lights you regret buying? why?

[grfd702]

I did a stupid thing. I bought a flashlight, batteries, a charger and a belt holster from Monsterflashlight.com. It's their Pro Tango U2 EX. I paid 215.00 (including shipping) for the whole deal. Then I came here, to candlepowerforums, and found out that I probably made a mistake. It's supposed to be delivered via USPS today. I hope I got a decent light, but now I'm afraid. Very afraid. I can afford to eat the money and consider it a lesson learned. I just wish I would have done my research first. I respect the opinions offered here and nobody has a good opinion of this company. I learned that this guy just re-brands chinese lights and equipment and marks them up hugely. I am willing to give the guy a fair shake and honestly evaluate this light and everything that came with it. I'm a fairly heavy user of the lights I currently own and if this turns out to be a hunk of junk, I'll know soon enough. :sweat:

Ok - So I received this light 1 day later than the USPS said it would be delivered, but I think that was the post offices fault. The light and all the accessories came in 1 package that had no damage. Everything was well protected.
Pros:
1. The flashlight itself seems to be of really decent quality.
2. Glass, (not plastic) lens (window), with no dust or dirt present.
3. The fit and finish seem to be pretty good.
4. The light functions properly with no discernible PWM.
5. The rotating mode selector on the head works beautifully. This is the main feature for which I bought this light.
6. The head separates into several sections, and allows access to the battery tube from the top.
7. The rear mounted switch has a momentary function as well as being clicky. It also is crenelated somewhat to allow for more comfortable thumb engagement. The surface of the switch is knurled rubber.

Cons:
1. This light is NOWHERE NEAR the advertised 1100 lumen max output advertised. My 20.00 Defiant 650 lumen club from Home Depot blows this thing away. I realize that the head of the Defiant light is massive which contributes to the throw, but the intensity of the beam shouldn't blow an 1100 lumen light away.
2. The color of the beam is slightly blue with a purple tinge around the edges of the hotspot. (this is with the smooth reflector I purchased in addition to the orange peel that comes standard with this light.
3. The hotspot is not tight enough with the smooth reflector to allow a decent throw. There is a "hole" in the hotspot past 40 yards. I'll be returning the smooth reflector and just sticking with the OP original.
4. The crenelated bezel on the head looks great, but the thread engagement is poor. Only about 1 full turn on the threads.
5. The O-rings' seem very small and thin, and don't look like they'll last too long. I wouldn't even consider submerging this thing.
6. The "digital" battery charger, (whatever that means) seems pretty cheesy. It has a dedicated light for each battery (2) and they change from red to green when the battery is fully charged. I'll be looking for a better replacement charger soon.

Conclusion: Although this light looks very nice, I don't think it measures up to the more well known brands in terms of quality. I think the asking price of 119.00 is too high. Having said that, Gander Mountain sells their brand of LED flashlights at prices approaching this and they don't have near the features this one has. If I was a guessing man, I'd say that the max output of this light (not 1100 lm) is more in the neighborhood of 400-500 lumens. This puts it at more of a fair price point of about 60-80 bucks, given it's form factor and the selector switch. I would not pay what I paid again, but I'll use this light as an EDC for awhile and see how it holds up. I'm a firefighter and an aircraft inspector. I use flashlights on a daily basis. Time will tell if this one was worth the $119.00 I paid. I got absolutely ripped on the charger and batteries though. I hope this review helps anyone looking at this brand to make a decision.

 

[kj2]

Maglite XL100 - 3* AAA - don't' like that format.
Eagletac GX25A3 - don't really use it.
Olight SR95UT - although it's limited to 240 worldwide, and it throws like hell, I really don't have any use for it. Bought it because of the wauw-factor when it was released. I really should sell it.

 

[BillSWPA]

The 3xD 10 LED Lightwave and two 3XAA 4 LED Lightwave lights I purchased when LED lights were first coming out and good LED reflectors had not yet been designed. These things were advartised as being bright and having incredible runtimes. However, they are unregulated, and the efficiency is not much better than incandescent (not that uncommon for LED's from that time period). The beams are bright, but all flood and no throw. The runtime listed is the time until virtually no light whatsoever is being emitted. Real world runtime until the level of light drops below what is usable for the purposes for which I bought the lights was no better than a comparable incandescent light.

 

[marinemaster]

Most Fenix lights have been unreliable. I had bunch of models. Some no longer turn on, some literally broke in my hands, some need cleaning every few months, some have worn themselves out after only one year of use.
I know they are all over the place and many ppl like them, but I am done buying Fenix.
Steamlight the Propoly series are much better and reliable lights.

 

[degarb]

Most Fenix lights have been unreliable. I had bunch of models. Some no longer turn on, some literally broke in my hands, some need cleaning every few months, some have worn themselves out after only one year of use.
I know they are all over the place and many ppl like them, but I am done buying Fenix.
Steamlight the Propoly series are much better and reliable lights.

I love my reliable Fenix lights and the looong warranty they offer. But I regret getting lurred to other lights that don't exactly meet a certain spec (9 hours of neutral 4K+ flat candela at over 140 lpw with efficient driver). It is being lured to some light that you want to like, but really cannot use because some spec is just too short from the target.


