I have owned near 20 Armyteks. I even had one of the older Predator Pro's that used the XPG2 LED. THAT beam out of THAT light was LED perfection the beam profile was very well done.
As for where is AT out of the answer is China. The parts for them are from all over the world. The current anodization they get is 2nd to none. Not even SF's "mil spec" anodization is as thick as AT's. Trying to find out where everything is coming from likely is not that difficult.
The reflectors are very well designed and made in China. Very well balanced beam profile. Real prescription grade optical glass for the lens then on that lens you want an anti-glare coating and AT has anti-glare coating that actually is tough and easy to clean. Not sure if this is China made or made somewhere else and just sold through China etc.
Oh really? I'm curious what makes you the expert on these lights? Do you work for Armytek or one of their suppliers? What inside knowledge do you have of these flashlights? Have you independently tested the components? Are your AT's actually used or just shelf/closet queens?
Anodizing is a relatively simple and inexpensive process. AT uses a dull, matte finish that tends to hide defects easily. The thickness of the anodizing does not necessarily equate to better quality or wear resistance. It needs to be properly sealed, as well.
Glass lenses are cheap, easy to come by and btw, quite breakable. Hell, even Malkoff and Surefire are made with plastic lenses, as are 99.9% of what you call "real prescription grade optical glass lenses". And for good reason; When was the last time you saw a pair of eyeglasses made of actual glass? Obviously, you have not purchased glasses in the last 40 years. While anti-glare coatings MIGHT be useful on eyeglasses, please explain to me what advantage this has on a flashlight lens at all...I'll wait.
I can tell you I have personal experience with the Predator Pro and the result was a complete failure of the driver. This is from a light that had extremely light use, and was never dropped or abused in any way. And I'm far from an isolated case. Failure of the early Predators was far too common to attribute to isolated mfg. defects. They knowingly shipped defective lights with subpar components and tried to hide where they were made, i.e.,China.
The company has proven themselves to be deceitful, if not outright liars. Their website is full of Chinglish double speak that rivals any late night TV gadget ad. They supply no army, they are not rigorously tested in anything close to the most challenging environments, and their 10 year warranty is not worth the paper it's printed on. Armytek should be added to the numerous products on the dustbin of history. There are far too many good flashlights out there to be messing with this garbage.
