Hi all. I just joined and would like to finish my edc so I can post pics but I'm in a dilemma in getting an edc light. I would use your guys format for flashlight recommendations but it seems I've already found the perfect light, a Thorfire PF01. From all I can tell in the specifications and pictures of this light online it's exactly what I want, however after extensively researching edc flashlights I've have never come across this brand. I'm pretty new to quality flashlights and only have experience with various maglites. So is this a good flashlight? And if not is there something very similar?
From what I can tell, ThorFire flashlights are made by the Chinese company Eachine. Reviews for the PF01 seem to be very positive. I have quite a few budget, imported lights that are decent quality and have performed well. For ~$17, I'd say go for it, especially if it has the features you want. Then, take some time reading through threads on this forum to get an idea of what lights you may want to progress to from here. BTW, welcome to EDCF.
defiantly a neat looking light. I don't know anything about Thorfire but if its as cheap as twin says might be worth the dice roll to see
Thanks for the feedback and welcome! I would much rather get a quality flashlight but after days of searching this is the best fit and at that price you can't really lose especially with as many good reviews as it has. I'm starting to accept that they don't have what I want in just a single aaa size but perhaps this will work fine or I'll get into bigger lights later on. I have a Maglite XL50 that I like but it feels a bit bulky in the pockets with all the new gear I bought. These forums have been costing me money before I even joined hahaha. Hopefully it doesn't get significantly worst now that I'm a member.
Huge fan of budget lights, and this one is probably fine too, but Thorfire has been doing the sort of guerrilla marketing that Thrunite has mastered by handing these lights out to YT and online reviewers like candy. So I would discount all those reviews pretty heavily. Also, just like every other budget light, especially if the brand ends in "fire", I'd be real careful about where I purchased because this is sure to be cloned and counterfeited.
The unusually good reviews did stand out to me and you're probably right. Some of the reviews did seem pretty in depth and positive for a $17 flashlight haha. Okay, well after looking a bit more my next best option will be a Streamlight Microstream or LEDLenser P3. Since I don't have a whole lot of experience with lumens in your opinion are these two sufficient for working underneath a car and searching through dark rooms or should I look for something a bit brighter? And also, any preferences between these two? I know Streamlight is reputable but I also heard the P3 is manufactured in China.
A lot of things are manufactured in China - that doesn't automatically make them bad. For flashlight junkies though, companies trading off Surefire's brand by tacking "fire" tends to raise flags. That said, for the price point, even if it craps out, you're not out a lot of money and it might turn out to be a decent beater light.
Mills, my personal flashlight collection, which is now over a hundred lights, leans heavily towards budget offerings. Most are made in China. I have no problem whatsoever with value oriented lights for EDC. If that Thorfire appealed to me, I would probably buy one. TMedina is 100% correct; at $17 there isn't huge risk if it turns out they are not good lights. The thing you have to remember, and this really applies to everything, is that caveat emptor applies. For example, when a company shows up out of thin air and gets nothing but great reviews from people they have given product to, that should raises a red flag. Perhaps the reviews are justified. Perhaps not. As for how many lumen you need to search a room or work under the car, usually, less is more. A 1000 lumen light in a room is really too much for your eyes to handle because of the way it reelects off the walls. Most times, 200 lumens is plenty. Outside, where you need more, the reverse is true. This is why most people prefer multi mode lights and will eventually have different lights for different tasks. This is a little off topic, but I'll toss it in as grist for the mill. When it comes to gear reviews, I am more likely to trust an active forum member who purchased a product with their own money is offering the advice for free over a monetized YT channel for monetized blog who was given product and is engaged in commercial marketing.
No personal experience but I'm sure it's a mid-grade Chinese lihht. I've bought similar (if not lesser quality) lights from DealsExtreme before in that $6 range without problems. My guess is features or fit/finish is going to be below something like Olight or Foursevens but it's a fraction of the price. The ultimate solution to reliability is a system of redundancy. Even the best light with the best warranty can fail. I always have two on me which isn't difficult considering how small lights can be built. Welcome to the forums!
*grin* When you start spending upwards of $100 (or more), you start to pay more attention to the brand and the weight, if any, behind it.
I just looked this light up. It's really a bit of an anomaly for a Chinese light. Most lower-end lights have a High mode, a Low mode (which is usually 2/3 the output of High), and a Strobe (to immobilize your enemies with the awesome power of a AAA cell). This one actually has a some decent mode spacing and no strobe. I'm not saying the light is good or bad, though - I have no idea.
So that's what that function is for? only person I've ever blinded/immobilized with the strobe function on a light is my self.
It tends to be an easily added "feature" to make it more, hypothetically, useful. I don't care for a strobe feature personally, but there are some uses: 1) signaling. Warning others, or advertising your position. 2) tactical disorientation. This one is a heavily debated use, and not one that has found a lot traction in military/LEO circles in the US - although at least one European country's national police force endorses the use of strobe, and includes it as a standard feature on issued flashlights.
As a tactical tool, strobe only makes sense if it is in a dedicated strobe only light. In a multimode light, it's virtually useless because Murphy says you won't be able to access it when it counts.
As I said, heavily debated - both in useful application and accessibility. For anyone interested in reading, here is the link:http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?356772-Police-Study-of-tactical-use-of-Strobe
A strobe is not a requirement for me but in my opinion the more settings the better as long as it's still user friendly. Not so much "pass through all settings twice then hold button for 3 seconds while turned vertically" hahaha
All i really need is a couple brightness levels. Dim to preserve night vision medium for normal use and bright for outdoors