Why is my flashlight so bright?

[bounding star]

Recently I bought myself a little cheapy Hugsby XP-1 aaa 120 lumen torch. It was $6 here in Australia and lasts for 1 1/2 hours.
My question is: Why cant I get a good brand torch with this kind of output? Ive searched low and hight through forums and shops and the only comparable torches i can find are in the $100+ price range with a couple exceptions. I want to get a good brand high quality torch, but aside from build quality and brand reputation, I can't find anything that justifies paying 10x or 20x the price.
The battery lasts around the length of time stated, and it equals brightness with my led lenser p7.

Am i missing something?

[Corwyn]

Actually I was thinking the same thing... my 2$ Smiling Shark and my 4$ Ultrafire Sipik clone blow out of the water their (way, way pricier) Led Lenser/Maglite counterparts.

[captain spaulding]

Their are many flashlights in the $25-$60 range that are incredibly bright.

[bounding star]

but what is the advantage of buying a $60+ torch over a less than $10 torch? I want to buy a good torch but i cant find any that are actually much better than these super cheap ones.

[captain spaulding]

but what is the advantage of buying a $60+ torch over a less than $10 torch? I want to buy a good torch but i cant find any that are actually much better than these super cheap ones.

I have not bought a cheap flashlight in years. I guess i'm just used to cheap flashlights being junk and failing almost always. I want high outputs and reliability. Maybe times have changed for the inexpensive flashlights.

[N_N_R]

I guess most brands focus on other stuff and some statistics preferences. For example, there have recently been some around 100 lumen AAA lights, but this reduces the run times. A lot of people would prefer (me too) a 10-20 lumens less in favour of half an hour more run time or so. And you can't really see a huge difference between 80-100-120 lumens.... so it has more lumens, which you don't really notice, but reduces the run times, which you do notice.

And the prices of the higher-end lights aren't based only on the output. They also mean durability, water and impact resistance, more modes, tiny features like clips, ability to tailstand, forward clickies and so on and so forth. These are features valued by many and of course, they increase the price of a light because they're... desired.

That's what I think, at least.


P.S. It all depends on your definition of "better" and what you buy a light for If it's just.. occasional home use, everything will do.

[bounding star]

By "better" i mean better quality, and with better quality comes more reliability and a longer lasting light, but i am having trouble finding a good quality light for a decent price that has the same output as some of the cheapest ones. Also, by output, i guess i am refering to how much you get out of a battery, so that is counting runtime.
So i guess what i want to know is is that all there is to it, output and quality/reliability?
Could i take a low quality high output torch and put its innards into a high quality body, or is there something else to the higher quality torches?

[Corwyn]

I think the whole thing comes with the new Cree leds and the LiIon batteries (26650/18650/16340 etc.) to support them.
The Chinese implemented them fast and the West was slow to catch up.
I paid 45 USD for my Skyray King. It is rated for 9500 lm.. maybe it's not that, it's even half... but it is sooo bright, just outshines everything.
The quality is quite good too, so is the colour it gives.
I imagine a Western light to be close to that brightness would cost 10 times as much.
I can't speak for the reliability of the SkyRay as I got it recently, but I have my Ultrafire 2000 lm for 6 months now and I took it in caves, mountains, dropped it off a cliff, in snow, dropped it in water... still works as new...

[eamo]

I got some cheap cree lights off ebay, (1 x AA type) I've been using one for the last 3 or 4 months and for about €4 i think its great - very bright for the size. my only gripe is the zoom houseing got a bit loose after a while but that hasn't affected its use. I haven't gotten it wet, nor dropped it or physically abused it, but i think it would hold up to some extent. Maybe i need to do a destruction test ?

my main concern about using a cheapie light like i am now is that it will fail when i need it most, but so far so good, it hasn't let me down yet.

[bounding star]

I think the whole thing comes with the new Cree leds and the LiIon batteries (26650/18650/16340 etc.) to support them.
The Chinese implemented them fast and the West was slow to catch up.
I paid 45 USD for my Skyray King. It is rated for 9500 lm.. maybe it's not that, it's even half... but it is sooo bright, just outshines everything.
The quality is quite good too, so is the colour it gives.
I imagine a Western light to be close to that brightness would cost 10 times as much.
I can't speak for the reliability of the SkyRay as I got it recently, but I have my Ultrafire 2000 lm for 6 months now and I took it in caves, mountains, dropped it off a cliff, in snow, dropped it in water... still works as new...

So basically just that chinese companies have access to the latest tech sooner. Now all I need is a lathe and a block of Ti 

[dks]

Since you are happy with 100 to 200 Lm a Maglite led should be good. At US prices ofcourse

[Corwyn]

I think the whole thing comes with the new Cree leds and the LiIon batteries (26650/18650/16340 etc.) to support them.
The Chinese implemented them fast and the West was slow to catch up.
I paid 45 USD for my Skyray King. It is rated for 9500 lm.. maybe it's not that, it's even half... but it is sooo bright, just outshines everything.
The quality is quite good too, so is the colour it gives.
I imagine a Western light to be close to that brightness would cost 10 times as much.
I can't speak for the reliability of the SkyRay as I got it recently, but I have my Ultrafire 2000 lm for 6 months now and I took it in caves, mountains, dropped it off a cliff, in snow, dropped it in water... still works as new...

So basically just that chinese companies have access to the latest tech sooner. Now all I need is a lathe and a block of Ti 

Not access, but flexibility. I think (and it's just my opinion) that they are more reluctant to change. I have my market my standardized product, it works, why revamp the whole manufacturing process for this small improvement in performance.. people will still buy from me because I am a brand name... and it happens again and again and the gap goes wider.

You can see it everywhere... the one-piece tools which are mass produced in China before their kickstarter even ends, the Chinese SAK (generally junk, though) and all their additions: Philips+Corkscrew, working fire, strong light, proper nail cleaner, forks, alox scissors, lockable 91 mm... stuff that Victorinox didn't try/do properly, the drones and how they use the LiPo battery technology and cellphone gyros to revamp something that the West pretty much stagnated at for decades.

Rant over 

[ducttapetech]

Not sure what a Mag-Lite runs overseas, but you can one here throwing 272 lumens, built like a tank and only cost $25.00.

Nate

[Corwyn]

Not sure what a Mag-Lite runs overseas, but you can one here throwing 272 lumens, built like a tank and only cost $25.00.

Nate

Maglite ST2P 300 lm - 54 USD+10 USD Shipping here
Sipik Clone 300 lm - 4 USD Shipped
Ultrafire LotusHead 2000 lm - 10 USD Shipped
SkyRay King 9500 lm - 45 USD Shipped

[Lichtbote]

Not sure what a Mag-Lite runs overseas, but you can one here throwing 272 lumens, built like a tank and only cost $25.00.

Nate

This one? http://www.amazon.de/Mag-Lite-Taschenlampe-Standard-SP-P01H/dp/B007HNJ66C/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1424086853&sr=8-9&keywords=maglight+led

It´s on sale there - only 35€/40$ instead of the regular 69€/79$  - at todays exchange rate, which have been alot different for long time, then the calculated Dollar equivalent prices have been even noticeable higher.