I am currently carrying a PowerTAC E7 as an EDC in a belt holster, which I like pretty well. My biggest complaints are that I believe it is a soft switch, so there is always some drain, and it comes on accidentally sometimes. I've "solved" the latter problem by flipping the pocket clip around so that it covers over the switch. But this is not especially elegant. Besides that, it's just time for something new, but in a very similar form factor. So my criteria are:
I'm not super opinionated about type of switch, but ought to be reliable and hard or impossible to actuate accidentally.
My first PowerTAC E7 had a weird problem, where the switch sometimes wouldn't work, and I had to remove the battery to shut it off. They did replace the light under warranty. I can't remember if they paid postage, but for sure they had to receive the defective light before sending the replacement. Hated being without my main light (yes, I have a backup, but it's a single AAA Ti something something, so not really in the same league), but I'm sure that's par for the course on warranty issues. Only problem with the new light is that the battery is *super* tight in the cylinder. They told me that's normal and OK. I've had it for months now (probably close to a year) with no issues.
But since then, I've read some not great things here about PowerTAC, so would probably prefer a different brand. Though honestly, the right set of functionality is going to be more important to me personally. For instance, they have an E8 in their closeout bin now that seems like a great bargain. Not the light for me (I believe the E7 is a better light), but as gifts for friends.
It had taken me a lot of web searching to find the E7, so I am hoping the collective wisdom here can shorten my search for a replacement.
Thanks in advance!!
- well engineered
- solidly built
- very good flashlight functionality (i.e. doesn't have to be best of the best)
- takes a rechargeable, replaceable battery (18650 seems about right for size & capacity for my purposes)
- charges via ordinary USB input
- has USB-A female for power bank functionality
- reasonably watertight? Not looking to use underwater, just want to be confident that getting it wet isn't going to be problematic.
- no parasitic drain on battery
- ideally, has modern charging circuitry to charge iPhones quickly
I'm not super opinionated about type of switch, but ought to be reliable and hard or impossible to actuate accidentally.
My first PowerTAC E7 had a weird problem, where the switch sometimes wouldn't work, and I had to remove the battery to shut it off. They did replace the light under warranty. I can't remember if they paid postage, but for sure they had to receive the defective light before sending the replacement. Hated being without my main light (yes, I have a backup, but it's a single AAA Ti something something, so not really in the same league), but I'm sure that's par for the course on warranty issues. Only problem with the new light is that the battery is *super* tight in the cylinder. They told me that's normal and OK. I've had it for months now (probably close to a year) with no issues.
But since then, I've read some not great things here about PowerTAC, so would probably prefer a different brand. Though honestly, the right set of functionality is going to be more important to me personally. For instance, they have an E8 in their closeout bin now that seems like a great bargain. Not the light for me (I believe the E7 is a better light), but as gifts for friends.
It had taken me a lot of web searching to find the E7, so I am hoping the collective wisdom here can shorten my search for a replacement.
Thanks in advance!!