Suspected Fake LED Lenser

Hi All,

New here, but I thought I would share this with you for comment?

I bought a 'combo' of LED Lenser H7R.2 Head torch and P5.2 torch from eBay. After I had made the purchase I noticed the seller appeared to be in China but somehow wangled their address to London? I also noticed a couple of negative feedbacks regarding torches.

I emailed the seller after the purchase, but before the goods arrived, and I asked specifically if the items were indeed genuine, they assured me they were.

Upon receiving the items they did 'look' well made, but having doubt put in my mind I dropped LedCo an email with the serial numbers and eBay listing - they confirmed to me that they were fakes.
To my untrained eye they look very good.

This is a link to my photobucket album of the torches:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mib150/library/Led Lenser Torches

Let me know what you think & I'll keep you updated on the story.

Cheers

MIB

I cannot get the link to work. But hey if LED Lenser themselves say they are fakes then they are fakes. Try to get your money back and find a source for legit Lensers.

You've had them confirmed as fakes, however they look very convincing, even the Lenser packaging has been duplicated. I couldn't see anything obvious that showed them up as fake, but that doesn't mean they are not fakes.

China has gotten so good at counterfeiting so many things it is actually impressive. Still, they are fakes. The emitters are Chinese mystery emitters, the rest of the electronics are bottom shelf etc. You got them through ebay you should be able to get your money back

Lord Flashlight said:

You've had them confirmed as fakes, however they look very convincing, even the Lenser packaging has been duplicated. I couldn't see anything obvious that showed them up as fake, but that doesn't mean they are not fakes.

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That was my thoughts - they are 'high end' fakes with most obvious tell tale signs corrected.
They cost £50 and the seller was offering me a £10 refund and keep them?
Still - don't want the rechargeable unit setting on fire one day whilst plugged in, better to spend a few extra pounds and get the real thing.

Cheers

The only thing I can spot was the gap on the focus ring on the H7R.2 not uniform all the way round - as can be seen on this photo:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mib150/media/Led Lenser Torches/WP_20160603_005.jpg.html

For some reason a factory is making LED Lenser and Coast knock offs. Started as far as I can tell with the P7 and 201 lumen HP 7.
At first they were easy to spot....if you knew what to look for. Font of serial number, type of metal at contacts and stuff like that.
But then some e-alerts took place showing what to look for. The crooks corrected all but one mistake in both lights.

I have a genuine P7, an early fake and a corrected but still fake and other than the one item they did not correct (nor will I state here) performance is the same for all three. The fakes are pretty good performance wise.
I started a thread but decided not to pursue it since it would simply be another way for crooks to identify their errors.

At one point I was buying old stock Coast products and eventually learned they were from a stolen batch.

You did the right thing by contacting Lenser. Probably won't stop the fakes being made. But at least they know it's now the 7.2's as well.

Best way to buy Coast and LED Lenser products are through physical stores as they are purchased through the actual distributors. Batteries Plus here in the States in an authorized seller of LL's, Nebos and Streamlights. Home Depot and Lowes for Coast products.

Yeah it's getting pretty bad out there. The thieves are getting better and frankly, many auction/ warehouse sellers are unaware they are fakes. Some do. I report the ones I've found to be so. First I warn them. When they respond "oops" it ends there. If they say "nuh-uh" I go to the next level. Amazon and eBay take it from there.

I know this thread is a couple months old, but how did you contact LED Lenser? I tried contacting them by phone (USA) they were clueless and said to call Germany. I tried emailing [email protected] and got a return email 2 days later that the address is undeliverable. I'd hate to to ever have to use their warranty service.

I recently bought a similar package deal on ebay; seller claimed to be in Netherlands, then ships from China. 'doh. It was supposed to be a P7.2 and when I compared it to a known genuine P7.2, it clearly stands out as fake. The fake is a very cool bluish beam, crappy focus, blemished lens and a different "Patent Pending" font on the bezel. Everything else was extremely similar, almost identical in appearance and function right down to the box and materials, the counterfeit is also slightly longer than the real one.

You could email the UK distributor ledco, these are above excellent from my experience. Quick reply, very helpful!
[email protected]

Looking at the light, the serial No starts before the centre of the O symbol and just falls short at the end of the lenser wiriting. Genuine end exact with the end of the r in lenser, so it usually starts a little after the centre of the O part. They have improved though on their fakes and no doubt will continue to get more difficult to tell..............more so for the general buyer.


If you buy off ebay, check in their profile and see where they actually are. For example there are many sellers that show London, clicking on and looking closer shows China! Unless they state that they are authorised dealer/distributor and lenser can back it up, then i would not buy from them.

Mib150 said:

Hi All,

New here, but I thought I would share this with you for comment?

