Which brand do you think is most durable? Your life depends on it and so does your family.

[wle]

uh, i usually have 20 or 30 other lights on deck or in the bullpen-at least at home
also in about 3 alternate locations - bedside, kitchen, downstairs

if in the car, 2 more

if on foot or bike, i have bike light, or bike light plus photon keychain light

one thing i might not do is depend on rechargeables that do not get used much
some of my car and home lights are either li primaries, or C cell, or AA, something like that

now you have to ask about b atteries — what batteries WOULD YOU TRUST YOUR LIFE TO

i have about 25 backups there too

wle

[wle]

i;d probably say thorfire, i don;t have $100 lights like zebralights
the thorfires are good for their price

also i have a wuben t70 26650 that seems pretty solid
folomov

just saying some cheap ones that i think will last

unlike
dqg
manker
utorch

wle

[Tally-ho]

More parts and more electronics = more failures. If your life depends on light, it’s not a matter of brand but more a matter of diversity : don’t put all your eggs in the same basket.
Driver & LED, incandescent bulb, carbide lamp, kerosene lamp or oil lamp, candle, etc.

[mgracia85]

Fenix, I’ve had a Fenix PD35 has a daily carry at work for a few years now, been dropped more than a few times. Still going strong!

[pinkpanda3310 (Pinky)]

Myself and my family have never been in a life threatening situation that could be eliminated by having a torch. Like, has SOS mode ever saved anyone? On the occasion we go camping or have a blackout 1 light just won’t cut it. I’m not going to have a dozen surefires or elzettas on hand for that.

[peg_matite]

Zebralight.

Also feel pretty good about BLF Q8. Straightforward and stout.

[ClaudeMBallz]

Voted “other”. Convoy or MagLite. Simple & reliable in my experience.

[mattadores]

@BurningPlayd0h

@mattadores

@BurningPlayd0h

@mattadores

My very first non maglight purchase was a fenix PD25UE. As far as durability goes i watched a YT review where he turned it on, submerged it in a glass of water which he then froze solid and to break the ice off he ran it over with his car. I was impressed

None of those things should cause damage to any light that’s at least 1m waterproof. What would matter is if can you drop it a few feet on to the floor and not have electronics pop right off the driver board.

That ice is soaking up all the energy and none is transferred to the components inside the light. I don’t actually know if Fenix uses potted electronics on their larger li-ion lights but I can’t say I’ve heard that they do.’

Makes sense. But it sure looked cool! lol :person_facepalming:

The light will still past those tests and I’ve heard good things about Fenix though, just that a lot of brands will too. Didn’t mean to seem like I’m ripping them if that’s how it came across.

lol no not at all, don’t worry! I knew it was an impractical test… lol it was just cool to watch it crushed by a car in a block of ice…. this is a totally impractical test but because it looks cool it must be worth something! :smiling_imp:

lol anything to help justify yet another light purchase to the misses!

[WalkIntoTheLight]

I’d go with Zebralight. I’ve never had one fail, and they’re solid with potted electronics.

I might also say Armytek, because they use massive amounts of metal. But although mine are fine, I’ve heard too many stories about them suddenly dying.

Though for reliability, I’d rather go with two budget lights than a single expensive light. The chances of both failing at the same time is a lot less than a single failure of an expensive brand.

[mattadores]

@CREEXHP70LED

I am realizing now that posting this on a budget light forum, I am getting what I asked for.

lol you opened Pandora’s box!

I think most of us here will agree to one simple answer:

Write down every light suggested in this thread, buy them all and carry them all on you at once and you’ll never worry about durability EVER

[CREEXHP70LED]

@wle

uh, i usually have 20 or 30 other lights on deck or in the bullpen-at least at home
also in about 3 alternate locations - bedside, kitchen, downstairs

if in the car, 2 more

if on foot or bike, i have bike light, or bike light plus photon keychain light

one thing i might not do is depend on rechargeables that do not get used much
some of my car and home lights are either li primaries, or C cell, or AA, something like that

now you have to ask about b atteries — what batteries WOULD YOU TRUST YOUR LIFE TO

i have about 25 backups there too

wle

PRIMARIES ARE THE ONLY CELLS I TRUST MY LIFE ON. CR123A CELLS for life critical applications only.

I do have a few dozen AAA Energizer Ultimate Lithium primaries for my Surefire Titan and Surefire Titan Plus. I run Eneloop pros in them now.

I can also replace the (2) Li-ion cells out of my Olight M3XS-UT (and use (3) or (4) CR123A cells in it.)

In my Olight S1 Baton, I can replace the Li-ion and use (1) CR123A cell in it.

