Arc AAA vs. CMG Infinity & Infinity Ultra

I need the most inexpensive place online from which to buy LEDs. I like small, bright, powerful lights. I need all the help I can get with my eyes.

I want all three, but might not be able to afford them.

If I were going to buy two of them, which ones should I buy?

If I were going to buy just one, which one should it be?

My favorite place to purchase is http://www1.ecxmall.com/stores/texastacticalsupply/StoreFront.bok. But currently they don't have the Ultra.

If you were to buy just two, you'd be best off buying two Arc AAAs. Just one? An Arc AAA of course. If you want longer run-time, and don't mind the extra size and weight, the Ultra is your next step. You'd do best to leave the Infinity out of the equation if you want a small, bright light. The Infinity has excellent run-time, but the Arc AAA will beat the pants off it in size and brightness.

What is the Ultra? A different kind of Infinity?

Look here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=002876

The Ultra is an Infinity look-alike that is twice the brightness and half the runtime (approx). Think of it as an Arc AAA run on an AA cell, and you'll have a great idea of what it is.

That's assuming I have an Arc AAA, which I will have. Just not yet.

I would buy the Arc not b/c it is bright but because it is quality. IMO none of these are bright and IMO CMG does not make a product worth buying!

Originally posted by jtivat:
CMG does not make a product worth buying!

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Oh... (a regretful tone).

I'm sorry to see a fellow CPF member with such an opinion. I have purchased several Infinities and really like them all. I DO think that only the Blue-Green is really bright enough. But, regarding the quality, IMHO it is quite a high quality product. Much smoother operating than the ARC AAA. Somehow the thread diameter/pitch is "just right" on the Infinity for smooth, elegant engagement of the head & battery. The ARC AAA can tend to be a bit "stiff" to operate, even with fresh lubrication.

Then there is the knurling. The ARC AAA is knurled all over. It can be a bit sharp and "scratchy" in the pocket. The Infinity has just the right amout of knurling for easy gripping and promotes that "elegant engagement".

All of my Infinities have worked perfectly right out of the box. The first ARC AAA I got, I had to return for flickering (although it was cheerfully exchanged...can't complain about that!).

Finally, there is the beam itself. My ARC AAA is just a bit "blobby" whereas the Infinity is smooth and regular in its shape.

I really do like them both. I think they are both great products for what they are. I look forward to buying an Ultra sometime soon.

Sorry if your Infinity experience has caused you to form a bad opinion about the light, but I really like the ones I have.

i have both an Infinity Ultra (gov. model) and an Arc AAA. I love both of them. The Arc rides on my keychain and the Infinity Ultra stays in my toolkit. Both great lights.

Originally posted by Wolfen:
i have both an Infinity Ultra (gov. model) and an Arc AAA. I love both of them. The Arc rides on my keychain and the Infinity Ultra stays in my toolkit. Both great lights.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Both great lights.
There will come a time when you tire of replacing the AAA and want the long life of an AA.
You need both.

Best place to buy IMHO is Texas Tactical Supply.
Send an email to them on their webb site if what you want is not listed. Great service.

Texas Tactical Supply link

I buy my LED's from here...fast service..good prices and nice packaging.
LED supplies

PocketLights.com carries the Arc AAA, CMG Infinity and CMG Infinity Ultra. The Infinity and the Infinity Ultra are practically identical. Both are the same size and come with a pocket-clip and lanyard. The Infinity is dimmer than the Infinity Ultra but has a battery life of 41 hours. The Infinity Ultra is twice as bright as the Infinity and has a battery life of 25 hours. The Arc AAA is about as bright as the Infinity Ultra but is much smaller because it takes a AAA battery. All three lights are excellent.

having the infinity "with black dot removed",arc aaa and infinity ultra, all with white leds, to my eyes their brightness is in that same order. the arc and infinity each ride on their own seperate keychains, one work and one house, and the ultra hangs on the lamp switch at home. they all do their jobs well and i'd recommend them all. the ultra is dark green case and came with lanyard and clip from brightguy. not sure if it is the government model though?

The Infinity Ultra Government model does not come with a lanyard nor clip.

Originally posted by jtivat:
I would buy the Arc not b/c it is bright but because it is quality. IMO none of these are bright and IMO CMG does not make a product worth buying!

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Go out in the dark where you can barely see the hand in front of your face. Then turn on an Arc or Infinity and see what you think.

http://www1.ecxmall.com/stores/texastacticalsupply/Search.bok?category=Led+Lights

has the ARC AAA LE for $27.99 but are out of stock.

I think the ARC AAA LE is the winner because of the smaller size and lower price.

CMG should drop the price on the Ultra G. and change all the Ultras to HA III finish.

Just an F.Y.I. The ARC AAA is now waterproof up to 50 feet (see the Arc website) versus 10 feet for the Infinity and 15 feet for the Infinity Ultra. Pocketlights.com still has the ARC listed as waterproof to only 3 feet (a lot of other sites do as well).

Apparently, the ARC AAA was always this waterproof, but Peter didn't feel comfortable on guaranteeing this level of waterproofness until he was absolutely sure.

In fact, in another thread, a member said he has used his ARC AAA even with the battery compartment filled with water!!!! (along with the battery itself of course). As long as it's not salt water, there doesn't appear to be a problem as the head itself is sealed. So, even if the main compartment fails and starts to leak water in with the battery at, say, 60 feet, the light might happily go on working to 75 feet, 100 feet, or even more. WOW!

ikendu, I am sorry I should not make such a general statement. I own a CMG Bonfire and it is the worst built light I have ever purchased . I have used the CMG Reactor and it was also very poorly built, the on/off was very hard to operate and very rough(not to mention the beam). So these two products are the only CMG products I have used and both IMO sucked, so I now find my self not even wanting to try there other products which may be just fine.

Originally posted by Lux Luthor:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by jtivat:
I would buy the Arc not b/c it is bright but because it is quality. IMO none of these are bright and IMO CMG does not make a product worth buying!

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Go out in the dark where you can barely see the hand in front of your face. Then turn on an Arc or Infinity and see what you think.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I agree that it is very useful when it is dark, but I still have a hard time using bright to describe it.

Here's a response I got back from Peter Gransee in a different thread regarding the waterproofness of the Arc-AAA. WOW!
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I do know that our contractor took 6 Arc-AAA standards to 340 feet a couple of months ago. This was done at our request. The units where turned off and on at depth and none leaked. Total time underwater including descent and ascent was 2 hours.

This is the same contractor that earlier had taken different Arc-AAA standards to 60 feet and took pictures.

Extreme Outfitters, which supplies flashlights to certain government outfits says they took several Arc-AAAs to over 250 feet.

In none of these cases did the light leak so we really do not know what the depth limit is.

As Darell has said, the o-ring is only to keep the battery compartment dry. The head (with the LED and electronics) is sealed with a glass-like epoxy. The epoxy is fairly runny before it drys. Flashlights that we have disected have been found to be free from air bubbles. Essentially, you have a solid block of material.

To be conservative, we rate the light at 50ft. I may raise that rating in the future once we do more tests.

Peter Gransee

See my mini-review on the CMG Ultra here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=002887