Olight Warrior Mini Controversy... Am I Crazy Here?

[GearedForwards]

Late to this party but I will give my 2 cents so it’s probably not worth much 🤷🏼  Olight is junk. Shear crap. I know I used to own some. They are not about quality or customer service. That is unless you spend more money on lights than you do or cars. Yes real automobiles. There policy is this. 3-4 year warranty on all their lights, however if you buy a ton and make it into their select group 🙄 you get a lifetime warranty. But only if you stay in that group. Meaning you have to purchase x-number of lights each month or year or you loose that warranty. Their quality sucks, their tints sucks, the lights themselves sucks, their CS sucks. I guess by now you figured that I dislike olight. No in fact I don’t. I hate them cause, yep you guessed it, THEY SUCK!

Quite an impassioned declaration backed by... what exactly?

I'm not sure what your disatisfaction with the warranty is, most of their lights have a 5 year warranty, which is pretty generous for most products.

You say the quality sucks... but have not said why? Have you had some dissatisfaction with them? I still have my S15 Baton from 2014 that has taken more than one tumble onto concrete, gravel, pavement etc. and works exactly the same as the day I got it. My daily driver on a night shift  outside for a year and a half was an Olight H1 Nova, a light that withstood rain so heavy it soaked my body through entirely through a rain coat, dozens of times. Snow, hail, freezing fog, generally freezing temperatures and has shown no sign of lower performance or giving up the ghost.

I've actually dropped different Olights on hard surfaces quite a few times in the 7 years I've owned them, not one has shown anything but cosmetic where at the drop site. No malfunctions, no dead lights, heck I've not even had so much as an Olight branded battery give up on me or show degraded performance yet and that's a consumable.

You don't like their tint.... fair enough but that's your preference not an objective negative of the brands entire line up.

So do you have any actual hard reasons you don't like them other than incorrect warranty information and just saying that they suck?

[tattoosteve99]

Yes very dissatisfied. My point being, and it was said by one of the owners, that you will get a lifetime warranty, but only if you purchase a lot. That in itself is enough to deter me. I belong to many fb groups, and was also in the olight one. I questioned that policy in a nice polite manner and was quickly booted. No mention of that in the rules. That’s strike two. Strike three is when one of the owners messaged me and said yes, that’s the policy. To me it’s like if you buy one Rolex, but in order to get a warranty you must buy at least 50 more. That’s just wrong. And 99% of the lights I buy have lifetime warranties. That’s why I buy them.

[tattoosteve99]

Sorry. As to the other stuff. I thought I covered that    Bad tint, bad electronics, warranty, proprietary batteries and of course the issues with the warriors. You can check out that thread over at CPF. They will back up that olight is a company to just steer clear of. There are far better lights for less money and better warranties that apply to everyone.

[GearedForwards]

Yes very dissatisfied. My point being, and it was said by one of the owners, that you will get a lifetime warranty, but only if you purchase a lot. That in itself is enough to deter me. I belong to many fb groups, and was also in the olight one. I questioned that policy in a nice polite manner and was quickly booted. No mention of that in the rules. That’s strike two. Strike three is when one of the owners messaged me and said yes, that’s the policy. To me it’s like if you buy one Rolex, but in order to get a warranty you must buy at least 50 more. That’s just wrong. And 99% of the lights I buy have lifetime warranties. That’s why I buy them.

You are acting like they have no warranty if you don't buy a large amount of them, most of the lights have a 5 year warranty. Do you actually find a 5 year warranty on a product to be insufficient or are you offended that they apparently offer lifetime warranties to customers that buy large amounts of their products?

Which clearly offends you... but I'm not sure why? It's a warranty based incentive to their largest customers above the already generous warranty.

I won't comment about you being removed from a FB group since I have no idea what the rules are of said group, what you actually said nor do I think the actions of a single Olight social media manager (if this was an official group) derails the quality of the product in anyway whatsoever.

