Who's best?

[PsychoBunny]

In your personal experience, who makes the most robust,
reliable, uncompromising and rugged flashlights in the industry, and why do
you choose that particular manufacturer?

Since I am new to high performance lights, I want to buy at least one
model of every major manufacturer. I would want that unit to represent
the best that that company has to offer at the time. Not necessarily
the most expensive (but that usually does follow).

 

[DaFABRICATA]

Surefire.....its worth it just for the lifetime warrantee

 

[tsask]

Surefire.....its worth it just for the lifetime warrantee

Yes! and I would now also include Wolf Eyes for relability & durability, theuy are also modestly priced for what you get! If you decide to go "WE" call Mike at PTS.:thumbsup:

 

[Oddjob]

In my experience the Ra Twisy. If you look at the details, it really is a very rugged and robust light. The Ra Clickys are starting to ship if you prefer a Clickie switch.

 

[PsychoBunny]

Surefire.....its worth it just for the lifetime warrantee

Cool, I started a thread in the LED section for a model recommendation.

Maybe you could check it out and let me know your views.

 

[vb14]

It's tough to pick just one. I can tell you my experience, and you decide who's best.

None of my surefires has failed on me yet. You probably read lots of stuff about it already by now. The Aeon which I'm using exclusively for the past month or so hasn't failed me yet either. Although it's not robust, don't let its size deceive you. It's tough as nail. The jetbeam looks like a good candidate, but I used mine (JETIII-M) just twice last year. So I can't really comment on its reliability. I have few NDI's but there were times that I clicked it, and no light. But I just had to click again, and it turns on. So there.

B-)

 

[PsychoBunny]

Yes! and I would now also include Wolf Eyes for relability & durability, theuy are also modestly priced for what you get! If you decide to go "WE" call Mike at PTS.:thumbsup:

I just got my Wolf Eyes Boxer 24W yesterday from Mike.
So far, I love it!
Cant wait to take it out in the woods for a good test. :thumbsup:
What do you think of the Boxer?

 

[PsychoBunny]

In my experience the Ra Twisy. If you look at the details, it really is a very rugged and robust light. The Ra Clickys are starting to ship if you prefer a Clickie switch.

I have heard Ra mentioned alot on this forum, but I didnt know where
to go for more info, so, thanks for including the link :thumbsup:

 

[Federal LG]

Surefire, in my opinion.

That customer service thing only works if you live inside US. borders.

I also like Fenix lights. Great light for the price! Can´t go wrong on them!

 

[Owen]

In your personal experience, who makes the most robust,
reliable, uncompromising and rugged flashlights in the industry, and why do
you choose that particular manufacturer?

Longbow. Too bad they went out of business. I know your question was present tense, but I couldn't resist, and would love to see them make a comeback.
Why? They made the most robust, reliable, uncompromising and rugged flashlights in the industry

 

[Jarl]

Purely from my personal experience, my Nitecore D10 is the most abused light I own, and yet it still performs flawlessly

The fenix E01 is also a very good light for abusing =). Together they'd make a fantastic combo... after all 2 is 1, 1 is none

 

[Juggernaut]

Bigbeam 1766 C Power House, is what I consider the strongest light ever made. Though I don't think you'd be interested in them. However made from solid 20 gage Chromoly these things will last "and have lasted" over a half a century of heavy use by industrial applications:thumbsup:. These things are tougher then nails "since they are made from steel that is stronger then those found in nails"

 

[PsychoBunny]

Purely from my personal experience, my Nitecore D10 is the most abused light I own, and yet it still performs flawlessly

The fenix E01 is also a very good light for abusing =). Together they'd make a fantastic combo... after all 2 is 1, 1 is none

Yeah I'm impressed with mine too.
It's been through the washing machine and cloths dryer and still works
fine (that was NOT my fault by the way!!).
I keep it in my briefcase, and a buddy at work asked if I had a flashlight
he could borrow. I gave him my D10 and he just stood there, starring
at it, then said, "yeah, but do you have a real flashlight?"
LOL!! He borrowed it, and when he came back to return it he said, "hey!
how much did that cost and where do I get one?'" LOL!!

 

[HKJ]

The most robust lights are probably ARC (Arc6) and RA. The Surefires are also very robust lights, but I do not believe that they can measure up to the ARC and RA.
Other robust lights are Jet-III M TI, OLight Titanium, Fenix LD01 SS. The old Fenix T1 has also proven that it is nearly indestructible (If your can find the thread from when it was released, your will see a lot of ways to misthread a light).

My statements here are just an opinion, because I am not going to be rough to any of my lights (At least not on purpose).

 

[brucec]

If you are willing to go custom, save yourself a lot of trouble and pick up the McGizmo Lunasol 20.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=210596
It will set you back $500, though.

For manufacturers, Surefires are going to give you the best quality, durability, customer support, and it will work straight out of the box with no issues or adjustments needed. No other manufacturer is in the same class as Surefire in product offerings, support, volume, history, etc.

 

[kramer5150]

-Surefire for the warranty coverage, and twist switch reliability. My M2 switch became finicky because I got grease all over the contact points.
-Romisen RC-N3-q5 and Fenix L1T-2.0 have both been my most abused lights, dropped several times... unscathed aside from cosmetic finish damage.
-Fenix E01 deserves a mention, from the punishment others have dished out to theirs.

 

[farmer17]

Surefires have been in combat conditions around the globe for many years and they are proven and they are the choice of many professionals who trust their life to a flashlight. There are other lights that are very duable and some brands may even be better, but if I had to pick one brand to bet my life on, it would probably be Surefire.

 

[Zatoichi]

Purely from my personal experience, my Nitecore D10 is the most abused light I own, and yet it still performs flawlessly

The fenix E01 is also a very good light for abusing =). Together they'd make a fantastic combo... after all 2 is 1, 1 is none

Those are my 2 EDC's. :thumbsup:

Surefire's seem great, though I've not really used them enough to say from personal experience. They do look and feel well made though, but I don't think good warranties necessarily reflect on toughness. You can buy great warranties on most things now if you're willing to pay the extra, it's just that Surefire include it with their price. With things like flashlights, I'm more concerned whether I'll need the warranty than how good it is.

 

[brucec]

-Fenix E01 deserves a mention, from the punishment others have dished out to theirs.

The head of my E01 fell off the balcony and was fine (even cosmetically) despite the 11-12 story drop. I posted a thread about it.

I couldn't care less about the warranty on my Surefires. I'm pretty sure they will never have to be used.

 

[Zatoichi]

I couldn't care less about the warranty on my Surefires. I'm pretty sure they will never have to be used.

Hopefully mine won't. Living in the UK I'm not sure how I'd go about it anyway.