Whats the most overrated flashlight?

Overrated, overhyped, talked up big in the community.


When you bought it, you were underwhelmed and or disappointed.

Zebralight SC51. What a disappointment. Turned on in pants pocket, fiddly UI, off centre emitter. Swapped it for a Quark Regular NW and haven't looked back.

Pretty much all tacti-cool flashlights, with bad-*** military looks, bad-*** name and advertising, predominantly Chinese components inside and MTBF of 2 hours.

Cheers

Just ask any non-flashaholic, the answer is anything over $10

cheers

Samy said:

Just ask any non-flashaholic, the answer is anything over $10

cheers

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LOL So true, so true.

Zebralight SC52.


It can't make a decent espresso, has no built-in wi-fi, and certainly does not recharge your battery.
And I'm not kidding you. You just read the reviews when this light finally ships in a few days.

Pretbek said:

Zebralight SC52.


It can't make a decent espresso, has no built-in wi-fi, and certainly does not recharge your battery.
And I'm not kidding you. You just read the reviews when this light finally ships in a few days.

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Well, thanks for spoiling that one for me. I was sure this light would make me a decent espresso and at the very least charge my battery while in use I guess I have to cancel my pre-order now...

I have never owned a Surefire but I would say they are pretty hyped up with price for not much performance. They are so expensive and most are just a few hundred lumens. They might be durable but I find that there are plenty of lights that are quite durable and waterproof and that have better UI's.

Onthelightside said:

I have never owned a Surefire but I would say they are pretty hyped up with price for not much performance. They are so expensive and most are just a few hundred lumens. They might be durable but I find that there are plenty of lights that are quite durable and waterproof and that have better UI's.

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Most people that own surefire lights won't agree with you. I have about 50 of then now for various reasons. If you have the chance try one out, you may be surprised.

Surefire kind of expensive for what they are,but I have owned some in the past. Well made, solid with good warranty.

They have a following for a reason.

Please keep in mind that if this thread becomes the 11,376th "SureFire vs. non-SureFire" thread it may have to be closed like many of the others.
Also, please note that posts to that effect usually have usernames attached to them.


It is perfectly acceptable to mention SureFires in this thread, although it is often more helpful to name specific models of them.

Happy Thanksgiving. :wave:

Onthelightside said:

I have never owned a Surefire but I would say they are pretty hyped up with price for not much performance. They are so expensive and most are just a few hundred lumens. They might be durable but I find that there are plenty of lights that are quite durable and waterproof and that have better UI's.

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Not wanting to fuel tha fire, but I half agree. Surefires are much more expensive for less lumens, but just picking one gives an idea on solidity. They still break, but there are not stats to prove if more or less than other brands. It is a proven fact that they replace parts or whole lights no questions asked. Surefire lumens are underrated (meaning more output than claimed) and a lot of their models do throw impressively for the size. All in all, you pay for unquestioned replacement and better than average performance on the cited specs.

That said, I'd say the surefire 6P incan was the most overrated light. 30$ a pop for bulb/reflector replacement, which lasted for only a few hours, ate batteries like chips and had a ridiculously short rubtime compared with a Strion. But that comment only applies for a few years in the recent past and dropins massively compensated for all these, making it THE host of choice.

In short, Surefire is not really over rated, just over hyped because other manufacturers have caught up. Nevertheless, most people will mention their first good quality light as the best brand, but Surefire did have modern day output and throw long before any modern brands. If I woke up in 1986, the first thing I would do I'd go buy a surefire.

I hope this puts the fire out, but not the "sure."

I have three MiniMag Leds, that I have stopped using due to crap PWM and NiMH performance. (wont enter high mode when cells @ 1.3 volts)

But overall.. a (Lux III)Mag 2D is my least used light. Too big.. too dim. Kept it in my car for for two years, and the batteries leaked.

I have been pretty happy with my ~$15 Mag 2D Cree. Great for reading parking lot markings (visitor spaces) or house addresses at night.

