New Surefire question. Frustrated.

I just got a new Surefire Fury today and upon inspecting it noticed some scratches inside the reflector. It really bothers me because I had a 6PX Pro with tail cap issues, got a replacement light from surefire that had deep scratches all over the head, send that one back, then decide to get a Fury and this is what I get. With Surefire's acclaimed perfection am I the unluckiest dude of the bunch with their lights or what? Am I being too picky? Does any one else have these scraches? Is it something that went wrong in the process of piecing together the light in the factory? Will it effect the light or performance? Here is a picture. That is the worst of it, but those scratches are kind of on and off along that circular line on the reflector.

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Thanks in advance guys. Btw, I would post this directly in the Fury thread however for some reason, the thread does not display on this forum for me anymore, even though I know it should be on the first page. Who knows.

Hello jalcon,

Regarding posts this afternoon, there was a brief technical issue concerning the time stamps of posts. This seems to have been resolved.

Back on topic and looking at your pic, I would find those reflector scratches to be unacceptable, and recommend that you call SureFire for an exchange. This is unfortunate given your past experience, but I've owned dozens of SFs and have never seen anything remotely like that in any of the reflectors. (All of mine have been flawless with the exception of one that had two tiny sputtering defects.)

Looks like another one got past QC, that's all. Call SureFire and post updates with how things work out.

Hope this helps,

Thanks.

That is what I'll do. I have had more luck with those $3 nine LED lights than Surefires. LOL. I should add, I took that photo with my new HTC Rezound, and gotta say am pretty impressed.

Out of curiousity, is your username named after the bird?

jalcon said:

Thanks.

That is what I'll do. I have had more luck with those $3 nine LED lights than Surefires. LOL.

Out of curiousity, is your username named after the bird?

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How is the tint on the sample you have, it can be somewhat of a gamble sending a light back for another. Let me ask you this does the marks of the lens/reflector affect the beam in anyway and again how is the tint? If the beam is not affected and the tint is good I would be worried I would send the light back and get one that might not have any scratches on the lens but I get a less than ideal tint, again it can be a little risky but I know how things like that can bug a flashaholic.

The tint doesn't seem too bad, purhaps has a little bit of green to it, esp the low. I don't mind the tint though. I don't know, one part of me is upset with these scratches, then another part of me asks myself why, and how am I really affected by them, haha. I see nothing obvoius on the beam the suggests a problem, then again im no expert and didn't exactly study it. I showed my wife why I was all mad about this light and she was kind of like "who cares, are you serious lol" I guess she is right, but when spending $100 on a brand new light, kind of want it to be perfect. What would the rest of you all do in this situation, if I might ask.

Are you sure those are really etched in? Almost looks like you can get some lens cleaner and wipe them off.

I didn't feel Surefire is "Perfect" in anyway. But I do feel Surefire standby their warranties, which is important if you use your light a lot. As problems are bound to occur regardless what brand you use. Yes, Rolls Royce can break down as well.

So hope you all the best with your next replacement my friend.

jalcon said:

I just got a new Surefire Fury today and upon inspecting it noticed some scratches inside the reflector. It really bothers me because I had a 6PX Pro with tail cap issues, got a replacement light from surefire that had deep scratches all over the head, send that one back, then decide to get a Fury and this is what I get. With Surefire's acclaimed perfection am I the unluckiest dude of the bunch with their lights or what? Am I being too picky? Does any one else have these scraches? Is it something that went wrong in the process of piecing together the light in the factory? Will it effect the light or performance? Here is a picture. That is the worst of it, but those scratches are kind of on and off along that circular line on the reflector.



Thanks in advance guys. Btw, I would post this directly in the Fury thread however for some reason, the thread does not display on this forum for me anymore, even though I know it should be on the first page. Who knows.

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I know how you feel mate.

A few months ago when I invested in a new LX2, it arrived with a fingerprint clearly visible on the inside of the lens ... on the optic or the inside of the lens! Also there were two small scratches (not pinpricks) of ano missing.

Being in Australia I had to ship the head back to Surefire for a replacement.

Yes I was frustrated - especially at the extra cost involved in overseas shipping, and the extra wait of several weeks before receiving the replacement.

The replacement was much better ... but with a greener tint.

I use it as an EDC now, have since dropped it and scratched it, and don't care about appearance any more.

ALSO, I've recently purchased and received a malkoff M61 with a smudge on the reflector (large smudge with scratches) and also an M60 with a scratch on the optic. Frustrated and angry ... but given up care due to too much shipping cost and hassle of getting replacements.

