Are flashlights a bad expense? They always die

How long do you expect your light to last with occasional use ?
I am talking about Fenix, Nitecore, 4-Sevens etc.

I have like 5 ultrafires, 4 of them are flickering, the other one is dead.
2 Trustfires, both flickering after a few days.
barely even used it
Wondering if it is the same with other brands ?


Are flashlights a bad investment then ? Why spend 100 bucks if it's going to fail in a few months ? Plus this forum is packed with how Fenix,47 etc lights fail after a few months...


So, what's the longest you have used your flashlight before it died ?
To those who have massive collections - How many lights do you have and how many had to be sent out to warranty?

Just making sure if it's even worth spending money on a better brand instead of just getting bulk Ultrafires and put them in the bin when they die.



Thanks !

Re: Are flashlights a bad investment ? They always die

I know what kind of responses you'll get but I don't think that question can be easily answered.

Some people will have Ultrafires that haven't died and some will have Surefires that they haven't used very much.

I don't think you can totally justify an expensive flashlight just based on greater life. Honda's and BMW's both last about as long and do roughly the same job but one costs more.

It's the same with lights and for the same reasons...perceived quality, features, status, whatever.

If I was going camping for a week I'd rather have two moderate priced lights rather than one super expensive "quality" light.

No matter how you look at it flashlights are expenses and not investments!

Re: Are flashlights a bad investment ? They always die

If you want a investment try stocks or mutual funds.

I use my Surefire E1B for about 3 hours a week. I have done this for a little over a year now. It still works perfectly. You get what you pay for. Those lights you mentioned are not called budget lights for nothing. You get what you pay for.

Re: Are flashlights a bad investment ? They always die

Cruzer23 said:

Are flashlights a bad investment then ? Why spend 100 bucks if it's going to fail in a few months ? Plus this forum is packed with how Fenix,47 etc lights fail after a few months...

Click to expand...

Don't buy a cheap flashlight and don't by a cheap flashlight without a good (ie. lifetime) warranty.

Buy once, cry once.

--

I would be mad too if I had $100 dollar flashlights dying after a few months ... but I try to get GOOD flashlights.

Despite all the good advice available here, you buy 5 poor quality lights. Not only do you complain about 4 of them failing, you attempt to put every other torch ever made into the same catagory. It might be time to burn those Ultrafire lights and buy the real thing - Surefire!

These 'I bought another faulty Ultrafire light' threads are getting real old.

I can't remember how many I have, say around 30 at the moment. They range from cheap brands like Ultrafire to Surefire, and I've not had a single one die yet. I've had little problems with things coming loose or needing cleaning, but no fatalities. I suspect a lot of the problems are care and maintainance related.

I do think buying 'super bright' $10 lights from places like DX could be false economy if reliability is a big issue for you.

Also I'd go more by brand and reputation than cost. For example, I'd trust a Fenix E01 more than a $100 ****fire light. It might not be 1000 lumens but you can be quite confident it'll turn on. It's the same with everything really. You can never be 100% sure, but if you do your research and dig deep, you minimise the risk of being left in the dark.

hahaha...
i have the same problem
i have ultrafire A2 and now it's already death. (i guest its about 1 month)
but i also have Fenix P2D for at least 1 year or more but it still working properly.
and now i'm collecting many of other brand (like in my signature)
i almost never use most of my flashlight and they still work properly.
i try to use lithium battery or nimh to prevent leaking from alkali battery.
My suggestion is "you got what you pay", you buy the cheap you get the cheap quality.
i'm not sure about surefire but many ppl said it is the best one.:thinking:

+1 to what everyone else has said about buying a cheap torch, especially Jimmy's comments.

As for me personally, I expect them to last quite a very long time.

Had a NEX for about a year before gifting it to a friend, he's still using it from last I heard.

Have one of the Ti Quarks, has stood up well with intermittent use.

Also have a LunaSol 20 as my EDC, that's lasted quite happily so far.

