Hello everyone. I found this forum after having a bad experience @ CPF. I can not afford those $100+ lights so I have to go the budget route to get a quality light. Now I have an Ultrafire 504B with XML in it and a KD C8 in XML and I like them both. They are bright and do the job for me. What are the pros and cons of a budget vs "high end" flashlight? What are you not getting in a budget light that you get from a Fenix light? Thanks for the help with this.
Well, quality of course. Fenix or any other expensive brand, normally use better aluminum or any other material. In almost all cases lights will be HAIII anodized, better circuitry, better regulation, better tint, better soldering, AR coated lenses, better construction, less prone to die after few uses... man, better everything :bigsmile: When you buy Fenix (for example) you have a 100% functional light right out of the box. You don't need to clean s%$t inside your light, clean contacts, tighten something or whatsoever. It's like cars or any other stuff, more ca$h you spend, better quality you will get.
But yeah, I don't want to say that all budget lights are s%$t :bigsmile: I found (for me) that ITP lights (besides a few other brands) are exactly that quality I want/need: not expensive and offer a very good quality for the buck. Don't need more. I will only buy more expensive light in case a have extra cash to spend on something :p And of course not all hi-quality brands are "hi-quality". I've seen Nitecore and other with very stupid flaws, those lights for that price... and with that flaws?? No way! (i.e. parasitic drain, low PWM...)
So, call me semi-budget lover. I prefer to spend a little bit more and get reliable light. Just my 2 c ;)
Literally the answer is $75 ($100-$25).
After that there are no guarantees. The more expensive one may be made better, may have more features, regulation, better finish, may be better inspected before it goes out the door.
All those are maybes. Like most things it's a compromise. A gold plated toilet may be more expensive to make but it isn't worth any more to me (but is to some people).
There is usually a happy median. As mentioned above ITP would seem to be a good compromise. I personally don't need a $100 one mode AA light so all the features and quality in the world won't justify that cost (to me).
I pay more for headlamps just because I'm more discerning and picky with headlamps due to the fact that they are strapped to my head and due to the environment in which I use them.
At a certain point there is a diminishing return with increased dollars regardless of the product. Flashlights are no different.
By the time you get into trits and titanium you are past the value part of the price curve and are in man jewelry territory :)
I've got no complaints about my Fenix TK41 that I bought from Manafont a few months ago. It is by far the most expensive and best XM-L thrower that I own, and I like that it can run on regular AA alkalines, and that I don't have to cycle through blinky modes unless I want to. 270 hours of runtime on Low is nice too.
I'm also very happy with my 504b with an XM-L drop-in, as well as my SkyRay with XM-L. All good lights.
Like most folks, I've been disappointed in a few budget lights, but most of mine work as advertised. I expect that some Chinese stuff is going to fail in the budget lines, but most of my stuff works well. I do like the mid-range priced stuff the best. Lights like Jetbeam, Olight, Fenix Xeno and the S-mini are a little more "professional" feeling to me, more of a quality product. But bottom line, lumens is lumens, so in the dark they shine pretty much the same.
Its a matter of Perspective ! [ Expensive ]
I remember years ago spending $70 on a 6D Maglite cos there was nothing else ... [ 20 years ago or more ] So that might be like $300 today ...
Then there is , what are you comparing it too ?
When you can buy a flashlight for the price of a MacDonald's meal or a KFC meal , I call that seriously cheap , so if you double or triple the cost of that meal I would say that was a reasonable amount of money to spend on a flashlight ...
So if you spend $20 to $30 on take out to feed your family once ! , thats a heck of a deal on a light that may last years [ and may not = been there ]
When you spend $100 , your looking for a better track record , better build quality - better components etc .
If you have 50 Flashlights sitting on a shelf [ Yes I do ] you may not need , nor want , or desire a $100 flashlight .
But if you just want one or two flashlights , then buying quality , spending a little more , makes good sense . [ But which 2 ? ]
Also if you enjoy tinkering , modding , and just plain pulling stuff apart , then the cheaper light might be the way to go [ cheap education ]
Just depends on the variables - your perspective - your needs - and your wants .
Remember that a guy who spends 100 $ on a light will defend his purchase to the death lest he appear to be foolish for spending crazy money on a flashlight that will be obsolete in a few years time .most flashaholics are smart enough to know not to tell normal people what they spent on a expensive light . your average person thinks 30$ on a flashlight is stupid money ,Show them a zebralight and they'll think "oh cool " tell them the price 65$ and they look at you like you spit in their soup.. they all have that same look ..an almost constipated look ...IMHO your average light should be about 20$ with about 10% of your lights being 40$ or so ..over 50$ in my opinion is pretty over the top i have 2 lights over 40$ and 2 more over 30$..nothing over 50 $ and I have lots and lots of lights .
I guess Trooplewis has a good take on the difference here
I have Crohn's so I make frequent trips to the bathroom even all throughout the evening/morning.
I've experienced a Trustfire SA-2 dying on me in the middle of a really,really dark staircase.
