Need to Replace My Crappy Ultrafire

I bought an Ultrafire (at least it says Ultrafire) for $18 and was first quite happy with it. But it’s really started to crap out. Now, when I turn it on the highest beam it shines a few seconds, flickers and then goes dark. I know the battery is good. I’ve tried cleaning and tightening the components to no avail.

Can someone please recommend a ridiculously bright light (500 lumens and up) in the $15 to $40 range?

Thanks very much.

Solarforce L2 range? Solarforce Sales H.K.

Is this a light for use at home or edc, or what?

https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10002364/1212400-convoy-m1-cree-xm-l-u2-1b-2-group-35-mode-900lm-le

Mainly for home, which means looking into my pitch black wooded backyard. Or a nearby forest where I walk my dogs and it sometimes gets later and darker than I predicted. I also hope to drive for UPS during the holiday season and need something when I’m stil delivering after dark (which will be often). For that I’ve got a Fenix E21 or an LL Bean LED headlamp.

What about a convoy L4?
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-Shipping-Convoy-L4-Cree-XM-L2-U2-1A-side-switch-LED-Tactical-Flashlight/330416_1240920792.html
Post a picture of your crappy light to identify it as ultrafire is a “brand” so there are hundreds of ultrafires.
Which batteries do you have?

Thanks, Bort. Do you know if the glass on this light is strengthened or coated at all? Is it relatively weather resistant?

I’m using all Panasonic protected 18650 cells.

When tint is mentioned, does that mean like neutral white, etc.? What would I want for a neutral white color?

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10002364/1321601

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10002364/1319310

http://wallbuys.com/Product/EDI-T-P14-Cree-XR-E-Q3-180-LM-3-Mode-Convex-Lens-White-LED-FlashlightSilver-Grey1x18650--8172

http://wallbuys.com/groupbuy/XP-11-CREE-XM-L-T6-700LM-5-Mode-Magnetic-Tail-Cool-White-LED-Flashlight-Black-1x18650--10791

The XinTD C8 is always a good choice for a good light at a reasonable price -
http://intl-outdoor.com/xintd-c8-v4-xml2-u2t6-18650-flashlight-p-308.html

Good suggestion. The XinTD C8 is very well made, with a nice choice of modes and tints. If you want a torch which is part way between a flooder and a thrower, the C8 is good option.

Bear in mind that the Convoy C8 is usefully cheaper, and while it’s not quite as good as the stunning XinTD, it’s still a good buy. There was a recent BLF discussion comparing the two C8s.

The Convoy M1 is an excellent suggestion, if you want something a little more compact than a C8. The M1 is a little more inclined to overheating, so you won’t be able to run it on high for quite as long. I find that I prefer the slightly handier size of my M1, but that’s a matter of usage and personal preference.

The Convoy torches are very good value for money, and unusually well made for the price. However, the Convoy torches are available in a wide range of tints, and the variant suggested by Bort is a “cold white”, which means that it has a blue-green tint.

Personally, I much prefer something which is more like a “natural white”, such as this M1 XM-L T6-3C, and am growing increasingly fond of “warm white” tints such as the M1 XM-L T4-7C. In general, cold whites are a little brighter, but tend to wash out the colours, while natural whites are a little dimmer and but feel less harsh … and warm whites are a bit yellowy, but tend to show colours even better. You pays your money and takes your choice.

Oh … if you buy from FastTech, remember to use the 3-letter coupon code BLF. That gets you a 5% discount.

That Xin looks great. What’s the difference between the XM-L2 T4 5B1 and XM-L2 T6 3C neutral white bulbs?

The first part of those 5 digit codes indicates the brightness, and the second part the colour tint.

So a T4 is slightly dimmer than a T6 (figures are available on page 3 of the XM-L2 data sheet) … while 5B1 is a warmer (more orangey-yellow) tint than the 3C. In general, with Cree LEDs the warmer tints have a higher Color Rendition Index (CRI).

You may find this chart helpful in comparing tints:


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(click on it to expand)

Its weather resistant, but the lens is not coated, i have a thread looking for an anti reflective coated lens for this light but nothing promising yet
As was mentioned in this thread it does overheat on high, so i think of it as a manual turbo, some lights have turbo that turns itself off after a few minutes to keep the light from overheating, this one is up to you to turn off or keep on longer if you wish (or are in a situation with high wind or cold temps that is already cooling the light). You can also buy ones with fewer chips for less maximum brightness if your interested

I like maximum lumens so i went for the one i linked, but going for less lumens for a warmer white that has more realistic colour representation also makes a lot of sense.

I also go for sanyo ur2650fm batteries since they have less voltage sag so even though the battery life is a bit less then the top of the line it will stay brighter for more of its life vs other batteries that start dimming sooner.

Thanks for that chart. How cool is that? I’m leaning toward the Xin with the 3C tint. It’s still a lot warmer than normal cool white. And I want lots of lumens for as long as possible. Does anyone know of any discounts for this light? I think it’s only available from that one site.

Also, does anyone have a suggestion for what I can tinker with or change on my Ultrafire to get it working?

chances are its the driver circuitry or the switch

other possibilities are the led, poor electrical contact through the body, a broken wire, battery issues or electrical shorting

Convoy C8, Convoy L4 and XinTD C8 v4 all are great lights.
Basically XinTD is more luxury light than C8 while L4 is little bit tactical style.
for best bang of buck, C8 is still the best with 2.8A nanjg driver with many mode choices.
if not enough lumens, just stack more 2 or 4 more 7135 chips :slight_smile:

L4 lens is plain glass and 2 of mine are both dirty. I order replacement double AR coating lens with C8 size which should be fitted well. still otw. and L4 is not waterproof (thanks to the side switch leak). other than that it’s great light.

As for tint I like 4B bin warm tint. it warmer than 3C.

Well what do you know? I unscrewed a couple of sections on thr UtraFire and sprayed the insides with electronic spray cleaner. Now the light seems to work as it should. I hope it continues to do so. But I still want, nay, NEED more flashlights. You all know the feeling, right? there are some who might say it’s an addiction, but we know better, right? I can stop buying lights anytime I want to.