Ordered from DX:
- Ordered 9/11
- Shipped 9/30
- Received 10/12
(Delay in shipping was probably due to the bazillion novelty ink pens I had included with the order, to be used as stocking-stuffer items for Christmas.)
http://dx.com/p/169406 - $31.80 at time of purchase.
I've never seen the official Gladiator in person, but was familiar with it through the reviews here and here. I was intrigued by this type of light and decided to purchase one for tool-box/brush use. After reviewing the options (as the Gladiator isn't exactly budget by my definition), I elected to purchase the UltraFire light, which is visually, a very close copy of the genuine Gladiator host.
First, the machining on the light is passable, but there are a lot of dings under the anodization, as well as chips in the anodization itsself, which make it appear that this light was knocked around a lot during Manufacturing.
The light came apart easily; threads aren't the smoothest, but are deep and solid, and do not appear to be a weak point on the light. Unfortunately, as we pointed out elsewhere, this light is NOT a true P60 host. The pill is slightly larger, but is very close to the diameter of a P60 drop-in. I think that with a larger O-ring and a thicker lens (both of which I have in my kit), a P60 drop-in will work properly in this light.
(P60 on left, clone on right) As can be seen, the negative spring was poorly soldered to the driver and came loose. As a result, I am unable to actually test this light until I have had a chance to work on it, which will be a couple of weeks away.
Pill with reflector:
...which includes fingerprints direct from the factory...
...and finally the driver:
The light does come with a VERY nice sheath:
...and is a significant chunk of metal in the hand:
I am disapppointed with the poor workmanship in this host and the fact that it only takes two cells, instead of the maximum of four with the Gladiator. I'll be posting an update when I get opportunity to tear into the host further, and attempt to work it into a useable P60 host. I have an unused single-mode high-voltage XP-G drop-in to use in this, which would make a nice long-running, decent-output emergency-use light in the two-cell configuration.
