High End Flashlights vs Retail Store Flashlights

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knifezoid

Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Messages
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Just wanted to know how the flashlights you find at retail
stores are compared to higher end brands like Inova, Fenix,
Maratac, etc.

I've always been familiar with Mag lights which is what they
carry at stores light target and other sporting good stores.

I just got a Maratac 9290 and the AAA Maratac light. These
will be my first two nice flashlights. Hope I made a good first
choice. Don't know much about them.
 
The big difference between premium lights and retail lights is the pace of technology. Since the guys (like me) selling the premium lights are not massive corporations with tons of inventory in the supply chain, the manufacturers are able to push brand new technology out to dealers much more quickly and more often than the about once a year that retail brands tend to stick to.

Plus, the average retail customer is not willing to spend the at least $40-50 you will need for a premium light, which severely limits the amount of money the manufacturer can put into the best LEDs, circuitry, materials, CNC machining, etc. Retail lights also tend not to have multiple levels of brightness, although some of them are starting to get better in that respect.
 
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I like the River Rock lights they carry (carried?) at Target. They were rebranded Nuwais, made in China, but I still use the little 1/2 Watt 2AAA daily. Good light for $10. I use it more than the 2AAA Inova Bolt.

A few years back I picked up a Princeton-Tec Attitutde for $18 at REI. 4AAA, 3 weak old LEDs, runs FOREVER on a set of batteries, bright enough to find my way around the house in a blackout. Waterproof, lightweight, impact resistant. It's not pretty, or blinding, but it will light up a fuse box rain or shine.

Frank
 
I find that the high end flashlights blow the other ones away :)

I still have a couple mag lights (a tiny one in my camera bag for night shooting, and a mid sized one in the car), but the small fenix I have packs the light of the huge mag light into a tiny package.

I think you'll really like your new lights...
 
I have only one medium-high end flashlight by Fenix but it blows away every other flashlight I've ever held in my hands.

Never a cheap flashlight again.
 
I have a new Maratac 9290, and I now feel the same way LX_Emergency does.
 
Target carries Inova flash lights by the way.

Large big box stores (excluding some outdoor rec shops) have no market for high end flashlights. A computers rotation cycle is between 4 and 6 months so getting flashlights in isn't the problem, it's supply and demand. They might have problems getting the supply, but why bother when they just don't have the demand. People don't go into Best Buy, RC Willies or Shopco expecting to find high end flashlights.

I've seen Pelican, Inova, Surefire and StreamLight lights at a few of the speciality or mom and pop shops in the area and I love getting lights from them when they have what I want instock.

Heber
 
knifezoid said:
Just wanted to know how the flashlights you find at retail
stores are compared to higher end brands like Inova, Fenix,
Maratac, etc.
Click to expand...

Inova really isn't a high end flashlight maker. Plus, they can be found at plenty of retail stores. Target, for example.

Their flashlights don't really compare at all to Fenix, and their highest end is a 200 lumen flashlight that throws a beam 200 feet. For the same price, you can get a 225 lumen light from Fenix with a throw of 800+ feet, not to mention their 630 lumen offering.

Fenix and Maratac themselves are really Mid-range, there are much higher end brands out there!

*edit: beat me to it!*
 
Comparing some local offerings (Princeton Tec and Pelican) flashlights to my Surefire's I find them lacking. I don't like front mounted switches or the odd plastic construction. It doesn't feel as solid. The beam pattern seems optimized for up close work rather then throw. I guess if I'm within 2' of what I'm lighting up it might be a bit better.

I also prefer CR123's to AA / AAA batteries.
 
enderwiggin said:
Inova really isn't a high end flashlight maker. Plus, they can be found at plenty of retail stores. Target, for example.

Their flashlights don't really compare at all to Fenix, and their highest end is a 200 lumen flashlight that throws a beam 200 feet. For the same price, you can get a 225 lumen light from Fenix with a throw of 800+ feet, not to mention their 630 lumen offering.

