Opinions on Elzetta lights

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-27T03:10:23.000Z

xevious:

I gave Elzetta lights serious consideration for a while, but eventually realized that while they are incredibly rugged, they’re far too over-built for my needs. I do not have any firearms so I don’t need weapon mounted lights that can deal with that kind of shock. My lights are not exposed to frequent hard knocks, submersion in mud, etc. If they were, I’d likely consider an Elzetta.

Thank you very much for you opinion. Yes , I completely agree that not everyone needs a top tier weapon light and for those people the over built light is most likely not price justified. I understand that, In fact I have my next two light purchases narrowed down to a D18 and an Elzetta Charlie. If the Charlie works for me, I will be getting several. If the Emisar D18 works for me I will be getting more of them as well.

Thank you for your thoughts.

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-27T16:28:15.000Z

sesgum:

I still have a bravo with avs head, and a m60 based 2 cell light. Meant to sell them though.

I do not like the beam from avs optics. The m60 light has a beam similar to that of a surefire e2d 200 lumen, still inferior though, beam has a ring, and less throwy.

I will not recommend bravo avs to my friend for $200. Maybe they have their values in terms of extreme reliability, I just don’t have a use for that. Similar situation for my hds, I agree it is a nice light, but not $200 nice to me. Again just too lazy to put them for sale.

I completely respect your opinions and reasons why you have not sold them. I have Hinderer knives I should sell, and a lot of Benchmade highly limited runs (as in 50 made total) I should sell them as they are not being used, but I am not paying Bladeforums another dime just to sell my knives. I have been a member there since 1999 one year after they opened in Oct 1998. I am not paying 30 USD a year anymore to make someone rich to do nothing.

EDITED* Can you please explain why you do not like the optics from the AVS head sir ? Do you think the Charlie with the extra lumen would help or not?

BurningPlayd0h · 2019-03-27T05:08:30.000Z

CREEXHP70LED:

contactcr:

Disclaimer: I’m not the target market for these types of lights

With that said I think I would rather go with a PFlexPRO which takes standard 18650’s, has more configurable firmware and emitters, and is still potted. Sure their website doesn’t have a bunch of tacticool AR’s on it but I think the lights should hold up just the same, with better configurations (IMO) for half as much money.

I am not looking for light that takes an 18650 unless it also takes 2 CR123A’s. I need a light that has cells that are CR123A’s. I only have one light that does not fit this criteria the Olight X7.

Without going into specifics too much, certain people are training now in sub zero temps for our next war. While I will not be in said war to my knowledge, I need to be prepared for anything. As should every single person right now on earth. I mean that.

I know some of you know just how bad things are about to get, and you better be prepared for NO one helping you and EVERYONE trying to kill you. I am sorry but the grim truth is if you are not prepared for no water, no food, no electricity, no emergency services, no medicines you might need, no communications except ham radio, no vehicles that will work unless they are older than 1995 (to be sure) you need to check your current conditions. I am sorry to get off topic here but if you think the markets are strong and the economy is strong, you are wrong. PERIOD!!! We are modern day Rome. Heads up people. I only say this to help my friends.

Of course with no food, water or electricity we will all have a plentiful supply of CR123 batteries…

“Without going into specifics too much, certain people are training now in sub zero temps for our next war.”

IDK if Antarctica is really prime real estate. If that becomes arable land we have WAY bigger problems to worry about.

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-27T05:23:08.000Z

BurningPlayd0h:

CREEXHP70LED:

contactcr:

Disclaimer: I’m not the target market for these types of lights

With that said I think I would rather go with a PFlexPRO which takes standard 18650’s, has more configurable firmware and emitters, and is still potted. Sure their website doesn’t have a bunch of tacticool AR’s on it but I think the lights should hold up just the same, with better configurations (IMO) for half as much money.

I am not looking for light that takes an 18650 unless it also takes 2 CR123A’s. I need a light that has cells that are CR123A’s. I only have one light that does not fit this criteria the Olight X7.

Without going into specifics too much, certain people are training now in sub zero temps for our next war. While I will not be in said war to my knowledge, I need to be prepared for anything. As should every single person right now on earth. I mean that.

