Durability of edc, or similar lights for mechanic use

I use a flashlight daily, working on and inspecting things on cars. I end up dropping it probably on average once every other day, but sometimes more.

i would like to know what brands and or models of eddy tyre lights hold up to this kind of abuse.

i have had good luck with the streamlights, led and incandescent I have had over the years, but I am looking for other good lights, as streamlights are kind of out of date these days. i tried a solar force t1, and it couldn't handle the abuse. The driver( or more likely the solder joints) failed twice. I am awaiting my new olight sr30iir and s1 baton. Time will tell for the durability of these two.

Other lights i am I am considering for purchase are sunwayman c22c, armytek wizard pro, astrolux a01 sc, or ss, manker m14/astr s41. Anyone know the torture these will take?

any other lights someone may suggest for uses similar to mine would be great. I like stuff that will fit comfortably in a shirt pocket, and magnets. Floods and spot are good. I will have uses for both. I would like some kind of high cri small flood light with a magnet.


thanks to all who respond. I will try to update here with any impressions or results of what I get and how it works and how it holds up.

The answer is always a Malkoff.

That was the correct answer.
Autodoc, have a look at the Malkoff site, there's lots of options the to suit most needs.
The main thing is that these lights are very robust and built to stand abuse. And if you break it there's someone who is bothered that answers the phone.
They are warrantied for life and very nice lights too.
I'd consider an MD2 with an M61 drop in that suits tours need as far as output and tint go. There are also Nichia M61s on Illumn.com.
Good luck and tell us what you get.
P

^^ this

HDS is another light which can withstand hard use.

How much do you want to spend ...

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?378229-In-praise-of-the-McGizmo-Mule

Another vote for HDS and of course malkoff..................cant go wrong with either I find the rotary UI on the HDS hard to beat for ease and love the hi cri. Malkoff, if you got a nice drop in, you could then pick your host and replace as/when needed. Many options from solarforce to surefire, from $10 to what ever you want to pay.

Although perhaps a headlamp might be useful from time to time as a mechanic instead? I know when I work on cars (total amateur) I prefer a headlamp usually.

For mechanic use, nothing beat the Nebo big Larry, or Lil Larry.

As a former Union Journeyman Mechanic I would recommend ZebraLight SC600 Mk2 or Mk3; it is potted, small, and should be able to handle drops.

I have not owned the lights others have suggested.

blah9 said:

Although perhaps a headlamp might be useful from time to time as a mechanic instead? I know when I work on cars (total amateur) I prefer a headlamp usually.

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I would use both. :thumbsup:

Doing work as a plumber I have used a lot of different lights , ranging from surefire , Fenix malkoff and hds etc. after a lot of trial and error I now carry my Hds mostly due to its high durability, great tint and ease of carry. So my reccomandationa would be a Hds or a malkoff like others say. I say malkoff too because I carry some as backups to my Hds .

I just got my hds rotary and love it so far. No magnet but you can get the flood reflector option with a 219b that gives great tint and color rendition. So I would go for that. Or malkoff. Both will work superbly well.

Anybody know about the armytek durability?

they claim 10m drop rating.

Autodoctor911 said:

Anybody know about the armytek durability?

they claim 10m drop rating.

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I have an older predator v2.5 pro in warm and it's a solid light for sure. The ano is 2nd to none IMHO , really is tough. Other than lots of torture videos on YouTube, I have never subjected it to throws or running over in a car/truck :laughing:. Have a look on YouTube , plenty on there for you to watch . Not too sure yet on the v3 , sure they are tough, not convinced with QC inside tbh , that's why I have stuck with the v2.5 .