SUREFIRE E2D ULTRA, EB1, LX2, E1L, EB2 ETC...

Called surefire today becuase over the past two months i've orderd liek 6 pocket clips for my e2d ultra, she said we see this all the time and we are bugging our engineering department to create a more durable pocket clip for this light. She told me that the best course of action is to send a letter to surefire explaining my problem with these clips and that its unacceptable, especially if i loose my light due to a broken pocket clip. I will be sending a letter and maybe they'll develop a better clip, i was wondering if anyone else would be willing to send an email or letter, maybe they will listen to us if we get enough people to send in complaints on it.

In the mean time she said she'd send me 5 clips for free.

Nah. No letters, they know. I've been through that enough times with them that sf felt the need to threaten to make me start sending my lights in in the future, "to see what's going on" as to why they're breaking, in order to get new clips. I won't do that, so I won't buy another sf with a clip, not that they're making anything that interests me lately anyway. If they were removable, without exposing the o ring, that might be different.

By the way there's a potential advantage to break away clips too, maybe if it got caught on something, machinery or something, losing the light might be the better alternative.

how are you breaking so many? I've had 1 clip fail in like 10 years and i'm not easy on my lights.. lol

My understanding is that Surefire reads this forum, so hopefully they have seen or will soon see this thread. I have not personally experienced any Surefire broken clips, but have read enough about the issue here and elsewhere so that it is a concern. Furthermore, my own experience in discussing the EB1T switching issue with them did not leave me with the impression that my comments were taken seriously, although an EB1 thread here seemed to indicate that the switching issue may now be fixed for more recent production lights.

Surefire has chosen, through its advertising and pricing, to position itself at the top of the market, holding itself out as the best. This can be an effective marketing strategy, and certainly has been one for Surefire. However, when one positions oneself at the top of the market, particularly through pricing, one is going to be expected to deliver, and can expect the level of resulting disappointment to be greater when problems arise. I, and I imagine most here, would be willing to accept more issues from a $50-$70 light than we would be willing to accept from a $200+ light, yet I could name at least one manufacturer in the lower of these price ranges that is doing a very good job with its clips.

Surefire, please confirm that the EB1T switch issue has been fixed, and deal with the clip issue.

i wear my light for 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, and i'm not exactly working in ideal conditions. Usually when it breaks, its because it gets caught on stuff, one time i dropped it and it broke. they're just too think. I used to carry a streamlight pro tac 2l and didn't break that clip once in over a year.

Like Leon said, they are made to break in a specific fashion but it sure seems like they could be made a little more durable without sacrificing safety. All the same, I have only broken 3 (2 LX2s and one EB2) and replacement was quick and easy enough. I have enough spares around to keep my light in service but it's still an inconvenience.

Fast LT1 said:

i wear my light for 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, and i'm not exactly working in ideal conditions. Usually when it breaks, its because it gets caught on stuff, one time i dropped it and it broke. they're just too think. I used to carry a streamlight pro tac 2l and didn't break that clip once in over a year.

Click to expand...

How do you carry it? bezel down in the pocket with just the small part of the clip exposed?


I agree with you guys though, if it's this much of a problem for so many people then they should take care of it.

I make my living behind a desk so there may very well be something I am missing, but I am having a really hard time buying the idea that there is a good reason to have the clip break under certain circumstances. Retaining one's gear under adverse conditions so that it is available when needed would seem to maximize safety.

BillSWPA said:

I make my living behind a desk so there may very well be something I am missing, but I am having a really hard time buying the idea that there is a good reason to have the clip break under certain circumstances. Retaining one's gear under adverse conditions so that it is available when needed would seem to maximize safety.

Click to expand...

I think the popular answer is that a clip, or more importantly a lanyard, should have some provision to break away to avoid the user's hand being pulled somewhere it shouldn't be. However, I suspect the 2-way clips may be designed the way they are to help protect the flashlight body from damage. There's not a lot of aluminum holding it in place.

That's just a theory anyway . . .

