New Surefire UDR DOMINATOR loltastic price

Alex1234 · Nov 11, 2014

Apparently this new light from Surefire cost over $1200 dollars. Not sure how this is going to sell at that price. i could buy an Eagle Tac MX25l4 Turbo for around $300 and would get the same or better performance. i get that the quality might be better but gezzz thats expensive.

Kaban · Nov 11, 2014

You are paying for the best warranty and customer service on the market and the peace of mind that if something ever goes wrong, they will replace or repair it without any hassles.

But one thing is for sure, that light is definitely not for everyone.

leon2245 · Nov 11, 2014

Alex1234 said:
Apparently this new light from Surefire cost over $1200 dollars. Not sure how this is going to sell at that price. i could buy an Eagle Tac MX25l4 Turbo for around $300 and would get the same or better performance. i get that the quality might be better but gezzz thats expensive.

You just don't value that jump in quality enough for the price, that's okay, not for you. I don't either. Personally don't find it comical, or would lol at those who splurge on it, just a different market than us.

mvyrmnd · Nov 12, 2014

I want peer-reviewed double-blind testing to prove to me that there is sufficient quality improvement to warrant that sort of price. Until then for mine, you're paying for the badge.

Ryp · Nov 12, 2014

I agree.

shrike2222 · Nov 12, 2014

I'm interested in UDR.
I saw some photos, but I was disapointed for their battery system. I anticipated they adapt 18650 battery like P1R, but it seems to be not.

Anyway I'm waiting for review from 880arm.

PocketRocket · Nov 12, 2014

*Poof*

twl · Nov 12, 2014

When you sell to government agencies, it pays to keep the retail price high, because they are spending somebody else's money.
Sort of like the $700 hammer, or $500 toilet seat.

pjandyho · Nov 12, 2014

I ain't rich but I wouldn't mind splurging on one if I can afford. Looking at the reflector size, it sure is going to be a great thrower.

mikekoz · Nov 12, 2014

I have owned three Surefire lights during my flashoholic years! The first was a L5 , Then I bought a L1. The last one I got was a 6P at Lowes Hardware. The first two were top quality lights, and were not overpriced, in my opinion. I just got rid of them when I stopped using CR123 lights. The 6P was a solid light, but nothing to get real excited about. You can do a lot better for half the price of that one. The only one I can truly say I miss, is the L1. I judge things by the sum of their parts and I would not pay $1200.00 for ANY flashlight. First and foremost, if I did, my wife would kill me! :crazy:

Second, I can get a light for under $200.00 that would last as long as this one, get a nice warranty, etc. I have had $30.00 lights last me for years, although I will admit, they do not get hard use. Just one man's opinion. Your mileage may vary!!

Charles L. · Nov 12, 2014

You could argue that the >$50 lights most of us have are silly given what one can buy for under $10 at any big box store. There's a price point for all of us, isn't there?

And yet, this light makes me sad. Ever increasing prices, falling behind in technology... reminiscent of so many American industries over the past few decades. It's enough to make one think Ross Perot was right after all (with apologies for the reference to an American politician from the '90's)

NoNotAgain · Nov 12, 2014

twl said:
When you sell to government agencies, it pays to keep the retail price high, because they are spending somebody else's money.
Sort of like the $700 hammer, or $500 toilet seat.

First off, the government doesn't purchase "retail" they purchase at GSA pricing schedules, marked down anywhere between 25-40% for off the shelf items. Items that are specialty items are now firm fixed price units.

Secondly, the megabuck toilet seat or hammer while it makes for great TV stories, doesn't really pan out when you find out what was required for the solicitation required.
I've seen the $500 hammer and at first glance appeared like what you could purchase at a big box store. It had to be made of a special alloy with a handle of ash wood with a moisture content of ___%.

Why the contract was written the way it was, I have no idea, but the RFQ went thru many hands before being released to the street.

As for Surefires pricing structure, yep they're high, but keeping the design so that there is interchangeability isn't as easy as it seems.

Take a look at the Federal Register, find something you're interested in and pull the request for quote specs. You'll find it isn't as easy as it sounds to provide what they want with the documentation demanded to the the Eagle stamp so you can get paid.

twl · Nov 12, 2014

NoNotAgain said:
First off, the government doesn't purchase "retail" they purchase at GSA pricing schedules, marked down anywhere between 25-40% for off the shelf items. Items that are specialty items are now firm fixed price units.

Secondly, the megabuck toilet seat or hammer while it makes for great TV stories, doesn't really pan out when you find out what was required for the solicitation required.
I've seen the $500 hammer and at first glance appeared like what you could purchase at a big box store. It had to be made of a special alloy with a handle of ash wood with a moisture content of ___%.

