I agree[and I am sure V54 would too] These are not his lights from the ground up. He modifies them and sells them. BTW he has sold Thousands of them so he is doing something right.
People are so easy to criticize him on here. a huge part of that is JEALOUSY! 
gravelmonkey put it very well:
“I don’t get why anyone is complaining about the costs of his lights, if it’s too much, then get the equipment/parts/skill/time and do it yourself.”
LOL!! The reason it is FREE is because he is “Passing it around” for people to enjoy.
So it is FREE for now,and that is just another nice gesture by him.I think I will keep it for a few more months!!!
I have known him almost 5 years. He is generous, kind, willing to negotiate, forgiving[we have had a few differences] and very reliable and efficient.
General statement here: Again,it is so easy for people to criticize another when they really do NOT know that person.
Sue you for what? He’s not making clones of brand name lights, he’s buying lights, modifying them, and selling modified versions, it’s no different to you or I buying a stock light and paying for someone to mod it.
Unless I’m mistaken, he’s a US citizen and lives somewhere in the USA.
Yes… he doesn’t make lights from the scratch… he does have some interesting lights…
acebeam x65vn. 35000 lumen and 365k lux
Fenix rc40vn. 40000 lumen and 165k lux
Fenix tk61vn. 16000 lumen and 120k lux
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People are so easy to criticize him on here. a huge part of that is JEALOUSY!
[/quote]
Very well put and on point.
I think BLF has many modders, and good modders sure envy Vinh’s achievement. Nothing wrong with envy, but there’s no need to criticize Vinh price or anything openly. Vinh is part of flashlight lovers community. He builds his name not by cheating anyone. He provides solution to his friends and customers, with his warranty and support.
Maybe can ask any modders here to provide mod of GT with CFT90 and see how much they want to charge.
Vinh is a good guy, great sense of humor,has a big heart and he is talented/sharp. He fills a niche, nothing wrong with that and he does it very well!
If he can do what he Loves and makes some coin doing it, great for him! :+1:
Get over it already! :person_facepalming:
Not necessarily jealousy.
But i guess that’s how it comes across to arrogant big spenders often.
There is a German tuning company,name Brabus,which is tuning Mercedes Benz cars.If you look at the fascia of the tuned by Brabus cars,you see the name Brabus engraved on them and not Mercedes.
I am going to tell the truth. People from blf are not going to buy Vinh lights. This is blf forum. Vinh have lots of customers from the cpf, Facebook, and off site…
Vinh make more money than I am. I am not jealous. I will buy his lights and support his modding.
Don’t sell yourself short———————————- :+1:
I think he also give some of his sales to charities.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but there’s a reason I don’t “custom make” lights for anyone anymore.
Back when 501s and 502s were Da $#!+, and P60s ruled the land, people who liked my light(s) would ask me to make one for them, too. So I’d invest the time learnin’ ’em good about modes, color temps, tints, SMO/OP, etc., first, then “demo” the lights I had to show the differences, and by the time I’d add up the parts for the host, pill/reflector, LED/star, driver, protected panny-B, small charger, etc., it could run upwards of 50bux at the time.
Cost for my labor was near- if not actually zero, as even “charging” an extra 10bux for all the time invested would jack up the price of the light “unfairly”, or so I thought.
Then a “warranty”?!? They can put the cell in backwards, drop it down a toilet, leave it out in the snow, run over it with a car, it can look all beat to Hell from legitimate abuse the poor light would suffer, and I’m supposed to fix the light for free (ie, pretty much tearing it down to find what went wrong, or worse, just make ’em a whole new light for free)… nope, I’d guarantee that it worked for, say, a week, then they’d be on their own. My name ain’t Target or Best Buy.
Then they “look up” on Amazon some AnusOnFire light rated 3800lm that “looks just like the light you sold me!”, along with some UXB of a rewrapped cell and crapfest of a charger in the “kit” for 25bux or less, and I was always being put on the defensive trying to justify what I charged them for top-shelf components.
