# Microfire Warrior III K3500R 35W HID - Mini Review - Many Images and BeamShots



## whc (Oct 16, 2007)

Borrowed this monster to do a review for a Danish website, thought why not post a mini review here also .

This is my first tryout with the HID bulb, have dedicated myself to the LED, so don't have any other HID to compare with, and it is really an unfair challenge between a HID flashlight and a LED flashlight.

Specs from the manufacturer:



> Specifications:
> Feature: HID (High Intensity Discharge) handheld tactical / searching flashlight, instant activating
> Model: K3500R
> Bulb: K3-HID-Bulb, lifespan 3,000 hours
> ...


Arrived in two nice gift boxes, where the flashlight itself is in the one box, and the charger in the other box. The flashlight came disassembled, that will say the body and head was in each own compartment in the box.

Fit and finish is perfect, seams very well made, no flaws in HA (appears to be only HAII though), and machining is without any marks.

This is really a big flashlight in its class, manufacturer uses the term "tactical" flashlight, though did not find it comfortably to hold when using it for tactical purpose, and the HID bulb takes about 1 seconds to reach full output, not ideal for momentary tactical use IMO.

The switch is really nice though, it is a true forward clicky which is very smooth and silent, reminds me about the one in my VB-16, with has about the same smoothness and silence, like it allot.

You can set the focus of the beam by turning the bezel ring, and then turning the head left or right, to obtain just the right amount of throw or flood, and then you tighten the bezel ring. Though am missing some more throw, even though the hot spot is pretty tight, still not as tight as some of the throw monsters of the LED lights.

Surprisingly the tint is very white, more towards the cool white, but no yellow at all as I personally was expecting.

Well enough readings here is some images .


































































From left: WarriorIII, WF-500L, VB-16 4th gen., L1D-CE, 120P, LF2

























































































Now to some beamshots .

Left: WarriorIII, Right: WF500L with SSC P4




Left: WarriorIII, Right: WF500L with SSC P4, 2-stops underexposed




Left: WarriorIII, Right: VB-16 4th gen.




Left: WarriorIII, Right: VB-16 4th gen., 2-stops underexposed




WarriorIII








WF500L (same place)








Left: WarriorIII, Right: WF500L with SSC P4








Left: 120P, Right: WarriorIII




Left: 120P, Right: WarriorIII, 2-stops underexposed




More WarriorIII throw shots





























---

Could not take overall lux readings, since the head was too big to fit in my lightbox, so only throw is what I can provide for this review.

Luxreading Throw: *105300* Lux (yep hundredfivethousindtreehundred)

Runtime: *59 *min *02* sec, very flat output, did not notice any drop in output.

thats all folks .


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## woodrow (Oct 16, 2007)

*Re: Microfire Warrior III K3500R - Mini Review - Many Images and BeamShots*

Nice, Nice, Nice!!! review. You make it obvious that when one Really wants some light...HID is the way to go. Thanks for such detailed photos of the product and for the # of comparison beamshots...especially the outdoor ones.


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## Chao (Oct 16, 2007)

*Re: Microfire Warrior III K3500R - Mini Review - Many Images and BeamShots*

Hi whc, many thanks for this great review and pics,:twothumbs



whc said:


> Luxreading Throw: *105300* Lux (yep hundredfivethousindtreehundred)
> 
> Runtime: *59 *min *02* sec, very flat output, did not notice any drop in output.


and wow, the lux reading:bow:


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## Patriot (Oct 16, 2007)

*Re: Microfire Warrior III K3500R - Mini Review - Many Images and BeamShots*

Nice review! Great shots! I'm impressed with the warrior III.


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## Daekar (Oct 17, 2007)

*Re: Microfire Warrior III K3500R - Mini Review - Many Images and BeamShots*

Hey WHC, nice beamshots! I have a few questions:

1) Is the light really as blue as it looks in the pictures? The high color-temperature rating is scaring alot of people away from buying this light... so if it's not too bad or the bulb is replaceable with a lower-temp one, I think they'd sell more.

2) How heavy is it? The reason I ask is, my Boxer24 looks heavy but isn't because of all the empty space in the body (really they could've made the body a little bit slimmer and maintained the same wall thickness IMHO), is it the same with this light?

3) Does it really have a ONE SECOND warm-up time? That's... well, way ****ing faster than my Boxer24.

4) In the pictures, the reflector appears to be either lightly stippled or smooth depending on which shot I look at... what's the reflector like?

5) How fast does the battery charge?


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## whc (Oct 17, 2007)

*Re: Microfire Warrior III K3500R - Mini Review - Many Images and BeamShots*



Daekar said:


> Hey WHC, nice beamshots! I have a few questions:
> 
> 1) Is the light really as blue as it looks in the pictures? The high color-temperature rating is scaring alot of people away from buying this light... so if it's not too bad or the bulb is replaceable with a lower-temp one, I think they'd sell more.
> 
> ...