[GearedForwards]

Sorry. As to the other stuff. I thought I covered that    Bad tint, bad electronics, warranty, proprietary batteries and of course the issues with the warriors. You can check out that thread over at CPF. They will back up that olight is a company to just steer clear of. There are far better lights for less money and better warranties that apply to everyone.

You don't like the tint, that is not 'bad tint' objectively. Case in point, I prefer colder temperatures in my lights and generally stay away from warm tints regardless the declared benefit of colour differentiation.

Bad electronics... Apologies if I missed how you actually explained what that meant or gave any justification of it, in fact all you said was that they suck, and the elctronics wasn't even something you mentioned just a rather vague 'quality'

The proprietry batteries I've also never understood as a problem, they modify existing form factors to work with their proprietry charging system, and you get a nice charging system as a result. You can still use normal cells in the lights if you want to or should you be unable to replace your modified battery. Is this just the principle of 'how dare they lock you in with a proprietry format if you want to use their charging system?'

I also don't think the Warrior issue is much of an issue from the descriptions of it, which largely amount to 'I don't want to or shouldn't have to use a safety feature on a powerful flashlight' but since that is a light I did not pick up, I will refrain from further comment unless you push the matter.

I will not be going over to CPL, if you want to come to a thread to bash a manufacturer, then do so factually instead of making vague claims with no actual back up, unless you consider 'I should know I've owned some' as backing up anything at all without saying what problems you've actually had with them.

I really like Olight, I'm not a fanboy, whilst I own many of their lights I also own many others, and think very highly of Lumintop for example, whom I feel are largely succeeding Olight in the value sector.

Of the dozen or so (lost track at the moment, maybe more) Olights I own, and have owned over a span of 7 or so years I have not once had a device failure. I've subjected my lights to drops onto hard surfaces, exposed them to the elements, used them for extended periods as room lighting etc. and I've not even had so much as a quirk emerge.

If you're going to lay claim to fundamental issues with their product, present actual facts of saying 'their quality sucks.'

If you're going to complain about their warranty... at least look it up so you can complain about it correctly. I don't know what lights you own that have lifetimes warranties, but good for you, 5 years is a long time to ensure a product's performance.

[tattoosteve99]

To each their own. There’s more than just me. There’s hundreds if not thousands. If you can offer a lifetime warranty to one it should be to all. That’s just good business. But the incentive program they offer is not just for repeat customers it’s only if you purchase way to many. And most all higher end flashlight makers have lifetime warranties. Heck even maglite offers ten years. I’m in no way shape or form trying to argue. Just giving my opinion on what I have had happen to me and what I’ve seen and heard about them. If all the olights you have are great then I’m happy for you, really I am. But in general I won’t deal with a company at all that requires you to purchase more than you will ever need or even want for a lifetime warranty. And as I said before if you fall out of that then the lifetime warranty you had is gone. Idk man not trying to argue just stating what I know

[GearedForwards]

To each their own. There’s more than just me. There’s hundreds if not thousands. If you can offer a lifetime warranty to one it should be to all. That’s just good business. But the incentive program they offer is not just for repeat customers it’s only if you purchase way to many. And most all higher end flashlight makers have lifetime warranties. Heck even maglite offers ten years. I’m in no way shape or form trying to argue. Just giving my opinion on what I have had happen to me and what I’ve seen and heard about them. If all the olights you have are great then I’m happy for you, really I am. But in general I won’t deal with a company at all that requires you to purchase more than you will ever need or even want for a lifetime warranty. And as I said before if you fall out of that then the lifetime warranty you had is gone. Idk man not trying to argue just stating what I know

So you still won't say what actually happened to you? You're not even saying that you've had one fail, malfunction or perform below advertised. You're just saying they suck and explicitly refusing to provide a modicum of detail about why.

Lifetime warranties are certainly not universally good business.

The only redeeming thing about Maglite is their durability, if you claim durability as a selling point and won't back it up with an extended warranty period... then that's not saying much about your durability.

Top flashlight brands and their warranties:

Olight: Varies, 5 years on most lights.

