How can you not love Chinese flashlights?

Fenix, Jetbeam, Olight, 47's Maelstrom/Quarks, Eagletac, Thrunite, ITP, Solarforce, Zebralight, Dereelight, Ultrafire, Spiderfire and every other kind of fire. These are the led lights being actively discussed in the treads today. Most dealers today are stocking more Made in China flashlights than any other brands. Man's best friend for flashlights has also become a good friend to the Chinese manufacturers. Some of the clever dealers have become manufacturers themselves and their Made in China lights are must-haves for every flasholic from Australia to Russia. People go wild with delight everytime a brand like Fenix or Jetbeam announces a new model. Surefire probably won't be so sure anymore if the US Military stops giving them a monopoly. To equip a soldier with a Surefire LX2, you could equip 4 soldiers with the Eagletac T100C2, a light whose reliability has been proven many times over. So, how can you not love Chinese flashlights when everyone is drooling over the upcoming Maelstroms. My next flashlight is going to be the Raptor 3. What's yours?

I have a couple of cheap Chinese lights and they were good values.

I prefer to buy American and there are plenty of great-quality US-made flashlights.

This is going to be fun!

not again:green:
Please...why do these threads keep popping up?

Its not the price or performance that's in question...its the perspective that's contradicting nationalistic ideals!

He just HAD to mention Surefire .................

Here we go ....................


Moderation to commence ! Don't wander into a mine field and self-detonate .
.

It's easy. Most everyone that I have purchased had something wrong with it. Quirky switch, off center emmitter, quirky mode changing, poor build quality, ........ the list goes on. I do like the quarks, but many of them have issues too. Surefire, Malkoff, Modoo, seldom a issue of any kind.......... I have only two Chinese led lights, a Quark, and a Fenix E01. I love my American made lights.

Who'll be the first to say "Quality control knows no borders?" You pay through the nose for it, and some companies find that worthwhile.

My next light, either:

McGizmo Haiku XR-E BB
McGizmo Sapphire 25
Gatlite
Surefire M3LT
Surefire T1A
Malkoff MD3 (if he makes more )

(No particular order)

This will not last long. Hello underground. :wave:

I personally find nothing wrong with Chinese manufacturers, but I do have a few points to make in response.

Again, these are all my opinions, so take them for what they are worth, and with a healthy grain of salt!

First off, the brands that you mention are by far the minority in flashlights. One rarely walks into a department store to be greeted by Fenix or 4Sevens flashlights, instead seeing various off-brand, overpriced, underperforming China made goods. Thus, the general conception of all goods from China is such.

The main appeal for us flashaholics is the extremely high dollar to lumen ratio, in addition to usually excellent build quality, if lacking in the warranty department.

Additionally, the reason that the US Military uses Surefires is that they are an American brand. One does not outfit the military with products manufactured by a potentially hostile country (Note: all countries are potentially hostile countries). Surefire also has a domestic reputation to protect. They are known to produce a remarkably hard-use good with a fabulous no-questions-asked warranty. I am fairly certain that Eagletac (nothing against the company, it's just that you mentioned it specifically for this example) lacks these qualities.

Finally, it's always nice to support the businesses in the nation you live in. Most (AFAIK) of the people on this forum live in America, and supporting local businesses, especially in this economy, is (IMO) preferable to sending money to China.

Again, nothing against these companies, or China. I have personally owned a Nitecore D10 R2 for the past year and a half (or however long it has been since it released), and absolutely love it.

Just playing the devil's advocate! :devil:


FWIW, I have no idea what my next flashlight will be, as I just purchased an Ra Clicky 140E, and feel no need for any other flashlights at the moment.

Yeah, I know. I'm not a real flashaholic....

This country ( I.e. U.S.) is still, & forever will be, a free market country. People have the right to buy whatever they choose ,I just rather spend my dineros here. I have 1 Fenix(pd30) & 1 Quark(miniaa neut.) that I do not plan to get rid of. I also bought my dad a rominsen rc-g2 which he EDC.

It's just a matter of time... :duh2:

I could not care less what country a torch is made in and if the origin wasn't marked on the box I'd not be able to tell whetehr it was made in China, the US or Upper Kumbucta West. I either like what a torch does, the way it feels and the way it looks, or I don't.

At least half of those lights aren't worth mentioning in the same breath as Surefire...

I like Chinese lights and I carry Chinese lights but I don't think they are really in the same Class as Surefire.

Do you own any Surefires?

Flashlight_Bug said:

To equip a soldier with a Surefire LX2, you could equip 4 soldiers with the Eagletac T100C2, a light whose reliability has been proven many times over.

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There is an economic benefit that comes from DoD (and other government agencies) purchasing products made in the USA whenever possible. Those contracts to American companies create jobs. Those jobs produce tax revenue. That extra tax revenue effectively reduces the cost of the product relative to total tax revenue. The extra jobs reduce the price of the product relative to the GDP. If we restrict our examination to only the purchase price of light A vs. light B, we miss out on some important information.

Having said that, presently I have 5 Surefire, 2 Fenix, 1 Coast LED Lenser, 1 ASP, and 1 generic brand lights. Hands down, the Surefires are the highest quality of all of them. Dollar for dollar, they were a much better bargain than my Fenix lights.

1 hour 22 min. A NEW RECORD!:nana:

I love my Chinese lights.

If you hang out here long enough you know what products are good and held in high regard. This goes for quality of construction, output and efficiency and service after the sale.

When most of us venture into places like DX we know it can be hit & miss, but if you chose the right light (easy to research it on this place) you are more than likely to end up with a bargain. A bargain made better when you get a truly well put together light. Sometimes you get a dud, or something less than perfect. You should know that going in and use this place as the great resource it is.

For both American and foreign lights. There is a lot of really exciting stuff going on right now for flashlight junkies.

Quite frankly I've never recieved the kind of customer service I have in the last few years from Lumapower & Nitecore. Way above & beyond.

I'd like to see that from all companies, Chinese or American.

That said, the ones I covet now are the botique craftsmen here on cpf.

Just need to sell some of those Chinese lights I love & start looking to aquire the right one and a Surefire E2DL.

I can't see any reason for this discussion to turn acrimonious.
And Surfire now has it's own well recieved line of Chinese lights by Surfire junkies and flasholics in general.

In the immortal words of civil rights leader and intellectual luminary, Rodney King:

"Can't we all just get along?..."


But what do I know? I'm just a gardener.:shrug:

TooManyGizmos said:

He just HAD to mention Surefire .................

Here we go ....................


Moderation to commence ! Don't wander into a mine field and self-detonate .
.

Click to expand...

Isn't it posts like this that make these threads what they are? If you and everyone else would answer the person, these threads would not have to be moderated. See, since you typed an idiotic post, I had to follow with one of my own, in essence, cluttering the thread.

Back to the topic on hand, I love Chinese lights like many here, mostly my EagleTacs and Romisens. The Fenix's, Nitecores, and Olights have been slight disappointments however. My Streamlight and Surefire trumps them all though...And it's only a PolyTac and a G2!

The torches I have seen are rather impressive I think, Iam amazed they can actually make something that looks nice and "works" given the horrible record of production they have, (pet food, baby food, toys ect.) Oh and dont forget sheet rock :shakehead

Chauncey Gardner said:

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And Surfire now has it's own well recieved line of Chinese lights by Surfire junkies and flasholics in general.

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Can you elaborate on this line? If you mean Icon, I don't think that is a part of Surefire at all.