What are the top brands of Chinese flashlights in 2019?

I am going to come out and say this bluntly. I've lived under a rock with regard to flashlight technology for the past 5+ years, and now I find myself inundated by a huge number of Chinese flashlight companies selling similar lights with seemingly too-good-to-be-true specs at too-good-to-be-true prices. I understand that technology has gotten better and less expensive at the same time, but life wisdom says that in any set of goods, quality is not homogeneous.

Even identifying a comprehensive list of the major manufacturers has been a challenge for me. Are two companies really different if they make almost the same set of products? It seems like there are some standardized flashlight models that either everyone makes or else are all made in the same factory and then customized by a final assembler upon being branded. For example, the single AAA flashlight is ubiquitous. Another example is you can get a "C8" made by Convoy, Astrolux, Ultrafire, Meco or Xanes, and that's just what I could find from when they don't create their own product name. How much of the Astrolux C8 is actually built by Astrolux and the Meco C8 built by Meco, etc.? Does it even matter?

To compound the situation, the vast majority of online flashlight reviews for these products are just unboxing videos following the format: "Company X sent me this flashlight for free, thanks Company X! Here are its specs, here is a beam shot, I like this flashlight a lot. Referral links/promo codes are in the description, *wink wink*. Pls like and subscribe too :^)." A product feature is absolutely fine with me, but there are just so many of that format that it leaves the consumer a little oblivious with regard to long-term performance. With Steamlight and Surefire, it's a lot less ambiguous, since those lights see a lot of heavy use in their respective markets and have comprehensive reputations, but when I see a flashlight company I've literally never heard of before and they have 164 different models in their catalog but have only been in business for 12 years (to use Nitecore as an example), it really makes me wonder who is actually using these flashlights and how hard -- and I mean that about all of these brands, not just Nitecore.

If a company can release a "new and exciting" flashlight every 30 days, sending free models to a hungry and willing "freelance marketing team" who produce and post product feature videos on Youtube for them for free, and those videos translate directly into sales, then why would a manufacturer ever bother making their lights durable enough to last more than a few months of use? I'm just thinking through the process logically. The shelf life for consumer hype is very short.

All that said, what have you found to be your "go-to" brands of Chinese flashlights in regard to quality? Have there been any brands that have let you down? Please share your opinions.

I don't own very many Chinese made lights, but recently purchased a ReyLight brass V3 Pineapple. I must say I am very impressed with the quality, particularly the machining. A very nice small 1xAA/1x14500 light.

koziy said:

If a company can release a "new and exciting" flashlight every 30 days, sending free models to a hungry and willing "freelance marketing team" who produce and post product feature videos on Youtube for them for free, and those videos translate directly into sales, then why would a manufacturer ever bother making their lights durable enough to last more than a few months of use? I'm just thinking through the process logically. The shelf life for consumer hype is very short.

All that said, what have you found to be your "go-to" brands of Chinese flashlights in regard to quality? Have there been any brands that have let you down? Please share your opinions.

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When a 'non-durable' flashlight fails in the dark, you're left in the dark. For many people this is something worthy of consideration.

Most Streamlight products are made in China. Good quality. Some Streamlight products are assembled in the USA, such as the Stinger series. I have one that I use every night rain or otherwise... never 'let me down'.

I've got a few Olights, I'm pretty happy with them. That said, the lights I rely on for what could turn into critical situations are made in the USA.

I count on ZL every single minute of every day and have yet to have one let me down.
But I always carry more than one as well!

Zebralight...yeah, very nice but expensive...
I edc some copper convoy S2 at work.. holding up well despite some drops... I got some aluminum S2 for coworkers, again no complaints yet...
These have software that can be changed by clicking the switch. Pretty neat and not expensive at all....

Zebra's are my fav Chinese brand, programmable, potted, decent ano, ok clips(other than clip on clips which no matter how good they are, i hate!)

Headlamps, mk1

mkII 4500k


Fav headlamp is actually Olight(chinese as well) H2r. Other brands i enjoy, acebeam,fenix, thrunite and several more. After some experiences with USA lights, Chinese ones no longer worry me as much. Yes an inconvenience if any issue comes along and need to send off(if not bought UK side), but so is the USA a pita to deal with in the UK. From my experience, time is not much different with shipping, waiting, returned. I will add, the UK olight has been exceptional when i had to return one of my H2r's . So for me, most are decent enough, but when you need a fault/issue resolving, the better companies come to light! Oh and yes, i do love USA lights

Zebralight... Definitely the best Chinese made(they are a US company)brand imo.

Just to be clear and in the interest of full disclosure, I do feel some affinity for American companies for patriotic reasons. I was happy to see that even though Zebralights are manufactured in China, the company is owned by Americans. I also have a little more confidence in first world manufacturing than in third world manufacturing. For example, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and America are known for being where a lot of quality products are made, and China is known for being where EVERYTHING is made, including a lot of junk that even Chinese people will call out as junk. As a test of whether you have similar prejudices, if you were given the choice between receiving one Italian leather jacket for free or two free Chinese leather jackets, sight unseen and knowing nothing else about the jackets, and you tell me that you have to think about your answer for more than 0.001 seconds, then I'm going to call you a liar.

