Why the favoritism?

[AardvarkSagus]

I have an interesting question to pose. I don't want to start any flame wars here, that is not my intention. I am just wondering about one certain little aspect of our current flashlight prejudice. I see an entire host of people ascribing to the doctrine of Surefire, Hoards of people joining the relatively recent upheaval of the Fenix cult (both companies have respect from me and I have my own personal favorite lights from each) but another company that I feel does a pretty good job gets ignored. What about Pila? Why is it that any Pila thread I see here gets ignored by the masses? I just did a fairly extensive review of the Pila GL2 with the Cree LED module. I personally thought it was a fantastic light. Why is it that I so rarely see anyone here talk about them? I first started liking Pila from the reviews on flashlightreviews.com. I saw the runtimes of the luxeon LED module and couldn't believe how perfect the regulation was. That's the way I like my lights. Why is it that so few people notice them?

Of course the likely scenario is that this thread will also die since it is about Pila. That is the way things seem to go.

 

[mossyoak]

i guess pila isnt that appealing to people, becasue other wise it would be popular, we dont purposely ignore certain companies products.

 

[ACMarina]

What do they have to offer that others don't?? I could be pursuaded to like any light, but to find a place in the "favorite" list it has to be exclusive in some way..

 

[AardvarkSagus]

i guess pila isnt that appealing to people, becasue other wise it would be popular, we dont purposely ignore certain companies products.

Yeah, I know nobody is intentionally trying to boycott them, I am just trying to find out what about them doesn't appeal to the masses.

 

[BUZ]

Yeah, I know nobody is intentionally trying to boycott them, I am just trying to find out what about them doesn't appeal to the masses.

Gr8 review, IMO the new pilas aren't very attractive (think that's why most tend to ignore them) however I could be wrong!

 

[AardvarkSagus]

Gr8 review, IMO the new pilas aren't very attractive (think that's why most tend to ignore them) however I could be wrong!

Thanks!
As for the aesthetics, that'd be an opinion that I hold differently then. I find the Pila's to be uniquely refreshing by not looking like every other light on the market.

 

[vic2367]

i also dont like the looks of the pila line,,,,just me though,,,

 

[BUZ]

Thanks!
As for the aesthetics, that'd be an opinion that I hold differently then. I find the Pila's to be uniquely refreshing by not looking like every other light on the market.

To each his own! One thing I do like about them is that they are built like tanks! :thumbsup:

 

[fieldops]

I think certain products capture people's attention in different ways. surefire has an excellent history and was one of the first on the block for innovative lights. Fenix has about the quickest time to market with new products developed from consumer input and new LEDs. Pila is fine, but just has not become a favorite of most customers. Sometimes, it does not even have to be the best product to be popular. It could be said that beta was the better VCR, but VHS became the standard. You never really know how people will react to market offerings.

 

[Ogg Vorbis]

Well it sounds like a good light but with so many others out there i guess it falls down to personal taste, and i personally am not taken in by it's design. To be honest, i've never heard of Pila untill now, but i'm pretty new to CPF...

I'll definatly keep an out out for their products though

 

[easilyled]

It seems to be a very robust, well-built light.

However the design of Surefire lights is much more pleasing to me
personally.

I like the angles, edges, knurling, switches, clips, in fact everything
about the Surefire design - also the fact that one can play lego with
so many different lights in the Surefire range and other ranges designed
around the E-series lights like McGizmo's Aleph-series, Vital-Gear bodies,
Balrag bodies and a whole host of enticing parts by TB, Leef, Mirage-Man etc.

 

[mchlwise]

Thanks!
As for the aesthetics, that'd be an opinion that I hold differently then. I find the Pila's to be uniquely refreshing by not looking like every other light on the market.

They certainly are unique.

Personally, I look at them and quickly say "Eeew. No." :shakehead

 

[greenLED]

...I am just trying to find out what about them doesn't appeal to the masses.

