Ever had a clicky tail switch fail?

[BIG45-70]

Often you hear about the twist switch and their durability compared to a clicky switch. I prefer the clicky like most and often choose it over twist switch. Just wondering if anyone has actually had a clicky fail and what kind of durability you can expect from a medium quality manufacture clicky? (Fenix)

 

[geisto]

I think it's safe to say twisties are generally more reliable than clickies.

No Fenix for me but I had the clicky on my SF Scout fail after a year of intermitent use. Called SF and it was replaced...4yrs and no problems. My Z48 on M3T...still going after 8yrs of use.

 

[geisto]

doubletap, oops.

 

[angelofwar]

Had a clickie fail on my E2L after I dropped in Iraq...but in all fairness, no telling how long it was sitting in an ISO in 140 deg. temps, making the plastic brittle). Regardless, SF promptly sent me a new one, and the new one they sent had a permanent fix to EXACTLY what had failed in the previous clickie. When Surefire says "Continuous Product Improvement", they mean it.

But, having that fail on me like that, I definitely trust the twisties more.

 

[ElectronGuru]

I've blown a Z59 and a McClicky switch, both from out-of-spec amperage loads

 

[skyfire]

olight m20 that i had sold to a co-worker failed after it was used for alittle over a year.
since he bought it off me, i felt obligated to help him. but no luck fixing, or replacing it.

a big reason why i stick to a few certain brands, and dealers these days.

 

[Sparky's Magic]

Yes, 2x Z57 for E Series. In fact, I have one back with Surefire at the moment. I believe these are the most unreliable tail switch of them all & my local supplier said not to hold my breath! I bought a Z68 to replace the Z57: The Z57 is gray, while the Z68 is black but at least it works.

 

[beerwax]

ive had clicky swithces on torches for years and years . many everyready dolphins, couple of maglites , many 'rubber torches ' and never had a clicky fail until just recently. do they not make them like they used to. ?

 

[Helmut.G]

I've had a clicky fail on my fenix T1, but remember the T1 was made was many years ago and I'm confident fenix uses better clickies now.

 

[Mathiashogevold]

The switch at my Fenix PD30 R4 failed after about 7 months of use, altrough i didn't use it much at all.
After some months, i finally got it replaced by Fenix.

 

[ragweed]

I have had two Maglight clickies go out over the years along with a Fenix clickie recently. In a true must have light situation its twisty for me!

 

[recDNA]

I never had a maglite clicky go but something always goes wrong so that if I screw the maglite tail all the way in it wont light. If I leave it loose by one full turn its fine. No idea why.

 

[dudemar]

Most of my lights are twisty on, so the only light I EDC with a clicky is the Pila GL3. Never failed in the 4+ years I've used it. Dropped it on concrete/asphalt dozens of times but it still works great! Thinking about picking up a clicky for my GL4.

 

[Vox Clamatis in Deserto]

Clickies are guaranteed - to fail.;) Some of us had recent problems with SF G2X Pro and 6PX Pro switches which we chronicled on another thread, perhaps lost to the server crash.

Henry's lights have had occasional clicky issues including some recent reports on the Rotary. I had an issue the other day but can not now replicate it, almost like the light counts 256 clicks, rolls over a register and resets itself. At any rate, a recall and firmware update are available from what I read here.

David's Quarks had some real clicky issues in the early production. He started offering a kit with a little pin wrench to tighten a washer in the tailcap, that seemed to help in many cases. My EDC light is a Ti AA Quark, it sees frequent use and so far has never had a problem.

I've received new tailcaps from all of these manufacturers more than once over the years, they do have great customer service.

 

[carrot]

I have broken two clickies so far on a fairly reputable brand's lights.

My main EDCs have always been twisties, and I have never had a failure. Except on a fairly inexpensive twisty from a well-known, popular, manufacturer's experiment with making a "budget" brand. One day it just stopped working.

 

[Lion of Zion]

One of my SureFire's just broke on me tonight. I clicked it and it stuck in the down position. It's a Z49.

 

[carrot]

One of my SureFire's just broke on me tonight. I clicked it and it stuck in the down position. It's a Z49.

Try smacking the side on a table to disengage it.

 

[Lion of Zion]

Try smacking the side on a table to disengage it.

Thanks!! It's working now, not great but it will do until I get a new one.

 

[HotWire]

I've only had one clicky failure. A brand new Lumapower MVP failed within a week. I emailed them and they sent me a new switch with no questions asked. Great service.

 

[Quiksilver]

4Sevens Preon 2 Ti

The clicky tailcap, IMO, is terrible.

The rest of the light is fantastic, but whether I got a lemon or it's systemic, the tailcap is just ... aweful.

I can take it apart into 5 pieces. To me that is too many variables for a tailcap.

The real problem lies with the rubber hat underneath the titanium cap, which can move around and catch the clicky in the depressed position. When the tailcap assembly is fully screwed down and tightened, the light fails to activate, therefore to keep it operational it has to be only partially screwed down which compromises the IPX-8 water resistance.

Preon 2 emitter head = Win

Preon 2 tailcap = Fail