Real comparison LD01 vs Maratac AAA

I have EDC'd my Fenix LD01 Stainless Steel for two years on a ball chain lanyard and tucked in my shirt pocket. It's a great light and I use it all the time. However, when you get right down to it, the Maratac AAA stainless steel is a better light. The Maratac is smaller and lighter, has a superior quality beam, has great, agressive knurling, comes in SS or aluminum like the LD01, and operates well on LiIon 10440's. Between my two lights, the Maratac has a better working UI switching compared to a sloppy UI with my LD01. I still love my Fenix AAA but in all categories, the Maratac AAA has it beat.

I agree 100%
Maratac AAA is my keychain EDC since I got it

I also own a SS LD01 and a SS Maratac, and prefer the Maratac for the same reasons. The knurling, the size, the beam and the pocket clip make the Maratac a great light. Who would've thought you could beat the LD01 for half the price?

is the maratac as bright with 10440 than the LD01 ?

and for me, the design is also important... and the Maratac is rather ugly, with his flat cap and his prominent keychain-ring...:naughty:

...while the LD01 is a very nice little edc, the best, I think :thumbsup:

:devil:

I also have both,LOD with a rebel,and a SS Maratac, as much as i like the looks of the Maratac,i still have the LOD in my keys.The action on the LOD is smoother and easier to engage,more positive feeling.The maratac needs more force to engage the modes,maybe its just mine,but I like the lod with the rebel.The rebel puts out a great beam.

I agree on several points. In my comparison both the LD01 and Maratac are running with 10440's and their highs are pretty much equal except the LD01 has an artifact in the middle of the beam which annoys me somewhat. The SS LD01 is a beautiful light and its' smooth twist action goes along with its' smooth finish which, I think, feels good in my hand. I also like the ss clip for the LD and the placement of the mounting hole for the split ring so it can tail stand. No question, the LD is a great light. I don't have or know anything about the Rebel. Who makes it?

My experience is exactly the opposite of the OP. My LD01 and L0D are both much more positive than the few maratac's I have had and the ITP E03 I have now.

My LD01 has a better spot. More throw, and has never flickered once, period. My maratacs never seemed to activate solidly and would tend ot flicker unless you tightened the pee out of it.

The threads on the LD01 are tighter and the side walls are thicker to avoid the issues maratac has with the head snapping off.

The key chain attachment was no where near as solid as the LD01.

I don't really care for clips on lights such as these so that is not something I worry about, but the maratac is facing the wrong direction for using on a hat bill to direct the light. The LD01 can go on both ways so I can use it for a head lamp.

I will not purchase any more maratac lights. The ITP is basically the same thing, but with a better key chain attachment point. Hasn't flickered much so it seems to be an improvement. The head is still too loose. If you don't turn it off far enough it will activate itself in your pocket, wearing down the battery.

The LD01 is a much better light IMHO.

ETA: I gave away my SS maratac because it never seemed to want to change levels the same way twice. It would go from medium, to medium, to high, then who knows what next. I am not sure why. The looseness of the head might have contributed to this effect. The Fenix never had issues.

Batman, I'm a little confused, you refer to your LD10 which is a single AA Fenix light with a clickie and twist head. Do you mean the LD01 AAA twistie? Simple mistake. Anyway, you make good points, especially about the reversable clip for hat use (which I do with my LD01).

batmanacw said:

The threads on the LD10 are tighter and the side walls are thicker to avoid the issues maratac has with the head snapping off.

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As has been discussed in other threads, there has been one claim of the head breaking off after a short drop from someone's pants pocket supported by a couple photos of a broken light.

With the widespread popularity of this light, one report- whether true or not, is not yet enough evidence to conclude the Maratac or iTP has widespread "issues" with this, or to perpetuate rumors as fact that it is common flaw with this light.

Spence said:

Batman, I'm a little confused, you refer to your LD10 which is a single AA Fenix light with a clickie and twist head. Do you mean the LD01 AAA twistie? Simple mistake. Anyway, you make good points, especially about the reversable clip for hat use (which I do with my LD01).

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That is what we call a brain fart!

sabre7 said:

As has been discussed in other threads, there has been one claim of the head breaking off after a short drop from someone's pants pocket supported by a couple photos of a broken light.

