BEARSxARExPEOPLExTOOWhile there are a ton of these flashlights around (from probably the same manufacturers in China) there is a little difference in quality and options.
Your naked flashlight probably doesn't even come with batteries, much less holster and anything else. They're about $5-8 on Amazon now, naked. I bought one just the other day to see what it's like. My existing one has the big reflector head and not convenient to carry.
And there are gazillion different variations on these flashlights. You can get zoomable head (variable light cone), more modes (single mode, 3 modes, 5 modes... ) plus fancy options like firefly mode (overdrive for extra brightness / short duration), bonus mounts, comes in a box including batteries and charger... Better reflector / lens... even USB charging / rechargeable power bank, lantern mode (can be stood on the opposite end), and so on.
I think I have about a dozen flashlights at home, from the crap "7-LED dollar store specials" to Dorcy yellow (4xAA) to 18650 powered (3 of them now, one zoomable) to the little AA or 14500 hand flashlights (impressive light level for such a little thing) to a couple Coast LEDs that use AA. I even have a AAA powered one on my keychain (just in case, ya know). So I think I'm reasonably knowledgeable on the variations.
There is a reason more expensive flashlights such as Streamlight and such... Much higher quality control, more robust switches, better waterproofing, and so on. Sure, average Joes can't tell the difference, but those who need the extra power, they can get them with options like the Maratec Little Monsters, and these Olights and other premium and semi-premium brands. The rest of us are probably fine with the dollar store specials, or Big Lots! clearance items. But for those of us who don't want to settle for "meh", Olight and other semi-premium makers are out there.
kschangIt's funny reading what you did because I did the same thing. I own a couple of fairly expensive IPX-8 flashlights and I wanted to see how these $5-$20 ones compared so I bought a couple of them off of eBay.
I was impressed to tell you the truth. I was surprised at how much I got for less than $15, but there are signs of quality issues that are easy to spot. The weather sealing gasket peeled right off of the battery compartment on one the first time I opened it. Ooops, I guess it's not really IPX-6 after all. The 18650's and 14500's they came with are low capacity and the charger for the 18650 looked like it was the toy at the bottom of a cereal box. I'm going to consider that charger a death trap. It went in the trash.
Those cheap lights are plenty good for most purposes. I just wouldn't want to depend on them in case I need it in a natural disaster or other emergency.
Your naked flashlight probably doesn't even come with batteries, much less holster and anything else. They're about $5-8 on Amazon now, naked. I bought one just the other day to see what it's like. My existing one has the big reflector head and not convenient to carry.
And there are gazillion different variations on these flashlights. You can get zoomable head (variable light cone), more modes (single mode, 3 modes, 5 modes... ) plus fancy options like firefly mode (overdrive for extra brightness / short duration), bonus mounts, comes in a box including batteries and charger... Better reflector / lens... even USB charging / rechargeable power bank, lantern mode (can be stood on the opposite end), and so on.
I think I have about a dozen flashlights at home, from the crap "7-LED dollar store specials" to Dorcy yellow (4xAA) to 18650 powered (3 of them now, one zoomable) to the little AA or 14500 hand flashlights (impressive light level for such a little thing) to a couple Coast LEDs that use AA. I even have a AAA powered one on my keychain (just in case, ya know). So I think I'm reasonably knowledgeable on the variations.
There is a reason more expensive flashlights such as Streamlight and such... Much higher quality control, more robust switches, better waterproofing, and so on. Sure, average Joes can't tell the difference, but those who need the extra power, they can get them with options like the Maratec Little Monsters, and these Olights and other premium and semi-premium brands. The rest of us are probably fine with the dollar store specials, or Big Lots! clearance items. But for those of us who don't want to settle for "meh", Olight and other semi-premium makers are out there.
I was impressed to tell you the truth. I was surprised at how much I got for less than $15, but there are signs of quality issues that are easy to spot. The weather sealing gasket peeled right off of the battery compartment on one the first time I opened it. Ooops, I guess it's not really IPX-6 after all. The 18650's and 14500's they came with are low capacity and the charger for the 18650 looked like it was the toy at the bottom of a cereal box. I'm going to consider that charger a death trap. It went in the trash.
Those cheap lights are plenty good for most purposes. I just wouldn't want to depend on them in case I need it in a natural disaster or other emergency.