I did a Google search on this and came up with nothing.
I'm betting the collective BLF mind is smarter than Google.
It must have been Ultrafire, it is their line-up of codes: the C3 was one of my first led flashlights five years ago (I still like the form factor), then there is the C8, C10, C12.
Ben Franklin, he called it his pot belly light!
It’s true, check it out on Abe Lincoln’s blog…
Notsurefire maybe?
What’s the difference between the C8, C10, and C12 anyway? I’ve seen a few C12’s but can’t tell if the reflector is deeper/wider.
AFAIK the C8 design was not made, it always existed, since the beginning of time.
this
But I’m glad it happened! The C8 is definitely my fave general purpose light and if I had no other I wouldn’t be much worse off.
Phil
Yes it is obviously stolen from a USA manufacturer. I have seen it but I can’t remember where. I think it had fire in the name but I don’t think it was surefire. Impossible to find on google.
I acquired and reviewed the 1st production XM-L equipped C8 here. KD then proceeded to sell in access of over 9,000 of them within the first 3 months. Although that light is long gone from my collection, it started the revolution of things to come.
I did a search with date-restricted results and came up with this: Thorfire C8 as the earliest reference I can find quickly on the oldest C8 and it’s from 2001. They also mention Jetbeam but I didn’t read any further.
Phil
If you do read further, lots of malware warnings pop up…
The first C8 I found was listed from dx.com 13.05.2008
http://www.dx.com/de/p/ultrafire-c8q2-cree-q2-5-mode-led-flashlight-1-18650-12763#.Vn8L0FKRJ9Y
@SawMaster:
Hello Phil, I don't know, what your list shows, but Thorfire doesn't exist since 2001 (the company is younger as 3 years). The Jetbeam C8 is a flashlight of summer 2015.
Yeah, this link is messed up. It looks like some sort of auto-generated web page that is supposed to be listing music downloads. I doubt that it listed any flashlight products back in 2001, even if that is when it was first created.
in your artical you said:
“Typical better quality lanyard seen on 18650 Chinese lights… identical to the Lunapower MRV.”
Could Lunapower have been the original developer the light? And the maybe the C stands for “Chinese” (maybe its the eighth copied light?) 
Lunapower, (another clone of Lumapower) both came much later. The same lanyard has appeared on several flashlights and probably manufactured by just as many 3rd parties. The first C8 I remember considering to purchase in the 90’s came equipped with an incandescent bulb and preceded the LED revolution by several years. I dont recall the manufacturer, although it is not a name I have heard of before or since then.
djozz, I find it interesting that you mention the C3. I have a pair of C3 SS 93mm lights, they have a good memory driver with 2 stinkin’ blinkin’ modes, but good performer on AA and great on 14500. The tint of that old LED really stinks! So, today I swapped one for an old XP-G 4C that I had laying around. Wow, it really looks good now!
Yes, I am betting on Ultrafire as well.
I would guess there have been many products over the years that were named C8, but I am primarily interested in the host. That is what defines the C8 to me. Any precursor should share these features (at least) with a modern C8.
- Head size and shape
- Somewhat similar reflector (with possible adjustments)
- Body size and 1x18650 battery format
- Tail clicky
An incandescent model might easily fit under this definition.
Do the flashlights you recall from the 1990s qualify under this definition?
ultrafire did designed several flashlights themselves before they seemingly going slow or ran out of business, with decent mixed with lame OEM companies, factories that keeping the brand name on going
i maybe wrong so dont quote me on that
The consensus in this thread is that the UltraFire C8 was the first modern C8. For someone like me, who was not into flashlights at the time, this comes as quite a surprise. I am glad I asked the question.