FiTorch MR35: Not suited for outdoor use, major fail.

The FiTorch MR35 is a unique light that seems to be of very good quality. But there are major problems:

+ not IPX-8: mine got damaged after 15min in the sink, very shallow water. Possible water ingress through USB-port (was 100% closed) but more likely side switch.

+ cheap USB-port rubber cover, hard to operate and prone to wear and tear.

+ poor ergonomics

+ prominent side switch exposed and vulnerable to mechanical stress.

All those flaws make it not geared towards hard use or outdoor use.

See my review/rant:

So, ya, your criticisms were spot on. Since I enjoyed the review, I went over to your channel proper and you have some interesting stuff over there as well. Just watched the quick and dirty stove vid. Enjoyed that one too. Keep them coming.

@ T.H. Cone: Thank you so much! I look forward to the response of FiTorch. I might just open the head as I don’t see a way to get the moisture out anyways and I will not ship it back to Gearbest. BTW, if you like watching reputable lights failing over simple design flaws check out Nitecore Concept 1: A Major Design Flaw (switch fail) - YouTube . (Nitecore Concept 1 review) Nitecore offered me to send me a new light if I take down the review. I told them just to fix the design flaw.

Nitecore has long been the only flashlight company I refuse to deal with. Anyway, a belated “Welcome to BLF” and keep up the good work.

I’ve had the Fitorch MR35 since it was released (for review), and I’ve not experienced any of these issues. It has been used outdoors quite often, in warm, humid, and damp conditions and is still going well.

Mind if I ask why you won’t deal with nitecore? I only have a couple as they are out of my budget for flashlights. I’m just curious. I do like my ea41 though. My p12gt was way over priced. A s2 host with smo 12 dollars. Fet driver 7 dollars xpl hi 6 dollars and you have the same thing for less then half the price actually more output using a fet. I think their driver is like 3 amps. I will say I am disappointed with the anodizing on it. But the ea41 I’m happy with

I long ago purchased one of their lights that latter turned out to have problem; not just mine, but most if not all of the production run. Now, w’ve all seen this from other companies on occasion, so that, in and of itself, isn’t a deal killer. However, the way it was handled/resolved by Nitecore- which in most cases, was for them to do nothing- left a lot to be desired.

Now, stuff like this happens once in a while. We’ve all seen it. You sort of expect it when dealing budget lights, so you have to accept the risk and the occasional lost now and again.

But Nitecore isn’t a budget company. They market themselves as a near premium brand. The light itself, was priced far out of the budget range. Bottomline, I expected better customer service from them and was very disappointed.

Luckily for me, I have no issue holding a grudge. I probably own 130 or so lights and while it surely hasn’t hurt them, I have never given them another nickel.

Not a manufacture, but also on my “never do business with again” list is Battery Junction. After countless orders with them, they sent me something that was defective and out of spec, then charged me a restocking fee when I returned it.

[quote=T.H.Cone]

[quote=Speed4goal]

Thank you so much! As for Nitecore: I had this one issue with the Concept 1. What shocked me that they - instead of correcting the flaw - wanted to give me a new light only if I take down my review pointing out in detail what is wrong with the light. I don’t want to hurt a company and very much respect all the work and effort done but that is very questionable. I even offered to Nitecore that I pin their statement as top comment if they wish to point out where I was wrong or not relevant but nope…

Nitecore is very well established in Europe. For many people it is the very best of the best sold in expensive tactical stores. IMHO it lacks compared to Fenix, Jetbeam or Klarus. But they do have interesting and good lights. So I would not give up on them but view them with a bit more caution. My experience is limited compared to the flashlight-pros although I go through many lights and need them outdoors and on the job - not a day without a light illuminating my ways :wink:

I took the FiTorch MR 35 apart. Head is glued. However, there are some ways to open it without causing damage. I could not take the driver out, it does not move at all. All the O-rings are 100%. Every seal seems fine. Yet water leaks into the light every single time I submerge it. The USB-Port is very weakly protected. There is a hole next to the port which holds the rubber seal. This hole might be the problem. The switch seems sealed.

http://www.irmscher.tv/upload/image/K37Y

I solved the riddle: Entry point is the side switch. It has a O-ring but the water travels through the side switch. So it does not travel on the side of the switch but leaks into the switch and then into the light! It is not the USB-port cover however weak it seems.

Here my explanation of the problem:

Is there any other flashlight that has brighter colored LED's and a much better beam pattern than the MR35?