Why the contract was written the way it was, I have no idea, but the RFQ went thru many hands before being released to the street.

As for Surefires pricing structure, yep they're high, but keeping the design so that there is interchangeability isn't as easy as it seems.

Take a look at the Federal Register, find something you're interested in and pull the request for quote specs. You'll find it isn't as easy as it sounds to provide what they want with the documentation demanded to the the Eagle stamp so you can get paid.

Of course, the GSA gets a discount. That''s why the price is marked up so much, so that they can still make bundles off the gov't after the discount. You and I both know that the contracts are decided before any RFQ actually goes out. They know exactly what they are going to buy, and from what suppliers. The RFQ is just for window dressing to make it appear like "competitive bidding", which is is NOT, and never has been.

I have spend a good part of my life dealing with stuff exactly like this.
Trijicon sights are another example.
Not to say they aren't good. Just that they are marked WAY up for a reason, and we all know what that reason is.

Newguy2012 · Nov 12, 2014

Alex1234 said:
Apparently this new light from Surefire cost over $1200 dollars. Not sure how this is going to sell at that price. i could buy an Eagle Tac MX25l4 Turbo for around $300 and would get the same or better performance. i get that the quality might be better but gezzz thats expensive.

One thing I notice about their lights is it's sealed to keep dust and water out.

monkeyboy · Nov 12, 2014

The MX25L4 packs a lot into a small volume, but IMO this comes at the expense of useability. It might fit into a backpack more easily but the heatsinking is woefully inadequate, the handle is too wide for comfort, and I hate the cryptic user interface with all that hidden programability.

The prototypes of the UDR at SHOT show were shown to be using the Luminus CST-90 which uses the SST-90 die built directly onto a copper PCB with on-board thermal protection. All those fins on the head should do a good job keeping things cool too. I bet someone like Vinh could overdrive the nuts off of this thing, although that would be a bit like tuning a Bugatti Veyron. It's already so powerful and it's so expensive that few people would want to mess with it.

I am excited about this light, but as others have mentioned, not excited enough to drop $1200.

Alex1234 · Nov 12, 2014

monkeyboy said:
The MX25L4 packs a lot into a small volume, but IMO this comes at the expense of useability. It might fit into a backpack more easily but the heatsinking is woefully inadequate, the handle is too wide for comfort, and I hate the cryptic user interface with all that hidden programability.

The prototypes of the UDR at SHOT show were shown to be using the Luminus CST-90 which uses the SST-90 die built directly onto a copper PCB with on-board thermal protection. All those fins on the head should do a good job keeping things cool too. I bet someone like Vinh could overdrive the nuts off of this thing, although that would be a bit like tuning a Bugatti Veyron. It's already so powerful and it's so expensive that few people would want to mess with it.

I am excited about this light, but as others have mentioned, not excited enough to drop $1200.

well if i were to buy the mx25l4 turbo i would get it modded from vinh and of course he would improve heatsinking ten fold

idleprocess · Nov 12, 2014

twl said:
When you sell to government agencies, it pays to keep the retail price high, because they are spending somebody else's money.
Sort of like the $700 hammer, or $500 toilet seat.

Ah the toilet seat and the hammer.

The "$5000 toilet seat" (or whatever number is attached to it) was actually a complete lavatory for an aircraft, and the total cost to make just enough for all aircraft or twice as many was exactly the same since there was only going to be one production run and most of the manufacturer's production cost was sunk into R&D/tooling.

The hammer was either as was mentioned above - something with exacting specifications that distributed a huge fixed cost (ala R&D/tooling) across a small number of units - or some way to funnel money into a classified budget away from prying eyes so we can obtain things like the B-2 and whatever the NSA spends their lunch money on.

KITROBASKIN · Nov 12, 2014

Having recently read about a very interesting wristwatch that cost about $250,000, the idea of an interesting flashlight for sale for $1200 seems OK to me. No doubt many of our CPF members have spent more than $1200 on flashlights, and some of the custom flashlights are right up there as well. So what is smarter? One of these babies, or a passel of middling, modded, chinese shelf queens?

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LiteTheWay · Nov 12, 2014

Each to her own of course, but the design looks pretty boring/plain to me. If it looked more 'exotic' like the UB3T Invictus (which I know some people think is ugly), I might be more interested, even at $1200.

ganymede · Nov 12, 2014

Surefire overpriced? Let's see, according to Wiki IMF 2013 per capita for:

1) China = $6,959
2) USA = $53,001

USA's per capita income is 7.6 times MORE than China yet a made in USA Surefire is selling at 4 times MORE than a made in China Eagletec, I would say the Surefire is underpriced.

New Surefire UDR DOMINATOR loltastic price

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