What is/who makes the best clickie?

I like a clickie interface but it appears to historically be a weak link in some great flashlights - whether it is the notorious Kroll back in the Arc LS days, the Arc4 sort of switch switch, Surefires clickie issues, Vital Gear FB body micro switches, Ra Clickie original run switches, etc... it seems like it has plagued many lights from the least expensive DX models, through many of the mid range lights (Fenix, Dereelight, Quark, etc..) to Surefire, Novatac and Ra.

I have a Vital Gear FB1 and the switch has the slightest flicker when latching, and when pressing hard on momentary, and I can't decide if I should get a new switch (which may be as bad), use my E1L/Z57 combination which has thus far been trouble free, or try a Fivemega body or just go with an Aleph body and McClickie. I sure do like the small size of the FB1 and the bezel down clip though... Heck my Novatac switch is starting to act a bit flaky at times and I've generally had excellent luck with those...

So is there any clickie switch that stands above the rest in terms of reliability?

I vote for the McClickie.

Clicky switches in general are (much) more prone to failure than a twisty switch, because they (can be, and usually) are so complex.

I believe it was Spock who said, "The more complicated the plumbing, the easier to gum up."

They are usually much harder to seal against water as well, and may not operate well at high pressures, because of the extreme pressures exerted against them. Sort of like, when's the last time you saw a serious dive light with a reverse-clicky? It'd be about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.

But, yes, i'd also vote for McClicky.

The McClicky switch (aka a modified Surefire switch) gets my vote.

I've actually had twisty switches fail before, because the contacting surfaces grind against each other and get contaminated, and you can't use grease with rolling agents in them because the rolling agents will prevent the threads from touching and conducting electricity. There is no maintenance-free switch.

I think this is a question that many of us will have opinions on based on failures, or lack of them, in our individual experiences.
I have worse luck than anyone I've ever heard of with flashlight reliability in general, and switches in particular.
For instance, I wonder how many people have had to re-epoxy the piece that is used to hold the spring in place in a twisty Longbow tailcap, and have had a SF Z41 with a cross-threaded jam nut?
That said, I have never had a failure with a body-mounted clicky from Streamlight or MagLite, a tailcap clicky from SF, or a McGizmo McClicky. All my other clickies that have seen any amount of use were of Chinese origin, and all have failed in one way or another, though they usually just needed to be tightened, or removed and replaced(for whatever reason that worked), to function properly again. Edit: oops-forgot about Krolls, which have consistent contact issues. Had a bunch of those. Usually fixed by pulling out the negative contact spring, and/or wrapping the threads in Al foil and reinstalling the switch.

I use McClicky switches in McTC tailcaps on all four of my SF E-series based lights, which are currently all of my handheld users except for a M3T with Z41-HA that I keep in my truck.
I use the McTCs instead of SF tailswitches because it's easy to replace both the switch and the boot, and I recognize the potential of any switch to fail.

The clickie in my Surefire U2 is still the original, after three years. It had stopped working once, ordered a replacement. Then a drop of oil in the right place restored the original, which still works to this day. So I still have the free replacement just in case.

Also have a two year old LED Lenser that the clickie still works just fine.

Otherwise all the rest of mine are twisties.

HDS RA makes most reliable clickie light.
I know Ra got some issues, but I believe this was fixed.
I got about 10 HDS lights, never got problems.
It is not really switch, but push button.
No spring, no plastic parts. Simple and reliable.
Cheers.

we can put a man on the moon, a spacecraft around mars, but we cant build a good switch for a flashlight?

Random Tangent: What about the Nitecore SmartPD system?

The best clickie is no clickie.It's the Twisty.One less piece of the puzzle to go wrong.IMO.


lovecpflovecpflovecpf

My vote is for the Streamlight and Mag switches (as far as clickies go). Had a streamlight for 8 years with consistent duty use with no problems. As far as lubing a twisty, use bulb grease ($.50 at any auto parts store). It's not as good as silicone, but it doesn't affect conductivity at all. Just OK lube is better than no lube any day, especially for the o-rings.

I don't think it is a true clicky but the tail on my G2ZL sure seems like there is little that can go wrong.

Surefire has corrected the reliability issues with their E-series clickies. Never experienced a failure myself, but quite a few CPFers did. However, no recent complaints.

I have a McClicky. The switch feels a bit soft. Doesn't inspire the same type of confidence as the SF E2D switch that I use on my usual EDC light. (A lego light consisting of E2D tailcap, black E2E body, and TLS / OpticsHQ LED head).

I'd go with a newer SF E-series clickie.

Gatsby said:

I like a clickie interface but it appears to historically be a weak link in some great flashlights... or just go with an Aleph body and McClickie.
So is there any clickie switch that stands above the rest in terms of reliability?

Click to expand...

Another vote of confidence on McGizmo's McClicky.:twothumbs

-Mayo

The Mag switches are good, I forgot. For the E-series, the McTc has been great. Any SF E series get's one of those almost immediately. I just like the tail cap from the Shoppe.

John_Galt said:

I believe it was Spock who said, "The more complicated the plumbing, the easier to gum up."

Click to expand...

Loved that line and it is one I hold in mind often.

"The more they over think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."
"The Search for Spock" ST III when Scotty disabled the Excelsior from giving chase to the Enterprise.

My vote is the RA Clicky!!

mcgizmo clicky
Ra Clicky flush button

$.02

What about the Nitecore piston--or would that not count as a "clickie"?

Do any lights use Microswitches?

The sort that are good for literally millions of clicks?

Mag. Streamlight ProPoly 4aa Lux