UniVex AAA - User's Evaluation

Since there isn't much info on this light, I'll pop in my 2 cents' worth here. Besides, writing this review distracted me from spending more $$$ during CPF's down time.... just barely. :sweat:

I bought this from the MP (dealer Steve Ku aka kuku427) more than a month ago. The light is made by UniVex International which, from what I know, deals mainly with industrial UV equipment. The UniVex Titanium AAA is their first venture into flashlights.

The following are the light's specifications:
- 6Al4V Titanium alloy shell
- Full length cut knurling
- 10440 Li Ion/AAA powered
- Three mode UI (H-M-L no memory)
- Forward clicky
- XP-G neutral R4 5B LED
- Smooth TIR or orange peel reflector
- 13.65mm x 80.3mm

I find the UniVex Titanium AAA to be an odd ball because it employs a couple of features I don't normally find in other AAA lights, almost like a rebel in the making. Whether these features are beneficial to the end-user is rather subjective, but I would say these would almost make the UniVex AAA different...



Rebel Feature One: Full Length Knurling
When I first saw this and upon receiving them, my initial thought was "Aurora Firesteel Firestarter", it has the same full length knurling and the consistent cylindrical design which marries the definition of tool and attitude. Knurling is the most aggressive I've handled for a AAA light, closest to match would be the custom titanium shell for LF2XT and Peaks 10440SS with knurled body. I've tried handling it with soap and water and the friction remains gripping, it also makes cigar-holding a piece of cake. The length of the light is not meant to be shortest possible due to the presence of a switch, but the up side is it can be gripped comfortably through the length of my four fingers. Another key advantage of full knurling I've experienced in the past is that it totally hides scratches (which bare Ti is so prone to). In fact, with the tailcap made of Ti, this full metal jacket (except for the lens) looks to be pretty much invulnerable to anything. Of course, the down side of it is that its abrasive nature might scratch up the stuff it accompanies in your pocket.... like your keys.









Rebel Feature Two: Switch
Underneath the titanium tailcap, it uses a forward clicky which is pretty rare for AAA lights. This is good for those momentary activation to search for key holes, ignition switch etc. The forward clicky also helps to make mode switching easier. It's strange because it is by definition a clicky switch, but it's silent in activation and there's a soft scrapping sound caused by the Ti cap rubbing against the recess. So, it's a clicky, silent, scrapping switch. oo: After some getting use to, I find that it doesn't bother me as much as when I first played with it.





Rebel Feature Three: User Interface
UniVex AAA does not have a built-in memory feature and the light always come on high, further half clicks step it down to medium and then low. I guess I'm one of the minority who's not bothered by lights that activate on high mode because most of my tasks are not really close-up and I find it troublesome to keep half clicking or twisting to ramp it up several steps every single time. Mode switching is to be done quickly within about 0.5secs, the need for a quick switch is to minimize accidental mode switching during short intervals of momentary activations.



Rebel Feature Four: Optics and Beams
As far as I know, I've not come across any AAA light (mass nor custom) that provides options where optics are concerned. UniVex AAA comes with a choice of a LOP reflector or TIR optic. I ordered both options to check out the difference and was expecting the TIR to be throwy, but to discover it's a "diffuser" TIR, somewhat similar to Fenix E05's optic. This produces an extremely even flood with a wider-than-average angle for good close and medium range applications. The beam profile of the LOP reflector is very similar to the TIR except that it has a slightly better throw with a smooth hotspot.


TIR (Left) and LOP reflector (Right)


This is a comparison between ReVo (left) and UniVex TIR (right). The light's neutral tint is beautifully diffused which doesn't seem to bother my night vision.


The one with OP reflector provides a decent throw without compromising the smooth beam profile.


Color Rendition


Daylight


UniVex AAA



Rebel Feature Five
The candle mode, and I really mean real candle mode, not the ability to tailstand, but to be able to use it like the Maglite in the good 'ol days: just pop the head off and voila. Of course, the danger of it is that the emitter will be exposed for any accidental damage.







Here's a visual comparison to some of my other AAA lights.

L > R: LF2XT Titanium | UniVex AAA | LD01 | N-Light B3 | Ray S20 | Preon ReVo | iTP A3 EOS Upgraded

Keychain duty in action






In a nutshell:
Pros
- 2 Optic options: TIR diffuser and Reflector
- Optics changing is a piece of cake, so is emitter swapping for future upgrades.
- Smooth and neutral tint
- Forward clicky
- Ability to take li-ion
- Candle mode feature

Cons
- The split ring recess is too close to the hole, hence it requires an extremely small split ring for the light to tailstand properly.
- Protected li-ion does not fit, leaving about 1mm gap in the tailcap when screwed in. Unprotected ones fit without a problem.

