do manufacturers actually come on this forum?

[Gene43]

I have personally seen posts by Surefire, FourSevens, and Malkoff. Additionally, Klarus has sometimes asked Going Gear to post responses on its behalf. I suspect that these and other manufacturers tend to limit their contributions to the discussion because they learn more and ultimately benefit more by letting the discussion go on among the end users of their products.

I do read the forums on an almost daily basis, but generally stay out of most conversations. I know that I can't be seen as an objective commenter, so I tend to stay out of the fray.

Thanks,
Gene Malkoff

 

[Tac Gunner]

I have been in contact with Olight many times (through this forum) about the S30R issues and have always gotten helpful replies.

I also agree I wish Fenix would pay more attention to the request for moon light modes. I didn't realize how useful of a mode it is until I received an Eagletac D25A2 for Christmas and now I use moon light more than any other mode and always reach for that light first because of it. The only Fenix I'm still interested in is the Hp25. I wanted a CL20 but don't see much reason when the lowest white mode is 8 lumens, I will just buy one of their diffusers and use it on my D25a2 for a camp light.

I also wish a manufacturer would come out with a powerful AA light. The EAX and D80a are but the D80a has a pitiful excuse of a low and I'm leary of the EAX's hest sink. I would love to see a 2k lumen AA flood light
lumen

 

[masterP]

I do read the forums on an almost daily basis, but generally stay out of most conversations. I know that I can't be seen as an objective commenter, so I tend to stay out of the fray.

Thanks,
Gene Malkoff

OMG.....the man, the myth, the legend himself. what an honor to have you read and respond to my thread

my favorite light of all time....my vintage Surefire 6Z with a Malkoff M61 drop in

it's the reason I joined CPF to begin with. I was searching for LED upgrades for all my incandescent lights and the name I kept coming across was Malkoff....Malkoff, I had to find out what a Malkoff was and where I could get one.

I finally found the only dealer in all of Canada to carry them and quickly ordered one. best investment I ever made.....it changed an old outdated Surefire and made it brand new again. 100% satisfied

to anyone that doesn't know about Malkoff Devices or doesn't have one, I highly recommend them

Surefire = good

Surefire + Malkoff = great

 

[BillSWPA]

I do read the forums on an almost daily basis, but generally stay out of most conversations. I know that I can't be seen as an objective commenter, so I tend to stay out of the fray.

Thanks,
Gene Malkoff

I recently noticed that the most recent iterations of the MD.C Tactical now will only change modes if the light is on for less than 0.7 seconds. I had previously been critical of longer times being used by multiple manufacturers. 0.7 seconds strikes me as about as close to perfect as can be achieved - just long enough to ensure that a deliberate mode change will occur without mode changes occurring during intermittent use. I would hazard a guess that the change was due to reading the forum.

 

[BillSWPA]

Surefire has a reputation for not responding to emails but being very responsive to phone calls. I have always found that calling them works well.

FourSevens usually responds to emails in 24 hours but sometimes gets backed up. Use the email on their website, not the PM feature here.

 

[NoNotAgain]

The Fenix TK41 fits the bill as a powerful AA light. No moonlight though. Love the user interface.

 

[Tac Gunner]

Have the Tk41 and tk45 but I want more than 900 lumens

 

[ForrestChump]

I do read the forums on an almost daily basis, but generally stay out of most conversations. I know that I can't be seen as an objective commenter, so I tend to stay out of the fray.

Thanks,
Gene Malkoff

Looks like the good ones do.

Hogokansatsukan AKA: Hogo has been a huge asset as a member, contributor and a medium between HDS SYSTEMS & CPF on a daily basis.
Henry of HDS Im sure reads as well, occasionally popping in. I would wager like Gene he reads much more than he posts. In addition in investing the time reading CPF, and putting out excellent products, they also have fantastic email & phone support, not to mention warranty service on the rare occasion you might need it.


So in regards to this thread, I find these 2 companies to be exceptional.

 

[ForrestChump]

Delete.

 

[StorminMatt]

Have the Tk41 and tk45 but I want more than 900 lumens

An MT-G2 would be nice, too. One of the nice things about an MT-G2 light is that you ALWAYS get a good tint. With the XM-L2, you all too often run into no choice but ugly cool white emitters. Plus, a single MT-G2 will ALWAYS have a nicer beam than multiple XM-L2 emitters.

 

[Tac Gunner]

My exact thinking, the mtg2 would be great in a AA platform, even a neutral XHP50

 

[KITROBASKIN]

ZebraLight clearly watches CPF, evidenced by today's Newsletter from them. Well done ZL!

 

[Timothybil]

If you would look back a few months in the Incandescent Forum you will see a quite spirited discussion between Mark of Lumens Factory and several members about the LF Turbohead, which was a direct response to requests from that forum. He also posted several years ago when there was a bad batch of bulbs, and took care of the issue right away. I have always been happy with my experiences with Lumen Factory.