1) Will say it is very cool white, white with some blue to it. It is always hard to capture tint in images, IRL it does not appear to be as blue as some of the throw shots makes it look like.

2) It weighs 827,5g to be exactly precise, it is heavy, but also makes it feel really tough, did not find the weight to be a problem at all (but that is a matter of taste IMO).

3) No would say it takes about 5-10 seconds to reach full brightness (I counted backwards from 10 inside my head every time I turned it on, and that seams to be the time before it is warmed completely up).

4) Not really smooth, not really stippled, would call it "frosty" or some thing like that, have not seen a reflector quite like this before.

5) Forgot to time the charging, but it is not too fast IMO, though cannot say a precise time, since I did not time it.


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## Patriot (Oct 20, 2007)

*Re: Microfire Warrior III K3500R - Mini Review - Many Images and BeamShots*

3) No would say it takes about 5-10 seconds to reach full brightness (I counted backwards from 10 inside my head every time I turned it on, and that seams to be the time before it is warmed completely up).quote]

5-10 second warm up time for an HID is really fast! My AE24/S takes a good 20-25 seconds before it's really blazing. Every time I look at this review I start contemplating the purchase.


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## whc (Oct 20, 2007)

*Re: Microfire Warrior III K3500R - Mini Review - Many Images and BeamShots*



Patriot36 said:


> 3) No would say it takes about 5-10 seconds to reach full brightness (I counted backwards from 10 inside my head every time I turned it on, and that seams to be the time before it is warmed completely up).quote]
> 
> 5-10 second warm up time for an HID is really fast! My AE24/S takes a good 20-25 seconds before it's really blazing. Every time I look at this review I start contemplating the purchase.


And I thought the Warrior III was slow at worm up . But overall i would say it is well worth the money, a very well build flashlight with awesome output.


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## Patriot (Oct 21, 2007)

Since most all of my HIDs have smooth reflectors and are great throwers, I like the idea of the frosted reflector and the "wall of light" (compared too other HID lights) effect that I see in the pictures. The only thing that could be better is if it came with two reflectors, one smooth and one frosted. What a neat combo that would be.


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## Patriot (Oct 26, 2007)

whc, now that you've had your light for a couple of weeks is it still living up to your expectations? Anything about it now that you don't like?

Thanks


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## whc (Oct 26, 2007)

Patriot36 said:


> whc, now that you've had your light for a couple of weeks is it still living up to your expectations? Anything about it now that you don't like?
> 
> Thanks


Don't have the light, only borrowed it to do a review for a Danish website, had it for a few days, so hard to say how it is on the long run ...


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## Patriot (Oct 26, 2007)

whc said:


> Don't have the light, only borrowed it to do a review for a Danish website, had it for a few days, so hard to say how it is on the long run ...


 


I see now that you said right at the top of your OP that it was borrowed.

I guess that I've been a little silly at the thought of ordering one of these for the past two weeks. I thought the WE/Boxer/24w was well constructed and performed great for it's size. I actually sold that light but sometimes I miss it. The pictures that you posted were great and it does appear to be a notch higher in quality that my Boxer. The machining and parts look nicer to me and it appears to be finished better. I never cared for the finish of WE light all that much. Your review has drawn me more to this light than any of the other threads.

Thanks again whc :thumbsup:


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## whc (Oct 28, 2007)

I know exactly how you are feeling, after doing this review I also had thought very intensively about buying this flashlight, was just so amazed about the output you could get from this flashlight, man I thought I had bright LED flashlights, but nothing compares to this .

Though it is not in the cheap end, even though the US dollar is very low, it is still at a price that is just a tad more that I can justify for, I mean 90% of the time it is my EDC 120P that I uses, rest of the time my bigger VB-16, and rarely has need for the amount of output from the WIII, maybe for about 2-5% of the time, that is just allot of money to spend on a item that will only be used rarely, so that made me drop the idea of getting one, though am still in the search of a more cheap HID or maybe a multi LED flashlight. But right now I am saving my money for the upcoming flashlights from HDS .


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## Patriot (Oct 30, 2007)

whc said:


> I know exactly how you are feeling, after doing this review I also had thought very intensively about buying this flashlight, was just so amazed about the output you could get from this flashlight, man I thought I had bright LED flashlights, but nothing compares to this .
> 
> Though it is not in the cheap end, even though the US dollar is very low, it is still at a price that is just a tad more that I can justify for, I mean 90% of the time it is my EDC 120P that I uses, rest of the time my bigger VB-16, and rarely has need for the amount of output from the WIII, maybe for about 2-5% of the time, that is just allot of money to spend on a item that will only be used rarely, so that made me drop the idea of getting one, though am still in the search of a more cheap HID or maybe a multi LED flashlight. But right now I am saving my money for the upcoming flashlights from HDS .


