Hello all you wonderful folks. :) I realize that many of our flashlights are made in China and can be knock off models of a big name brand flashlight. I also realize that more expensive brands such as Fenix and 4Sevens are also made in China but have better quality control and warranties than say an Ultrafire. Surefire is a quality light but is expensive and our "made in China" lights are far brighter for 1/4th the price. I am ok with the quality of my UF 504B with Manafont XML dropin because I am an EDC guy. If my life depended on my flashlight then maybe I would buy something more robust. :)
Which brands of flashlights are made in the USA? I know that Maglite use to be....I am not sure if they still are. A Maglite is made very well but also not very bright. I came to this forum because I could not afford those $150 Surefire and Fenix lights in the first place. So, what is out there in the flashlight world that is "made in the USA"?
Not too many that I know of. Maglite was always the USA light. If you want budget, you go to china, pretty much. Now you could buy in the US from Illumination supply or from Shiningbeam. They are both US sellers of lights. There are others like Lighthound (I believe). I'm sure more people know more answers. I'm a magmod kind of guy, so I don't look at the other stuff any more.
According to Maglite: "Flashlight designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. Mag Instrument's factory is located in Ontario, California. Includes some imported components. Accessory products manufactured in the U.S.A."
And there's always Old-Lumens or JohnnyMac brands...
What about streamlight and pelican? I've got several of each brand and they are made in USA and top notch customer service. They aren't quite "budget" but they aren't as high as surefire either.
Some really sneaky ways to say made in USA//albeit chinese parts .
For example marc jacobs purses ...Made in Italy ..
Well not really ..according to the made in italy rules the handle is assembled and tags attached is all it takes to make it ...MADE IN ITALY
Never mind that one of the largest populations of chinese in Europe is in Milan ITALY ...So it appears people don't want to pay Italian workers to even put the handle on .....Huh... go figure ..
You need "all or virtually all" of the manufacturing costs produced in the USA for it to be labeled as "Made in the USA," however, it must be assembled here. That's how the FTC defines it.
I researched it back when I learned most bicycle brands are now being manufactured in China and Taiwan. Even high-end Specialized and Cannondale have moved to Taiwan factories. My 1996 Specialized Stumpjumper was "Made in the USA" and a newer model read "Assembled in the USA."
