PRC light is Chuck Norris? I don’t think he’s Chinese.
Ultrafire?
Nope… it’s quite substantial, heavier than a 6P with a thicker bezel.
Yeah - when that loop goes there's no apparent easy fix. Oddly enough a Fenix hung in for a decade without that kind of wear and was retired due to intermittent contact problems.
Perhaps "oddly", perhaps not. You bring out a very good (and often not considered) point. I can assure you that not all aluminum is "created equal". Far from it. Some "Al" is pretty much 'garbage'. It's an aspect of product quality many don't even consider. Had I not spent some years in a hard alloy Al extrusions plant, frankly I might not have either. There are rather precise industry specs for all metal alloys and tempers. To the extent that a manufacturer does / does not specify the alloy & temper of Al a light is made of, one should absolutely consider that when shopping.....and yes, '6061 T6' is in fact a very good Al alloy / temper for flashlights. If one considers all properties / qualities / factors, it's essentially optimal for the application. It's yet another case where one should keep in mind that while you may "get what you pay for", one very rarely gets what they don't pay for.
Perhaps I should qualify things a little better. The Fenix was $40 or $50 a ~decade ago and took more than a year for the finish to start wearing. The Lumintop was less than $10 18 months ago and the finish started wearing within weeks. Accounting for inflation I'm probably a little ahead on TCO, however I'd rather not be looking for a replacement in such a short period of time.
I absolutely get what you're saying, but my brain just doesn't think in terms of TCO where tools and (most) equipment are concerned, as to me that is generally secondary to quality / reliability every time. Just a perspective thing. Not to be picky now, but that looks like more than just "finish" / anodizing that's worn out, but is rather the structural metal. I'm perhaps less concerned about the finish / aesthetics than the metal.
