Cheap Flashlight Poll

Lets call this the CPFCFP, the CandlePower Forums Cheap Flashlight Poll.

A lot of folks here won't even consider buying a low cost LED light.

Tekno_Cowboy said:

I don't even have to see the Akoray to know that the D10 is better.

You get what you pay for.

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I'm talking about people who think like the forum member quoted above. He is, of course, entitled to his opinion. I just can't see how he arrived at his opinion since the Akoray is an unknown quantity to him.

I'm curious as to how many of you have purchased other low cost LED lights, say $30 - $40 and under, and what you think of them.

So come on you guys who've bought cheap lights. Let it all hang out. Let's hear about the cheapies you've bought and how you like or dislike them.

I'd also like to get an idea of how many here own this light:
[advertising link removed - DM51] and what you think of it.

I've got one of the Akorays on the way. I also own an Ultrafire C2 HA-III Cree and a Aurora WF-600 Q5 2-Mode.

Both these lights are great LED lights and I could not be more satisfied with them. They perform exactly as described and I've never had a problem with either one of them.

Now I KNOW there are "better" LED lights out there than the ones I own, but I'm starting to look at flashlights the same way I do riflescopes.

I own a few scopes; Intensity Optics, Bushnell and Weavers mostly. I've been buying rifle scopes a lot longer than flashlights.

My scopes are not Leupolds, Swarovskis or Schmidt & Benders. I have owned one each of these in the past and ended up selling them. Not because they weren't good. On the contrary, they were great!

So why did I sell them?

Because the difference to me between Leupolds, Swarovskis and Schmidt & Benders and Intensity Optics, Bushnell and Weavers just doesn't justify the tremendous cost differential.

When the crosshairs of a decent quality scope and the crosshairs of a premium scope fall on a target, the round goes where it's supposed to if the shooter does his job.

I own 4 Ultrafire C2's as well as a WF500 and WF1000. I like them all and have never had one fail in well over a years time...

When you can buy a complete Solarforce L2 or L2m (essentially, virtual 6P & 3P CLONES) in black, gunmetal, or sand finish, with an R2 lamp assembly (single or 5-mode), 18650 rechargeable cell, belt holster, AND shipping for $25... that's a huge WOW in my book! This is a seriously great quality light for practically nothing, considering what you get AND shipping. I've got some great quality and costly lights in my stable, but the Solarforce L2 and L2m are serious light forces to be reckoned with!!! :thumbsup:

Oh yes, and I should add that I have three different models of Romisen lights: RC-N3 Q5, RC-C3 Q5, and RC-H3 (several copies of the N3 & C3) and they are brilliant, superb lights, at a great price point... I give Romisens and Solarforce very high ratings.

Oh yeah... sure do love my MTE SSC P7!

I own an AKOray K105 programmable light -and find it to be just great. I have a Romisen RC N3 Q5, two Romisen RC-F4s, two Romisen RC G2s, and a host of inexpensive Chinese lights, including a couple of Ultrafire flashlights, which I find to be great and great value. I also own a Fenix LOD and Fenix L2D2 and have bought the Lummi Wee and Raw as "more expensive" lights--they have yet to arrive--and an original Jetbeam C-LE.

The quality control on the generic lights varies, but typically, after reading the reviews I've bought ones that have been winners. My Fenixes are the best as well. To some extent you are paying more for a guarantee of quality control and buying locally. rather than in Hong Kong where you have more difficulty getting satisfaction on your warranty and where there seem to be more quality control issues.

From what I've read, if you feel that "brand" names are the only way to go, nothing will convince you otherwise. On the other hand, there's definitely good value to be found in the inexpensive light purchase. You might have to put up with some issues and fixes, but if you purchase carefully, you can get a great deal and save quite a bit of money in the process.

Solarforce L2 x 5
Ultrafire x 3
MTE x 1
Romisen x 1

My only expensive lights are my 2 Maglites , and Ive moded one to cree P4 [ 3D ] and will shortly mod my 6D to R2 ... [ Actually moding the Terralux units ]
Im still considering 2 more Ultrafires ..

I would say Lumapower could fall into the less than expensive range for EDC light and they seem to be getting better(beam quality and HAlll finish). I really like the beams on my LM33 and connextion X2. These two range from 25-45 $. Will they become Fenix cost, thats to be continued.

Lumapower ConneXion X2. Yeah, I just bought one. $45. The beam's not bad! I wouldn't call that a "cheap" flashlight and while it's a nice light and all, and I appreciate the 3 levels, I'd SO very quickly spend the extra $15 for the D10 (I bought one of these at the same time) and never EVER look back. $15! What's that? A movie, popcorn, and soda for ONE! Yes, I like my ConneXion X2, but it PALES in comparison to the D10 which sells for a mere $15 more. All in all, neither of these are "cheap" flashlights, though, so I'm not really sure why we're talking about them in this thread. :duh2: Oh well.

I'd call $25 or less a "low cost" flashlight, but not all lights in that range are "cheap". The Romisens I have purchased for less than $25 are anything but "cheap"... they're low cost and fantastic!

I'm also not sure what this is about. :duh2: There's no poll?

To the OP, I have Akoray and D10, and Tekno Cowboy's right. If you want to talk about cheap, let's put it below $30, which are aplenty in DX and KD. $30 - $40 might belong to good ones at a discount. :shrug: Anyway, even from $5 - $40, there're good ones amongst some crappy ones, you just have to know by trying them out or from users' feedbacks.

For the matter, Solarforce falls into this category, but IMHO, the price is affordable, not cheap, and most of all, they don't feel cheap. I also have Trustfire P7, Tank007 and Aurora R2, all of which I'm not disappointed with.

There is no poll, and no attempt to steer this thread in any direction other than a general discussion of random budget lights.

If allowed to continue, it would be swamped with a myriad of disconnected advertising posts about cheap lights, soon to be followed by complaints that these same lights had stopped working.

There is already a review thread for such products. This one is closed.