Subjective
- Unique fully-knurled host
- No memory feature
- High to low UI
- Not a must, but provision of a ti clip would be great for those who wish to carry it as EDC.

Zeruel Points

Thanks for the great review and pictures. The thing that stands out the most for me is...it's a neutral white AAA! I'm not so sure about the clicky part or the always coming on in high, but it's a nice-looking light and looks solid.

Nice review. Thanks, Zereul. Good to see another 1AAA clickie.

Geoff

great job with the review! thank you for doing it.

Thanks for the review.

I have to say that I love the knurling on this light. I spent the entire day fondling it when it first arrived. It's just so grippy, but also pleasant to hold.

I agree completely about the switch. It's unlike any other switch I've used. It's not an issue, just different.

The UI almost kept me from getting this one, but I couldn't turn down a Ti AAA light no matter what the UI is. That said, it is a great light and I'm glad I got it.

Looking at your lineup of AAA lights there, what do you think of your B3? I absolutely love my neutral tint B3 and carry it a lot.

Thanks for the very informative review. I like your collection of AAA lights, several of them I've never seen before. Of the seven, I like the looks of the B3 the best.

Thanks, guys. :grouphug:

Incidentalist said:

I agree completely about the switch. It's unlike any other switch I've used. It's not an issue, just different.

The UI almost kept me from getting this one, but I couldn't turn down a Ti AAA light no matter what the UI is. That said, it is a great light and I'm glad I got it.

Looking at your lineup of AAA lights there, what do you think of your B3? I absolutely love my neutral tint B3 and carry it a lot.

Click to expand...

Yeah, this light is different and it caught me off guard in several aspects listed above. The knurling is more aggressive than I presumed, beam is more neutral that I expected, the optics-switching is easier that I thought etc.

Comparing to other SS lights, I find B3 to be heavier that I would like. I use protected li-ion in my lights, but like the UniVex, protected ones are too long for it to fit, and the +ve contact is sharp enough to punch a dent on my battery top. The good thing about it is that it's a clicky and for a light with a switch, it's pretty short. And I think it's a good deal for its price.

Excellent review. I received the Flashlight today. I am impressed!!!

Here is the case I am using to keep this flashlight http://www.xxcutlery.com/detail.aspx?ID=451

- Rohit

well done zeruel. good review.

Nice review!

Wish I saw this before buying but i would still buy it even if i did so

Excellent photos, and nice review. I liked the light, though I cannot afford it now.

Wow.. i just found this thread.
very nice to see that everything is not about max lum.

hows the water resistant and shock resisting properties?

Mine arrived today. Lovely little light. It passed my shower/dunking test with no problems at all. I was a bit worried about the unusual tailcap, but it seems to handle water just fine. I noticed pwn in medium mode in the shower, but it seems to be on a very hi frequency, can't notice it in normal use. I had to consentrate really hard to see the pwn in the water droplets passing trough the beam. You have to shake the light REALLY fast to see the pwn.
No "whining" using 10440, and i actually had to put the ting INTO my ear to hear slight "whining" at medium with aaa ni-mh. If it's in my hand, i cant hear a thing. That's better than average, I got good hearing an "whining" is my enemy nr1
The tir running a 10440 can be compared with my malkoff m60wlf. Seems to have similar beampattern and output, thats great:thumbsup: It got the exact same lenght as my liteflux lf2xt, and its a bit slimmer. The side by side photo with the Ti liteflux fooled me to think it was shorter tham my stock liteflux.

kenkls said:

hows the water resistant and shock resisting properties?

Click to expand...

It's waterproof. As to its shock-resisting properties, there's no way to tell unless an industrial test is done. And I'm not about to drop my light just yet. :nana: But from the looks of how the light engine is screwed into the body and the reflector is secured into the head with a brass retainer ring, I wager it can take some serious abuse.

@Zeruel... wow thx just info, I liked the neutral tint... http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/member.php?61695-Zeruel

harton said:

@Zeruel... wow thx just info, I liked the neutral tint...

Click to expand...

Dissasembeled mine and gave it some deoxit gold today. Here is the parts. The clicky is inside the brass tube, the boot is on top of the brass tube for water seal. All theese tiny parts got perfect fittings, it was a joy to play with. Used a tiny bait hook to grab one of the holes in the retaining ring, smooth threads.


The backside of the pill.

Not as crisp as Zeruel's pics., so unless Zeruel takes some crisp shots, theese will have to do

You have to click very fast to change modes. I think its nice becasue I can do a lot of momentary use in hi without it changing modes.:thumbsup: Have to press momentary faster than once pr ~0.5 sek for it to change modes.

I just received one of these yesterday (reflector), it really is a nice light. Love the tint, and it is brighter than expected. Very accurate review, nicely done.