Torture tests on SF lights?

A lot of comments on Surefire lights have been that they can take a lot of punishment and will not fail. After doing a search, it seemed that no "torture tests" have been done on Surefire lights. Wonder how an SF light would do in a test like this?
:thinking:
Anyone tortured a SF light?

joshwang said:

Anyone tortured a SF light?

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Not intentionally, but I dropped a one-month old E1e from my belt onto a tiled floor. It cracked the pyrex and shattered the plastic tailcap internals.

Result of test 1: FAIL
Result of test 2: Results pending. Surefire screwed up the replacement parts order, so this test cannot be completed until they get that right first.

you wont see many, cos no one can bear to beat up a 100+ dollar light. Be interesting to see what happens to maybe a 6P though...

Crenshaw

I've field-tested quite a few SureFires over the years.
During the development of the MN15 and MN16 I ruined perhaps a dozen Millennium TurboHeads.
If my online gallery was working I could show how an M3T handled being 'attacked' with an axe, or how the M2 bezel evolved to make it tougher.
Even my pre-production sample A2 and U2 were pretty beat-up as a result of intensive use. How much use wears the knurled texture from the rubber switch boot? I've achieved this to a number of SureFires.
Just what does it take to break the Pyrex window of a G2Z? I've found out.

I know from experience that the High Output Lamp Assemblies are more resistant to impact than the standard lamps. Just how far can you deform the filament and 'reform' the beam again by whacking the bezel in the opposite direction? I found out.

After putting the L2 through some harsh treatment I am confident that modern LED SureFires can justify being called tough, durable, and resilient.

I know that SureFire takes field-testing extremely seriously with plenty of new product samples being trialled in theatre. They have plenty of evidence that their 'lab-based' lifecycle testing is representative of actual use and as a result can be confident that user trials and field-testing will go well and that these can concentrate on more task-orientated and ergonomics performance issues.

Al

I agree. Even if my light still works, I don't want it to be all dinged up just for the sake of the test.

Crenshaw said:

you wont see many, cos no one can bear to beat up a 100+ dollar light. Be interesting to see what happens to maybe a 6P though...

Crenshaw

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One of mine fell 3 feet onto a hardwood floor. Floor didn't have a scratch, but the plastic switch internals were shattered.

Fixed it, got rid of it, and vowed to never own another SF clicky again.

I'm not a fan of Clickie flashlights.
From my perspective SureFire seemed to peak early with their Z48/49 and have taken a long time to get a miniaturised version that is good enough. The current version with the metal ring appears to have resolved the issues.
Still, I prefer momentary on/off or two-stage push button pressure switches...

Al

Ive dropped my 6P twice, on lenolium-like ESD flooring at work and while my heart skipped a beat the 6P took it like a champ. :thumbsup::thumbsup: for the twist switch. The HAII finish is showing signs of use though, but nothing major. Lots of small scratches and chips around the bezel.

kramer5150 said:

The HAII finish is showing signs of use though, but nothing major. Lots of small scratches and chips around the bezel.

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There's no such thing as "HAII" - it's either HA (type III), or it's not (type II).

kramer5150 said:

that SF clicky is a joke:thumbsdow and should be avoided.

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Which Clickie TailCap?

Crenshaw said:

you wont see many, cos no one can bear to beat up a 100+ dollar light. Be interesting to see what happens to maybe a 6P though...

Crenshaw

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Funny you say that; I bought an M6 and then a John Willis holster so I wouldn't scratch it up. Go figure?????
Now the rest of my Surefires are at the mercy of whatever. I figure most things I use outdoors are tools and will get some dings. Just couldn't bear to see the most expensive, although supposedly toughest light I own get beat up.

I actually don't mind if my lights get dinged up through usage ... I just don't want them to get dinged up because of test. That's like 10 years of accumulated dings in one day.

Crenshaw said:

you wont see many, cos no one can bear to beat up a 100+ dollar light. Be interesting to see what happens to maybe a 6P though...

Crenshaw

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let along a $500 one....but I did tie up and swing the M6 into stiff mattresses:nana:.
Didn't break the lamp, no scratches, but the lanyard ring snapped but managed to hang on to my light until it stopped spinning

I have quite a large collection of surefires and would love to have a few tested and returned with a few bullet holes in them. No through the widow or tailswitch shots but would love to see how well the side of the head and body can take a bullet. And only if wild68fury and greenled would be willing to team up again to do this torture test. I'll go through my surefires and see what I'm willing to destroy. I'll check and post again when I have some free time. I'm getting exited about the outcome already. Can a surefire outlast a T1?!

Crenshaw said:

you wont see many, cos no one can bear to beat up a 100+ dollar light. Be interesting to see what happens to maybe a 6P though...

