lights you regret buying? why?

[sappyg]

a recent thread got me to thinking about a flashlight i regret having purchased. i did a search to see if others have had similar regrets. all the threads i read were of the "you wont regret" variety.
this is not a slam company X thread. if you have a bad taste in your mouth or have an axe to grind about a company then this is not the thread for you. there are other subforums for that. more to the point. this is really about YOU and YOUR mistakes you feel you have made along the way. be honest.
looking back, for me it's really about my failure to do the research i should had done before i decided on a flashlight. i admit that i have been caught up in the hype about a new light and taken the plunge even after i should know better. for the most part this has worked out fine.
now my regret:
i really wish i had not bought that PL X3. i should have read keissling's (spelling?) review. at the time the only other light i had to physically compare it to was a g2. in my neophite hands it seemed like a cannon that could throw thunderbolts a mile away.
then reality set in. no rechargable option and three primaries a go was expensive. no after market options for upgrading the light other than from PL. an odd sized reflector ment a total reliance on proprietary support from the manufacturer. now PL is gone the light stopped working and became nothing but a paperweight. it eventually found it's way to the been trash heap in the sky. i moved on. hopefully i have learned from my regret.

 

[SUREFIRED]

I regret buying the older single mode MiniM@g LED. The led dome broke off with a microfiber cloth and the led chip started to fall apart. Then again I paid $10 for it a WalMart, so it wasnt so bad after all. Its the only light ive regretted buying.

 

[hyperloop]

Don't think i have ever regretted getting any of my lights, i have learned from each light that i ever got learned what i want from a light.

e.g. i got a Romisen RC-C3 once, great little sleeper light, i did a mini review on that here somewhere. Sold it off as it didnt really suit my needs. Realised i wanted a clicky instead of a twisty and wanted multi modes instead of a one mode blinding light.

I've ordered some parts by mistake before but usually pass them on to others who could use them so learned from that too (lesson learned: ASK on CPF first!! )

So, short story long, no i don't regret getting of my lights.

 

[mega_lumens]

One of my first lights--the SureFire 9AN. I was clueless about rechargeable lights and just trusted the raving reviews of SF on this forum. I justified the steep price (for me) of the 9AN by thinking that I would save tons of money on CR123s in the long run. After a short while, the B90s started crapping out on me big time and the run time was poor to begin with. Even after I got 2 replacement B90s at 2 different periods, the problem resumed after some time.

Hard lesson learned, but I still feel like it wasn't my fault. How should one expect a BMW--SureFire to have constant problems. The 9AN collects dust for years now and by that time I discovered rechargeable lithiums.

 

[NonSenCe]

i regret getting my first good ledlight last xmas. fenix tk11.

if i hadnt gotten that, i would of saved alot of money. and would be still think im fine when using the old incan uk 4aa.

but when i got it i got addicted to these damn things.

.but on other hand.. now i know whats available in the market. so cant really regret updating and upgrading. but should of stopped on the 1st! hahah.

seriously saying, the lights i "regret" most buying i have found a "use" for them.. they wait in my glovebox. they are just deemed to be "not used unless others fail or are forgotten to take with"..you know incaseofemergency lights.

the one that is most useless actually:
x2t, needed a fast and cheap fix for flashlight holism so i ordered it from shiningbeam.
plusses: twisty and 2 mode. and bright. and i like the look, matt black and bronze.

negs: too loose twisty so it turns on too easily. (and it should be a "reverse" twist.. twist tight to OFF and not the otherway around.) second negative, uses two cr123s (no rechargable rcr, and no 18650)

hind sight: should of thought about it better and gotten something that could use rechargable batteries.

 

[kramer5150]

my only regrets thus far have been the 3AAA lights... I haven't found a CPF worthy one yet. The Husky 3-watt doesn;t really count since I modded it for an 18650.

 

[JWP_EE]

The CMG Reactor.
I don't like the feel of the twist head and the tint is very green. I have not used it much over the years.

 

[gswitter]

I can't say I actually regretted buying any light, but off the top of my head these are a few that stand out as disappointments...

• Bright Star Razor - hoped for a ProPoly 4AA Luxeon replacement, it wasn't
• Gerber Omnivore - battery flexibility is the only positive feature
• JetBeam JET-III Pro ST - UI (too easy to inadvertently enter programming mode)
• LiteFlux LF2 - worst UI ever, too easy to gum up the switch
• NiteCore D10 - UI (bugs aside, I still don't care for it - it tried to do too much)
• Surefire Kroma Mil-Spec - bought it too late (got a good deal, but the tech is too outdated)

There's probably a few others.

 

[DHart]

Some big-box/sporting goods store low-priced lights.... a Dorcy... and something with a Sportsman's Warehouse branding... and a couple of cheap AAA lights from similar stores. Compared to the better lights discussed on this forum (typically not available in "stores"), most of the commonly found stuff on store shelves pales in comparison to the "good stuff".

