CMG Ultra-G

UnknownVT

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Dec 27, 2002
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Thanks to this forum - I found out about the Ultra-G and ordered one at the special CPF price from:
http://www.countycomm.com/light9cpf.htm

The shipping on such a small item was v. high at $6.

UPS messed up on their delivery which was originally scheduled for Dec/24 - because they had mis-directed the package - so it eventually arrived today.

A standard AA alkaline battery does rattle in the casing when the light is turned off - I read about the Post-It trick and obviously promptly used a piece - it does somewhat quieten the rattle but does not eliminate it - since the "looseness" is due to the battery not making electrical contact - so the gap is intrinsic and cannot be eliminated - shaking the light lengthwise definitely will make the battery rattle.

I am a neophite flashaholic
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as I have accumulated flashlights over the years without being consciously aware of "collecting"
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LED lights have always intrigued me - I obviously have the standard Photons - a white and yellow Mk.2 - I carry an old yellow mk.1 on my keyring - waiting for it to wear out (not!) before replacing it with one of the mk.2's. The yellow mk.1 is so worn that it's now smooth with most of the original fine ribbing worn away.

I like the concept of a single AA cell LED light - so the CMG Infinity caught my interest - but its reputed lower brightness was not that attractive to me - however the Ultra seemed a better choice even though the runtime was shorter.

The posts here on the Ultra-G seemed to be favorable - even though there were some posts that suggested there was little or even no difference to the the standard civilian Ultra - there were posts that suggested that the G was better (perhaps "owner's pride", or limited exposure), but more importantly there were none that suggested the "G" was any less/worse.

I regretted that the G version did not come supplied with the lanyard and pocket clip - although these are nice ideas - I seriously doubt if I'd ever carry the pocket clip, and a neck lanyard is not what I'd use.

In fact, I used some nylon braided curtain/blind cord and made myself a simple wrist-loop - which is more in keeping with pocket carry - and the cord doubles as a "locator"/extractor - to find it in my pocket I can feel for the cord or when I know I need to access the light I can hang the cord out of the pocket - so that it is easy to pull out by the cord. I deliberately chose the white cord for visibility.

How bright and white? Being a neophite - there are much better posts here - but my personal take is using some old stock but unused AA alkalines that I had on hand the Ultra-G is as bright - perhaps a bit brighter, and has a much wider useful beam than the Mk.2 white Photon (over 3 years old but used very sparingly)

Removing and polishing a reflector - has anyone tried fastening some aluminum foil in there to see if the beam/throw is improved? -
I guess one could use the smooth polished side for max reflection, or even deliberately scrunch up a piece to get a sort of orange peel effect?
 

Darell

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Nov 14, 2001
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LOCO is more like it.
I'm not sure if anybody who owned both units ever said that the G was brighter. But (let's all say it together) I've been wrong before.

I wonder if we'll ever figure out what this "G" business is all about. Just why the heck are we paying more for a light with fewer accessories? Apparently just for the engraving.
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BTW, I wrap my batteries with masking tape. Just enough to make them slightly snug. Mine don't rattle at all. And I tend to be pretty shaky.
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Klaus

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Sep 6, 2001
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Germany
On the ULTRA vs ULTRA-G controversy - or why pay more for less - or why a company does such a missleading advertisement and doesn´t clear things up and/or takes that ad down - or THE PLOT THICKENS

After the issue came up lately I emailed the company in question and asked for a clarification - I got a prompt reply where I was given the OK to return my ULTRA-G for refund (which doesn´t make sense as I´m overseas) - but in regards to the HA-II vs HA-III controversy which boils down in the end to "why pay more for less" and the claims on the website in regards to the differences there was no clear message - it was even said that the "civilian" or "standard" isn´t known and therefor no comments can be made.

I emailed back with the question to a) be allowed to post this private email here on CPF and b) that I still consider the issue to not have been resolved and that c) I still would either like to have a clarification or the ad / website stating that the ULTRA-G does have an superior anodizing be corrected.

I think its a shame that a so-far well-respected CPF community member who also did use CPF quite a bit for free advertising doesn´t come clear on this issue which is going on for months already.

Klaus
 

Tater Rocket

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Jun 25, 2001
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574
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Close to St. Louis, MO, school at Rolla
Don't believe that that Type3 anodizing is real tough either. My dad got on BECAUSE of the hard annodizing, but it is wearing off on pretty much any sharp corner, and I believe the knurling too. He hasn't had it all that long (not even half the time I have had my ArcAAA) and has about the same number of keys as me. My keys are sharper (have a p38 and other sharper type items) and my ArcAAA looks a lot better than his UltraG. Though, my arc DOES have a significant amount of wear at the head, it isn't all that much compared to his UltraG.

Spud
 

Raven

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Joined
Oct 16, 2002
Messages
816
I plan to order one from Bright Guy tomorrow, though I am a bit peeved that other web sites are selling them noticably cheaper. I'd order from TTS, but since I live in TX, the state tax brings the price close to what BG charges.

I'm not going to sweat a couple of bucks though. I really am looking forward to checking this light out for myself. For years, I've been looking for a single battery light, that's good enough for urban/safety applications (ie walking through a parking lot at night), and I'm hoping the Infinity Ultra will be the light.

