Surefire M340C - Has anyone heard of any fakes?

[SixStars]

I recently purchased a Surefire M340C secondhand and I was wondering if anyone knows of any clones/fakes/counterfeits floating around. There's a lot of talk about identifying fake X300's but I couldn't find anything about fake M340C's.

I really don't have a reason to suspect that it's fake but I just wanted to be sure before I officially added it to my collection.

 

[John_Galt]

I havent bought a surefire in years, but the phillips head screw in the positive contact spring screams "cheap rip off hack" to me yeesh

 

[pancakeayaka]

I have seen M340C airsoft replica on alibaba and some airsoft webshops
The fake head is marked KE1A without the little QR code

 

[LRJ88]

I havent bought a surefire in years, but the phillips head screw in the positive contact spring screams "cheap rip off hack" to me yeesh

Had this not been the first day in a year i'm not actively carrying my Tactician i'd show you the head of that right away, as it is now you'll have to wait for me to get a pic of the head of that. IIRC it's a phillips there too and that one's directly from Surefire.


*EDIT*
Nevermind, i looked at the Tactician thread and i'm shamelessly "borrowing" this pic from @HeathHudnall.

 

[desert.snake]

Scout fakes always have different optics - either a reflector where the TIR should be, or the TIR has a different design.

Here's an example of a pistol, it has the same optics as on fake scouts

Sometimes scouts have a central window that is transparent instead of frosted, but it still differs in shape from the original

Apparently it is unprofitable to produce the same optics as the SF, they just take some kind of OEM. By the way, they shine well, but here is the reliability ...

With new SF turbo heads that have a reflector, fakes will be given new opportunities.

By the way, they have already begun to copy Modlight

Sotac Modlite FDE OKW-18650 OKW Weapon Mounted Scout light And DS07 Switch Replica OKW Choose an option OKW 18650

3500mAh 680 Lumen Hold SCAR 17 recoil 5.56 7.62 Mil-Spec Hard Anodizing 6061Aluminum 400% greater than the M600DF

www.sotacgear.com

 

[bykfixer]

One of the troubles with explaining how to spot fakes on the www is the copy cats read it and change up tactics.

There was a time when the led lenser p7 was a favorite to copy and all those "how to spot fake" articles led to the copies being better and harder to spot. Same with SureFire products.

Buying from authorized sellers is the best way to avoid ending up with a fake. If buying second hand try to buy from a seller like a CPF'r or a well known flashlight fanatic, not just some character who shows up at a fakebook site who's first post(s) are selling stuff. Those are a roll of the dice, buyer beware type scenario's.

 

[ampdude]

There are a ton of fake Surefire LED weaponlights on ebay and everywhere else unfortunately. In many different models.

 

[SixStars]

Thanks everyone for your feedback and comments.

As @LRJ88 points out, his Tactition head also has a philips head screw. I just looked at one of my 300 lumen EB1 Backup heads and it also has a philips head screw so that doesn't seem to be an issue.

I've got a few X300 Ultra's and there's some great online resources that I used on how to spot the fakes. Since I couldn't find anything about M340C's I figured I'd ask.

To me everything seems genuine. All of the markings seem to match all of the pictures I've seen online. The Surefire logo looks correct. The machining is typical Surefire quality. What threw me was the very bright shiny silver springs and the philips screw. I should have looked at my own EB1's. I also just picked up an E2D LED Defender Ultra and the tailcap spring looks identical to that of the M340C.

Before I officially added it to my collection, I wanted to make sure. The price was right. No box, or paperwork, or battery and it had been mounted but still showed like new. I think the previous owner depleted the battery it came with and then decided to sell. I paid $125 so I figured it was worth the gamble. Going to try using the head on my EB1 with shrouded tailcap and I can use the Z68 tailcap on my E1L's.

@bykfixer I understand what you're saying, but as other forum members have said about this very same topic, the counterfeiters have already gotten their hands on genuine Surefire's in order to copy them. I think that we should and need to continue to discuss this freely so they know that we are not uninformed or uneducated in how to spot their fake crap. If there isn't one already, maybe a sub forum for each manufacturer would be helpful. I know that there's already individual posts but putting them in one area may be easier. Just a thought.

Thanks again!

 

[ampdude]

The sad thing is that a lot of people actually know, but just don't care! They got the Surefire name and "looks" for cheap.

And, unfortunately a lot of newer genuine Surefires are not excellent, bomb proof lights like the older ones.

 

[mk2rocco]

That tailcap definitely looks genuine. All the fakes I've seen have a different switch.

 

[thermal guy]

Ya it could be air soft.

 

[SixStars]

Ya it could be air soft.

From the quick search I did it looks like an "airsoft M340C" is just another way of saying fake Surefire 340C.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803654182994.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt

These look way to much like a genuine M340C. They've got a different number on the head, KE1A versus KE1H, no QR Code, and there's no www on the tailcap. Also the lens looks cheap and cracked, at least in the picture and the reflector looks smooth. Mine looks like the reflector has orange peel. Sorry not the greatest picture.

I'm cautiously optimistic!

 

[SixStars]

 

[John_Galt]

Had this not been the first day in a year i'm not actively carrying my Tactician i'd show you the head of that right away, as it is now you'll have to wait for me to get a pic of the head of that. IIRC it's a phillips there too and that one's directly from Surefire.


*EDIT*
Nevermind, i looked at the Tactician thread and i'm shamelessly "borrowing" this pic from @HeathHudnall.

View attachment 44577

That's very surprising to me. But I guess if it works...

 

[LRJ88]

That's very surprising to me. But I guess if it works...

Considering the production quality of the lights as they are now i'm not. The threads on my first Tactician were poor enough that they could be used as saw teeth. Surefire seems to have gone down a lot the last couple of years, when i compare my Tactician to something like my MDC 16650 or even an old Solarforce host the Surefire is the poorest built, they have a good rep but i'm unsure if they still deserve it with their latest stuff.

 

[desert.snake]

View attachment 44638

this is original