Custom Flashlights - still the activitiy?

There have been many improvements in manufactured flashlights over the last few years. You can purchase a light with over 700 lumens for under $50, even less in some cases.

The custom market a few years back was way ahead in terms of providing lots of lumens in a modded light. It seems the manufacturers have caught up with the custom high brightness lights.

I know there are still the custom makers doing some really great work in Titanium.

I wonder how much activity has been lost over the last few years?

I suspect that custom lights always been a niche market, due to the price. Even though you can now get even more bang for your buck, people with enough disposable income who love customization just can't resist. If this wasn't the case, small outfits like HDS and McGizmo wouldn't have a back log.

I would venture to say that some people who have been on the fence about getting custom are instead spending their money on mainstream lights with some unique attributes, like titanium or polished stainless steel, instead of buying a high end custom light. But as the economy recovers, there are an increasing number of people with more money who want something very special and limited, so the custom market for LEDs is "still the activity."

The custom guys are still years ahead.
Better materials.
Better build quality
More brightness
And much better after sale support.

Now rather than going to the Custom makers for output, people go to them for quality. Cheap mass produced lights are bright now but they still pale in comparison to Customs in overall quality.

And, most importantly, their Cool!

Going into the custom world allowed me to choose the tint that I want.

Cerealand said:

Going into the custom world allowed me to choose the tint that I want.

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thats it, 1st
2nd is build quality.

the cheapo offers - some - are quite good for starters, I keep recommending them and all are happy ...
then come the "medium" range (Fenix and similar) for the ones that understand f.e. how awkward opening/closing tailcaps on cheapos (often) is.
But the feel of an oveready body with an individually tint/power/level/led-chosen insert ...

Customs will always serve a niche no matter what the product is. There will always be someone there looking for that something special and is willing o pay the premium.
For the flashlight custom builders, it is not about the money they get. It is clear that it has become a labor of love in building that something special.

I'm still in the production light world... I have a feeling that I may not really garnish much interest in custom builds. I went through the same thing with knives. I have been and still am a crazy Kershaw//ZT fan, and as a knife enthusiast I went through a large amount of custom knives from different makers. It seemed like it was the expected progression for knife-guys to eventually "mature" into custom work because it was the top end. I didn't really enjoy any of them, not nearly as much as I enjoyed a good production Kershaw.

Granted, I've been through some less-than-ideal lights and the cheap realm doesn't do it for me either. However, after playing with a few Mac lights and a couple McGizmos that I borrowed from Bladeforums buddies, I feel I'm just floating in the same direction as I did with knives. I wouldn't mind a really nice piece to play with and admire, but I find myself enjoying much more the use of my ZL SC52 or the Olight S10. It probably has to do with my stuff's tendency to get knocked around a bit, as well as my lack of love for titanium...

Oh well, what can ya do?

^ Trouble is, the custom lights are a significant jump up from comparable performing production lights. Some might say "designer" flashlights. And unlike knives, the LED emitter technology is on a rapid curve, leaving custom flashlights looking outdated in a year or two unless you pay to have them upgraded. You really have to love lights to be willing to fork over that much money. If I was in better financial shape, I'd probably buy a few just because they are the "cream of the crop".

I think that too many people want 'the latest and greatest' when they look at custom items, like knives or lights. Any item will become older' but that doesn't make it do its job less, or be less desirable. For example, there are new steels that come out, that doesn't make your collectors knife worth less, or cut worse for that matter.

Same with lights. It may not be the most efficient led, or the brightest. However, there is undeniable craftsmanship that goes into producing them (knives too). This is why they are appreciated so much. And many things in this world that are appreciated for how well they are designed and built Are older items. Not what one would consider cutting edge or state of the art.

Remember, custom lights are not like computers, where you want to get them while they are the fastest, newest. Just to be rid of them in 6 months for a newer, faster model. Not that they can't be hi powered, bright, or even frequently updated. They are a bit mor akin to art, though, where they are admired and appreciated. But unlike art, that can take one heck of a beating

All this said, it still doesn't mean you need, or should desire a custom light. Everyone should do what is best for them.

You do make a good point, Megatrowned. If a light produces enough lumens for your needs with the tint you desire, sufficient runtime on supported cells, and with a UI that you're happy with, then there's no need to upgrade. If there's any complaint I might have about custom lights is that most of them have very simple UI's. For example a 3-mode light won't have any memory. And it's fairly rare to find one with strobe. My hope is that somewhere down the line as LED flashlight drivers become more standardized, there will be many more options available for custom lights. At least the good thing is that custom lights are usually done with standard sizing in mind so that upgrading won't require significant modification.

