tkl,
Unless you become the competition through whatever pro-active method, for your own safety, I caution against holding your breath.
I would also like to see competition. I guess that when other companies show SureFire's products to manufacturers [most likely non-USA based] they are told that copying such products would be just as difficult as SureFire finds making them from scratch, more so even as SureFire gains experience during extensive R&D. I'm thinking in terms of bulbs here, but also it's the reflectors, the bodies (contact surfaces and such are vital to get right)
Basically what I'm saying is that it's taken years for people to copy the old 6P. One company produced a three 123A light that was plagued with problems - SureFires such as the M900 & MU Series are now used and have been for a long while now. Another company sees virtually no use of it's three 123A WeaponLight (my view based from research I have done to see if it was better) After trying it at SS2002, I was very disappointed.
The expansion of SureFire to meet demand of increased orders stresses QC and production quality - not least in terms of ordering more bulk materials, producing larger batches etc.
The product becomes less personal, and the control over it changes from parent to teacher I suppose.
I would not say at all I am picking up general vibe of drop in quality from SureFire. I do think that expectations are very high (and demands made on a company without competition should be high)
It is a shame to read about people who have experienced problems and have concerns. However, it's the issues that the guys have who use SureFires to make a real difference (Military, Law Enforcement, Government etc etc) that should be the indicator to SureFire's performance.
We don't often get feedback from those I personally consider to be the real important customers. I hope that SureFire are highly tuned to provide the best quality and service possible for their main market.
I am often impressed that SureFire retail to the public at all. Then again, I often worry that someone's E2 is at the expense of a cop's 618 & 628 forend WeaponLight. SureFire have many winner in from what I can tell is the largest flashlight/WeaponLight product range in the world.
I guess thinking aloud/allowed...
Al
