So I received today my first UCL lens from flashlightlens.com.
http://www.flashlightlens.com/str/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=ucl_lens
The packaging made me smile with appreciation: it speaks of the love that Chris extends to his products.
Finally a flashlight lens with visible AR-coating reflections, like on photographic filters. The superior clarity of the UCL glass is plainly visible by naked eye as well.
Here are the results from several ceiling bounce readings that I did with my (alas unregulated) Trustfire F15 on High, using a luxmeter:
- average lux drop with stock lens (vs. no lens at all) ..... -4.0%
- average lux drop with UCL lens (vs. no lens at all) ....... -0.2%
Outdoors, without a side-by-side comparison, I couldn't honestly observe the brightness gain. What I could tell, though, was a considerably cleaner beam with less of that haze immediately in front of the user that my XM-L lights at full power seem to create even at nights of top visibility.