Cheap $3 UltraFire light

[monkeylizard]

If you watch SlickGuns, you've no doubt seen the entry for the UltraFire Mini CREE light for $2.96 from Amazon. If not, here it is:

http://www.slickguns.com/product/mini-cree-led-flashlight-torch-adjustable-focus-light-lamp-300-lm-344-free-shipping

 

I had an Amazon order for a bunch of other stuff so I tossed in a couple of these because they're cheap. Honestly, they're better than I expected for the price. It's an all aluminum body with an aluminum head which slides to focus the beam. The weighting on the focus is nice. Not hard to move, but not sloppy. It has a single CREE LED chip. When the beam is at full focus, it's actually a square beam of light (shine it on the wall and you get a white square instead of a white circle). You can see that in the 3rd picture on the SlickGuns page.

 

It uses a single AA battery and it's pretty bright. The specs say 300 lumens. That seems about right. I don't have a light meter, but it's probably in that neighborhood. AIUI, you can use other battery types too as long as they're in the AA form. Maybe one of those others (some kind of lithium-ion maybe?) would give the full brightness if a regular AA doesn't? I just know it's bright enough for me with a regular Duracell AA.

 

The switch is a push button on the tail end with a rubber dome cover. The rubber is orange. The switch is crisp, but the rubber feels a bit thinner than I'd like. I wouldn't expect it to stand up to heavy use over a long period of time. It has a single On/Off mode. No strobe, no high/low modes. there's a 3-mode version as well. Depending on the seller and the body color, that will range from  $0.50 more to $7 more. It seems like you can hunt around and maybe find the combination of features you want, but the price may go up a bit. Mine came as a flashlight only. No box, no recharagbles, no AA battery.

 

The head twists off to expose the battery compartment. There's no o-ring so I doubt that it's very water proof.

 

I haven't tested battery life yet.

 

It has an attached clip that seems strong enough. It's attached with brass screws and could be removed easily if you don't want it.

 

They shipped by mail from China, so it took about a month from order date to arrival. No complaints here as I wasn't in any hurry, but something to note in case you are. I'll try to get some pics up later. If anyone wants to see any particular part, let me know and I'll get some close ups.

 

Overall I'm satisfied, especially for the price. Seems like the kind of light you'd toss in a tool box or glove box. Not something I want to trust my life to, but it will probably work when I need it to and will do the job just fine. For $3, go for it.

Edited October 7, 2015 by monkeylizard

[hipower]

Interesting, I have a couple of items to order. I'll take a chance and get a couple today.

[Wingshooter]

I ordered a couple of these a few months ago. Mine were about $5 but came with a handlebar mount. Great light for the price. I keep them in my vehicles as a backup

[BigK]

I bought the 3-mode version of the same light a few years ago. It was cheap and seemed well-made. The thin rubber over the switch held up better than I expected.

 

I've got 3 complaints about this light: 1) the battery rattles inside the body, but a few layers of electrical tape around the middle of the battery solved that, however; 2) from day one I have to whack the light against my palm to get it to come on...not a good "feature" in an EDC light; and 3) it uses up a batteries faster than I expected.

 

For the price, none of these complaints would keep me from keeping a few of these on hand for convenience, but I wouldn't rely on them for emergencies.