I find Quark lights over-rated.
1. Greenish Tint
2. Pre-flash......some said this is a prerequisite in the circuit design. To me, this is a bug in the circuit.
3. Some like the lego parts. Fenix could do that back in the Luxeon era.
4. Expensive.

This is just my personal views. Don't shoot me.

flame2000 said:

I find Quark lights over-rated.
1. Greenish Tint
...
4. Expensive.

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+ 1

Only some would agree with you on the greenish topic, but the flashlights are too expensive even if they werent greenish imo.
The cheapest i could find was 30$ Goinggear clearance sale of the old-branded Quarks.

At that price, if it isnt greenish, a Quark X isnt overrated.

flame2000 said:

I find Quark lights over-rated.
1. Greenish Tint
2. Pre-flash......some said this is a prerequisite in the circuit design. To me, this is a bug in the circuit.
3. Some like the lego parts. Fenix could do that back in the Luxeon era.
4. Expensive.

This is just my personal views. Don't shoot me.

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I don't plan on shooting you, but I do believe some of these issues have gone away on newer models. My Quark X AA² doesn't have a green tint, nor does it have any pre-flash. I do like the lego-ability and will not argue about price.

flame2000 said:

I find Quark lights over-rated.
1. Greenish Tint
2. Pre-flash......some said this is a prerequisite in the circuit design. To me, this is a bug in the circuit.
3. Some like the lego parts. Fenix could do that back in the Luxeon era.
4. Expensive.

This is just my personal views. Don't shoot me.

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Before I really got into lights and tint, I brought several for myself and friends. Looking at them now, their tint are very green. Kinda turned me off from 4sevens from then on.

My friends are happy with theirs. They don't know how much it cost. They don't even know about tint color, but they know it's bright on max.

Things may have changed, but I had purchased about 10 lights from them. 1 was DOA and other one died within a few weeks (they were replaced quickly from 4sevens, but it does make me wary to purchase more)

Onthelightside said:

I have never owned a Surefire but I would say they are pretty hyped up with price for not much performance. They are so expensive and most are just a few hundred lumens. They might be durable but I find that there are plenty of lights that are quite durable and waterproof and that have better UI's.

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+1...

my thoughts are the same...

also in a little way olight sr series....
too pricey... that or am too poor.....

ps: s.f.m.b.e.

Cataract said:

That said, I'd say the surefire 6P incan was the most overrated light. 30$ a pop for bulb/reflector replacement, which lasted for only a few hours, ate batteries like chips and had a ridiculoslously short rubtime (runtime)

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Not quite true if I can interpret what is written correctly. My experience is that I haven't replaced a lamp assembly in any number of battery changes for the P60. It lasts far longer than "a few hours". The lumens out for a set of 2 * CR123"s is above or equal to average runtime for the lights from that era (try a Streamlight Scorpion or TL-2 if you want to see battery eating and ho-hum output).

Not sure what I'd call overated for a flashlight as what I've been buying is perfectly satisfying and there's no letdowns for me. Just bought another E1E for a spare. 15 lousy under-rated Surefire lumens and doesn't do anything well other than turn on when I want it to. OK tint though. Modes.....on or off.


The 6P is fine for me on anyones list for over-rated, but it sure isn't because it eats $30 lamp assemblies every few hours. Most would agree that it is an outstanding example of timeless design, but I can accept a difference in opinion.

I like the 6P, but if it wasn't the standard for modularity/upgradeability, then I probably wouldnt have one.

I was underwhelmed by the Quark Pro QPA ...

Why?

- Tailswitch felt 'tinny'
- Worked once then never worked again ...

I have an older model and it works great aside from pre-flash.

But I think there are some QC issues that have turned me off as a customer.

--

Also, Mag-Lite Mini Mag (incan) was very disappointing. A candle puts out more light than the incan mini mag (2xAA). I unboxed it (it came with C & D mags), and threw it in the garbage within 5 minutes.