Eagletac Reliability?

Lantern32 · Aug 12, 2015

Hello CPF!

What is the reliability of eagletac? They have been pumping out some pretty impressive lights. I understand that Surefire has set the bar for quality. How would you rank Eagletac if Surefire was a 10? Anyone a direct competitor of Surefire? Anyone following Surefire, but not very far off?

Omenwolf · Aug 12, 2015

I have 4 eagletac lights and have bought a few as gifts and all have been perfect with no issues. The one surefire I had which was a fury, had issues with the tail cap.

Lantern32 · Aug 12, 2015

Omenwolf said:
I have 4 eagletac lights and have bought a few as gifts and all have been perfect with no issues. The one surefire I had which was a fury, had issues with the tail cap.

That's great to hear! I've heard that Surefire is in deep crap with that fury light! Eagletac reflectors have always been very impressive to me

Snipe315 · Aug 12, 2015

I've been EDC'ing an Eagletac D25a Clicky for several months and it has been great. I like it so much that I've purchased 2 for a relative (regular and titanium) along with a couple more as backups for myself (in case I misplace or lose one).

Lantern32 · Aug 12, 2015

Snipe315 said:
I've been EDC'ing an Eagletac D25a Clicky for several months and it has been great. I like it so much that I've purchased 2 for a relative (regular and titanium) along with a couple more as backups for myself (in case I misplace or lose one).

Nice! Do you think the quality of Eagletac is a step above Fenix? Fenix does use plastic reflectors, and Eagletac uses metal ones.

Amelia · Aug 12, 2015

EagleTac and Zebralight are my favorite brands, so I have the most lights of those 2 brands.
At this point, I have (from mental count) about 14 EagleTac lights... from the tiny D25A Ti to the MX25L4C. The ONLY problem I've had with any of them was when I bought my 2nd backup MX25L3C Nichia 219. The head twist didn't change modes. I had to disassemble the head from the body and clean some dried grease stuff from the little brass plunger pins with alcohol. That fixed the problem, and the light has worked perfectly since.

I think that overall, EagleTac is a solid, reliable brand... but the "twist head" mode change mechanism with the little brass plunger pins seems to be the real weak link in many of their light designs. I think they know this, and the newer 2-button designs are an attempt to correct this source of potential problems.

Tac Gunner · Aug 12, 2015

Of the two I have in my signature, I have had the SX25L2T stop working completely once but Eagletac fixed the light no questions asked. It stopped about year after owning it after it was dropped from 3 or 4 feet multiple times. It has also been a year since it was fixed and I have had no issues with it since but I also make sure to use the lanyard and take better care to not abuse it. It does get used and does get knocked over, bumped, has been dropped once or twice and so far no more problems. I really think the first issue just happened to be a defective light which all manufactures have from time to time.

I have had my D25A2 since Christmas of '14 and it has been abused with no problems. I love that light and actually plan to buy two more on Black Friday.

As as far as Fenix vs Eagletac I really can't say one is better than the other as I have had no problems with my Fenixs and I really don't think much of the one Eagletac issue. What lights I have from each manufacture have equally good finishes, machining, quality control, and overall feel solidly made.

WarRaven · Aug 12, 2015

I've no horse in the race on ET side,
and I would consider them as good as quality and backed
as I do Fenix or Olight.
They seem to bake a nice light, though so many I never know which to look at, get distracted by known models of other OEM that, I'm after and here I am still.
Though I'm watching for the ET I'll start with.

AB8XL · Aug 12, 2015

I would say the reliability is very good for both brands. I haven't had any problems with any of my Fenix, Zebralight or EagleTac lights, I love them all and show I them no mercy, they take their beatings and always seem to come back for more.

scs · Aug 12, 2015

Is ET still based in the US (they started in WA per their website)? Does anyone know if they provide repair and replacement services out of the US for US or even North American customers?

fordcappy · Aug 12, 2015

Repair has to be sent to China at around 15.00 cost. My experience was very poor communication as to the status of the repair and it took about a month. Great lights, I have 5.

Lantern32 · Aug 12, 2015

Amelia said:
EagleTac and Zebralight are my favorite brands, so I have the most lights of those 2 brands.
At this point, I have (from mental count) about 14 EagleTac lights... from the tiny D25A Ti to the MX25L4C. The ONLY problem I've had with any of them was when I bought my 2nd backup MX25L3C Nichia 219. The head twist didn't change modes. I had to disassemble the head from the body and clean some dried grease stuff from the little brass plunger pins with alcohol. That fixed the problem, and the light has worked perfectly since.

I think that overall, EagleTac is a solid, reliable brand... but the "twist head" mode change mechanism with the little brass plunger pins seems to be the real weak link in many of their light designs. I think they know this, and the newer 2-button designs are an attempt to correct this source of potential problems.

I've always been impressed with the innovation, and quality "fixes" Eagletac has come up with to fix a problem. I find it ridiculous how Surefire has a problem with the tail switch, but they arnt re-designing it

Lantern32 · Aug 12, 2015

Tac Gunner said:
Of the two I have in my signature, I have had the SX25L2T stop working completely once but Eagletac fixed the light no questions asked. It stopped about year after owning it after it was dropped from 3 or 4 feet multiple times. It has also been a year since it was fixed and I have had no issues with it since but I also make sure to use the lanyard and take better care to not abuse it. It does get used and does get knocked over, bumped, has been dropped once or twice and so far no more problems. I really think the first issue just happened to be a defective light which all manufactures have from time to time.