I bought a 'combo' of LED Lenser H7R.2 Head torch and P5.2 torch from eBay. After I had made the purchase I noticed the seller appeared to be in China but somehow wangled their address to London? I also noticed a couple of negative feedbacks regarding torches.

I emailed the seller after the purchase, but before the goods arrived, and I asked specifically if the items were indeed genuine, they assured me they were.

Upon receiving the items they did 'look' well made, but having doubt put in my mind I dropped LedCo an email with the serial numbers and eBay listing - they confirmed to me that they were fakes.
To my untrained eye they look very good.

This is a link to my photobucket album of the torches:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mib150/library/Led Lenser Torches

Let me know what you think & I'll keep you updated on the story.

Cheers

MIB

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I suspect there might be some misinterpretation here.

1. If you bought on eBay for a listing stating it was shipping from the UK and wasn't. Raise PP despute.
2. If they look and work ok, why are you so worried anyhow?
3. Who did you actually speak to? If you spoke to the UK distributor, then they are likely to say they are not sanctioned imports or authorised. Even LL in Germany are likely to say something similar, I doubt very much they will blatantly claim them as fakes in an email correspondence.
4. All Led Lensers are made in China. Even if these are not 100% sanctioned for European retail, there is probably a very high chance they come from the same factory as all the other Led Lensers.
5. Do you have an eBay listing for the seller?

Thanks, I sent an email to the UK distributor.

ven said:

You could email the UK distributor ledco, these are above excellent from my experience. Quick reply, very helpful!
[email protected]

Looking at the light, the serial No starts before the centre of the O symbol and just falls short at the end of the lenser wiriting. Genuine end exact with the end of the r in lenser, so it usually starts a little after the centre of the O part. They have improved though on their fakes and no doubt will continue to get more difficult to tell..............more so for the general buyer.


If you buy off ebay, check in their profile and see where they actually are. For example there are many sellers that show London, clicking on and looking closer shows China! Unless they state that they are authorised dealer/distributor and lenser can back it up, then i would not buy from them.

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I'm not convinced it's a fake. The world of commerce and trade is vast and nobody here really knows what distribution deals Lenser has in Asia and China. It could well be this is a genuine item from the same factory, just not intended to be retailed here... They are all built in China after all.

And it would seem that someone has gone to extreme lengths to copy this, the box, the driver, the box insert, the manual ... Well everything. Which in itself would be extremely odd for a fake. Fakes cut corners or miss bits, that's how they are cheaper and profitable.

whoa...the Chinese counterfeits of today can be so convincing and nice most never realize they got fakes. Spyderco knives are counterfeited in China on a massive scale and they are actually very nice! Cheap materials and mystery steels but they are put together and finished extremely well. LED Lensers would be very easy to counterfeit. If the light is a counterfeit there actually is a good chance it came out of the same factory the legit Lensers do. What would the difference be? First the emitter would be a Lattice Bright Cree knock off. Second is the wiring inside is cheaper with bad soldering. Anodization is also likely sub par compared to legit Lensers. The Lenser focusing system is cheap and very easy to put together likely out of the parts bin of Lenser parts that did not pass QC.

I have seen astonishing Chinese counterfeits especially over the last three years. What happens a lot is high tech CNC machines used in say Europe wear out to a point where the manufacturer takes them off line and sells them. Just about all of this equipment gets bought by Chinese companies as soon as they go up for sale. The new Chinese owners bring the machines back up to a certain spec using cheap parts and there you go.

Yes true,the fake I had was certainly more obvious than this one. It still come in a very good box, correct red inlay and instructions though. I am not in the market right now, if I was I would just make sure they are registered to sell lenser and avoid eBay . There are some genuine on eBay, just prefer to limit the risks.

^^ the fake LL's I got were in a duplicated presentation box and had I not known what clues to look for never wouldv'e known it was a fake... down to the batteries it came with.

No those copies are pretty good and getting better.

LED Lenser UK responded quickly and confirmed that my ebay P7.2 is a fake.

LightGiver said:

LED Lenser UK responded quickly and confirmed that my ebay P7.2 is a fake.

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It is probably the most counterfeit brand or well up there if it is not!. Just make sure(presuming you will still buy lenser) that the seller is authorised . If unsure, ledco can tell you........

LightGiver said:

LED Lenser UK responded quickly and confirmed that my ebay P7.2 is a fake.

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Dratz!

When I discovered mine were I contacted the seller who of course swore they are real.
Buying from a seller with a name like "eJoy"? How can you go wrong. lol...
When I finally got a genuine one in side by side compares it became clear those fakes are getting really hard to tell from the real ones.
Dam shame though. I like LED Lensers but will now only buy them in an actual store. Trouble is the stores jack up the price so I end up buying even better lights by others for less $...