Is my experience with DX typical, or did I just make a bad pick?

[zip22]

I ordered an Ultrafire WF-606A Q5 (sku 14909), and its been a bit disappointing. I was wondering if all DX flashlights are this quality, or if I just got unlucky.

A few of my complaints
-threads are not clean cut - pretty jagged
-bone dry threads and o-rings
-very thin walled tube - feel like i could crush it when empty
-anodizing isn't matched between parts
-different sections don't seem to screw together all the way as they should - when tightened all the way, there are gaps where there shouldn't be
-the dome on the LED had a little defect on the side, an extra tiny bulb of plastic that I was able to knock off with my fingernail

The biggest problem was that the clicky switch broke about 2 hours after I got the light. I completely disassembled the rear section and pulled apart the switch (I really had nothing to lose). The clicky mechanism looked just like that in a clicky pen, but it was clear that poorly molded parts were causing the switch to get stuck. I put in a tiny bit of lubricant to get it moving more smoothly. It works most of the time now, but I don't have 100% confidence in it working when I need it.

I contacted DX before I pulled it apart and they offered me $5 for sending me a light that broke after 2 hours. I realise that this was part of the risk of buying from them - theres not an easy way to get it back to them. If I hadn't been able to get it working again, I would have paid $17 for a broken light.

So, when looking at other lights, can I expect this poor quality from all the lights on DX, or are some better built than others?

 

[HKJ]

I have some DX lights and I will say most of them match the price.
Your pay a low price for a light and your get a low quality light.

But if you buy the more expensive light, you will probably also get a good quality light, with the Tiablo A9 (where they sold a bad copy), they did quite a lot to fix it.

If your want to know what you get from DX, then check this thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=209354

 

[kramer5150]

I wouldn't say ALL dx lights suffer from those things. I have found the dx Romisen lights to be considerably better fit, finish, anodize and machine quality than the Huwawi (SP?) ultrafire/superfire models.

Clicky switches can fail any time/place/where, regardless of who makes the light. Internal mechanics are nothing more than clicky-pens, for any of these switches although the plastic and nylon parts used inside can vary greatly.

I bought one of those $4 DX tail cap switch and it suffered intermittent contact, so I took it apart and used some light oil inside and it worked fine for ~40 days. Then the rev clicky started to feel a little creeky and squeeky, although it still works 100% since the lube job. None the less, I don't have much confidence in it so I shelved it in favor of a twisty switch.

:thumbsup:

 

[PhantomPhoton]

Very typical DX light from my experience. Every once in awhile there's a gem to be had, but in general you get what you pay for.

 

[Marduke]

DX is just a distributor, like a mail-order WalMart for the entire world. The individual brands is what you need to pay attention to. Don't make a purchase without reading the reviews here on CPF.


And UltraFire is not known for being of high quality.

 

[Black Rose]

The only lights I buy from DX are Romisen lights.

I think they are the better manufacturer of the budget lights.

 

[csshih]

+1 about the romisens.

 

[EngrPaul]

Do your research on any light you are interested in, especially if you will be upset at a loss of funds.

 

[DM51]

Your experience is a extremely common one. Each successive thread excitedly announcing the latest offering from DX is followed soon afterwards by its counterpoint thread complaining that it stopped working after just a few days.

These threads follow each other in a depressingly monotonous and seemingly endless, lemming-like sequence, and frankly we are getting sick of them. This one is closed.