In my Olight S2 Baton, I can replace the Li-ion and use (2) CR123A cells in it.

If there were less than optimal other charging solutions.

Only my Olight X7 and my Emisar D4 XPL-HI have me locked down to 18650 Li-ion cells. All other lights I own run solely on CR123A cells. Due to the fact they are WML’s or hand held tactical lights.

[Spartan]

@CREEXHP70LED

@Spartan

None of the above.

Magic word, REDUNDANCY

I carry TWO cheap Thorfire flashlights in the car in case one of them gets the gremlins. If it was possible, I would carry one that had a simple slide switch and put out 500 lumens.

At home, I have about 7 cheap flashlights.

When we get an EMP strike by invading hordes of humanoid tripedal hamsters, the simpler, the better.

Make your home or at least one room a Faraday cage.

You can actually do the entire house for about a grand…….IF you are building new.

Believe it or not, use paper backed aluminum sheet that can be found in industrial supply houses. Put it between the gyproc and the studs. Down side, the cell phones are useless.

[CREEXHP70LED]

@Tally-ho

More parts and more electronics = more failures. If your life depends on light, it’s not a matter of brand but more a matter of diversity : don’t put all your eggs in the same basket.
Driver & LED, incandescent bulb, carbide lamp, kerosene lamp, oil lamp, candle, etc.

I never only have one high quality light on me so redundancy can be thrown out of this equation. I carry at least 3 Surefires on me when I am out, and sometimes the M3XS-UT depends on what I am doing. I am not looking for a single light to carry only one light. That is already a WML. And I carry others also a D4 and 2 more Surefires. If those 3 Surefires and the D4 all goes out, EMP hit.

[CREEXHP70LED]

@WalkIntoTheLight

I’d go with Zebralight. I’ve never had one fail, and they’re solid with potted electronics.

I might also say Armytek, because they use massive amounts of metal. But although mine are fine, I’ve heard too many stories about them suddenly dying.

Though for reliability, I’d rather go with two budget lights than a single expensive light. The chances of both failing at the same time is a lot less than a single failure of an expensive brand.

I like carrying several more expensive reliable brands at once, less chance of them failing then two cheapo lights.
Ordering an Elzetta Charlie finally after I thin the Hinderer knife herd. Unused knives are worthless like unused lights or any other tools.

[CREEXHP70LED]

@mattadores

@CREEXHP70LED

I am realizing now that posting this on a budget light forum, I am getting what I asked for.

lol you opened Pandora’s box!

I think most of us here will agree to one simple answer:

Write down every light suggested in this thread, buy them all and carry them all on you at once and you’ll never worry about durability EVER

Hahahahahhaaha, OR just but Surefire Elzetta and Malkoff lights and never worry again. Not that I do my Surefires have been thrown 25 feet into the air to land on cement several times they work fine. :+1:

[CREEXHP70LED]

@Spartan

@CREEXHP70LED

@Spartan

None of the above.

Magic word, REDUNDANCY

I carry TWO cheap Thorfire flashlights in the car in case one of them gets the gremlins. If it was possible, I would carry one that had a simple slide switch and put out 500 lumens.

At home, I have about 7 cheap flashlights.

When we get an EMP strike by invading hordes of humanoid tripedal hamsters, the simpler, the better.

Make your home or at least one room a Faraday cage.

You can actually do the entire house for about a grand…….IF you are building new.

Believe it or not, use paper backed aluminum sheet that can be found in industrial supply houses. Put it between the gyproc and the studs. Down side, the cell phones are useless.

Thanks for the advice sir. I am well versed… DARPA.

[brad]

Fenix is very durable and dependable.

[Easyrr]

The good ones: Thrunite is a tank. Zebra is also reliable. And my M43s from Hank.

[mmalive]

All lights fail in ANY circumstance at ANYTIME. Break down in choice selection is the Engineering Design, build material components, quality control, pricing, etc……

I have done some high impact, and other extreme tests on some of my reviews. I will give insights here.

Sofirn : GREAT

Maglite : WORTHLESS

Bushnell Pro : TOTAL JOKE

Wuben : GREAT

Klarus : GREAT

Thrunite : Decent

Olight : Decent

Fenix : Decent

Powertac : GREAT

SureFire : TOTAL JOKE ( friend gave me the Defender version) Cracked body one it hit hard concrete floor

Plus quite a others. Too long to list.

But to give you basic insight. Just because higher price point DOES NOT MEAN DURABILITY or BETTER QUALITY.

[SIGShooter]

When my daughter went to Uganda for 3 years I gave her a Zebralight H502 and a Fenix AA. Both held up under rough conditions so I would not have any hesitation in depending on them on myself for critical situations.