Cheap Chinese Flashlights

[BillSWPA]

I have various generations of the Klarus XD2C in 580 lumens, 725 lumens, and 1,100 lumens, as well as the 1,600 lumen XT2CER. The XT2C's are all very nice lights. For reasons I do not fully understand, I can leave an 18650 cell in any of the XT2C lights, and after a few years, it will show very little difference in voltage despite the electronic switch. However, My XT2CR does have parasitic drain, so checking the cell voltage every couple of months is important.

My XT1C will significantly decrease the voltage of a 16340 cell in a few weeks. It is also very easy to accidentally turn on in a pocket.

Some of my Klarus lights have been dropped repeatedly on various hard surfaces without damage.

Many of my 18650 and 16340 cells are from Klarus, and they all work well.

At the price, it is relatively painless to upgrade when improvements come out.

They are definitely among the better Chinese lights, and I carried that brand for years.

Unfortunately I did not have good luck with the P20 high color rendition penlights. I ordered two. One works fine. The other was replaced multiple times by the vendor, and all of the replacements failed to work. That experience, and the introduction of the Bodyguard lights caused me to switch to Malkoff.

[SoCalDep]

Cheap Chinese lights have done more to push technology forward than any of the brands we all prefer.

I’ve been a flashlight nerd since I was a kid in the 80s. Maglites were awesome. When the Solitaire came out I remember getting one and being amazed with how small it was. In 1996 or so I bought a Streamlight Scorpion and was blown away with its (probably much like the Surefire 6P) brightness. I lost that light and very much wish I’d found and kept it like some of the early pistols I owned.

I had lots of lights in the early 2000s, but won a Surefire M2 at the 2001 Steel Challenge. I ended up trading it for a Z2 from a buddy since I was going into law enforcement and figured the Z2 was more practical. I still have that light. The rubber switch is worn smooth and it was upgraded with an original Surefire LED engine. I have other old-school Surefire lights (several C2s, a couple Z2s, and a few 6Ps and a 9P) with drop-in engines from Sportac and a couple other places and they are cool, so I left that Z2 as I carried it on patrol back in 2007-2009. It was cool and sorta brighter (but with a weird blue “cool” LED tint) than the old incandescent bulb.

In 2009 I had to go quite a ways out of my normal area for a court case involving a long pursuit that ended in an adjoining county. It ended quickly with a plea deal for a stupid short sentence and as I was heading out I stopped by a police/Mil supply store in the area and was introduced to Fenix, as the store had just received their first batch of these lights. I don’t remember the model, but my wife still has it in her nightstand. It uses two AA batteries and is 150 lumens of “warm” light. I was shocked at how much brighter it was with better color rendition and bought it immediately.

That eventually led to even better brightness, and when I left patrol my belt lights were around 300 lumens and we had 600 lumen drop-ins from Terralux for the old Streamlight SL20, and eventually a (USA-made) Malkoff 1,000 lumen drop in. I have a 350 lumen Malkoff head on a Surefire e2e body on one of my rifles and it’s awesome.

I’ve used Malkoff engines in Surefire bodies as well as Sportacs and a couple other brands. I have Lumens Factory, Fenix, 4Sevens, Olight, EagleTac (now EagTac), Klarus, and others. They have all worked great. I had 4Sevens send me a Maelstrom light to evaluate them for reliability back in the day and as part of my very scientific testing I threw it 30 or so feet up in the air and let it fall on concrete five times. The rubber switch cover ripped but they included a replacement in the package. When the testing was done I bought the light. Still have it and it still works.

Around the same time I was talking to a group of recruits about buying a quality light. I pulled out my Surefire G2X Tactical and said “These lights will take a beating and if they break, the companies will stand behind them”... then I threw it on the ground (not anything more than what I did with the 4Sevens light) and it Broke into about eight pieces. I laughed and said... “Well, they’ll replace it”.

When it comes to handgun Weapon-Mounted Lights (WML), I can’t speak highly enough of Surefire. They have been phenomenal over crazy round counts. Streamlight has been great too for me. I would recommend either depending on need. Modlite is rad, and as Surefire’s new release shows they are driving the industry, but I’m not sure their WML is ready. I broke a head, killed a battery, and broke one side of the toggle switch in about two months of use. When they get there they will be a major player...I’m just not sure that’s yet.

So what does this all mean? As far as I’m concerned, if it weren’t for Fenix and the like, we’d still be saying stuff like “60 lumens of BLINDING WHITE LIGHT” and doing stuff like changing incandescent high-output bulbs on the regular.

As a flashlight nerd I could go into the awesomeness that is CRI, very low lumen, intuitive modes, infinite variable output, candela vs. lumens, and all that, but no need... If it weren’t for “cheap” Chinese lights, I wouldn’t even know what most of that stuff really is or means.

[NH Shooter]

Having worked in product management for the last 15 years for a large plumbing valve manufacturer, who uses Chinese vendors for valve components and complete valve assemblies, I can say with absolute certainty that the Chinese know how to make quality parts and products. When quality is needed, they can produce. In my experience when the IP (drawings, specifications, quality control check points, etc.) are provided, the results can be very good.

The design of the typical Chinese flashlight is IMO not purpose driven, it's feature set driven. Since the vast majority of flashlight consumers don't know what they want, anything will do to check for a leak under the kitchen sink or take the dog out for a night time pee. A light with 14 modes of output, multiple switches and exaggerated output claims - all at a bargain price - is mighty appealing to the uninformed Amazon customer.

Fortunately, there is a growing consensus of what a light intended for the niche application of personal security and self-defense should be, and perhaps more importantly, what it shouldn't be. Like any other tool, knowing what it's for and the conditions under which it's going to be used is critical to making an informed purchase.

[gato naranja]

Concentrating on "cheap," I have had good luck with 1xAAA Olights/itp/Maratec lights, but some bigger Olights (as well as Klarus and Fenix) have crapped out on me. I also have a few - more expensive - Zebralights that are nearing a decade of sporadic use and they all still work but are not used very hard.

I now stick to Surefire, Streamlight (yes, I know) and the occasional lower-buck Malkoff light or conversion. I have converted a couple of old Mag-Lite D flashlights to LED using Malkoff products, and they are kind of big and heavy for what they can do but they are far superior in performance than when they were new. I tend to avoid anything with cutting-edge technology or interesting but impractical features.

On the Chinese quality angle, I have worked with overseas vendors too damned long for my liking, and know that the Chinese can produce great stuff... as long as the QC is really monitored and some entity is always on site to enforce standards in materials and processes. By the time you get everything squared away, those items are no longer usually much of a bargain, price-wise. One of the new angles is the actual production going to Indonesia to lower costs and avoid the "Made in the PRC" stigma.