Crenshaw

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I can bear to beat up a $500+ light. Unless it's a true collectible, I've never understood why would anyone would want to own an expensive and superior flashlight, built to withstand the harshest conditions the planet can serve up, only to baby it like it's make out of eggshell. Take it outside, skid it down the sidewalk and then put it back in your pocket. :thumbsup: All of my lights look like what they are -- well used tools that have been through it and back. No problem! This whole obsessive collector culture really cuts down on a lot of use and enjoyment. Look at how many kids today keep their toys mint in original packaging. They're toys!!!

Yeah, I winced the first time my U2 kissed granite (1 day after I bought it). I didn't wince the tenth time though. Use those lights!!!

OT: wasn't there a picture floating around a while ago that showed a D cell Maglite that had been sawed in half by an M4? That was one of the things that sold me on the M4 as my first "real" light.

There was a tourture test of a G2L in the reviews section. Tied to a backpack and dragged on rocks before being turned on and thrown in a lake.

importculture said:

I have quite a large collection of surefires and would love to have a few tested and returned with a few bullet holes in them. No through the widow or tailswitch shots but would love to see how well the side of the head and body can take a bullet. And only if wild68fury and greenled would be willing to team up again to do this torture test. I'll go through my surefires and see what I'm willing to destroy. I'll check and post again when I have some free time. I'm getting exited about the outcome already. Can a surefire outlast a T1?!

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That would be awesome. :thumbsup:

Size15's said:

Which Clickie TailCap?

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Well, the Z57 is a prime candidate. I really wish Surefire would just swallow their pride and restart Z52 production. It is unacceptable to risk the lives of the emergency crew and service personnel just to save a little embarrasment.

MikeSalt said:

Well, the Z57 is a prime candidate. I really wish Surefire would just swallow their pride and restart Z52 production. It is unacceptable to risk the lives of the emergency crew and service personnel just to save a little embarrasment.

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As far as I'm aware the current version of the Z57 has resolved the issues.
I agree that SureFire should offer the Z52 as an accessory.

I agree that we shouldn't baby our lights and take them out to use. I've dropped my lights, dinged them, scratched them, and I'm fine with that ... I just want it to be a nice long natural process versus purposely doing so. To me, that's like purposely putting a dent on a brand new car's bumper. Driving in the city, it's inevitable that someone will eventually dent or nick your bumpers when they're trying to parallel park in a tight parking space.

souptree said:

I can bear to beat up a $500+ light. Unless it's a true collectible, I've never understood why would anyone would want to own an expensive and superior flashlight, built to withstand the harshest conditions the planet can serve up, only to baby it like it's make out of eggshell. Take it outside, skid it down the sidewalk and then put it back in your pocket. All of my lights look like what they are -- well used tools that have been through it and back. No problem! This whole obsessive collector culture really cuts down on a lot of use and enjoyment.

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kids do that? The only time I've seen that was from the movie "40 year old virgin". I've never seen a kid actually keeping their toys in mint condition. When I was a kid, my toys usually break within a week. I called it reverse engineering, but my mom disagreed.

souptree said:

Look at how many kids today keep their toys mint in original packaging. They're toys!!!

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I remember reading that thread too. The member bought a spare M4 body to do that test. That was pretty neat.

souptree said:

OT: wasn't there a picture floating around a while ago that showed a D cell Maglite that had been sawed in half by an M4? That was one of the things that sold me on the M4 as my first "real" light.

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importculture said:

IAnd only if wild68fury and greenled would be willing to team up again to do this torture test. I'll go through my surefires and see what I'm willing to destroy. I'll check and post again when I have some free time. I'm getting exited about the outcome already. Can a surefire outlast a T1?!

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You say the word, and I'll start torturing! :devil:

souptree said:

I can bear to beat up a $500+ light. Unless it's a true collectible, I've never understood why would anyone would want to own an expensive and superior flashlight, built to withstand the harshest conditions the planet can serve up, only to baby it like it's make out of eggshell. Take it outside, skid it down the sidewalk and then put it back in your pocket. :thumbsup: All of my lights look like what they are -- well used tools that have been through it and back. No problem! This whole obsessive collector culture really cuts down on a lot of use and enjoyment. Look at how many kids today keep their toys mint in original packaging. They're toys!!!

Yeah, I winced the first time my U2 kissed granite (1 day after I bought it). I didn't wince the tenth time though. Use those lights!!!

OT: wasn't there a picture floating around a while ago that showed a D cell Maglite that had been sawed in half by an M4? That was one of the things that sold me on the M4 as my first "real" light.

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True, true, and true. Heck, even my PD-S and the light that Larry gave me have been dropped! :klutz: Still, I do have truly "beater" lights and others that I use but don't abuse (and then there's the one or two true shelf queens, but I usually end up selling those - what's the point of having them in a drawer somewhere?).


Soup, I *think* that was PEU who sawed a Mag using a SF.