Convoy C8 365nm UV LED Flashlight with Patented Glass Filter - Perfect for Forensic Investigation, Currency Verification & UV Light Detection

I own both this Convoy C8 365nm UV light and the uvBeast V3 365nm UV light. Both UV lights have "patented" filter lenses that prevent certain reflected light wavelengths from affecting the 365nm wavelength these lights emit. I didn't intend on buying both of them but my uvBeast V3 was "delayed in transit" aka "stolen" as usual, by the delivery-rogues out of the Charlotte, NC hub. Since I definitely needed my UV light asap, I went ahead and purchased the more expensive Convoy C8 365nm light and got it the next day. Even though from past and current ownership of other Convoy lights and knowing how good the quality of their lights are, I initially skipped over the C8 because of, (1) Price and (2) the uvBeast V3 has three 365nm LED's compared to the C8's single 365nm LED and (3) The V3 has a considerably larger head and with it's extension tubes, is capable of using up to three protected 18650 cells for 1/3rd extra capacity. So, with my new C8 I headed out for the weekend excursion. I didn't expect much in terms of output and throw from the C8. While using the C8, my friends and I were not only surprised by how brightly items fluoresced close-by with this seemingly pure, very dim blue light, but we were even more surprised by how much further it's throw was fluorescing objects and i'm talking about more than double the distance than any of our other cheaper 365nm-ish and 385-390nm UV lights. The C8 was easily able to fluoresce small items (80-100ft away). I thought, "Wow!! Just wait till my uvBeast V3 with it's three "High-Output" LEDS, three cell capacity and larger diameter head gets here". My friends and I are really gonna be shocked." Well a couple days later the V3 arrived and after checking, re-checking and even using three of my tried and true matched Liitokala cells and even trying three of my Samsung 35E cells, I could not find the words to describe how disappointed I was with that over-hyped uvBeast. Now keep in mind, I do not, by any means think the uvBeast V3 is a piece of junk. It is a really nice light. As far as I can tell, it is well built and feels very comfortable. My disappointment comes from the V3's supposedly three overly hyped "High-Output" LED's. Both lights output the same true 365nm "blue" wavelength/color. Indoors the spot and spill on the C8 is smaller in diameter than the V3 but the spot on the C8 and even the spill is much cleaner/brighter. Now some smooth-brains might say that the spot is spread out a lil larger on the V3 and that's the reason it's dimmer than the C8. Lol!! that's definitely not why the V3 is dimmer than the C8. The beam on the V3 is supposed to be larger. The V3 has a much larger head and emitter. Having three so-called "High Output" LED's, the V3 should absolutely drown out the C8, but it doesn't, not even close. Even indoors with three LED's the V3's output seems only about 75% of the Convoy C8's output. Maybe they were forced to restrict the V3's output due to heat issues. Outdoors at night the difference between the two is even more apparent. In order for the V3 and it's three LED's to fluoresce a distant object, as bright as the C8 with it's single LED, you have to move the object significantly closer, from 90-100ft away to about 60-70ft away. Removing the filter lens from either the V3 or the C8 seems to make no difference. In all both lights do the job they're supposed to do just fine and that's why I kept both the C8 and the V3. It's just that the C8 does it's job a lil better and is more compact. If price is a concern you should most definitely buy the uvBeast V3. I did not do a test on cell-life of these lights but both still worked great with seemingly the same brightness, even after 3-4hours of run time. In both lights I used my unprotected Liitokala 3400mAh 18650B cells. I used these cells because though the V3 can take three 18650 cells, uvBeast only packs 2 protected 18650 generic cells with 2600mAh printed on them. I don't have anything close to match those even if they truly are 2600mAh. If you want to run all 3 cells in the V3, all the cells need to be the same brand and capacity. Later on I will do a discharge/charge test on the supplied 18650's that each light came with. The 18650's that came with the Convoy C8 each weighed the same at 47.98 grams, which is one of the good signs (45-49g) of a good protected 18650 cell, but ya can't trust that alone. Using a good Charge/Discharge Test unit is the only true way to know your cells capacity and health. My favorite test unit that will test/charge different chemical types of all different sizes, even the extra-long, protected 21700 cells, is the Liitokala 500S. I liked the 500S so much I bought 2 more.