Dimensions & Weight
Case Material
Case Features
Case Access Type
Switch Type
Reflector Type
Lens Type
Bulb Type
Circuit
Beam Type
Beam Characteristics
Overall Output
Nominal Color
Battery / Power Type
Battery Life (advertised)
Environmental Protection
Accessories
Special Items of Note
Warranty
Retail Availability & Cost

1-A unique hand-held flashlight form. Geometry is a bilaterally symmetrical flattened cross-section with smooth contours. The head is off axis to the center of the body section - creating a distinctive Top & Bottom orientation of the head and beam to the body of the light.
2- Head of light is wider than the body . There is no tail piece as the light disassembles into sections.
3- The flashlight feels medium weight and has some heft due to it's use of 4XAA batteries. Its styling is a departure from the classic cylindrical forms of most hand-held flashlights
4-It's ideal for individuals with small, medium or large sized hands as the flattened profile conforms ergonomically to the cavity of a partially closed hand. Ridges along the top and bottom edges facilitate grip, especially with wet or oily hands.
5- One's hand easily surrounds the body section.The body of the light easily fills a Large or X-Large (*1) sized palm with some protrusion. Much more protrusion will occur with small and medium sized hands.
6- The wall thickness of the battery tube is 1.5 mm.
7- The ridged and rubberized head attaches to the body with a sure and smooth threading action.
8- A unique and distinctive pushbutton click switch permits activation.
9- There is little battery rattle. Substantial 'O' ring seals provide shock absorption, a snug fit and a seal against the elements- especially water.
10- Lack of a flat tail end prevents it from being used in ceiling bounce mode.It may be placed on its side for non-rolling table storage
11- The off-centered head makes it natural to hold with the head low and the switch oriented towards the top.

1- Ambidextrous.
2- A large palm completely surrounds the body of the UK-4AA , with the thumb naturally positioned directly on the rubber covered switch button. In normal use, the thumb of the hand holding the light would press on the switch while the rest of the fingers would grip the light and support it from below. Alternatively, some users may prefer to reverse the orientation and activate the light with the first finger pressing up on the switch from below. This has been demonstrated to be a more cumbersome and less efficient manner of operation. This light may be hand-held in only few different positions and is more suited to straight ahead than any other orientation. It was not judged to be suitable for tactical illumination.
3- Both the bezel and the click switch are covered in a thick rubber that makes activation sure- even with slippery hands.
4- A dedicated strap hole and lanyard hole are molded into the body. They allow for the attachment of the light to diving masks as well as to hard-hats and other specialized applications.
5-Accessory clips are offered (not included) for attachment to the hard hats typically worn by fire-fighters as well as linesmen and construction crews.

1- Stowage- A black Cordura - belt pouch is available and allows for belt carry.This is a flashlight that lends itself to being stored in a toolbox / travel kit or attached to a lanyard or hard hat.
2 - Activation- In normal use, light emits from the front of the flashlight when activation occurs through a full depression of the rubber covered On/Off click switch. Activation feedback is provided through a light but distinctive haptic 'click' sensation as well as a faint 'clicking' sound. De-activation is implemented via re-clicking of the toggle switch.
3-The front bezel is threaded to the body section, allowing for user accessibility to the emitter module enclosed in the head section . The reflector is integrated into the emitter module and seems not to be user serviceable.
4-Two 'O'rings isolate the emitter module and prevent water from entering it as well as the battery compartment.
5- The front lens is a partial optic and is permanently affixed to the bezel.