Zebralight: 1 year

Armytek: 10 years on most lights

Lumintop: Lifetime

Nitecore: Varies, 5 years for lights without built in batteries, 2 years for built in batteries

Fenix: Varies, 5 years for lights without built in batteries, 2 years for built in batteries

Thrunite: Limited Lifetime warranty (basically paid repair work), 2 year replacement if bought directly from Thrunite

RovyVon: 2 years, discount on another product after that

I'm not sure what flashlight brands you're so fond of with lifetime warranties, but it seems far from standard for the industry, with many brands using 5 years or (commonly) less. This wasn't a comprehensive list by any means, to be frank I couldn't be smurfed looking at more warranty policies, but I feel a list of 8 major brands should be sufficient to illustrate my point.

I'm not seeking argument with you to clarify, and I don't mind criticism of manufacturers, but I'd rather that criticism be valid and based in facts or declared preference. You basically just said they suck, rambled about a warranty you were incorrect about, then held your hands up and said 'all I know is they suck' which I do mind.

[tattoosteve99]

I will look and see what I can find. Most of the threads on fb having any issue at all were instantly deleted by olight employees and those people banned, including myself for just asking a question. I even contacted olight by email and got nothing. So if you want me to go that far I will, but I honestly have no reason at all to lie. And I still have a olight headlamp I use so there’s that as well. I mean if it’s that important to you I will gladly take the time to do it. And I’m not being sarcastic about that either. I love having conversations with people without getting everyone mad or upset and I think we both agree on that

[GearedForwards]

I will look and see what I can find. Most of the threads on fb having any issue at all were instantly deleted by olight employees and those people banned, including myself for just asking a question. I even contacted olight by email and got nothing. So if you want me to go that far I will, but I honestly have no reason at all to lie. And I still have a olight headlamp I use so there’s that as well. I mean if it’s that important to you I will gladly take the time to do it. And I’m not being sarcastic about that either. I love having conversations with people without getting everyone mad or upset and I think we both agree on that

I don't doubt that someone somewhere has had a negative experience, it's a mass produced product that's inevitible and to be expected.

I guess I'll ask more directly:

Have you ever personally had a problem with an Olight product, besides the tint not being to your preference? It sounds like you're just parroting what you have heard from a vocal minority and let that shape your view of the products without any actual negative product experience yourself. I don't want to make that assumption, but when you're so vague and evasive about what's actually wrong with them it leaves little else.

[tattoosteve99]

  Yes many problems. As stated the tint was off and I guess I’m a tint snob. Was supposed to be a cooler light, I believe like you, I like that color best. It was very yellow. I did email and what was said was they can not control that part? Hmm that’s hard to believe as lights are supposed to be tested, or at least I though they were?
 Warranty. I emailed and actually was replied to fairly quick. But, even though mine was within the warranty period they did not want to honor that, had the receipt and place of purchase as well. It took several months and several calls to get it handled, and even then wasn’t to my liking. I know you can’t please everyone! That was enough. The facts that I researched them through various places, ie, fb, CPF, forums etc. The general consensus is not to do business with them, that is unless you want to be in the top tier program and stay there. Also asking questions is a super big no no. Anywhere at all, even fb, although the admins there are dealers and owners etc. Emails and phone calls go unanswered. For the most part my experience was painful.
Do I believe they are good lights? Maybe. Depends on if you get a good batch or not. Seems like that part is 50/50. Is CS good? No. Absolutely not. Even with receipt in hand/and or email and credit card proof. They seem to go out of their way to find out who you are, and if you have ever had any quarrel or disagreement, it’s held against you. I could be the 1% that just fell through. Who knows on that one. But it really seems weird how I asked a logical question, with no ill will at all, was booted and banned, then suddenly had problems with customer service?? All in all I’ve dealt with a lot of CS in my life. I’ll be 50 this year. I’ve never had such a disaster than them. I did do a quick search over at CPF, just for smurfs and giggles, olight problems. I was a rounding at the number of hits it got.
As far as lifetime warranties, I guess that’s one of my main criteria when I look for a product. Now given that I myself own more than 25 lights  I think out of those, only 3 gave me problems. One of them was olight. The other two, well cheap as dirt lights I though looked cool lol. I guess I’m a light snob tbh, actually I am. I expect probably to much. My edc light is over $200, but it was actually a gift from a forum member here. I had one problem in the years I’ve owned it. It was fixed within 2 days. Yes you get what you pay for but maybe that’s on me for not looking closer to start with.

