Other Lights of Fenix Quality?

I haven't posted in a while. Been happy with my Fenix TK45 and (low quality) UltraFire EMR1 rocking 9 year old CR123s!

Anyway, I'm probably going to get the Fenix e99 Ti for it's thinness. I like the Olight S2 Baton Ti too but figured that if I have the tiny Fenix e99 I won't want to spend the money for this light, rather, I should get the S2 Baton...which doesn't look to be available in polished titanium

I've heard a lot about Olight but never had one. Are they comparable in quality to Fenix? What other brands could I look at and expect the same build quality? I do have a few cheap lights and none compare to the Fenix.

Also, while I'm at it, what's a good compact 2xCR123 light if I don't go the Olight S2 Baton route? I like the normal beam with a spot in the middle and a smooth flood with a perfectly round circle like on my TK45 (and the UltraFire as well for that matter, though not as perfect).

Thanks! I think I might start posting again!

Fenix is indeed the Chinese light market leader by a wide margin. Some of the other Chinese makers have made massive strides in quality over the last 3 years or so especially. Olights made nowdays blow away Olights from 5+ years ago. The 4 Olights I have easily not only equal Fenix quality but in my opinion beat Surefire. My 4 Olights have stone cold perfect machining, perfect anodization, perfect build quality and most of all superior electonics design.

I could type for an hour about what are the new breed of Chinese lights of world beating quality but will point out a couple specific examples to keep this post from becoming a book. There is currently no Olight you can really go wrong with. From the tiny S1 Batons to the amazing big Javelots Olight is now on a whole nother level altogether and in my opinion has better quality control than Fenix. Fenix must sell over a million lights a year easily so quality control/final inspections are very quick and done by inspectors under a LOT of pressure to get through mountains of lights during a shift. Fenix anodization in my opinion has slipped over the last few years. Fenix laser engraving on the light bodies has gone from sharp and clear to gray and in some cases undefined enough that its hard to read the engravings correctly.

Olight has been arguably the most prolific innovator of Chinese lights over the last say 3 years as they just keep on introducing new models and improving existing ones. Olight is arguably solely responsible for the compact super thrower craze when they designed their Javelot series which not only introduced an entire new class of LED lights to the mega competitive LED light market they raised the bar for innovation, design and engineering at the same time. The Javelot series is arguably the most financially successful category of high output LED lights since Fenix blew away the industry years earlier with their PD32 then ultra successful PD35 1x18650 cigar tube sized high output lights which accomplished the creation of the still wildly popular PD35 class category of lights. Nearly every light maker designed their own PD35 competitor since.

There are other brands you could look at sure. It is a great time to be in the market for a high quality LED light. Chinese lights have come so far that some Chinese makers produce lights that make Surefires look like the vastly over priced budget lights they really are. Armytek now produces lights that have the best anodization in the entire industry, are IP68 rated and are built from parts from not only China but Japan and the US as well.

Thrunite is a newer Chinese company that makes lights just as quality as most Fenix but for half the price. A good 2xCR/RCR123 light would be almost any PD35 class light. My latest favorite PD class light is the 2016 PD32. It is a bit more narrow than a PD 35 and a touch shorter. It also has the latest far throwing XP-L HI emitter and excellent output mode spacing. CR123's wouldnt run as long as an 18650 but the CR's still power the light just fine. The new PD32 max is 900 lumens that looks more like just over 1000 in person. The beam profile out the light is well done.

Nitecore, the Nitecore MH20 can take 2xCR123's or 18650's either way the MH20 still puts a for real 1000 lumens out the front. The MH20 is short, is themally regulated and puts out a near perfect 14k CD beam profile that is well defined. Good luck

Good reply by celticcross above. I second his observation that Olight is making fantastic lights lately. I've got...a lot of them. They're great lights. I've got 4 late-model Thrunites. 3 of them are awesome lights, and fantastic value too. I'm not afraid of anything Thrunite makes. Nitecore has also made big strides and I buy a lot of Nitecores without issue, but the frequent reports of Nitecore failures does concern me a bit. I'm not sure if its just volume, because I believe Nitecore sells a lot of lights, or if its growing pains and qc issues, but reports of bad Nitecores seems to be more common than some of the other "good" Chinese lights. I still buy them, most recently a TM16w, but they do worry me a bit more. That may not be fair though.

I'll add on that celticcross didn't -- Zebralight! They're not big lights so if you're looking for a monster thrower then you should look elsewhere, but in the style of light they make, I don't think they can be beat by anybody! Zebras are awesome.