I have had my D25A2 since Christmas of '14 and it has been abused with no problems. I love that light and actually plan to buy two more on Black Friday.

As as far as Fenix vs Eagletac I really can't say one is better than the other as I have had no problems with my Fenixs and I really don't think much of the one Eagletac issue. What lights I have from each manufacture have equally good finishes, machining, quality control, and overall feel solidly made.

Cool! I have really been impressed with the quality of most lights coming out of China, but Eagletac and Fenix seem to be exceptional,

Lantern32 · Aug 12, 2015

fordcappy said:
Repair has to be sent to China at around 15.00 cost. My experience was very poor communication as to the status of the repair and it took about a month. Great lights, I have 5.

That's why I never buy direct, and have the seller deal with it!

Lantern32 · Aug 12, 2015

WarRaven said:
I've no horse in the race on ET side,
and I would consider them as good as quality and backed
as I do Fenix or Olight.
They seem to bake a nice light, though so many I never know which to look at, get distracted by known models of other OEM that, I'm after and here I am still.
Though I'm watching for the ET I'll start with.

I was quite sad that the Olight M2Xvn has a plastic lens. I was actually extremely disappointed.

ForrestChump · Aug 12, 2015

Lantern32 said:
That's great to hear! I've heard that Surefire is in deep crap with that fury light! Eagletac reflectors have always been very impressive to me

News to me? Please PM me. I am all things crappy SF.

Also, I don't support EagleTac simply because their website is a dated photocopy of Apple.

Thats weaksauce.

Search · Aug 12, 2015

Lantern32 said:
Nice! Do you think the quality of Eagletac is a step above Fenix? Fenix does use plastic reflectors, and Eagletac uses metal ones.

When my hobby here began in 08 foreign lights were starting to make their mark on the hobbyist. You had a massively Surefire type dominant market and you had a lot of arguments between old vs new blood.

I won't buy a light that isn't SF.. it's just my absolute favorite by a margin that I prefer to keep growing my collection. They've been proven to me through a lot of real world abuse.

With that said.. Fenix, Eagletac, and Nitecore (I use these because I see these three a lot but there are more) have made their stand on being dependable and reliable. Many stories have accumulated over the years of people taking them to hell and back and they stay strong. Fenix was at one point the most popular and I'd say really carried the new trend in. I owned a PD30 5 years ago but quit carrying it due to not being a multi-mode fan. I beat the crap out of it and it worked. I think I also owned a TK30? TK25? One of those. I beat it too and it took it like a champ.

They were the new Chinese kids on the block and they didn't let anyone down. I'd honestly tell you to buy what has the features you want and trust it. Even as a die hard SF fan boy I'd still trust them too.

Now if you wanted to mount a light to your .50 cal and take it to Fallujah.. I'd probably tell you to go with the ones that were made for that butttt I don't think that's where this is going

ForrestChump · Aug 12, 2015

Search said:
When my hobby here began in 08 foreign lights were starting to make their mark on the hobbyist. You had a massively Surefire type dominant market and you had a lot of arguments between old vs new blood.

I won't buy a light that isn't SF.. it's just my absolute favorite by a margin that I prefer to keep growing my collection. They've been proven to me through a lot of real world abuse.

With that said.. Fenix, Eagletac, and Nitecore (I use these because I see these three a lot but there are more) have made their stand on being dependable and reliable. Many stories have accumulated over the years of people taking them to hell and back and they stay strong. Fenix was at one point the most popular and I'd say really carried the new trend in. I owned a PD30 5 years ago but quit carrying it due to not being a multi-mode fan. I beat the crap out of it and it worked. I think I also owned a TK30? TK25? One of those. I beat it too and it took it like a champ.

They were the new Chinese kids on the block and they didn't let anyone down. I'd honestly tell you to buy what has the features you want and trust it. Even as a die hard SF fan boy I'd still trust them too.

Now if you wanted to mount a light to your .50 cal and take it to Fallujah.. I'd probably tell you to go with the ones that were made for that butttt I don't think that's where this is going

I like your sig. :nana:

With respect, a couple counter points.

There is no argument of old and new SF. They are a different light and different company.

Nitecore is garbage, likely the most mentioned name brand with problems.

Thats all. Google it.

Lantern32 · Aug 12, 2015

ForrestChump said:
News to me? Please PM me. I am all things crappy SF.

Also, I don't support EagleTac simply because their website is a dated photocopy of Apple.

Thats weaksauce.

No need for PM! There have been many failures with the switch on the fury. Tons of people are returning them for problems, but it doesn't appear that Surefire is trying too hard to fix the problem. I also don't think it's fair to bash a company based on their website.

WarRaven · Aug 12, 2015

Lantern32 said:
I was quite sad that the Olight M2Xvn has a plastic lens. I was actually extremely disappointed.

My M21X, M22 an M3XS-UT are glass,
the M2X-UT is as far as I know the same head.

Fenix has a couple plastic lensed low output lights, that's all I know of.

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