Copy Lights

well, to be honest i dont know how to put this, but what are people opinions on the low cost "replicas" as it were. i bought a maglight copy (red, 2AA cell) for £1 (about $1.50)

it does the job and is allegedly weatherproof and impact proof. made from thick aluminium, and is ok. but thing is are cheap ones up for the job?

The way I see it is, most of these copied lights are copies of lights that are subpar (at least for us) as it is, like minimags. They may be of the same quality/performance of the light they are mimicking, but to me, that's often not saying much.

There are some copies like those photon copies that are actually quite good...

so what you could be in effect saying is why pay £30 when you could pay £5 ???

maka said:

so what you could be in effect saying is why pay £30 when you could pay £5 ???

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Eh, not really. What I'm saying is, I'd rather spend my money buying lights that are even better than the light these are copying. If a minimag suits your needs, and you find a copy that works just as well and is up to your quality standards, then yes, there isn't really a good reason to buy the more expensive light.

There are, however, bad reasons to buy the more expensive light, such as prestige, brand loyalty, etc.

It those minor little "ifs" that might make a bit of a difference when push comes to shove when your Chinese counterfeit might or might not function when you need it to. But then you only paid a quid for it so no worries right?

Quite honestly, if you can't tell the difference between the two, then you could just become a victim.

maka said:

it does the job and is allegedly weatherproof and impact proof. made from thick aluminium, and is ok. but thing is are cheap ones up for the job?

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hmm, i guess you have the prestige and the whole thing of owning the real thing, i guess its like seeing a movie at the cinema or having a crap DVD copy.. you knows which is best!

/Agree with Brighteyez


A tool that can be relied on is worth the money. And for the record, copies that are sold in Australia are nowhere near the quality of originals. I was actually dumbstruck when i bought my first M@g, it had better fit and finish than my Pelican torches, output was a different story though.

Don't know what copies exist elsewhere, but copies on the Australian market are almost always constructed of a cheaper or lower grade material, the finish is flaky, the bulbs are prone to kicking the bucket within minutes and fit and finish is not smooth.

Actually I've had the opportunity to see and handle both the real thing and the knockoffs. While neither the Mag nor the knockoff would suit my needs for any purpose, it I had to select one that I might want to have available in an emergency, there is no question as to what I would choose. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to pay more for it either.

On the other hand, if you just can't afford the £9 or so for a mini-mag, one of the £1 knockoff might be better than nothing. But you should not have expections of it being similar regardless of the merchant's claims.

maka said:

hmm, i guess you have the prestige and the whole thing of owning the real thing, i guess its like seeing a movie at the cinema or having a crap DVD copy.. you knows which is best!

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I think they're also a good option for keeping a large number of cheapie lights around. I have a bunch of 2xAA cheapo lights that I got at IKEA for $.50/each.. they're complete junk, yes, but I can keep several in each room. Very good for an affordable "find a good flashlight" light.. I would definitely pick up Mag knockoffs for $1 in order to use in that manner.

well, I have a maglite 4D clone lying around here... and it sucks... bigtime...

it's dim, the beam has some very minor spots that are actually close to being ok. And it seems you cant replace the reflector. It does have one advantage over the original mag (other than price) and that is that the thing has a tailcap that prevents it from rolling...

in other words, a nice aluminium bat that has the capability to shine some light... Manufactured by Greatlite...

Aside from the fact that a lot of those lights are crap, if everyone bought the cheap copycats the original light makers would go out of business. The copycats would then have nothing to copy and new technology would cease to exist.

cheapos tend to offer very bad machining (especially those 1aa and 2aa models).

They are not even worth to act as a host for modding a Lux and a badboy circuit inside.
Every time I have to turn the back cap for switching on/off or changing the batts, I get disappointed.

If cheap lights did the job, would we be buying Surefires? Or even Fenixes for that matter?

i guess it all depends on your budget. if im just keeping mine in my bag itll be cheapo fo sho'

I like the real deal. I view every dollar I would spend on a "buy" as a dollar wasted as I will most likely be disappointed in many aspects of the purchase from performance, build quality. I apply this to my tools and equipment. I want to be surprised when something breaks rather than just "oh well it was cheap I guess I'll just buy another. Every cheap thing I've ever bought seems to end up as junk, while the quality stuff always has value, if no longer to me but to others in resale. The only cheap lights I've bought that were cheap were cyclops 10 and 15 Mil. I would have bought a better quality one if someone would have made it. If a light is for my kids though, cheaper is ok as I know they will not respect, appreciate, or even remeber where they put it when they need it.

toolboy said:

I like the real deal. I view every dollar I would spend on a "buy" as a dollar wasted as I will most likely be disappointed in many aspects of the purchase from performance, build quality. I apply this to my tools and equipment. I want to be surprised when something breaks rather than just "oh well it was cheap I guess I'll just buy another. Every cheap thing I've ever bought seems to end up as junk, while the quality stuff always has value, if no longer to me but to others in resale.

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I second that, except I recently ordered 2 5-LED Xnovas at about $5 each. I'm sufficiently impressed that I'm going to buy more as giveaways to friends who want a light of their own... trying to spark some more interest in lights amongst my friends.