Hugsby P31 and Trustfire F23 small review

I don't own very many flashlights. After reading through the reviews on this site and other sites, I ordered the Hugsby P31 (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.35078) and also the Trustfire F23 (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.24291). This forum is very informative and everyone is really nice. On to the review:

The Trustfire F23 looks very nice--smooth stainless steel look. There were some scratches from mine most likely due to the lack of packaging from DX. It came in a small yellow package with one thin layer of bubble wrap around it. When I twisted it open to put the battery in, the threads didn't feel smooth and there were creaking sounds. I was also disappointed with its brightness. I have a Mini-Mag (http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_minimagled.htm) and it's sorta brighter than the Mag. Thought it would be more bright. Another problem with it is that when I tap it on the side, it changes mode (e.g. high-->low). Kind of annoying. It also feels more heavy (1AAA battery in) than the Hugsby (1AA battery in). Maybe I got a bad one.

The Hugsby, on the other hand, is very well built and looks tough. It came in the same envelope but had a white box protecting it so there were no scratches. It felt like butter when I unscrewed it to put in the battery. It is very bright! A lot brighter than the Trustfire F23. I don't have any measuring equipment so I can't give any numbers. I have a Task Force 3W 2C (http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/taskforce_3w2c.htm) and the Hugsby is slightly brighter than that. It's kind of sad but the Hugsby is the brightest flashlight I have right now

Oh and I used freshly charged Duraloops for the tests.

I'll try to post some beam pics if I get around to it.

Nice review, you might have a loose contact on the F22.....make sure that the tailswitch and emitter are screwed on tight.

You're right...I tightened it very well and now it doesn't change modes when I tap it.

Here's a beam shot. Left is Trustfire F23. Right is Hugsby P31. Sorry I don't have much wall space!

For the Trustfire F23 owners, do you guys see a yellow donut shape in the middle of your beam? I can see mine very clearly. The outer is white, but the inner is a round yellowish color like the emitter color.

Like the beam profile of the Hugsby and im glad you were able to find the problem.Cool

Replace your driver and make your P31 pull 2.2 amps at the tail cap and programmable and multimode with last mode memory. Check out Don's excellent review of the P31 here and look for my comments at the bottom if you want my driver mod.

I don't have a donut or any kind of different color, but the beam is kind of ringy.

Nice tip on tightening everything down to avoid the unintended mode switching, Al!

Thanks, it happens sometimes with either the tailswitch or the emitter pill. You should also check all your lights and tighten them as needed, because with time they tend to get loose again.

Sounds like you got a pretty bright light from the Hugsby. The multi mode sounds great too! I would love to do that mod but I don't have the skills to do it! I'm really bad with a soldering iron and fiddling with small and delicate objects. I think I'm pretty happy with the light output that the Hugsby is putting off right now. Mine gets pretty warm after leaving it on for a couple of minutes but the battery isn't warm at all. Does yours do that?

Hmm..maybe I just got a bad one. It also doesn't seem to be as bright as everyone claims it is from all the other reviews.

Nice review midieval10, thanks! And yes, great tip from Al about tightening the light and switch modules, you saved my Trustfire and my Tank007 from the trashbin as well with the same tip. I wish I didn't have to do it for any of my lights, but it's an easy enough trick to get a nice working flashlight.

My Hugsby didn't work at all when I received it. That's why I upgraded the driver on the dead light and also got another P31. Yes, nearly all well driven LED lights get warm.

I just charged a Duraloop and measured my P31 pulling 2.2amps at the tail cap. It pulls 2.0amps on an alkaline.

An update on the Trustfire F23 yellow colored hotspot: I was able to fix it! I loosened the reflector a little bit, put it back in, and now the beam is all white and uniform. Nice easy fix. But now the top portion doesn't screw all the way in; so there's about a 0.5mm gap where the gold ring is :(

To hold the focus the way you want it to be, it is a good idea to stick an appropriately sized O ring in there to keep the head where you want it. DX have just about every size of O ring so you should be able to find something suitable - or try locally, most cities will have somewhere that'll sell you O rings.

Thanks for the tip Don. Seems like DX's smallest o-rings aren't small enough for the Trustfire. Maybe I'll go to one of my local stores.

I bought a box of assorted size O rings for around $3 from a notoriously expensive local store. It shouldn't cost much to get a decent stock of them.