which Ultrafire to buy?

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

hi All,

i was looking at these two flashlights

Ultrafire 1000 LM WF-502B CREE XM-L T6 5-Mode LED Flashlight Torch (With Batteries and Charger)
http://amzn.com/B00EOJKHH4 (i have this light)

UltraFire CREE XML T6 LED ZOOMABLE Flashlight Torch Lamp 2* 18650 KIT (Black)
http://amzn.com/B00EP60VDG

and was wondering if anyone here knew if these lights produced the same amount of lumens and also, how many lumens are they? i ask this because many of the reviewers state that it is less than the 1000 lumens advertised. sorry for the newb questions.

thanks,

Sam

2

please avoid using xxxFire battery if you can because its dangerous,better pick up panasonic battery for your safety :slight_smile:

3

thank you. what about their chargers?

4

I would pick neither, you can do better brightness and safety wise by telling us what you want and getting a few suggestions, one of those is a zoomie and the other looks like a regular flashlight
lithium batteries have a learning curve and safety training you should follow, and both those have batteries that are likely garbage output and dangerous to own

5

i wanted a cheap high lumen edc light and the zoom was a bonus. are18650 batteries lithium?
thank you

6

You should get everything here
You might pay marginally more but the quality and service will be better.

7

you could pick it up at fasttech or wallbuys.
:slight_smile:

8

Those batteries are lithium, those are likely a bit big for edc, thats a matter of opinion i guess

Zoomies are flood lights that can be focused to a pencil beam, in my opinion they are an acquired taste, regular flashlights have flood and throw, the one you picked looks like a mostly flood beam with some throw. As a first flashlight i would not pick a zoomie

I know nothing about those particular chargers, but there is a good chance they are not safe for sale in Europe or North America due to dangerous design (likely to catch fire)

Do you have any rechargeable batteries at the moment (nickel metal hydride, lithium or any others)?

9

thank you, i never shopped there before. will look into those sites

10

@Bort: i have 4 energiser rechargeable AA batteries that are a few years old and i have not used them in a couple of years. i also have 2 AAA rechargeables. do you have a good edc high lumen suggestions? thank you :slight_smile:

11

how bright do you want to go?
how much are you willing to spend?
where are you located?

i have some of those batteries too, they are not that great, but they will work, but i suggest getting better ones if you get a AA light

12

@Bort

at least over 300 lumens. budget type light. Unites States. i'm open to any battery type. thanks

13

Keep in mind most lights have what we call manual turbo, they will overheat and you have to not run them long enough to burn you or damage the battery

I don’t have personal experience with it but you can get
http://illuminationsupply.com/other-brands-c-28_98/starry-light-sa22-880-lumens-4-x-aa-p-901.html
you would also need 4 rechargeables to go with it, eneloops are the best and a decent charger for them (smart chargers are best but more pricey)
You should get over 750 lumens, and with a plastic body the heat will get hot pretty fast on high, and i hear it has noticeable pwm, the light noticeably flickers on low and medium

If you want lithium you can get (close to 1000 lumens)
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=80&product_id=110
these are good batteries
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=138
or
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=55

and you need a charger

the whole site has quality items, but if you buy just a host and want a working light you will have to buy an led and driver circuitry, and Richard will assemble it for $4.50 (a bargain)

Both are US sellers and have many happy customers on BLF, shipping will be fast

14

wow! thank you for all the info and help. i will look into these lights and charging systems.

15

+1

16

Hi, Sam.

First off, neither of those lights will have anywhere near 1,000 lumens. Second, the batteries are untrustworthy at best and dangerous at worst. They’re just recycle laptop batteries. Not worth it at all. The high ratings come from people who’ve never seen high-performance LEDs like the XM-L. Problem is, once you start playing the brightness game, it can be disappointing because what you need is a light best suited for your task.

What will the light be used for primarily?
Which is more important to you? Better (and steadier) run-time or a “bang” of brightness?
How much does quality matter?

These issues are big indeed since so, so many budget lights vary greatly in quality. You may get a dud or a great torch, but you can’t always know for sure what you’re getting. That means you got here just in time. :slight_smile:

I’d recommend any Convoy light. I’d recommend Panasonic or Sanyo batteries. And if I were you, I’d re-think your choices of lights altogether. Zoomies lose brightness since they have no reflectors and both lights will have serious heat issues. A lot of people don’t notice this until they actually USE their lights on a job or really depend on them daily, but yes, these issues matter. I can give specific recommendations, but let us know a little bit more about your tasks and needs.

And welcome to the friendliest forum on the interwebs!

17

I wouldn't summarily kill the zoomie idea . People love them . buy a little bit better one and maybe look into modding one day . the unique-fire t-20 has a pretty solid fan base for good reasons. I love my t-11 edi-t .Life is not always about max lumens .More and more I'm dropping diffusion material onto lenses and losing lumens ...and loving the results .

Try a Jacob A-60 diffused ...in an 1/8th of a second it becomes a pussycat (softest beam you've ever seen) Even diffused zoomies are kind of interesting.