Review : Utorch UT01 Flashlight (XP-L V6 / AA & 14500 / e-switch)

Got mine today. Nice.

Thanks for the review! Just one question. Can you recommend some ~800mAh 2.5-3A 14500 IMR battery that would fit in E11?

Same question, guys which better? https://www.fasttech.com/products/1287511 or https://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/10002173/1804004-trustfire-imr14500-3-7v-700mah-rechargeable-li

I would take the Sanyos :wink:

Thanks for the reply and review!
Sanyos ordered :slight_smile:

I got one yesterday and immediately modded it to fit protected button top 14500.

I bought 2 pairs of both :smiley: (from KD, cause they ship free to GR). Didn’t see any noticable performance difference. These 14500 TFs must be good. Time (and use) will show.

What surprized me (as my eyes see it - don’t have any instruments to test/verify it), is that comparing with a couple of 2-3 y.o. (but unused) IKEA green-silver Ni batteries, UT01 provides about the same light with the above two Li batteries. Using the same batteries with a ThorFire TG06 and an Olight S15, there’s noticable light difference (in favour of the Li batteries ofcourse). Can’t explain/understand why I see no obvious light difference when using Li batteries in UT01… :question:


I had the same problem you mention but in the Klarus Mi7. Lithium batteries were no brighter than NIMH or AA primaries. Turned out to be a defective driver. Klarus USA sent me a replacement head…then there was brightness.

Your UT01 may have a defective driver.

Are you sure your turbo mode is in fact THE turbo mode? Out of the box the UT01 / E11 is not set to the brightest turbo setting. On mine I had to program them manually. Even then it won’t be a night and day difference going from ~400 to 775 Lumens. Its a ~logarithmic scale in this output range, doubling lumens does not appear twice as bright.

Also your eyes can play tricks on you as they auto-dilate for different brightness levels. So shining a 775 Lumen floody light around outside may not appear all that different than a 400L because your eyes and brain adjust. If you have a cell phone you can download a Lux-meter app, and perform ceiling bounce measurements in the bathroom. Its not the absolute-absolute of light measurement, but as long as you compare directly A to B, it will help quantify things.

Yes the thorfire TG06 is significantly brighter stepping up to a 14500, same goes for my 4sevens AAt. So not all lights behave the same.

[EDIT]
Here are some crude wall-bounce-bathroom measurements of my UT01 using first a NiMH and then 14500.

And just for kicks and giggles, here is the reading with the bathroom lighting blasting away.

Hi, I got a couple with this issue and would like to know if you ever found a fix for this?

Any suggestion for a switch boot replacement?

Someone posted that the driver can spin pulling the switch off center. Pulling off the boot and realigning the switch solved his problem.

LR, yes already did that but for some reason the problem remains (click only registers at certain angle). Tried trimming the switch boot too but didn’t help and now a bit too thin…

Ah, that stinks! You may have a defective switch then. How does the switch work without the boot? Is it the same issue if you use a pencil eraser to poke at the smd switch button?

The switch responds much much better when directly pushed but still having issue at certain angles.

I would like to try with stiffer switch cover if someone could suggest any…

You could try to diy a fix if you felt like it. You could cut a small disk out of plastic the size of the switch opening. On the back of the disk, glue a small nub in the center. Kind of like a mini spinning top. Then whatever way you press on the boot it presses down on the disk and the nub always presses directly on the button. Idk if it would work or not? Just an idea that popped into my limited brain space. :slight_smile:

I also got one with faulty switch. I tried the trick with removing the cover and centering but it did not help. Even with the cover removed and pushing the micro switch directly it acts very badly. There is nice clicking sound but the switch is not working.

Did you try pressing the switch at the edge? Mine works that way

That switch issue sucks… :frowning:
Glad mine is okay.

Right! You can have a $100 light but what good is it if the $.10 switch doesn’t work…

Yea I really like this light over the Mi7 but this weak switch is so disappointing. 2 out of 10 has faulty switch by far.