[/rant on]
I have to laugh sometimes at the threads started with the intention of lambasting a new flashlight acquisition based on the the user's perception of 'inexcusable flaws' and other such similar complaints.
I find members seem to have wildly varied opinions on what sort of "defects" are acceptable at what price-points.
Some unreasonably expect perfection from cheap lights.... "My $6 Crapfire has a smudge on the reflector and the laser etching is slightly uneven! How can this happen?! Why didn't anyone tell me these were crap?!"
Some feel that $6 Crapfires are not worth looking at, but for $50, you should definitely get perfection... "My $50 FourJetZebraSun has a fleck of anodizing missing and the emitter is a hair off center! What is the point of paying all this money for a stupid flashlight if you don't get a perfect one every time? What the heck are tolerances anyways?! I want a refund and a three page apology from the president of the company!"
Some recognize that slight imperfections are often part of life, but feel that for enough money, you should absolutely get a perfect sample.... "Listen buddy, FourJetZebraSuns are good lights, and I doubt those flaws will affect the usage of the light in any measurable way, but they aren't $500 Customs, which is what you're gonna need to get if you want a flawless sample every time."
Then there is the final group. Those who recognize that there is no such thing as perfection, at ANY price (for those who want to find flaws). They have reasonable expectations based on the price of the item and what they already know of it, and understand that there are limits to what humans can do, even when an item is assembled one at time and costs an awful lot. They look at a piece for what it is as a whole, what it does, how it functions, how it makes them feel, and balance all that against any perceived "flaws", their impact on the quality/usability of the whole, and only then do they make a decision as to whether or not the item meets their expectations.
I like to think that I am the last person. I can pick out the "flaws" others rant and crab about in most of my lights at virtually any price point, yet I don't view them that way.
I have some E01s. They are what I consider cheap lights; my expectations weren't that high. Yet, I love these things! Some complain about the beam, expecting perfection from a $10 light. Sure, the beam isn't that great. But I have beat the crap out of the E01 on my keys and it will not die! Plus, I almost never have to change a battery. For the purposes I got it for, this thing is flawless.
Let's pick a high end light, something people might expect perfection from. My HDS lights are a good example. Ok, so a Clicky 200 is $200 or so. We have conquered the beam issue, my unit has a flawless beam. But guess what? The anodizing on head and the body tube is slightly different! OH MY! I have seen MANY posts where people want to crucify Surefire and others for uneven anodizing. Seriously?! The pieces are done in different batches at different times, and it's a well documented fact that HA-BK does not come out the same every time. But my Clicky is tough as heck and works like dream! It has one of the most advanced UIs out there, and is built to take serious abuse. What does the fact that the ano is slightly mismatched have to do with anything? It has zero impact on the functionality of the light. Zero. Yet people rant about such things. For its purpose, this thing is flawless.
Ok, now let's go really high end, the coveted ~$500 Custom point. The point everyone will point at and say, "that's where you have to go for perfection!" I have been EDCing a McGizmo Haiku XP-G for some 17 months. It should have been absolutely perfect for that price, right?!! Well, it sure seemed like it was when I got it. Look at the machining! The threads! The incredible clip! Not a machining mark to be found on its elegantly sculpted titanium body, YES! I have found perfection! It feels so good in the hand, it's everything I've ever wanted! Then I saw it..... the emitter was slightly off center.... Don, how could you do this to me?!?! You're killing me!! Do you know how much I paid you for this light??? Then I turned it on, and shined it on some things. And I discovered that the beam was perfect anyways. The hair off center made absolutely no difference. I started carrying it daily and realized it was the most ideal EDC light I had ever owned. And I stopped caring about the emitter altogether. Now the only time I think of it, is when someone complains that their cheap light has an minutely off center emitter and someone else says to get $500 Custom to fix that...and I laugh and think, no it may not. And if they are that fussy, even expensive Customs won't satisfy them. For me, this thing is flawless.
Sometimes we need to get a handle on our expectations. There will always be SOMETHING to complain about if you want to. But are they things that actually affect the ability of the item to perform its intended purpose? Maybe if you bought a piece of crap item, yes. In that case, your expectations were wrong the other way: you thought you could beat the system by getting perfection at budget prices. Haha. But many times the flaws are trivial and asinine. You are left then, with the misguided viewpoint that at some point you will have paid enough money that flaws have been completely eradicated and the option to complain is notably absent. If you are living life this way, I urge you to rethink it, as you will spend a lot of money and ultimately end up disappointed. There is no absolute perfection, only relative perfection, at ANY price.
That said, the $500 Customs, while not perfect, are really really nice.