 

[FRITZHID]

In a word, yes.

 

[RedLED]

did I mention Surefire's knurling problem?

No, please do.

 

[RedLED]

It takes a decent amount of time to implement a change on a product that already exists. It's more about listening for the next iteration and garnering information and opinion for the future products.

I would think the product manager who "Owns the light at the company," would be the one listening, but not commenting, just absorbing what people are saying. Places like this with knowledgeable participants are a wealth of information to a product manager. Do remember, they are also listening to their main market, and for some companies, it is not us.

I notice most companies have their PR or customer service people speak on here, they almost never make the engineering decisions. In most tech companies they are kept in a separate part of the building and are not allowed in on the product management. CS, or customer service is something different.

They don't know anything about new products until they have tooled up and maybe not even during production, so they don't give up valuable, millions of dollars of work in time R & D, testing to people on a forum for other companies to all of a sudden beat them to the trade show floor, and it happens.

So the guy you are communicating with here is more than likely just PR and if one of the product development people who have from time to time come on, they won't say much. However, it is rare the product side of the building would post.

Also, we are not even close to the segment some of these companies sell to, so that is why features don't get included when you sell more to the DHS alone in one year, than this entire forum and the hobby-enthusiast community combined worldwide, it is hard to get through sometimes.

I read the lawsuit against Surefire in one of the monthly business journals, and it was amazing. It involved the cops mixing up the light pad and the trigger, and the defense had some great arguments. If I still have it I will post what it was in, it was not a publication about flashlights or sport, maybe someone here saw it. It had some great product management issues in it.

 

[mega_lumens]

I would think the product manager who "Owns the light at the company," would be the one listening, but not commenting, just absorbing what people are saying. Places like this with knowledgeable participants are a wealth of information to a product manager.

However, are not even be close to the segment some of these companies sell to, so that is why features don't get included when you sell more to the DHS alone in one year, than this entire forum and the hobby-enthusiast community combined worldwide, it is hard to get through sometimes.

I read the lawsuit against Surefire in one of the monthly business journals, and it was amazing. It involved the cops mixing up the light pad and the trigger, and the defense had some great arguments. If I still have it I will post what it was in, it was not a publication about flashlights or sport, maybe someone here saw it. It had some great product management issues in it.

Oh interesting story. I'd love to read it. I believe Taser International had similar lawsuits from police departments when cops would draw a pistol when they intended to draw a taser. Of course the defense will always blame inadequate training and not product design.

 

[RedLED]

OMG.....the man, the myth, the legend himself. what an honor to have you read and respond to my thread

my favorite light of all time....my vintage Surefire 6Z with a Malkoff M61 drop in

it's the reason I joined CPF to begin with. I was searching for LED upgrades for all my incandescent lights and the name I kept coming across was Malkoff....Malkoff, I had to find out what a Malkoff was and where I could get one.

I finally found the only dealer in all of Canada to carry them and quickly ordered one. best investment I ever made.....it changed an old outdated Surefire and made it brand new again. 100% satisfied

to anyone that doesn't know about Malkoff Devices or doesn't have one, I highly recommend them

Surefire = good

Surefire + Malkoff = great

I love Mr. Malkoff and all his products, however keep in mind he is more custom and specialty LE, not huge production. He has some LE business, but nothing like say Surefire. It is to our advantage Malkoff remain a custom maker with some commercial sales.

This is why the quality is simply amazing, I like to take my drop ins out sometimes just to look at them. However, if he is ever bought or sells the company to a bigger one, it's all over! They will either close them down or mass produce in who knows where. Our best companies are always privately owned, with a few private investors.

There is nothing like picking up the phone and speaking directly with the owner. Sometimes I want to get another Malkoff! and I don't even need it. This is the kind of company we like.

 

[RedLED]

OMG.....the man, the myth, the legend himself. what an honor to have you read and respond to my thread

my favorite light of all time....my vintage Surefire 6Z with a Malkoff M61 drop in

it's the reason I joined CPF to begin with. I was searching for LED upgrades for all my incandescent lights and the name I kept coming across was Malkoff....Malkoff, I had to find out what a Malkoff was and where I could get one.

I finally found the only dealer in all of Canada to carry them and quickly ordered one. best investment I ever made.....it changed an old outdated Surefire and made it brand new again. 100% satisfied

to anyone that doesn't know about Malkoff Devices or doesn't have one, I highly recommend them

Surefire = good

Surefire + Malkoff = great

Mix up, sorry

 

[markr6]

ZebraLight clearly watches CPF, evidenced by today's Newsletter from them. Well done ZL!

I thought that was a great newsletter! I wish they actively posted here as they had in the past. And also post on their Facebook page. They're already popular lights; if they would give sneak-peaks, upcoming model info, etc. they would really increase sales IMO.