00:00If you've ever spent an afternoon crawling through a ceiling chasing a dead fiber run,
00:04you already know why a visual fault locator lives in every techs pocket.
00:08I've been digging through the listings, comparing specs, prices and thousands of rail bioreviews,
00:13and I pulled together the top 5 visual fault locators for FTTH testing,
00:17including a couple of deals that honestly surprised me.
00:20Let's get into it.
00:22Starting off with the Heavy Hitter, a 60mW VFL with a 60km range and a non-contact design
00:28that works with FC, SC, and ST connectors.
00:31That non-contact tip is the part one really like,
00:34because you're not jamming a ferrule into the barrel every time and slowly wearing it out.
00:39At $67 it's not the cheapest pen here, but with over 4,700 units sold and a 4.8 rating,
00:46this is the one you grab when you're tracing long backbone runs and you need light that actually punches through.
00:51Serious tool for serious jobs.
00:54Now flip that completely around, this next one is $12.40.
00:59$12.
01:01It's a 30km red light pen available in 10 or 30mW,
01:05it charges over USB so you're not hunting for weird batteries,
01:08and it's even got a built-in LED flashlight for poking around in dark cabinets.
01:13$4,500 sold with a 4.9 rating, which is the highest rated pen on this whole list.
01:19If you just need something reliable in the truck, or a backup you won't cry about losing,
01:24this is an absolute no-brainer.
01:26Third up is the Comptico, and what makes this one stand out is choice.
01:30You can pick 10, 30, 50, 60, or 80mW depending on how much reach you actually need,
01:36and it takes the standard SC, FC, and SC 2.5mm interface.
01:42$17.22, over 4,300 sold, 4.8 stars.
01:48Comptico is a name you see all over the fiber world for a reason,
01:51the build quality punches way above the price.
01:54If you want a solid everyday pen with the option to go big on output, this is the sweet spot.
01:59Number 4 is the one with the perfect score, a straight 5 out of 5 across more than 4,100
02:05buyers,
02:05which almost never happens.
02:07It runs the full range from 1mW all the way up to 80,
02:11so there's a version for delicate lab work and a version for brute force fault-finding.
02:16It's $70.91, so you're paying for consistency here, not gimmicks.
02:21When people who do this for a living leave a flawless rating that many times,
02:25that tells you the thing just works, day after day, and doesn't die in month 3.
02:30And rounding it out, the premium pick a rechargeable VFL
02:33with a 3,200mAh battery that doubles as a power bank.
02:3815, 30, or 50mW, and you can top up your phone off it while you're stuck up a pole.
02:45It's $175, definitely the splurge, but it's got 4,050 sales and a 4.9 rating behind it.
02:52If you're doing full days of splicing and testing and you're sick of your pen dying halfway through,
02:57this is the buy once cry once option.
02:59All 5 of these are linked down in the description, so go check the current prices,
03:12and I'll catch you in the next one.
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