Review: Hugsby P31


HUGSBY P31 HA-III Cree Q3-WC 160-Lumen LED Flashlight with Clip (1*AA)

Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★★

Summary:

Battery: AA or NiMH
Switch: Reverse clicky
Modes: 1
LED Type: Cree Q3
Lens: Coated glass
Tailstands: Yes
Price Payed: $14.31
From: Dealextreme

Pros:

  • Pretty bright
  • Works with alkalines and NiMH
  • Hard Anodised (Type III)
  • Clip can be used head up or head down
  • Threads lubed, but not excessively so which is often the case if it is lubed at all.
  • Heatsinking good.
  • Best thrower on NiMH of any AA light I own.
  • Definitely waterproof
  • It has a build date on the tailcap. Why?

Cons:

  • Not a dive light - it will leak under pressure. I'd not want to submerge it past five feet (1.5m) for any length of time
  • Gets warm, but not hot which is actually a good thing but some people find it worrying.
  • Current draw. 2A on alkalines, 2.46A on NiMH
  • For me a con that it can't use 14500 - but this one is going to spend its life on alkalines which is why I bought it.
  • It has a build date on the tailcap. At least I assume it is a build date. Why?

Features / Value: ★★★★

A straightforward single mode light. Better made than many and if the claim of HAIII (Type 3 hard anodising which gives a thicker and harder coating than the cheaper Type II anodising.) is true then it should be pretty durable. Since this is going to someone else, I want to leave it in good condition so won't try to use it as a file or a hammer. The threads came lubed and not too much lube which is mildly unusual. They feel smooth and, unusually, they are the same at both ends so you can swap the position of head and tail for either head-up or head-down carry.

Head on the left

Head on the right

The clip looks like it could take a lot of abuse and keep on working. There are also holes for a lanyard (not supplied but most people seem to have plenty of those). It is currently being immersion tested in (very) cold water in the sink. I'll leave it for about an hour and see how it gets on.

Some water got into the thread area on the tailcap, but did not get past the O ring so it is doing its job properly. There was no water ingress at the head area at all. It should give no trouble if you drop it in water, though it is clearly not a dive light.

It tailstands nicely. The white marks on the head are not flaws in the anodising but cigarette ash. Having just gone over the body with a 30x magnifier, I can't see any flaws in the anodising. When I tried to move the tight fitting clip around, it did not mark the body so I'm fairly certain it is HAIII.

The lettering on the body could be nicer but I didn't notice till I looked at it with a 30x magnifier.

It is almost exactly the same length and diameter as an Akoray K-106, Uniquefire AA-S1. I thought it was bigger than them till I tried it side by side.

For size comparison here are some other lights alongside it

4Sevens Preon 2 (2xAAA), Tank007 E07, Hugsby, $1 Fenix lookalike which is very similar to Mr. Admin's favourite Powerlight, and an AA Eneloop

One real oddity. For some reason Hugsby felt the need to print a date code on the tailcap. Not as if it's going to "go off" but nice nevertheless. But I really, really wonder why they thought it worthwhile. WTF? Is it a best before? Best after? Strangeness!

Value is a hard question as it is a single mode costing over $14 - you can get a (much less bright) Powerlight for a third of the money. However HA3 and very good build quality makes it a 4 star light tending towards 5. It'd get 5 with a more efficient emitter or a low mode or both for the same money. Actually it is a very good price for a hard anodised light. However, it costs less than half what the light it is replacing cost and makes a lot more light. It is also a fraction of the size and weight. However, it will be less use for hitting people with unlike its predecessor. But this cop is also a psychiatric nurse and prefers to de-escalate rather than hit people and is good at it.

