It's my turn to ask: is my A9 a fake one?

[BMF]

Well there are quite a few threads about fake lights and I've read them all but I still have to post a new thread about my A9 just received from Hong Kong, not from HKequipment vendor.

I've bought 2 Tiablo A9s, one black and one natural, from a respected member in Market Place and just ordered/received one more A9 in black from an online store in HK. There are few differences between them:

- The logo of the "real" black one has the logo like this review. But the one from HK is exactly like the one on the Tiablo website.

- The box of the "real" black one is black but the other is blue faded white just like the logo on their web site.

- The instruction of the "real" is printed in colors: blue, red, green and black but the other is just black ink.



I used a 10x power magnifier to check the laser and to my inspection if it's fake it's a extremely good fake with absolutely clean characters on the body of the light. I didn't test the brightness yet because of the nice sun shine outside but I don't think it matters much because between my "real" A9 the brightness, throw, beam, tint ... are all different. So did I get a fake A9 or not?

 

[ampdude]

OMG the Chinese are faking themselves!!!! :huh:

 

[BMF]

OMG the Chinese are faking themselves!!!! :huh:

What a funny question! I didn't know Tiablo is from China.:drunk:

 

[jirik_cz]

Hmm that is hard evidence, that must be definitely fake! If you want to get rid of this ugly fake flashlight you can send it to me :huh::lolsign:

Or you can look here(check the logo on the first image) and here(check the box).

 

[greenLED]

OMG the Chinese are faking themselves!!!! :huh:

I've commented on that irony before...

My 2 lumens:

If y'all would quit trying to get the cheapest-ever lights and get good lights from reputable and well established vendors we wouldn't be worrying about fake lights in the first place.

/soapbox

 

[Mercaptan]

/soapbox

Look-out, that soapbox is probably fake.

What greenLED said is true... if you were to just pay the difference in getting from a well-known CPF vendor, you wouldn't have this issue.

However, that being said, I really cannot see why anyone would fake a 100 dollar flashlight to begin with.

 

[kramer5150]

I've commented on that irony before...

My 2 lumens:

If y'all would quit trying to get the cheapest-ever lights and get good lights from reputable and well established vendors we wouldn't be worrying about fake lights in the first place.

/soapbox

Hmm... I think there are a LOT of really good cheap lights that are highly original and not blatant bootlegs of something else. The Romisen RC-G2, Ray-o-vac sportsman, RC-N3, and lowes task force come to mind right away. So, thankfully there are budget alternatives that are not blatant rip-offs.

Some of these threads are really interesting... and shocking too.

A little O/T from here...
Its funny... My wife just last night was just commenting how I never hang out at watch forums anymore. I told her that the majority of those sites tend to be saturated in brand-snobbery, and pretentious country-of-origin discussions... when in reality, the ETA, Ronda, Miyota...etc... movements come from the same suppliers.:green::green::green:. While bracelet, case and crystal qualities are the big difference. (someone will reply to this and completely prove my belief).

I further told here that CPF is a HIGHLY technical forum, and discussions center around component perfomance. I further told her that CPF is a place where country of origin snobbery and brand-name pretentiousness just isn't discussed all that much. *edit*... as compared to other forums I have been to.:laughing:

 

[greenLED]

I further told here that CPF is a HIGHLY technical forum, and discussions center around component perfomance. I further told her that CPF is a place where country of origin snobbery and brand-name pretentiousness just isn't discussed all that much.

Here, use my soapbox!

 

[Crenshaw]

I further told here that CPF is a HIGHLY technical forum, and discussions center around component perfomance. I further told her that CPF is a place where country of origin snobbery and brand-name pretentiousness just isn't discussed all that much.

erm...say what? :thinking:

but we ARE very well moderated..

Crenshaw

 

[Monocrom]

Buying from reputable vendors is definitely the best way to avoid fakes.

BTW, I've seen cheap imitations of Dereelight models; also made in China.
I guess you know you've made it when folks make cheap copies of your lights.

 

[xcel730]

Most of the Chinese made lights are very reasonably priced. I would rather pay the extra $5-$10 for insurance against fake.

I noticed a lot of inquiries recently about fake lights. :thinking:

 

[ninjaboigt]

arg....what if the repable dealer accidently got abatch of fake lights?! or is that not possible?

 

[Monocrom]

arg....what if the repable dealer accidently got abatch of fake lights?! or is that not possible?

Such dealers get their lights direct from the Maker, and not a 3rd party source.

 

[bender29]

Out of curiosity, what vendor did you order from? I also just put in an order for a Tiablo A9...