I know some of you know just how bad things are about to get, and you better be prepared for NO one helping you and EVERYONE trying to kill you. I am sorry but the grim truth is if you are not prepared for no water, no food, no electricity, no emergency services, no medicines you might need, no communications except ham radio, no vehicles that will work unless they are older than 1995 (to be sure) you need to check your current conditions. I am sorry to get off topic here but if you think the markets are strong and the economy is strong, you are wrong. PERIOD!!! We are modern day Rome. Heads up people. I only say this to help my friends.

Of course with no food, water or electricity we will all have a plentiful supply of CR123 batteries…

“Without going into specifics too much, certain people are training now in sub zero temps for our next war.”

IDK if Antarctica is really prime real estate. If that becomes arable land we have WAY bigger problems to worry about.

We are training for Russia. And yes some of us have thousands of 123a cells. :person_facepalming:

But don’t worry Iran is next on our list according to people who planned every war since 1991.

mmalive · 2019-03-27T21:49:35.000Z

The lights seem pretty steep. Considering most use CR123A vs 18650. The outputs are somewhat low as well. These would be in Surefire class. Due to being over priced with low outputs.

junkyardbiker · 2019-03-27T22:33:42.000Z

I have my old duty ASP Triad CR bored for 18650 as my home weapon light and its has held up well on a deployment and now on my ARX. I also just had a Nailbender P60 in a Solarforce host and it serves well except I dont care for it being 2 mode. The ASP light it perfect because it is a single mode with a twist tailcap to select momentary only or FWD clicky on. Sturdy light and not badly priced.

delusional · 2019-03-27T23:44:00.000Z

I got two bravos and a charlie. All with my name and phone number engraved on them. I always tell people “If you get an Elzetta, you won’t be sorry… Until the day you lose it., at which point you will be quite sorry indeed.” That’s why I put my number on them, one of my bravos was returned to me after being lost for two weeks. There’s still a few decent people still out there.
I had had some bad experiences with nitecore, and went searching for better reliability just at the time the bravo/charlie thing first happened. This means my elzettas are pretty close to as old as they get, going on six years now. At least one of them has been with me, all day, every single day since I got them. I believe the construction job I do is just about as punishing an environment they could be in. The amount of water and dust they have to put up with is extreme. I do a lot of plumbing, and it’s more than adequate for the purpose.

The flood lens (LENS, not reflector) is completely awesome for close up work. It surpasses ANY other system of reflector or diffuser. I cannot say enough good things about the flood lens. It must be experienced to see just how good it is. The throw lens on my Charlie is also extremely nice. In my opinion it’s these lenses that keep Elzetta a hair above Surefires of the same brightness.
Forget waterproof, you can take any Elzetta apart and put it back together WHILE IT’S UNDER WATER. One time an idiot dropped one of my bravos into a bucket of latex paint, I didn’t even think twice, I just hosed it off and put it back in my pocket. It pays to keep the threads screwed down tight, but the head tends to not light if it’s even a little loose… so it’s always tight. But it wouldn’t matter if it was a little loose.
Tough? I used to tell people, “Go ahead, throw it down the street as far as you can.” AND THEY DID. Five times it was thrown, I had to file off a small burr once. No damage to the light but it does hurt the batteries, so i had to stop throwing it.
No, they are not the brightest, but that’s really the point. You are not overdriving the battery, the LED, or the electronics. Long runtime! How often do you really need more than 650 lumens? Take it easy, cowboy. Just today I left it running under a dishwasher and went out to the truck for half an hour. It was barely warm. Still had enough battery to finish the install. I get about 75 minutes on a 3400 ma/h battery, and 60 of those minutes are at near full brightness.
The only thing that’s a little wonky is the high-low switch. It’s not perfect but it does hold low well, after you fidget with it for a second or two. The only time i use low is when the battery is low, and i need stretch time.

About this time you’re wondering if I’m getting paid, and the answer is no. I’m just an extremely satisfied customer. After six years, what’s not to love?
If you’re collecting, I could see passing it by. But if you’re going to trust your life to a light…
I say again: If you get an Elzetta, you will not be sorry… until you lose it.

More:
I got all of mine bored by Overready, but going forward I’m not so sure they’ll be doing it forever. You might be stuck with the Bones light if you don’t want 123’s.
Never really cared exactly what the emitter is, it’s 650 lumens of great tint and just about the highest CRI there is, You can rest assured that Elzetta is not using jenkem emitters.
Elzetta’s spokesman, Dave Barnett, is also just about as good as it gets. Highly recommend going to Elzetta’s blog page and he will clarify any concern you have. The two “beam” vids are must-see.

