How long before the first drop & ding?

[Locoboy5150]

I'm not the kind of guy that would treat lights like fine china, but I do take care of the ones that I have, even my cheapo Mini-Maglite. That's why it's kind of painful to repeat my horror story from this morning.

I received my brand new Fenix TK45 this past Monday at about 3:00 PM. I opened it and fired it up for the first time at about 3:10 PM. This morning (Tuesday) I decided to take some photos of all my Fenix lights in my backyard on a picnic table. It was a very wobbly table to say the least. (I'm sure that you all know where this is going.)

By about 9:30 AM this morning, my beautiful Fenix TK45 was slightly dinged up on one of the three bezels and the tailcap because I was klutzy enough to bump the table before taking my very last photo and send it flying onto the bricks underneath. For "good measure," that same bump caused my Fenix TK40 and TK20 to fly onto the bricks too so now they're not in mint condition either with dings and gouges on their heads and tailcaps. Yeah...I'm not generally a klutzy guy but when I'm a klutz, I go for broke and knock them all out. :sick2:

Feel free to repeat what I did this morning...STUPID...STUPID...STUPID... :stupid:

Like I said, they're lighting tools, not fine china but it would have been nice to keep particularly my TK45 in nice, ding-free condition longer than just 18.5 hours. :banghead: :hairpull:

So that got me wondering, what was the shortest amount of time that your lights were alive before they suffered their first scar-inducing drop?

Oh, and since nobody that I know of here on CPF has drop tested their TK45 yet, not even the free test samples from Fenix, mine survived a fall from an almost waist-high table and landed on one of the front bezels. It hit hard brick but aside from the scars in the soft aluminum, it works just fine still.

Maybe this is an omen that I should buy some copies of these lights and just keep them on my shelf. :sigh:

 

[Qoose]

I've chucked a G2 with a M60 inside across half a football field onto concrete shortly after I got all the parts. I wanted to make sure this was my bomb proof light.

 

[Jash]

Don't fret Locoboy, I've dropped all but one of my lights, and can you believe the one I haven't dropped is a 4D mag.

At first there's that #$@%! feeling after you first drop your light, then it passes and now you have another light you are happy to use all the time in any situation.

 

[jellydonut]

My MD3 lasted almost two weeks - I accidentally dropped it on concrete yesterday.:ohgeez: Aside from one major knock in the anodizing on the tailcap and a couple barely noticeable mars on the head it is fine though.:)

 

[Flying Turtle]

The shortest time was about a week before I managed to practically fling my QMini 123 to the floor. Luckily only one barely visible mark on the tail.

Geoff

 

[computernut]

Sucks to hear!

I had my E2L for less than 2 weeks before it met concrete and my L4 lasted a few months before it made contact with our server room floor. Both just got some scuffs/dings and kept on working.

 

[ebow86]

Last year I send my surefire 10X dominator to surefire for repair. I recieved it back a few weeks later, and to my suprise they replaced the entire light, new battery, new bezel, everything. Well that same day I waited for it to get dark, went outside and enjoyed it for a few minutes, came back in, but on the way back in, being the clumsy klutz I am, I wasn't paying attention and the heavy screendoor came back and slammed right into the bezel of the $500+ light, making a big chip in the bezel about the size of a pen tip. A few hours was all it took for my $500 light to go from brand new to "not so brand new". man was I mad. I probably shouldn't say this, but I am one of the biggest klutz' you would ever meet. I am amazed my other lights have survived this long, considering the way I drop things.

 

[kramer5150]

After looking at the OPs TK45 last night I was surprised it suffered as little damage as it did. Its a HEAVY light, and to have all its weight come crashing onto one of the bezels and tailcap... says something about its robustness and hefty design. it was hard enough impact to gouge through the typeIII finish, but the bezel itself did not dent and the lens did not crack either.

Loco, you might want to inspect the cell carrier CLOSELY, check for hairline cracks and fractures. The Eneloops are the heaviest thing in it, and the plastic carrier takes the brunt of the load on a drop-impact.

From what I saw, I would give the TK45 a passing grade on its first CPF drop test (waist high onto brick).

I usually make it 2-3 weeks before I drop one of mine.

 

[91FromStars]

My TK40 hit the concrete twice in the first week. It has some scratches on the bezel.

 

[red02]

I make it a point to try to "accidentally" ding up all of my favorite lights. They just don't look right with all that perfect ano... I really don't know what to do about my G2Z though.

 

[ebow86]

I make it a point to try to "accidentally" ding up all of my favorite lights. They just don't look right with all that perfect ano... I really don't know what to do about my G2Z though.

Yeah, surefire's nitrolon lights can't be beaten as far as them staying like new, being inpervious to dings or scratches, except for the 10X dominator, with it's aluminum bezel.

 

[HoWink]

As a relative newby, it does me good to read this. I've been deliberately seeking out lights with stainless bezels in order to avoid the inevitable dings that seem to land there more than most other locations. Maybe now I can feel more comfortable selecting fully anodized lights and treating them more like tools than cult objects.

Thanks, guys!

HoWink

 

[Locoboy5150]

Ah, this thread definitely is making me feel better about my klutziness! :)

I inspected the black plastic battery carrier in my TK45 and I can't see any damage to it so far.

 

[1138]

I've had one light for a year and another for 6 months and both have not been damaged yet. I just use them around the house, office and took them camping once. I've dropped an ITP A3 onto concrete but it's so light that there was no visible sign of damage.

Now, my laptop, on the other hand, is a different story. I couldn't find a case that would fit it the first day I got it, but I decided to bring it with me to school in a cloth bag anyway. Bad idea. The AC plug gouged a huge line across the lid, producing a very noticeable scar.

 

[tolkaze]

I dropped a Mag 4D straight from the package onto the floor :( was my third one, and has only been used as a "bump around in the back of the car" light since

 

[OfficerCamp]

My heart stopped for a brief moment when I tackled an individual with my M3 on my hip. The light took all of my weight and was carried in an open top pouch, so I thought it would be a goner. Once I got the situation under control I checked the light for function and dings and I couldn't find anything wrong with it. I was surprised, the ground was hard, and I'm no lightweight.

However I did drop my new E2D, Nitecore Extreme, and my Springfield XD with slightly different results.

 

[Wiggle]

My Solarforce Masterpiece Pro I've had for a month or so is still mark free, it almost had an incident, but I received the mark instead. I was showing it to someone and accidentally dropped it on my own foot (just socks on). I played it off as not hurting to save my pride but it really was painful. My nail got deformed a bit and my toe was bruised. The light is still fine though:party:

 

[saabgoblin]

I have dropped almost every light that I own excepting my LS20 because after buying that one I now keep every light on a lanyard attached to my body and I only remove the lanyard when ultimately necessary. The dings don't bother me but why drop your light if you can avoid doing so. This of course will not work for everyone and or situation but I have stopped dropping mine and I have less fear of loosing my lights when clipped inside my pocket.

 

[^Gurthang]

Every light I use has dings, scuffs and wear. They're tools not collectibles so I don't worry about daily wear. Only time I get the jeebies is when a light takes a "real" tumble [>5'] and thats only because if it dies I have to fix it....

 

[JonN06]

The last light I bought was slightly used from the marketplace. So it was preloved and I didn't have to worry about if I accidentally scrape it up a little. :thumbsup: