Surefire Tailcap Redesign ...

According to the customer service rep at SF, the company has redesigned some of their tailcaps to make them more durable when then light is dropped on the tail. I found this out because I dropped my brand new E1L on the concrete shop floor last Friday, one day after it came in the mail. Under 5x magnification, a small dent was visible on the outside diameter of the switch housing. I unscrewed the switch to make sure the inside was OK and ka-sproing, all the tiny switch parts went flying:huh:

Customer service was great, as always. Said the new redesigned switch will arrive in 7-10 days. He mentioned that an aluminum ring has been added to reinforce this area. My 2007 E1L had only a white plastic 'tower' that retained all the switch parts, and the tower partially broke on impact.

What a super company to work with

Thanks for the heads-up. I should take one of my E1B's apart to see if the tail is different than the others I have...

- Chris

The Z48 and Z50 click-on tailcaps have also been recently redesigned for improved durability. The bottom plate is now white with four visible copper strips.

The dark coloured insides were replaced by light-coloured insides which have now been replaced by a design featuring a metal reinforcing ring (this latest version is standard on the E1B) and rolls out to the rest of the Clickies in due course.
I'm not sure whether this solution is being like-for-like scaled up for the standard-body Clickies.

I've had to replace 3 or 4 Executive series tailcaps. The replacements have worked flawlessly. No binding or mushy action. The tailcap that came with my E2d is the most robust of all my clickies. This one was good from the get go.

All in all I'm very happy with my clickies and the customer service I received in getting replacements.

kelmo

I've had to replace my E2D's tailcap about 4-5 times. The first week I had it I was going insane and using it to illuminate everything and anything possible. When it came time to change to a 2nd set of batteries I opened the bezel and removed the batteries only to find the spring set from the tailcap had came loose. I untwisted the tail-cap and I noticed the milky white plastic 3 point prong that holds the spring in the tailcap together had cracked. One of the 3 points cracked. This has been the same issue with all 4-5 tailcaps I've had. I've written to Surefire and Spoken to their Customer Service Manager Dorothy Fitzgerald and she sent me a few tailcaps but I'm down to my last one. From my job I got a free E2E tail cap (Sorry I can't remember the name right now) and I noticed the tailcap is totally different. The milky white plastic prongs aren't there. Instead there is a sorta metal ring holding down all the internals of the tailcap. I called SF up to make some suggestions and told them that they should just replace the E2D tailcaps with E2E's but with the CB outside. I mean it is possible, its basically the same tailcap inside and out just that E2D's has the CB and the internals are a bit different but the E2E's seem to be more durable in my opinion. Any one here have the same problem I have? It makes me hesitant to buy any E series Surefires. Please do Share. BTW the E2D I have is the more recent model in case it makes a difference. Its the one with the E2D EXECUTIVE DEFENDER all on one side.

I received 2 Z57 replacements last week. The switch is totally redesigned and looks to be very robust. I would sure like to purchase a dozen or so of the switches from the OEM. Does anyone know where the new switches are coming from?

I believe that SureFire designs and manufacturers the switches in-house.

I guess I've been lucky. I have a dozen or so E-series clickies and have never had a problem with them.

Here are a three different Z68's. I believe the one on the left is the newest version. Note the larger white tower/grommet/whatever-it's-called. The spring is also much beefier than the the older version.

Now we know where all the Z68's are at!

None of those are the same as the new version (as used by the E1B and being rolled out across the whole clickie range)

Thanks for sharing the photo though.

Dude I've been looking for one of those, know anyplace selling them?


Bill

Nathan said:

I guess I've been lucky. I have a dozen or so E-series clickies and have never had a problem with them.

Here are a three different Z68's. I believe the one on the left is the newest version. Note the larger white tower/grommet/whatever-it's-called. The spring is also much beefier than the the older version.

Click to expand...

No, but if I come across another one I'll let you know.
Assuming, of course, that I won't happen to need one at the time...

Nathan said:

I guess I've been lucky. I have a dozen or so E-series clickies and have never had a problem with them.

Here are a three different Z68's. I believe the one on the left is the newest version. Note the larger white tower/grommet/whatever-it's-called. The spring is also much beefier than the the older version.

Click to expand...

Can someone take the picture of the switch of the E1B? I just bought an E2D, probably packaged in december (based on the expiration date of the battery that came with it) and it has the version on the left.

L to R: E1B tailcap, E2D tailcap, and an old Z61 w/nekomane tailguard.

The Z59 has also been redesigned recently.....

To update this thread, I phoned SF today to check on the tailcap for the E1L. While on hold, I unscrewed the tailcap on the E2L clipped in my pocket - just to see if it had the 'old style' plastic retainer - which it had. Then I looked at the rear of the battery & saw a piece of that same white plastic resting on the bottom of the battery

When the SF rep came on the line, he said that the updated tailcaps are just now going through final inspection & should start shipping this week. And he added one more to my order so that both the E1L and the E2L will have the new tailcap

Two tailcaps arrived today, for the E1L & the E2L. Funny that the old switch on the E1L failed after a dozen clicks, while the E2L went for months of heavy use before failure.

I'd post a photo, but Nathan already did that ... the tailcap in the far left photo is the new design. If you look closely, you can see the raised silver ring that none of my other tailcaps have.