Flex Swirl Finder Light

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Ok having used this for a year I wanted to post a thread about it for anyone who is considering buying it.





First off, this light is NOT made by Flex, it is a Cree Light, made in China.
That said, it does work well to find swirls and defects in your paint when used properly.

The price of this light is WAY overpriced, most places you find it. $45
The EXACT same light can be bought at Sarge Knives online for $30 and $5 shipping. Only the rubber handle has "Sarge" on it instead of "Flex".




The battery holder which uses 3 AAA batteries, is not a very durable construction. Mine fell apart after my last use. I did find in research that you can get replacements for it on Ebay. I got 3 for $1.30/free shipping. If you own a Flex light, I strongly recommend you go ahead and get a few of these, so if and when your battery holder breaks, you'll have a spare.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/3pcs-AAA-Bat...EAAOSwpDdVHQIX


I did some research on Amazon as well today, (too cold to detail anything today!) This light has all the same features, is also made by Cree, $15. They have some even cheaper priced. Before you buy the Flex, or even the Sarge, look on Amazon for a 3 mode adjustable zoom light, 250 lumens or less. Save your money.

[j.curt]

Good info. I just bought the FLEX last week though lol. I wanted the Brinkmann but they are always out of stock.

[HAMBO]

Good to know! I also just bought one from Autogeek when they had 25% off and free shipping for a couple of days, so worked out to about the same price. Seems it wasn't quite the great deal I thought it was!

[scandata]

Looks like this is the popular light right now - I just bought one too (about 2 months ago), under the impression that it was in fact made by Flex. With shipping I paid about $50.00 from AutoGeek.
Negative marks to AutoGeek for perpetuating the lie. From their website:

"FLEX is a name that’s synonymous with quality and innovation, and the FLEX Swirl Finder Light is no exception."

I thought that was high priced, but if it did what it's supposed to, I don't mind paying that much. Well, it's a good light, but not perfect. After I was done with the car and got it back out in direct sunlight I still saw a few swirls that the (so-called) "Flex" missed.

Amazon has other Cree lights for next to nothing. I got this one for about $3.00 with free shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o01_s00
It was shipped direct from China, so it took a few weeks for delivery.
It's smaller, but I think it will do as well as the counterfeit Flex. Next time I detail I'm going to use them side by side and post the results.

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by scandata

Looks like this is the popular light right now - I just bought one too (about 2 months ago), under the impression that it was in fact made by Flex. With shipping I paid about $50.00 from AutoGeek.
Negative marks to AutoGeek for perpetuating the lie. From their website:

"FLEX is a name that’s synonymous with quality and innovation, and the FLEX Swirl Finder Light is no exception."

I thought that was high priced, but if it did what it's supposed to, I don't mind paying that much. Well, it's a good light, but not perfect. After I was done with the car and got it back out in direct sunlight I still saw a few swirls that the (so-called) "Flex" missed.

Amazon has other Cree lights for next to nothing. I got this one for about $3.00 with free shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o01_s00
It was shipped direct from China, so it took a few weeks for delivery.
It's smaller, but I think it will do as well as the counterfeit Flex. Next time I detail I'm going to use them side by side and post the results.

I too bought it under the assumption that it was made by Flex, based upon PBMG's description, and also because the Brinkmann had been discontinued. It does work well if you hold it about 12 inches from the paint at an angle so the light doesn't bounce directly back into your eyes.

I will be waiting for a while to get the 3 new battery holders. They are shipped from Hong Kong. The battery pack falling apart made me question the light, so I did a lot of research on it to find out what I did.

I have in the past recommended this light here on C5, as it does work well, and if I influenced you to purchase it, or anyone else, I apologize. I thought it was a "special" light just for detailing made by Flex Germany.

I wanted to make this thread just to tell the newfound truth I discovered about this light, so others wouldn't fall into the same trap.

Again if you have this light, I would suggest you get a few of the battery holders off Ebay, so when/if the battery holder falls apart, you have a spare. 3 for $1.30/free shipping.

[scandata]

Originally Posted by Joe M 2012 2SS

I have in the past recommended this light here on C5, as it does work well, and if I influenced you to purchase it, or anyone else, I apologize. I thought it was a "special" light just for detailing made by Flex Germany.

I wanted to make this thread just to tell the newfound truth I discovered about this light, so others wouldn't fall into the same trap.

