Surefire clickies not for tactical use?

[cfromc]

I bought a new Z59 for one of my vehicle emergency lights (6P) about four months ago. It received very little use until last Wednesday when I went fishing. My friend was using it for about an hour or so when I caught a fish. He ran over with the net and dropped my light on concrete from about 3 feet. He brought the light (and the net) over to me and said my light is permanantly "on" now. I got the fish in the net and then looked at the switch. The inside had several pieces of shattered plastic and was obviously toast for the rest of that nights festivities. Luckily I had about 3-4 other lights so the fun didn't stop. I called Surefire and within about 2 minutes a new switch was on the way. I told them what happened and didn't hide the fact that it was dropped. Another testiment to Surefire CS.

My concern is that after 1 drop, the switch was bye-bye. In an emergency situation, I would still have light, but still...I was a little surprised that the button had plastic in it, and not very strong plastic at that. Is expecting a switch to survive a fall from 3 feet unreasonable? If it is, please let me know. I just expected a $38 switch to be nearly indestructable. I also have a Z58 switch that is still new and I am having serious reservations about putting that on a light. I have used (and still do) a SW02 switch, which I have dropped from about the same distance and it works great. Did I just get unlucky or did the Z59 just happen to hit the ground at the right angle to break? Anyone else drop their lights and have the switch continue to work?

At this point, I've showed my wife how to use the original momentary switch and I'm considering converting all my SF's with clickies back to the original switches.

Sorry to rant, I'm just surprised and a little disappointed it happened.

P.S. Edit-I put "tactical" in the title because I would consider a weak switch to proclude a light from any tactical duty. The light first and foremost must be reliable. I realize fishing at night is not "tactical". I could have also said "emergency use" but the light could still technically be used in an emergency since the light would go on (just not off without unscrewing the tailcap). For most use though the light would be impractical if it can't be shut off.

 

[greenLED]

Even really tough lights have "sweet spots" for damage. The old Arc LS, for example - built like a tank. If it gets dropped and the bezel hits the ground at a certain angle, the LED gets sheared off the board, rendering the light unusable.

I'd say the chances of this event repeating itself are low.

 

[LightJaguar]

Maybe we need to start referring to Surefires as built not like a tank but built like a Humvee. Humvees are used in combat too so their implied "tacticalness" does not diminish.

 

[Lobo]

Well,it's pretty awesome it still works though, after being smashed to pieces. It just works like a twisty now?
But I can understand if you expect more from a 38USD switch. Allthough I think any equipment can fail if you just drop it "right".

I don't want pour gasoline over the Surefire vs Fenix-flames, but I found it pretty interesting that the failure rate of Surefire clickies is so much higher than Fenix. Allthough the statistics might not be entirely true, I still find it interesting.

I'm not sure how to explain it, since both camps seems to be equal when it comes to brand loyalty.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178876
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=179206

 

[greenLED]

I don't want pour gasoline over the Surefire vs Fenix-flames, but I found it pretty interesting that the failure rate of Surefire clickies is so much higher than Fenix. Allthough the statistics might not be entirely true, I still find it interesting.

That's quite the ambiguous statement.

 

[NA8]

I think both surefire and fenix leave a lot to be desired in the "why don't they fix that" category. But that's big business. They're considered good lights because of the things they do right, not the things they do wrong.

 

[Illum]

its a good thing surefire makes clickies that, in the event of a failure, turns itself into a twisty

I've dropped my L4 before....but from how the cells balanced I see only a small probability of dropping it TC down....but then again I hadn't risked my L4 that much to prove that it wont drop TC down:laughing:

if you disassemble a switch, you'll find that certain parts are meant to be non-conductive, and other parts are either too small or costly to machine for an assembly.
the perfect switch is a twisty, nuff said:nana:

 

[KeyGrip]

My L4's tailcap has hit concrete hard enough to dent it, and it still functions fine. There have been many reports of clickies jamming for various reasons, but I've never heard of the internals actually breaking. Out of curiosity, could you take some pictures of what the remains look like?

