UF-V4 came today. 8 days later, it's dead.

I'm also liking the beam like it is. More flood than my Zebralight but still gives me better throw than my UF-H3 that is completely flood. If I need just flood, I use the UF-H3.

And by the way, the form factor of this type of lights with the rubber strap, is the best solution for headlamps, much better than the hinged ones, with less adjustment, and not that long lasting system normally.

This one adjusts quite well the inclination and stays where you leave it, I thought with the clip it would not work that good.

Do not use 14500s with it, not in high mode and strobe. I reckon 14500 in low mod is ok. High mode is like 2.2A with a freshly charged TF Flames and even if it is at 3.3V unloaded, it still drew 1.8A. Low mode is 0.2A. That's way too much for the driver electronics/LED.

Alkalines/NiMH is ok.

I got mine today from Manafont.

I like this light a lot. The UI is a little different than usual, as Chidwack said. You have to actually 'click' the rubber switch on the head to change through the three modes. When you want to shut it off, you have to 'click' AND keep it pressed for a full second for it to turn off.

Fit/finish of the body is great, no issues. Has really nice heat-sinking in the head, maybe the best I've seen, and the clip is fairly unobtrusive. Nice color on the anodizing as well. It looks a little top-heavy (unlike the Trustfire Z1), but it still tailstands nicely. I don't know if it has already been mentioned, but the beam is pretty neutral, much warmer than the white of the Z1.

Fun little light, with a lot of flood from a single Eneloop. Other than the Strobe mode, what is not to like?

Another thing that the light does. You can set it on it's back with the beam pointing to the ceiling. It just rests on the clip and the screws that hold the clip on and it works for ceiling bounce if you want.

It's kinda weird how much throw the little light has. With all the flood you wouldn't think it would have any throw but it does surprisingly well.

The light seems well made and has a good finish but I have to say, This thing is ugly. It looks like it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. It's so ugly it almost makes it's way back to cute.

I love the look and 'feel' of the light, as it has a decidedly non-budget heft.

Imagine my surprise when examining the heatsink:

Please be careful using HI mode for any long duration.

Here is a beamshot of the Uniquefire UF-V4 on High

The near-tree is 30 feet away, the far tree (white rag) is 60 feet away.

Chicago, I don't know about the heat sink in mine but it barely got warm when I was testing the battery run time.

That tells me right there that there's a poor thermal pathway from LED to body.

The heatsinking in the head is excellent, on AA's I don't see heat being a big issue. I don't think it is an issue on any single AA light unless you are using 14500's. I don't remember ever having anything fry on an AA light with Alkies or Eneloops.

Has anyone checked this light to see how waterproof it is?

Perhaps our definitions of excellent may differ. My example came with the heatsink not affixed to the light in any fashion.

I use the word 'heatsink' loosely, as it is notably thinner than the MPCB to which it is affixed.

How did you even get the thing apart? By heatsinking, I was referring to the numerous thin cooling fins in the head of the light.

There's a set-screw behind the reflector that hits the battery tube.

Remove this, and everything else comes apart in a normal fashion.

Thanks for the write-up, chidwack!

Has anyone tested the parasitic drain? Can you securely lock out the tailcap?

You're welcome Huny74. Yes you can lock out the tailcap. I would recommend doing so if you are going to carry the light in a backpack or something like that as the button does click on quite easily.

Manafont says it has a low mode. What's the runtime on an Eneloop on low?

Looks like good value!

I haven't checked the run time on the low mode. I would think that it would last about 6-7 hours.

"place a 30-45 degree TIR optics instead of the original reflector and lens."

Any suggestions where to get something like that?

Also, does anyone think it can be modded to run longer than 7 hours?

I'm sorry to say that 8 days later, my UF-V4 is dead. Well, maybe not completely dead but it looks like it only has about 20 lumens left. It has been slowly getting dimmer each time I use it. At first I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. After reading about some saying the light will work with 14500 and some saying it won't, I decided to put one in it and check it out last night. I figured that the light was getting dim enough that if I killed it, it wouldn't be a big deal considering what I paid for it in the first place. It was much brighter with the 14500. I only tried it for a few minutes and turned it off. This morning I put a AA NiMh back in and hardly any brightness at all. I changed back to the 14500 and it turned on for a second and then went off. Back to AA NiMh and still very dim.

I'm going to order one from CNQ that says it will use 14500 batteries.

Hmm, so are you saying it was already dying ("It has been slowly getting dimmer each time I use it") on the AA and then you tried the 14500? Or was it fine on AA until you tried the 14500? Clarify please.

-Garry