But at the end of the day, the most important thing is if it works. My iPhone was made in China and it's a fantastic phone that has been very good to me. I have no doubt that some of the best flashlights made yet have come out of Chinese factories, and I don't feel bad buying a Chinese flashlight at all. The source of my doubts and frustration is the seeming multiplicity of many of these Chinese flashlight brands, due to newness of some of the companies, the blatant borrowing of designs from other companies, and their covert approach to marketing, i.e., sending freebies to Youtubers who do all their work for them while the manufacturer just maintains a home page (not that it isn't a brilliant marketing strategy, btw). Although it's a fact that for many of the companies, you must send the flashlight to China to receive warranty coverage, I see that as the unavoidable disadvantage of importation. At least they honor their warranty if you purchase it outside of China. That's better than with some other kinds of electronics, like cameras. Try buying a Canon camera in Japan, have it break on you and then try to make a warranty claim on it when you get back to your home country.

Top brand, I'm not sure. I can only say from my experience and point of view.

I have Fenix E05 which I use it almost everyday since 2011 for 5 years. It still lights up till this day. Now my EDC is the newer 2014 version and it is still going strong after 3 years. None of my Fenix has failed and most of my lights are Fenix, so the higher probability that could fail which don't fail in reality, I will say Fenix is one of the top brand in China.

The others, I don't owned much so I couldn't say. I have only one Nitecore and Klarus, so not sure about those. I choose non-rechargeable Nitecore because the issues seem to be plaguing their rechargeable version. For Klarus, the one I have seems decent but not impressive.

Among the branded one I have, unfortunately the only one that failed me was the old Zebralight Sc51c. The light just suddenly wouldn't light up even though never dropped or dipped in water before. I think the more complex the circuit is, the higher probability it would failed electronically.

About the other cheap brand, it is a bet whether they worked or not. If they work, good. If not, then try to fix it.

Aren't pretty much most of the bigger brands Chinese? Obviously something like Surefire is USA based, but I think a lot of the other brands talked about advertised on CPF are Chinese. Please someone who knows better let us know which ones aren't.

martinaee said:

Aren't pretty much most of the bigger brands Chinese? Obviously something like Surefire is USA based, but I think a lot of the other brands talked about advertised on CPF are Chinese. Please someone who knows better let us know which ones aren't.

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As far as ownership, the following are all non-Chinese: Surefire (USA), Streamlight (USA), Maglite (USA), Princeton Tec (USA), Petzl (France), SOG (USA), ALPS Mountaineering (USA), Black Diamond (USA) and of course Zebralight (USA). I decided to focus on Chinese brands for this thread because I am not familiar with most of them, whereas Maglite flashlights, Petzl headlamps, Surefire weapon lights, Streamlight tactical lights, etc. etc. are known quantities for me. You can still get Petzl headlamps at REI, whereas I have yet to see a Thrunite headlamp or Nitecore headlamp at any brick-and-moratar store I have been to yet. In addition to wanting to get myself up to speed, I am also faced with the copycat effect surrounding many, not all (but it sure feels like it), Chinese brands, where they all seem to have their 1xAAA twisty flashlights; they all seem to have figured out the 90 degree headlamp design in about the same way; the more recent twisty keychain lights that run on 1x10180 and have two modes of exactly the same magnitude regardless of brand; they all seem to have realized that the market wants these 5"x1", 1000 lumen flashlights with a tail switch for off/on and a side switch to change modes and which have a pocket clip that's not a deep carry pocket clip. Not to say that the non-Chinese brands are immune from market pressures, but I bet you could remove the branding from any given Maglite, Zebralight or a Petzl and probably be able to guess which brand is which. Just saying!

When you get right down to it, there isn't a light out there that doesn't have Chinese parts in it. To me, it all comes down to QC. If company X in Michigan has the exact same machine as company Y located in Shanghai, and they both are set up to run the same program to turn out the exact same flashlight tube...….how is the Chinese part inferior? If you're using the same type of aluminum, and anodizing to HAIII Type II standards, and using the exact same driver board and loading the lights with the same driver from DrJones, and using the same LED....How is the Chinese light inferior? QC seems to be the determining factor for me. I can't read Chinese, so I have no idea what kind of QC standards Nitecore and OLight have. But Henry over and HDS I know will throw out and entire batch of parts if they don't meet his strict high standards. It's because I know HDS' high standards and attention to detail that I'll trust his lights when I absolutely positively need the light to turn on. So, I may be a little biased to lights assembled in the USA, but I don't discount an entire brand just because some of the parts were manufactured or assembles in China, Lithuania, Cambodia or Canada.