I've been trying to figure that one out for a looooong time. Maybe I'm biased (after all I have 2 GL3's and a GL4), but Pilas are incredibly well made (think Swiss engineering), offer a wide variety of options and accessories, are flexible on the use of primary or rechargeable batteries, and a long list of other features. And all that without the high price tag that some customs or other "common" manufacturers have.

:shrug: I simply don't get it, but I do try to point them out when people ask about potential lights they could get. From the reviews I've seen, the new GL2 with Cree drop-in is a superb light, and yet it doesn't get as much attention as other "lesser" lights.

Incidentally, I do own several other brands, including SF, Fenix, Nuwai, etc.

 

[sygyzy]

Has Pila done anything new since their batteries and lights came out 2-3 years ago? Maybe that's the problem. I don't know.

Also, I want to know what Fenix lights are so popular? They seem to be yet another cheap manufacturer, but everyone loves them. Before I left, there were only a handful of fly by night mfg's and only half of those got any talk on this forum. The rest were ignored.

Now there are dozens of them and everyone is excited about the lights. What happened?

 

[kelmo]

I got in way to deep with my Surefire collection before I found out about Pila products. I personally like there look. I just can't justify collecting a new line of lights. They are just like potatoe chips, you just can't have one...

 

[powernoodle]

I don't think that anyone has anything against Pila. Rather, it has (what seems) a rather limited number of retail outlets, limited "buzz" on CPF or elsewhere, and (again, its seems to me) no products which cannot be found at SF or elsewhere.

I could be way off the mark here, but I've been around here for a little while now and can't name you even one Pila light. There just has never been any compelling reason for me to get excited about Pila.

Edited to add:

Also, I want to know what Fenix lights are so popular?

Almost every one of their new offerings has something very cool about it. The EO, for example, is not spendy, and gives several hours of flat output on a easy-to-find AAA. The P1 when it came out was (as still is), very small and very bright and a great EDC light. The L0D CE is a small, multilevel light that is freakishly bright. All of the Fenix Crees are scary bright for that matter. I could go on and on. And Fenix markets them incrementally, so that each light is one step "better" than its predecessor, giving me an "excuse" to buy almost every new light. Throw in the well-liked vendors of Fenix here at CPF and you have a winning combo. For months now, I've EDC-ed nothing but Fenix lights despite the fact that I have more than my fair share of EDC lights to choose from. (see link in sig line). Its because they make great lights.

JMO. :thumbsup:

cheers

 

[greenLED]

Has Pila done anything new since their batteries and lights came out 2-3 years ago? Maybe that's the problem. I don't know.

They split from WE-style looks and now have their own style. Their new LA's are far superior from the original ones, they offer Cree drop-ins... heck, they even have a programmable controller add-on for their lights (aka CODEX).

Like I said, :shrug:

 

[knot]

Ultimately, all I care about is performance - so I put an LED drop-in in my minimag. Now all I wish for is a pocket clip for my minimag. If I had the money, I would perhaps care more about style.

 

[bondr006]

Very nice review. Where can you find these lights. I'd be interested in at least looking at one.

 

[WadeF]

Also, I want to know what Fenix lights are so popular? They seem to be yet another cheap manufacturer, but everyone loves them. Before I left, there were only a handful of fly by night mfg's and only half of those got any talk on this forum. The rest were ignored.

Why Fenix lights are so popular? For the money the are good quality, they offer a lot of output for the money, they have great run times for the money, they are very small and easy to carry. Did I mention they're a great deal?

I think the masses would prefer a light like the P1D-CE which can easily be carried, put on a key chain, etc, yet puts out a lot of light, over a tactical flash light that could take a bullet, be run over, sink deeper into the water, and maybe be a little brighter.

I know for me, while I think the big tactical lights are cool, I'd rather have something as small as possible with a lot of output. The Fenix's exceed my needs and aren't hard on my wallet. I think this is why they are so popular.