 
Well you're picture intensive review inspired me to pull the trigger on this thing. Mine will be arriving on Thursday.


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## whc (Nov 2, 2007)

Patriot36 said:


> Well you're picture intensive review inspired me to pull the trigger on this thing. Mine will be arriving on Thursday.


Did you get your WIII yet?


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## Patriot (Nov 4, 2007)

No....I didn't. I purchased the light and overnight shipping, but the following day I was sent an automatic email saying that it was back-ordered. Since it was automated, no ETA was given. 
Although I wanted to inquire about ETA and ended up canceling my order. 


To make a long story short, it will be another 2-4 weeks before I have one. Thanks for asking though. I've saved one of your Warrior pictures to my desktop to stare at while I wait. :shrug:


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## whc (Nov 4, 2007)

To bad, waiting time is always the hardest . But when you get it would be interesting to hear your opinion when you get it, after all you have some more experience with HID flashlights than me, would be nice to hear if you like this monster ...


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## picard (Nov 4, 2007)

where can one buy microfire online in the US?


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## Border (Nov 5, 2007)

picard said:


> where can one buy microfire online in the US?



I have seen Microfire on opticshq.com and fenix-store.com.


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## brightnorm (Nov 6, 2007)

No matter how cheap or tempting a HID light is, I've decided to not buy another one unless its color temperature is no higher than 5000K, (although a truly exceptional one with a slightly higher K might tempt me). I've been happy with my compact and light Boxer 24. My only gripe is that darn 6000K beam. It is simply too blue. 

The question is, with the availability of lower color temperature bulbs, WHY are we stuck with these Blue Babies? Some of the more expensive HIDs (Polarion, etc) have 4200K bulbs. Is it just a matter of price?

I have yet to hear a satisfactory answer to this question. I have HID money burning a hole in my pocket, but I will not spend it on another Blue Baby.

Brightnorm


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## Patriot (Nov 6, 2007)

whc said:


> To bad, waiting time is always the hardest . But when you get it would be interesting to hear your opinion when you get it, after all you have some more experience with HID flashlights than me, would be nice to hear if you like this monster ...


 
Thanks whc. I'll post a full review when I get it. I'm pretty confident that I'll like it very much.

I've read so much about it, viewed your pics and others, viewed a video of it in use and think that I kinda know what to expect from it. As Brightnorm mentioned, it's going to have a 6000k color temperature which I'm not that keen on. Since I already realize this and know that I can live with it, there won't be any surprises. There just aren't many choices in a 35w, compact, aluminum bodied, HA finished, Li-ion powered light. I'm looking for something to replace my X990 and I can't spend $1800 on a Polarion X1 right now. The way I see it, the Warrior III is a relative bargain considering that it doesn't have any competition while maintaining the attributes I mentioned above. I was hopeful that AE would do a compact 35W HID but it seems things are stagnant right now. Maybe next year there will be more manufacturers making handheld 35W HIDs. We'll see.


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## brightnorm (Nov 17, 2007)

brightnorm said:


> No matter how cheap or tempting a HID light is, I've decided to not buy another one unless its color temperature is no higher than 5000K......I will not spend $$$ on another Blue Baby.
> 
> Brightnorm


 
You know the expression - _"to eat your own words"?_ Well that's me. In a moment of Flashaholic compulsive weakness I bought the 3500 and got it a couple of days ago.

It's excellent in many ways, but has some shortcomings, among them of course is that blue(ish) light . I'll go into detail in a future post.

Brightnorm


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## dkoong (Nov 17, 2007)

where did you order yours from??

im still waiting for mine to be shipped from opticshq

its difficult this waiting!

keenly awaiting your review


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## brightnorm (Nov 17, 2007)

Fenix Store. Very fast service.

BN


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## Patriot (Nov 18, 2007)

Kobi at OpticsHQ said that they'll be in this week. Hopefully it will be early in the week and we can get them before the weekend.


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## dkoong (Nov 19, 2007)

yeah.. thats what he told me too. i have one on order....


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## mitchell300 (Nov 19, 2007)

I just ordered one today from Optics HQ.

Does anyone know what their usual turn around is?

Also what discount you get for the optics HQ membership item?

When I get it I will let you all know how it goes.


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## dwminer (Nov 21, 2007)

Patriot36 said:


> Kobi at OpticsHQ said that they'll be in this week. Hopefully it will be early in the week and we can get them before the weekend.


Also have one on order from them. With the holiday weekend coming up, it my slow things a bit.