You try to explain genuine Cree vs LB, or worse, some no-name emitter that’s barely cracking 2-digit lumens, a cheap resistor-“regulated” driver, a switch that goes intermittent when you look at it wrong, etc., and they just don’t get it.
So I gave up.
“Can you make me a custom light like you got?”
“Naw, just go look up what’s on Amazon…”
No more headaches.
Bravo Bravo
Well said. The only people that complain about Vinhs lights are the people sitting on the sidelines. People will be hard pressed to find a unhappy customer of his. His customer service is A+ and he warranties things that aren’t even his fault.
Anyone who has been around CPF long enough knows that he is more of a giver than a taker.
It’s sad how many people want to be critical of him and his work, as I haven’t once ever heard a critical word come out of his mouth.
He is actually a very charitable and faith believing person. I’m proud to have owned many of his lights and he can count on future purchases as well.
And another thing regarding his warranty. People will have thier lights sent out and returned to them fixed before any light manufacturer even opens the package of a returned item.
Vihn is A+ all the way and if people knew the kind of person he is they probably would be a lot slower to critique.
^
Exactly gentleman!! :+1:
Heading for the trail and enjoying my last few days w/ the TN42vn 90!
Well said. I have had many an awesome transaction with Wayne over the years. You hit the nail on the head. Great guy … a true “Giver” .
One of my custom MM15vn - Noah Niwalker lights that Vinh tweeked for me.
Nice,a true compact lumen monster!
Just a coupla more things…
I don’t know Vinh from a hole in the wall, other than by reputation, so I ain’t got a dog in this fight. Period. I’m just listing my own experiences, from my own perspective.
This was back in the day when you could get actual good-quality ’501s, ’502s, C8s, and ’98s from Amazon, before the huge race-to-the-bottom as far as quality. They might be real Cree, they might be a good-quality LB clone, but rarely some garbage emitter. And the hosts themselves might be good thick-walled quality, too. My EDCed ’502 is top-notch.
Don’t even try doing that today.
And from Amazon, you could get the aforementioned lights for 10-15bux each, maybe less, or a Real Light like a 4-7s or Fenix or whatever, for 80-100bux or more. So there was a market for an in-between price-point, especially for a bespoke light.
Today? With lights like those from Convoy, Sofirn, and the like, you can get a better-performing light than anything I could put together from parts, even at twice the price, and almost as many variations available.
I’ve read a lot of statements on both sides that I can agree with to some extent in this thread. The OP drew me in out of curiosity as I’ve browsed the Skylumen store a time or two and yeah I did have sticker shock at the price of a few items. There is no reason to talk trash about him though. Personally I think the OP should be adjusted to at least remove the name calling after it was made clear that this was not an actual item price but it’s not my thread.
Wolfdog your beamshots speak volumes about the products Vinh is selling and I know you have lots of them. I enjoy enjoying them through you sharing experiences here.
I may never own one of his lights but that’s not because I don’t like them or desire them. They simply aren’t in my budget.
Kawiboy summed up my feelings on the matter quite well here:
He found his niche in something he is passionate about and is making a living doing it. If he can charge the prices he does and have the reputation he does and sell as many lights as he does then he is definitely doing something right. Good for him. I hope to be able to do the same one day. I’ve never dealt with him personally but by many accounts he sounds like a pretty good guy to me. :+1:
Probably not the best example lol.
Helps alot with the rebaging that the parent company of Mercedes - Daimler AG - own a large proportion of Brabus ;) :)
But i get the point your making, people/companies buy Fords/GM etc, make them faster better etc and sell them on at a mark up, happens with lots of consumer products.
Ive never bought one of his lights, but i can see why people would, seems from what ive read on here and the other forums over the years that hes a genuine guy and stands behind what he sells, so i dont see any issue, its not like he forces anyone to buy what he makes