Raven
 

UnknownVT

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Dec 27, 2002
Messages
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sunspot

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Aug 22, 2001
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Graham, NC
It is bright enought to walk through a parking lot. It compares to an Arc-AAA or a fresh Photon as to brightness.

Tip: Buy some stick on foam rubber about 1/8-3/16" thick and cut out a circle the same size as the inside the head of the Ultra and then put a smaller hole in the middle of the cut out circle. Stick it inside the head of the light and battery rattle is gone.
 

Charles Bradshaw

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Sep 14, 2002
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Mansfield, OH
Welcome to CPF, Vincent!

There is some doubt if the Ultra-G is actually US Government issue. This was brought up by a member of the USAF. It is still a very good LED task light.

There is a reason for the large battery compartment: to allow for battery swelling.

The Ultra is twice as bright as the regular Infinity, at Half the runtime. The regular is designed for its long runtime and has its place.
 

UnknownVT

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Dec 27, 2002
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Originally posted by sunspot:
Tip: Buy some stick on foam rubber about 1/8-3/16" thick and cut out a circle the same size as the inside the head of the Ultra and then put a smaller hole in the middle of the cut out circle. Stick it inside the head of the light and battery rattle is gone.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Great tip, many thanks -
sounds almost like a stick on corn-pad - those donut shaped foam pads for relieving corns on feet...

Thank you too Charles for the welcome to cpf - I too read the doubt about the Ultra-G being any different to the standard civilian Ultras - but like I said there were posts that claim the G was "better"/brighter - even allowing for owner's pride and limited exposure, and there were no posts saying it was any worse or less than the standard G - so logically it is equal to the civilan model with a possibility that it could be better.... and as our moderator pointed out before stopping the thread - the vendor is of good repute, so I doubt if the vendor is out to deliberately mis-lead.......
 

UnknownVT

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Dec 27, 2002
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Originally posted by darell:
I'm not sure if anybody who owned both units ever said that the G was brighter.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">You're right....
I guess it was wishful reading on my part - I was basing things on this recent thread -
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=003873#000001

where someone said they got an "extra bright one" - and someone else backed it up - and I made the "wishful assumption" that it was "extra bright" over a non-G Ultra.

However since I paid the cpf special of $19 (with v. high shipping of $6) the total price was still better than the lowest prices I could find from:

http://www.1sks.com/store/cmg-infinity-ultra.html
$19.99 + $7 shipping!

http://botachtactical.com/cmginultasli.html
$20.00 + $8.06 shipping!!!

Of course I have since found the Texas Tactical Supply price of $15.99 plus $4 shipping - but they didn't have it on their site until after I ordered my Ultra-G.

So fortunately I didn't pay more - as for the lack of accessories - yes indeed it would have been nice to have the standard accessories - but they'd in all honesty would just spend their time in a drawer - as I much rather have the home-made wrist-loop that doubles as a "locator"/extractor.

But I do understand YMMV.
 

Empath

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Nov 11, 2001
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Oregon
It's puzzling that anyone would be disturbed about the "civilian" version of the Ultra presently available being from the same product run as the "G"overnment version. Apparently the civilian version does not need to be Type III anodized, but if manufactured in the same run as a "higher spec" "G" version, the integrity of the products are not compromised. If the next run more closely matches the specs designated for the product, then what; claims of deception?

Arc has put the more preferable LE lamp in the standard AAA at times, but that doesn't constitute deception. By the same token, use of CMG's more preferable "G" series finishes doesn't constitute deception.
rolleyes.gif
 

UnknownVT

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Dec 27, 2002
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Post-Its do "work" -

When I wrapped a standard 2"x1.5" Post-It round the battery - I found that it was a tad too long - so I trimmed it so that it would just fit nicely with the length of the wide cylinder part of the AA cell.

But as I found that only helped with sideways rattle and did not stop the lengthwise rattling (although the added thickness did help dampen the motion)

However Sunspot's hint made me think a little more - and I just wrapped a non-trimmed 2"x1.5" Post-It on the AA cell with the surplus/overhang at the +ve end (lengthwise).

The surplus paper helps stop the battery from rattling lengthwise - at least for now.

So the simple Post-It trick does work -
just don't be too "clever" or neat by trimming the paper to fit......
 

V8TOYTRUCK

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Jul 31, 2001
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1,793
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San Gabriel Valley + Burbank
Got mine from Darkgear. Contact him for a price, much lower than any of those listed above. Great service as well. ( paid 18.50 shipped, not sure if its still that price though )
 

Empath

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Nov 11, 2001
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Oregon
Whether there's an association between the two, I don't know. One though is apparently operating from Hollywood, and the other from Santa Clara. That's a pretty good distance.

It is an interesting find though.
 

Rooster

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Nov 14, 2002
Messages
47
Location
CA
Stainless, I use a lithium AA in my ultra-civilian, (although mine has the dark o.d. green HA III finish of the gov't model) and it works fine. CMG even blesses this practice in the instructions.
 

Stainless

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Dec 7, 2001
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A very dark world.
Thanks Rooster. I guess I'll go and buy one. I've been wanting something a bit "meatier" than my Pulsar II for my neck EDC.
(I already have plenty of Post-It notes in stock.)
 
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