New UltraFire C3 SS Q5 14500- I like it.

Just received this in the mail today.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11998

Seems well built, feels solid as we suspected. threads are good, o-rings in good shape. Fits together tight, no gaps, no edges. Still a bit of room after my AW rcr123a went in. Not a polished body, it has a useful utility finish. Should fair well against my SS knife in my pocket.

Quickly compared it to my Fenix P3D- It seems brighter than the Fenix with both on high (although not as bright as the P3D on turbo.) Low mode could be lower yet but it is still useful. Medium to me is a waste of time on any flashlight. I would say it is brighter than any of my other 1xAA's or 1xcr123a's (except for the 8W Mini Cree on steroids.. AW rechargable).

As with most of the DX lights, it has no mode memory, so until someone listens to us it will never be the light a Fenix is for US $65-70.00. but it is a good US $30.00 substitute.

Don't know what the runtime will be and don't really care as it will be recharged regularly. I decided I will carry it.

Got mine today too! Brightness on high is similar to Rexlight 2.1 upgrade module, but tint is noticeably warmer. At under $30, this light is less expensive than the P4 or Q2 stainless steel C3 upgraded with a Rex module.

When you say no memory, does it start at the beginning of the sequence when you turn it off and back on, or if say you turn it off in high it will restart at strobe.

By the way how did you get a rcr123 in a 14500 light? :thinking:

I assume the RCR123 was a typo.

sounds great! I've been looking at stuff like this recently.

I came to the light... said:

I assume the RCR123 was a typo

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Just joking around.

I just received my order (3) as well, and I am very disappointed in the quality of this light, especially compared to the original P4 version I received from KD. The finish on these lights is very rough & uneven, with many machining marks. The threads are not smooth at all, even after lubrication, and none of the lights have o-rings at the lens (2 of the 3 lenses are very loose). Definitely not what I expected.:thumbsdow

BillD said:

I just received my order (3) as well, and I am very disappointed in the quality of this light, especially compared to the original P4 version I received from KD. The finish on these lights is very rough & uneven, with many machining marks. The threads are not smooth at all, even after lubrication, and none of the lights have o-rings at the lens (2 of the 3 lenses are very loose). Definitely not what I expected.:thumbsdow

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BillD- Sorry to hear the lights you ordered are not up to par. I checked the threads again on mine and found they are a still not completely smooth, not any problem with cross-threading though. You should have no machining marks at all, and o-rings installed (orange colored).


After watching the comments lately on a variety of threads, I am beginning to suspect that the SS C3 you bought from KD is not the same C3 I bought from DX. I have read other's comments on this regarding other lights unrelated to the C3 group.

I wonder whether it is even the same manufacturer. It would seem there are a number of manufacturers making the C3 varations. This would partially explain the quality control being all over the map, with some being excellent builds and others subpar.

I will be receiving twenty single-mode C3's from DX shortly. We may be able to determine a person's chance of getting a good one by keeping records of the condition of each light in this batch.

Nake said:

When you say no memory, does it start at the beginning of the sequence when you turn it off and back on, or if say you turn it off in high it will restart at strobe.

By the way how did you get a rcr123 in a 14500 light? :thinking:

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It was tough.. lol. You are right, it was a 14500 instead of a 123a.

Mine has red o-rings, and there is a noticeable stepoff of the outside diameter of the back of the tube and the tailcap. This is probably less than 1mm but easy to feel.

bspofford said:

Mine has red o-rings, and there is a noticeable stepoff of the outside diameter of the back of the tube and the tailcap. This is probably less than 1mm but easy to feel.

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Remember when the wisdom of the day said you should buy a car that was made on Tuesday or Wednesday? Reason being all the weekend bingers were dried out and working at the best they could. lol.. How would we determine what day it was made, and which day in China would we want?

I think my God who saved me may be looking out for me. If I could take good pics I would show you a light perfectly made, no machining marks, etching perfect, no lips or scratches, dry and clean tube and end switch. Economical but smooth soldering on pill end, the way it's supposed to be.

+

Well, I just finally placed an order this morning for the C3 SS 5-mode,....better late than never.{:huh:}

It does start back up on Medium correct?
also, how long do you have to wait for it to reset back to Medium?

thanks

My one-mode C3 SS has this weird thing that if I twist the tailcap all the way tightly, it'll flicker and dim.....I have to turn it loose about one turn and it'll be normal.

Glad to hear that you like yours but my one-mode SS is acting weird. DX do returns?

orbital said:

+

Well, I just finally placed an order this morning for the C3 SS 5-mode,....better late than never.{:huh:}

It does start back up on Medium correct?
also, how long do you have to wait for it to reset back to Medium?

thanks

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I did not know but after a few tests.. it does reset to medium. that is great! Thanks for asking. Anything over 30 seconds seems to do it.

Centropolis said:

My one-mode C3 SS has this weird thing that if I twist the tailcap all the way tightly, it'll flicker and dim.....I have to turn it loose about one turn and it'll be normal.

Glad to hear that you like yours but my one-mode SS is acting weird. DX do returns?

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Anyone know what to do about this?

Nake said:

When you say no memory, does it start at the beginning of the sequence when you turn it off and back on, or if say you turn it off in high it will restart at strobe.

By the way how did you get a rcr123 in a 14500 light? :thinking:

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Nake hates lights without memory...every time a new light on DX pops up, Nake pops in with, "does this have memory?"

I'm with you buddy...I can't stand lights with no memory feature.:thumbsdow

phreeflow said:

Nake hates lights without memory...every time a new light on DX pops up, Nake pops in with, "does this have memory?"

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That's not me you speak of, it's "naked222". I'm not sure if he's a member of this forum.

I do dislike lights that start up in the next mode after restart. I bought a light like that from DX and it now sits in my NFG drawer.

I had bought a Black C3 5-mode and was very disappointed that it starts on the next mode after being turned off. I find this unuseable. I just ordered one of these since it restarts at the beginning each time.

When it comes to memory there is GOOD memory, starts in the same mode as when turned off, and BAD memory, starts in the next mode when turned off. No memory (for me) is better than BAD memory.

Does the light work with a 1.5v AA?

Great review........hmmmmm i might have to order this light as well........since i have a SS C3 P4 i might get this and the black C3 Q3 multimode. You just have to love this forum.

TooSharp said:

Does the light work with a 1.5v AA?

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I was just going to ask the same thing: I checked out the DX site and it says it's only for 14500 (no mention of AA). Does anyone know the input voltage range for this light?