The most reliable torches

What are the most reliable torches, based on your own experience? They don't necessarily have to be the brightest or the newest, just the most reliable. You have to take into consideration the build quality, contact oxidation, switch durability, ecc. So we want to know which are the torches that will never leave you in the dark! :thumbsup:

Surefire LED lights. I've had many of their incan lights fail on me. Bulbs have burned out and even catastrophic explosions.
No switch or host failures.

Malkoff lights have been very good, when using his complete host ie MD2-3-4 with hounddog and wildcat.
His P60 and MDxx dropins work well but the fitment issues relegate them for playtime only. I wouldn't want to be in a situation where i must depends on their reliability.

McGizmo and MirageMan lights have been flawless and i would put the most trust in them. (they are the most costly and made out titanium.)

Most Surefires, and anything made by Peak.

Honestly, I have only had a few failures, and they have been cheaper lights which I didn't trust much anyway.

You don't say where you located, but most of the US made lights are good to go... Surefire, Streamlight, Malkoff, Elzetta, HDS and probably some others.

For non US made lights fenix seems to be the most popular. I personally like Foursevens but I tend to trust my Surefires and Malkoffs more!

Malkoff and Surefire for me as well.
Another big reason is availability of spare and optional parts.
and its lifetime warranty. Although I've voided the warranty on most my surefires. But I got plenty of spare parts, so I'm not worried.

SF & Maglite (C/D) have been my most reliable. Malkoff to date have been very good but I haven't had them long enough to attest to their long term reliability.

To date for me it's Surefire, Prometheus (Alpha Ready Made) and HDS from personal experience as excellent durable lights (the Alpha being perfectly serviceable by myself for those components that could get some wear and tear). From what I've seen my Armytek Predator is also a very durable light and also has a secondary circuit built in to allow the light to function when the primary circuit fails. Haven't seen it in use, but the light hasn't failed me. As a bonus I'd add the Fenix E01. I personally torture tested a few of these and I haven't been able to break any of those. It's definitely not the brightest, but for the low price it is very durable.

Not counting yet, but I ordered a Malkoff (MDC HA 1AA) based on the experiences of plenty other CPF'ers in similar threads.

Up to now, Surefire, no contest. However I have just bought a HDS and am expecting good results in terms of reliability and longevity.

I must also say, I have a Gerber recon which has continued to function reliably since 2006, despite a leaking AA cell and various mishaps!

While it is true that many of the US made lights mentioned above are excellent,, there are lights made elsewhere which are
as good or in the case of Wiseled better, if you are prepared to pay the price.
I would also recommend Jil Lite, their Stern models are made for dockyard workers and are very strong.
Archon diving lights are not much liked on this forum but are really well made.
For US made lights I own and would recommend the usual- Surefire, Oveready, Malkoff, HDS, and Peak.
None of the above have ever let me down but if I had to grab just one in an emergency it would be the Wiseled.

My 23 year old 4D Maglite has been very reliable......and while i dont for several reasons like my Malkoff MD2, it is built very tough, and doubt it would ever leave you in the dark.

Never had a Surefire P60 host with a Malkoff M61 variant fail or act funny. Ever.

Malkoff M60 in a SF 6P, SF LX2, G2led, G3, G2, E1e. None have failed me.

latestarter said:

My 23 year old 4D Maglite has been very reliable......and while i dont for several reasons like my Malkoff MD2, it is built very tough, and doubt it would ever leave you in the dark.

Click to expand...

My Mags have been tanks too. May I ask what about the MD2 doesn't work for you? Curious.


A lot put down HDS, I have had two. Didn't list them based on my own experience.

Virtually every brand of light with which I have had significant experience, has had at least rare / minor issues of some sort or other.

Best reliability in my personal experience has been Malkoff and Peak, then SureFire and McGizmo, and then HDS/Ra. None of these has had a major issue.

I have not yet had any issues with my (direct drive) JiL Lites, nor my Mac's Customs (EDC and Tri) or Lux-RC, but all of those have seen far less total use.

A wise strategy for reliable light includes a redundancy plan ... "two is one and one is none"

I have no problems with my HDS HCRI 120 clicky. I have a McClicky switch fail under very hard usage. Majority of my lights are McClicky switches. Most works fine. I had M60 fail before. It was after long usage on high for half a day. Malkoff quickly resolved the issue. I have over 10 malkoff drop-ins so I think they're pretty reliable.

Just thought of some other (more general) comments on reliability, to expand on my earlier post ....

*** Reliability of twisty switch >> clicky switch

** Reliability of potted electronics >> unpotted electronics

* Reliability of direct drive >> regulated drivers

(Reliability of single mode > multi-mode )

Perhaps I haven't been at this long enough, or maybe it's my usage pattern (low lumen/runtime enthusiast), but all my lights have been reliable with the only real field failures I can recall were incan bulbs burning out and a 17670 PCB failure when dropped while inside a light. I have returned a few lights that were faulty out the box, however, including my first Malkoff - go figure.

Of my collection of 1xAA/14500/sub-lumen lights (~2 dozen), it certain does SEEM that my Malkoff MDC AA and Peak El Cap are tougher than any of my Asian-manufactured lights, but without any real failures, the built proof tank-like build of the US lights is a little lost on me and adds significant bulk/weight, while reducing features/performance/versatility.

I'm going to vote for Foursevens (Quarks in particular) which, for me anyways, provides the best combination of Asian features/performance/versatility AND is "reliable-enough" and backed by a real US warranty/customer service/location. Will my Quarks outlast my Malkoffs or Peak? I doubt it, for one, I use them A LOT more , but I also have lots of Lego parts, and carry a back-up light or two that have never been used for their intended purpose.

Any light can fail, the question is who will take care of you. In that regard, I consider my "US-backed" lights (US-made + 47s) to be warranty repairable, while my "Asian-backed" lights to borderline disposable.

Elzetta!

I have 6 FourSevens lights now and each of them is used quite a bit. So far not one of them has ever had any issues. I have not had an issue with any Jet-Beam lights either but only own 2 of those. I have been let down by Streamlight and Nitecore products in the past.

Fenix E01 & Arc AAA. Drop proof IMO.