UltraFire C1 impressions

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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Love the forum, guys. Thanks so much! This will be my first post. :slight_smile:

Ok, as a relative newb fresh on the budget torch turbo train to hell, I have made a bunch of purchases in the last month, and am finally starting to receive some of my Manafont orders,

On highly anticipated arrival was an UltraFire C1 body with the extended “assault” bezel. I’ve already gotten my SolarForce L2 a week ago, so my expectations for the range of quality with these P60 hosts has been set and/or understood. My very first high-output torch was an UF wf-502b from Amazon, and I am assuming for $16 the drop-in that came with it is a generic version of the UF XM-L T6 5-mode. I love the 502b host - good finish, threads, etc, and the drop-in is fine except for the silly blinky modes, but as of now, it is the only drop-in I have until i get the two UH XM-L 3-modes and the UG Q5 1 mode in the mail from MF. I have just been swapping that first drop-in that came with my 502b between the different hosts (502b, L2, and now the C1) until more drop-ins show up. At this rate, I will end up with more hosts than drop-ins anyway, as I have a 501a on the way as well.

Anyway, on to the UF C1. I had read a review or three here, on CPF, and MF, and all seem to note the quality and compatibility of the C1. I really dig the design, although I know its borrowing heavily from Surefire. But my first impressions are disappointing compared to my delight with the 502b. I won’t bother to compare with the SF L2, other than maybe by weight.

My C1 came well-protected in 72 layers of bubble wrap, with the “stainless” “assault” bezel attached. I only ordered this body with that bezel because based on other reviews, I was expecting it to also come with a flat bezel as well. It did not. No biggie. This extended bezel doesn’t seem to interfere with the beam quality much, if at all.

Initially the design is pretty awesome, and the flat sides on the battery tube make more very comfortable handling - surprisingly comfy, in fact. Also a nice little unexpected plus - the thick rubber washer that hugs the tube for grip and the fairly decent non-removable belt clip, in addition to the laynard. Bang for the buck, I suppose. :slight_smile:

The finish is crap. There are scratches and dings like it’s a used light. Not that I mind too much, but I paid for a new light, and the finish or anodizing on my other two hosts seems way more durable. The threads and o-righs were totally dry, and the threads themselves are as rough as they could be. I’m sure they will wear in with time, but I don’t like the idea of aluminum shards building up in my host. I lubed everything up, whitch seems to help. The tolerances once everything is screwed in seem tight, at least., but I don’t plan on taking a shower with this torch any time soon.

One interesting issue that will turn this semi review into a question, is with the lens. With initial disassembly of the major pieces, the lens just fell loose from the head and hit the tile floor at my feet. I didn’t like that very much, and now I have a nice little chip on the rim of my lens for my long-awaited new host. Doesn’t effect the beam, just my inner child. Anyway, no matter how I tried to put that lens back in, it would just rattle without any support from the other pieces. Tried placing it on top of the o-ring in the front, no good. Tried putting it behind the o-ring, no good. I can’t figure out where the lens on this C1 originally was or is supposed to go, or why it seems way too small in diameter to go in the front of the head. I ended up shimmying the lens through the hind end of the head, and changing the o-ring from the front to just behind the little ridge in the head so the lens has something to rest on. Once I screwed everything back together with the drop-in installed, it seemed nice and tight again, and the lens hasn’t come loose since.

So what gives? I was not expecting instructions or anything from Manafont, but those of you with UF C1s - where the heck are the lens and front inner o-ring SUPPOSED to go? Also, was your C1 thread and finish quality kinda crappy like mine?

And for the record, all of my UltraFire orders were made before I discovered Solarforce L2x, and the L2 arrived in more than half the time these MF orders came in. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have bothered with any more UF orders, and just gotten a few more SF L2 models. Then again, that probably isn’t true either - I’m kinda addicted to this stuff now, and I actually like the UF hosts - especially that first 502b, and am still pretty amazed at the quality and materials for the price. But the C1 is the first I’ve gotten that ALMOST seems worth the $9 I paid for it. LOL. The weight is nice, and that cool rubber grippy ring is kinda awesome. But I don’t like the exposed threads between the bezel and the lens, I don’t like the tread quality in general, not happy with the finish, and I really don’t like loose lenses that fall out of my torch host and chip on my tile floor. But, I’m kinda still pretty happy. :slight_smile:

Thanks guys. Any feedback is much appreciated.

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Thank you, sir. :slight_smile:

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He he he!!! We all know what that's like! Welcome to the club! I don't know anything about the C1. The only P60 host I own is a fake Solarforce L2 from Lightake. I do like it a lot.

How about some photos of your C1?

-Garry

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Thanks Garry. I’ll see what I can do for photos with my Android from work in a few hours. I can probably at least get some decent shots of the C1, albeit maybe not with much detail of the quality issues quite yet. I’ll have to set up my Canon 7D with its macro tubes and a nice little flashlight lightbox/studio one of these days if I’m going to start posting like this with any frequency. :wink:

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Oh, I have have to say, you guys here at BLF are WAY cooler and more laid back than the peeps over at CPF, and just as knowledgeable, I might add. Thumbs up. Takes away a lot of the pain of being a newb. hehe.

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Are you "foil wrapping" your drop-ins? I used this copper foil (be sure to get the thicker stuff - this is 5mil). Seller is great, quick delivery and well packaged. It's my understanding that you don't want the stuff with adhesive because the adhesive will restrict heat transfer somewhat. I wrapped 2 coils of this copper sheeting in my fake L2 with an Ultrafire 3 mode drop-in and the drop-in required a slight push to squeeze it in. I have not left it on long enough to check the heat transfer through the body though.

