Poor quality Surefire threads?

I just purchased three new Surefires within the last month during my visit to Hong Kong at my trusted dealer, Supreme Co. Surefires are a little harder to find in the UK, hence the splurge. The three flashlights I brought were:

E2D LED Defender Ultra, 500/5 lumens, (E2DLU-A)
E2L Outdoorsman, 125/5 lumens, (E2L-A)
P1R Peacekeeper, 600/15 lumens, (P1R-B-BK)

I already own two other Surefires - the older 200/5 lumen LED Defender and an E1B Backup - which have both served me well.

I noticed that the machining of the threads were rather poor on two of my new flashlights, on the Outdoorsman and the Peacekeeper. For instance, the sharp ridges of the threads were either rough and 'chipped' or just flat and dented in random areas. The threads on my new Defender Ultra, however, were on par with my older Surefires - not perfect, but acceptable.

Some photos may better illustrate what I mean....first with the Outdoorsman then the Peacekeeper....





The poor quality of the threads is much more apparent on the Peacekeeper, especially on the last thread nearest to the o-ring. You can really feel the dings and get your nail caught when you run your fingernail over it:


I have not used the flashlights extensively. I have only took them out to play with. The threads on the Peacekeeper were very dry when new, so I applied some silicone grease to the threads and o-ring recently.

The rough threads do not necessarily infringe on the function of the flashlights. I am just disappointed that Surefire would allow their premium brand name to be marred by such lack of quality control in their threads. I also own a Fenix PD35 that has better (looking) and very consistent square-cut threads which are also smooth to twist. I don't think I am unreasonable to be concerned with paying a premium for an apparently sub-standard product.......or am I being too critical? Would you guys be disappointed with threads like that?

I will definitely still keep the flashlights. I am not sure if I should inform Surefire about it. I was just wondering if other CPFers have experienced poor quality threads with any of their Surefires before?

I too just came into possession of a SF Peacekeeper and the threads on mine are similar to yours. The threads on my Foursevens bodies look better but I'm just getting into 47s so I don't know if they will hold up like the SFs have.

The less-than-perfect threading does not appear to affect the function of the light so I'm not going to sweat it.

Yes, I would be disappointed if a new Surefire exhibited threads like yours. I've got quite a few Surefires, and none of them have flaws.

I'm not so sure that I'd trust that dealer any more. There's a reason you can't easily find Surefires in the UK, or in most other non-USA locations.

I just took a look at an older (200 lumen) SF 6PX Pro I've had for some time and the tail cap threads on the body have the same minor imperfections as the threads on the new Peacekeeper. Considering I've had zero issues with it, I'm not losing any sleep over it.

I was going to ask if the boxes were "new and factory sealed" but remembered the new lights don't come sealed in plastic anymore, maybe demo models or returned and put back out for sale...

It's possible they got through QC. Working in production I have seen where companies have their days of problems until corrected.
The days of taking pride in the workmanship is slowly diminishing.

..... :shakehead

It takes Surefire like a minute to mill one light body, and they probably get tossed in a bin for cleaning and from bin to bin until final assembly.

I understand what you are saying, but frankly, I would lube the threads put it back together and use it.

It seems like more trouble to send it for replacement.

This is just my thoughts on the matter.

Also, where did you get the lanyard ring, that looks very nice!

Thank you.

LumensMaximus said:

I was going to ask if the boxes were "new and factory sealed" but remembered the new lights don't come sealed in plastic anymore, maybe demo models or returned and put back out for sale...

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True only on the more niche lights. The P2X G2X 6PX ect come in the blister packs. However it is impossible to open the box without obvious signs that it was opened.

They also were purchased in Hong Kong, so who knows?

On the other hand, other people are reporting similar experiences with the threads so....

If the threads feel significantly bad, I would absolutely send it in. I do know on my E1DL it had a bur that I also noticed on other models but it didn't hinder the light in anyway.

Grizzman said:

I'm not so sure that I'd trust that dealer any more. There's a reason you can't easily find Surefires in the UK, or in most other non-USA locations.

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ForrestChump said:

They also were purchased in Hong Kong, so who knows?

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I have actually purchased all five of my Surefires from the same dealer now. I still do trust them as I verified their official dealer status with Noni Hazard from Surefire back in 2008 via e-mail. Apparently Noni dealt with them a lot.

LumensMaximus said:

I was going to ask if the boxes were "new and factory sealed" but remembered the new lights don't come sealed in plastic anymore, maybe demo models or returned and put back out for sale...

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I didn't think of that until now. The packaging for all three of the Surefires I purchased were pristine though. No creases in the box flaps, no 'oily' hand residue on the flashlights, etc. Furthermore, I had the liberty to choose which box to purchase out of their current stock.

