TOUGH Flashlights

Hi guys. I read the current thread on why people like Surefire flashlights with great interest. My first 'expensive' flashlight was a Surefire 6Z that I bought years ago and I still own. I installed a Malkoff drop in to upgrade it. I like it for its build quality, reliability, and toughness.
A lot of people like that brand because of reliability and toughness. I wonder if you've found other brands that have these qualities now ? One of the reasons I ask this question is that recently I watched a YouTube video entitled " Voodoo Tactical Olight Brutal test MUST SEE!!! " (everything within the quote marks - I'm fairly new and aren't sure about the rules on posting links, but you'll be able to find it) Well, they put one of their lights through some pretty outrageous tests and the video helped sway me to buy a couple of their lights (an M18 & M22).
As I mentioned, I really like my Surefire. But I was on one forum recently that is orientated toward military & police professionals and competitive shooters and many of them were of the opinion that they would only trust a SF light. But my question isn't so much about Surefire, as to whether other companies are now offering lights that are equally tough and reliable ? That video I mentioned seems to make that manufacturer's case pretty well. Thanks for your comments on this -

I would consider HDS, Peak, Malkoff, and Elzetta in that group, with SureFire (as far as production lights) ....

No matter how tough. One is none, two is one.

Electronics will fail, no matter the brand.

PoliceScannerMan said:

No matter how tough. One is none, two is one....

Click to expand...

Yep

PoliceScannerMan said:

No matter how tough. One is none, two is one.

Electronics will fail, no matter the brand.

Click to expand...

One is none, two is one, three is two.

That's what I go with, hence my 3 HDS lights with me at all times

Batteries though, that's a difference case. I carry about 14 with me at all times. Just in case :thumbsup:

HDS, Surefire, Elzetta, all tough lights. But HDS I feel is the toughest that I've used as I've had experience knocking em around and dropping em from 13 storey apartment buildings Getting a few Elzetta's soon so I'll be able to test those. Muahahaha

I'd say HDS.(I sadly don't own an Elzetta light..)

What are you planning on doing with the light?

Mounting it on a 12ga. shotgun, AR-15, throwing it against a brick wall or kicking it down your driveway?

Honestly, if you yanked the SF P60 and added a Malkoff, it's the Malkoff that's really reliable and not so much the SF in that instance, at least. Basically, at that point, there's only a simple switch and an aluminum tube. Not a whole lot of SF stuff there, to fail.

Chris

i agree with the "2 is 1" rule. failure is bound to happen. its just a matter of when, where, how.....
some lights are designed, built, and tested to withstand certain conditions and punishment though. and some lights with the latest, greatest technology and advancements go into production without any real testing. ive seen many light's first production run released with flaws and problems, only to be corrected in later batches, using consumers as test subjects.

i say dont fall for those videos, the folks that made it are trying to sell it after all. look for actually long term user experiences instead.

ive mentioned this story before, and after this experience it completely changed my outlook on what would be a good investment for the long term.
years ago, i had a olight M20. used it fairly gently for a couple months, then sold it to a co-worker. couple months later the switch failed.
i tried contacting olight several times, never heard from them.
contacted olight dealers, asking to purchase either a new switch or tailcap. not available.
the light was useless in only a few months of use, because of a faulty switch that couldnt be replaced. i tried using other switches, but never got one to fit right. i ended up giving another light to my co-worker because i had sold him a piece of junk.

nowadays, most of my lights consist of surefires, and malkoffs. i like the quality, lifetime warranty, resell value, but most of all, i like that i can service my lights on my own without relying on the manufacturers (ive voided the warranty on most my surefires).
replacement parts, optional parts are very easy to maintain. i actually have parts sitting around. extra lens, switches, switch boots, drop-ins, tailcaps, o-rings etc. if my favorite light stopped working i can cannibalize my other lights for its part to fix it.

this is one of the biggest reasons why i mostly use surefire lights now. recently, i noticed a thread on CPF about someone needing a fenix TK10 tailcap. i dont know if that person was able to obtain one. but i was thinking "good luck with that".:shrug:

skyfire said:

this is one of the biggest reasons why i mostly use surefire lights now. recently, i noticed a thread on CPF about someone needing a fenix TK10 tailcap. i dont know if that person was able to obtain one. but i was thinking "good luck with that".:shrug:

Click to expand...

Not knocking SF, as I have a 6P LED that I dropped a Redilast 3-mode P60 into and now it's a pretty nifty light.

I'm a member over at AR15.com and there's a lot of SF love going on and for great reasons, but in every thread, there are always talk of more than a few SF failures.

I'm not saying that they have more, or less, failures than the next guy, but they fail.

The great thing about SF is, is much like Dillon reloading equipment, they have a no BS warranty. They don't care about the sob story behind the failure, they just want your address so that they can ship the replacement parts out, like yesterday.

That's a great company and deserving of their reputation. From your experience, Olight is the worst flashlight company in the world, but we all know that you're the small exception to the rule, because Olight is pretty well regarded, from my 2 year's worth of reading.

