Same LED & battery but different brightness. Ultrafiire 602c vs Fenix L0D-CE

I'm a noob when it comes to flashlights so please be gentle... =)

I was wondering why a flashlight from Fenix and DX which uses same LED and same battery (ie: 1 x AA or AAA) have varying levels of brightness.
(Mostly, Fenix is brighter?) Is it that much more difficult to make a flashlight brighter using the same LED and same batteries?

I am not a flasholic "yet" and so I cannot justify "yet" the purchase of a tiny light such as Fenix L0D-CE for over $40...

So I am leaning towards purchasing Ultrafire 602C for $19 instead...
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/172973

Just wondering if it is really worth the extra $25 or so for L0D-CE?
(Worth as in, is it much brighter, more durable, much better overall?)
I can buy another flashlight or batteries / charger with that extra $25....

Same LED and same battery, but different electronics. Kind of like why does a four cylinder Porsche go faster then my four cylinder Toyota, they both run off of gas.

Also some flashlight simply are not as bright as they could because they want longer battery run time, or they are worried about the heat the LED generates.

The Fenix has very good electronics, so they can get very high brightness and still have very long run times, comparably. Also the over all quality of the Fenix is very good. The DX lights, well some are good and some have problems. Seems like a quality lottery to me.

What convinced were the battery run times that selfbuilt did. Search for the charts...

This is one of the questions answered in the Welcome Mat, which is located in Questions/Problems/Suggestions. Here's a reprint:

Q: What are "direct drive" and "regulated"?
A: A direct drive (DD) light is one that has the battery directly connected to the bulb or LED. A regulated light has some sort of driver circuitry between the two. A DD setup is heavily affected by the battery size and type. In a regulated light, the circuitry will try to minimize the effects of the battery. The huge majority of incandescent lights are DD. They start out bright, then fade over time. The effect is greatest with alkalines, which don't do well in many situations. The effect is least noticable with Lithium-Ions, which maintain a steady voltage under relatively heavy loads. This is why traditional Maglites, which are DD by alkalines, start out bright for about half an hour, then quickly fade out and become dim for the next few hours until the battery gives up. One example of a regulated incan, which provides rock-steady output for the majority of the battery life, is Surefire's A2. In order to drive mostly similar LEDs with wildly different battery solutions, a regulation circuit allows steady output for as long as the battery has power. As an example, the Fenix E0 runs on a single AAA alkaline for eight hours with no decrease in output. If it were DD, it wouldn't light up at all, much less provide constant output. An appropriately DD LED flashlight would be one driven by button or coin cells at somewhere above the LED's Vf. This results in a long runtime with slowly decreasing output, determined by the battery's remaining power.

Ernsanada seems to have a bad light. His would only work on 3.6V 10440 Li-on batteries and not on regular NiMH or alkaline batteries.

Before you order the 602c check out posts 13 to 19. A lot of batteries will not fit unless you do flashcrazy's mod to shorten the spring.

My 602c SSC has similar brightness and tint to my original batch of L0D-CE high when run off NiMH. The L0D-CE also has medium and low modes which give longer runtime. Plus strobe and SOS.

On 10440 batteries the 602c has about the same output as on NiMH. This is because the regulation circuitry limits the current from the battery to about 450mA measured.
The L0D-CE was designed to work with NiMH, alkaline or 1.7V primary lithiums only and do not regulate the power from 3.6V 10440 Li-ons. As a result of the direct drive measured currents are 1100 to 1200mA. This almost 3X current makes the L0D-CE much brighter. The max allowed current for a 10440 cell is about 600mA so you are risking a LITHIUM BATTERY EXPLOSION. It is not recommended to use Li-on batteries with this light on high.

In summary:

602c
Pros: Cheaper
Cons: Do not fit all brands of batteries. Some lights are intermittant with regular AAAs (you may have to buy 10440 batteries and charger).

L0D-CE
Pros: Multimode lets you get longer runtime if needed. More reliable factory QC so you are less likely to get a bum light.
Cons: Complicated UI. Does not work properly with 10440 batteries. Expensive.

PocketBeam said:

What convinced were the battery run times that selfbuilt did. Search for the charts...

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Thanks PocketBeam. Here's a few links on 1AA lights:
Rebel, Cree, SSC Multi-Stage 1AA Review: RUNTIMES and BEAMSHOTS
DX/KAI Single-Stage 1AA Cree/SSC shootout: BEAMSHOTS + RUNTIMES

Haven't compared Ultrafire light, but here's the Fenix LODCE review:
Jetbeam Jet-u and Fenix L0D-CE 1AAA shootout: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, and TEMPERATURES

bessiebenny said:

Just wondering if it is really worth the extra $25 or so for L0D-CE?
(Worth as in, is it much brighter, more durable, much better overall?)
I can buy another flashlight or batteries / charger with that extra $25....

