RANT: production LED lights all have crappy clips

they are weak
they bend and do not bend back
they pop off the barrel
thin and don't have enough meat to grip anything


WHY does Sunwayman, Thrunite, Klarus, Novatac... make really nice lights but the clips are a total crapfest ?

Oh that is right...co$t...grrr...

I am not saying they need to be McGizmo strong, but damn...the only thing that seems to
be correctly done are Nitecore clips (they are thin but they work far better than the 4 brands mentioned above)

Which -production- LED have decent clips ?

Sunwayman M11r
Jetbeam Rrt01
Eagletac D25a

The clip on my JetBeam RRT01 is very sturdy. 4Sevens Quark with deep-carry clip has caused me no problems either. trgrhppy

my biggest pet peeve is when the clip "lands" on knurling or on a ridge. almost all makers are guilty of this, even zebralight, eagletac, etc

i think only 4sevens gets it. their clips land on the smooth head or on a flat machined on the body tube.

flashlight designers, drill this to your head!

Fenix's first clip, on their TA21/TA20 was good. I don't know about current ones as I haven't touched a Fenix for quite a long time.

I wish clips were made more durable as well. I find the lights I carry the most are the ones with a good clip.

I'm having the same problem right now with a Eagletac D25C2L Clicky, it bends way to easy. I tried a clip from my P20C2 MKII but it's basically the same weak clip so I've put a 4sevens clip on it which I've never had any problems with.

The lip on some of these clips are to tall and catch on everything, I think my D25 clip is catching on my seat belt causing the bending. I like the clip on my Nitecore IFE2, it may not seem very strong but it's low to the body and doesn't "catch" on anything. I don't need a tall clip to pull the light out of my pocket, I mean dang there not deep carry clips the whole tailcap sticks up out of my pocket so it's easy to grab just give me a nice flat clip.

CarpentryHero said:

Sunwayman M11r
Jetbeam Rrt01
Eagletac D25a

Click to expand...

is this a list of good or bad clips ?

M11R is the weakest of the weak. try clipping it on a tool belt, the clip will be perma-bent outward.

I have one and did that.

fail

The m11r clip look good for hookin to my phone pouch, which is how I carry my single cr123 lights.
The Jetbeam Rrt01 clip is a lot like the Nitecore d10 and McGismo clips. I own the RRt01 and the clip is solidly built.
As for the D25 series they look solid but I don't own one.
The DarkSucks Alpha series clip is incredibly sturdy too.
My list is of clips were ones I thought were sturdy, but not all clips are ment for tool belts, some are ment for pockets

Hmmm...
I agree that many manufacturers can improve the design and sturdiness of their clips but I personally haven't run into many clip issues - I even made do with the puny clip-on clips that Sunwayman and iTP gave with my lights. The only two major clip issues I've ever had was with the LX2 and E1B which is fairly common among CPFers.
What challenges do you guys encounter in your day-to-day lives that sends your clips-a-bending?

my RRT01 is a titanium clip very sturdy. my M11R im not too sure about, but i wouldnt use that light on my tool belt
anyway.Mr.Elfin is my going out to dinner in my fancy clothes light.
Lights are built for different tasks in mind and clearly the M11R is not a workhorse he is more in the show catigory.
Personally i think although the 4sevens clips are very sturdy they are too tight to the body and the harsh knurling
on the body tears up my pants.
I dont have this problem with my JetBeams or Sunwaymans.

I'm not disagreeing with you, there are a lot of lousy clips. There are some good clips out there, my favorites are

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j389/carpentrygod/f4bd7943.jpg
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j389/carpentrygod/7b389a2e.jpg

The oveready clip on either of my hds arent stock but the origionals were good too.


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See Rule #3 If you post an image in your post, please downsize the image to no larger than 800 x 800 pixels. - Norm

Gotta love the McGizmo Clips...

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/scienceman6000/Arc6/DSC00887.jpg

Found on Nitecore EX10/11, Jetbeam TCR1/RRT01, Arc6 "production" lights.


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See Rule #3 If you post an image in your post, please downsize the image to no larger than 800 x 800 pixels. - Norm

Surefire E1B = OUTSTANDING clip! My absolute fav! :twothumbs

I like the 4 Sevens Quark clips, both the normal and the deep carry. Not as big of a fan of the one on my (otherwise great) Surefire C2.

Torchaddict said:

Gotta love the McGizmo Clips...

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/scienceman6000/Arc6/DSC00887.jpg

Found on Nitecore EX10/11, Jetbeam TCR1/RRT01, Arc6 "production" lights.

Click to expand...

Isn't the TS asking for clips coming with production lights?

Half the lights here are either customs, add-ons or no longer in production.

The Zebralight SC51 has a very sturdy clip.

The original EagleTac D25 Mini (twisties) have wonderful clips.

How do you carry that you are bending / breaking the clip? By design the light should be inside your pocket with only the clip outside. I have been carrying knives & lights clipped to my pocket for over 20 years and can't remember any breaking. However Some are better then others.

LG&M said:

How do you carry that you are bending / breaking the clip? By design the light should be inside your pocket with only the clip outside. I have been carrying knives & lights clipped to my pocket for over 20 years and can't remember any breaking. However Some are better then others.

Click to expand...

on a tool belt, bumping into things, pops clips off klarus, bends Mr. Elfin clip.

Only my McGizmo has a clip worth it's salt

second is the Nitecore...it bends a bit but snaps back and doesn't deform