Have you ever had any problems/ breakages with the better quality LED flashlights?

I'm sure there are people here who use their LED lights on an almost daily basis is their work or on the job.

I'm sure there are people here who are involved in activities that lead to rough treatment of their lights as well, such as caving, backpacking, etc.(although you'd probably use a headlamp for that stuff, as I do when backpacking).

But I'm curious about how well some of these lights do or don't hold up under rough conditions, but also I'm curious about how often someone buys a light that starts having problems without any rough treatment, due to manufacturers defects(which should be replaced under warranty), or for unknown reasons.

Well i can only speak for my self, but my quark aa² with lithium primaries is living in my truck. it was -13 below zero today and worked flawlessly today for a quick battery check i do on them in the cold. plus my EDC is a sc51w zebralight. use everyday no problems, and my work EDC that lives in my work vest is a Preon2 gold that has worked for years with out any problems at all. the only failure i every had is with a fenix e01 with alkaline battery that leaked and ruined it. now i always use eneloops on all AA and AAA flashlights that dont live in my frozen cars. no more battery failures since. my wife has a coast g25 titanium with a rubber grip in her car with lithium AA's. also no problems. my wife is so impressed with her Quark 123² it is now in her medical emergency response bag. no failures and it has to work in -40 to -60 weather (deadhorse AK).

Ran close to 6 boxes of SF 123s on my Malkoff MD2/M61 last year...had to go to the rechargeable route with 18650s. The light had it's share of drops but it's still as bright as when I bought it.

I've had problems with the following brands: Fenix, HDS, Jetbeam, Nitecore, 4Sevens, Novatac. (No rough treatment)

The Nitecore lights were definately the worst for reliability with constant failures. The 'Lifetime' Nitecore warranty offered by 4Sevens disappeared when 4Sevens lost interest in Nitecore.

I notice their new TM11 offering is as reliable as their previous offerings!

James....

I've owned at least 2 lights from each of the big high end brands: Surefires, Jetbeams, Nitecores, Fenix, Malkoffs, Xenos, Lumapowers, Peaks, etc... The onlt problem I ever had was a Zebralight failure. Zebralight is covering it under warranty but I sent it away for repair over 2 months ago and still dont have it back. I've pretty much written it off, and changed my EDC to a different brand.

Your question, 'better quality flashlights' already implies less light problems. Unless you meant 'high performance lights'.
No light is guaranteed 100% reliable all the time, including the high end lights. Thats why prudent cavers carry at least 3 lights.

As for the answer, no, none of my high end lights have developed any problems yet.

jimmy1970 said:

I've had problems with the following brands: Fenix, HDS, Jetbeam, Nitecore, 4Sevens, Novatac. (No rough treatment)

The Nitecore lights were definately the worst for reliability with constant failures. The 'Lifetime' Nitecore warranty offered by 4Sevens disappeared when 4Sevens lost interest in Nitecore.

I notice their new TM11 offering is as reliable as their previous offerings!

James....

Click to expand...

I am going with James,had a few tantrums with Nitecore and Fenix more teething problems than failure mind.I have had far less trouble with your so called budget lights costing a fraction of a brand from the Likes of Tesco and Lidl supermarket groups.Itp 3 and Microstream never had issues and also Led Lenser have never let me down. *