I'd also have to disagree with the forum being "packed" with reports of failures. A skim of the first 5 pages of the LED flashlight forum actually shows a rather low proportion of threads about failed lights. Not to mention, the chances of someone starting a thread about their failed light are much higher than the chances of someone starting a thread about their perfectly working light.

Hehe well, i'm getting better though, I did purchase an ITP A1 and A3 recently.

I have 4 Romisens, 1 Fenix, and a Brinkmann with a Dereelight drop-in, none of which cost more than $43. My wife uses her Romisen RC-G2 every day for walking..... it cost all of $11. They have all performed flawlessly over the 2-3 years I have owned most of them, with moderate to heavy use under sometimes demanding conditions, and I fully expect them to last for many more years. But maybe I'm a little lucky too.

I don't doubt there are greater quality control issues with cheaper flashlight lines, but if you do your homework, and choose wisely, there are excellent values to be found way under $100.

Does that mean that more expensive lights are not good values? Not at all. There are certain flashlights I would buy in a second if I could really afford them. But the returns can diminish as you keep going up in price, and, at least in the context of simply providing functional and versatile illumination with user-friendly features and reasonable quality is concerned, the old adage of "you get what you pay for" is not always true.

Even my cheapest lights seem to never die. I've got so many I guess I'll never wear one out. Honestly, I expect them to last almost forever based on the amount of use they see.

Geoff

Cruzer23 said:

How long do you expect your light to last with occasional use? I am talking about Fenix, Nitecore, 4-Sevens etc.

Click to expand...

I expect all twisty from Fenix, NiteCore and 4Sevens to last at least 5 years... and their clickies to last at least 3 years... on daily use.
But I expect twisty from SureFire to last forever and their clickies to last for a life-time...

Cruzer23 said:

I have like 5 ultrafires, 4 of them are flickering, the other one is dead. 2 Trustfires, both flickering after a few days. barely even used it Wondering if it is the same with other brands ?

Click to expand...

No... it's not the same!

Cruzer23 said:

Are flashlights a bad investment then ? Why spend 100 bucks if it's going to fail in a few months ? Plus this forum is packed with how Fenix,47 etc lights fail after a few months...

Click to expand...

I don't think flashlights is a bad investment. I spend the bucks expecting it to last for a few years. No, this forum does not packed with failures of lights, but this forum is packed with many advise and solutions to potential issues and tips and tricks on care and maintenance of our lights.

Cruzer23 said:

So, what's the longest you have used your flashlight before it died ?
To those who have massive collections - How many lights do you have and how many had to be sent out to warranty?

Click to expand...

None of my flashlights has died on me yet (I started 2009). But of cause I do not have a massive collections like other members here...

Cruzer23 said:

Just making sure if it's even worth spending money on a better brand instead of just getting bulk Ultrafires and put them in the bin when they die.

Click to expand...

Yes, I do think it's worth spending money on a better flashlight.

I have lights ranging from Romisen to Surefire. None have totally failed me yet. Even my first light, a Fenix L2D Premium 100 which I bought in 2006 and sold it some time later is still working well in the hands of the new older. My second light, a NiteCore Defender Infinity (first production run) still runs just as perfectly as day one and it has been through quite some abuse. I expect my better lights to last me a very long time, if not a lifetime. Clickies may wear out over time, but twisties, especially Surefire ones, pretty much forever.
Oh but, my NiteCore Defender Infinity which had the first version of the clicky, started to show signs of failure within the first year. So they sent me two spare clicky switches and it's been perfect so far.

See my avatar... they have proven over the past 2-3 decades to last longer than the hand that holds them. Other brands have not been around long enough to determine, although my Fenix lights have been very reliable. Clone-fires are good for DIY and stuff, but across an entire brand population will exhibit a higher failure rate than other more respected CPF brands.

Flashlights are not an investment as you don't get a specific rate of return, and eventually your capital investment is wiped out. I don't call things like that investments, but don't mind me cause I'm too into finance.