With the widespread popularity of this light, one report- whether true or not, is not yet enough evidence to conclude the Maratac or iTP has widespread "issues" with this, or to perpetuate rumors as fact that it is common flaw with this light.

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I have seen two different pictures on another website. The head is extremely thin over the threads. Add in an oversized bore and you have a recipe for problems.

8/14 was the first time I heard about one of them breaking.

This was another picture from 11/11 on ar15.com.

batmanacw said:

I don't really care for clips on lights such as these so that is not something I worry about, but the maratac is facing the wrong direction for using on a hat bill to direct the light. The LD01 can go on both ways so I can use it for a head lamp.

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The clip on the Maratac is fully reversible for use on a hat bill as a head lamp.

Spence said:

I have EDC'd my Fenix LD01 Stainless Steel for two years on a ball chain lanyard and tucked in my shirt pocket. It's a great light and I use it all the time. However, when you get right down to it, the Maratac AAA stainless steel is a better light. The Maratac is smaller and lighter, has a superior quality beam, has great, agressive knurling, comes in SS or aluminum like the LD01, and operates well on LiIon 10440's. Between my two lights, the Maratac has a better working UI switching compared to a sloppy UI with my LD01. I still love my Fenix AAA but in all categories, the Maratac AAA has it beat.

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how can you EDC a light that has been out about only a year.... for two years?

sabre7 said:

The clip on the Maratac is fully reversible for use on a hat bill as a head lamp.

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You are correct. The Itp is not reversible. I don't still own a maratac since it was not up to par.

When you reach my age, time and spacial relationships have a way of getting confused. I carried an LD01 aluminum prior to the SS coming out then gave it to my son-in-law where he uses it as his primary back packing light, for which there was a very long thread a few months ago.:thinking:
Sabre, you are absolutely right about the Maratac clip, good point.

A real comparison with no beam shots and side by side pictures? This sounds more like a troll comparison. That's unfortunate because a side by side picture would show that the Maratac is much smaller. That alone makes it a better choice than the LD01 for me. Oh, and it costs a lot less too.

As far as the Maratac breaking, I dropped mine about 5 times already. There is some scratches on the outside. That's about it. I imagine you have to use some serious force to break it off. My best guess on this situation is a few unskilled modder wannabes tried to mod the light and ended breaking it and tried to return it unsuccessfully. They are pissed off and post A FEW pictures of the broken light.

batmanacw said:

You are correct. The Itp is not reversible. I don't still own a maratac since it was not up to par.

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The clip can be reversed on the iTP too. Obviously you dislike these lights... you are entitled to your opinion but you have no first hand experience, and not enough reliable information to back up your claims as fact.

I like the MaraTac a lot (especially at that price point), but it hasn't replaced the LOD on my key chain because I don't trust the attachment clip.

sabre7 said:

The clip can be reversed on the iTP too. Obviously you dislike these lights... you are entitled to your opinion but you have no first hand experience, and not enough reliable information to back up your claims as fact.

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I am holding a itp in my hand. The dia. of the body next to the head is not recessed for reversing. The clip could slide if I pull on the flashlight with it in this position. Not to mention the clip would have to be sprung more to stay behind the head. You will scrape the crap out of the finish trying to reverse it.

I bought this ITP last weekend and it is an improvement over he maratac, but not a major one. I actually like the light. It would have been better if they had made it about .050" thicker to allow for more side wall.

The side walls on the ITP I have in my hands is about the same as the maratac, @ .019" per side. At the end of the threaded section, there is a cut into the dia. that is at least .007" deep to take the wall thickness down to .012" per side. Pretty darn thin.This is the spot where the maratac has broken. I cannot measure a groove that thin so I had to use an optical comparison. The major dia. of the threads of this intermediate part of the head comes down further than the dia. of the internal minor dia. so the wall must stay at a pretty constant thickness.

The Fenix has a similar thickness of .0185" wall thickness, but does not reduce in dia. the same way. Probably why they do not seem to break. I will not take my flashlight apart further to get dimensions since it really doesn't not matter to me.

gswitter said:

I like the MaraTac a lot (especially at that price point), but it hasn't replaced the LOD on my key chain because I don't trust the attachment clip.

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people have been replacing the clip with an automotive clip ring which IMO looks to be best if you are not using the clip at all.