Would you use a modern flashlight in a reasonably rough job or not? CONCRETE BELOW!!!

[TEEJ]

I bought myself a nitecore P10, primarily for instant strobe button and size. I dropped it on halloween and chipped the anodizing. I was pretty butt hurt, and left in a cab last night (super butt hurt) But in the time I had it my GF said she wanted one for her dad whom works in construction. Long story short, I don't think Nitecore will stand up to inevitable abuse. Im getting him a Malkoff. It should be noted I am also an idiot. :duh2:

IDK, if I worried about anodizing, etc, I'd go insane.

If its a TOOL, the aesthetics are less important, and the performance is job #1, IE: It goes on/off, and enough light goes out to where its needed.

I also off road, and we make fun of the newbs who worry about what color to paint their skid plates. As we drive a trail, we can see the streaks of the different colors on the rocks, and know which newb probably scraped where.

 

[LAtraffic]

IDK, if I worried about anodizing, etc, I'd go insane.

If its a TOOL, the aesthetics are less important, and the performance is job #1, IE: It goes on/off, and enough light goes out to where its needed.

I also off road, and we make fun of the newbs who worry about what color to paint their skid plates. As we drive a trail, we can see the streaks of the different colors on the rocks, and know which newb probably scraped where.

I agree one thousand percent. But I still go through this process with pretty much every new thing I get. Like my new phone. I know anything Im using daily is going to look it. But I was still all inspecting and softly running my finger over that first knick. I guess the thing I was getting at is just like it would be comical for someone to use a stock vehicle off a dealers lot for off roading, it would be equally futile to use my nitecore on the proverbial off road course.

 

[pineapple]

(Snip) … Im getting him a Malkoff. It should be noted I am also an idiot. :duh2:

Getting him a Malkoff doesn't sound idiotic at all.

 

[MidnightDistortions]

Its almost the opposite for me. If the light HAS TO WORK, no matter what, I don't want some cheap POS light that's going to break, and get me killed/injured.

So, sure any light CAN be broken, but, I won't count on a light for work until its proven itself....and, I have an idea as to its limitations.

I have had plenty of < $50 lights that I've tried, and, some actually were fine...the key chain sized ones mostly can be pretty tough for example....but, as I got to the P60+ sizes, the < $50 lights get too delicate to count on for work, and/or didn't have the performance to justify a place in my rotation, etc.

I suppose the work environment itself might dictate your philosophy on this issue. If the light ITSELF is a mission critical part of your job, you might prioritize its survivability, and, that might cost money to get where it needs to be. If the light is an accessory, where if it fails, nothing bad happens, and you simply grab another one...sure, disposable lights, etc, start to make more sense.

I don't EDC anything I could not drop onto concrete or at least pavement. Even the DEFTX survived.


Modern lights, if they take advantage of the advances, are TOUGHER than the old school lights I used to have.

An LED with potted electronics and beefy wires and deep thread overlaps, etc, is all but bullet proof. The old incan versions bulb's would burst typically, etc.

Well you obviously do need a light that is going to survive torture testings so if you happen to have an expensive light that can and will survive just about any fall or crash that's the light to use in a rough job. I've trusted Mags to do the job and they are under the $50 mark, even the krypton bulbs survive falls compared to most of the cheap lights i have used, some of them go out just by a tap. There's probably stronger more durable lights than the Mag but i just never thought to put an expensive light through a rough environment, but they are probably designed to be that way.