Yeah - when that loop goes there's no apparent easy fix. Oddly enough a Fenix hung in for a decade without that kind of wear and was retired due to intermittent contact problems.
Perhaps "oddly", perhaps not. You bring out a very good (and often not considered) point. I can assure you that not all aluminum is "created equal". Far from it. Some "Al" is pretty much 'garbage'. It's an aspect of product quality many don't even consider. Had I not spent some years in a hard alloy Al extrusions plant, frankly I might not have either. There are rather precise industry specs for all metal alloys and tempers. To the extent that a manufacturer does / does not specify the alloy & temper of Al a light is made of, one should absolutely consider that when shopping.....and yes, '6061 T6' is in fact a very good Al alloy / temper for flashlights. If one considers
all properties / qualities / factors, it's essentially optimal for the application. It's yet another case where one should keep in mind that while you may "get what you pay for", one very rarely gets what they don't pay for.
