I hesitate to call this Beauty an "Ultrafire UF-T90 clone" because this light greatly improves upon the design with a simple change.
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★★
Summary:
| Battery: | 4 x 18650 |
| Switch: | Electronic switch in Handle |
| Modes: | 4: High, Medium, Low + hidden strobe |
| LED Type: | 4 x XM-L2 (Pure White) |
| Lens: | Glass |
| Tailstands: | Yes |
| Price: | $53.89 Shipped |
| Provided by: | Focal Price |
| Product Link: | Link! (This is a traffic tracking link, not an Affilate link. |
Full disclosure up front, I paid $23.89 for this beautiful flashlight/lantern review sample. I had high hopes for this and it has far exceeded my hopes and expectations. It has several features similar to that of an SRK, but it is a large step above SRK build quality and is what I would consider a very nice, floodier version of an SRK with a handle and quad tacticool strike bezels.
Pros:
Versatility in Battery options (1 - 4 x 18650)
XML2 emitters, pure cool white.
Electronic switch is perfectly positioned in the handle.
Tailstands despite having a handle.
Exterior/machining/thread quality is great. No sharp edges, smooth threads.
Beefy integrated led shelf.
Driver retaining ring makes modification extremely simple.
Annodized threads (Lockout).
Cons:
Incompatible with flat top batteries (Laptop pulls need solder mound added to positive terminal)
Positive terminal of batteries rub against the driver contact board when tightening the battery tube.
While it will run on 1, 2, 3, or 4 cells with only 1 cell some kind of spacer will be required in order to secure the 18650 from tipping over while tightening.
My flashlight came with a scuff and a scratch on the tailcap (Evident in pictures).
Neutral:
Quad Strike Bezels. They aren't really necessary, but some may like them, others may not.
Function/UI:
On a single samsung laptop pull:
| High | Medium | Low |
| 5 Amps | 1.5A | .4A |
On 4x samsung laptop pulls I was able to measure 7 amps with quite a bit of resistance in my setup.
Fairly standard and simple UI:
A Single brief press of the switch turns the light on in High
Another press switches to medium
Another press switches to low
A final press turns the light off.
The 'hidden strobe' can be accessed in any mode (including while off) by holding the switch for 1 second. The strobe uses high output.
A Single brief press while in strobe will revert the light to the mode that the flashlight was in prior to accessing strobe (Off - Strobe - Off, Medium - Strobe - Medium, etc.).
Pictures:
From the front. 4 Perfectly centered, beautifully tinted XM-L2 emitters. You can see the raised E-switch on the handle here. Easily accessible with or without gloves. The handle itself is machined so your thumb naturally rests right on the button.
The Tailcap. Here is the unfortunate scratch and scuff mark.
Beautiful machining work, and very nice annodization. After scouring the macro shots I did find 2 very small marks under the anno, in between the machined fins.
With cells installed the center of mass is slightly towards the rear making it naturally aim at an upward angle. This is perfect when walking with the light held by the handle and at your side.
The Tube removed from the head, fairly standard for the 'soup can' lights. The amount of aluminum that was removed from the battery slots is what causes a bit of an issue for 1x 18650 operation.
Another angle of the handle and a look into the underside of the head. The retaining ring snugly holds the driver in place. This retaining ring makes for easy access to the top side of the driver for modification (as opposed to having the leverage out the driver via the E-switch hole in an SRK.)
I took this to show how short the battery tube seems (This was an annoying issue with an SRK clone), but it's actually the lengthy springs in this quad xml2 flashlight. Unprotected and long protected cells fit just fine.
(Do NOT mix cells in a flashlight, Picture is for demonstration of cell lengths in tube only)
Size Comparison:
Before we break this light down lets do a quick size comparison.
Tangsfire C8, Quad XML2 Handle, SRK clone, Maglite 3D
The diameter of the battery tube of the quad is about 5mm thinner than the SRK clone.
BreakDown/Disassembly:
| Driver Compartment: | 18mm |
| LED Shelf Thickness: | 9mm |
| Driver Width (PCB): | 40mm |
| Reflector Width: | 21mm |
| Reflector Height: | 18mm |
Starting with the retaining ring, beautiful little trapezoidal threads. Super smooth threading.
The business side of the driver, held in the brass piece with a bit of solder. This is by far the simplest driver I have seen in a soup can light. Based on my current measurements it seems to be working okay. This light can handle far more than it is currently (pun intended) seeing.
THIS is what I love to see. Integrated LED shelf. Measured thickness of a massive 9mm.
Moving on to the front. 4 aluminum bezels, 4 fairly tiny O-rings, 4 pieces of plain glass (1mm thick), 4 reflectors, and 4 purty, perfectly centered XM-L2 emitters with some thermal paste underneath.
Beamshots:
White wall 2ft
Center tree lacking some limbs: 50 Yards
Pretty self explanatory. This 'quad xml2 handle' (I'm extremely creative when it comes to names :) ), is a souped up version of the SRK clone as far as the beam profile is concerned. Brighter, floodier (in regards to the wider hotspot), while maintaining a similar amount of throw.
Conclusion:
There are a few common cons that come standard with your typical 'soup can' light. The incompatibility with flattop cells really can't easily be prevented, but the heatsinking issue many SRK clone lights are being built with definitely can be prevented and improved upon.
This flashlight I've aptly coined the 'quad xml2 handle' goes far and above your typical soup can or SRK clone. The heatsinking is superb with an extremely thick 9mm integrated led shelf. The machining and finish are similarly above the standard quality for a light with similar features in the $40-60 price range. While the drive current is reasonable at 7A on laptop pulls, I believe this light is well equipped to handle over 3A per emitter (12A+ total).
This is a great flashlight with even greater potential. I rate this flashlight a 5 out of 5.
