UFC Surefire M900A Knock-Off - Review/Pics

Dealers/ Manufacturers/ Regional/ Info Trash
1

In the earlier thread on the Surefire M900A knock-offs (UFC M900A), I mentioned that I had opportunity to examine on up close and was not impressed. That unit had been brought in by a bargain-hunting troop who was proud of his find. Unfortunately, too-good-to-be-true was exactly that for him. I got a couple of backchannel comms asking for more particular info, and one from a critic calling me an elitist snob because it didn’t say “Surefire” on it.

That previous thread can be found here: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=9133

The knock-off is sold here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220172946637&ru=http://search.ebay.com:80/220172946637_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQfromZR40QQfviZ1

As mentioned, the UFC unit resembles the M900-series in form only. It is devoid of markings, except for a “Caution: Hot Surface” marking on the bezel. Material, function, and build quality are poor.

The unit operates on three -123 lithium cells. Batteries are not supplied with the unit from the vendor listed.

The advertised output is ~125 lumens from the “main battle light”, but how that was measured is unknown. The light of substantially less brightness than that, and more comparable in quantity to a Surefire E1E on hand. There was no comparison in color or clarity to same. Throw is short. The quality of the beam is comparable to a better hardware store grade flashlight. The LEDs are described as “high output”, but are more “medium” in appearance.

Controls are plastic and rubber coated pressure pads. The pressure pads activate the main light. The pressure pads are already peeling off. The button at the top rear activates the nav-LEDs above the bezel. The main switch behind the bezel was two-position, constant on and off. The stops for those positions are at the limit of travel for the switch, without positive stop or detent.

The UFC is mostly composite in construction. The bezel is aluminum. The window/lens is a lightweight glass. The lamp/reflector of the primary light has a pebbled surface. The bezel screws positively onto the grip assembly, and the mating surfaces of both are aluminum. The mounting rail is aluminum, and attached to the grip assembly via hex head screws. The mount clamps to receiving rails via two thumb screws. The mount clamped down onto several 1913 rails on hand, but was loose on most. The aluminum-lined interior of the grip accommodates the batteries, and they are retained by a lightweight plastic threaded plug in the bottom. That plug has a rotating dial which performers no discernable function. Battery contacts inside the grip consist of screw heads.

The light is not serviceable for duty. This light is suitable for light recreational use, SOCOM dress-up, airsoft, and other activities of like intensity.

Recommendation: Pass.

I hope this is helpful. Photos follow.

2

The ebay ad did say that the item is for airsoft and the seller was in Hong Kong, there’s no hidden deception. If you’ve ever been in a big airsoft dealer store, you’d see all kind of knockoffs, Aimpoints, Larue, KAC, even an HK416!

3

Even though there might not be any “deception” it is still a obvious cheap copy of another companys excelent product. Can we say patent infringement!

4

Understood. I don’t recall being in a big airsoft dealer store, but I’m sure you’re correct.

The problem is that there are other sellers that aren’t as honest, so I thought putting this info out might be useful.

5

My experience with the M900A replica is just the opposite. I think it’s exceptional quality for the price. It’s $100 more or less. And while I agree about the research and develepment aspect, it’s a flashlight for Christ’s sake. Surefire is making an arm and a leg on these lights. Besides, my own R&D has led me to a far better surefire 6p than they make themselves. I took my own 6p put in 3.7 volt rechargeables and a CREE bulb from ebay and now I have a REAL flashlight. It may not be suitable for a flashlight ho but it’s good enough for me.

I think this setup with a CREE bulb would be an outstanding light. I’m not knocking the Surefire but the fact is I can’t spend over HALF what I paid for my rifle for a flipping FLASHLIGHT!!! That is utterly rediculous to say the least. I’m pleased with the overall quality. I do agree the white LED’s could/should be a tad brighter but I’m not using them to see they are for keeping me from tripping over my feet in the dark only. So I’m actually not displeased they are a little on the dim side.

Once I get a CREE bulb in this thing (on order now) I think I’ll be happy with it. And for the price, I can break it five times before I’ve got what I would have had in a Surefire. I 100% agree the quality isn’t up to par with Surefire but it’s not crap by any stretch of the imagination either.

