Jetbeam parts/service?

Guys, forgive me if this is in the wrong subforum- I have recently purchased a new Jetbeam BA-20 and received it with a defective tailcap. The switch does not engage fully, sometimes the light will remain on, sometimes it requires pressure on the switch to operate. (verified defective switch via continuity check) I have tried to remove the switch from the tailcap.....there seems to be some type of threadlock on it. I have contacted Jetbeam customer service via email several times, with no response. This is obviously a warranty issue, as the light is less than a month old, however I would at this point be satisfied with a source to purchase a complete new tailcap...thought I would check with you guys before I bit the bullet and bought another light :-/ I use this light daily on the job in an industrial setting, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Wish I could report differently, but I finally got a hold of someone in CS this summer, sent my Jetbeam back for repair, after 3 months I got it back and it's still broken. Would have liked to try some other Jetbeams, but a faulty $100 flashlight that they can't repair doesn't inspire much confidence in the brand.

I have 4 jetbeam lights. 3 still work. The one that doesn't took a hard fall after a year and a half of hard, reliable use and quit as it hit the concrete. I needed a switch at one point for a 3m and the dealer I got it from happily shipped me a new one rather than have me send it in. It was not threadlocked though. I bought a pc10 off ebay (for cheap) and figured if it acted up, I was s.o.l. The whole, call China up and ask for help, has never worked for me either. P.s. the pc10 has been a brute and taken more abuse than what took the 3m out.

Thanks for the responses guys, I appreciate it. I still haven't heard from Jetbeam...I took a gamble and ordered this light from amazon, while I am impressed with the output and battery life, I wish I could say as much for the customer service. This is my first Jetbeam, and while I have heard many good things about the brand, receiving a light defective w/no support definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I am looking heavily at the Eagletac GX25A3, although I like the feel and simplicity of the BA-20. Going to call Lightjunction tomorrow- hopefully they can locate me a tailcap. Not sure why the switch is threadlocked...it is in there good though. It sucks because this is otherwise an a very nice light, I let someone use it momentarily today and they were bragging on it until it went out on them....doesn't look good on the brand.

Either go with a reputable local dealer or forget about it. CS from Jetbeam direct is really 'not great'. You are after all getting a SF grade product at a Maglite grade price, something has to suffer, you don't get something for nothing.

berry580 said:

Either go with a reputable local dealer or forget about it. CS from Jetbeam direct is really 'not great'. You are after all getting a SF grade product at a Maglite grade price, something has to suffer, you don't get something for nothing.

Click to expand...

i wouldnt go so far as to say jetbeams are surefire grade. on the outside, jetbeams might looks like surefires, because they copy surefires designs. but if you take them apart and take a look inside, youll realize its design and construction are very different.

as for prices, i think jetbeams are even more overpriced than surefires when you think about the costs of how each company is run. surefire is much larger though.

I did take some of the SF and JB lights apart. Say the C2 and the Jet iii m, their built quality imho are both very difficult to fault and fair to say they're roughly in 'same grade'.
As a consumer, I care about the product and support that comes along with it. For SF, I think you're largely paying for their quality product, brand premium and great CS, while for JB, mainly for their product, and really not much more. The company overhead expenses is not something I care about as a consumer, that's not a selling point.

If you think about it, pc20 vs c2. Which are comparable feature wise That's like $40 vs $100 respectively. While the jet iii m vs c2 where their built quality is comparable, but jet iii light years ahead in terms of features, but the jet iii still sells about 20% cheaper than the c2. Wtf? You get what I'm saying?

My C2 can use any variety of drop-ins, and with an A19 can become a C3. After a trip for getting bored out, it can support 18650s, or 2x 18500s with the A19. You can put a ZeroRez tailcap in and run a the newest high-output drop-ins while my Jet III M is stuck with the XPE emitter and a single 18650. While you can't get an IBS equivalent of a P60 you can go from single mode to multi-modes of any variety. I'll expect the clicky on the Jet III M to fail before any part of a C2 or drop-in to fail. If the drop in fails? Get another.

I jumped on the Jetbeam fad for a while and after reading about others sour grapes - plus they then decided to steal the Spy007 design with their Niteye Zip20 - I decided to put my money on reputable companies. I still have a Jet III M but can't tell you the last time I used it...

I have never been a "surefire fanboy" (used to be lots of them here) but rather a fan of high-end P60 hosts; I am definitely not a fan of Jetbeam as they have a history of selling high-output but poor-quality setups.

My story of flash-aholism; buy anything bright, then after learning more buy quality.

I'm sure there are examples of poor JB samples around as would any other mass produced products. But as a general statement, I cannot agree JB makes poor quality lights.

What I can definitely agree however is that I think I am certainly catching onto the P60 style host & drop in pill game as well. There's just so much flexibility, it's encouraging to say the least.

As with the copying thing, that's just business. Samsung copied Apple stuff as did Apple copied from Google. As Steve Jobs once said, "Good artists copy; great artists steal", and we're talking about a medium sized company in CHINA. Live with it.

Well...I was finally able to remove the retaining ring out of the tailcap, ended up putting it in a vice with rubber gripping and after bending my snap ring pliers, it broke loose. Not sure why it was so insanely tight. Got a new switch on the way thanks to an old thread on this forum: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?358215-Switch-For-Jetbeam-BC40

That being said, I went ahead and ordered a new Eagletac GX25A3 yesterday (from lightjunction this time... not Amazon) , can't wait to get that one in.