Romisen's Quality Going Downhill?

So, the last two lights I have received by Romisen have had questionable quality. Both are RC-N3 2AA Q5 Natural Color lights. One is single mode, and the other is a Hi/Med mode I just received today. The first one a month ago had a super sharp edge on the head that I cut my finger on. The second one just looks maimed. Kudos to ShiningBeam for replacing the first light and quick shipping both ways. I haven't decided if I want to send this one in for exchange yet, but it definitly affects screwing the head down as it's got a sort of notchy feel to it. HAs anyone else noticed QA problems like this before or am I just the lucky one?

Other than that, LOVE this 2-mode light. I thought it was great as single mode, but it's just GREAT now. It appears almost identically as bright as the single mode RC-N3.

On to the pics.

I have 2 RC-N3s. The first one I bought was super quality wise for the price of it. The second had a clearly inferior finish which was not such a nice surprise but I would still recommend it as it did not affect its in general use. I'm not so fussed on the new 3 mode version.

I just have 2, but both in perfect order. My guess is that rather than the quality going downhill, it's never been possible to have top notch quality control at those prices, and you've just had a little run of bad luck.

I don't have any experience with that brand. But no matter what Brand that would be unacceptable.

Mine had a slight gouge on it when I received my single stage long ago.

It's still working fine, had been my EDC until my D20 came

I got a 3-mode a month ago with no faults. The only drawbacks are the 30 secs wait and the strobe. Ill recommend it anyways. Great light for the price.

Nothing against the bulk of Chinas products but occasionally you will find yourself dealing with a company whose first batches looked perfect as they sample their way into potential customers hands...then once the deal is settled and you as a customer or future vendor sends them an order voucher the successive batches come with mediocre quality, obvious cosmetic abrasions, and sometimes nonworking products, or QC rejects.

Its an incentive issue, they have the ability to make good products, they just choose not to.

I can't speak for Rominsens Quality having only seen one set of pictures and heard from two people. But should more cases follow from other users I might take this into consideration. No one is perfect when it comes to QC, McGizmo has shipped nonworking/malfunctioning lights, Endeavour has had one DOA Aeon flow into Lighthounds Inventory...etc, but theres no reason to suspect a consistent downhill in quality...at least for now:candle:

I bought a few Romisens for Christmas presents and am embarrassed as heck about doing so after they started breaking after only a few days. Classic case of you get what you pay for. I'll never buy another one.

I've been using a RC-N3 daily in both RCR123 and 2xAA configuration since December without any issues (build or usage).

I think the reality is that with any budget Chinese manufactured flashlight that the quality level will always fluctuate. Romisen is one of the better ones, but I wouldn't put it past them to have spotty batches here and there. For us as consumers, sometimes it can be the luck of the draw. Generally I keep this in mind and adjust my expectations accordingly. I also won't go as far as saying I'll never buy something again just because of one bad experience. I also look at it as seeing how cheap these kinds of flashlights sell for, I don't get mad if they go bad and the flashlight enthusiast in me makes me try to fix them if they do.

I have bought 10 Romisens so far and only had problems with 1 of them. I bought a G4, G2, and F4 from DX for myself as my first flashlight purchase since they all got good ratings on the budget light roundup. I do not like the G4 and never really use it. I liked the G2 and F4 so much, I ordered Q5 versions of each from shiningbeam and still use those.

I then ordered 5 more G2's from DX for Xmas presents and everyone loved them. My mom's, however, stopped working shortly after. I learned from reading posts about the issue that the reflector was most likely shorting out the emitter. After some tinkering with it, I removed the oring from the threads where it should be and put it on top of the emitter area. It now works but I'm sure is completely non-water resistant. It's okay for what it's used for though, mostly sitting in my mom's purse until she needs a light momentarily.

Now that I have some better lights, I doubt I'll buy any more Romisens though... there are just much better lights out there that don't cost that much more. :thumbsdow

they have always clearly been a lower end brand. however, barring defects, you do get a lot for your money.

ill still stick with the fenix and nitecore level of products.

wadus said:

I removed the oring from the threads where it should be and put it on top of the emitter area. It now works but I'm sure is completely non-water resistant.

Click to expand...

Mine has transparent plastic covering that area. Perhaps you could cut a peice out (thin blister-pack plastic should work) to fit round the emitter to prevent shorting? I'm sure there must be something you could use other than that o-ring, then you can put the o-ring back.

My favorite thing about the romisens is they're mostly decent and I like to break things. At $11 a pop I can tear up/mod a G2 and not worry so much if I kill it.

I love my RC-N3, even if it isnt the Q5 version. I, on the other hand, dislike my RC-G2, since it fails on me so often. I never know when the light would refuse to turn on unless i hit it against the palm of my hand. Also, the tint on the RC-G2 is greenish, in my opinion.