UK eLED FLASHLIGHT

Underwater Kinetics eLED, retail TBA (www.uwkinetics.com/UK2AAAWLEDIND.htm)
Manufactured by Underwater Kinetics (www.uwkinetics.com)
Last updated 03-13-07




The UK 2AAA eLED is a small, white LED flashlight that uses a white LED behind a magnifying lens, and it projects a round, white beam of light anywhere you shine it. The lights feeds from 2 AAA cells, arranged in a side-by-side configuration in the barrel to keep the light's size smaller than you might expect.

The eLED features a hat clip, so you can clip the light to the brim of a baseball hat and use it completely hands-free. It's a bit on the heavy side, but should do well on a hat.


SIZE



The package is easy to open. No funny stuff here. Install the batteries (see below), and the UK eLED is ready to use.

Twist the bezel (the clear part at the front of the flashlight) clockwise (as if tightening it), and the light will come on. Turn the bezel counterclockwise (as if loosening it) to turn the light off.

The eLED has a hat clip which you can affix to the brim of a baseball hat if you wish.



The above picture shows the eLED affixed to a baseball hat. In this case, I attached the flashlight to the top of the brim, on the left side of the hat. If you want it on the right side, just take the clip of the eLED off, turn it around, and put it back on. You can also affix it to the brim of the hat so the flashlight is on the bottom, but some stray light that comes from the clear plastic bezel might be offensive to some users. But when it's on the top of the brim, this is not a problem.

You can also attach the included chrome steel split ring to the eLED if you wish. There's a loop near the front of the flashlight to affix this ring to if you want to. But if you don't want to attach the split ring, that's OK too.
This ring is a very dark brown (almost black) color, so it shouldn't stand out like a shiny chrome (bare metal) split ring might.



The batteries can be a bit of a pain in the toilet muscle to change, but it's not THAT hard to do.

Unscrew & remove the clear plastic bezel and lamp assembly, and throw it out...OH WAIT, you'll need that later, so just set it aside instead. :-)

Tip the flashlight body into your hand, and one of the AAA cells should just slip right out. The other one should be in the barrel; so hold your forefinger over the opening (this is very important!), and tap the flashlight horizontally and with the hidden portion of the barrel aimed upward against a table or other surface to dislodge the other cell. You'll feel it on the end of your finger when you have it free. Tip that cell out, and throw both dead cells in the garbage, or in the dead battery box if your community has a battery reclamation program.

Insert one of the new AAA cells button-end (+) first; use a pen or similar object to move it horizontally in the barrel until it's all the way inside the hidden part of the barrel. Insert the other cell in the barrel, flat-end (-) first. Once both cells are loaded into the barrel, screw the clear bezel/lamp assembly on, and back it off slightly when your eLED springs to life. Be sure you get the polarity right, or your eLED won't work.

Battery life is stated by the manufacturer at 20 hours at high brightness, followed by some unknown number of additional hours at diminishing brightness. I'll have to run the eLED through my battery destroying satanic robot death machine to determine battery life for myself.



As long as you don't break your eLED changing the batteries, it is a very tough and durable instrument. I ran over the eLED a few times with a 400lb electric wheelchair and did not damage it. It's completely waterproof and submersible to 500 feet, so you do not need to be concerned with using it in the rain or snow, or dropping it in a wet area. And if the dog lifts his leg on it or if it falls in the toilet, just hose it off or wash it off under the faucet, and it'll be as good as new.

The barrel is made of ABS plastic, and the hat clip is made of nylon. There's no indication of what the clear bezel is made of, so I'll assume it's GE Lexan until or unless I find out otherwise.

There's what appears to be a power inverter circuit in the head where the LED is. It's sealed up inside the bezel, so I can't take any measurements off it; please don't ask me to.



Beam photo at ~12".
Measures 28,200mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrometer plot of the LED in this flashlight.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from TWO-CUBED.


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.



TEST NOTES:
First unit was sent by a Candlepower Forums member, and arrived broken. Second unit was sent by UK, and I broke it before getting a single flash of light out of it. And this is the third test unit (arrived 11-28-03), also sent by UK after I broke the last one. Third time's a charm, right? ;-)
I bought yet another one of these from a CPF member a few days ago, before realising that UK had sent another. So I'll soon have four of these things; at least two of them broken. :-\


UPDATE: 12-19-03
I ran over the UK eLED with a 400lb motorized wheelchair, and did not break it. I know most people don't go around running over flashlights, but this little test at least proves the UK eLED is durable enough to be sat or stepped on.


PROS:
Small size
Durable construction
Comes with a hat clip - that really works


CONS:
Upper battery contact can shoot out during battery change
Batteries can be a pain in the toilet muscle to change


    MANUFACTURER: Underwater Kinetics
    PRODUCT TYPE: Small flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: White LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Mainly circular with sharp perimeter
    SWITCH TYPE: Twist bezel on/off
    BEZEL: Transparent plastic with lens on end
    BATTERY: 2 ea. AAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to 500 feet
    ACCESSORIES: Batteries, hat clip, chrome steel split ring
    WARRANTY: Limited lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





* www.uwkinetics.com/UK2AAAWLEDIND.htm






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