My experience with Armytek headlamps

Lazyspacetruck

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Apr 9, 2016
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As I promised in an earlier thread, "questions and observations about armytek for interior home renovation", I am writing in an effort to document my experience with Armytek flashlights. I have now purchased 8 Armytek headlamps. I kept 6 and have given 2 as gifts. So far, I have had to return 3 lights. I have heard some bad stories about Armytek quality control but wow that's a 37% failure rate!


See earlier post if you so desire: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ns-about-armytek-for-interior-home-renovation


See the last two lights I just put in the mail: https://youtu.be/zp9HuE_ot6k


I gave a Tiara A1 Pro v2 XP-L (warm) to my father and one to my father-in-law. If these have issues I would hear about it so they are working fine.


I don't Know if this has something to do with recent production runs or if I just have terrible luck. I have noticed that some recently produced pro lights have yellow buttons while the older pro models have white buttons. I know the color of the button has nothing to do with what's inside but just think it is interesting that I have 3 failed lights all with yellow buttons. I have only purchased pro versions so I dont have experience with the regular ones.


I will say that Armytek did replace my faulty Wizard Pro v3 XHP50 (warm) although I agreed to let them ship from China which took a month. I will not make that mistake again. That light had an intemittent flicker which was anoying as you could imagine. I cleaned the contact, made sure all settings were correct but the problem persisted so I had it replaced. Armytek really didn't give me any problems on the return except the long turnaround time which is my fault for agreeing to shipment from China.


I still really like these headlamps. I use them mostly for home renovation and can't remember how I survived without them. I just wish Armytek had better quality control.


Here is my current list of Armytek headlamps in the order I got them:
Wizard Pro v2 XM-L2 (warm) >>>> white button
Wizard Pro v3 XP-L (warm) >>>> white button
Wizard Pro v3 XHP50 (warm) >>> yellow button (replaced under warranty)
Tiara A1 Pro v2 XP-L (warm) >>>> white button (Father's)
Tiara A1 Pro v2 XP-L (warm) >>>> white button (father-in-law's)
Tiara A1 Pro v2 XP-L (warm) >>>> white button
Tiara A1 Pro v2 XP-L (warm) >>>> yellow button (sent back with bad flicker)
Tiara C1 Pro v2 XP-L (warm) >>>> yellow button (sent back with cracked lens)


As you can see from the list, I have bad luck with yellow buttons. I was going to buy a lot more Armytek headlamps for Christmas and hand them out but I don't want to return a bunch of lights for other people. I reserve that kind of fun for myself (sarcasm).


All this said, I will still continue to buy Armytek lights as long as they stand behind their warranty and don't hassle me when I need to return one. My oldest XM-L2 has taken quite a beating and is still going strong which keeps me coming back. I like tough tools. We will see how my most recent return goes and I'll update you.
 

Lazyspacetruck

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I say go for it but if you get the wizard XHP50 you will need unprotected cells. I personally don't have any protected 18650s anyway so that was not a problem for me. Just make sure everything ships from Canada if you order directly from Armytek. Or you could pick a retailer with a good reputation. When these lights aren't pissing me off they are awesome. They probably have the new production runs dialed in by now.
 

scs

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Feb 9, 2015
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I'm on the fence. I'm not sure this helps me decide if it's worth risking.
You're in Canada, so I say go for it as well, especially because most folks reported being reimbursed for return shipping.
If AT ever gets tired of dealing with losses from defect returns, they'll either straighten up, shorten their warranty, or just go under.
Thing is, when you do get the one from AT, like others have mentioned, it's great. But you have to play the AT lottery for a chance to win.
 

Tachead

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Jan 3, 2015
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Northwestern Ontario, Canada
Thanks for the review.

I just got my first Armytek headlamp. I went with the Tiara C1 Pro V2 XP-L(Warm) and like it a lot so far.

I did have trouble with one other Armytek flashlight but, Armytek was awesome to deal with and even rush shipped me a replacement at no charge. They also paid for return shipping for the problem light. I am pretty happy with my dealings with Armytek so far. They always ship my orders fast, reply quickly to my emails, and have even went above and beyond when it comes to customer service more then once now. I say give them a try Gunga, it is awesome that they are right here in Canada and I have really taken a liking to their lights and UI.
 

ven

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I thought AT changed their policy recently and now took returns USA/Canada side and not China.............sure i read that.
 

Tachead

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I thought AT changed their policy recently and now took returns USA/Canada side and not China.............sure i read that.
Yep, as far as I know all USA and Canadian customers are handled through their new Ontario, Canada location/warehouse. All other countries deal with the Chinese location. All of my dealings with them have been through their Canadian location. It's very convenient now for me as I am in Canada.
 

Lazyspacetruck

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I thought AT changed their policy recently and now took returns USA/Canada side and not China.............sure i read that.

Confirmed. I sent all returns to Canada. However, if something is out of stock in Canada Sandra may ask if they can ship from Chinese stock. My advise........Don't allow that if in US or Canada. Request that all replacements are shipped from Canada. I would have had my light at least two maybe three weeks earlier. The advantage I got was a new production light with a plastic cradle I have not seen before. It snaps in on your forehead instead of having to get the light through the rubber hoops. I like it.
 