Build Quality: ★★★★★

Very good tending to excellent. It weighs 50.4g (a bit under 2oz) and 76.8g (just under 3oz) with an Eneloop. The clip is good and I believe it to be HAIII as claimed. Vectrex's comments borrowed from Jayki.com

http://www.jayki.com/9353#comment_9551

"It's a great flashlight. First impression: great quality, maybe even above Romisen, very nice matte finish and it might even be HAIII (not 100% sure, but very scratch resistant). The whole middle tube can be reversed, so you don't have to take off the clip to reverse it. The clip is so sturdy, that I have problems with taking it off, I think I will leave it on. Emitter seems to be a 4 wire XR-E EZ900, mine is slightly off-center and has some slight Cree-Rings™, but I don't mind. It has 3 O-rings and the threads came pre-lubed. If you are searching for a cheap AA (no 14500 support) single mode flashlight, with the best finish on a budget light I have ever seen (that includes Solarforce!), solid reverse clicky, tailstand capability , solid reversible clip...... this is IT! Beats hands down S10, S1, G2... heck all the AA lights that I bought so far. My MTE C3-70120 is brighter on an Eneloop, but that one has threads issues. I will order 2 more before they change the design. Now Hugsby - make that one a 3-mode (Hi/Med/Low) and with a XR-E EZ1000 R2. "

I agree with him. Mine does have the dreaded Cree Rings but they will never bother you except when white wall hunting.

The tailcap has the nice sprung post arrangement.

The soldering on the head could be prettier.

The reflector is textured and the LED seems to be well centred. It is fairly heavily textured in an effort to tame the Cree Rings.


I'm giving it 5 stars as I've seen worse made lights at several times the price. I own precisely one better built light, the Aurora SH-034

Battery Life: ★★★

More than an hour on a 2000mAh Eneloop that wasn't fully charged. Manufacturer claims 800mA to the LED which means heat shouldn't be an issue. It does get warm, but not hot so I reckon the heatsinking is pretty reasonable. The manufacturer's claim is 35 minutes - presumably with a not very good alkaline - I've already seen over an hour on one cell. The meters will tell all once i've got some cells topped off. Current draw is 2.46A with an Eneloop and 2A with a cheap alkaline which probably would give you only 35 minutes. I'd expect 50 minutes on an Eneloop, depending on what happens to the output as it discharges. Mr. Admin, I think this one isn't for you. And you could get three Powerlights for the same money. 3 times as many armadillos hunted. Won't be able to do full runtimes before I pass this light on, sorry folks. I'd give it more myself, but others feel differently so three stars

Light Output: ★★★

By eye, pretty good - it is in the same ballpark as the Preon 2 on high which is 160 lumens. Again the meters will tell all. It throws better than the Preon as it has a tighter hotspot so the throw numbers should be respectable. In fact, it is much better than respectable, giving 3790 lux at 1 metre for throw and 670 lux (This is a little under the Preon 2's output. It is measured at 160 lumens. I make the Hugsby to be around 150 lumens on NiMH and a bit less on alkalines) for total output. This is 50% more on throw than the Uniquefire AA-S1 on NiMH and about the same total output. It is nearly double the throw of the Trustfire F22 on NiMH. Better throw and comparable total output to the single mode Uniquefire S10 on NiMH. In fact, it throws better than any other AA light I have on NiMH. Here's the ceiling beamshot - the beam is quite wide but the spot is very tight. You can see the Cree Rings and i suspect the bezel is slightly holding back the output judging by the edge of the beam. this is not as bad as the Klingon bezel in my sig, or just about any P60 light.

And here it is with a Tank007 E07 running an NiMH on the left. The Tank's beam is quite a bit narrower despite its smaller reflector.

Control shot

Trustfire F22 NiMH High

Ultrafire C3 Q5 Stainless steel

Uniquefire AA-S! NiMH

Uniquefire S10 NiMH

Tank007 E07 NiMH

Hugsby P31 NiMH

I go for brightness and $£%@£^ the runtime so I'm only giving it three stars. Don't get me wrong, this is a very, very good light and it will be superb for the job it was bought for. It'd not be my favourite but I'm sure its owner will be utterly delighted with it.