Anyway, I think flashlights are GREAT! They don't "always die", it's the batteries that "die". I think if you can find a flashlights that is durable, powerful, and has a great warranty, you will be very happy! Then find a battery chemistry to finish the system. I prefer rechargeable batteries because it keeps expenses down, and there are few disadvantages.

But to put it simply, a flashlight is very useful and you'll find yourself using it a lot. I use mine all the time, never thought I would have used it so much.

I guess this question is a bit like asking if buying a hammer is a bad investment. If you need to drive in some nails, it is not. But then, if you need to drive some 6 inches nails, you do not buy a tack hammer, and if you need to drive in pegs for circus tent ropes, you do not buy a claw hammer.

I am sure there is a 'hammer forum' out there somewhere too, written by a lot of folk who wear steel-capped boots!
TC

for 5 ultrafires you could of bought atleast one light with decent warranty/guarantee.. or bunch of romisens..(i think they are better)

try to spend the money on the lights people suggest in pretty much every "newbie wants a light" thread. they are proven solid. and understand that there are only few lights under 30$ that can be somewhat suggested. it takes 60$ to get into league where you can expect the light to survive a year. its always possible you to get a bad sample but with price comes better quality control aswell.

about ultrafires. i have 2. 1st one works like a charm still. (it was my 2. or 3rd light i bought after joinin cpf.. its my glovebox light because it has a strobe etc and trafficwand fits on it)

second one was c3. it came in doa. but with small tap against the tabletop i somehow got it flickering on and off.. hmm.. something is wrong. so i checked. yeah tailcap or button is faulty as it worked fine with jumper wire.. felt loose so screwed it open and saw flake of soldering tin loose inside it.. took it out reassembled it tight. and now it has worked flawlessly.

so check if your lights are dirty or have a faulty tailcap etc.. to make sure it is the led engine problem not just dirt, grime and bad q.c failing on you. also check the batteries. if you have ultrafires you likely also have cheap ultrafire batteries.. they do fail. they might register full load but just dont work. i regularly had to throw 1 to 2 cr123s out of pack of 5 because of this.

is this a complaint about bulbs? bulbs die because of use, so you replace them...hosts "die" because they are made cheaply or poorly...

if you're gonna buy cheap flashlights, it's highly likely you're gonna continue to buy cheap flashlights; just quit complaining that what you're buying isn't lasting as long as you expect; you're getting what you paid for...and wishing won't make it different...

i have a 6p surefire that is at least 8 years old; i have since changed it over to LED, and i expect it to outlive me in service...

i buy surefire's because of the quality manufacturing of the hosts; they look and feel like they will last a lifetime; and their lifetime warranty/customer service will do everything for you to make that true...

i have some maglites too, and i can pretty much say the same about the quality of that host...

incan bulbs die; so can LED's (but less so, just harder to kill)...p60-based lighting elements (incan or LED) are varied and plentiful, so replacement is a non-issue (when you've bought a p60-based host flashlight)...

Hmmm. I'm a little confused. It seems this thread started as questioning flashlights as a bad "investment" and it morphed into a bad "expense." Not being a dweeb about it but there is a huge difference - and none of you need me to tell you that.

If researching, pondering, tinkering, buying, and collecting different flashlight brings you warm and fuzzy feelings........DO IT. They're a hoot, and we're surely in the techno-growth period for hand held lights. Good investment ? It's your happiness ! (My wife collects frogs.....:huh

On the other hand, the last time I checked it gets dark once a day. A working flashlight can make a difference in an instant. The range of value includes settling your nerves, finding a puppy, killing a spider, deterring a prowler, saving a life, playing with a kitten, and who knows what.

Ask yourself the question, "What happens if the light does not work?" That helps me with the cost issue. Toy lights are not important, but the lamps by my pillow, the doors to the home, and the front seat of my truck are very dependable (and not cheap) lights. lovecpf