Fenix and Maratac themselves are really Mid-range, there are much higher end brands out there!
Click to expand...

Inova might not have the highest output but they sure do make some great lights. The Inova X5 is only 4"x.865", runs 6+ hours before it drops to 50% and only costs around $40 and is avaliable at Target and other stores.

The Fenix lights are nice and I'd love to see them in more shops but thats probably not going to happen any time soon. Different lights for different uses.

Heber
 
Only thing with Surefires and the like is that they are quite costly. I always
liked lights but wasn't into them enough to justify $50 plus for one. I'm more
of a knife nut. Plus I don't really have a need for a powerful flashlight. I just
got these to try them out and add to my gear collection. Who knows though,
maybe I'll end up getting into them. You guys start a lot of bad (but fun)
hobbies/habits. :)
 
knifezoid said:
Only thing with Surefires and the like is that they are quite costly. I always
liked lights but wasn't into them enough to justify $50 plus for one. I'm more
of a knife nut. Plus I don't really have a need for a powerful flashlight. I just
got these to try them out and add to my gear collection. Who knows though,
maybe I'll end up getting into them. You guys start a lot of bad (but fun)
hobbies/habits. :)
Click to expand...

Just like knives, in flashlights you (generally) get what you pay for.

My first Spyderco (Native) was an ok knife, and I carried it for awhile. When I got a Manix, I realized what I'd been missing, and have carried it daily for two years now.

I carried/used Maglites for years, because that was what I had. When I found CPF, I started reading up on lights and ended up buying a Jetbeam Jet II IBS, and have carried it daily for a year now. The intense light at full power that lights up objects hundreds of feet away, the ability to focus, and three user programmeable settings make this a fantastic light.

Just wait -- you'll find yourself getting hooked on lights, and you won't regret it.
 
High end lights that you generally find on the net are leaps and bounds above 99% of what you'll find in a store... Maglight just cornered the market with an excellent marketing tactic that linked the name "Maglight" to "Flashlight" much like "Bandaid" did to "Bandage"
 
When someone ask's for the best knife you always hear busse or sebenza and very few ever question the price. When someone ask's for the best flashlight in my mind the answer is simple, Surefire, but even at $80-100 most say that's too much :confused:

The fenix and like lights are very good, much better than the average user is use to but they do not compare to the quality of a surefire. There is less R&D with other lights to get them out the door faster that's also why surefire is thought of as being behind the times.

The difference? Higher build quality, better fit and finish, optics designed for the light source and its intended task. The list goes on but its basically like buying a really good knife.
 
I'll never buy Surefire again. I've had two that totally died on me within a few months. I gifted another one to my brother-in-law and that one conked out after about five months. They're overpriced and overhyped.

I have two Fenix lights for over a year now and they're still working like new.
 
Wildewinds said:
I'll never buy Surefire again. I've had two that totally died on me within a few months. I gifted another one to my brother-in-law and that one conked out after about five months. They're overpriced and overhyped.

I have two Fenix lights for over a year now and they're still working like new.
Click to expand...


What ones and what happened?
 
Two G2's and a C3. They just died. Dead lamps, I suppose. Never bothered to try to fix them as I went LED instead.
 
My Surefires have been my most used and trusted flashlights. Other companies may offer brighter lights, but Surefire has the best overall package.

The new LED Maglites are not bad for the money.
 
Inova not "high end?" That's an absurd statement.

Output isn't everything, especially when a majority of manufacturers lie about their product's luminous output.

I've been in the "light" hobby since its inception, especially on the internet, and, based upon that experience, would rank the brands as follows:
Surefire
Inova
Streamlight
Mag
and the rest of the overseas based makers.

Fenix, Jetbeam, Nitecore, EagleTac, etc etc etc make nice lights, but are several notches away from the Big Three when the overall package is compared.
 
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