Unless it really bothers you, and you're happy to risk a replacement that may not be perfect too, I say use it as an EDC and enjoy its performance.

Cheers

Well it is hard to be perfect with production stuff. Regardless how much love the production manager has for the lights, when a company goes big, it would simply be difficult to avoid mistakes and give the company as a whole, a bad name.

I was just about to post in the Malkoff thread about the M61 dropins D337944. I have had the same problem with every Malkoff M61 version to pass thru my hands. Scratches on the reflector that to me suggest someone at some point is actually wiping the reflectors with something like a rag . also water spot marks and wierd little fibers that can be picked off at the risk of damaging the reflector.
have gone thru replacement process only to get another exactly the same. I think they are all that way and will ask in the Malkoff thread. Only noticeable when the light is on. I want to bring it up in the hopes they will realize over there what is going on and act to prevent it

insanefred said:

Are you sure those are really etched in? Almost looks like you can get some lens cleaner and wipe them off.

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He said the scratches are on the reflector - not the lens.

And that reflector looks like someone tried to clean it - and anytime that happens, the results are usually less than adequate.

I believe that there are two issues at stake here; 1 satisfaction, 2 quality control. Surefire's reputation is built on the quality, durability and the effectiveness of their products. Their warranty is second to none and has presumably been made possible by a combination of higher prices, research and development and a limited need to replace faulty components? However, some of the newer products 'appear' to have been made possible by simplifying the production process which in turn allows them to market these products a lower prices than we have historically been used to from Surefire. The question posed is has Surefire streamlined the production process by reducing the sampling rate of its quality control (QC)as a method of controlling costs or has Jalcon just been exceptionally unlucky with his recent Surefire purchases? I am obviously not privy to the return rate of Surefire's products for warranty rectification work but have no reason from the posts seen in these forums to 'assume' the Surefire is having a greater return of lights than previously. In fact the great majority of posts are nothing but complimentary about Surefire's recent offerings. This leads me (rightly or wrongly) to deduce that Surefire has not introduced any deliberate reduction in how it carries out QC. It is reasonable to assume therefore that there has been no changes which have allowed faulty or substandard parts to be allowed through to the customer. Putting it quite simply Jalcon has been very unlucky in his purchases and represents a 'blip' which is statistically quite likely to happen to 'someone' given the number of lights that Surefire sell.

The problem we are left with now is satisfaction. Should a customer expect to buy a fault free product and is it realistic? I believe that it is realistic and reasonable to expect that a component, in this case the reflector, should not contain obvious flaws which other similar components don't have. I think it's reasonable to expect Jalcon to be dissatisfied with this light and he should not have to justify himself for doing so as the vast majority other Surefire Fury's do not come out of the factory in a similar state. By returning the light to Surefire he will, or should, allow a statistic to be created on the number of similar issues with faulty reflectors to be potentially identified and Surefire to investigate how to prevent similar returns being generated. As to whether he would inadvertently end up with a light with an inferior tint is speculative and statistically no worse than a 50/50 bet. In short he should contact Surefire (preferably by phone) and explain the 'issues' he's had with his purchases and ask the customer service representative to ensure that he is sent a fault free product. Anything less is unacceptable and ultimately not to Surefire's advantage as once a company starts neglecting QC its reputation can only suffer!

Think you're just quite unlucky. Those marks almost appear as "wiping" marks. If you could get the module out like a vintage P60L, you'd know in seconds with a Q-tip and some alcohol to clean them up. It's too bad you can't get to it without some difficulty to do a home repair.

I'd be tempted to send it back or try and use it and see how the beam is. Although if there is damage to the coating, it's unlikely it'll get better with use and heat cycling. I'd lean more toward sending it in one more time.

As for reflector cleaning, I've had great luck with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip. Even did it to one of my M61N dropins. All my incandescant bulbs get a similar wipe before use to remove any errant oils or grime.

I'm probably one of biggest fans of Surefire, but some of these new model threads bring back memories of the famous U2 Ultra teething stages. I got the feeling that it might be a good model to pass on for the first year of production. Would really like to pick one up now however.

Best of luck jalcon.

I know it is frustrating, but have to say my personal experience with Surefire support has been very positive. Have you asked Tech support for an extension so you can have a "single point of contact" so until things are completely resolved you don't have to give a history each time? I agree that it is reasonable to expect a product that is defect free, but as pointed out, mass production can outpace quality control, but Surefire should remedy the situation to your satisfaction. Good Luck...

Thanks for all of the responses guys, I'm going to contact Surefire today if I get a chance.

Non related - I've been active on dozens of forums in the past and don't recall a forum as friendly and helpful as this one. Appreciate it!