BUT to be fair the light output sucks. If I didn’t have the intent of changing it to a CREE when I got it, quite frankly I would be very dissapointed. Now for the bad news: It’s extremely difficult to find a CREE bulb for this…you’ve been warned!:eek:

My recomedation: Buy, but only if you intend to change the bulb to a CREE and are confident you can find one.:cool:

6

Blueskip,

Could you please tell us your frame of reference? What is your intended use for the light on your rifle?

7

I would NORMALLY use a flashlight on my rifle to see in the dark…:smiley:

Just kidding of course. I would say for the same use anyone would want a tactical light on a rifle. My rifle will never see wartime use or I would spend the money on a Surefire. I have plenty of time to play with it still to see how long before it fails. So far I have to say I’m impressed with it though. :slight_smile:

If I were a police officer I can honestly say it’s good enough. Let’s face it, just HOW often do you use, or for that matter even remove the rifle from the carrier to use it?? The reason I said I would spend more if I were in the military still is the constant beating a rifle get’s while dragging it everywhere you go. I’m not confident this could take THAT kind of a beating day in day out, at least not the model with the twist clip like the M900A has. The bolt on model looks sturdier to me but the comment about the pressure pads would come off easy seems correct. However!!, I intended orginally to put one of my actual surefire lights on the side using the tailcap with a remote pressure switch. Is the pressure pad honestly any worse than that, that a lot of people already use?? I personally don’t think it is.

8

i would rather buy a sure fire once and know that it will work when i need it, when your life revolves around your equipment you learn not to be cheap with what you use.

9

To each his own. I still don’t think a flashlight is worth half the price of a rifle. I can get platinum fillings in my teeth too that are exceptional quality but when something cheaper is JUST AS GOOD for the use, I’m going to buy the cheaper of the two. Threre isn’t enough difference between these two to light my fire to buy a $600+ flashlight.

And to be honest if it doesn’t come out of a cop’s pocket it offends the crap out of me to see my tax dollars wasted on stuff like this. If he want’s to spend his own money for the higher end version, I have no qualms. But we live in a world where the government has gone nuts with worry over the 1% chance somthing could happen. The fact is that good common sense should prevail and it seldom does these days.

A fair example of the lack of common sense today is so many people driving around in cars that get 12mpg while griping about middle eastern countries.

It’s just a complete breakdown of the thinking process. :frowning:

10

So lets give the police that are protecting YOU, second rate gear. That makes a lot of since. If the department deems its personal need this “high priced” equipment then give it to them, its only there life that may depend on a flashlight or maybe yours.

-rant off-

11

blueskip makes a valid point. If you are a hobbyist on a budget, than a clone M900A with a CREE bulb is a good idea. I agree that $600 is a lot of money for a flashlight, heck so is $100. If you can afford it, than buy a Surefire, but the UFC gives shooters an option. I personally avoid buying cheap clones meant for airsoft.

As for professionals like military and LE, give them the best, always! If your business is to use your weapon against armed bad guys, cheap will never do. Since I am a “professional” I suppose I am biased on this opinion.

12

I’m down close to $10,000 in accumulated stolen goods from the same location being broken into or stolen from over the past 10 years in 5 breakins.:frowning:

Nothing personal but I’m still waiting on the police protecting me part. I know you guys do what you can but it gets old after a while.

That aside I think this light is good enough for LE if it had a CREE bulb (and the thumbscews - that may just be me there). There are a lot of things that LE need far more than a $600 flashlight though IMHO. I’m impressed with the CREE bulbs. They have worked exceptionally well for me. I would still have to use it some more to say that with confidence though. I haven’t had it long enough to say for sure yes it’s sturdy enough. My only concern of it failing is from the quality of the internals, and so far they work annoyingly well. I’m tempted to grab the front grip and turn the light on too often. This is why Surefire makes a blocking plate for them as well I suppose.

