The Yezl M7X could be the toughest i have currently, 3mm head with recessed glass lens so it does not crush upon impact. Bottom part of the head is reinforced by 2 solid alu rings and there is a hex alu structure at the tailcap... Tailcap is weak though...so. Balder BD-4 is very tough and even the tailcap is tough, but the front is unprotected. Will be sending this to another country for serious use.
Pls recommend me something....the Fenix T1 is good but discontinued (survives up to 21,000lb crush). I could go for Elzetta and be done with it, but the battery option RCR123 is a bit...ugh.
How strong is the glass of a light like a KD C8? It really struck me that the lens is 'big' and thin compared to the solid glass 'lens/reflector' of my older cree flashlight. How could i protect it?
If I was looking primarily for a "tough" flashlight, I'd buy something like a Dorcy 41-4750 4-AA yellow plastic one.
Ever notice that mechanics, plumbers, etc that knock their lights around a lot almost always use plastic bodies with plastic lenses. The glass/metal construction of most lights discussed around here does not lend itself to that kind of use.
The weakness of cheap lights is electronics and maybe battery anyway. The alum tubes are almost impossible to crush under normal circumstance. You can always get a plastic lens. Direct drive 1 cell is probably good idea, 3x nimh might be ok if you're concerned with lithium, but has more connections, and you can always get IMR.
The problem with metal bodies is that when you drop the light the shock is transmitted directly to the electronics without any 'cushion'. With a plastic body, there is a bit of flex to the body so that when you drop it or bang it around, some of the energy is absorbed by the body, giving the electronics a chance for survival.
Also, plastic/polycarb lights usually have a flexible metal ground path that can handle more jostling.
Check out the Fenix TK20. I have one and seriously cannot imagine anything breaking it, I'm pretty sure the electronics are potted and the walls are very thick at every point. The lense isn't heavily recessed but has enough to protect it from any drops etc.
I also threw my original Akoray K106 (programmable) out of a second story window onto concrete and against the next houses side brick wall as hard as I could repeatedly for around half an hour and couldn't break it. I left it on all the time and it didn't even flicker.
Thanks for all the inputs. I was like looking at more of a flashaholic quality flashlight that would make the in-laws happy for the workers/security to be using in the field, main thing now is that it could get dropped from an OP which is like 15m high, but the recommendation on the plastic ones keep coming back. LOL!
Yes they are or rather were using those plastic ones now in addition to the HIDs and they always break down. Intermittent connection, it's more of the switches or something. High humidity etc....the outer surface is always coated with a layer of moisture due to forest usage. (90-100% RH 100% of the time at night)
Thing is - the alu HIDs would not survive a 15m drop (obviously!). It happened last weekend and yep, goner.
Looks like every darn budget light is quite ok as long as it doesn't arrive DOA. LOL! Interestingly a torture test thread on Zebralights is up at this time, but that's not what i was looking for.
I saw the Olights and need to see if i missed out anything. Not familiar with HDS and anyway unsuitable as i need brighter stuff.
Here's my shock torture test for the $9 TK-703 on DX. Interesting that the switch survived 350Gs constant.
I have one of those Energizer military/tactical tough lights (white, blue, red, infared) that I got from Woot for $20. I can't imagine much tougher. They had a video where they were throwing it straight up off the top of their building and letting it land on pavement. I think they also drove over it. It was a pretty cool torture test.
Also, it uses the silent forward clicky switches. Throwy beam.
