Why is ArmyTek maligned or ignored in this Forum?

wweiss

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Why is ArmyTek maligned or ignored in this Forum?

Is it that it's a Chinese manufacturer couched as a "Canadian" company couched as a Chinese manufacturer shipping from Canada?
Is it.... what? Why is everyone going on about lessor quality lights ad nauseum?

I have had their very excellent Prime C2 XHP35 Warm for 2 years and it's a very, very great light. You can drop it from Mars and it works. UI side-switch excellent, many modes, TIR optics excellent, tint great, run-times good, durability great, form factor great and looks good. This light can use any form of 18650 - button or flat and any form of 123. May be a little on the large side for EDC, but easily doable and with a magnetic tail. If you add up all the capabilities and features for the cost, this light blows many away far away...

Would someone please tell me why there is little mention of it's virtues? Or the virtues of ArmyTek, in any regard?
 

Mattz68

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Not sure about them fronting as a Canadian manufactured light has much to do with the lack of discussion on here really. Probably has more to do with a over-saturated flashlight market than anything else. I've always been Intrigued by army-tech because they're one of the few manufacturers that offer a true "warm white" option. Unfortunately, I just can't get over the fact they cover the light in unnecessary writing: "don't look into flashlight" "www. Army-tech." It makes the light look tacky and cheap in my opinion.
 

Ernst from Germany

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I think,Armytek is not so presant in Diskussion because there is nothing new about Lamps since a long time.Armytek must offer new Models.The Ranger perhaps or the Grizzly.A Ranger with 3500 Lumen would be nice.
Ernst
 

Kivatch

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I think,Armytek is not so presant in Diskussion because there is nothing new about Lamps since a long time.Armytek must offer new Models.The Ranger perhaps or the Grizzly.A Ranger with 3500 Lumen would be nice.
Ernst

I agree. Today's trends are for the small and high-lumens lights with XHP70.2 emitters, that's why they don't raise a lot of attention here.

But ArmyTek must continue to build their small tactical lights which are great and rather unique on the market even if there is still room for improvement. IMO they should improve their marketing approach to be less "bullshit" looking.
 

niraya

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For me Armytek is nr. 1 choice. and even more astonishing than lack of Armytek topics is why there are so many threads about Malkoff, Surefire and HDS which to me are all far less interesting lights. :party:
 

wweiss

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@archimedes - Yes I mean this forum. To me, it's a discussion about that Company and it's output, marketing generally. Not a specific model - although I seeded the question with my like for a specific model.

Already @Kivatch and @Mattz68 have each given me a POV I hadn't considered...
 

vadimax

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Personally for me ArmyTek is not an option because of their quality issues. Too many people had negative experience according to that forum.
 

wweiss

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@vadimax: So I've seen - I haven't had quality issues with the models I have. That's why I was wondering why they suffered as a discussion topic.
 

peter yetman

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@vadimax: So I've seen - I haven't had quality issues with the models I have. That's why I was wondering why they suffered as a discussion topic.
Yes, but a lot of people have had quality issues with their lights, that's why they write about them.
It's a fact of life that people who are dissatisfied are more likely to make a noise about it than those who are satisfied.
I like the concept of AT lights, but along with Vad, I've read too many negative comments.
Maybe start a thread in praise of Armytek, and try and persuade us?
P
 

Kivatch

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They obviously had more problems with their QC than Zebralight for example. But the reason people are complaining so much has also something to do with ArmyTek's marketing ; They claim : Hassle free warranty ! 10 years ! Most advanced !

With such expectations, you're easily disappointed when the driver fails for example.

There is a lot to love about ArmyTek lights (at least the "tactical" line) ; They are one of the only manufacturers to pot their drivers and they have one of the best anodizing and build quality on the market and at this price point.
The body of their flashlight has no dents of rough machining, but thanks to the thick matte anodizing, they have an excellent grip.
 
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bigburly912

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I honestly am turned off by them because I don't want my flashlights to look like a NASCAR vehicle.
 

XR6Toggie

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I've seen them mentioned quite a bit here and they also seem popular on r/flashlight. I also see a lot of comment about their QC and customer service, usually in the negative.
 

Tachead

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Why is ArmyTek maligned or ignored in this Forum?

Is it that it's a Chinese manufacturer couched as a "Canadian" company couched as a Chinese manufacturer shipping from Canada?
Is it.... what? Why is everyone going on about lessor quality lights ad nauseum?

