do manufacturers actually come on this forum?

masterP

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 4, 2015
Messages
91
Location
Vancouver Canada
do manufacturers actually come on this forum and read what people say about their products? the criticisms, pros and cons?

do they listen to what people want them to come out with?

what they can't stand about their products?

what about the discontinued models that you wish they would bring back?

or do you think they care more about the non enthusiasts who aren't as picky about tint, UI, design, centering of the LED.....I mean only CPF members are as picky about this stuff. but we're also more likely to purchase more than one of the same thing if we like it.

what would you like to tell the manufacturers if they were reading this?

I'll start first.....Surefire, how about putting some knurling on your lights and get rid of those useless "finger grooves" that do absolutely nothing
 

kj2

Flashaholic
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
8,082
Location
The Netherlands
Many manufacturers are reading or even active on this forum. They listen but surely they can't make everything we want. Their market is bigger ;)
 

Str8stroke

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 27, 2013
Messages
5,032
Location
On The Black Pearl
Yes they do. I can confirm that I have been contacted by several. They are usually more than helpful and also in search of suggestions. Those were just the ones that contacted me. I also often see our influence in their products. So you know that many read and take notes, no matter how experienced the poster.
We have some users on this forum that have more experience and wisdom than some manufactures. So it would behoove the manufactures not to be active lurkers at the very least.
 

Amelia

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
677
I have my doubts... based on the direction Sunwayman seems to be going.:(
 

LetThereBeLight!

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Messages
635
do manufacturers actually come on this forum and read what people say about their products? the criticisms, pros and cons?

do they listen to what people want them to come out with?

what they can't stand about their products?

what about the discontinued models that you wish they would bring back?

or do you think they care more about the non enthusiasts who aren't as picky about tint, UI, design, centering of the LED.....I mean only CPF members are as picky about this stuff. but we're also more likely to purchase more than one of the same thing if we like it.

what would you like to tell the manufacturers if they were reading this?

I'll start first.....Surefire, how about putting some knurling on your lights and get rid of those useless "finger grooves" that do absolutely nothing

They absolutely DO read the posts and are probably very grateful to read the various types of comments from people here who purchase lights from low-cost to high cost.

So Eagletac, if you are "listening", do you think you could use a 3-D printer to miniaturize a clicky switch I could put on one of my D25aaa's?

Muchas gracias!

- LetThereBeLight!
 

Xaios

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 14, 2015
Messages
69
Location
Yukon
In my time lurking on this forum, I have seen manufacturers make posts, so obviously they're paying attention.

However, one thing I've learned from many years of posting on guitar forums is that manufacturers also have to take what certain types of communities say with a grain of salt regarding certain aspects of their design. For example, the overwhelming majority of the users who post on this guitar forum (and it's by no means a small forum) dislike plain black guitars. However, we also know that we're in the minority because Joe Average Guitar Buyer likes black guitars because of their simple, un-ostentatious style.
 

bluemax_1

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 24, 2007
Messages
591
There's no question that manufacturers read this forum. What amazes and annoys me though, is that they'll never implement all the suggestions for a specific use light. There seems to be an unwritten law against producing an ideal light.

Take the "Tactical use of strobe" thread for instance. There was a lot of discussion on flashlights and the various modes for LEO use in that thread.

One of the obvious things was that the situations encountered by the average LEO in the U.S. differs from that encountered by LEOs in the EU, and as such there's a difference in the requirements for a duty flashlight between the regions.

In the U.S., the primary necessity is for simple access to momentary or constant on High/Max (i.e. forward clicky). For those who've trained to use a tactical strobe, it's also important to have instant access to the strobe withour having to cycle through various modes, but NOBODY here wants a light that always comes on in strobe first.

For LEO use in the U.S., a low/medium mode for reading licences/registration and writing tickets without blinding/dazzling yourself is also handy.

All modes should be accessible without switching hand positions (preferably a reverse grip, thumb on tailswitch).

Nitecore coincidentally introduced the P20. This light has 2 tailswitches and can be set to one of 3 modes.

In the Tactical mode, the main button is a forward clicky for Turbo. The secondary mode tailcap button gives instant access to strobe (similar to the Klarus).

In the LEO mode, the light has Turbo, a mid and instant access to strobe.

