What are your "deal killers"?

[SUREFIRED]

Deal killers:
-no water resistance
-3x AAA
-UI where you click several times more for off
-terrible beam
- 'angry' blue tint
- cheap plastic bodies


Edit- 101st post!! Flashaholic status!

 

[ypsifly]

3xAAA
Angry Blue
Cheap Lens
Poor Construction/QC

 

[flatline]

I'm intrigued by those who won't use a CR123 based light but will use one with 14500s and 18650s - is it a capacity issue with the Li Ion RCR123's compared to a 14500 or 18650? Just curious as I like the size and form factor of a CR123 based light. However lights that cannot use a rechargeable cell at all is a deal breaker (one reason I suspect my otherwise delightful CR2 Ion may end up in the Marketplace).

I can't speak for the others, buy my reasoning goes something like this:

I use the 14500 in my EDC (QAAw) because it's cheap to run, but like the ability to use any other AA if I need to. It's hard to scavenge CR123 primaries when your rechargeable has drained, but AAs are extremely simple to find.

I plan on getting a 18650 light because I find the AA light smaller than it needs to be in order to comfortably carry on my belt, so I figure I may as well step it up a bit even though I know that a 18650 light won't be useful in an emergency once the cell is drained...but that's why I have the AA light (yes, I plan to carry 2 flashlights on my work belt).

 

[Squidboy]

1. Electronics surface mounted where they can be damaged (like Nitcore d10 head)
2. Stupid stupid User Interfaces (keep em simple, dont mind programming them, that way I get what I want)
3. Looks like a dogs breakfast (simple straightforward design please)
4. Right size for what it is (dont want a 1/2 Pound EDC)
5. Batteries (can it use AA or cr123, could it use 14500 18650 if I wanted. Its a fallback thing)

Think that about covers it, I apply my rules from 5-1

 

[AMRaider]

Deal breakers:

1. Lights with current drain when turned off. For lights that I would depend on in an emergency, this is not acceptable. When a light is off, I need it to be 100% off (open circuit). The only battery depletion I can accept is the battery itself aging. The exception to this would be lights that I would not depend on in an emergency.

2. Lights manufactured in China. My own personal preference. (Not going to debate why in this thread.)

3. Lights with too many modes/levels. I like my lights simple. For my needs, one or two modes (excluding off) is plenty. For some lights, one mode is enough. There are some lights that are exception to this rule; the Arc 6 is one example. I can customize the Arc 6 to have anywhere from 1 to 3 modes.

4. Lights that have poor water resistance. If my light gets wet, or goes for a brief dunk, I need it to continue working. (I'm not talking about dive lights.)

5. Flimsy lights. My lights, as with all of my tools, have to be durable.

6. Lights that require two hands to operate.




Note: The above is just how I feel at the time of this post. All is subject to change.

 

[copperfox]

Noticeable beam artifacts

Bad tint (Fenix E01 I'm lookin at you!)

Can only take CR123 primaries (many surefires)

3xAAA format

tail cap crenelations (My thumb goes there, are you trying to stab me? Tiablo ACE-G I'm lookin at you!)

 

[jchoo]

Reverse clickies
Sharp edges and threads(not to be confused with aggressive knurling) and poor ergonomics in general
visible PWM
Useless modes that are not tucked away where I will never see them
UIs that require a flowchart and an explanation to understand
Tasteless laser engraving
Poor finishing before anodizing
Poor anodizing
Purple, pink, and green tinted "white" LEDs
Threads that feel like a pepper mill
Bad/no O-rings

Yeah, I think that's enough.

EDIT:

Hmm... this seems to have become a pet peeve list, not a deal breaker list. I've moved the pet peeves down here:

Fingerprints inside sealed bezels
Uselessly tiny lanyard holes
Useless clips (too weak, too damn big, too damn small, and just plain BAD/fugly - I would rather have no clip at all and just add a McGizmo clip)
Lights that have poor proportions (SF E2e=fantastic, Fenix TK30=too long, or not wide enough - take your pick)
GITD on a tactical light
Polished/SS on a tactical light

 

[Moonshadow]

Think most of it's been said . . .

