K-106 not outshining my UFA10 (both on TF 14500)

Hi

Received my K-106 after reading the AA review thread and presumed it would be able to be brighter on high than my Ultrafire A10 both on li-ions and Nimh's / Primaries.

Both are running on Trustfire 14500 (by my measurement at 700mAh before PCB cutoff)

UF A10 has smooth reflector, K-106 has orange peel

I have not been able to do a battery end amp draw test on the Akoray, but can see that the A10 is pulling 1.25A on a hot off the charger cell. Dropping to 1.1 when I checked after 5 mins of running. (this is removing rear and connecting a DMM for 30 secs)

The hotspot on the akoray is noticeably dimmer (by this I mean you can tell the difference, not that the AK is not good when compared) than the A10 and the spill is also noticeably lower in luminicity (that may not be the correct spelling)

I have cleaned the thread, lubed, checked the contacts on the switch and pill and seem to be all Ok.

I am a little dissappointed as I was thinking this would be just as bright, if not brighter than the A10.

I do understand that the driver may be different, lens material will contribute to losses, reflector type, size and depth also play a part, however I am posting this up and the A10 in a single mode high only light is the winner here instead of the Akoray. Outshines a CR2 LIFEPO4 driven P4 WF-606A by a margin that you can see.

I was hoping people who have the same two units can provide their experiences of the two and how they compared.

Also some other things I could check / optimise on the AK that would allow me to confirm I have not lost out on the DX lottery.

I get the fact that this is programmable multi mode with discharge protection which are the features which greatly increases it's appeal, I just feel as if I would have been better off putting the funds into a pot for one of the more "premium" units that have a very high quality driver with excellent regulation.

Also the UF A10 information I could find was sketchy when I googled the CPF site so this would help those looking at the UF, decide how it stacks up for their usage.

Any positive input you guys can provide would be appreciated

It has already been etablished that the max amperage on high varies very much between akorays.

I consider myself lucky because the 3 i bought were all 1.9A on max making them little pocket rockets.

I have the AKORAY 106 and I had the UF A10 also.
Both seem to have pretty much the same brightness according to my eyes.
However the AKORAY was throwing slightly better than the A10 .
The reflector of A10 was heavier peeled than the AKORAY one.

I got 40 min of runtime for K-106 and 30 min for A10 - using 14500 cells -

I can't speak for the A10, but there's more to a good light than just maximum output, though I obviously understand wanting as bright a light as reasonably possible. The K-106 is a solid light, regulation seems good and efficient from what I can tell. My AK-16, same light + CR123 ability, can draw about 1.1A from a 14500, to be honest I don't know that I'd want to run a smaller light like this much higher than that (because of heat). And you get increasingly diminishing returns in efficiency also. On a related note, my AK-16 (same circuit as K-106) behaves strange with CR123 batteries at around 3.0V - it draws about 2.6A from them... Not only is this far more than I'd want it to be drawing, but it doesn't look any visibly brighter than the 14500 at around 1-1.1A. It makes me wonder how high the circuit is designed to run, and if it just becomes wasted energy in the form of heat at some point in this circuit when the current gets to a certain level. Anyway, there are better choices if pure output is what you are after - you might want to start looking into a larger 18650 light, higher capacity, larger body better able to handle the heat and give a more concentrated beam from a larger reflector, etc.

Thanks guys. As it turns out, my friend wanted my K-106 last night despite the max output being lower than my expectations so those funds will go towards a light with better regulation.

@mmmflashlights.
I have been looking at 18650 lights and in particular the Jetbeam with their bigger heads. I have a 3D maglight at home with a TerraLux and I would rather try to put something together with that host rather than spend more on another light. This sits in the car so I could even go down the route of swapping out the Luxeon for the P4 from the 606 on TerraLux for the moment and see how that works out before I decide to go in for a bigger project.

The logic behind my expectations is that my first light is a 606. If I buy another light it should ideally be brighter and better in some way. The A10 has a Q5 and can run a 14500, so that manages my expectations quite well. Works well as a hand warmer too so that is a nice touch as well. After I sold the AK, I was eyeing up the Nitecore D10 R2. With a 145 OTF value, it would appear to be the next best thing to get if I pursue the thinking that each light I buy should have a discernable improvement in some way than the previous purchase.

I just have to now start to figure out how to explain why I have more than one torch. She did not watch "Jamie and the Magic Torch" as a child so I cannot even ply her with that excuse

(That was a programme shown in the early 80's in the UK about a child with a torch and his adventures with it. Funny how art imitates life...)

I haven't measured anything, but mine is my brightest AA light running 14500's.

I just got my AK106 today, and on 14500 it draws 600-700 mA on a 14500 on high (1.4A on a NIMH).

If you account for step down voltage or whatever, I'm assuming that about 700mA are hitting the LED, which looking at Cree's graph, looks like it should be at 170% luminous flux, or around 180 lumens. These people with the overdriven ones that are getting like 1.4A are likely seeing 250 lumens.

brightest running 1xAA/14500 light i own is my Jetbeam Jet I Pro IBS v2.0, the v3.0 is out now and apparently has 30% better regulation and a little higher output (240 lumens vs 225 lumens) on 14500s. I'm sticking with my v2.0 as it more than suits my needs and i dont use max all the time anyway.

For the 18650s, i got the Jetbeam Jet III Pro ST (the slim tube design, one diameter all the way, no larger head) and its a darn nice light IMHO, there's a broad voltage version that can run on CR123s as well as 18650s but i dont have that one. I like this light too, the tint of my jetbeams is a tad warmer (leaning towards vanilla white) than my other Q5s for some reason but i like that tint.

If you're leaning towards 18650 form factor lights, please take a look at solarforce, they're having a build your own light special, i got my L2, stainless steel crenellated bezel (and also the black crenellated bezel that came with the light) and a 5 mode R2 module slightly above $40 and that included the shipping to Singapore. Really fast and great service from Jake too.

I'm heading back there to get some clips and a few more hosts.

Thanks for the input everyone. Seems like my A10 is about normal given what you have put up here. I have signed up for a Quark Mini 123 and possibly an AA too so it looks like the A10 will be farmed out with some eneloops and charger to my father to use around the house. For a 70year old, he is more of an EDC'er than me.

The litmus test will be if the CR123 mini will outshine the A10. If it does not, then it looks like the 123 will end up on the Marketplace and then invest in another A10 and some more 14500's instead.

TVM.