1-The distinctive feel of hard ABS plastic and rubber permeate the UK-4AA. This is a specialized flashlight that is designed to be easily seen and to be tough and waterproof for professionals that demand high performance and little opportunity for failure.
2-The use of a hydrogen scrubber catalyst, polarized battery contacts and a 0-psi vent bespeak an attention to user, context and task in design of this flashlight.
3- We did not perform a 'pull' test but we judged the deep and wide ridges along the the flashlight's body would provide sound gripability.
4- The additional 2XAA batteries combined with judicious voltage regulation enable it to run for much longer that comparable flashlights- an important feature for emergency workers. This light is suitable for the car and home or workshop tool box as well as for inspection, camping, fire / emergency rescue and near distance underwater use .The head is black and heavily ridged - allowing for clear indexing of the front of the flashlight . It is certainly as suitable for typical outdoors,and semi-rough environmental uses as well as the underwater and occupational service for which it seems to be specifically designed.
5-The toggling click switch activation procedure is sure and yet requires little pressure- making it ideal for people with less strength in their thumbs than is sometimes required for other click switch flashlights. There is just a millimeter of 'travel' latency in the boot before the light actually comes on.
6- The switch is very intuitive to use and the cognitive model is simple and requires neither training nor memorization of complex procedures. It is a combination switch. Momentary On is an option- making it ideal for signaling or short bursts of illumination.
7- The thoughtful inclusion of a strap and lanyard holes, as well as optional clips- makes it ideal for professionals in need of a dedicated solution to their portable illumination needs.
8- Though not as great a factor in such a 'niche' product- it would have been nice to be able to stand the light on it's tail for ceiling bounce illumination. In addition, a lanyard ring near the tail would have allowed for direct down illumination from a string or lanyard- expanding it's usefulness on camping trips.
9-The use of common AA batteries (especially the rechargeable ones) makes the UK-4AA a globally usable and environmentally friendly illumination solution.
10- Good documentation instructs on battery replacement, use, specifications and warranty. The text was in English and it is presumed that localized translations are provided for non-US versions.

The UK-4AA scored Maximum Distance for Object Identification or MDOI at 60 feet -more than adequate for close-up navigation and occasional searching. It's not bright enough to be pressed into service as a high powered search or tactical light.
Beam-shots Page >>

1- At the time of this review, we judged the UK-4AA to be an ideal general purpose light for individual use in a wide range of non tactical - survival critical applications.
2- It's designers traded maximum brightness for a longer run-time instead- clearly bowing to the needs of end-users that demand light, even at a minimal level for a longer period of time than they might get from comparable flashlights.
3- It is thoughtfully designed for a narrow range of customers.
4- The fact that the UK-4AA uses commonly available size AA batteries makes it highly accessible to users worldwide. Given the growing popularity and availability of rechargeable AA batteries, the UK-4AA also gets bonus points as an environmentally sustainable and responsible flashlight option. As such, it makes a perfect gift for recipients that are inclined to use rechargeable rather than disposable batteries.
5-Value. With new flashlights in the Luxeon market space -being released weekly- it's hard to define a relative value when comparing non-comparables. At this point in time, the UK-4AA rates 4 stars out of a possible 5 stars.
Our gripes were... A) Inability to stand self-supported in 'ceiling-bounce' mode. B) Not an ideal beam 'profile' for the end-use C) Not as bright a beam as it could be.

4 Stars- Recommended

Footnotes:

(*1) Medium Men's glove size- Also, a Standardized Flashlight Hand Size Metric (SFHSM)

		Small A-B = 4.5" or Shorter
		Medium A-B = 4.5"-5"
		Large A-B = 5"-6"
		X-Large A-B = 6" and Longer

(*2) Maximum Distance for Object Identification (MDOI). The maximum distance that a person without the aid of magnification-can with normal or corrected vision, under a given ambient level of light, identify an object of known size, and clearly distinguish it from its surroundings. We have tentatively identified the following scenarios for such measures:

• A single average sized person/body identification scenario
  • Urban (city, inside buildings, dark alley, lit streets)
  • Rural (countryside,farm residential backyard)
  • Environmental (dessert, woods, wetlands, over water)
  • Natural & manmade disaster (fire, flood/mudslide,earthquake, hurricane /tornado,bombing scene, collapsed structure etc)
• Small Inanimate Object (smaller than a shoe-box)
• Medium Inanimate Object (Black Plastic 33 Gallon (124Litre) Garbage Bag stuffed with a big sleeping bag)

(*5) Context Inclusive Illumination Window (CIIW) as compared with a Context Exclusive Illumination Window (CEIW) .

• CIIW describes a subject illumination paradigm wherein the illumination target is the focus of the beam's brightest disc or 'Hotspot' and peripheral objects to the target are more dimly illuminated in a larger disc that surrounds the focus or hotspot. This outer region is also referred to as a corona or penumbra.
• CEIW describes a subject illumination paradigm wherein the illumination target is the focus of the beam's brightest disc or 'Hotspot' and peripheral objects to the target are not sufficiently illuminated to be easily discernable at the periphery of subject beam's focus or hotspot.

© 2004 - Imägo Metrics - All Rights Reserved
Original standards designations (including acronyms) depicted in this, as well as all of our evaluations are the exclusive intellectual property of Imägo Metrics LLC and subsidiaries. Reproduction without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.

All Photographs © 2004 - Imago Media