No worries, I picked it out on my own. Although the name "Flex" did influence my decision, I've heard that name many times elsewhere. I DO, however, appreciate the extra info you've provided.

[charlietuna]

I went with the Rupes. They all seem to do the same job. If they help identify issues during correction then who cares whats on the lable.

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by charlietuna

I went with the Rupes. They all seem to do the same job. If they help identify issues during correction then who cares whats on the lable.

That's the whole point of my starting this thread, not to spend the exaggerated price on the Flex swirl light, when the exact same light can be had for less money, and one almost identical for even less.

Lots of products are bought and "branded" by sellers today, then marked up severely just because they put their name on it, just don't want people to spend money on something when they can get the same thing for less.

Also to let owners of this light know that the battery case has issues, I'm not the only one who has had this issue with this light, and where they can find a replacement if/when they have the same issue.

[CamaroDreams76]

So what's so special about this light? Does it have a rubber around it incase it drops on the car? Is it super light weight? Or its just an ordinary flashlight with a brand name?

I've used my MAG-LITE MAG-TAC flashlight before and it worked great for illumination and allowong me to see swirls.....so I was just wondering the benefit of using a Flex swirl finder or Rupes swirl finder vs any other LED flashlight.

[scandata]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams76

So what's so special about this light? Does it have a rubber around it incase it drops on the car? Is it super light weight? Or its just an ordinary flashlight with a brand name?

I've used my MAG-LITE MAG-TAC flashlight before and it worked great for illumination and allowong me to see swirls.....so I was just wondering the benefit of using a Flex swirl finder or Rupes swirl finder vs any other LED flashlight.

It's the brightness, mainly. Other things that would make one better than others are (as you mentioned) rubber encasing or other protection, a convenient size/weight, and ease of powering on and off. I've seen some with a "trigger" shines the light when you hold the trigger down; release it, and it goes off. That's a little easier than a push button. If what you're using works and you're happy with it, then keep using it. No reason to spend money if you don't have to.

I bought mine because I've never owned one and needed it. I had nothing to compare it to, so I went with the FLEX that this thread is about mainly because (I believed) it was a brand that I'd heard of. I got fooled, so I'm going to flood every review on it that I can find.

[sberk1012]

Funny...I also just purchased this during AG's 25% off/free shipping. Thanks for the heads up

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by sberk1012

Funny...I also just purchased this during AG's 25% off/free shipping. Thanks for the heads up

Again, I'm not stating that this light doesn't work. It actually works very well. The best way to use it is to hold it at an angle, somewhere between 50 and 70 degrees, about 12 inches from the paint.

If you are working in a garage that has overhead lighting, I'd recommend turning these off when inspecting the hood, top, and trunk lid/spoiler. You won't get the best view if it's "competing" with other light sources.

The issues I have with it, is it's not made by Flex, but is sold as if it is. It's way overpriced, and the battery holder is not high quality.

I have used it for a year, changing the batteries out 10x, they run for about 5 hours. I never dropped or forced new batteries in it, the holder just fell apart. I measured it, and the link I posted has exact fit, and looks identical to the original one.

The card that comes in the case really irks me as well as it says:

The FLEX Swirl Finder Light is far more than just a flashlight. FLEX set out to design a compact, lightweight, reliable light that makes it easy for you to track your progress as you polish your vehicle - preferably with a FLEX polisher!

You can see yourself that this is such a LIE!! It's not made by Flex, Sarge Knives has the EXACT same light! It's made by Cree. They put it in a box that says Flex and the rubber cover says Flex as well. Rebranded and marked up!

[Adam's Polishes]

Joe Thanks for posting this thread......

[scandata]

Originally Posted by Joe M 2012 2SS

The card that comes in the case really irks me as well as it says:

The FLEX Swirl Finder Light is far more than just a flashlight. FLEX set out to design a compact, lightweight, reliable light that makes it easy for you to track your progress as you polish your vehicle - preferably with a FLEX polisher!

You can see yourself that this is such a LIE!! It's not made by Flex, Sarge Knives has the EXACT same light! It's made by Cree. They put it in a box that says Flex and the rubber cover says Flex as well. Rebranded and marked up!

I'm really surprised that the real FLEX company hasn't done something about this. The counterfeit even has the same font in the logo. I wonder how many have bought these, had the battery holder break, and then said, "Flex is a crappy brand. I'm not buying ANYTHING they make."

The only explanation would be that this IS in fact marketed by FLEX, but sub-contracted out to Cree for manufacturing.