Brand Reliability

[Canuck21]

I've been interested in flashlights for awhile but am still clueless regarding reliability as I don't own many flashlights to have enough experience on different brands. So which brands are considered the top tier in reliability? I've read that EagleTec is above Fenix? What would be your ranking? Also, what are the non-Chinese brands?

 

[kj2]

I rank Fenix and Olight high. Klarus is also doing a good job :)

 

[steveg270]

The old saying "you get what you pay for" is a good rule of thumb for most things in this very competitive world. Figure out what your budget is and what you actually want or need, do some research and then spent 25% to 50% more then you planned on . You wont be disappointed. I could be wrong as I usually am, but thought you might find that helpful

 

[gravelmonkey]

Fenix, olight, foursevens, eagletac, sunwayman, armytek etc are all pretty good.

Surefire, Malkoff, HDS and Peak are very good (USA made)

Mcgizmo stuff is money-no-object quality level.

Have a Google around the forum, plenty of arguements!

 

[Cerealand]

I like gravelmonkey's answer. I would add Torchlab/Overready to the very good light. Keep in mind their 'H' drop-ins are not recommended to be used with primaries.

 

[Phry]

There is a difference between quality and reliability.

In terms of reliability I have found Elektrolumens, Armytek, Jetbeam, Klarus and others to all be excellent.

Normally simple = reliable

I have had failures (all switches oddly enough) with Maglite, Surefire and Zebralight.

 

[Canuck21]

There is a difference between quality and reliability.

In terms of reliability I have found Elektrolumens, Armytek, Jetbeam, Klarus and others to all be excellent.

Normally simple = reliable

I have had failures (all switches oddly enough) with Maglite, Surefire and Zebralight.

I guess simple = reliable is mostly true. I have a Sunwayman M10A and the machinery is excellent and everything looks top notch, but it doesn't always switch on. Actually most of the time it doesn't switch on. I have to click multiple times and it would switch on by random. Very frustrating.

 

[JCD]

My Coast LED Lenser David 15 has been a good light, but it isn't waterproof, which limits its usefulness. It has a smooth beam and a nice neutral/warm emitter, back before it was trendy to offer warmer tints.

My ASP Tungtsten is well designed (excepting the choice of emitter) and reasonably well built, but the cool/neutral XR-E is next to useless. It's a good candidate for modding, I suppose.

I've not been impressed by either Fenix (P3D and PD30) I own/have owned. I'd never buy another Fenix; the level of quality that I prefer just isn't there.

My Streamlight Night Com (xenon) is my highest quality Chinese light. I like that I can access any of the three modes (essentially) directly, and the sub-lumen red is incredibly useful for navigating the house in the middle of the night.

These days, I mostly only buy Surefire. I'd like to try an HDS EDC, but I'm not interested in waiting for one. Malkoffs also look interesting, the drop-ins more so than the whole lights. I'd love to have a McGizmo, but I lack a compelling reason to pull the trigger.

 

[twl]

Malkoff, Oveready/TorchLab, Elzetta, HDS, SureFire, Peak

 

[skyfire]

no light is "fail-proof". all will fail eventually and its just a matter of when, and how.
and i agree with "simpler the better". lesser parts, features and components, means theres less to go wrong.

thats why i like my more expensive tools to have a life-time warranty. many quality american brand lights offer this, such as surefire, streamlight, malkoff, HDS.
I also like my lights to be easily serviceable. being able to easily obtain replacement or optional parts.
and ive found surefires offer everything i mentioned. malkoffs are another favorite of mine.

there are custom makers that offer exceptional quality as well. and they back it up with a great warranty. such as McGizmo, Mac, and Torchlabs.

 

[cland72]

Search YouTube for elzetta torture tests


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[neutralwhite]

+1.

.........also see prometheus lights alpha light torture test

Search YouTube for elzetta torture tests


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[yliu]

I've been using Fenix and Olights for a few years now, and they never had problems. (once i had to tighten the tailcap in my LD20, but it was an easy fix)

Maglites also seem to be reliable, but I've experienced issues with sticky switches.

 

[hushabomb15]

So far I have used LED Lenser the majority of the time and I also have a Fenix light as well. Whilst they haven't been torture tested, they have lasted me over a year. They do work well

 

[MatthewSB]

If you need, or want, your light to work all the time no matter what, buy a Surefire, HDS, Streamlight, or similar. They are as reliable as a light can be, and if you ever do have a problem they will make it right without hassling you. I've had Surefire parts break, and they don't even require you to send the light in - they just send you the part on your word.

