Best Brands?

ahw

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Oct 16, 2006
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What brand is the best? Without considering price. I'm talking about quality materials, workmanship, technology, reputation, beam quality, accesories, selection, efficiency and environmentally friendly(not battery hogs, thus creating more battery waste). In my opinion Greatest to least

Surefire
Streamlight
Peak LED Solutions
Princeton Tec
Inova
 

:)>

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Tampa, Florida
Seriously...

I woul have to say that Surefire is the top of the heap and after them, I would say that HDS (now Novatac) is the best. I would have a hard time rating the top 5, and my ratings are biased toward the higher end performance oriented lights.

I figured that I would quickly follow up on my sarcastic post to avoid this thread turning into a discussion on China:laughing:

-Goatee
 

ANW

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I'm a fan of Surefires, but I still carry and like my Mag incandescent or Led model, simply because the batteries are cheaper to replace more often and if the light gets lost I can replace it quicker from just about any store and not take a hit to the wallet as I would if I lost one of my surefires.
 

daveman

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Sep 13, 2006
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ahw said:
...environmentally friendly(not battery hogs, thus creating more battery waste)...
Since I use mostly cr123s myself, I have been recycling my used batteries at my local Staples. I think we flashaholics should recycle our batteries because we probably use more than the average person. You can search for a location to recycle from here:
http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=ls&serviceid=126
It's usually an office depot kind of place, you just hand them the batts and leave.

ahw said:
... In my opinion Greatest to least

Surefire
Streamlight
Peak LED Solutions
Princeton Tec
Inova
I'd have to put Inova at the top of the list. Only had one X5 die on me (replaced in 2 weeks by Inova w/ no questions) after a year of service out of the ~15 or so XO3s, XOs, and X5s I've owned. Inova's lights are built like a brick house.
 

ringzero

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Jun 11, 2006
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ahw said:
What brand is the best? Without considering price. I'm talking about quality materials, workmanship, technology, reputation, beam quality, accesories, selection, efficiency and environmentally friendly(not battery hogs, thus creating more battery waste).

Underwater Kinetics
Princeton Tec
Streamlight
Pelican
Inova
 

Art Vandelay

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Mar 13, 2006
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IMHO, custom lights are generally the best, but production lights are sometimes just as good.
Production lights:
1)HDS
2)Surefire
3)Fenix
4)Streamlight
5)the rest
 

SCblur

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Dec 30, 2005
Messages
818
just taking into consideration the brands I'm familiar with, loosley ordered:

1. Surefire
2. HDS
3. Night-Ops (gladius)
4. Inova
5. Streamlight

I'll echo what was said about custom lights, McGizmo's stuff for example. I'd trust my life with anything he made.
 

iamerror

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Jan 2, 2006
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Location
Nevada, USA
I really like HDS flashlights! There are many companies that have made good flashlights: Arc, Fenix, Princeton Tec, Streamlight, Surefire... to name some of them.
 

Schnotts

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Night-ops has certainly gotta be in there . My Gladius is great. Well built and bright. I had the oportunity to try out a 6V Falcata also and it was a well made light.
 

FlashInThePan

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Jan 9, 2006
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Anchorage, Alaska
I can't believe that no one's mentioned McGizmo!

There are three brands of lights I'd trust my life to, and grab unhesitatingly in an emergency: Surefire, HDS, and McGizmo. (In fact, my Surefire A2, HDS U60, and McLux III PD would probably all come with me at that point!)

McGizmo's (Don's) lights are just rock solid. The build quality and reliability on his McLux III PD, HD45, and 27LT are incredible. Granted, he's not a major manufacturer....but since the initial post didn't include that limitation, I get to include my McGizmos. =)

1. Surefire
2. HDS
3. McGizmo
4. Peak LED Solutions
 
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Nyctophiliac

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Feb 22, 2006
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Buckinghamshire, UK
I have loads of Surefires,INOVAs Peaks,Fenixes. But I would say that I mostly use my ARCs.

I know only the AAA-p is currently in production, but soon the new LS or Cree or whatever will be out and no doubt in my mind at all, it will be superb.

Also the second hand lights that I do have are still way better than any number of currently available models, in design,ruggedness,reliability,form factor...I could go on (and probably will again).



ARC is good.


Be lucky......
 

Long John

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Mar 16, 2006
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Spain, near Cadiz
If it counts, my best lights are build by member "Icarus":rock:.

As for the parts: McGizmo, SF, Mag:)

Best regards

_____
Tom
 

lrp

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Aug 16, 2003
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When I first found this forum I remember someone saying that the best flashlights are not found in stores and IMHO that still holds true!
 

:)>

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I thought about putting down McGizmo, but I felt wierd calling it a brand. His lights seem to have some soul that the others are missing. They are definately at the top of the heap!

-Goatee
 

Casual Flashlight User

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Jun 26, 2006
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England
Based on what I own

HDS
Arc
Inova

Would love to sample the wholesome goodness of 'Surefire' and a 'McGizmo' light or two...maybe some 'Photons International' as well.
smile.gif



CFU
 

greenLED

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Mar 26, 2004
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La Tiquicia
ahw said:
Surefire
Streamlight
Peak LED Solutions
Princeton Tec
Inova
IMO, Peak lags behind companies like Pelican and UK. From those you list, I'd modify as follows:
SF
Pelican
SL
UK
Inova
 

xdanx

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Feb 11, 2006
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Location
Palmdale, CA
For me:

1. Mcgizmo (quality, performance, and design)
2. Surefire (product variety and quality)
3. HDS (output and functionality)
 
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