This is not limited to LED lights but all EDC stuff. I am finding that top of the line Chinese custom stuff is now on par with their American counterparts. I mean like Reylight Custom VS Deadwood or Hanko. Yes, the latter are a bit fancier but the "quality" is there. Am I just stupid or do you folks agree? I still carry the real deal for cachet but I feel the Chinese is now on viable? I just wanted to know if I am alone on this. I do not mean from a racist perspective but solely quality of the item.
Very high end Chinese?
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Weird, I found Olight to be terrible. I meant specifically "custom" units. Like Reylight Dawn Mokume compared to Hanko Mokuti. AFAIK Olight does not make custom? Royvon is another great example of a top custom. Although I would say a standard Reylight,tool ETC is equal to Surefire now. I am not even factoring money at all. Just quality. The Chinese can bring it on if they want to.
ven
Flashaholic
IMHO a standard reylight is not equal to surefire, not even close. As for comparing a custom, 2 made a week hanko to mass produced chinese reylight, worlds apart to. But that is all irrelevant if your happy with X or Y. Just enjoy what light/s you have, comparisons are all subjective.
Reylight offer some cool , cheaper alternatives. But if i had a $1000(or more) burning a whole in my pocket, i know which is the better long term investment and where i would prefer to spend. Mr Hanko has a strong following, some get it, others dont.
Enjoy your lights
Reylight offer some cool , cheaper alternatives. But if i had a $1000(or more) burning a whole in my pocket, i know which is the better long term investment and where i would prefer to spend. Mr Hanko has a strong following, some get it, others dont.
Enjoy your lights
Sorry didnt see you meant custom lights. But Im curious why yoi think Olight is terrible. Their build quality is 2nd to noone and I own several hundred flashlights from many different brands.
davyro
Enlightened
It's in the manufacturers interests to build as good quality lights as they can for as cheap as possible. The trouble with paying very high prices for anything is, you restrict your customer base to those who can afford your product. Which can be said about anything but we're talking about a flashlight here. It's total arrogance to think because you can afford to buy not necessarily the most high end light but the light with the highest price and everyone should buy that light because of its high end price and high end reputation. Lots of people think spending the amount some of us do on flashlights is criminal. I've got to agree with them. Basically everyone is different everyone has their own opinions. Your never going to get everyone saying the same thing. I've been around long enough now to know what the Chinese have done in their development of their lights in the past 20 years is nothing short of remarkable. They've pushed the barriers in every sense it's fantastic what they've done. At the beginning they were a used of copying everything. Then their quality was complained about. Then their technology was slagged off. Where are we now? Some people will never give the credit they deserve for everything they're achieving. Surefire lights are great also I have 5 of them myself, I have 6 HDS lights they're also fantastic lights. Are they worth the extra money? That's subjective in my opinion. The answer to your question of are some Chinese lights on par with US lights now, yes of course they are, some are even better for certain tasks. Likewise some US lights are better for different tasks and situations. The Chinese have innovated and invested in their products and continue to do so, where they're going to go in the next 20 years I don't know. Sure as eggs are eggs though you'll have a SF light with a high and low output steady as a rock but costing the Earth and I'll still be willing to pay for one if I can still afford them.
The stuff coming out of China has definitely become a formidable opponent to US (and European) products, yes. But better? Nah not really.
A lot of high end products that were priced beyond the reach of many became affordable after being made in Asian countries. But on par with high end customs? I don't think so.
There are a few products being produced in China that stand out against American items but they are the exception.
A lot of high end products that were priced beyond the reach of many became affordable after being made in Asian countries. But on par with high end customs? I don't think so.
There are a few products being produced in China that stand out against American items but they are the exception.
Tachead
Flashlight Enthusiast
You obviously don't own many quality ones then lol.
Olight's are ok and descent in the grand scheme of things but, they are no where near the best build quality. Their engineering sucks in fact as has been evidenced by problems with several of their products(lack of lenses to protect soft polymer optics, electrified tailcaps that can start fires, cheap painted plastic buttons instead of colour throughout, lack of potting or conformal coating on electronics, etc.). Then there is their use of proprietary batteries greatly limiting their usefulness and reliability in certain situations. Then there is their inflated pricing that is much higher then it should be for what you are getting or what other comparable options sell for(hense the huge discount they offer in sales).
Olight's are ok but, just OK imo.
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Tachead
Flashlight Enthusiast
Good answer Byk, I concur[emoji106].
