Flashlight that wouldn't break

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Light that wouldn't break

Hello CPF!

I am extremely rough to my flashlights (don't ask why), the last year i have broken NiteCore, Wolf-Eyes, Fenix and just now, a Eagletac.

Can anybody here recommend a flashlight that will serve me well, wich i can trust 100 %? The light should survive drops and different extreme temperatures. The flashlight will be driven with both RCR123's and 18650's, if a cr123 light is what i should get. The flashlight should have 200 +++ lumens and cost under 200 $.

Mathias

Re: Light that wouldn't break

You already posted this. Please don't post the same thing twice - it is forbidden by Rule 9. I'm merging the 2 threads.

I play around with an Inforce 6v at work every now and then (display stock) and it is one tough light. I've droped in a few times onto the corner of the display cabnet which is pretty sharp and because is weighs nothing, it takes less force from falls (thats my understanding of physics); It also has a rubber bezel protector to protect the plastic lens.

It does however need 2 cr123a's (dunno about rcr123's) and only puts out 147ish lumens I think.

http://www.inforce-mil.com/

A surefire LX2
i dont think it can run on RCR123 though

Look into Peak lights, especially the stainless steel. Or just get a Ra...

Mathiashogevold said:

I am handling my flashlights very very roughly, lights like Nitecore, wolf-eyes, thrunite, fenix and just right NOW: a Eagletac just died.

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Could you be more specific to which models you've killed?
Let's say, if you have a Fenix L2D dies in action, you'll think it's not tough but that light was never advertised to be tough in the first place.

After I accidentally dropped my Fenix TK11 on concrete one night, I turned it into a "beater" light, which I can use pretty much anywhere and for anything. I work freelance as many different things, mainly a fabrication engineer, network/telecommunications engineer and electronic engineer. These jobs all have their rough moments. I've dropped (accidentally) my TK11 from buildings onto tarmac, dropped it into CNC machinery filled with coolant oil, had it roll off my bench in the workshop onto the concrete floor (I use it without the cigar ring) and dropped it from attics to the floor countless times. Not only does it never fail to come on again after a hard fall or knock, but considering all the abuse it gets, the HA coating on it isn't even that badly dinged up. I trust this light 100%. You only have to look at the thickness of aluminium that it's made from to see why it's so tough. I've also taken it to the beach and played "fetch" with it - thrown it as far and as hard as I can whilst on, then tossed it in the ocean a few times over and over. Seriously, if you want reliability I can recommend the Fenix TK range without hesitation.

Also, it takes 18650's and CR123's.

Mathiashogevold said:

Can anyone please tell me about a flashlight that i can trust 110 % that wouldnt break [...]

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Nope. Noone can.
Anything man-made can and will break, given the right circumstances.

Think "Space Shuttle" - there's probably not much technology around where more thoughts time and money were put into to make it failsafe and yet a couple of those blew up anyway - and there's really nothing you can do about it, except for striving to do your very best as an engineer.

dudu84 said:

Could you be more specific to which models you've killed?
Let's say, if you have a Fenix L2D dies in action, you'll think it's not tough but that light was never advertised to be tough in the first place.

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Fenix PD30 r4, wolf-eyes 6tx, nitecore ez123, eagletac t10c2 and a Fenix tk11.

Sounds as though you need an RA light. It would probably break you! LOL!!!

Surefire C2 + Malkoff Drop In + McClicky

Don't forget to purchase a good lanyard.

have someone build you a direct drive custom light, just a metal tube, some wires and a twisty switch = nothing to fail.

or have them modd one of your current lights to the same specs.

maybe cost $80 from any of the excellent modders here.

and just to satisfy the curious among us, what are you doing to break these lights?

Thanks for the replies!

Guess i will go for some of the lights you guys recommended.

Waddup, the fenixes wouldnt work anymore when i was at a survival trip up here in norway, in the extreme Cold temperatures. The lamp of the OLD OLD 6tx just wouldnt work more, just suddenly. Ez123 contact ring did fell off when i unfortunately dropped the light from a building i was working on, andthe Eagletac just wouldnt work anymore on high, when i did put AW rcr123 batteries in it.

Mathiashogevold said:

Thanks for the replies!
Waddup, the fenixes wouldnt work anymore when i was at a survival trip up here in norway, in the extreme Cold temperatures. The lamp of the OLD OLD 6tx just wouldnt work more, just suddenly. Ez123 contact ring did fell off when i unfortunately dropped the light from a building i was working on, andthe Eagletac just wouldnt work anymore on high, when i did put AW rcr123 batteries in it.

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Then when you were no longer at extreme cold temperature, did the fenix lights work ok?
I only know of batteries not working at that temperature, but the circuits themselves don't just break especially when they are epoxied or potted.

Are you talking about the nitecore that comes with piston drive?

And the ET T10C2 officially supports 2xRCR16340, so it shouldn't be the cause of your problem. Perhaps you ran it on turbo for too long, the heat built up and the LED got damaged?
the LED is driven @1200mA on turbo so it can get rather toasty

strange, but no. The fenixes wouldnt work anymore at all.

The Nitecore isthe twisty with low and high mode.

I am 100 % sure that i did drive the eagletac on high for less than 90 seconds, so i cant understand how that did happend.

Mathiashogevold said:

strange, but no. The fenixes wouldnt work anymore at all.

The Nitecore isthe twisty with low and high mode.

I am 100 % sure that i did drive the eagletac on high for less than 90 seconds, so i cant understand how that did happend.

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Doesn't Eagletac have a lifetime warranty? Why not contact them and get it repaired?

Mathiashogevold said:

strange, but no. The fenixes wouldnt work anymore at all.

The Nitecore isthe twisty with low and high mode.

I am 100 % sure that i did drive the eagletac on high for less than 90 seconds, so i cant understand how that did happend.

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If you handle your lights roughly and expect them to work, no matter the brand, you have to do your job. You take care of your gear, your gear will take care of you. I'm very surprised to hear the Fenix quit, but it does happen. Did you check your retaining ring? Did you check to see if it was the switch that died or an issue with the head? Are the contacts clean/deoxited? Were your o-rings lubricated and in good condition? Has any lubricant migrated into the contact areas in the head (or more rarely, the tailcaps)?