I had a Sunwayman V10R stop working on primaries after a full year and sent it into Battery Junction for repairs. They ended up sending it to China, where SWM couldn't repair it (odd since they still sell the V10R) and they didn't have any replacements to send out. I ended up getting sent the new V11R model and didn't pay a dime (I said I would) in shipping, either to China, or on the return to me.

In my brief FL career, that's pretty good service (2 months wait) to me? I would love that companies keep repair centers in the US, with parts on hand, but most of these companies don't do so, so we're stuck with the dealers for service.

Chris

i didnt say surefires were perfect and bombproof. which is why i carry a back-up when having a functioning light is critical.
ive had my warranty issues with surefire as well. and it happened exactly as you mentioned. i called them, spoke to a rep, 2 days laters got a new part.
i would guess that there are a lot more surefires out there than fenix or olights. so just by the greater numbers of surefires, im sure we hear more negative stories.

i may be an exception to the rule regarding Olight. but i have noticed some bad customer issue threads here and there regarding them. the fact is it happened to me and others. i consider it a lesson learned. and im not trying to single out olight, because its not only their brand of lights that fall into that category. i did mention fenix too.

around the same time as the olight failure, i had recommended a jetbeam m1x to another co-worker/friend. in a few months his jetbeam was malfunctioning. fortunately he purchased it from a reliable dealer, and they suggested he send it back under warranty. but he didnt want to do that.
my friend is an extreme tightwad and he had spent over $150 on this light package. before that he was buying 3-pack of flashlights at costco for $20.
instead of sending it out, he continued using it. i felt partly responsible because i recommended him this light, and now it doesnt work as advertised. i even offered to loan him one of my surefires while the jetbeam goes out for repair, but he declined. anyways point is, if i had steered him towards a surefire or malkoff warranty wouldnt take more than 2 weeks, and thats probably worst case scenario. and our minds would have been at ease knowing it was a good investment.

my point with my previous post was that with surefires i dont need to rely on their warranty service because i can service it myself. not everything, but most things. this will lead to a tool that can be used without having to baby it for many years. im going to use cars as an example. i would not be likely to buy a car if i could not get any parts for it. because something will go wrong, and when it does the car wont be able to do its job. i know its a bad and inaccurate example, but its what im trying to get across about surefires long term relaibility.

i had a V10R Ti at one point, and i actually thought about what would happen in a few years when the warranty expires if i had any problems with the light that i paid over $150 for? i dont know if sunwayman would replace it with an equal valued light like in your case.
lets say the lens broke, how hard would it be for me to get a new lens that fits? or its switch failed, how was i going to replace it especially since some brands dont offer to sell individual parts, not mentioning parts from discontinued models.

Streamlight is not discussed a lot on this forum but their Propoly lights have been working well for me. The polymer body is really tough.

Also Tektite brand I had/have a couple of their ABS lights also very tough. From what I gathered NATO is using them. The 3C model with 500 lumens can reach out very far.

Underwater Kinetics is another tough brand since I am into polymer lights. Their lights are very compact.

Most of these lights are AA or C battery size based and usually in 3x or 4x format.

Any of these above lights have been working great for me AND been really tough AND they offer very good warranty.

I am quite pleasantly surprised by the build of my olight m20,feels very solid compared to most lights i have.

There are lots of torture test videos, but a mr selfbuilt did have a valid point ,he said to me and the ones from manufacturers can not be taken for granted...........i guess for obvious reasons.

The example in question was this video for the tk51


No denial it makes it look impressive,but did they use lots of lights in that,would they show it flattened after being driven over :laughing:

Very interesting comments guys, thank you and keep 'em coming !

I have never had any problem with my 3 surefire lights.

If your life depends on it, SureFire.

There is a thread about the Rayovac Indestructable. I said I bet I could crush it by running it over with a bus and somebody responded the light would survive a bus encounter. I don't believe it would because when I run things over with a bus they get crushed flatter than a razor.

The Defiant 650 flashlight sold at Home Depot is a ridiculously robust light. I held one yesterday and it had a heavy sort of Soviet style build. They had it on display in a container of water on strobe mode to get people's attention. It's so heavy you would have to use steel toed boots while using it in case you dropped it.

PoliceScannerMan said:

No matter how tough. One is none, two is one.

Electronics will fail, no matter the brand.

Click to expand...

Luck favors the prepared!

Take two, there small...

Maybe I'm just being grumpy, but torture test videos are just narcissistic and stupid. Real world users reporting on their experiences after extended use are really all that makes any sense to me.

If you never take it outside, never carry it for work or adventure, never use it for anything except lighting up white walls or shining it down the street to impress your friends and/or to try and get laid, you have no place talking about durability or utility or making absolute recommendations to those who need such things.

There's little intersection between the worlds of "users" vs. "collectors" IMNSHO.

"Real world" reports are anecdotal information. There's little intersection between anecdotal information and reliable evidence.

The only true answer to what is a tough flashlight -- no one really knows. Take two.

& if your life REALLY depends on it,...HDS.

:twothumbs

MBentz said:

If your life depends on it, SureFire.

Click to expand...