Summary: ★★★★★

I like it a lot. It is what the UniquefireS10 single mode ought to have been. The heavy current draw will be a big minus for some people. It is a very, very well made light and I think it fully deserves five stars but I'm interested to see what others think. There are legitimate reasons for disagreeing with me. It is a lot better than the Uniquefire in every respect except the ability to use 14500.

Awesome review man......post some beamshots when you get the chance. I have this light in my wishlist over at DX.....seems to be a well made light indeed.

A very, very good light. If it isn't raining just now it ought to be dark enough to do beamshots. It isn't fully dark but should be dark enough. Will dig out a couple of other AA lights on NiMH to compare it with. The contenders will be Trustfire F22, Ultrafire C3 Q5, Uniquefire S10, Uniquefire AA-S1, Tank007 E07 and the Hugsby. Now to charge some NiMH - all the lights will be running on freshly charged Eneloops. I'll just do the multimode lights on high.

If my 035 doesnt ship out soon then i might just opt for this.Cool

Im digging the whitewall performance......

If you want serious brightness, this isn't the one but for alkaline use where someone else is buying the cells or for use on lithium primaries this is probably the best thing going. As you are about to see it out throws most things on NiMH. Pity it's going on Monday or I'd take it out to play next month at longer range than the 50 feet to the tree I use.

My Sh-035 is in the post now but times like 4-5 weeks are being quoted because of the chaos caused by all airports in the UK having been closed for 6 days (And just about every airport in northern Europe) because of the volcano in Iceland. There is one place in the world that sees more helicopter movements than here (Fort ?Bragg where the US military trains its helicopter pilots). I've not heard a single helicopter in the last week, not even the Search and Rescue ones that usually fly over my house on the way to the casualty unit.

Well i think you should get the keyboard to type in the site and have the mouse put it in the cart for you.Innocent

Sadly it wouldn't arrive any faster. Or I'd get the keyboard and mouse on the job. The monster bright light I ordered got sent EMS to avoid the delays. Should arrive Tuesday which means i go to the PO on Wednesday or Thursday and pay them import duty and VAT (think of it as sales tax) for quite a bit of money. Plus the £8 ransom charge from the Post Office,

It gets worse, the ransom charge is now £13.50 (About $20 depending on today's exchange rate) and you pay VAT on that too!

It has a date code on the tailcap.

Why????????????????

Will it start to smell bad after that?

Will it make me ill if i use it?

Will it stop working after this date? Probably not as the date was nearly 3 months ago.

Strangeness!

Beamshots now up. Enjoy folks.

It could be a date for when the switch is made........

Or the date someone met his wife. Can't imagine why they bothered to put a date on it. Oops, the dog has just thrown up on me. Time to go and change. And wash a lot of stuff. Back in a bit.

I remember those days....lol......

It seems that the P31 does well on nimh cells.....the beam shots look comparable to one another. How does the clip hold up to belt use.....

This is a very good light - about to order one of my own. Pity it doesn't do 14500 but it'd be perfect for lithium primaries.

Like i said in one of my above posts, if DX doesnt ship within a couple more days then i def going to change my order and this one instead.

I'll be interested to see how it gets on in comparison to the C3 SS. But if you do change the order, this is a very good light.

Here' a pic that my father sent to me. Nothing to do with anything at all, but funny.

The perils of deforestation.

Now that is funny......my wife Jen laughed.

Nice review Don, thanks for the details! Promoted to frontpage and sticky'd.

In my opinion, it would be 3 stars for feature/value. I just can't bring myself to spend more than $13.00 knowing that the Trustfire F20 is so good for $13.06 or the Ultrafire C3 SS for $13.95. But still, each user has his own priorities. I'm glad you liked it and I'm glad it's high-quality, that's the most important.

Since I'm already quoted here, I thought I might as well join the club

It even fits nicely in this bike mount and sits very firm in that belt holder if you put the clip on the elastic side... like it even more now. One downside is that the clip can't grip much material, so the bill of a cap is a little too thick if you intend to use as a pseudo headlamp.

EEK,HELP SPIKE,OH NO MOLLY TM