I've had the Ultrafire C3 flicker itself to death as well, all these within 6 months of buying them
--Sure not a matter of life or death - but what if it was?
It made me open my eyes more to the mid-range lights
Will I still buy budget lights? YES - but I will be more careful.
I have a Fenix LD20...it cost 59 shipped and with taxes in.
Its a bit expensive...but the light is so nice, its quality built in every aspect and I probably would have spent that $60 on a few cheaper lights anyway (Say 4 $15 lights), now I have one good one...
Hehehehehehe Oh dear , my bedside light is a Nitecore [ can I say that ]
Thank you all for the great replies. For me, I have a hard time spending $100 on a light when I can get something around $30 that will compare with it or even blow it away in output. So far I like my KDC8 and it is the largest/brightes light I own. Now back in my CPF days when I did not know any better, I bought for $85 a modded SF6P body to fit an 18650, McClicky tailswitch, and Thrunight P60 drop-in. You know what, my Solarforce L2P with 3 mode XM-L will blow it away, thus I have a hard time spending large amounts of money on a light. I sold that SF6P on CPF Marketplace and got my money back on it. Now I will admit that I do have a 4Sevens Preon 2 and I love that little pen light. Now I have nothing to compare it to or with, so I do not know if a budget penlight will compete with it or not......I would like to find out.
I am the person who wants a handful of quality lights that I can afford and not 100 lights sitting around. That being said....maybe midrange lights are best for me and not the ultra cheap ones. Would I like to own a Fenix? Yes I would but then again do I "need" one? To me because of my poor eyesite a flashlight is a tool that helps me to see. I use it in a movie theater for example or in a dim restaurant, or for operating the washing machine. I care about function over form, so I do not need a pretty flashlight, just one that works well. :)
My $100 Fenix TK35 has an off center emitter while my Utrafire 504B with an Ultrafire XML Drop-in ($27 total cost) has a perfectly centered emitter. Go figure
Why pay more for a torch? to get less output of course!
A more expensive torch will more often than not actually give you less output than its budget equivalents, but its not about the quantity, its about the quality of the delivery.
Any car will get you from A to B, and they will all do so pretty well, but its the extra things that account for that cost difference. Its like having cruise control (flat output regulation), central locking and power windows (electronic clicky, cleaner UI) , higher reliability (supposedly more reliable), and more expensive servicing costs (hehe).
What car you buy, really is up the the user, based on a sense of benefit vs cost analysis. A more expensive car sure can have a lot of features, but it still gets you from A to B. Some features may be important to a lot of us, such as a working throttle (brightness levels), while some may not be so important for others and therefore wouldn't see as much value in them, such as cruise control (flat regulated output), or heated seats (or thermal regulation for the led/driver).
End of the day, it comes down to what features you like, and will be happy to pay for, vs what you would rather save off the total price. A fully kitted out car with all the whizz bang bits here and there will still do the same job, but will probably be slower, weighed down by all the extras, while costing twice as much, but its just a different sort of comfort.
Thats the way I see it, and accordingly I don't blame people for buying either end of the market, as its what they value and are willing to spend. For some its a serious months work to save up enough to get a torch, for others it might not be even worth a flinch, but I know I do enjoy watching the ferrari drive past me on the freeway, but I love the toyota starlet 97' that I drive.
That Preon is probably the best pen light ever made. Very nice light, indeed.
Foy
Overall quality and reliability.
I have several budget flashlight, some work very well, others are very bright, but must be used carefully to avoid overheating.
But, there were some problems, one has stopped working for no apparent reason (I think driver fault), one has stopped working perhaps because of my mistake (reverse battery?), another has begun to produce much less light, need to open the swith and clean contacts.
I also have several non-budget flashlights. Less impressive, often less bright, but never had any problem with them.
Which use more often? Which take with me? Depends on the scenario:
As EDC - need reliability and small size: Nitecore EX11 or Sunwayman V10r
Impress your friends - WF-504B with MF XML dropin or Xeno E03 with 14500
Give flashlight temporarily to family and friends - Strength and ease of use: Sunwayman M20A or Fenix E21
Mountain trip - reliability and performance: Xeno G42, Sunwayman M20A and, but only as third choice, MF 504B
The difference is generally glued threads and a fan club on CPF. :)
My only ~$25 light (That I would classify as "budget") is a YEZL Z1X. Sure, it's retarded bright but the color of the LED is somewhere near 10,000,000K, the body is made out of aluminum foil and the driver has 3Hz pwm on low.
My ~$100 light is the Spark SL6 740NW. No flash modes, current regulated linear driver for no PWM on any mode, a thick aluminum body, double digital switches, SCHOTT ultra clear glass and "pick your bin" neutral white (which is unheard of for most of the budget lights that I would be willing to buy). ALSO, there was a known issue with the battery tube being too small for some double wrapped 18650s (Calies Kustoms, to name one) and they sent me a new one at no charge!
However, there are some exceptions, like the XENO E03. What a great light for the price.
Answer to the original question: The price!
Well when you pay dearly for a Surefire you will get a virtually indestructible light. Maybe not. So do your homework folks....