Comment by sharkweek

Hi there! I am a moderator of said subreddit and the maintainer of its recommendation guide, so I think I'll speak up on behalf of the community. Addressing the points in order...

We do, in fact recommend lots of brands that don't pay for space in retail stores and haven't been around for decades. Isn't that the point of asking an enthusiast community for advice?

A while back, lights with lots of mix-and-match bits that could be assembled without tools were pretty popular, especially the Surefire P60 system. These have fallen out of favor for a number of reasons including the increasing popularity of electronic switches over mechanical and an increase in availability of build-to-order lights. DIY stuff is still popular for hobbyists, but usually involves soldering.

Removable batteries are absolutely a consideration for most of the community. A flashlight with non-removable batteries is future e-waste and can't have spares. Lights without removable batteries only make my list when they're a weird form factor (usually very small) and low-priced without good removable battery alternatives. We almost always try to talk people out of routine use of disposable batteries, but many popular models have a disposable option as a backup.

I do not often see people steering beginners toward models with extreme outputs; the opposite is often true. We're constantly talking to people about sustained output versus peak output, color rendering, efficiency, and ultra-low modes.

As for brands that manufacture in the USA, very few people asking for advice come with the sort of budgets those brands usually require. Trying to talk someone looking to spend $60 on a light to walk their dog with into spending $300 on a Modlite or Surefire isn't helpful.

Are we looking at the same subreddit? Perhaps it's changed since I last looked, but most recommended lights use a replaceable, rechargeable cylindrical lithium battery. A common requirement/desirable feature of lights is good light output controls (such as ramp firmwares), waterproofness, etc. There's plenty of recognition that different lights are not ideal for everyone, and if anything the brightest lights are seen as too much for some (given they can literally burn holes in your pocket..)

I can't say every post is legit, and I'm sure there's a fair share of marketing posts posing as real users, but there's good reason IMO to recommend the lights they do. There's a lot of stuff that comes out of China that's just as good if not better than the American brand for half the price, if not even less.

That being said, it's an enthusiast subreddit, as all such things are, so if you're looking for a "casual" recommendation it's likely to be more than you need XD

"American business-hating lumen chasers" is an incredibly shallow portrayal of that flashlight community.

I've found flashlights to be one of the few product areas where "obscure AliExpress brands" actually outperform Western equivalents.

> Availability of parts and removable/disposable batteries are never a consideration in their recommendations

That's because it's taken for granted that nearly every recommendation uses one of a few standard cylindrical battery sizes, which are trivially user replaceable. Only a few brands use non-standard or built-in batteries. Often the electronics or LED emitters can be modified or replaced, since most lights fit a simple "cylindrical tube" formula.

> What throws the most lumens is the only factor they concern themselves with

I guess all those discussions about tint (subtle colours of the beam), CRI (how well colours are represented), beam shape, optics type, user interface, etc. were nothing then. ("Big number of lumens" is far from the only factor - sometimes not even the most significant one.)

Granted, not all that information is useful for a newcomer who just wants a decent light. But the buying guide on the wiki sums it up simply enough.

What is hilarious are the people selling those same AliExpress lights at huge markups (search "Goonbeam"). Quality and price are often linked, but far from the same.

> The community are retiree collectors who obsess over specs

The group who designed my extremely awesome Astrolux MF-01 might be a clone of them.