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## brightnorm (Nov 21, 2007)

I'm fairly satisfied with my 3500. It is solid, bright, well balanced, relatively compact and light enough to be belt-carried, seems to be regulated, and has an integrated proprietary LiON battery (which is ok as long as replacements are available in 2-3 years when the battery will have lost a significant percent of its capacity, whether it is used or not, and assuming the company is still in business. That is why battery modules using 18650's or other standard Li-ONs are preferable; you will always be able to refill, even if the manufacturer is kaput or no longer makes replacement parts for that model. In this respect, the Boxer 24 using 3x18650's has a superior design).

The beam is very blue, especially noticeable when projected onto buildings or structures, less noticeable in natural outdoor surroundings but still relatively poor for color, depth perception or contrast.

Still, for the price the 3500 is an excellent buy, and I would hope that lower K bulbs will eventually trickle down to these less expensive HID lights.

BTW, I couldn't order the Microfire holster but I modified a Boxer 24 holster which now fits it perfectly.

Brightnorm


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## terrafirma (May 10, 2009)

Hi, I am thinking about ordering one of these and am a little confused on the correct color temp, 7000k or has it now changed to 6000k etc.? I read that the newer models have changed away from 7000k?

The Microfire web site still seems to quote 7000k.?


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## Patriot (May 11, 2009)

terrafirma said:


> Hi, I am thinking about ordering one of these and am a little confused on the correct color temp, 7000k or has it now changed to 6000k etc.? I read that the newer models have changed away from 7000k?
> 
> The Microfire web site still seems to quote 7000k.?





Everything that I've read from dealers or from Microfire shows that this model is between 6000-7000K. Mine own light seems like it's right around 6000K or perhaps just a little bit higher. At the time a bought mine I got a very good deal around $400 but the price has since gone up. Although it's been a reliable light thus far if I was considering it today I'd probably go with a less expensive, higher performing light like the 35W Oracle.


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## Outdoors Fanatic (May 11, 2009)

Patriot said:


> I see now that you said right at the top of your OP that it was borrowed.
> 
> I guess that I've been a little silly at the thought of ordering one of these for the past two weeks. I thought the WE/Boxer/24w was well constructed and performed great for it's size. I actually sold that light but sometimes I miss it. The pictures that you posted were great and it does appear to be a notch higher in quality that my Boxer. The machining and parts look nicer to me and it appears to be finished better. I never cared for the finish of WE light all that much. Your review has drawn me more to this light than any of the other threads.
> 
> Thanks again whc :thumbsup:


The Warrior is fully regulated while the Boxer is not. So I'd say it's going to be a good replacement for your Boxer... Oh yeah, it's brighter to boot!


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## chakrawal (Jun 17, 2009)

Can anyone tell if the 2009 K3500R has any improvement over the first released version?


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## Outdoors Fanatic (Jun 17, 2009)

brightnorm said:


> No matter how cheap or tempting a HID light is, I've decided to not buy another one unless its color temperature is no higher than 5000K, (although a truly exceptional one with a slightly higher K might tempt me). I've been happy with my compact and light Boxer 24. My only gripe is that darn 6000K beam. It is simply too blue.
> 
> The question is, with the availability of lower color temperature bulbs, WHY are we stuck with these Blue Babies? Some of the more expensive HIDs (Polarion, etc) have 4200K bulbs. Is it just a matter of price?
> 
> ...


The L35 has a warm-white HID bulb (4200K) and it costs less than the Warrior K3500R, check it out:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/titanium-l35.html


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## Patriot (Jun 18, 2009)

chakrawal said:


> Can anyone tell if the 2009 K3500R has any improvement over the first released version?




As far as I can tell there has been no real improvements in the newest version. They've redesigned the body some and have done away with the focus mechanism, probably in an effort to reduce manufacturing costs. While I still like my K3500 and think it's a good light I personally feel that it's a bit overpriced. I acquired mine for slightly under $400 when it was first introduced but it's well over $500 now. Frankly, you can get a lot more light for the money with the "Tactical HID" or the 35W Oracle. Both are longer than the K3500 but they also run longer and warm up more quickly. Best of all, they're half the price and generally get great reviews.


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## LOUSYGREATWALLGM (Sep 16, 2009)

Hello MicroFire owners, I'm wondering if it is possible to swap the batteries with a higher capacity on my K3500R, did any of you tried it before? Thanks in advance!

Jeff


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## brightnorm (Sep 16, 2009)

Outdoors Fanatic said:


> The L35 has a warm-white HID bulb (4200K) and it costs less than the Warrior K3500R, check it out:
> 
> http://www.batteryjunction.com/titanium-l35.html


 
I bought one months ago. After many returns, battery tweaks etc I was told to return it and wait for a replacement. Battery Junction hopes to have them in this month. After waiting almost half a year for a functioning L35 I am hopeful but keeping my fingers firmly crossed.

Brightnorm


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