I have had their very excellent Prime C2 XHP35 Warm for 2 years and it's a very, very great light. You can drop it from Mars and it works. UI side-switch excellent, many modes, TIR optics excellent, tint great, run-times good, durability great, form factor great and looks good. This light can use any form of 18650 - button or flat and any form of 123. May be a little on the large side for EDC, but easily doable and with a magnetic tail. If you add up all the capabilities and features for the cost, this light blows many away far away...

Would someone please tell me why there is little mention of it's virtues? Or the virtues of ArmyTek, in any regard?

Because they have very unreliable lights, deceptive marketing, exaggerated specs, and customer service and warranty support that is much more trouble then most companies.

And, for the record they are actually a Belarusian company that makes their lights in China and keeps a headquarters in Canada so they can claim they are a Canadian company.

As for the Prime C2 Pro XHP35 Warm, it is actually not a very good light. While it has a fairly nice body and good UI, it has a very inefficient driver and highly exaggerated specs(it's actual output is more then 30% less then AT advertises). I had one and it started to malfunction and failed in less then year with minimal use. Here is a review that shows it's poor performance...

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/54675

There is an almost constant flow of reports of issues with failures and AT's customer service all over the internet. Even though they are just a small company there seems to be more reports then any other flashlight company. Personally, I have had three of their lights fail out of the four that I tried. All failed in less then a year with minimal use and not even a drop. My experience with there customer service wasn't great either and although they eventually replaced my lights, it was more of a hassle then any other company I have dealt with in my 25+ years of being a flashlight enthusiast. My last warranty claim took 2 months to resolve and I live in the same province as their headquarters. There are many people that have had similar experiences and these reports can be found here, other forums, Reddit, YouTube, etc. And, those are only the ones that weren't deleted at AT's request(they ask customers to delete videos off of YouTube after warranty work has been performed) or removed by moderators.

Honestly, I have tried a lot of flashlights and brands over my years as an enthusiast and Armytek is the only one I wish I never tried. I would never recommend them to anyone and imo there are a lot better options out there.
 

niraya

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Just reading, that somebodies are having problems with Armytek means zilch to me, I will never know what exactly they do or did to it and how they ab/used it. I had/have number of Armytek lights and never had problems in most extreme weather. To me their drivers and UI are topnotch and I had some fallen over 8 meters from second floor window to the concrete, every other light I had will be dead, not Armytek. My top recommendation for headlamp with probably Zebralight close behind. :twothumbs
 
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The_Driver

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To me they are basically Zebralights which can be modded. In my eyes there is nothing comparable to the lights of these two companies because of the elecronics, u.i.s and small size.
 
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Ernst from Germany

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I think Armytek delivers high quality products, but from time to time they must bring new models, otherwise they will be forgotten.Armytek is able to deliver good tools.There are enough fans in Germany.
Ernst
 

Tachead

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Just reading, that somebodies are having problems with Armytek means zilch to me, I will never know what exactly they do or did to it and how they ab/used it. I had/have number of Armytek lights and never had problems in most extreme weather. To me their drivers and UI are topnotch and I had some fallen over 8 meters from second floor window to the concrete, every other light I had will be dead, not Armytek. My top recommendation for headlamp with probably Zebralight close behind. :twothumbs

My 3 AT lights that died were never abused, were ran on brand new Panasonic NCR18650GA's and Eneloop Pro's from day one, all of the contacts were maintained with Deoxit, and the threads and O-rings were maintained with Nyogel 760G. They were lightly used and never even dropped(not that that should matter with their claims of extreme durability). I take very good care of my stuff and am an experienced flashlight enthusiast and tradesman(electronics, mechanical, etc.). The lights just malfunctioned and died for no reason. This same thing has happened to many other people. They either have an issue with their driver design or a huge quality control issue. And, then there is their annoying hassle ridden customer service, constant lies about output and runtimes(proven by many reviewers), and misleading and exaggerated marketing(about their lights and county of origin). They are a pretty terrible company imo and there lights have been the least reliable of any of the many many brands I have tried over the last 25+ years. It's too bad too as their bodies(aside from all the writing) and UI are pretty nice.

I agree with you about Zebralight but, I rate them far above Armytek. There lights are more advanced and efficient, more reliable, and there customer service is much better from my experience.
 
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