BurningPlayd0h · 2019-03-27T23:36:51.000Z

mmalive:

The lights seem pretty steep. Considering most use CR123A vs 18650. The outputs are somewhat low as well. These would be in Surefire class. Due to being over priced with low outputs.

Outputs are low because these lights stay within the safe current draw for CR123 cells. Most of the “normal” brightness rating you see for these emitters are them being over-driven too, so the lower max outputs are to ensure long lifespan and reliability.

Lightbringer · 2019-03-27T23:51:04.000Z

BurningPlayd0h:

Of course with no food, water or electricity we will all have a plentiful supply of CR123 batteries…

Wellp, thanks to vipon, I got a 16pak and 20pak of ’123s not that long ago…

delusional · 2019-03-28T00:01:17.000Z

Overready does not appear to be doing bore runs any longer. The thread was locked nine months ago, and they linked here as a possibility… https://precisionelectrical.us

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:10:55.000Z

BurningPlayd0h:

mmalive:

The lights seem pretty steep. Considering most use CR123A vs 18650. The outputs are somewhat low as well. These would be in Surefire class. Due to being over priced with low outputs.

Outputs are low because these lights stay within the safe current draw for CR123 cells. Most of the “normal” brightness rating you see for these emitters are them being over-driven too, so the lower max outputs are to ensure long lifespan and reliability.

Correct, as one of their blogs shows the Amp draw difference from the P3X to the Charlie, Bravo and Malkoff model.

The Surefire’s were drawing more the the cells rated max Amps at first, although I believe that was to get 1,300 lumens out of the light turn on and still get 1,000 lumens out of the light at 30 seconds. To me, I do not like that. Yes, I own P2X Tactical, P3X Tactical Titan and Titan plus , PLUS all my Surefire WML’s.

Mean while I currently own ZERO Elzettas but will soon and I love their Constant output of at or above 900 lumens for about one whole hour.

Meanwhile, Surefire starts about 1,300 lumens and then decides to run a quick drop to about 650 lumens after just a few minutes. I will try to look up their graph

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:12:33.000Z

Lightbringer:

BurningPlayd0h:

Of course with no food, water or electricity we will all have a plentiful supply of CR123 batteries…

Wellp, thanks to vipon, I got a 16pak and 20pak of ’123s not that long ago…

Use them sparingly, or not at all if their dates are good.

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:13:52.000Z

BurningPlayd0h:

mmalive:

The lights seem pretty steep. Considering most use CR123A vs 18650. The outputs are somewhat low as well. These would be in Surefire class. Due to being over priced with low outputs.

Outputs are low because these lights stay within the safe current draw for CR123 cells. Most of the “normal” brightness rating you see for these emitters are them being over-driven too, so the lower max outputs are to ensure long lifespan and reliability.

100% correct my friend!!!

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:24:08.000Z

delusional:

I got two bravos and a charlie. All with my name and phone number engraved on them. I always tell people “If you get an Elzetta, you won’t be sorry… Until the day you lose it., at which point you will be quite sorry indeed.” That’s why I put my number on them, one of my bravos was returned to me after being lost for two weeks. There’s still a few decent people still out there.
I had had some bad experiences with nitecore, and went searching for better reliability just at the time the bravo/charlie thing first happened. This means my elzettas are pretty close to as old as they get, going on six years now. At least one of them has been with me, all day, every single day since I got them. I believe the construction job I do is just about as punishing an environment they could be in. The amount of water and dust they have to put up with is extreme. I do a lot of plumbing, and it’s more than adequate for the purpose.

The flood lens (LENS, not reflector) is completely awesome for close up work. It surpasses ANY other system of reflector or diffuser. I cannot say enough good things about the flood lens. It must be experienced to see just how good it is. The throw lens on my Charlie is also extremely nice. In my opinion it’s these lenses that keep Elzetta a hair above Surefires of the same brightness.
Forget waterproof, you can take any Elzetta apart and put it back together WHILE IT’S UNDER WATER. One time an idiot dropped one of my bravos into a bucket of latex paint, I didn’t even think twice, I just hosed it off and put it back in my pocket. It pays to keep the threads screwed down tight, but the head tends to not light if it’s even a little loose… so it’s always tight. But it wouldn’t matter if it was a little loose.
Tough? I used to tell people, “Go ahead, throw it down the street as far as you can.” AND THEY DID. Five times it was thrown, I had to file off a small burr once. No damage to the light but it does hurt the batteries, so i had to stop throwing it.
No, they are not the brightest, but that’s really the point. You are not overdriving the battery, the LED, or the electronics. Long runtime! How often do you really need more than 650 lumens? Take it easy, cowboy. Just today I left it running under a dishwasher and went out to the truck for half an hour. It was barely warm. Still had enough battery to finish the install. I get about 75 minutes on a 3400 ma/h battery, and 60 of those minutes are at near full brightness.
The only thing that’s a little wonky is the high-low switch. It’s not perfect but it does hold low well, after you fidget with it for a second or two. The only time i use low is when the battery is low, and i need stretch time.