The top tier Chinese lights (Eagletac, Fenix, Olight, etc.) can be good, until they aren't. They seem to be in a neverending 'lumens war' and worry more about who can print the biggest numbers instead of designing consistent lights that don't overheat or have other problems. As far as reliablility, there are lots of reports from people who had a light that worked great until they dropped it or got it wet then learned that a warranty isn't much good if it costs you an arm and a leg to ship the light to wherever to get it fixed.

 

[Phry]

Lo

If you need, or want, your light to work all the time no matter what, buy a Surefire, HDS, Streamlight, or similar. They are as reliable as a light can be, and if you ever do have a problem they will make it right without hassling you. I've had Surefire parts break, and they don't even require you to send the light in - they just send you the part on your word.

The top tier Chinese lights (Eagletac, Fenix, Olight, etc.) can be good, until they aren't. They seem to be in a neverending 'lumens war' and worry more about who can print the biggest numbers instead of designing consistent lights that don't overheat or have other problems. As far as reliablility, there are lots of reports from people who had a light that worked great until they dropped it or got it wet then learned that a warranty isn't much good if it costs you an arm and a leg to ship the light to wherever to get it fixed.

Surefire will send you a cheap part when it breaks because they had already charged you ten times the cost when you bought the thing!

Your assessment of reliability is nonsense.

Top tier "Chinese" lights? What?
Do you mean manufactured in China? If so I assume you think Apple products are "Chinese"?
Designed in China?
Designed BY a Chinese person?

Such USA buy American mentality.

Are Zebralight Chinese?

Do you know one of the designers at Surefire is Chinese?

Do you know the LED's and other parts IN your precious Surefire are made in China?

You said that if you want a light that will always work buy Surefire then told us how you have had Surefire lights fail!

Surefire should spend less time and money on advertising, marketing and suing other companies and concentrate on trying to keep up, which they are failing to do. Badly.

 

[Rafael Jimenez]

In my experience, malkoff is very good, I use the hound dog and the wild cat. I have used a magcharger for about 10 years and never had a problem with it except for the bulbs that only last 50 hs. Now
i upgraded it with a led dropin. I don't use smal lights to much, but the fenix LD 20 is very very good, I have even used it as a bike light.
i am now testing a Nitecore TM 11 and it works good plus has a very long runtime.

 

[MatthewSB]

Such USA buy American mentality.

I couldn't care less where something is made. I prefer a car made in Canada by a Japanese company. My favorite knife at the moment is an Al Mar folder made in Japan by a US Company. My favorite phone is made in China by a US Company. It's not the location of the company, or the country of manufacture that matters to me - it's the level of build quality combined with the ability to get warranty service if needed.

When I say "top tier Chinese lights" I mean the best lights that are made in China by companies based wherever, because they seem very similar to one another in that they cost $50+ and look really nice, but (1) often break when dropped or submerged and (2) are often difficult or expensive to have repaired "under warranty".

It seems like false economy to buy a $80 light with a 12 month warranty that has a resale value of $25 when I could spend $120 on a light with a lifetime warranty with a resale value of $100, or more if it becomes a "collectable".

I don't know why the most reliable flashlights with the best customer service are made in the US, but that's how it looks when searching through posts at this site and others.

 

[JCD]

Lo

Surefire will send you a cheap part when it breaks because they had already charged you ten times the cost when you bought the thing!

Your assessment of reliability is nonsense.

It has more to do with Surefire knowing that their parts will have low failure rates because they tend to be designed correctly and tested before being offered for sale. Thorough R&D procedures, coupled with rapid emitter technology advances, do tend to prevent their lights from being powered by untested bleeding edge technologies, but helps to prevent premature failure.

MathewSB's observations about reliability are quite accurate, at least with respect to the brands I have owned and have first hand experience using.

 

[bullinchinashop]

The old saying "you get what you pay for" is a good rule of thumb for most things in this very competitive world. Figure out what your budget is and what you actually want or need, do some research and then spent 25% to 50% more then you planned on . You wont be disappointed. I could be wrong as I usually am, but thought you might find that helpful

My Sunwayman V60C ic not a cheap flashlight and it has died so far as I can tell.