reliable and will be ready whenever I want to use them, I would like something with greater runtime that uses lithiums, and with a greater light output than LED lights. If I have to make a roadside repair, it may take awhile, and you never can really judge what you will run into, so a light with 3-4hrs runtime really appeals to me. I wanted to know your opinons on this light.

Eric

good battery life but beam quality and brightess not the same class as SF

Nice light and bang for the $. I got two of them for $20 each a few years back. Wish I had bought more at that time.

I have 2 2Ls and 2 4AAs which use the same lamp. Beam quality varies from poor to bad. I now use Streamlight Scorpions as backups in the cars.

It's a great light and what I carry in my glovebox. The beam quality is not up to par with Surefire but is plenty functional. And the light is completely waterproof whicy I consider very important as a roadside assistance light.

scorpion is great but the battery only last for an hour, or less.

The beam quality is much better and comparable with the SF.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> scorpion is great but the battery only last for an hour, or less. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Huh?? Plus, I own a Scorpion, and battery life and lamp life are too low. Dunk it in water and see what happens. Thanks for the suggestion though

I appreciate the quick responses. I am looking for more utility instead of beam quality. I like the fact that it is waterproof. I dont expect surefire beam quality either, something decently bright will do fine for me.
Tex, Tanners has them for $23.

Eric

I like the 2Ls a lot. Excellent tradeoff between runtime and brightness for utility work. I highly recommend them. The beam is not as smooth as a Surefire's, but it's easily good enough for utility work.

Joe

Why not consider the Princeton Tec 40? It uses common AA batteries (4), and common bulbs which can be picked up at Radio Shack - and it is listed to run 3-5 hours as well. It is also listed at 4 watts, while the UKE 2L is somehere around 2.1 watts (notice i say LISTED). PLUS the PT 40 has the Stippled lens like Surefire lights have. It's beam quality is pretty darn good for 20 dollars. For the same price of CR123 batteries, you can get a set of 4 AA Lithium batteries for the PT40 so that you can store it for a long period of time. Since Princeton Tec specializes in dive lights, the PT 40 is waterproof to 2000ft. (suiteable if the Earth's atmosphere start's to crush us like Venus's atmosphere does. )

Just buy it, 4 extra batteries and a bulb, and you are set to go! Hope this helps.

Aren't AA lithium batteries like $6 for a 2 pack? I can get 123A batteries for between 1-1.50 bucks each. And those are either Duracells or Energizers. Thanks for the suggestion, but unless you can let me know where to find them cheaper, I'll have to pass on it.

Eric

I've owned several UK 2L's for a number of years, the oldest being about 8 years. That one has been in my pants pocket all of that time. It's so beat up the embossed writing is almost worn smooth, but the light still works great. Most of the UK 2L/UK 4AA lamps, (and I've used or are using at least 10) have a nice central spot, about a bright as a 3D Maglite, with a ring of light around it.

These little flashlights are *very* tough, bright, inexpensive, completely waterproof,
quite small, and offer good run time. There's no other lithium powered light that offers so much. Also, they are so light in weight, with a tough plastic body, you can easily hold one in your mouth, while you chang that flat tire in the rain, with no chance of chipping a tooth on a metal flashlight barrel.

No they aren't as bright as a Surefire, but they cost about 1/3 as much, and give 3 to 4 times the burn time. I *really* like Surefire lights, I have 6 of them, but I put far more hours of use on my UK 2L's. Simple economics, for me.

Galls has em for $17.99

Galls had the UK 2L for 29.99
Thats a little high for me.

I would buy the 4AA PT light if I could find lithium AA's at a resonable price. Because its kind of nice knowing you can purchase regular AA's anywhere if you need to. I also like the fact that I can upgrade the bulb. Anyone know where to find cheap(er) AA lithiums.

Eric

lightspeed2 the cheapest place I have found lithiun AA is Target. They sell them $10 for 4.

As far as the UK2L goes I will take the SF MNO2 LA may have a shorter runtime than a UK2l but will still have the SF beam.

The UKE 2L is the light I recommend to schools and other groups asking about a good reliable emergency light. They were my first 2 123 light and I really like them. For even longer runtime I would suggest the UKE 4AA with 4 lithium AA's in it. It runs over 5 hours and has that same great shelf life. But for the size the 2L can't be beat. And it is completely waterproof. I have had mine to over 120 feet without any problems.

I will definately have my AAA Arc LE with my house keys, my Photon II on my car keys, and my E2e on my belt. I would like something that would last while longer if I needed it in a pinch. Another reason I am starting to lean towards the 2L, is that it takes the same type of batteries as the SF lights I have. As mentioned above, I can get these for a good price. Thanks for the input!!

Eric

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gandalf:
...Most of the UK 2L/UK 4AA lamps, (and I've used or are using at least 10) have a nice central spot, about a bright as a 3D Maglite, with a ring of light around it...
These little flashlights are *very* tough, bright, inexpensive, completely waterproof,
quite small, and offer good run time. There's no other lithium powered light that offers so much.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Lightspeed2

I agree with Gandalf's comments. The 2L is unique in the flashlight world; there's no other like it.

I currently own six of them, and have given at least a dozen as gifts and gotten nothing but positive feedback. Their only weak point is their beam which can vary from mediocre to very good (though not as good as that from a faceted reflector). I test all my UK lamps and most are pretty decent.

I own most 4AA's that are currently available. Despite the Tec 40's superior beam; for sheer brightness, long burntime , compact size and light weight in addition to being nearly indestructable and totally waterproof I prefer the UK Mini Q40.

My comparison tests found it superior to the TEk 40 in burntime, and brighter than the Tek for at least the last 50% of burn.
With fresh lithiums you will get a guaranteed 4.5 hours of functional burntime, plus about 30-45minutes of dimmer burn.It weighs exactly 3.7oz with Lithiums and is the most compact of all the 4AA lights.(The Tek 40 has a disproportionally large bezel)

You could carry around both UK lights and hardly know it. Together they weigh less than 6.5 ounces.

Best regards,
Brightnorm

I've carried a UK2L (private-branded as BUCK) around in my briefcase now for several years, & I second what Gandalf & Brightnorm are saying. It fits a niche which is not otherwise occupied. No one else (to my knowledge) makes a copy or knockoff of this light. It works (every time-important) and is reasonably bright, very compact, mid-priced (for quality lights), uses lithium batteries. It's only real shortcoming is the dubious & variable beam quality (which is certainly no worse than Maglites.) I'm going to say, however, that a mini-mag with Nexstar bulb & lithium AA's may be an acceptable substitute & comes in for less money, even with the upgrade bulb & lithium batteries. I take it from the context of your message that it wouldn't be getting everyday use, anyway, so the cost of batteries may not be a huge factor (Walmart has them for 4 for under $10). Two additional useful things about the mini-mag are the "candle" mode and the spare bulb holder in the tailcap.

Thanks for all of your replies!! Tesla, I absolutely hate mini-mags, but I will take your reccomendation for the 2L into consideration. I just want to keep as many of my larger flashlights as possible running off of the same type of batts. Makes it easier to swap if something happens.

Eric

I don't want to sound like a marketing rep for Maglite , after all, the UK2L is my EDC choice, but here's one other thought. 2AA lights run off batteries which you can buy ALMOST anywhere, whereas the 123 batteries can be more difficult to get in certain situations...maybe a consideration in some cases...Either way, good look with your deliberations. There is no "right" light for everyone, only a range of choices for your given circumstances/application.