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Tulip bush

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Interesting......just last week purchased two tiara a1, one for me one for a Christmas present for my dad.
First one flashed twice more or less as you went into turbo, occasionally flickered and would then knock down to a different level or off.
Second one flashed twice soon as put in turbo, occasionally flickered, but would hold turbo......this I have wrapped for my dad as he will rarely use turbo and will meet his needs.

Sent first one back, vendor very good and sent me another straight out, this was worse than the first and would only cycle up four levels then flash twice and switch off.

I was using some of those black n purple eneloops charged in my nitecore charger......went out and bought some durecell 2500, had more or less the same results. The AA batteries work fine in my tk41.

The vendor checked my first tiara and experienced the flashes, but he says it is now working with no flashes or flickers...odd.

I have exchanged my second for a wizard as I already have one of those, this given a quick check works fine just like my other wizard does.

The vendor did say the software may have been updated and improved in the tiara, he has talked to his supplier who reports he wasn't aware of any faults with the tiara, but the vendor says he's not totally convinced.

I do also own a prime warm, which is much warmer than my wizard warm,,,,it has a lovely tint, only thing that really bugged me when I bought it was you can see dust inside around the lens bit surrounding the led, contacted armytek about this who told me it doesn't affect the light, they're right it doesn't, but it did annoy me at the time.

Im still tempted witha tiara, but would like to here other people's views on them, especially how it runs in turbo.

All in all, not impressed with all three tiaras not performing as they should.
 

Lazyspacetruck

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Is the snap on mount all hard plastic? Is it comfortable to wear for a long time?
Thanks.

Yes it is hard plastic. I honestly haven't worn this one all day yet but I have worn it for a couple of hours while I was hanging a door at my house and it was comfortable. If you look at the video closely you can see that it is contoured on both geometric axes which contours to my forehead well.
 
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Lazyspacetruck

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Apr 9, 2016
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Interesting......just last week purchased two tiara a1, one for me one for a Christmas present for my dad.
First one flashed twice more or less as you went into turbo, occasionally flickered and would then knock down to a different level or off.
Second one flashed twice soon as put in turbo, occasionally flickered, but would hold turbo......this I have wrapped for my dad as he will rarely use turbo and will meet his needs.

Sent first one back, vendor very good and sent me another straight out, this was worse than the first and would only cycle up four levels then flash twice and switch off.

I was using some of those black n purple eneloops charged in my nitecore charger......went out and bought some durecell 2500, had more or less the same results. The AA batteries work fine in my tk41.

The vendor checked my first tiara and experienced the flashes, but he says it is now working with no flashes or flickers...odd.

I have exchanged my second for a wizard as I already have one of those, this given a quick check works fine just like my other wizard does.

The vendor did say the software may have been updated and improved in the tiara, he has talked to his supplier who reports he wasn't aware of any faults with the tiara, but the vendor says he's not totally convinced.

I do also own a prime warm, which is much warmer than my wizard warm,,,,it has a lovely tint, only thing that really bugged me when I bought it was you can see dust inside around the lens bit surrounding the led, contacted armytek about this who told me it doesn't affect the light, they're right it doesn't, but it did annoy me at the time.

Im still tempted witha tiara, but would like to here other people's views on them, especially how it runs in turbo.

All in all, not impressed with all three tiaras not performing as they should.

That sux! When I buy a light I want the light to be just like the other ones. What I mean is I don't want quality control to be a factor. I want to be able to judge the light solely on its merits as it was designed. That means no dust behind the lens, no cracks, no blemishes of any kind because I want to do all that in use. I want to be the first one to put the scratches on the light. Is that too much to ask? Anyway, I also want to remind readers to set the light for the battery they are using. We all know but others may get this behavior and panic because if the light is set for the voltage range of a 14500 battery and gets NiMh voltage it may display this behavior even though the light is fine. Just a heads up.
 

Tulip bush

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That sux! When I buy a light I want the light to be just like the other ones. What I mean is I don't want quality control to be a factor. I want to be able to judge the light solely on its merits as it was designed. That means no dust behind the lens, no cracks, no blemishes of any kind because I want to do all that in use. I want to be the first one to put the scratches on the light. Is that too much to ask? Anyway, I also want to remind readers to set the light for the battery they are using. We all know but others may get this behavior and panic because if the light is set for the voltage range of a 14500 battery and gets NiMh voltage it may display this behavior even though the light is fine. Just a heads up.

The non pro tiara I believe can't be set for 14500, no mention in the instructions.
 

Lazyspacetruck

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My Tiara lights that work as designed are great! Both the A1 and C1 versions. They have a rock solid user interface and do not flicker at all when the proper battery is programmed. They work great with eneloop and with 14500 lithium ion. They don't last very long on Turbo but I have quite a stack of eneloops that I use when I'm working. Playing the lotto is fun right?

To be clear I run 18350 in my Tiara C1. I don't run anything in it now because it had a cracked lens and is back in Canada in a junk bin most likely. However the light performed perfectly aside from that issue.
 
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Lazyspacetruck

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The non pro tiara I believe can't be set for 14500, no mention in the instructions.

I'm sure you are correct. I don't have experience with the non-pro versions. However, I would probably check anyway because Armytek doesn't seem very good at updating instructions or stuff on their website in general. I can't even find that cradle that I showed in the video anywhere on the website under spare parts. Even if I had the non-pro version I would probably check by holding the button down from the off position and running through all the modes to see if it will enter the programming function.
 
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