Surefire is letting me down.

I don't consider myself a flashlight enthusiast, but just someone who uses the heck out of flashlights. I had a G2 that I used for a year or more and I loved it. Rocked it hard, dropped it down stairs lit, used it diving, just wouldn't quit.

Someone stole it.
So I went to buy another one but they had all these nicer cooler surefires there....so I ponied up 95 dollars for a E2E. It quit working about 1/3 of the way through the original batteries. I was using it and it just quit. I called surefire and they said it was probably the bulb, even though I said the filament looked fine they said that it could still be burnt out, and that they would send me a new one. It's now been like a week and a half. I'm using a maglight at work every day. I'm not very happy.

I wish I could just have my old G2 back, at one third the price. What if it quit when I was caving or blinked out when I needed it as a weapon light? My faith is shaken. Should I buy another lamp? And carry it everywhere? Or just another flashlight? But I didn't think I had to do that with surefires before. My confidence is gone. It's scary. I don't like the dark

Daravon said:

...It quit working about 1/3 of the way through the original batteries. I was using it and it just quit...

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The exact same thing happened to my G2.

Incandescent lamps can burn out unexpectedly at any time. It doesn't matter if it's a $5 light or $500.

You might want to consider a spare lamp anyway. You can keep it in the glove box of the car for when you need it in an emergency. If you buy a lamp now, you can use it right away. When Surefire gets around to replacing your defective original lamp, then that can become your spare.

I'm sure Size15's can provide stories of how incandescent lamps suffer from a certain percentage of "infant mortality", much like yours did. You might want to consider running any lamp through one set of cells first, before putting it into storage as a spare. That way you can weed out any bad ones.

It was nice of them to send you another lamp assembly. I think you should give them a second chance. I got my e2e used and have shuttled ten sets of batteries through it with no problems. in fact, I've only had one surefire lamp assembly (out of about a dozen surefires) blow on me, and that was because I thought a digilight 9v Lamp was in there and I put 4.5V batteries in it.

that being said, the only experience I've had with surefire customer service was negative, but theres alot of debate around that particular claim, and I'll admit that I blew some things out of proportion. I can't discredit them 100% for my situation, and they've handles most other peoples' claims very well.

Alternatively, you can give up althogether and sell me the e2e for 50 bucks. paypal is standing by.

A fine example of why you should always carry two lights!

Well I always carry an arc AAA on my keys and a Photon around my neck, but neither one is supremely useful when what you really need is a surefire.

well, first of all, no cpfer can afford to rely on have only one light at one time, thats a standard around here:huh:. if the total light you need is n, then the lights on you must be at least n+1

second, lets not jeer Surefire for one light, to err is human, buying from a premium brand doesnt mean no employee there will ever make a mistake, sure you can blame it on quality control, but you must take into perspective hundreds of thousands of Surefires are output from california each day. now if you buy 5 E2Es in a row and they all die 1/3 of their battery life, then you can jeer the e2e part of Surefire all you want since you have the evidence to backup your remarks.
Having one broken light doesnt mean the company is full of broken lights, just...bad luck.

EDIT: Welcome to CPForums! :wave:

you can always upgrade to an LED drop-in, or equivelent.

you are allways welcome in the LED section, drop in sometime.

regards.

John.

I dont know the technicalities but what about converting it to LED, the pure white light of LEDs is better for working in than filament bulbs.

So, Surefire is letting you down becuase it is taking them some time to get a FREE replacement part to you or you are pissed because the lamp didn't last as long as your G2?

If you're pissed becasue it's taking them a while to get your new lamp to you then I guess you haven't watched the news lately. There's a war on ya know. I'm pretty sure our soldiers are depending a lot more on thier SF lights than we are just becuase "we" need an EDC light. Last time I ckecked I wasn't taking harrassing small arms fire when I leave my house at night (and I work night shift) every night. So, let's cut SF a break. As we say in EMS, "Free food is good food." You should be thinking "Free lamps are good lamps."

Plus, an MN02 is like 11-13 bucks. A P60 lamp is at least 16 for a SF part. A p90 is around 25-30 bucks. That's what you would replace in your long lost G2.

If your pissed becuase your E2e didn't last as long as your G2, well that's just the way the cookie crumbles. It's be ok brutha.

-Chris

How are they "letting you down"? By sending you a new bulb?
You should have already had one. I'll never understand people buying an incandescent and not buying at least one extra bulb or lamp.
That's why they make spare carriers that hold an extra lamp; cause it's not a perfect world, a filament can break or burn out. Like a parachute-gotta have a reserve. Anybody who talks about their life depending on their equipment and tells you different is a fool.

btw, it never ceases to amaze me how you attention hounds will post some blown out of proportion title about SF, just 'cause you're guaranteed to have people read your whining, which is usually about nothing. I don't care for the brand loyalists who act like they worship SF or something, but the trolling gets really old, too.

I ordered either replacement "bulbs" or upgrades(like the P61 for the G2) at the same time I ordered the SFs knowing that your not going to buy a replacement at Wallyworld or Gusses gas emporium and murphys law states you will have a failure at the least opportune times.

In a dangerous situation, I would not want to have to stop in the dark to change a bulb. I'd rather have a back up flashlight, just in case. I think Surefires are very reliable. I bet a G2 would be a little more shock resistant than an E2E. If I had to drop one down the stairs, I'd rather it be the G2.

Perhaps SureFire have taught you several important lessons?

1) They support their products - you have a replacement lamp assembly on the way.

2) Things break - if this is unacceptable you need backups. Better to learn this lesson when you don't need to use it for real without a backup.

3) Always ensure your gear is suitable and up to the task you need it for, and that you are familiar with the operation and details of your gear, prior to using it for real. This means putting a couple sets of batteries through a flashlight whilst trying it out so you get an idea of how it functions and how long the runtime is etc. If a SureFire bulb is going to die its going to do so within the first hour or so, or after at least 25, more even.

4) G2's are great to have around. Get the yellow ones so you can find them more easily. They're simple and they work. You may end up getting all sorts of fancy flashlights but you'll still use the G2's when you need them.
(For me this type of flashlight catagory is finely demonstrated by the UKE-2L. If I were starting over now that the G2's have LOTC's I would get a G2-YL instead but I in no way regret keeping a simple flashlight close by in addition to the more expensive ones!)

Al

buy a kl1 for your e2e.... its that simple... wont ever let you down, take my word for it.

-David

Carry two lights and be sure one of them is an LED.

NutSAK said:

Carry two lights and be sure one of them is an LED.

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Or both

Best regards

____
Tom

Cheapos suggestion is spot-on, especially if you need a bright spot thrown a reasonable distance. This gives you two different types of beams depending on the need of the moment. A fully stocked spares carrier will make a reliable system. You could buy an MN02 for longer runtime at a little less brightness, like chrisemt mentioned, and keep the unused lamp in the spares carrier.

I have the G2, too, and would replace it with another if it were lost because it complements the E2e. It's more of a rugged work light and the Nitrolon holds up to getting bashed around. The E2e is nicer for "dressier" occassions.

SF may be slow but your lamp should show up soon. If not, give them a reminder in a few weeks.

Have you tried new cells? If you hav access to a voltage meter, check the cells. I have had one cell in a 2 X CR123 configuation read 0 volts. Rather the cells shut off than have it blow up.

NutSAK said:

Carry two lights and be sure one of them is an LED.

Click to expand...

YOU TELL EM! :rock::rock::rock::laughing:

Long John said:

Or both

Best regards

____
Tom

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urrrrrmmmm...
Sometimes LEDs cant replace what xenon does best...