Honestly, quality aside, I'm not a Fenix fan. They just don't make a lot of stuff that's very compelling at the moment. And I hate their aversion to real moonlight modes. They're well made lights, but so are Olights and Zebralights and some of the other brands we've mentioned here - and those lights have better features than Fenix is currently offering.

Couple of names i think have come on nicely are acebeam and thrunite, does depend on what model though.

For example the k60 is nicely made and can hold its own to say a Fenix
Imo the ec32 is a little inferior to the pd35 all be it a similar light. Threads, ano just not quite there, if Fenix was a 9, the ec32 would be a 8! Still good, just not quite as......

Thrunite tn35/tn32UT again nicely made lights, nice ano, quality overall is good. I can not speak for lights like the tn12, would presume similar to the ec32 but dont know!

One of the best ano lights i have other than the armytek v2.5 , the olight m20.........solid ano and not easy to mark! The olight sr range is up there as well, nice quality and finish which matches Fenix......maybe surpasses it over some models.

Out of the top Chinese brands, i dont think there is enough in it to buy a light over another to sacrifice modes/UI/ form(comfy to hold).

As your looking at Olight, i have had a few and other than the cheaper end(i3s etc) they are good lights, had no issues and would buy again.........no question.

For the record, i am happy with my lights, keep posting though CPF is a great place to be, even if happy with lights and not looking to buy................does come at an expense though, usually more lights that were off the radar:devil:

I want to agree about Olight. While Fenix is decent brand my new Olight models definitely are a quality step higher than any of my Fenix lights. Perfect finish and a stunning quality feeling comparable to Zebralight and Surefire.

Many great options mentioned above. Olight has some good offerings and you can get some great deals on them. Nitecore is solid also and is finally offering some neutral white options. Zebralight is a great option too, sometimes their lights can be hard to get because they sell out quickly and aren't as large of a company as the others mentioned but their lights are top notch in the price range. It really depends on what you're looking for in a light, the UI, throw, size, battery used, etc.

snowlover91 said:

.......It really depends on what you're looking for in a light, the UI, throw, size, battery used, etc.

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I agree with that. And I don't agree 100% with what has been said above with this brand vs that brand. I don't think it matters which of the brands mentioned above you go with........mostly that there are so many different ways these lights look and operate, and that is going to be what I think the choice should be made. As long as you pick a very well known light that has a pretty good following, you should be OK. Quality can even vary among different models of a brand that even has a good reputation.

My first 'decent' light was an Led Lenser so was wary of buying a Chinese one but have been impressed so far with the ones I've bought, Fenix probably just about edge it from Olight for me though. Sunwayman, Thrunite and Acebeam also seem good quality.

hiuintahs said:

Quality can even vary among different models of a brand that even has a good reputation.

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+1
Yes , that is what i meant to say but did not! :laughing:

Fenix quality? Quite a few actually:

Olight, Eagletac, Manker, Mecarmy, Zebralight, Jetbeam, DQG, etc.

I have also been pleased with the quality of Lumapower lights.

I recently purchased a Klarus XT12 that is well built and has the option to recharge in unit or use swappable 18650s. I can't speak to long term reliability yet, but externally it is built like a tank - maybe even a little too heavy, but that's probably a good thing if you ever need to use it as a bludgeon.

Fireclaw18 said:

Fenix quality? Quite a few actually:

Olight, Eagletac, Manker, Mecarmy, Zebralight, Jetbeam, DQG, etc.

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Agreed

Agree with these. Really like the Eagletacs I have/had

Looks like I should be adding an Olight to my list with all the solid feedback.

This has been an enLIGHTening thread! I kind of wish there were only a couple good manufacturers so it would make my choice easier!

10180 lithium Micro: I can't decide on which micro like I want so I might buy a few. I tried to rule out the DQG Hobi because the Cooyoo Quantum is both rechargeable, plus tail stands, and the DQG Spy, which I'd also get, is smaller. But I believe the Hobi has a nicer beamshot. Hmm.

AAA: I think the Fenix e99Ti is the best in that category.



1xCR123R: So many to choose from here! I'm liking the Olight S1 Baton Titanium. I would have probably pulled the trigger if I could find the Titanium with the blue nose for sale anywhere.





2xCR123R: I'm liking the Fenix PD32 2016 so far but there are so many to choose from! I've learned about 5 new companies through this thread!

My olights are very well made , and I have put some through abuse then sold them to friends, they all still work fine .
I recently recieved a sunwayman I am very happy with, similar feel to armytek. Klarus are up therr too.

Thing is every company will make a dud. Keep reading searching reviews before you buy.

I would say Foursevens is probably one of the better Chinese manufactured brands on the market. Their ten-year warranty and excellent customer service is hard to beat.