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Flashlight Enthusiast
I finally got the Z49 tailcap (clickie with rubber shroud) to replace the stock Z41 (twistie with instant-on) on the Surefire 9P.
First, the original Surefire 9P with its Z41:
Surefire 9P with the Z49 tailcap installed. The body is Leef 2x18500.
My initial impression is that the Z49 is an absurdity really - an afterthought, seems to have been designed independently of the lite itself. Why make the diameter larger than the body is a mystery. It's just too large. It prevents me from EDCing as it's just very slightly larger than I can handle discreetly. This shouldn't be a problem with holster carry.
.... this thought process led me to think it's a better fit with the Leef 2x18650 body, as it's not an EDC item anyway:
Inside the Z49 tailcap, the spring was kind of off-center, misaligned and the lite would randomly turn off when turned on. The cells were essentially dead however. I did try Z41 and it would reliably cut it on without issues. However, after I straightened out the spring with pliers, the problem went away. Surefire needs better QC than this, it's tailcaps seem to be an on-going issue.
Aside from compact size, another advantage Z41 has is that it can be turned on without shifting your grip:
Z49 is so awkward that you have to shift you grip to get a positive, fast click. In my case anyway. Not a huge problem if you practice a bit. One more reason why it belongs on a larger body since with a larger body like 2x18650 you have to shift your grip anyway, with any tailcap IMO.
Z49 is harder to turn on -- but then that's the idea, to make it harder to turn on to prevent an accidental discharge. This is particularly relevant to me as I EDC inside the pocket, no holsters of any kind. I think Z41 may not be a good "tactical" lite as when bumped against something, or just dropped, the lite will cut on, even if momentarily, giving away your position. I think Z49 is a better tailcap for that purpose, but YMMV. As bulky as it is, it's probably impossible to cut on accidently.
All-in-all, Z49 is an OK item if you realize its limitations and have reasonable expectations. Both Z41 and Z49 take a bit of training to get used to. Initially, Z41 drove me crazy but I got used to it. I think I will get used to this Z49 too.
Anyway, It's bizarre that Surefire doesn't design a tailcap a la Fenix L2D, that is roughly same diameter as the body, tail-standable, prevents from accidental cut-on and easy to turn on, with a metal shroud.
The engineering team needs to start anew with a blank sheet of paper...
My EDC (Surefire 9P with M60 with 2x18500 body) retains the original Z41 that I thought I would replace, but the large 2x18650 FiveMega will have Z49... as a more apropos unit for it.
First, the original Surefire 9P with its Z41:
Surefire 9P with the Z49 tailcap installed. The body is Leef 2x18500.
My initial impression is that the Z49 is an absurdity really - an afterthought, seems to have been designed independently of the lite itself. Why make the diameter larger than the body is a mystery. It's just too large. It prevents me from EDCing as it's just very slightly larger than I can handle discreetly. This shouldn't be a problem with holster carry.
.... this thought process led me to think it's a better fit with the Leef 2x18650 body, as it's not an EDC item anyway:
Inside the Z49 tailcap, the spring was kind of off-center, misaligned and the lite would randomly turn off when turned on. The cells were essentially dead however. I did try Z41 and it would reliably cut it on without issues. However, after I straightened out the spring with pliers, the problem went away. Surefire needs better QC than this, it's tailcaps seem to be an on-going issue.
Aside from compact size, another advantage Z41 has is that it can be turned on without shifting your grip:
Z49 is so awkward that you have to shift you grip to get a positive, fast click. In my case anyway. Not a huge problem if you practice a bit. One more reason why it belongs on a larger body since with a larger body like 2x18650 you have to shift your grip anyway, with any tailcap IMO.
Z49 is harder to turn on -- but then that's the idea, to make it harder to turn on to prevent an accidental discharge. This is particularly relevant to me as I EDC inside the pocket, no holsters of any kind. I think Z41 may not be a good "tactical" lite as when bumped against something, or just dropped, the lite will cut on, even if momentarily, giving away your position. I think Z49 is a better tailcap for that purpose, but YMMV. As bulky as it is, it's probably impossible to cut on accidently.
All-in-all, Z49 is an OK item if you realize its limitations and have reasonable expectations. Both Z41 and Z49 take a bit of training to get used to. Initially, Z41 drove me crazy but I got used to it. I think I will get used to this Z49 too.
Anyway, It's bizarre that Surefire doesn't design a tailcap a la Fenix L2D, that is roughly same diameter as the body, tail-standable, prevents from accidental cut-on and easy to turn on, with a metal shroud.
The engineering team needs to start anew with a blank sheet of paper...
My EDC (Surefire 9P with M60 with 2x18500 body) retains the original Z41 that I thought I would replace, but the large 2x18650 FiveMega will have Z49... as a more apropos unit for it.
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