toughen up chinese flashlights!

[yliu]

Have you seen the Fenix TK40 torture test? In my opinion, Chinese lights are tough enough already, maybe they can make their products more consistent and reliable.

It wouldn't be hard to make a tough light - just use steel instead of aluminum, but then it will weight much more and it would also be more expensive since steel is harder to work with than aluminium.

 

[Edi]

I don't Bully when someone disagrees. I get upset when people like you accuse people of being racist. If the moderators thought I was bullying or racist I'm sure they would step in. Your first paragraph i agree with but they are following what the competition is doing mainly flashlight manufacturers from China. ( hope I didnt offend anybody, sorry in advance )

 

[BoarHunter]

If you want a tough light, just use reinforced polymers ! Problem is for cooling !

 

[jimmy1970]

I've had twoTK40s and both experienced switch failure!..... next!

James

Have you seen the Fenix TK40 torture test? In my opinion, Chinese lights are tough enough already, maybe they can make their products more consistent and reliable.

It wouldn't be hard to make a tough light - just use steel instead of aluminum, but then it will weight much more and it would also be more expensive since steel is harder to work with than aluminium.

 

[BoarHunter]

Zebra Light is an American company, not Chinese. It's entirely up to the company as to where they have the product made and to what specifications. A lot of high end brands are having products made to very high tolerances in China now.

When someone disagrees with you, you can't just bully them into seeing your point of view. I agree with CarpentyHero, the thread title is somewhat racist.

So you bully people by calling them racist !

Indeed a lot of good products coming from China but a a lot a junk and dangerous products. Just smell the plastics and various cheap imported goods, it is striking ! Often to win the bid, they will start with a good product then lower the quality to cash more. If that is racist, OK, facts are then racists !
The responsibility lies also with the importers who wants to make huge profits. And of course the customer, most prefer to buy cheap throw away junk that you will replace by newer cheap junk instead of quality that can be fixed. It is one step further than built in obsolescence. We all loose in the end, unemployment, diminishing natural resources, waste you don't know what to do with, pollution.

 

[roadkill1109]

There are tough chinese lights out there, if you're willing to pay.

 

[roadkill1109]

I have an old Quark AA and a old Fenix E21. Both made in China, both subjected to quite an abuse, both still working quite well. All lights are not created equal, but not all Chinese lights are crap. Quality can come at a price, for those willing to shell out the dough. I'd rather spend a little for a pretty good light that should it break, no worries, buy another! Than spend a lot on a light and wonder if it will last longer than the one i got for half its price.

And on that note, I noticed I have been purchasing a lot Crelant lately. Hahaha!

 

[roadkill1109]

So you bully people by calling them racist !

Indeed a lot of good products coming from China but a a lot a junk and dangerous products. Just smell the plastics and various cheap imported goods, it is striking ! Often to win the bid, they will start with a good product then lower the quality to cash more. If that is racist, OK, facts are then racists !
The responsibility lies also with the importers who wants to make huge profits. And of course the customer, most prefer to buy cheap throw away junk that you will replace by newer cheap junk instead of quality that can be fixed. It is one step further than built in obsolescence. We all loose in the end, unemployment, diminishing natural resources, waste you don't know what to do with, pollution.

While its true Quality Control may not be heard of in some Chinese Manufacturing Companies, but some reputable ones do make fine products. It's hard to pinpoint which ones are the perfect ones as lots of them do have hits and misses, but so far, the lights I have bought from 4Sevens, Fenix, Jetbeam, Sunwayman, Crelant, Lumintop, Olight, iTP, and Dereelight all are in good working condition. Lucky? I might have a horseshoe up my @$$. haha.

 

[pjandyho]

Some of you mentioned about performance. What exactly is your definition of performance? Putting out incredible amount of lumens? I have nothing against Chinese manufacturers and I do buy some Chinese made lights once in awhile, but I do notice that not all manufacturers care about lifelong performance. Some overdrive their lights and some drive them hard enough to being almost overdriven, thus resulting in a lot of heat to build up within. We all know that heat is the number one enemy for LED and not many people understand about letting their lights cool down during use. Some people will run it on full output for the whole duration of the battery life and in fact cause the LED to degrade rapidly over time due to heat build up. If you look at reputable US manufacturers (won't name names), they all share the same idea of not driving their lights hard so as to maintain a certain level of durability but people are claiming that these American manufacturers are underperforming? IMO, I would rather these Chinese manufacturers put more care into proper heat sinking and heat management than just making the light tougher. There is no point holding a chunk of metal in your hands that refuses to light up anymore.

