Are Any of these Flashlights Better than Maglite?

Last noob question of the day. Say you had a choice of either a Maglite or one of the following. Which of these would you choose over a maglite?

The purpose of this thread is to determine whether all of these budget flashlights are better than owning a maglite. Don't worry too much about the price or that you can mod these lights. I'm talking strictly from a reliability/usability standpoint.

Assume all of these flashlights, including Maglite cost 50 bucks a piece.

Nitecore
Solarforce
Eagletac
Romisen
MTE
Ultrafire
Olight

This is just my opinion...
Maglights are definately reliable...
however when you say usability I have to comment. Unless it has a LED upgrade I find the useability factor in Maglights very poor..you are carrying around a huge stick that puts out very little light for its size..so in that capacity every light you mentioned is better than a Maglight.

Better how , My maglite is like 20 years old and still going strong with a Terralux unit .

If your talking size VS output , then all the lights listed are better .
But will they last 20+ years .

I have a Solarforce L2-R2 , and it rocks , if it lasts 20 years :twothumbs

From your list I would choose Nitecore.

This is off topic but I have a 49 Ford coupe that works well but I wonder if the new Toyota's would be a better choice today????

Liquidspaceman said:

Last noob question of the day.

Click to expand...

In my opinion better in overall useability based on light output for light size.
Your Mag has a upgrade so the output and runtime will be improved over the stock maglight.
No..not all of them will last 20 years...but with proper care most will.

old4570 said:

Better how , My maglite is like 20 years old and still going strong with a Terralux unit .

If your talking size VS output , then all the lights listed are better .
But will they last 20+ years .

I have a Solarforce L2-R2 , and it rocks , if it lasts 20 years :twothumbs

Click to expand...

I would take the Nitecore over anything else in that list, including Maglite. Eagletac and Olight are also good, but take those three out and I'll take a MagLED please, thank you.

There are two words in the original question that are going to be a problem in answering this question. One is "better" and the other is "Maglite".

Some people would rather stumble around in the dark than use a maglite and to read their posts. It seems to be a topic with the ability to polarize people the same way discussion about capital punishment or the designated hitter does.

The other problem is going to be "better for what". Just as there are many different lights, there are many different uses. What I think is a "better" light for my uses, might not be suitable at all for someone else. Consider the following uses for flashlights that would all have different requirements and the "best" light for some, might be completely unsuitable for others.

Cave Exploration
Walking the dog
Search and rescue
Jogging at night
Scuba Diving
Mounted on a shotgun
Police Officer going down dark alleys

So...you may want to clarify what you want to use your light for before you ask which is better.

Good Luck

Why don't you have Fenix on your list? You can get one for around $50.00.

Because Fenix seems to be an already known reliable brand that seems to be generally accepted by almost everyone here.

I threw those flashlights up there because some of them are made in China, some of them are unknown to the average flashlight user and many of them seem to "polarize" some of the folks on this board as to whether the flashlight rules or sucks.

To answer the question better in what regard. How about as a "general purpose" flashlight. Nothing specific. Not being used in any specific applications like cave exploration or police work. Say for some guy who just wants a trusty reliable flashlight to walk his dog, look for intruders around his house and signaling UFO's at night.

I would go with the Eagletac. Also have you considered Surefire G2 LED or streamlight scorpion.

I'd take Nitecore over a maglight. I'd also take a candle over a maglight, but that's just me.

Made in China doesn't mean anything. A Made in China product can be superior to a product made in another courtry as long as the manufacturer isn't trying to get the most profit from a cheap product(seems like many Made In China products fall into this cateogry). All of the brands you posted are Made in China.

I'd pick any of those lights over a Maglite with the exception of a few of the Ultrafire and MTE lights, for those it's a draw. Maglites are too bulky and dim compared to those lights.

Also Eagletac, Nitecore, and Olights aren't budget brands.

I'd also say that all of those brands are unknown to the average user, who thinks Maglites are the best and only use $1 2D lights.

I used to have a Nitecore but I lost it. It was impressive even though its Chinese.

Gunner12 said:

Made in China doesn't mean anything. A Made in China product can be superior to a product made in another courtry as long as the manufacturer isn't trying to get the most profit from a cheap product(seems like mant Made In China products fall into this cateogry). All of the brands you posted are Made in China.

I'd pick any of those lights over a Maglite with the exception of a few of the Ultrafire and MTE lights, for those it's a draw. Maglites are too bulky and dim compared to those lights.

Also Eagletac, Nitecore, and Olights aren't budget brands.

I'd also say that all of those brands are unknown to the average user, who thinks Maglites are the best and only use $1 2D lights.

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Thank you. Great answer. :thumbsup:

Over the years, I've had 3 Maglites fail on me. Two literally fell apart in my hands, one never should have left the factory. If one of the 3 were dropped from a high ledge, the failure to turn on would at least be understandable. I still have a handful of Maglites. (Nearly all have been modded with LED conversions).

While I do still use my Maglites, I have not personally experienced the near legendary level of reliability that others have enjoyed with this brand. And, I make sure to take back-up lights with me (from other brands) whenever I reach for one of my Maglites.

From your list, I'd definitely rely on my Eagletac P10A or my Olight M20 Warrior over one of my Maglites.

If you need a light with a lot of power and a lot of runtime for that level of power a Maglite makes a good host.

Nitecore. I hope 7075 aluminum will become the new standard for light construction in the future.