[GearedForwards]

  Yes many problems. As stated the tint was off and I guess I’m a tint snob. Was supposed to be a cooler light, I believe like you, I like that color best. It was very yellow. I did email and what was said was they can not control that part? Hmm that’s hard to believe as lights are supposed to be tested, or at least I though they were?
 Warranty. I emailed and actually was replied to fairly quick. But, even though mine was within the warranty period they did not want to honor that, had the receipt and place of purchase as well. It took several months and several calls to get it handled, and even then wasn’t to my liking. I know you can’t please everyone! That was enough. The facts that I researched them through various places, ie, fb, CPF, forums etc. The general consensus is not to do business with them, that is unless you want to be in the top tier program and stay there. Also asking questions is a super big no no. Anywhere at all, even fb, although the admins there are dealers and owners etc. Emails and phone calls go unanswered. For the most part my experience was painful.
Do I believe they are good lights? Maybe. Depends on if you get a good batch or not. Seems like that part is 50/50. Is CS good? No. Absolutely not. Even with receipt in hand/and or email and credit card proof. They seem to go out of their way to find out who you are, and if you have ever had any quarrel or disagreement, it’s held against you. I could be the 1% that just fell through. Who knows on that one. But it really seems weird how I asked a logical question, with no ill will at all, was booted and banned, then suddenly had problems with customer service?? All in all I’ve dealt with a lot of CS in my life. I’ll be 50 this year. I’ve never had such a disaster than them. I did do a quick search over at CPF, just for smurfs and giggles, olight problems. I was a rounding at the number of hits it got.
As far as lifetime warranties, I guess that’s one of my main criteria when I look for a product. Now given that I myself own more than 25 lights  I think out of those, only 3 gave me problems. One of them was olight. The other two, well cheap as dirt lights I though looked cool lol. I guess I’m a light snob tbh, actually I am. I expect probably to much. My edc light is over $200, but it was actually a gift from a forum member here. I had one problem in the years I’ve owned it. It was fixed within 2 days. Yes you get what you pay for but maybe that’s on me for not looking closer to start with.

What you claim: You've had many problems with an Olight product

What you then go on to say: You've had a single light have an issue, that issue was you not liking the tint

You're either omitting a lot of your problems for some mysterious reason or overblowing the single problem you have had and mixing it with your perceived issues with their warranties.

You keep bringing this up, so I have to ask: What 'logical' question did you ask that got you banned? Preferably in as close wording as you posted it as you can remember.

You keep pointing at other forums and other people's experiences (still vaguely) and to be blunt I'm not interested in that.

You keep saying that you've had problems with their products.

You've only actually told us that a single light didn't have a tint to your liking and your issue with their warranty policy and getting banned from a social media group. Only one of those things is pertaining to the actual product, and as far as I can see is a preference problem.

What you're saying does actually add up at all... you've had three lights give you problems (an Olight and two cheapies) yet you then later say your $200 edc light also gave you problems? You keep saying that lifetime warranty is something that you look for in your lights yet the only light you've actually named is Olight. I gave you a list of 8 different major flashlight manufacturers from a fiv eminute bit of research but you're not just naming a light or two you own (and therefore must have a lifetime warranty)?

I want to give you the benefit of the doubt and accept your point of view as an unfortunat experience, but all you're really conveying is a lack of facts and a very clear bias that seems to rely heavily on what people on other forums say about the product rather than your own experience.

Maybe this is all a major miscommunication, if that's the case I think I've highlighted very clearly the things you can clarify to rectify that.

[Aloha]

It is what it is fellas.   

 

 

[tattoosteve99]

It is what it is fellas.   

 

Yes. And I’m leaving that as it is