I do love my Zebralights and OLights, too!

Great points koziy.

I use the term "flashion industry" due to the fashion of the week syndrome that came out of the lumen wars.

The Zebralight seems to be a good brand overall. Fenix remains popular for good reason as well. Pelican is up there with Streamlight. One nobody really speaks of is those made by former SureFire designer PK called PK Design Labs that are made in China. Yet unlike the typical Chinese lights, PK has his own facility and uses state of the art parts and pieces crafted in house and assembled by people. He does SureFire level lighting tools at Chinese made prices.

The older companies like Energizer and Rayovac tend to avoid the flashion thing and instead build old school type budget lights using modern emitters. Coast and LED Lenser are still out there but often have prices that many scoff at so they get overlooked. Nothing special lights at premium prices.

NiteCore and Olight remain popular for good reason as well. Yeah, there are a bunch of new kids on the block. But sticking with the tried and true brands is a logical approach.

So where does one acquire a PK light these days anyway?

bykfixer said:

Great points koziy.

I use the term "flashion industry" due to the fashion of the week syndrome that came out of the lumen wars.

The Zebralight seems to be a good brand overall. Fenix remains popular for good reason as well. Pelican is up there with Streamlight. One nobody really speaks of is those made by former SureFire designer PK called PK Design Labs that are made in China. Yet unlike the typical Chinese lights, PK has his own facility and uses state of the art parts and pieces crafted in house and assembled by people. He does SureFire level lighting tools at Chinese made prices.

The older companies like Energizer and Rayovac tend to avoid the flashion thing and instead build old school type budget lights using modern emitters. Coast and LED Lenser are still out there but often have prices that many scoff at so they get overlooked. Nothing special lights at premium prices.

NiteCore and Olight remain popular for good reason as well. Yeah, there are a bunch of new kids on the block. But sticking with the tried and true brands is a logical approach.

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AVService said:

So where does one acquire a PK light these days anyway?

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Google mile post 28...

Tachead said:

Google mile post 28...

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I wonder why I thought he was gone?:mecry:
Thanks!

Cpl S said:

When you get right down to it, there isn't a light out there that doesn't have Chinese parts in it. To me, it all comes down to QC. If company X in Michigan has the exact same machine as company Y located in Shanghai, and they both are set up to run the same program to turn out the exact same flashlight tube...….how is the Chinese part inferior? If you're using the same type of aluminum, and anodizing to HAIII Type II standards, and using the exact same driver board and loading the lights with the same driver from DrJones, and using the same LED....How is the Chinese light inferior? QC seems to be the determining factor for me. I can't read Chinese, so I have no idea what kind of QC standards Nitecore and OLight have. But Henry over and HDS I know will throw out and entire batch of parts if they don't meet his strict high standards. It's because I know HDS' high standards and attention to detail that I'll trust his lights when I absolutely positively need the light to turn on. So, I may be a little biased to lights assembled in the USA, but I don't discount an entire brand just because some of the parts were manufactured or assembles in China, Lithuania, Cambodia or Canada.

I do love my Zebralights and OLights, too!

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This is a totally different topic, and if continued, would constitute a thread hijack, in my opinion. I thought I was clear enough in the OP and I really tried to further clear this up with my last couple posts, although if I muddied the waters, then that would be regrettable. "How is the Chinese part inferior"? -- I don't think that relates to the topic of comparing the reputations for quality of Chinese-owned companies to one another. Some people are interpreting the topic as all flashlights that are made in China, even by non-Chinese companies, but that's a slightly different topic, and not what I intended for this thread. I could have made the thread about any topic, such as which headlamp that you can buy from REI is best for camping in 2019 (spoiler: it's made by a Chinese brand), but I chose to make this thread about just Chinese flashlight manufacturers.

The difference in ownership is that when a company has Western ownership, they tend (not always, but there is a tendency) to understand Western markets pretty well. When a company has Asian ownership, they tend to (again, not always, but usually) understand Asian markets pretty well. Obviously, Fenix has made huge inroads to the Western market, but they are the exception. To me, Nitecore is a total enigma, but that just means that I am not familiar with the brand and nothing else. If Nitecore had the same Western distribution network that Fenix had, supplying their lights to stores like REI for the past decade, then I doubt I could say that they are an enigma today. Why didn't they do that? Maybe because they felt comfortable with the booming Asian market, I don't know and that's not the point. The point is to peel back unfamiliarity and get to the root quality.

AVService said:

I wonder why I thought he was gone?:mecry:
Thanks!

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No problem man👍. The real thanks should go to Bykfixer though as he is one who is helping make PKDL easily available to us North Americans. Thank Bykfixer👍.

Tachead said:

No problem man[emoji106]. The real thanks should go to Bykfixer though as he is one who is helping make PKDL easily available to us North Americans. Thank Bykfixer[emoji106].

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Understood, he is the one I thought stopped doing them!