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OCT 19th - Added runtime chart and photo desccriptions.

OCT 18th - Review isn't finished. But uploading what I have right now on my work PC. Will add runtime / more photos later.

Aurora SH0030 XP-E Q5 AA/14500

(Review first posted on OCT 18 2009)

DX - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25490

Light Output:

Throw @ 1m TBA = @ 1.4v NiMh
Throw @ 1m TBA = @ 4.1v 14500

New Lightbox2 = 185 lux @ 1.4v NiMh
New Lightbox2 = 400 lux @ 4.1v 14500

Current:

NiMh - 1.95A @ 1.4v
14500 -

Weight
Without Battery - 37.1g (1.31oz)
With AA NiMh - 67.7g (2.39oz) (GP Recyko)

Review

Initial Impressions
- Looks just like the Ultrafire C3 flashlight in single AA form.
- Bright 1AA light which uses the newer XP-E Q5 emitter.
- It accepts both Lithium 14500 and NiMh/Alkaline AA.

Build Quality
- Has a nice finely milled texture to the body. (Noticed when rubbing finger nail across the smooth part)
- Single red o-ring on each side of the main body barrel.
- O-ring in-front of glass lense. This o-ring can snap easily so need to be careful when taking it apart.
- For a 1AA light, it has a failry deep textured aluminium reflector.
- Reflector is made for the smaller XP-E as the hole is too small for XR-E.
- Anodizing is very clean and tidy everywhere. It isn't HAIII from my quick scratch test.
- Switch is a reverse clicky switch. Has a loud high-tone click sound.
- Rubber switch is quite flat. It doesn't stick out. So it does tail stand 99% stable on a flat surface.
- The light engine pill has solder sticking out on the negative outer ring of the driver.
- Not the nicest look and also can cause contact issues. May vary between samples

Light Output
- As it uses a Cree XP-E emitter, the beam is much cleaner and nicer than most XR-E bases 1AA lights.
- It has no rings, artifacts or weird black holes / spots. Just a clean fairly-tight hotspot and nice spill.
- The hotspot is fairly tight for a 1AA light. Most likely due to XP-E and using deeper reflector.
- It's still not a thrower by any means. It's great for close up use.
- With NiMh, it's not as bright as when used with 14500. But this is expected and is normal.
- Runtime is not very good with 14500. Driver is really not designed with efficiency in mind.
- I recommend to use NiMh AA with this flashlight as it is much more useful in runtime/output.

In Use
- Trustfire protected 14500 battery is too long for this flashlight. So it does not work.
- I only got it working with the non-protected 14500 which doesn't have the PCB. (=shorter)
- But I do not recommend using non-protected 14500 as this flashlight works at lower than recommended voltages also.
- It can get extremely hot when used with 14500 for longer than 10 minutes. (hand burn possible)
- So when using 14500, don't use it for longer than 10 minute bursts if possible.
- This is not really a fault with the flashlight but just physics. It's just not big enough to handle all the heat.
- With AA NiMh or Alkaline, it does not get hot even after a long time. Just warm. So AA is the better choice.
- Just a simple reverse-clicky single mode light. So it's very simple to use.
- Due to the rubber clicky being flat/recessed, some may need to press it using their finger nails.
- Not the easiest to press using the flat part of your thumb due to this.

Conclusion ★★★★★
- It's a nice compact AA flashlight. Nothing fancy. Nothing special. But very cheap. (US$12 shipped!)
- Very bright with both AA or 14500. As a 1 mode light for the price, it is quite good.

- You can also go for the 2AA version as it should have far better runtime.

Photos

- As you can see, it looks very much like the Ultrafire C3. Haven't tried but I expect the 2AA extension to fit also. (will confirm later if I can)

- The reverse clicky switch on the back doesn't protrude out. So it does tailstand but not 100%. You need to click with your finger tip/nail also.

- Tiny Cree XP-E Q5 emitter. The reflector does seem made for the XP-E as the center hole isn't big enough for the Cree XR-E dome.

Runtime Chart

- Tried with 2 different AA NiMhs to ensure correct results. As you can see, either #2 wasn't charged as well or just not as good.

- Trustfire protected 14500 was too long and I won't be testing the runtime using non-protected 14500 due to safety issues. =P