Vollsion UC20 Review

Vollsion UC20 Review

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Hey guys and gals no more being sexiest in my reviews from now they are PG and politically correct to Australian standards of Pauline Hanson! Ha! If you not Aussie think of her as the Donald trump of Australia! So sit back and grab a drink and some popcorn maybe some Panadol and enjoy. I feel like I should just cut and paste my reviews like other people.

Okay today we will be reviewing the Vollsion UC20 flashlight this is a single 18650 side switch utility flashlight. Say that fast 3 times! Vollsion messaged me on here and ask me to do a review for them. So I am guessing a few of us have this light? Also there standard for reviewers is probably not high after asking me ha!

Included in the pack. Clip, lanyard, UC20, window breaker, Spare O-rings
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I have had this light for a week and half and have been EDCing the UC20. Normally I wouldn’t EDC an 18650 flashlight but I have found my self carrying around my modded S2+ so this being smaller it makes sense to EDC the light for a bit. Think of this light as a more finished S2/A6 with an electronic side switch. So what makes this light more finished? From the factory you get extra options like AR coated glass a bigger deeper OP reflector you also get a stainless steel bezel and a stainless steel clip and the ability to run CR123/16340s and the fact that it is IPX8 and 2 meter impact resistant. These are extra features that you can account for the extra cost of this light. I do not Know the retail price I should probably ask and add it here. I have done similar mods to my S2+.

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Okay so what do we all love? Lumens! Unless your name is brick then you love lamp! So this light puts out a max of 850 lumens rated by ANSI FL1 standards. Which isn’t spectacular for a light of this size. But I have a sneaking suspicion it is actually higher then that. It looks like it pushing the 1000 lumen mark. Now as I said in my last review we have been stuck with productions lights at around 1000 lumen for a while now. Thinking about this more their is not much a manufacturer can actually do until Cree ups stock output of there emitters. So seeing 1000 lumen is becoming generic! Seeing as this light uses a Cree XML2 it falls fate to this fact of a 1000 lumen max output. Unless your a regular member of BLF then 1000 lumen is the just the beginning hahaha! SB could probably rename the website FLF flashlight loony Forum! I fall under this category for sure! I would direct drive every thing if I could!

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The UC20 has 3 modes as standard and one hidden strobe mode for you disco lovers.

  • High: 850 lumen @ 1.5 Hours run time.
  • Medium: 400 lumen @ 3.5 hours run time.
  • Low: 30 lumen @ 35 hours run time.
  • Strobe: 850 lumen @ unknown run time.

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Now lets talk about the electronic switch. It is raised over the body of the UC20 for easy access and does not have a lock out so unless you want to use the clip to carry the UC20. I think you may have an issue with the light turning its self on. I am rolling the light around on my mouse pad and it turns on fairly easy. Which is good because the switch is super responsive. In hindsight i have had the UC20 in my pocket rubbing against stuff and I have managed to turn the light on. Which is to be expected! Yes that is a flashlight in my pocket I am not that happy to see you!
Now for me not much of an issue because I do not usually EDC an 18650 flashlight. But my EDC does sit inside my bag which does have a habit of turning lights on because I keep other EDC items in the bag so could be a future problem if i used this light as an EDC.
So you would have to be careful of where you store the UC20. The switch its self is a stainless steel switch it looks like it is painted. So it looks like plastic I would have kept it bare. The glass breaker is also the same color and it is also stainless steel. But the front bezel is SS and is kept bare and is not painted. The flashlight also has a memory mode so simply click once to turn it on or of and it remembers the last mode you had it on. As per usual hold the switch to change modes and strobe is simple when the light is already on simply push switch twice fast to access strobe.

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The flashlight comes with a hole on the bottom where you can attach the glass breaker it simply screws in the hole. Yes my kind is currently wondering about adding a dirty joke. The hole also doubles up as a Tripod mount. The UC20 can be used on a tripod which makes it a perfect companion for a work light! You can also but your wiener in the hole if your into that stuff.

Being an electronic side switch they could of added and a magnet around the hole at the bottom of the light. That would have been perfect as it has the space for it. Maybe if Vollsion make a second version they can take that into account what I am saying. A few simple things would make this light unstoppable. If you use the glass breaker on the light the UC20 can not be tail stood but it is easy enough to take of. If you happen to need to tail stand stand the light. Or just stab it into the surface and make sure it sticks!