It would be a great idea on SF's end to include at least a couple of extra clips with their lights. You spend $200+ on a light and have to fight to get a replacement clip (so it seems).

I've broken two of them so far, but have not had any issues getting replacements.

In the 2 to 3 years carrying my LX2 I broke one pocket clip. I am very gentile on lights and if I break the clip it must be junk. I put my hand in my pocket and the downward force snapped the clip.

the badger said:

It would be a great idea on SF's end to include at least a couple of extra clips with their lights. You spend $200+ on a light and have to fight to get a replacement clip (so it seems).

Click to expand...

I have never had to fight to get any replacement parts from Surefire.... even bezels and tailcaps. You can just go to the page on their website, click the button and it arrives a few days later in your mailbox for free.

I've only ever messed up 1 LX2 clip when it got caught on a metal shelf and yanked out of my pocket.
The clip didn't snap or break off the light but it was bent too far to be useful anymore.
Like others have said, SF has great customer service and they'll send you a pocket clip if you just ask.

you can get them through the rapid repair page. doesnt make the clip and sturdier but does make them easier to get replaced.

BillSWPA said:

My understanding is that Surefire reads this forum, so hopefully they have seen or will soon see this thread. I have not personally experienced any Surefire broken clips

Click to expand...

I hope you are right. About the reading part. In the last 3 months I have requested one replacement clip (1 each month) to which they have turned a deaf ear. To say they are on my sh*t list is an under statement. I cant believe how **** poor their Rapid Replacement Program has become. Because of this I have decided to move on to collecting other brands of lights. I used to brag about SF customer service. No more.

m4a1usr said:

I hope you are right. About the reading part. In the last 3 months I have requested one replacement clip (1 each month) to which they have turned a deaf ear.

Click to expand...

By what method did you request the replacement? Since it's only a matter of time before one of mine breaks, I went ahead and requested a replacement, via the Rapid Replacement Parts page. I submitted the request on Feb 2nd when I read your post, and it arrived today.

Grizzman said:

By what method did you request the replacement? Since it's only a matter of time before one of mine breaks, I went ahead and requested a replacement, via the Rapid Replacement Parts page. I submitted the request on Feb 2nd when I read your post, and it arrived today.

Click to expand...

I find that 99% of the time someone has a problem with SF customer service, it is because they e-mailed them. They must never check their inbox or something. There was an old thread where someone kept e-mailing them even though people on here were posting the number and telling them to call. On the phone, or through the parts request page, they are golden.

The only bad experience I had with SF was when the switch on my Scout Light tailcap jammed in the "on" position. I called them and a a woman there said she was suspicious of me because I had just gotten a C2 HA tail and bezel from them not too long before, and thought I was just bothering them for free parts.

In my defense, I was on the phone with a different CSR asking a question and mentioned I bought the C2 from someone who took it with him to Iraq and it was beat up but still working, and he automatically offered to send the parts to me to make it look newer again.

In SF's defense, they still sent me the part, but made me feel bad about it. I virtually begged her to let me send the stuck tailcap to them to prove I wasn't lying.

fresh eddie fresh said:

I find that 99% of the time someone has a problem with SF customer service, it is because they e-mailed them. They must never check their inbox or something. There was an old thread where someone kept e-mailing them even though people on here were posting the number and telling them to call. On the phone, or through the parts request page, they are golden.

The only bad experience I had with SF was when the switch on my Scout Light tailcap jammed in the "on" position. I called them and a a woman there said she was suspicious of me because I had just gotten a C2 HA tail and bezel from them not too long before, and thought I was just bothering them for free parts.

In my defense, I was on the phone with a different CSR asking a question and mentioned I bought the C2 from someone who took it with him to Iraq and it was beat up but still working, and he automatically offered to send the parts to me to make it look newer again.

In SF's defense, they still sent me the part, but made me feel bad about it. I virtually begged her to let me send the stuck tailcap to them to prove I wasn't lying.

Click to expand...

This is my experience. You take a little brow beating to get what you want.