Click to expand...

Based on my experience with Ultrafires, I would say it's probably worth the extra for the L0D. Although UFs often look good on the outside, runtime on everyone I've had has always been much lower than the Fenix comparable. Given that the 1AAA battery format carries so little juice to start with, I think you definitely want to go for max efficiency.

Be kind to yourself. If you want or need a small, powerful, flashlight with good runtime and quality, get the LODce. It doesn't happen often, but if you get a dead on arrival or other problematic light, the fenix will be much easier to replace. Use a lithium AAA battery and enjoy the show.

Here's my $0.02...

First off, to correct your initial statement "same LED..." they are not, if you are talking about the UF 602c SSC, its a Seoul P4 LED, the Fenix is a CREE.

In this instance I actually have both (okay, I have the L0D, the wife snagged the UF) but I was just comparing them again last night and here are my main impressions.

Output-
They are both pretty similar, with the Fenix on High. The tint is a little whiter on the UF which makes it look a little brighter but I think the output is pretty similar to the naked eye. The Fenix has a little bit tighter hot spot (albeit with a dark halo) whereas the UF has a wider hotspot and overall more flood to it. If I saw the beams side by side and didn't know which was which I think I would prefer the UF.

Functionality-
The UF is a single stage light, it's on or off. The Fenix has 5 modes (med, low, high, strobe, sos) which makes it more versatile and potentially increase the battery's life. I think that is part of the difference that you pay for, the electronics that make that possible.
Sadly, this is where the only shortcoming of the Fenix is evident. On the lower output modes it uses PWM (Pulse Width Modulation, rapid on/off cycling that is evident when you move the light around) that is pretty noticeable. I don't have another PWM light to compare it to but I have seen many threads that mention it's lower PWM rate.

Quality/Value-
The UF is not nearly as good in the fit/finish category. It is much harder to turn the head to activate it compared to the Fenix. The threads were nicely lubed when it came but where I can easily turn on my Fenix with one hand it is hard to do on the UF, it's really a two hand operation. Also as was pointed out in the thread link above, the UF is much more finicky about batteries. I have been fortunate that any I have tried on mine work but much more effort is required to close it all back up again, it's a tight fit!

Overall, for a a good little pocket light they are both really good. Just know that there is a little bit of "you get what you pay for" here and that you aren't exactly comparing apples to apples.

Do what I did (if you can) "Buy Both!" :laughing:

Really, they are both great and I don't think you would regret either purchase (as long as you get a "good" UF that is not so battery finicky).

Ahhh. Thanks everyone for their helpful posts!!

Well, I was after a single stage light so that's okay. hehe.

I do understand that circuitary must be better on the Fenix.
(Looking at running times,, Fenix is generally brighter for longer)

So the more expensive one is built better (or more consistently) and is generally brighter or as bright and has longer running times? Hmm.

All I'm after at the end is the brightest little flashlight for little $$$. =P
I really don't mind about the running times as I will use rechargeables.
I never use it for longer than 10 minutes at a time anyways. hehe.
(fishing/camping/PC modding etc)

So i guess 602C should be fine! Cool. (Even if I need a bit of luck on getting a good sample)

My friends and I purchased around 8 cheap (under $25) flashlights from DX over the past week. So Once I have them all, I'll get to know myself why cheap flash is a cheap flash. hehe. (UF C3, MTE Rebel 100, MTE SSC 1stage, Cree Q4 flash etc etc etc)

I'll try and post reviews of them all when I get them. =)

bessiebenny said:

All I'm after at the end is the brightest little flashlight for little $$$. =P

My friends and I purchased around 8 cheap (under $25) flashlights from DX over the past week. So Once I have them all, I'll get to know myself why cheap flash is a cheap flash. hehe. (UF C3, MTE Rebel 100, MTE SSC 1stage, Cree Q4 flash etc etc etc)

I'll try and post reviews of them all when I get them. =)

Click to expand...

Yeah, I think you'll like the 602C, it's really neat.

Also I bought a UF C3 for my friend for his birthday, I'm giving it to him today but I've had it for a few weeks. It's AWESOME!

Okay, maybe not that great but I am amazed about how much output there is from one AA. For $15? You CAN'T beat it.

EDIT: Duh, you already posted to my thread three days ago.

Check out my thread on the very topic.