THE TOUGHEST TORCH ON MARKET

[AngelEyes]

How about the SF L4 that was sucked into a snow blower, chewed on and spat out and lived to tell the tale?

 

[Mark2]

If you'd put an LS4 in the snow blower, the snow blower would not live to tell the tale... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[cy]

Welcome to cpf bananas..

Ultra G's are hard anodized to mil spec's and sold originally for $15ea. they were the lowest priced real HA light you could purchase.

pretty bright with 10+ hours runtime. they were equal to ARC AA without high price tag.

supplies have long ran out, so prices for ultra-G's are creeping up. selling for aprox. $25 to $30 if you are lucky enough to find one.

must have purchased 30+ ultra-G's for boy scout group buys. many satisfied customers. One ultra-G was given to John Zink at the Zink Scout Ranch, the summer he passed away.

paid $27 for my current ultra-G a few weeks ago. It's turning out to be a true classic!

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

Look at the Streamlight, Bright Star, and Pelican models that are marketed to fire fighters. I'd guess that they're not just heat resistant but tough.

 

[MaxaBaker]

I'd say the Gerber Infinity ultra. It's practically Bulletproof.

 

[geepondy]

I agree Craig. All my Surefires have performed flawlessly. I had one of the very first KL1's and never had a problem with it and it is still in use, unlike some of my Arcs for instance. Maybe toughness and reliability need to be differentiated. My Inovas have certainly been tough but I've had two that have suffered from flickering switches, for an example. If budget isn't a concern then I will recommend a Surefire over any other light. If I'm climbing Mount Everest, that is what I would have. If your light fails you in that situation then "great customer service" won't mean a damn.

[ QUOTE ]
The_LED_Museum said:
Any of the SureFire flashlights would probably qualify too.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[JasonC8301]

My Arc AAA has survived everything from college kids, to Iraq (didn't use it there though, kept in my chest pocket 99% of the time) to 9mm bullets, it still works but I have to re-solder the + contact because it flattened on impact so it flickers and doesn't turn on sometimes. My longbow micra also went from heck and back, still works!

 

[arewethereyetdad]

The Inova X0 or the PremierLight PL-7. Without question these lights have the thickest bodies of any I've seen.

 

[mtbkndad]

Dark Ops has to take the cake here currently.
6061 Aluminum treated to T6, Steel pins for breaking into Auto windows.
Completely water proof.
150 lumen xenon halogen bulb.
How many other lights are designed to be illumination devices and forced entry tools.

My NightCutter M60L is quite tough also.
Aircraft grade aluminum treated to T6
Rated 10,000 lb crush resistance.
Waterproof to 150 feet.
Can withstand drops from 50 feet.

One other very tough light is the Eternalite series. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif

 

[JasonC8301]

Then again, how many of us have actually done this to our lights? If I drop that much cash on a light I'll protect it and leave it to manufacturer's to demo their lights in terms of durability (reminds me of the Tigerlight video, mine has been through some rough stuff and it has the knicks and marks to prove it.)

Spit some lead at the lights and see what happens. Only so much can go off spec sheets.

 

[PeLu]

The ActionLight I (single unit version) is the toughest one so far. It withstand many years of caving. Housing is very rigid, switch is several times redundant, contacts are made with a special gold plated mesh. Long battery runtime reduces risk which every battery change in harsh environment has. There was no maintenance made ever except changing the battery.

While the ArcAAA seems pretty resistant to single impacts (like long falls), they could not withstand the many little bangs in a cave. Many of the failed here.

We had a Surefire failing from a single 1.5m drop (filament broke).