Are you impressed by advertisements that freeze a light in a block of ice?

I'm not -- I took a $10 2aa Rayovac (the one walmart carries with the three colored filters and the xp-c emitter), turned it on, dropped it in a gallon of water, then put it in the freezer (-14 deg) until it was frozen solid. The light was still working. Hammered it out of the block and took it apart - Ice in the tailcap switch, in the led assembly, and in the battery compartment. But it still worked. Thawed it out.. Still worked...

Anyone have any interesting water torture stories to share?

Nope I am not impressed with the freeze test I think any cheapo light could be frozen in a block of ice and still work, this test is lame to me.

I like the old fake fly in the fake ice cube trick.

The only thing it shows me is if the batteries still supply enough power at those low temps. I hope I it diesnt get that cold in my car

To me, I use my lights like tools....I don't think I have had any frozen in a block of ice...but I drop them, hit stuff with them, and have them rattle around in pockets or bags, etc...take recoil, and generally get beat up.

I typically use a new light like I would any light, but gain a feel for whether I think it can take the abuse based upon its construction/feel. The acid test comes when I decide I need to know if I can count on it come hell or high water, and I throw it against the ground on purpose (ground like concrete or pavement, not dirt per se)...and it stays lit/still works. I do NOT do this when the lights are so large that their mass itself makes that too ridiculous a challenge.

MOST of the time, an experimental light never gets that far...I have a vibe that it might not survive, so I give it to someone who doesn't require a mission critical light, etc....or make it a back up of a back-up, etc.

The ones that survive go into first rotation, and are on duty.



If the light is for casual use, I am less stringent of course...but a drop test is to me, more telling than ice.

At least it kept the water out as long as it took to freeze, so you got that going for you, which is nice.

Would be more impressed if it was a depth test, even if to the bottom of a pool. But I will admit, the friends I showed that test video to, was wowed.

There was an old video starring the Jetbeam Jet-III M. They froze it in a block of ice, fair enough, but they melted it my tipping lighter fluid on it and lighting it, until the ice melted away.

I can say from experience that the pool test doesn't work very well when the tail cap isn't water tight.

I agree with the OP. I am personally unimpressed by a frozen light. Most of today's lights could easily handle being frozen. That said, the dumbest probably would go to the one with the light in fire. I mean who are these manufacturers trying to kid? Sure, it may still work, but rubber tail cap would definitely melt and batteries may most likely explode, especially if its lithium base. I truly think that's dumb.

I agree the test is a diversion from "practical abuse." It's like on tai-pusum watching the Hindus walk on coals of fire or lie on a bed of 2,000 nails and then have a sheet of plywood on top of them and an ice block broken with a sledge hammer. It's impressive, but they certainly can't lie on a bed of 1 nail!

I was out at the beach and one time a seagull took my surefire lx2 with a defused on it to about 100 + feet and dropped it on the cement. Light still works. Bit the bezel is all junked up.

so how about seagulls dropping lights from the sky?

I'm impressed when the other tests are also impressive, like the TK40 extreme torture test.

Chadh4x said:

I was out at the beach and one time a seagull took my surefire lx2 with a defused on it to about 100 + feet and dropped it on the cement. Light still works. Bit the bezel is all junked up.

so how about seagulls dropping lights from the sky?

Click to expand...

I'd definitely be impressed if you could reproduce that at will while filming and could also measure actual altitude! Then do that over different ground (beach, lawn, asphalt, concrete) and you get my vote for best extreme tester.

No. frankly, I think it makes for cool (no pun intended) advertising pictures more than anything else. If lights looked as good wrapped in bacon, we'd see that rather than ice.

My lights look lousy wrapped in bacon, but after a hour on high, they smell GREAT!