-Garry

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Welcome aboard, JaffoAZ!

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Thanks RC! Garry, I only have this first drop-in so far, and I have wrapped in in tinfoil once for a bit. I plan on getting some copper just like you’ve suggested (thanks for the link!), but I don’t plan on ever using “high” mode on my torches for more than a minute or so. I live in Arizona, and I am a nature nut that likes to look for critter in the desert - snakes, etc…the other night I went on a night hike with a buddy (the main reason I am so into these budget high-powered torches), and ran my SF L2 with that cheap XM-L drop-in for roughly 3 hours or so on “low” mode, and not only did it never heat up, but it shot out more light than either of us were accustomed to on our hikes. That’s even compared to other pals who have spend $100+ on whatever production brand-name stuff they are so proud of.

It is my assumption that a 18650 powered XM-L can run for days on low without hurting the emitter or driver. If I want the most light for the highest run-time like I would for these extended hikes, I figure I wouldn’t even need to wrap my drop-in if I’m only using the lower modes. Again, I plan on copper wrapping all of my modules once I get some copper…and more modules, but is my assumption correct? If I’m not driving the thing hard enough for it to heat up, am I safe without wrapping?

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That assumption sounds correct to me. Generally people around here like to check that the emitter is fastened (fujik'd) to the pill securely and maybe put some thermal compound on the threads of the pill to assist with heat transfer. Those are things I suggest doing will all lights. Going beyond that (like the copper foil wrap) is really only necessary if you're going to run high mode (high meaning you're pushing the emitter near it's limit) longer than a few minutes. It's cheap and easy to do though so I'd suggest to just do it so you're ok if you do find yourself needing high mode for an extended period. For now you are fine and don't have to worry.

-Garry

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Ok good. :slight_smile:

Like I said, I plan to wrap all my drop-ins once I get something better than aluminum foil to do it with, and for exactly the reason you suggest it - just in case. I actually did put some thermal past on the pill threads, however. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to do the bare minimum to protect the cheap emitter in this drop-in.

How about medium for heat? I have no idea what amps this thing is pulling on medium or what percentage its running at. There’s some extensive testing on the UltraFire XM-L drop-ins, and they can be all over the place. I have no clue what generic build this one is, but I want to assume medium mode is running 50-70% or so of high. Does an XM-L running at under an amp generally generate enough heat to kill an unwrapped drop-in? I know my run-time won’t be as much as low, but I figured I’d want to have an idea about medium modes…I’d rather run out of juice than burn out my drop-in. :slight_smile:

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This is the Manafont Ultrafire 3 mode XM-L drop-in? Mine pulls 1.5A on medium (I was disappointed it wasn't lower, like 1.0A). I think the medium is closer to 30% or 35% of high. I don't think that is enough to worry about, but others could chime in. Part of the problem with numbers all over the place could be people's meters and leads. You'll want to make up some low resistance leads using larger cable. I'm using 12ga stranded wire from radio Shack with banana plugs on one end (for meter connection) and just tinned the ends (i.e. soldered the stranded wires together solid). I feel pretty confident about my current measurements. Also, watch using a really cheap meter. I found my cheap Harbor freight $3 meter is useless for current measurements.

-Garry

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Thanks Garry. I still need to get myself a meter and another soldering iron.

The drop-in I have right now is the one that came in my UF 502b that I ordered from Amazon. So I have no idea what it is other than a “Cree XM-L T6 3-mode”, and it’s actually a 5-mode. It doesn’t have any markings on it like the photos of the UltraFire drop-ins I’ve seen, but it does have “CREE” printed on the emitter board.

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The problem with not wrapping it is all the generated heat builds up in the drop in and can not escape into the air. For medium I'm sure tin foil is fine though.

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I love my C1s I always thought of them as 504Bs with a clip until the L2T came out than they became the budget L2T.

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SWEET. So, E… you will be hearing from me sooner or later when I’m ready to order a drop-in from you, and I wanted to personally thank you for the instructional post about building your own. Pretty cool, and taught me a lot. I haven’t done it yet though. :slight_smile:

Regarding the C1 - where is the lens supposed to sit? In the front of the head, or in behind through the threads? And have you had iffy finishing on yours? I agree and totally dig the design, and it makes me wanna spring for an L2T for sure.

Thanks!

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The finish on both of mine is pretty decent I use these for beater lights because of the clip and cheap cost and they are holding up well.

If you take the bezel off it goes bezel out than o-ring next than lens last facing inward. I hope that helps if you need a picture let me know.

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That’s so weird. Like I described above, when the bezel was taken off when the host arrived, the lens just fell out on the floor. The o-ring was still in tact. When I tried to replace the lens it just rattles around in place, and seems a few mm to small in diameter, UNLESS I shove it through the back side of the head up to the stop rim and put the o-ring in between to buffer the lens. Confused… In the front, as you’ve described, there’s nothing to hold the lense in properly. Even with the o-ring holding the lense in, there’s nothing to press the two together, and even if there was, the lens is soughly the diameter if the threads and tube in battery-end of the head, not the front. The bezel doesn’t screw all the way in there. Maybe I got an undersized lens? There’s no proper threading per se on the bezel, just a ridge that screws into the threads a few turns.

Did I get a lemon? :slight_smile:

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Something seams fishy. There is a molded ring in between the inner and outer threads that keeps the lens from falling in is that missing on yours?

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If that ring on the right in your photo is a lens retaining ring and not a bezel, then yes, I am missing that ring, and that would make sense. Shoot. LOL. I wonder if anyone has those rings available?

Thanks, E. I guess there’s not much of a solution for this C1 other than shoving the lense in through the back like I have. …and then dropping an order with SF for an L2T.