RedLed said:

Also, where did you get the lanyard ring, that looks very nice!

Thank you.

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The orange lanyard ring on the Outdoorsman? It is actually just a length of orange paracord tied into a constrictor knot around the body of the flashlight, but under the pocket clip. The aggressive knurling also helps keep it in place. It is more secure than it looks. Just make sure the knot is tight.

I use the constrictor knot method on most of my flashlights, adjusting the placement to the design of each body:



Alternatively, you could use Surefire's lanyard systems, whereby you place a metal ring around the flashlight body and held in place by the tailcap. I like this better but it is expensive. I have one on the Peacekeeper right now (Z33?) on the left, minus the spring clip that comes with it:

ive owned about 20 surefires, all from before its current line-up and styling, and never seen threads like that from surefire.
i wouldnt be too happy about it, but as long as it doesnt compromise its strength, or continue to grind and wear away the threads i would be fine with it not being perfect. none of my surefires stay perfect for long..

lockheed123 said:

I noticed that the machining of the threads were rather poor on two of my new flashlights, on the Outdoorsman and the Peacekeeper. For instance, the sharp ridges of the threads were either rough and 'chipped' or just flat and dented in random areas.

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I also noticed some dings on my peacekeeper threads. Mine was directly purchased from a reseller in the US, so I don't think your HK reseller is at fault here.
Like RedLed has mentioned previously, the bodies probably get tossed in a few bins, before the final assembly of the light. That could explain the dings we see on the V shaped threads (I wonder why Surefire hasn't switched to ACME threads yet).
Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about this, as the light is still running flawlessly.

lockheed123 said:

Alternatively, you could use Surefire's lanyard systems, whereby you place a metal ring around the flashlight body and held in place by the tailcap. I like this better but it is expensive.

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You can get the cheap metal ring from Solarforce. I'm using one right now on my G2X Pro.

RedLed said:

It takes Surefire like a minute to mill one light body, and they probably get tossed in a bin for cleaning and from bin to bin until final assembly.

I understand what you are saying, but frankly, I would lube the threads put it back together and use it.

It seems like more trouble to send it for replacement.

This is just my thoughts on the matter.

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That about sums it up!


Pic from here.

The aluminum alloy used is also a factor: the softer the alloy, the easier it is to cut the threads (look pretty new) but won't be as durable over the long haul. I don't know what alloy SF uses but if it's a harder, stronger alloy it will be more difficult to machine.

880arm said:

That about sums it up!

Pic from here.

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What I find interesting is that above this picture they state:

Once the machining is complete, parts such as flashlight bodies are washed and deburred using ceramic media with screw-on caps protecting the head and tailcap threads. From here the bodies are shipped to local shops for anodizing.

I don't see any caps on the bodies in that bin, though. Looks like the ones in the fluid bath behind it are capped. So the protective caps are only installed after they have already been piled together exposed.

But at the end of the day, if your threads are running smooth, then none of the imperfections are chewing away at the mating threads, so it makes no difference. There is a huge amount of good thread area in contact, so some tiny spots where they do not touch due to a nick won't matter.

Also agree that softer aluminum is easier to cut pretty threads in than hard. Although I have some fine looking threads in stainless steel.

Hondo said:

What I find interesting is that above this picture they state:

Once the machining is complete, parts such as flashlight bodies are washed and deburred using ceramic media with screw-on caps protecting the head and tailcap threads. From here the bodies are shipped to local shops for anodizing.

I don't see any caps on the bodies in that bin, though. Looks like the ones in the fluid bath behind it are capped. So the protective caps are only installed after they have already been piled together exposed.

But at the end of the day, if your threads are running smooth, then none of the imperfections are chewing away at the mating threads, so it makes no difference. There is a huge amount of good thread area in contact, so some tiny spots where they do not touch due to a nick won't matter.

Also agree that softer aluminum is easier to cut pretty threads in than hard. Although I have some fine looking threads in stainless steel.

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The ones in the photo just came out of the fluid bath in the background. The caps are used only during the tumbling and deburring process so that the ceramic media doesn't "smooth out" the threads. Two gentlemen were pulling the bodies out of the bath, removing the caps, and placing the bodies in the basket so that they could drain. As best I can recall, the process goes like this . . .

• Parts are machined
• placed into a box
• taken to other side of the building
• caps placed on threads
• tumbled in ceramic media
• washed to remove residue (shown in background of photo)
• caps removed
• placed in basket to drain (shown in photo)
• boxed and sent for anodizing

the threads on my peacekeeper are perfect. no dings, dents or flat spots.

casun said:

the threads on my peacekeeper are perfect. no dings, dents or flat spots.

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Unless I look really closely, so are mine. The small imperfections I am able to see are on the last thread closest to the o-ring.

Functionally, the threads are perfect as far as I can tell.