 

[yliu]

If you look at reputable US manufacturers (won't name names), they all share the same idea of not driving their lights hard so as to maintain a certain level of durability but people are claiming that these American manufacturers are underperforming? IMO, I would rather these Chinese manufacturers put more care into proper heat sinking and heat management than just making the light tougher. There is no point holding a chunk of metal in your hands that refuses to light up anymore.

Doesn't the UB3T and the M6LT both use XML chips? They don't seem to be any dimmer than other Chinese XML light in the category.

 

[pjandyho]

Doesn't the UB3T and the M6LT both use XML chips? They don't seem to be any dimmer than other Chinese XML light in the category.

Yes they are but don't forget that they have a much bigger body mass for proper heat sinking too. Their main beam appears brighter compared to many lights that are rated around the 750 to 900 lumen range but that is because the TIR optics are concentrating most of the output onto a point source, not because they are driven hard.

 

[Edi]

Horseshoe isn't the only thing it seems.

 

[Dillo0]

As much as I like these new lights, one of the gripes I have about a lot of modern products is reliability and durability. My Zebralight SC600 is at Zebralight because it somehow quit working for no apparent reason. Also, to echo comments about the hard anodizing, the Zebralight SC600 and Nitecore TM11 anodizing is not particularly durable. It may be worlds better than the softer anodizing with the bright colors, but I have found that it chips and scrapes off fairly easily in the course of normal use. I would like it if these were made in such a way that they are impervious to wear under normal use. I don't want to see a high shock impact rating then see my flashlight fall from a lesser height and fail.

 

[Cheapskate]

The thread title implies a problem, where there is none.

I have a Jetbeam Ti M R2, made of 6-4 Ti Alloy. I feel fairly confident you could fit it in a press and use it to crush most 'American' flashlights into flattened tubes.

 

[lightwater]

Also, to echo comments about the hard anodizing, the Zebralight SC600 and Nitecore TM11 anodizing is not particularly durable. It may be worlds better than the softer anodizing with the bright colors, but I have found that it chips and scrapes off fairly easily in the course of normal use. I would like it if these were made in such a way that they are impervious to wear under normal use. I don't want to see a high shock impact rating then see my flashlight fall from a lesser height and fail.

The lights I have, have quite a number of scratches & marks through the anodising, I do use them but don't flog them to death by any stretch of the imagination! Run of the mill, in other words bottom of the range, 10um anodising as used for Clear anodising on cheap domestic window frames, leaves my lights' anodising durability look very third rate. I've got some cheap 10um black anodised frames that have been bumped, knocked, dropped, assembled & disassembled countless times over decades. There is barely an offensive scratch to be seen.

If we got HA on our lights you could use them in a bearing, or at the very least could cope with punishment of keys in the same pocket!

 

[peterkin101]

A Fenix TK41 retaining the exact same dimensions inc gauge of tube but made out of Titanium.

 

[lightwater]

Titanium is great, tough as nails, but it's a good insulator! Not really ideal for a hard driven LED. But then again anodising adds a degree of insulation!

So maybe what we need is copper heatsink through entire body, aluminium casing & titanium ends. But then there will be a price issue!

 

[fvansalemor]

With all the Iphones and Ipads out there, why not make it with Gorrilla Glass? The wife and daughter ahve broken two phones and Ipad by of all theings dropping them in the "CAN". Waterproof yes but not the corners, cracked. YEs even the Gorrilla Glass can break in hit in the corner and dad ahs deep pockets, Geeze!

Not all American made lights are tough, and not all Chinese lights are not tough.

Its all a question of degree.

For example, THOUSANDS of Surefires suffered broken lenses when dropped...its not limited to Chinese lights by any stretch of the imagination.

ANY light, if it lands wrong, can break a glass lens...its just the involved physics.

Substitute a tougher and less brittle polycarbonate lens, and a lot of breaks are prevented though.


Isolating the lens between two O-rings, making the glass thicker and tempered better, etc, can help to cushion it/protect it on drops, but not always against direct and shock impact, etc. So, just because one guy had a dozen broken SF lens doesn't mean a SF light is not tough...it just means that GLASS is not tough, and, that its a weak link in most lights to start with.

 

[lightwater]

Better still, it could be machined out of a solid block of Unobtainium!