Anyway this could be debated to death. It’s a matter of personal choice. At least there is something available to give Surefire some competition to get them to come off of the rediculous price of some of their goods. (even though I don’t approve of the complete cloning of a patented item) Surefire will slowly price themselves out of business to anyone OTHER than LE and Military (their primary target anyway) as those sales from the middle start moving to the cheaper grade because the high grade is just too expensive. I would have bought a Surefire if it had been less than $225 and certainly no more than $250. (The problem with selling ONLY to LE and Mil is the competition can put you out of business in one fell swoop using a variety of methods including purchase agreements - where you can’t even buy outside the agreement or the prices they offer are void) I’ve run into far more than LE and Mil using Surefire flashlights too by the way. I’ve seen entire maintenance departments using them. You think Surefire won’t even notice the the loss of a complete segment of their business? I use my own Surefire 6p that I upgraded to CREE plus rechargeables on my job.

The problem with not selling to the public is growth. Any good business owner will tell you, that you don’t want just one segment. You want all you can get. You want your name to be a household word. Maglight is a crappy flashlight at best. Yet I have a drawer full of them that I bought from word of mouth before I started doing real comparisons. Who on this board can honestly say they’ve never heard of Maglight? Maglight is as much of a household name as Aspirin is. Everyone including your family doctor will say take “Aspirin” for your heart… Who says run down to the store and get me some acetylsalicylic acid?? Few even know what the heck it is.

I got nothing else to say guys. If you think you need it buy it. It’s your money. I will never tell you how to spend your money. This is a free country still - what’s left of it anyway. I won’t go there.:frowning:

13

Exactly, I would much rather pay for good equipment for LEO/Military with my tax dollars, than some BS govt handout program.

14

Exactly, I would much rather pay for good equipment for LEO/Military with my tax dollars, than some BS govt handout program.

That comment struck a nerve. I didn’t intend to post here again, but I changed my mind. Let me tell you bud, OUR VETERANS…REMEMBER THOSE GUYS WHO PUT THEIR FRIGGIN LIFE ON THE LINE SO YOU COULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO POST YOUR VIEWS HERE???..consitute some of the highest numbers of homeless people out there! Some of them just can’t cope with having been in combat later in life and become disfunctional. I happen to be a veteran from TWO branches of service! I personally find that LE is a crock in most places to be honest with my opinion but I WAS trying to be nice. I also think they’re overpaid and lazy to be more honest. They’re further elitests that think they are above the law 90% of the time. I seldom to never see a cop go to court for a speeding ticket. Imagine that, because those in the know, know perfectly well that’s just a tool to raise revenue to cover bs expenses like $600 flashlights!

So I guess from that comment you think that homeless programs are bs? I personally would rather see my tax dollars spent FIXING our problems instead of turning out police into friggin militia for the rich. Don’t like that comment? Maybe you’re in that category then. Truth hurts sometimes. I usually don’t agree with minorities who complain about the police but they ARE right about ONE thing, if you’re poor and you call the police they’ll be there AFTER EVERYTHING is over. ANOTHER reason I think AFFORDABLE accessories for my weapons are needed. I definitely can’t count on the poeple I PAY to protect me because they have the best gear and that’s not the problem. The problem is they won’t show up! And if they do show up it’s only because I have money! OR they want to confiscate my gun!!! (don’t go there…)

I’m fed up with that attitude. Not only is it wrong, it’s assinine. We never try to FIX the programs, we just dump them wholesale and start again with a new program that has problems generating the same complaints. Maybe you need to look at the good some of these programs do.

Bud, you can like it or not but short of some major changes in this country from blowing tax dollars on more useless crap such as fighting wars in places that really don’t mean a rats behind, we headed down the toilet at alarming speed. The price of metals should have already given that away to you! My latest breakin that the LE “protected” me from, they stayed for HOURS while tearing out the walls for the copper and taking time to disconnect the plumbing to steal the pedestal sink.

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

The fact is I DON’T NEED protection, nor do few other armed citizens! I need law enforcement to actually monitor the places they are paid to “protect” once in a blue moon beside the BANK that has ninety thousand dollars worth of alarm systems and insurance! But they GO BY THERE AT LEAST once a night and shine the light and look around don’t they???

15

Ummm…about those flashlights?..:rolleyes:

16

Sorry. Lost my cool… :frowning:

Seems the more I know, the less I want to know sometimes.:confused:

17

You need to read the first post of this thread!

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=15897&highlight=bashing

Thank you for your military service, but do not disparage my public service!

I have fought crack-heads hand to hand to keep drugs off your streets! I have raided crack houses and meth labs! I have fought gang bangers hand to hand to keep you or your family from being mistakenly killed in a drive by! I have run code to EVERY burglary in progress I have ever been dispatched to! I have missed holidays, birthdays, etc so your family can enjoy theirs. I have been spit on, cussed at, and attacked.

I don’t need your shit!

My dept issued me some nice stuff, the rest I bought. I might not “pull the rifle out of the rack” aften but when I do need to to go after an active shooter in your kids school, do you want it crapping out? Most of the nice, seemingly frivilous, items LE has is from grants from the Feds. Those monies can only be spent on those items. Stupid? Yes! The rules? Yes! I don’t know where you live but I’m sure the majority of your local LE would rather have more officers on the street than a FLIR, but the Feds don’t pick up the tab for salaries.

LE is alot like the military, actually a large percentage of the guys I worked with were former .mil, Reserve soldiers, or NG. There are alot there just to collect a check, but the rest are there to perform a duty!

I suggest you enjoy your good enough light!

I hope you don’t get banned.

-RD62

18

I work in those programs called BS. Now how do you think I feel? Especially when I have everyone from guys like you to the evening news saying we don’t do this and we don’t do that…The truth is we’re all in the same boat. There just isn’t enough money in the world to fix every problem. We do what we can with what we have. I also have to deal with those same moronic federal laws by the way so I know how you feel. (Nobody seems to look that the real problem is K-Street and for the most part nothing more) And these days if you missed birthdays, holidays, etc., then you’re in the same boat as people who work in manufacturing like the last manufacturing job I had working 90+ hours a week. All while being stopped repeatedly for speeding because of being threatend to be fired for taking the luxury of 8 hours of sleep here and there. I worked Christmas Eve and got paid in MARCH for it after repeated requests for my pay.

I realize the crap cops deal with. My opinion (for what it’s worth) is we should have legalized drugs LONG, LONG ago and controlled the program. If we learned nothing else from prohibition of alcohol is that it just doesn’t work. It would be far cheaper to let a few die and protect the majority than what we’re doing now. If the drug companies made drugs they would cheap (no importing problems and violence associated with that), the same quality (no overdoses from unequal strength), the drugs could be taxed, the revenues collected by gangs would never have gotten where they are now, and the list just keeps going on. No country with legalized drugs has a problem with addicts that amounts to enough to be concerned with.

If my kid HAD a gun there wouldn’t BE a shooter in the school nor a need for the police to come. However, there may be a need for the coroner.

None of this is about the flashlight. I didn’t come here to discuss politics nor do I wish continue with this discussion. I got mad because my own job was insulted.

I’m not responding to comments off topic so please don’t. The topic is the flashlight.

And the rub is, if you don’t want to use it don’t. I didn’t think the reviewer did it justice so I posted to inform others what my own experience with it is. I didn’t come here to have my own job insulted and I insulted no one until someone “threw the first punch” as it were. I wasn’t raised a mama’s boy to sit there and be insulted.

19

I don’t think anyone insulted your job. And they certainly didn’t and I’m sure wouldn’t advocate denying benefits of anykind to veterans. I’m sure quite the opposite. I feel confident that they were thinking more along the lines of welfare for illegal’s or something of that nature.

Anyway, end of discussion here.

Good luck with your light.

Have a good day.

-RD62

20

That’s not about the flashlight so I’m not commenting.

Have a good weekend.

I ran into a snag upgrading the flashlight to a CREE I didn’t think about. The CREE light needs higher voltage according to the person I was getting the bulb from. So in order to upgrade it, you would need more knowlege than the average person because if it uses 3.7volt rechargeables then the small LED lights may burn out because they weren’t designed to operate at that voltage.

It’s not a problem for me to fix this but I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone unfamiliar with LED wiring.

However there are lights for sale on ebay now that have the CREE bulb in them already for about $100 which all said and done is about what I paid and I still have to upgrade mine so that’s a good $20 - $30 cheaper.