I did buy some E1e lights and a KL4 head a while back with the intention of having Milky mods done to enhance them... but they have become unused. When I add up the cost of the E1e, the cost of the KL4 head, and the cost of the mod (approaching $200) for a total of around $350 I just can't bring myself to spend $200 for the mod when there are so many great multi-level lights available for a minor fraction of that expense. The cost of the RA, for example, looks downright cheap compared to modding the E1e w/KL4 and Milky. The E1e's are a good little lights, and having already bought them, I compromised by getting some high output Lumens Factory incan lamps for them, but still, I haven't used them as I have preferred to use my Romisens, Liteflux, AKOrays. And there are no good LED "drop-ins" to make the E1e better. Now that I've got and enjoyed the LD01, K-106, even E1B, I just have no use for an E1e, except they're just "cool".

I recently bought a D10 which I don't exactly regret buying, but, while I like it in all other respects, the very considerable thumb/finger pressure required to operate the piston is not something I like. For that reason, my other lights with similar UI (LF3XT) get much more use.

While I don't regret buying them, all (E2, E1e black, E1e nat, E1B, L1) but one (Z2 with Dereelight MC-E lamp) of my Surefires are shelf queens. The lights I use the most are the LD01, AKOray K-106, Romisen RC-N3 Q5, Romisen RC-C3 Q5, Solarforce L2 grey with M60, MTE SSC P7.

 

[CampingLED]

6D Mag. I want to mod it into something super to justify the size, but I have/can do it to smaller lights. Any tips on what to do will be appreciated. :devil:

 

[LEDrock]

my only regrets thus far have been the 3AAA lights... I haven't found a CPF worthy one yet. The Husky 3-watt doesn;t really count since I modded it for an 18650.

Same here. I had only 1 3AAA light (bought after hearing about how unreliable they were). It was only $4, so I thought I'd try it. It's in the garbage now after giving me so much trouble. It was onle of those 9LED lights. I liked the size, shape and everything else, but not the UNreliablility.

Makes me wonder why so many of the "better" lights are using that battery configuration (Lifegear, Coleman, etc.) Good grief!

 

[american lockpicker]

I bought a made in china LED minimaglite copy yesterday and I regret it. Its malfunctioning already I'm think about taking it back and exchanging it or getting my money back.

 

[StandardBattery]

Life is too short for regrets.

 

[SilentK]

i regret repeatedly buying AA minimags one after another thinking, "This one will work longer than the last one" PHAIL

 

[LEDrock]

i regret repeatedly buying AA minimags one after another thinking, "This one will work longer than the last one" PHAIL

I regret buying a second minimag because I wanted a backup to my first one, thinking it was the greatest thing around.

Then LED's came out! (This was awhile back)

 

[Flying Turtle]

Since I'm prone to buying unknown cheap lights at Big Lots, Ollies, and Dollar Stores I've got a bunch that I really didn't need. But, as long as they work I don't really regret buying them. I can usually imagine some potential use and if they just sit unused I've not spent too much. It's all for fun anyway.

Geoff

 

[v188]

Gladius

GLADIUS - I bought one when they first came out. It's a battery eating machine. Don't care for the controls, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. I know they've come out with newer stuff for them, but the first one's weren't what i consider a great flashlight. YMMV

 

[american lockpicker]

Since I'm prone to buying unknown cheap lights at Big Lots, Ollies, and Dollar Stores I've got a bunch that I really didn't need. But, as long as they work I don't really regret buying them. I can usually imagine some potential use and if they just sit unused I've not spent too much. It's all for fun anyway.

Geoff

I once got a 2 D xenon tachenlampe at ollies for a fiver and it was a great light.

 

[Kevin1322]

Well, I regret not finding CPF sooner, haha, but that wasn't the question. I deployed a couple of years ago and wanted a good light. I got the SF 6P (about $60) with the P61 Lamp/Reflector Assembly (about $30),
Z49 Click-on Tailcap Switch (about $40), FM35 Red Filter (about $30),
SC1 Spares Carrier (about $20), and the SF batteries to boot. I thought it was "the bomb." Imagine what I could get today for $180. Spares carrier was nice, but overkill, I couldn't use the tail cap because I couldn't get my thumb around it to push the button (small stuby hands), I didn't want to use the filter because it was costing a lot in batteries to get such a little bit of light, and the P61 pushing 120 lumens was awesome (so I thought) but only gave 20 minutes of light(with out the reflector)! I ended up getting the Cabela's Alaskan guide (pretty much the SF Aviator) with the blue LEDs and white xenon and it quickly became my EDC, though I kept the SF 6P with P61 strapped to my uniform when outside the wire as a back up or if I needed a brighter light. Still have it and won't get rid of it, but it will have an aftermarket multi-mode LED in it for now on.

 

[Kevin1322]

I also regret buying the AA mini-mag ($10), then the nite-ize IQ switch ($5) (broke first drop), LED upgrade ($10) and now the Terralux Cree ($20) to go in it. It was a neccessary upgrade for the light it in my oppinion, but now sits in my drawer. I also bought a Streamlight TT2 Twin-Task (About $38) and a couple of the Cabela's 3 watt Luxeon LED lights (sale for $20, usually $40). I wouldn't say any of these lights are bad and I have them in the house as extras, it's just that there are so many options out there now that can do more for the money.

Thanks for opening my eyes CPF!!! lovecpf