[/rant off]
Thoughts? :wave:
I have to laugh sometimes at the threads started with the intention of lambasting a new flashlight acquisition based on the the user's perception of 'inexcusable flaws' and other such similar complaints.
I find members seem to have wildly varied opinions on what sort of "defects" are acceptable at what price-points.
Some unreasonably expect perfection from cheap lights.... "My $6 Crapfire has a smudge on the reflector and the laser etching is slightly uneven! How can this happen?! Why didn't anyone tell me these were crap?!"
Some feel that $6 Crapfires are not worth looking at, but for $50, you should definitely get perfection... "My $50 FourJetZebraSun has a fleck of anodizing missing and the emitter is a hair off center! What is the point of paying all this money for a stupid flashlight if you don't get a perfect one every time? What the heck are tolerances anyways?! I want a refund and a three page apology from the president of the company!"
Some recognize that slight imperfections are often part of life, but feel that for enough money, you should absolutely get a perfect sample.... "Listen buddy, FourJetZebraSuns are good lights, and I doubt those flaws will affect the usage of the light in any measurable way, but they aren't $500 Customs, which is what you're gonna need to get if you want a flawless sample every time."
Then there is the final group. Those who recognize that there is no such thing as perfection, at ANY price (for those who want to find flaws). They have reasonable expectations based on the price of the item and what they already know of it, and understand that there are limits to what humans can do, even when an item is assembled one at time and costs an awful lot. They look at a piece for what it is as a whole, what it does, how it functions, how it makes them feel, and balance all that against any perceived "flaws", their impact on the quality/usability of the whole, and only then do they make a decision as to whether or not the item meets their expectations.
I like to think that I am the last person. I can pick out the "flaws" others rant and crab about in most of my lights at virtually any price point, yet I don't view them that way.
I have some E01s. They are what I consider cheap lights; my expectations weren't that high. Yet, I love these things! Some complain about the beam, expecting perfection from a $10 light. Sure, the beam isn't that great. But I have beat the crap out of the E01 on my keys and it will not die! Plus, I almost never have to change a battery. For the purposes I got it for, this thing is flawless.
Let's pick a high end light, something people might expect perfection from. My HDS lights are a good example. Ok, so a Clicky 200 is $200 or so. We have conquered the beam issue, my unit has a flawless beam. But guess what? The anodizing on head and the body tube is slightly different! OH MY! I have seen MANY posts where people want to crucify Surefire and others for uneven anodizing. Seriously?! The pieces are done in different batches at different times, and it's a well documented fact that HA-BK does not come out the same every time. But my Clicky is tough as heck and works like dream! It has one of the most advanced UIs out there, and is built to take serious abuse. What does the fact that the ano is slightly mismatched have to do with anything? It has zero impact on the functionality of the light. Zero. Yet people rant about such things. For its purpose, this thing is flawless.
Ok, now let's go really high end, the coveted ~$500 Custom point. The point everyone will point at and say, "that's where you have to go for perfection!" I have been EDCing a McGizmo Haiku XP-G for some 17 months. It should have been absolutely perfect for that price, right?!! Well, it sure seemed like it was when I got it. Look at the machining! The threads! The incredible clip! Not a machining mark to be found on its elegantly sculpted titanium body, YES! I have found perfection! It feels so good in the hand, it's everything I've ever wanted! Then I saw it..... the emitter was slightly off center.... Don, how could you do this to me?!?! You're killing me!! Do you know how much I paid you for this light??? Then I turned it on, and shined it on some things. And I discovered that the beam was perfect anyways. The hair off center made absolutely no difference. I started carrying it daily and realized it was the most ideal EDC light I had ever owned. And I stopped caring about the emitter altogether. Now the only time I think of it, is when someone complains that their cheap light has an minutely off center emitter and someone else says to get $500 Custom to fix that...and I laugh and think, no it may not. And if they are that fussy, even expensive Customs won't satisfy them. For me, this thing is flawless.
Sometimes we need to get a handle on our expectations. There will always be SOMETHING to complain about if you want to. But are they things that actually affect the ability of the item to perform its intended purpose? Maybe if you bought a piece of crap item, yes. In that case, your expectations were wrong the other way: you thought you could beat the system by getting perfection at budget prices. Haha. But many times the flaws are trivial and asinine. You are left then, with the misguided viewpoint that at some point you will have paid enough money that flaws have been completely eradicated and the option to complain is notably absent. If you are living life this way, I urge you to rethink it, as you will spend a lot of money and ultimately end up disappointed. There is no absolute perfection, only relative perfection, at ANY price.
That said, the $500 Customs, while not perfect, are really really nice.
[/rant off]
Thoughts? :wave:
Last edited:
The asymmetry was virtually unnoticeable. )