3xAAA :thumbsdow

Bad tint

And definitely no stinking reverse clickies :sick2:

Added to that . . . I think I've bought my last XR-E light. Come on, guys, let's get those XP-Gs on the go !!

 

[1wrx7]

#1 Strobe/SOS function... it drives me crazy... and for me it is useless.

#2 Since I'm so used to forward clickys... no reverse clickys allowed.


I could probally think of more... but those are the two things that jump out at me.

 

[travelinman]

In order of priority!

No strobe...no sale :thumbsdow

No low low low mode....no sale :thumbsdow

poor quality.....no sale :thumbsdow

 

[tolkaze]

No real deal killers here, since I'm only new in the game of 'proper' light, and have only bought what i consider to be decent products. The only thing I have against one of my lights is direct drive from the get go.

Seriously, the LED Lenser P7 (model number only... no P7 :duh2 has maximum brightness for about 4 seconds, then it just drains away to nothing... eneloops bring that time up to a couple of minutes at best.

 

[:)>]

I want my lights to be waterproof and ones that don't do that well are off of my list regardless of how nice they are.

 

[lolzertank]

• Takes 1xCR123 but not 1xRCR123. If it takes 2xCR123, it had better take 18650s.
• Has too many modes that are hard to access
• Is angry blue
• Is less than 10 lumens
• Has a bad size/runtime/brightness ratio. Example: If a Mag 3D makes 10 lumens of light from a horribly underdriven Luxeon Rebel, it had better do that a month.
• Takes CR2. If a light needs to be small, it should take 10280 or 10180. CR2 is too thick.
• Takes 3xAAA. Way too lazy on the manufacturers part.
• Is from DX or KD. Sorry, it used to be good, but then I woke up...
• Has a SOS. I think I can do it myself, even with a reverse clicky.
• Are disposable. Fauxtons, sorry but I've used my E01 for much longer than what a 30 pack of you guys could do.

 

[zven]

In no particular order:

- Difficult or impossible to operate with one hand.

- Very poor tint in a "white" light.

- Multi-click interface.

- Less than an hour of runtime on high.

- Beam contains many/significant artifacts.

- Not dunkable in water.

- Poor QC, durability, reliability, etc.

- Not designed to use standard primaries (i.e., either AA or CR123).

Those are all the ones that come to mind. Other factors go into my decision of whether or not to by a light, but any of the above factors will pretty much kill the purchase on the spot. Then again, if I'm getting a light for a very specific purpose, it may not be necessary for it to pass each of the above criteria (maybe I want a strictly rechargeable light, so proprietary cells are okay, or a light strictly for use around the shop, so multi-click is okay, etc.).

 

[GarageBoy]

Ugly type face on the writing
Grinding threads
Slop in the threads (I want to be able to grab the head or tail and pull and not have it move up and down)

 

[Big_Ed]

If it's not made in the U.S.A., it's usually (but not always) a deal breaker for me.

 

[daimleramg]

Pocket clip that can not be removed without breaking.... god I hate pocket clips makes the light look so fugly.

 

[flatline]

If it's not made in the U.S.A., it's usually (but not always) a deal breaker for me.

Besides Maglite, SureFire, and Malkoff, what other lights are made in the USA?

--flatline

 

[Darkspark]

- those that cater to the mall ninjas with "killer" protrusions and sharpened "impaler spikes"

- not efficient

- cheap feeling and/or lax tolerances

- loud pwm noise

- battery type that is not handy for me to acquire
i.e. cr2

- ugly to me:sick2:...i realize it may not be ugly to someone else though...

 

[brighterisbetter]

Besides Maglite, SureFire, and Malkoff, what other lights are made in the USA?

Inova
Muyshondt
McGizmo
Novatac (some)
Pelican
Ra/HDS
Streamlight

probably several others I'm forgetting