Princeton Tec & Underwater Kinetics...

...were two, high quality, established, manufacturers of plastic lights that I was not aware of when joining the CPF in 2003. I already appreciated Pelican products, which were of similar quality, so CPF brought even more choices to me for good lights. Since 2003 I've made up for lost time and have become (too?!) acquainted with some nice headlights and lanterns.

Likewise when it came to metal gear, I hadn't been exposed to Arc, SureFire or Inova. Guess I was really in the dark back in '03.

I agree. They have a lot of bang-for-the-buck.
We have Tec-40s all over the house, and in the cars.

I love the form factor of the UK4AA line.

The UK 4AA eLED Zoom is quite possibly the best 4AA flashlight out there, IMO.

I agree.

I own a Princeton Tec Headlamp and have given one as a gift, and I am most impressed by their quality of product.

pedalinbob said:

I agree. They have a lot of bang-for-the-buck...We have Tec-40s all over the house, and in the cars...I love the form factor of the UK4AA line.

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The UK 4AA eLED Unilite and the UK 4AA Zoom Unilite are my favorite flashlights. Not only are these flashlights the best bang-for-the-buck, they are arguably the best small utility lights available period, irregardless of price.

If you don't like headlamps but occasionally need hands free illumination, then you should have one of these lights.

Both can be converted to compact, pocketable flashlights in about thirty seconds, by unscrewing their 90-degree angle necks and snapping off their flat polymer clips.

Princeton Tec also makes great lights. The PT line of headlamps is the best in terms of variety, quality, and robustness. Competitors may make certain headlamps that beat out individual PT models in one way or another, but overall PT headlamps destroy the competition.

The only UK light I have is the 4AA Zoom Led and I love it.

I shop REI a lot and have picked up a load of Princeton Tec lights there that are extremely utilitarian and almost indestructable...

Attitude, Aqua Strobe, Blast, Eclipse, Eco Flare, Impact XL, Pilot, Tec 40 and EOS headlamp

For some reason the plastic on the PT handheld lights makes me think it's not as durable as the material used by Pelican and UK.

greenLED said:

For some reason the plastic on the PT handheld lights makes me think it's not as durable as the material used by Pelican and UK.

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Much of the Princeton Tec line is waterproof to water-resistant and the plastic can take "accidental" abuse (dropping occassionally etc). You could probably destroy one if you had a heavy hammer and a mind to I suppose. In everyday use they should hold up extemely well, though.

FlashlightReviews.com has positive comments about their toughness.

Back in the dark ages (before I found CPF and LED's) I carried a PT 40 in my tool kit. Everything was just tossed into this huge Pelikan like case with no padding. It is quite scarred and ratty but it is still intact. Of course it is on it's fifth or so lamp. They do last longer than the Mag equivalents.

For some uses plastic lights seem superior to metal. Long hikes, camping, climbing or any time lighter weight is necessary. Working around electricity (plastic is required by some employers) or when exposed to water, caustics or acids, plastic won't react like aluminum or steel. I believe the plastic bodied light helps protect the lamp by absorbing shock otherwise transmitted through metal. This, however, may not always be the case.

Cool, guys, thanks for sharing. Some of those translucent cases made me think they'd be more brittle (and, thus, prone to cracking) than some of the other polymers around, which look to be more flexible.

Since jayflash mentions outdoor use. Has anyone tested the resistance of PT, UK or Pelican lights to insect repellent? That stuff can be pretty nasty on some types of plastic.

I haven't tested my lights but depending upon the plastic used any of those lights will have one or more solvents that can melt them. I'd avoid bug spray, lacquer thinner, acetone, possibly naphtha, and floro/chloro-carbon compounds until proven safe for a particular light.

Dear greenLED and other CPF members,

I purchased one of the original Princeton Tec Impacts (not the Impact ll nor the XL version) and the top circular section of the plastic reflector that surrounded the LED, as well as the plastic circular rim inside the bezel section which came in to contact with that reflector rim (when the bezel head was screwed on tighter in order to depress the reflector/LED assembly so as to make contact with the battery power to turn on the light), both of those plastic rims broke off after normal twisting of the bezel head to turn on the light, which then prevented the light from being turned on.

Princeton Tec was expedient and generous in replacing my original Impact with their newer model: Impact XL, which does not have the same faulty, weak plastic inner rim of the BEZEL, but the plastic REFLECTOR rim (which contacts that bezel rim, as described above, to turn on the light) does not appear to be significantly improved in its design or strength. Time will tell if this new model remains durable.

Most sincerely,

FaithinGod

greenLED said:

For some reason the plastic on the PT handheld lights makes me think it's not as durable as the material used by Pelican and UK.

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Good point greenLED.

Over the years I've seen a number of plastic lights fail during use in the field. Some lights failed after being dropped, some had internal parts failures, some from water intrusion, and some developed cracks in the body or head.

My impression is that the PT lights don't hold up as well when subjected to abuse as the plastic lights by Pelican, UK, Streamlight, and Brightstar. I doubt UK uses as tough a plastic as these others do, although I don't know for sure.

Most of the plastic lights from these other manufacturers are intended for the industrial hazardous environment market. This market requires safety rated lights, which means they have to survive drop tests with the outer casing intact. AFAIK, PT doesn't make lights for this market.

I still like Princeton Tech's headlamp line, but prefer to spend a little more for the safety rated flashlights by Streamlight, UK, or Pelican.