About this time you’re wondering if I’m getting paid, and the answer is no. I’m just an extremely satisfied customer. After six years, what’s not to love?
If you’re collecting, I could see passing it by. But if you’re going to trust your life to a light…
I say again: If you get an Elzetta, you will not be sorry… until you lose it.

More:
I got all of mine bored by Overready, but going forward I’m not so sure they’ll be doing it forever. You might be stuck with the Bones light if you don’t want 123’s.
Never really cared exactly what the emitter is, it’s 650 lumens of great tint and just about the highest CRI there is, You can rest assured that Elzetta is not using jenkem emitters.
Elzetta’s spokesman, Dave Barnett, is also just about as good as it gets. Highly recommend going to Elzetta’s blog page and he will clarify any concern you have. The two “beam” vids are must-see.

I think you and I are like minded. I agree with everything you have mentioned. Remember everyone, sometimes it is not about sheer lumens but coming home alive. With a quality built illumination tool that is rarely rivaled.

Then there is the other side of the coin, BLF. Yes like a 100 USD D18 light that does 14,000 lumens for 20-30 seconds then goes to 2,000 lumens . Bright and fun yes, But give me that Elzetta OR Surefire to get me back home in one piece.

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:48:40.000Z

This explains it well. I can’t even imagine what many of the Chinese manufacturers are doing. Pushing LED’s past max, making them smoke or burn out, or maybe I can. Since the reliability is like flipping a coin on some brands. They are toys though so I understand it, and trust me the D18 I will buy it, but Emisar is one of the finer Chinese companies no question .

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T01:18:27.000Z

ChrisGarrett:

They’re a top notch weapons’ light for critical applications, like SureFire.

If you’re not into the ‘shooty’ stuff, or have firearms, there are probably better/cheaper choices out there.

Chris

Sounds like you have has bullets whiz over your head and possibly pistols in your face as well. The shooting stuff, I am trying to move away from , but addictions are hard to break when offered to you on a GOLD platter, Just have you make it back alive…

Igor · 2019-03-28T02:17:46.000Z

delusional:

I got two bravos and a charlie. All with my name and phone number engraved on them. I always tell people “If you get an Elzetta, you won’t be sorry… Until the day you lose it., at which point you will be quite sorry indeed.” That’s why I put my number on them, one of my bravos was returned to me after being lost for two weeks. There’s still a few decent people still out there.
I had had some bad experiences with nitecore, and went searching for better reliability just at the time the bravo/charlie thing first happened. This means my elzettas are pretty close to as old as they get, going on six years now. At least one of them has been with me, all day, every single day since I got them. I believe the construction job I do is just about as punishing an environment they could be in. The amount of water and dust they have to put up with is extreme. I do a lot of plumbing, and it’s more than adequate for the purpose.

The flood lens (LENS, not reflector) is completely awesome for close up work. It surpasses ANY other system of reflector or diffuser. I cannot say enough good things about the flood lens. It must be experienced to see just how good it is. The throw lens on my Charlie is also extremely nice. In my opinion it’s these lenses that keep Elzetta a hair above Surefires of the same brightness.
Forget waterproof, you can take any Elzetta apart and put it back together WHILE IT’S UNDER WATER. One time an idiot dropped one of my bravos into a bucket of latex paint, I didn’t even think twice, I just hosed it off and put it back in my pocket. It pays to keep the threads screwed down tight, but the head tends to not light if it’s even a little loose… so it’s always tight. But it wouldn’t matter if it was a little loose.
Tough? I used to tell people, “Go ahead, throw it down the street as far as you can.” AND THEY DID. Five times it was thrown, I had to file off a small burr once. No damage to the light but it does hurt the batteries, so i had to stop throwing it.
No, they are not the brightest, but that’s really the point. You are not overdriving the battery, the LED, or the electronics. Long runtime! How often do you really need more than 650 lumens? Take it easy, cowboy. Just today I left it running under a dishwasher and went out to the truck for half an hour. It was barely warm. Still had enough battery to finish the install. I get about 75 minutes on a 3400 ma/h battery, and 60 of those minutes are at near full brightness.
The only thing that’s a little wonky is the high-low switch. It’s not perfect but it does hold low well, after you fidget with it for a second or two. The only time i use low is when the battery is low, and i need stretch time.

