Bad luck with surefire*RESOLVED*

I own a 2007 E1L. Well I'm not too happy with the output,I didn't expect a pocket rocket but I was hoping for a little more. Also it's on the green side and it has rings,but only on white walls. Yesterday I bought a E1B and you guessed it,yellow and more rings,but this time the rings are dark,really distinct on everything,plus there is a small hot litttle spot at one edge of the light. THIS IS NOT A BASHING THREAD. What are my options to getting happy with these lights? Can I return them to surefire?

Re: Bad luck with surefire

I Recommend Giving Surefire A Call..I (And Many Others) Have Experienced Excellent Customer Service.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Toll Free: 800-828-8809
Outside the US: 714-545-9444
Fax: 714-545-9537
Email: [email protected]

(http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/pgrfnbr/20/sesent/00)

Re: Bad luck with surefire

I really don't know how the beam pattern looks like, so it's hard to say if you have defective models. I suppose whitewall shots will help folks here make a comparison.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

dudemar said:

I really don't know how the beam pattern looks like, so it's hard to say if you have defective models. I suppose whitewall shots will help folks here make a comparison.

Click to expand...

Yes shots would be better,I didn't won't to come on here and start a war but I can't get the shots to show. That's why it's not a bash , it's a help me please thread. I wasn't sure if SF would take them back for these kind of "problems". Should I even try or should I be looking to have them Milked? The brightness of the E1B is comparable to my 120T's,maybe just a little less bright,so if it wasn't for the weird rings and spot it would be perfect. I'm digging that stiff SF click.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

I love my E1B but the hot spot is a little weird looking as in not perfectly round and there are rings as well. I guess it's not an issue as long as you're not looking for something on a white wall or ceiling. I have another E1B (I said I love my first one didn't I ) inbound and will be here tomorrow so I'll compare the first to that and see what's shakin.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

Call Surefire (don't e-mail) and explain the problem(s). In my small amount of contact with them they have always been courteous and helpful.

Another option is to try and exchange your E1B where you bought it.

Best of luck!

Re: Bad luck with surefire

The new optics don't put out the prettiest beam, but what you're describing sounds unusual. Call (don't email) SureFire about it. Failing that, contact the dealer.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

Return them before stepping up to a 6P/G2 and third-party drop-in.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

Unfortunately, flashlight manufacturers have very little control over the tint. However, due to the ring imperfections, I believe this warrants action by Surefire.

Not exactly the worst of luck though, at least both your Surefires succeed in producing light. Still waiting for both a new bezel and tailswitch for my E1e to be functional again.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

Unfortunately some peoples views of SureFire are skewed by either faulty or poor quality control issues on some of their products. Whilst no one can be sure (except SureFire) I suspect that their LED light range has produced a substantial increase in warranty claims? However,is this from a small or large customer base? I suspect the former. Why? Well since the War On Terror, SureFires military and LEO sales have undoubtedly risen and many of these sales are likely to be for LED lights. As poor beam shape and characteristics are unlikely to worry an operator who has been issued a light (as opposed to a private purchasor)then the light is unlikely to be returned under warranty. Proportionally (I suspect) it is only private purchasors who return items under warranty? Most goverment contracts are based on given number of units being supplied and takes into account a certain amount of failure rate. Unless the failure rate is exceptionally high it is unlikely that a contract would cover a return to manufacturer for repair on things like flashlights.

Over the years I've been a member of this forum the only thing which ever used to be a source of complaints about SureFire was tailcap failure or the occasional premature demise of an incandescent lamp module. These days the majority of problems appear to be about beam characteristics and the much reduced problems with some tail caps?

Does this mean that SureFire makes less reliable products or relies less on good quality control? Personally I think not. I actually think that as a forum we see complaints in disproportion to the number of items SureFire produce and that the expectation from us (as private purchasors) is higher than the average user would either expect or care about.

To all those who have issues with SureFire products other than price) I acknowledge your discontent but please don't blow it out of proportion?

Doug

PS! I don't work for or have any affiliation with SureFire other than as a satisfied customer.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

I didn't think I was blowing it out of proportion. I am just not satisfied with these 2 individual lights and want to know what my options are to make myself happy. Not ever having to deal with SF's costumer service, I was looking for advice on whether or not I should bother.:shakehead I hope I didn't start something.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

houtex said:

I didn't think I was blowing it out of proportion. I am just not satisfied with these 2 individual lights and want to know what my options are to make myself happy. Not ever having to deal with SF's costumer service, I was looking for advice on whether or not I should bother.:shakehead I hope I didn't start something.

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By all means contact SureFire if you are not satisfied. I'm aware of people successfully returning lights for replacement due to a tint/beam profile they were unhappy with. Having not seen beamshots of the lights in question I can't comment as to whether the beam characteristics are unusual or simply the rings that you are likely to find in just about any TIR.

Regards,
Tempest

Re: Bad luck with surefire

houtex said:

I didn't think I was blowing it out of proportion. I am just not satisfied with these 2 individual lights and want to know what my options are to make myself happy. Not ever having to deal with SF's costumer service, I was looking for advice on whether or not I should bother.:shakehead I hope I didn't start something.

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Please take the advise given you, and call Surefire. Let us know what happened. If you want to have Milky do something with them, then by all means contact him.

Bill

Re: Bad luck with surefire

Make sure your batteries are fresh, check with a meter.
Double check all electrical contacts, clean them thoroughly with an electronics parts cleaner/solvent thats safe for use on plastics.

Measure current draw at the tailcap and post your mah reading, perhaps others can compare to yours?

Post whitewall beamshots. Let forum members try and help... let them see what you are seeing.

call SF... and hope it is a defect that you have. If it is not defective, then chances are you are going to get the same thing in return. They have very good CS. Thats one of the major advantages of buying a high $$$ SF light.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

MikeSalt said:

Still waiting for both a new bezel and tailswitch for my E1e to be functional again.

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I get the tailswitch problem, we've all had those, but how does your bezel prevent the light from working?

Re: Bad luck with surefire

Here is a beam shot of my E1B. It's a little over exposed as there is more of a halo around the hot spot. I believe the color of the yellow ring is an effect of the optic. Sorry about the shotty camera work. My phone is all I have with me at work. I've never been thrilled with the optics Surefire uses, but the reliability, CS, and Made in the USA make up for the poor whitewall beam. My L1 was about as ugly.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

Toosharp I borrowed your pic and modded it a bit to show what I'm getting with my E1b.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

Yea, that big thing at about two o'clock doesn't look good. Someone mentioned MilkySpit. If your experience with SureFire's CS doesn't go well, you could always get the lights modified.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

My L1's beam is pretty bad too, not only full of rings but the rings aren't even circular lol. But I don't really notice it during actual use so I don't mind.

Re: Bad luck with surefire

I got my second E1B today and it pretty much looks like TooSharp's picture which is the same as my first E1B. Like I said in my original post in this thread, as long as I'm not looking for things on my white walls and ceilings I'm not worried about it.

In real use I don't notice the weird hotspot or the rings but do notice how great this light performs and simply LOVE IT!!!