If set to General use mode, the light has Turbo, mid, low and instant access to strobe.

In either Tactical or LEO mode this 'could' have been a pretty good duty light. They even made a holster with similar features to one mentioned in the thread, that allows the light to be rotated/aimed from the holster for hands-free illumination,.... BUT they missed the part about producing an intense hotspot with at least about 20,000 candela. The P20 only does about 11,000.

Not that they don't have lights with the output and reflector for it, the P25 and SRT7 both have the output and a reflector that produces a great beam, but the interfaces for both of those SUCK for one-handed use, so once again, they can't produce an ideal light. We have our choices of which flaws we prefer. All they had to do was mate the P20 interface/body with something like the P25 or SRT7 head and they'd have a winner.


Max
 
Last edited:

BillSWPA

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Messages
670
Location
Southwest PA
I have personally seen posts by Surefire, FourSevens, and Malkoff. Additionally, Klarus has sometimes asked Going Gear to post responses on its behalf. I suspect that these and other manufacturers tend to limit their contributions to the discussion because they learn more and ultimately benefit more by letting the discussion go on among the end users of their products.
 

Bushnell Lighting

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 21, 2015
Messages
1
It takes a decent amount of time to implement a change on a product that already exists. It's more about listening for the next iteration and garnering information and opinion for the future products.
 

Crazyeddiethefirst

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
2,005
Location
Southern California
I have personally had email conversations with a number of manufacturers and dealers, and yes they often monitor the pulse of CPF. Some make comments and ask questions, others observe unless there is something so wrong they feel it must be corrected. In recent weeks, I am bothered by how critical and negative we have been to a couple of manufacturers and a dealer. For the dealer, he was criticized for having incorrect information regarding a tint of a new light(the new light being a direct result of comments made on this forum). I took 20 seconds to send an email and ask him about it-he was completely unaware of the controversy...turns out that rumors had been accepted as fact and it went downhill from there.
One of the manufacturers was Surefire-it is amazing how we criticized their stupidity for manufacturing a light that did not fit NIMH and Alkaline batteries. Had anyone called or emailed and asked it this was their intent? Nope. Come to find out their was indeed a glitch in the process that QC did not catch, or did not catch soon enough. When I received my Titan A, all batteries fit without difficulty. When someone called to ask, Surefire admitted their had been a problem and it had been corrected. If you read many of the early posts, you would think they deserved to be stoned or drawn and quartered. I know I will probably catch a lot of heat for this post, but I think the good old fashioned "treat others the way you wish they would treat you" could go a long way. There are times that a manufacturer will acknowledge what CPF members are asking for, but they do not follow through for economic reasons-David from FourSevens did a number of hi CRI runs with warm or neutral tints, but stated that higher lumens of cool white will always outsell neutral or warm tints(a fact backed up by Marshal of Going Gear). That thread has a lot of good conversation both pro and con and offers a lot of information without the nastiness of the other threads I mentioned. We have an awesome community and a great way to let manufacturers and dealers know the direction we would like to see them take. It also offers a chance for them to respond. One example is that after complaints about Thrunite's one year warranty they have announced they are changing to two years. Sorry for the long winded explanation masterP, but yes, they are on the forum, they listen AND they respond.
 

Berneck1

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Messages
509
I have been contact because of posts I have made, so some are definitely paying attention.

While I think they do listen, they do have to cater to the masses as well. That's why you'll see a great feature added, only to be mucked up by a bunch of silly modes, etc. Also, if they gave us exactly what we wanted, we wouldn't buy anymore lights.. Lol




Sent from my iPhone using Candlepowerforums
 

markr6

Flashaholic
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,258
...but stated that higher lumens of cool white will always outsell neutral or warm tints(a fact backed up by Marshal of Going Gear).

He admitted he prefers the high CRI, so hopefully everyone doesn't start looking for those items (if not stocked)!