Recently, I have decided too that my last few aspheric purchase tries would be a write off and learning lesson. Tunnel vision, ridiculous loss of lumens (which I can measure).. no more. At one time I found them the only half decent throwing option I could find, in the ringy shallow reflector days (by designers in denial of the eye's rods and cones). No more!

 

[grfd702]

(monsterflashlight.com pro tango U2 EX) Used this light extensively yesterday during a demolition job in our church. Dropped it from 12 feet onto a concrete floor, and it landed right on the crenelated bezel on the head. I got down off the ladder, tried to turn it on, and it didn't work. I thought, "great, just what I needed,". I opened up the battery tube and found that the batteries positive post had been smashed down so that they no longer made contact. I put two fresh batteries in and presto! Still works like a charm and has no damage whatsoever. Glass lens (window) made it too...

 

[ThirstyTurtle]

Crelant V21A. Ugly, oversized for a 2xAA light, ugly tint, 2 failed clicky switches. I still have it but might as well throw it away I hate it.

 

[seb13]

Ledwave MK-20 : looks like a Fenix LD20, but without the quality (beam, assembly,...). I don't know other lights from this brand but it's not a good first try.

 

[novice]

I appreciate and am drawn towards useful designs for AA lights. I am very disappointed by my Streamlight Sidewinder, which I bought used several years ago. I want to like this light. It's a clever and functional design. Mil-spec drop-test-passed mainly plastic (nylon?) body construction. Molle clip which can go on either side, tethered o-ringed end cap, so you can't lose it. Raised plastic indicators so you can get the battery polarity right by feel in the dark. The head swivels up and down; tail-stand it on a table and you can illuminate down or up. 2xAA. What's not to like?
The beam quality for the main "C4" led is uneven, and greenish. It's not that bright on the highest mode (I'm using Energizer lithium primaries). The secondary leds of blue, red and IR are really dim. I'm wondering what a talent like Milkyspit might be able to do to bring it up to it's full potential, but he has a long waiting list these days. It would be more inviting if the main led were more warmish/HCRI, but the plastic body construction also limits heat-sinking ability for a hard-driven led. A reflector might work better than the Streamlight "collimating optic". Having all three secondary leds either neutral/warmish, or red, and coming on at the same time in any of the other switch rotations would also be helpful. Okay. I have been kvetching enough. It's frustrating to me, because the design of this light really has some potential, and intrigues me, but having someone gifted like Milkyspit mod it would cost substantially more than the original price (not unheard of for certain mods).

 

[marinemaster]

They have a new model Compact II that looks interesting that takes AA or CR123. Coworker has Compact I is just awesome.

 

[kj75]

All cheap "brandless" lights..... I bought bunches of them...
Not regulated, blueish tint, plastic lens and so on....
For all that spent money I'd better buy one "big" light...

 

[Akwild]

My biggest issue is owning to many cheap lights! I need to stick with two macs or gizmo.

 

[marinemaster]

My biggest issue is owning to many cheap lights! I need to stick with two macs or gizmo.

Do yourself a favor grab an HDS

 

[Sarratt]

It's very very bright and very very disturbing to anyone close.

This was my mistake. I did not realize how blinding it would be for others.

Reading alone in bed this is wonderful

This light does what it says it does -------- I just made a mistake.

( almost makes me want to start a thread ''mistakes I have bought..."


S

 

[ArmoredFiend]

The light i regret purchasing was Fenix TK40. It was on sale that time..around 50% off...and found out that's because TK41 will be released a few wks after i made payment.

The thing is, it's too bulky to be carried outdoor...and the 8xAA are taking up batteries that i could use on other light. Not to say i dont have enough AA's, i have close to 30 Eneloopies. But jst felt the idea to have 8xAA sit inside a light with the occasional use of maybe once bi-monthly..is really not that tempting. I reckon i could put those 8xAA on other lights and scatter around the house (kitchen, living room, bathroom, store-room etc) that would come in handy whenever i need them instead of 1 location.

It's a lesson learn for me now. Nothing more than 4xAA per light moving forward. Else i would rather invest on 2x18650 or so.

 

[caddylover]

I bought a few of those low grade multi-led flashlights that are good for nothing except a blue fog of light:shakehead

 

[JohnF]

Re: Gladius

Yes, mine is sitting in a drawer somewhere. Try to not lose the little metal ball when changing batteries. Oh, I know, it is perfect, but the fact it has not even made it out to the hallway counter says a lot. It sucks. (And yet I somehow still love it since I fixed an XPG to it a couple years ago.)

John F

 

[neutralwhite]

+1.
HDS = no regrets!.

Do yourself a favor grab an HDS

 

[blah9]

I don't really regret buying any of the lights I have actually. I have lights I bought back in the day that don't work anywhere near as nicely as the newer ones do, but I don't regret buying them. At the time I didn't know any better, and they were upgrades compared to what I had before.

Now they are still useful as lights I can lend out and not worry about too much. In fact, I gave one away to a friend just the other day (an old LED Lenser light) because he has no flashlights, and I'm sure it will serve him well. It's really not a bad light, but it just isn't exactly what I was looking for.

 

[marinemaster]

For a 4AA light the Streamlight Propoly is great. Highly recommended.