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ven
Flashaholic
Not always, but i certainly take it into account when spending a larger amount of cash. Life time warranty does not mean you wont get a dud or have failures. But it does inspire confidence (for me anyway) that the manufacturer/maker/custom builder has confidence! . Even though shipping back to USA is not much different in time or cost to say China(rather it be US though if given the choice).
Malkoff, HDS to name 2 that for me, the life time plays a big part in the confidence side . This 2 examples are tough, bullet proof and have excellent above norm customer service. Would you go through 3 olights or Fenix's at $100 each to 1 HDS for $300........who knows. But there is something a little special holding a HDS or malkoff or surefire or Haiku, something i dont get from fenix, nitecore and olight(examples).
Quite a few chinese manufacturers offer 5yrs, i used olights last year with a headlamp drop. Could not fault them, new H2r within a 3 day turnaround..........hard if not impossible to beat here in the UK.
Away from lights, i try my best to not buy any tools that dont come with lifetime warranty. Although rare, its that piece of mind it brings, knowing tools can be replaced. I am happ to pay the premium, as i am with flashlights.
vadimax
Flashlight Enthusiast
Absolutely not. You pay for the extended warranty. Nothing is for free in this universe. For example, you pay €100 for 5 year warranty and you pay €200 for life time warranty. Which part of this extra price is extra quality you may only guess. It may easily be 0%.
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In terms of automobiles a long warranty is usually a way to coax buyers away from their favorite brand and try out the new kid on the block.
In terms of electronics it can be a sign of confidence in the product or it could be that it was so cheap to make they can just replace it a few times and still be money ahead.
I have to wonder how many folks flashlights for the warranty. I forget if it was Pelican or who but somebody at one point had a warranty that said "unconditional lifetime warranty against everything except 5 year olds and bear attacks".
In terms of electronics it can be a sign of confidence in the product or it could be that it was so cheap to make they can just replace it a few times and still be money ahead.
I have to wonder how many folks flashlights for the warranty. I forget if it was Pelican or who but somebody at one point had a warranty that said "unconditional lifetime warranty against everything except 5 year olds and bear attacks".
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richbuff
Flashlight Enthusiast
Quality occurs over a wide spectrum. One mans' ceiling is another mans' floor. One mans' treasure is another mans' trash.
All the quality that I need I get from Acebeam, Eagletac, Emisar, Fenix, Four-Sevens, Imalent, Lumintop, Manker, Nightwatch, Nitecore, Niwalker, Noctigon, Olight and Thrunite.
Currently, next higher level than those is above my ceiling.
All the quality that I need I get from Acebeam, Eagletac, Emisar, Fenix, Four-Sevens, Imalent, Lumintop, Manker, Nightwatch, Nitecore, Niwalker, Noctigon, Olight and Thrunite.
Currently, next higher level than those is above my ceiling.
Please show me examples of which lights have better build quality than Olights and why you think that way. I surely haven't see any. Not only is the build quality obviously higher than any other brand flashlights I've seen, everything else in there is far more refined and of a higher standard. Just look at the driver efficiency, the Olight Perun can sustain true constant 500 lumens for a whopping 4 hours on a single 18650. No 18650 light on the market can match that. That is not to say they are perfect without flaws as that is impossible. Even Apple had all kinds of gates (bend gate, antenna gate, touch gate, battery gate, etc.) and Samsung had exploding Note 7s and Galaxy Fold catastrophic failures, randomly disconnecting GPS in all their phones prior to the S7. If you just pick up a light like the Olight M2R Pro and play with it, you can see how much more refined it is compared with any other light out there. In fact I think Olights' quality is better than any other brand flashlights in existence whether from China or elsewhere. They are like the Apple of flashlights, highly refined and reliable but doesn't push cutting edge like Samsung and Huawei.
Pricing wise, I think Olights are very reasonable given the extremely high quality. They also have sales all the time. I don't see anything better value.
Pricing wise, I think Olights are very reasonable given the extremely high quality. They also have sales all the time. I don't see anything better value.
bigburly912
Flashlight Enthusiast
Vinh dented a bezel on an olight when it accidentally bumped his beast of a p60 host. All lights have flaws
Modernflame
Flashlight Enthusiast
That's a good comparison, actually. I remember making a similar remark when I got my Warrior X. It's intuitive, fun, user friendly and high tech. In the end, I sold that light because it's not really my style, but I understand the appeal.
archimedes
Flashaholic
For reference, would you mind briefly listing the other top (non-custom, production) brands with which you have personal experience ?
I don't mean this to be a challenge, I simply think when one makes a statement as such a superlative, it is very helpful for perspective.
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