UltraFire XG-V3 CREE XP-G 4-Mode 350-Lumen White LED Flashlight with 8X F5 LED Colorful Light (1*18650)
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary:
Battery: | 18650 |
Switch: | Reverse Clicky |
Modes: | High - Custom (infinitely variable) - Strobe - SOS |
LED Type: | Cree XP-G (bin not defined) |
Lens: | Glass |
Tailstands: | Yes |
Price Payed: | $38,00 |
From: | DealExtreme (Offers) |
Date Ordered: | October 2011 |
Pros:
- Infinitely variable light output (ramping)
- Lots of features (which leads to a con: a bit complicated UI)
- Good battery life (low can be set as low as 0.02A)
- Unique design (among budget lights)
- Stainless Steel (bling-bling)
- Looks cool, but is very
- A real Shelf Queen
Cons:
- UI is a bit complicated (explained below)
- Light output on high (maybe my expectations were too high)
- Color leds look fancy but are of no use - to be modded to use white leds instead (not a real con, since those are off when using the main led)
- A bit heavy (doesn't bother me, but I thought it might annoy someone)
- Requires really small Torx key for disassembly (review will be continued when I get one)
Features / Value: ★★★★★
Infinite amount of modes: High, Custom, Strobe, SOS.
Eight colored F5 leds: 2 x Red, 2 x Green, 2 x Blue, 2 x White (in that order)
UI is a bit complicated, but quite useful as soon as you get used to "quad-click" (off-on-off-on).
Quad click operations:
1) Turn on in high mode -> Light flashes after 2s -> Quad click -> F5 led mode (main led turns off, all color leds are on)
2) Turn on in F5 led mode -> Light flashes after 2s -> Quad click -> Main led mode (F5 leds turn off, main led is on)
3) Turn on in low (Custom) mode -> Light flashes after 2s -> Quad click -> Ramping starts -> Turn off when desired level of light is reached -> Turning on memorizes this setting.
Operation in main led mode:
Switch modes with half-click: High->Custom->Strobe->SOS
Operation in F5 led mode:
Half click to switch mode: All F5 leds on -> Flashing two by two: Reds, Greens, Blues, Whites, .. (color changes about 1/s)
Uses 1 x 18650
A bit pricey, but hey: It's unique!
Design / Build Quality: ★★★★★
Design is unique among budget lights. Of course it's a matter of taste, but I like it very much!
Build quality is good. Feels solid & good in hand. Quite heavy.
Tailcap works flawlessly. Click is quite noisy, but even the rubber part is not wobbly at all. Feels like very high quality.
Threads were amazingly good. Slightly lubed and no dents whatsoever.
Lots of mass for heat transfer & cooling. Good also for longer runtimes.
Measures (no photos this time, sorry):
Length: 120mm
Diameter: 32mm
Reflector diameter: 18mm
Tailcap diameter: 22mm
Weight: 204g (without battery)
Some more shots: (sorry, could not resist)
Battery Life: ★★★★★
Didn't have time for real runtime tests yet, but must be good with tailcap currents of:
High: 1.15A, Low: Down to 0.02A -> theoretically almost 2h runtime on high, longlonglong with low.
Light Output: ★★★☆☆
Below average. Small reflector, not driven very hard. But then again, it's not the main purpose of this light.
I got a lux reading of about 4kcd (measured at 2m, calculated back to 1m).
Smooth reflector gives a bright, quite sharp hotspot. Flood is ok, not even so ringy.
White wall beamshot (1/125s, F/2.8, ISO200)
Emitter & reflector:
Summary: ★★★★★
A very nice "Shelf Queen", which has infinite brightness levels and feels good in hand. I'm very happy that I purchased it!
This is a light, which you don't really need - BUT you want it. I know that you want it really bad!
I will open the light and maybe also try to mod it with 5mm white leds - as soon as I find a suitable Torx key for the screws.
The end: (pun intended)
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the review.