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The UC20 size wise is small not the smallest single 18650 flashlight but no where the biggest coming in at 11cm which is smaller then Convoy S2+ which is 11.7cm long. The head is 2.7cm wide compared to the S2+ which is 2.4cm wide. The UC20 is not fully round it has a built in anti roll feature which is on the other side of the button. This is a super handy feature this point is the widest point of the UC20 coming in at 3.1cm if you include the button. The UC20 weights 79 grams with out the battery and weights 125 grams fully loaded so its a tad heavier then the S2+ not noticeable.

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The beam pattern on the UC20 is awesome using the Cree XMl2 helps with the spread out beam. Vollsion is also using a mild orange peel reflector and double coated anti reflective glass the beam pattern is really impressive. The UC20 has a peak beam intensity of 8600cd so a max beam distance of 185 meters which could be achievable the reflector on this light is deeper and wider then the stock S2+/A6 reflectors the AR glass also helps.

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It is made out of the usual Aerospace aluminum alloy and I was surprised to find type 3 hard anodizing this is a place where a lot of companies skimp out! Vollsion did not.

Looking at the UC20 it is not made to be taken apart. Most parts are glued even the bezel is. So I can not look at the internals. Vollsion say they are using a constant current driver with multiple voltages because the UC20 can be run on two CR123/16340s also. This is a cool feature in some countries this means you can pop into a shop and buy CR123 in a pinch if you need them. Using an 18650 I am getting around 3 amps of current so it is around 1000 lumen easily.

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The build quality of the UC20 is good no sharp edges or missing anodizing and no scratches. The threads are thin but they are really well cut and having so many threads 5 in total on the head it takes a while to open and close so I see no problem arising. The threads came lubed always a bonus! The knurling is done good and looks different to most light. I will add there is no spring on the head so you need to use raised cells. Flat tops work but they may rattle a tad if shaken. This light is made for button top cells. Makes sense since it isn’t using that many amps.

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Overall the UC20 is a well thought out light with a few minor improvements they will have a perfect light on there hands. By the way it is built you can tell that Vollsion put a lot of effort and thought into this light the UC20. It gives you the versatility of the S2/A6 size and shape also the same output as these lights. But with added features that make it more EDC friendlily like an IPX8 rating and a solid drop resistance and the ability to use store bought batteries.

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Vollsion UC20 high mode. I need to cut my lawn!
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High mode i tried to get a wide angle to show you how floody the beam is. As you can see i am no photographer lol!
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Medium mode has some PWM can not be seen in the pic only on my camera screen.
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Low mode be looking like a cartoon because of auto adjust. Also some PWM more then medium mode but it does not show in the pic!
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Vollsion UC20 left and S2+ Right you can see the tint difference.
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Vollsion UC20 left and a light that doesnt see enough love the Jetbeam Jet-pro 3M (probably my favorite looking light)
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The Tint is on the cool side. The grass looks so green if only it was that good.
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Video review is here! If you hate reading Click here.

My new phone makes it look like i wear make up. As much as i want to look pretty and all. I want it to stop.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for the review mate. Enjoyed reading that.
Looks exactly the same as a Roche f6 or convoy f6
https://m.fasttech.com/p/1658300

Thanks mate! I appreciate the support!
Yea they look similiar the specs are a tad different.
I can see a few minor changes to things around the light. I wonder who makes these.

Thanks for the nice review!

Reminds me that I have a Roche F6 that I need to mod sometime into something with a lot of lumens. This light is a bit on the large and heavy side, but that makes it suitable for more power than say an S2+.

Btw, there’s a great thread on modding the Roche F6, that should work for this light too: Roche F6 hacking

Thanks mate! I will check it out. This light weight the same as my S2+ but all the parts look glued i will try and take it apart now the review is done. Thanks!

Thanks for the review.
You may want to look at number 3 here.
http://budgetlightforum.com/forum/misc/siterules

Thanks for the nice review!
But I don’t want a 18650 flashlight now !
Too heavy to carry ! Home-use is better !

Hey mate yea i understand i always EDC a smaller light also.