And I want Zebralight to come back!!
 

masterP

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 4, 2015
Messages
91
Location
Vancouver Canada
I have personally had email conversations with a number of manufacturers and dealers, and yes they often monitor the pulse of CPF. Some make comments and ask questions, others observe unless there is something so wrong they feel it must be corrected. In recent weeks, I am bothered by how critical and negative we have been to a couple of manufacturers and a dealer. For the dealer, he was criticized for having incorrect information regarding a tint of a new light(the new light being a direct result of comments made on this forum). I took 20 seconds to send an email and ask him about it-he was completely unaware of the controversy...turns out that rumors had been accepted as fact and it went downhill from there.
One of the manufacturers was Surefire-it is amazing how we criticized their stupidity for manufacturing a light that did not fit NIMH and Alkaline batteries. Had anyone called or emailed and asked it this was their intent? Nope. Come to find out their was indeed a glitch in the process that QC did not catch, or did not catch soon enough. When I received my Titan A, all batteries fit without difficulty. When someone called to ask, Surefire admitted their had been a problem and it had been corrected. If you read many of the early posts, you would think they deserved to be stoned or drawn and quartered. I know I will probably catch a lot of heat for this post, but I think the good old fashioned "treat others the way you wish they would treat you" could go a long way. There are times that a manufacturer will acknowledge what CPF members are asking for, but they do not follow through for economic reasons-David from FourSevens did a number of hi CRI runs with warm or neutral tints, but stated that higher lumens of cool white will always outsell neutral or warm tints(a fact backed up by Marshal of Going Gear). That thread has a lot of good conversation both pro and con and offers a lot of information without the nastiness of the other threads I mentioned. We have an awesome community and a great way to let manufacturers and dealers know the direction we would like to see them take. It also offers a chance for them to respond. One example is that after complaints about Thrunite's one year warranty they have announced they are changing to two years. Sorry for the long winded explanation masterP, but yes, they are on the forum, they listen AND they respond.


I've emailed Surefire many times to ask them about some of their products.....never got even one reply

I emailed Fenix and got a reply right away

I emailed Foursevens and got no reply

I emailed Solorforce and got a reply immediately

don't get me wrong.....I don't go emailing companies for stupid reasons to waste their time, but if I can't find the answer on the internet or on this forum then I want to go to the source itself. after all, I wouldn't be asking questions about their products if I wasn't interested in buying them.

and the Surefire Titan issue not taking lithium batteries.....you'd think a company like Surefire would test the fitment of all the batteries they claim the light will take before shipping them out. I'm a Tool and Die maker and machinist.....I would never make a part and just send it out without testing how it fits. it's just common sense

I love Surefire Products. I truly believe they're the best production lights you can buy (not including the more exclusive companies like Malkoff or Elzetta).......but I cannot stand the new line of Surefire products. they work great, but who's bright idea was it to make them all slippery like a bar of soap?

bring back knurling and make them usable so I can take off the bicycle inner tubing on all of them. so people don't have to use O rings to get a grip on them. or skateboard tape

I have several Surefire's, but what do I carry with me most often? a Streamlight Scorpion because it's got a rubber sleeve that makes it nice and grippy. I'm not a huge rubber fan by the way

I leave the Surefire's at home for other duties. they're ok to use as a regular flashlight but the momentary on button needs more pressure than the old Surefire's with the larger button and no lockout feature.....this combined with the smooth surface and bigger head of the new 6PX and Fury give it less gripping area and just feels like it's gonna slip out of your hand.

I have an old 6Z that is perfect in every way....it's the smooth body with no anti roll flats on it which brings me to another beef about the anti roll flats on the new Surefire's. they're practically useless so why even have them

I still love Surefire even though I have to wrap them with rubber bands

and I'm glad they got the Titan to fit lithium batteries, even though they should have tried all the batteries before they started shipping them out
 

magellan

Honorary Aussie
Joined
Feb 3, 2014
Messages
5,003
Location
USA
Hi Eddie, great comments about your experiences trying to communicate with the companies and following up on things.
 
Last edited:

Kalpn

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 14, 2014
Messages
54
Still waiting for Fenix to read the forums and make one with moonlit mode.
 

Lou Minescence

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 12, 2011
Messages
1,189
Location
New England US
Still waiting for Fenix to read the forums and make one with moonlit mode.[/QUOTE

They do. 10 lumens is " the new " moonlight mode. :sick2:

I was probably ready to buy 5 different Fenix models but passed because of no moonlight mode. I could settle for 2.5 - 3 lumens for a low setting but all of the low settings were much higher than that. Even Sunwayman is off my radar. They have a very high low mode on most new model lights. Zebralight and Armytek have good low modes on most lights.
 
Top