Cool new flashlight!

[fightingquaker13]

Ok, I got talked into this on another board, but I am both easy and cheap so I went with it. Anyway, there's this Chinese company called Ultrafire (yeah, yeah, but it all made in China these days ). Anyway, I clicked on an Amazon link and lo and behold there was a 1,000 lumens light for $12 shipped. I thought it was a joke, but figured for that price I'b play along as it has a Cree LED bulb. How bad can it be? It came today.

 Its an Ultrafire FS-501B. In theory its rated to 900 plus lumens. I don't know about that. But it is noticably brighter than my 200 lumen Streamight in a dim room. Its got three modes, high, low, and strobe. Even the reflection from the strobe off a white wall is disorienting. Its supposed to use an 18650 rechargeable, but I put two 123s in to test it as I didn't want to spring for the charger till I was sure it worked. Damned if it doesn't. Its got a nice solid aluminium body and a strike bezel. Its about the size of a mini mag. It gets hot fast though, which the reviews said it would. Still, for $10.68 shipped? I'm amazed. I have to say that so far I am beyond impressed. It beats a light I paid 5x as much for. If it holds up and doesn't explode or catch fire I think this thing is a winner.

OK. Range report. I took it out after dark. Dayum this thing works. Its as much a flood light as it is a spot. It lights up a whole lot of the yard brightly. Any BGs in the bushes will be seen. As far as throw, I took it to the fence on the golf course out back. I'm a bit better then halfway between the hundred yard marker stick and the flag. Both were lit up more than clearly enough for a shot, so figure sixty rards or do, beyond that it got fuzzy, but I could see not just the flag or stick, but probably 10 yards around them. This is a tradeoff with some high throwers, where the beam is so narrow, you don't get much peripheral. More than good enough for a tac light. At this price its a winner. I won't vouch for a thousand lumens, I'd guess maybe 300-600, but it beat the crap out of my Stream Light, and I wasn't even using the reccomended battery as they suggested a single 18650 and I used two 123CRs as I didn't want to buy the charger till I knew it worked. They advertised 5 modes. I only got three. I consider that a bonus as too many options with one switch is just something to go wrong. It does have a bit of memory as to which mode its on when click the switch, which I don't like, but beyond that, for $12 bucks or so this thing rocks. The only real downside is I got it in a plain white box with no directions or anything, so I have no idea how to order spare parts or what I'd need. But so far, on first inspection Mikey likes it.
If it still works next month I'm buying two more.

[tombogan03884]

Russian components ! American components ! All made in China !

[Big Frank]

Spare parts? Forget about it. For that price it's disposable.

[r_w]

The ultrafire batteries and chargers are cr@p, but the lights seem to be good.  For that price they make good loaners as most return them eventually-- once they find out the batteries cost more than the light 

[fightingquaker13]

The ultrafire batteries and chargers are cr@p, but the lights seem to be good.  For that price they make good loaners as most return them eventually-- once they find out the batteries cost more than the light 

They really do. Its like $25 for two 18650s and a charger. It will run fine on two CR123s though, but those you have to replace.

[Sponsor]

[alfsauve]

Help us with a link to where you bought yours.  I Goggled this and it's all over the place.

I see Ultrafire FS-501B rated at 80lm, 210lm, 320lm, 900+lm.

I see an Amazon price as low as $11.  Lots of eBay offers which I'm lerry of.  I'd stay away from DinoDirect too.

I'm also confused about the battery.  I thought 18650 and a CR 123 were significantly different in size.

I'm a flashlight junkie, but haven't bought a new recently.   As in the last day or two.
 

[crusader rabbit]

This has been mentioned before, but COSTCO sells a pair-pack of tactical flashlights that are outstanding.  Super bright (I don't recall the stated lumen rating, but I guessing around 500+) in a machined aluminum body with a strike bezel.  Four modes of operating:  slightly depress end cap button for instant on/off; fully depress once for lower brightness;  fully depress a second time for full brightness;  fully depress a third time for strobe.  The bezel adjusts for wide or narrow beam.  

But here's the best part--it uses 3 AAA batteries--nice and inexpensive and they are available anywhere.  The switch button glows red when the batteries are low.

I don't have the exact price on these, but seems to me that they are right at $18 for the pair.  I've had one by my bed next to my Glock for a couple of years.  It's truly a remarkable light, and the price makes it even more remarkable. The brand name on mine is TechLite Lumen Master.  Naturally, it's made in China.  

Last week when I went into my local COSTCO, they still had a good supply.  I looked on the COSTCO.COM site and the flashlights they have available online are only 150 lumen and do not look like the nifty little light I have  (approx. 3.5" x 1")

These little lights definitely have the Crusader Rabbit Seal of Approval.

CR

[fightingquaker13]

That sounds very cool. Being a flashlight whore, I'd buy those. I let my Costco membership lapse though as I figured that I used Sams more.

As to Alf, I ordered off Amazon. It was like $10.68. For $30 you could have gotten a package deal with a charger and two 18650s and a mini light that I think uses AAs. I just was skeptical that the thing would at all so I got the cheap option.  As to the the batteries. The general rule of thumb seems to be (and I'm relatively new to the world of exotic batteries and tac lights) that you can sub out 1 (rechargeable) 18650 with two (non rechargeable) 123s. That seems to be the case with this light. Again, both batteries are pricy so I would sure order online where they are miles cheaper that at the store. I like batteryjunction.com, but there are plenty of equivilents out there. Just buy a name brand battery.