A flashlight brand you can REALLY trust ?

[azzid]

Surefire and HDS.

 

[RemcoM]

Fenix, Olight

 

[Quiksilver]

I carried an HDS EDC Ultimate for about 5 years and it one day disappeared. It's been gone 1.5 years now and I'm still mourning.

I just bought two 4Sevens lights and have been very impressed. They have so many to choose from, but I found the Quark 123 Tactical and Quark X 123^2 Tactical to be great for EDC and fantastic brightness.

I've been disappointed in Maglite and Surefire for many years now. Maglite has had the same design forever and has gotten into LEDs way late in the game. Their brightness is amazingly dim compared to many new lights out there. Surefire is a fantastic light too, but they too seem to be resting on their laurels(I own two surefire L4s and they ware great in 2004, just not as impressive today). A coworker just bought a 6P and was showing it off a few days ago. He was sad to see that his brand new light is half the brightness of the one CR123 4Sevens I just bought.

I don't mind that Mag-Lite has kept their design. I would have appreciated if they offered lights at a few different brightness/runtime settings, with LED of course.

I have a Mag-Lite with a Malkoff drop-in. It sits in the vehicle glove-box and is probably the least-used light I have. Its good but I still have a donut in the beam, cant fix that.

---

SureFire is okay. I like their E1B and even the 6PX Pro is okay if you don't mind the tailcap glitch.

Tell your co-worker to purchase a Malkoff Devices M61. That bland 6P will get a whole new life with it and will be a light to show off then.

 

[Jash]

Nitecore should not be on that list. Malkoff should be on that list.

 

[Vesper]

A coworker just bought a 6P and was showing it off a few days ago. He was sad to see that his brand new light is half the brightness of the one CR123 4Sevens I just bought.

You co-worker made a great choice in the "really trust" category. Now just show him how to upgrade it - you'll be a hero.

 

[H-Man]

A light can only be trusted as much as the availability of replacement parts, so Surefire.

 

[lucky8926]

Surefire has always been a good trustoworthy brand for me!!

 

[Steelersster]

So is the thread- A flashlight you can really trust? Or these guys really make some amazing stuff? I'm confused

 

[Dougcov]

Dead batteries are much more common than dead flashlights. spending a lot of time making sure the light is bulletproof and not bringing spare batts is a thought for this thread IMHO

 

[Steelersster]

If it is about trust then I say Fenix. I have had to send two of my sure fires back for work. And I'm about to send a third

 

[tyrantrave]

I will throw in another vote for HDS and Surefire.

 

[jamesmtl514]

I have owned about 30 surefire lights, from the e1e to the m6 and all have performed. I only sent then in for minor work (e2dl because of tail switching levels at the slightest bump, a2l because I cracked the glass, m4 for blown mn60 that took the turbo head with it, m6 faulty mb20. )
All were fixed within a reasonable time.

I continue to buy surefire.
Malkoff is top, I have 3 dropins that I love.

My titanium lights, I believe they would survive anything thrown at them.

 

[LGT]

HDS or Surfire. When I'm working outdoors, during the worst weather, these are the only two that I really trust. This may be a slight to all of the jetbeams, fenix, nitecore, sunwayman, zebra, armytek and peak lights that I have, but when I really need them, these are the two I feel I can really trust.

 

[bwm]

HDS and Muyshondt. Both are built to last and built tough.

 

[n3hcp]

Zebra for the cool factor, good old Surefire 6P for absolute reliability.

 

[rkstar9]

Surefire for sure!

 

[Flashlight Dave]

Dead batteries are much more common than dead flashlights. spending a lot of time making sure the light is bulletproof and not bringing spare batts is a thought for this thread IMHO

I think you make a good point. Perhaps we should consider battery life in the quality equation.
I think the more complicated the light the more likely it will fail. With this in mind it is not just brand that we should look at but how they are constructed. Surefire is well known and I love them. Their 6P is a simple design that is bullet proof for me. Other makers may have lights that are more reliable than some of their other more complicated ones. An example would be a 6P vs a Surefire clicky. Also, there is the issue of water integrity with Surefire of which I know little about. I have also gotten the impression that 4sevens lights may not be as water tight as one might hope for.

 

[LGT]

I think you make a good point. Perhaps we should consider battery life in the quality equation.
I think the more complicated the light the more likely it will fail. With this in mind it is not just brand that we should look at but how they are constructed. Surefire is well known and I love them. Their 6P is a simple design that is bullet proof for me. Other makers may have lights that are more reliable than some of their other more complicated ones. An example would be a 6P vs a Surefire clicky. Also, there is the issue of water integrity with Surefire of which I know little about. I have also gotten the impression that 4sevens lights may not be as water tight as one might hope for.

Did a quick search on 4sevens not being water tight and didn't come up with anytghing. All of my 4sevens, along with other lights rated at IPX8 will get a "dunk test" None of them have failed to pass being submerged for two minutes. Curious to know where your information came from?

 

[Cataract]

Flashlight Dave:

I regularily clean my Quark 123 tactical while washing my hands, I dropped it once or twice in film fixer solution (basically vinegar) and never had a problem. I wonder what gave you the impression they're not up to IPX8??

 

[Imon]

There are many great flashlight companies out there but the two I trust the most are HDS and Surefire.
Sure, most of my SFs have seen little to no abuse but one of them, my E2L, has seen a lot of abuse as it is my camping/hiking light.
Also, my HDS Ra Clicky has seen a lot of abuse ... and on purpose. :duh2:
My buddies who saw the HDS really liked it but when I told them the price they would balk. I remember once one of my buddies showed me his minimag LED conversion and told me how much cheaper it was than my light. I then chucked my Ra Clicky against a brick wall and dared him to do the same with his Maglite - He didn't. :devil: