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disappointed with Surefire - Page 2

post #16 of 54
8/19/08 at 7:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by warpdriver View Post
I *do* prefer my HDS EDC or my Novatac 120P if I had to only choose ONE light, but they are even more expensive than Surefire.
Not for long. Surefire's raising their prices across the board on September 1st and the E1B is going up to $145. IMO, that's going to price Surefire right out of their market considering the Novatac 120P runs $130 and the Ra Twisty runs $140.

They're rolling in military orders though, so I doubt that a bit of civilian marketshare loss will be a big deal for them.
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post #17 of 54
8/19/08 at 9:39pm
hmm, Surefire raising their prices? Just caught that piece of news now. That's a pretty HEFTY increase, especially for the E1L and E1B. I'm not sure I would buy a E1B at $145, but I have no regrets paying $109 for mine.
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post #18 of 54
8/20/08 at 12:26am
I guess I'd better order my E1B soon because I sure won't pay $145 for it. No way.
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post #19 of 54
8/22/08 at 11:12am
I've actually had 2 Surefires fail on me. Both had the exact same problem. The endcap button quit working. I believe one's the Defender and the other is the L4. The L still works from time to time... and I still like both. But I'm disappointed in the amount of money I spent and have both of them break like that.
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post #20 of 54
8/22/08 at 11:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by archosman View Post
I've actually had 2 Surefires fail on me. Both had the exact same problem. The endcap button quit working. I believe one's the Defender and the other is the L4. The L still works from time to time... and I still like both. But I'm disappointed in the amount of money I spent and have both of them break like that.
Surefire does generally have good customer service. Have you sent the lights back for repair? I would encourage you to do so, if you haven't already. Call them up!
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post #21 of 54
8/22/08 at 1:57pm
It's a technical weakness with the tactical style forward clicky design that Surefire uses. Given how durable the light system is, the switch is the weakest part of most LED lights. There's the usual mechanical weaknesses that all clicky switches have since they depend on small plastic tabs to hold the button in the on position. The tabs can break, the flashing on the parts can detach, etc. There's also electrical constraints and most high current flashlight designs (~350-700 mA these days) exceed the current that the switches were designed to carry. That can cause arcing which will eventually degrade the contact quality of the switch.

The Novatac/HDS lights get around the current issue by doing all of the power switching on the internal circuit card and only using the switch to signal mode changes to the circuit card. The downside is the loss of a true momentary mode and the circuit board will slowly drain the light if you leave alone over time.

The McGizmo piston drive system gets around both issues by not using a clicky at all. Unlike the HDS, it has both momentary and click modes, but unlike the Surefire can't do both at once. You also lose some tactile feedback and the action isn't as positive as the Surefire clicky. As with the HDS, the piston drive system will drain the batteries over time.
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post #22 of 54
8/22/08 at 2:55pm
The Nitecore PD uses the same "piston drive" switching technology.
Nice concept. I like the way my D10 works. The inherent weaknesses of past switch designs are eliminated.
The Nitecore allows you to have your cake and eat it too. Full forward clicky/latching and momentary on are both supported.



Nitecore D10 w/ operations video
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post #23 of 54
8/24/08 at 1:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwkarth View Post
Surefire does generally have good customer service. Have you sent the lights back for repair? I would encourage you to do so, if you haven't already. Call them up!
Surefire is really good with customer service. When I first got my A2, it had a crooked incandescent bulb. One email and a week later, a new perfect bulb was sent and no charge incurred.
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post #24 of 54
8/24/08 at 1:21am
Thread Starter 
My E2e's bulb blew spontaneously within the first set of batteries. I called and told Surefire and they said that that happens sometimes with incandescent bulbs. They sent me a new one in the mail, for free, but it took a week or so. This is another reason why I like LEDs now. I have yet to have a (commercial) LED fail on me.
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post #25 of 54
8/29/08 at 7:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwkarth View Post
Surefires used to be state of the art, and I have quite a few of them. The A2 is still unique and I like it for the fact that the incandescent output is regulated. The low power led light is perfect for close use.

That being said, my EDC is usually a Nitecore Smart PD D10, or the Photon Proton Pro, both of which I like very much. My third most used EDC is a Fenix L0D, which I love for the ultra compactness.

LRI Photon Proton Pro

I've got my eye on that new Nitecore Q5 Extreme.
I used to have a McGizmo PD-S. The Piston Drive system is awesome. It's great that Don got it licensed out.

I don't really use any mass production lights anymore. They're all custom, or modified. The latest one I'm getting soon only uses the Surefire KL4 Head as a host for a 6 Die Ostar. It's going to be a little monster, and the closest I've ever been to owning a Surefire.
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post #26 of 54
8/29/08 at 12:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwood View Post
I used to have a McGizmo PD-S. The Piston Drive system is awesome. It's great that Don got it licensed out.

I don't really use any mass production lights anymore. They're all custom, or modified. The latest one I'm getting soon only uses the Surefire KL4 Head as a host for a 6 Die Ostar. It's going to be a little monster, and the closest I've ever been to owning a Surefire.
Sounds nice! I've got a Nitecore EX10 GDP on the way. (Should be here today!!) Can't wait to see the new LED.

NiteCore releases OSRAM's Golden Dragon Plus LED light.

Heat sink design.

Advantages of OSRAM GDP;
  • Improved beam pattern over CREE.
  • Lower VF vlaue, nominal 3.3V versus the CREE's 3.8V, which improves the efficiency of the circuit.
  • Higher Color Rendering Index (CRI), 80 versus CREE's 75, which means a more accurate representation of colors.


beamshot w/GDP


beamshot w/CREE

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post #27 of 54
8/29/08 at 2:05pm
Yeah, the Cree XRE's beam profile sucks. It's all about sheer throw with that LED. I haven't seen a tint I like. WH is close, but it still is not as nice as the WO tint for the Seoul P4.

Speaking of High CRI, I bought a couple of those High CRI Nichia 083 LED's.

Here's one I put into a Princeton Tec EOS.


They're on the warm side, but are still a lot cooler than tungsten/incandescent color. The color rendering is beautiful.

Here's some comparison pics:

Cree XRE Q5 WG Tint
]

Nichia 083 High CRI


The downside, is there is a lot less light output. So the High CRI comes at the expense of Lumens.

-Ed
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post #28 of 54
8/29/08 at 5:57pm
The EX10 / Osram GDP has arrived.
  • The beam is probably 20% brighter than the D10.
  • The die size is quite a bit smaller than the die on the D10. Probably 75% smaller!
  • Compared to the D10, the beam pattern has a smaller hot spot in the center with a smoother transition out to the periphery.
  • Color looks whiter than the D10.

I'll be able to tell more when it gets dark outside WRT throw, etc. Now why can't Surefire be on the forefront of LED technology?
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post #29 of 54
8/30/08 at 5:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwkarth View Post
Now why can't Surefire be on the forefront of LED technology?
I guess they are pretty conservative when it comes to emitters.

Those Nitecores are intriguing. I might have to pick one up if I can find a used one cheap.

-Ed
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post #30 of 54
8/30/08 at 12:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwood View Post
I guess they are pretty conservative when it comes to emitters.

Those Nitecores are intriguing. I might have to pick one up if I can find a used one cheap.

-Ed
This Osram LED is pretty nice! Because the die size is so small, I can easily see a 2x2 placement of this die on a chip still being the same size as current CREE Q4/Q5 offerings. That would be one HOT light, in more ways than one!
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