About this time you’re wondering if I’m getting paid, and the answer is no. I’m just an extremely satisfied customer. After six years, what’s not to love?
If you’re collecting, I could see passing it by. But if you’re going to trust your life to a light…
I say again: If you get an Elzetta, you will not be sorry… until you lose it.

More:
I got all of mine bored by Overready, but going forward I’m not so sure they’ll be doing it forever. You might be stuck with the Bones light if you don’t want 123’s.
Never really cared exactly what the emitter is, it’s 650 lumens of great tint and just about the highest CRI there is, You can rest assured that Elzetta is not using jenkem emitters.
Elzetta’s spokesman, Dave Barnett, is also just about as good as it gets. Highly recommend going to Elzetta’s blog page and he will clarify any concern you have. The two “beam” vids are must-see.

I’d love to see pictures of your lights!

junkyardbiker · 2019-03-28T03:21:59.000Z

There are very few lights out there that I trust to work everytime no matter what, and even fewer that withstand weapon recoil or getting bashed against equipment and structures, but again I reccomend the ASP Triad series or a custom P60 module built by Nailbender or PFlexPro. Cant beat the price point on those compared to a Malkoff or Elzetta especially when Im buying them myself for duty lights. As much as I would love to own those, its a risk losing stuff.

The_Last_Katun · 2019-03-28T04:36:10.000Z

CREEXHP70LED:

I think you and I are like minded. I agree with everything you have mentioned. Remember everyone, sometimes it is not about sheer lumens but coming home alive. With a quality built illumination tool that is rarely rivaled.

Then there is the other side of the coin, BLF. Yes like a 100 USD D18 light that does 14,000 lumens for 20-30 seconds then goes to 2,000 lumens . Bright and fun yes, But give me that Elzetta OR Surefire to get me back home in one piece.

I try to be a little ready for anything; the expenses are many (from the provisions to the maintenance of a lot of equipment); for the lighting I have to stay on the budget and for my protocol I have 3 flashlight for daily use, always present on me, and 5 in case of rapid departure from the home (or even from the city); I tried to optimize them and make them better, rational, without many modes (3 out of 5 have only one mode, but different intensity) and focusing on redundancy; because a single flashlight, however good, could get lost, fall and be irrecoverable, and many other things.
3 out of 5 use the P60, so each one is also a replacement for the other; all 18650 (but if I use a flashlight I have 4 spare batteries).
For the “durable” flashlight I have two simple Ultrafire 503b SS (one in use, the other for spare parts), the P60 module is tropicalized, components immobilized and coated with paint; the led is glued (as well as being welded, of course). frontally they have a 3mm mineral glass (it comes from spare parts for diving watches, there is no o-ring gasket, there is paste for the engine head) and also the tailcap has undergone some changes. In use will be: one made of steel, three made of aluminium and one made of plastic (let’s not underestimate plastic, it has many interesting features, such as, for example, being safely introduced into a high voltage switchboard)

flashlights before modifications

junkyardbiker · 2019-03-28T12:26:46.000Z

P60 is king for me, the prices these days of a quality built module allows me to have several different styles and a single host ready to swap out in seconds, even of I choose to have multiple hosts a Solarforce is cheap and solid enough for anything. The option of primaries or 18650 is a major plus. Theres no excuse for settling on a light that almost is exactly what you want anymore. The most expensive high output P60 from Skylumens is just over a 100 bucks and is right up there in quality with a Malkoff Id bet. Im ordering parts from Mtnelectronics to build a copper quad P60 that should be the equal of my D4 with some helpful emails from Richard. Once built and potted I can have as simple a UI as I want with single mode, or change groups and have an EDC. All well under 100 bucks in price and quality I would trust my life with. I also machine some of my own hosts out of billet aluminum so thats a major plus hahaha