Absolutely. I hate to bring it once again to knives (and I appreciate you running with it Megatrowned), but 154CM and S30V are still considered premium steels, and many people are more than happy to have them in an every day utility blade, myself included. Sure, it's fun to now have a blade with an S110V blade, but it doesn't revolutionize the way I go about my work anymore than the arrival of a new light that has twice the output. I suppose then, that my steering away from custom work is just that, that it doesn't feel like it's best for me, funds notwithstanding.

I do suspect that it won't be long before I actually take some sort of plunge, and spring for what will be at the time the cream of the crop. Custom work is very beautiful, and at a time where as you said xevious, there are many more options, I wouldn't mind divulging a bit. It's encouraging though, that custom lights don't suffer from the worst thing about most custom knife designs, and that's the inherent lack of accommodations for lefties.

I'll start with the knife idea and then move to lights.

I'm not a collector, I'm a user. But I have a few David Boye knives. Mr. Boyes is a long time custom knife maker. He actually wrote the book about custom knife making. Spyderco lock-backs have the Boye detent - they credit him with this innovation. Today, Mr. Boye makes just a few styles of knives. They all use a cobalt based metal that has total corrosion resistance, is non-magnetic and has a molecular structure with micro serrations. Mr. Boye casts his blades to take advantage of the molecular structure rather than forging the blades as all other makers do. These knives are not outrageously priced - about the same as a good ZT, a little more perhaps. When I use these knives, they work great and I think about - almost connect with - David Boye. It is a special feeling.

It is very similar, for me, with custom lights. Each maker has a unique vision of what an ideal light is. Many place emphasis on runtime rather than overdriving the emitter. Some deliver amazing output, but not all. Many emphasize beam quality and tint. Some try to make relatively small lights, but others don't. Some provide a lot of bling (i.e. trits). They all focus on build quality - fit and finish and materials. And they all have a vision of what an ideal light is and they deliver their vision. I don't have many custom lights (yet?) and I don't always agree 100% with the vision with the ones I have. But it is a special feeling when I use these lights - the connection with the maker or designer is wonderful. You just don't get that feeling with a mass produced light designed by a soul-less company. And, for me, that is worth the premium.

With the progress being made in LED emitter technology, not to mention CNC and other manufacturing technologies, there are some really amazing flashlight designs that have appeared on the scene, previously only dreamed of just 3-4 years ago. For a while, it looked to me like the custom flashlight makers had a major advantage over production lights, when discounting the price factor. Their fit and finish being fully hand made and with personal attention to detail was unmatched. Not only that, but they had a penchant for being able to make lights produce more lumens and greater runtimes.

At this point what they are pretty much left offering are a premium quality machining of parts, beautiful designs, high quality materials, and a hand selected quality tint. HD Systems still has a significant advantage with programmable UI, but for many there are simpler UI's that are more than enough for most purposes (infinitely variable [JetBeam/Sunwayman], or multiple mode sets [Zebralight]). Some custom makers are starting to offer some feature sets beyond 3-mode, but they're still not as sophisticated as what mainstream vendors are providing. Still... the quality of their parts exceeds mainstream production lights. When you hold and operate one of these, the quality is noticeable. If you've got the money, and don't need more than a few simple modes, then it's well worth it.

I am guessing here, I think that the custom market has shrunk considerably over the last few years.

Or perhaps it has just not grown... and rightly so, because I'll bet anything most of the custom light makers wouldn't be able to keep up with demand (unless they invested in expansion of their manufacturing infrastructure to match).

will said:

I am guessing here, I think that the custom market has shrunk considerably over the last few years.

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Speaking as a fellow flashaholic here, and an observer of CPF over the years, I am not seeing a decrease in the size of custom markets here, and there are more custom makers here on CPF than ever. Of course, I should mention that I am certainly guiltily re sustaining that market. LOL.

Bill

I really wish that mainstream manufacturers would produce lights on the same level as the custom makers. It would save me thousands of dollars.

There are still modders who make the brightest, best lights in some categories:
saabluster: The best LED throwers.
vinhnguyen54: Very bright P60 dropins
the_guy_with_no_name: Lots of output in a tiny format

The difference from the mass market are also the requirements:
A normal person just want a light that is bright and maybe has a long runtime.
So mass producers focus on this and try to impress the buyers with some (useless) cool features.

Buyers of custom lights consider many more factors like tint, CRI, build quality, materials, UI, efficiency, beam quality, heat management, trits...
So thats what the custom markets offers.