 

[cfromc]

The fact that it would still work would be a plus in an emergency situation however, I wouldn't necessarily call it a "twisty" switch since I had to just about turn it until it was all the way off before the light went off, not just the normal half turn or so. Maybe G10 or nylon or some other tougher material could be used for the non-conductive part of the switch. After all, the switch alone costs more than 99% of people are willing to spend on an entire light. My F-I-L was out with us for the fishing trip after I just showed him all of my lights and told them how much they cost. He is not a person who judges but I could tell that he probably thought it was a tremendous waste of money, especially when I told him I had over $100 into the 6P (Cree drop-in, crenellated bezel, Z59). When the light broke it probably confirmed his suspicions.

I am considering going to a Novatac/HDS light for emergency and all-around lights and using Surefires more for strictly tactical uses only. I think I may have been expecting the Surefires to fill too many roles. But they just look so damn cool....hmmm....hard to decide.

 

[cfromc]

I can take some pics in the next day or two if I can get my digital camera to work since it has been acting up lately. Time for a new camera, just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm thinking about performing an autopsy on the switch but I haven't touched it yet. Basically, there is a piece of black plastic in there and it is in 30 pieces +/- 20. The button on the end has nothing behind it and just feels like mush/air when I push it.

 

[Monocrom]

For strictly tactical purposes, you're better off with a momentary / twist constant-on switch.

 

[CM]

For strictly tactical purposes, you're better off with a momentary / twist constant-on switch.

I agree here. I still have an old twisty momentary for my M2 that I traded a clickie for that purpose. I've opened up these clickies and you'd be surprised at how intricate their construction can be. I also prefer the momentary twist (non clickie) since if you drop a clickie it could hit the switch and turn it on. Not a good thing. The ideal "tactical" switch works as a dead man switch and that anything but a deliberate press to turn it on keeps the light OFF.

Kind of off topic, I just love how the term "tactical" got so abused and diluted by marketing. The term "tactical clickie" is an oxymoron IMO.

 

[jzmtl]

My take is the $38 is it doesn't mean it's awsome high quality switch that never breaks, it just means they charge you for the cost of 15 switches upfront so when it breaks they can send you another one for free, and everybody is happy.

 

[sbebenelli]

My take is the $38 is it doesn't mean it's awsome high quality switch that never breaks, it just means they charge you for the cost of 15 switches upfront so when it breaks they can send you another one for free, and everybody is happy.

Could it be that it's $38 because it's being made in America by an American being paid a good enough wage to raise a family? Not in China by a 12 year old kid being forced to work and making nothing?

 

[jzmtl]

Could it be that it's $38 because it's being made in America by an American being paid a good enough wage to raise a family? Not in China by a 12 year old kid being forced to work and making nothing?

No.

 

[Monocrom]

No.

Ironically, I have to agree.

Sure, the switch is made in America, by an American. No doubts regarding that. But I seriously doubt that that type of work earns him a decent enough salary to support a family. Putting together the small parts of a clickie isn't exactly skilled labor. And compared to other jobs I know of, mainly Porters and Security Guards, you can bet he sees very little of that $38 price tag.

I'm sorry, but even though I like Surefire lights for their rugged reliability; $38 for just a clickie is too much money.... Then again, Surefire is known to charge quite a bit for parts. Oh, they definitely prefer it if you buy the entire light.

 

[NotRegulated]

BION (Believe it or not ), I carry a stock LOTC for any Surefire light that I have replaced with a clickie. It will be in my bag/car/locker/etc somewhere. It weights next to nothing and provides me with piece of mind. I have had several clickies fail, mostly the Surefire "E" series variants. For example, a new L4 I purchased came with an "E" series clickie that did not work. Surefire did replaced it promptly.

 

[cfromc]

I actually had a spare switch but it was in my wife's car, which is where the light normally is. However, on that night I had about 4 other lights. I got my camera working and took a couple of pictures but they are pretty blurry. I still need another camera, the one I have is old. I think I may have lost a few pieces, but I think most of them are there:

 

[CM]

I actually had a spare switch but it was in my wife's car, which is where the light normally is. However, on that night I had about 4 other lights. I got my camera working and took a couple of pictures but they are pretty blurry. I still need another camera, the one I have is old. I think I may have lost a few pieces, but I think most of them are there:

Gotta love it. OK, now take a twisty non clickie apart and do a parts count comparison.

 

[cfromc]

Gotta love it. OK, now take a twisty non clickie apart and do a parts count comparison.

To be fair, the clickie didn't have that many parts until the second it hit the ground.