Yet Another Scorpion Sliding Rubber...

I have a Scorpion for about a month now and have been EDC it every day. At first, I was very happy with the rubber because of cold weather and holding a rubber is much better than holding a metal body. Now, I notice that the rubber start to expand and begin to slide. All I can do is to put it away and use another light for EDC.

Any suggestion what I should do with the Scorpion or any way of fixing the sliding rubber?

Same thing happens with the cheap rubber grips on the Dorcy LED lights. I think the plastic absorbs skin oils, expands and softens. I took mine off to avoid the hassle. I'm thinking of winding some thin black nylon twine around the grip and making it permanent with some super glue. Haven't attempted it yet though.

I've used old tire inner-tubes or heat-shrink tubing to cover other flashlights in the past.

Perhaps you could do the same for the Scorpion.

I haven't handled a Scorpion lately, but isn't the rubber supposed to be almost like a skin over the light? If the light isn't too old, could you just return it?

I've never been a fan of EDCing rubber lights... I use my Scorpions as glovebox lights, and use them occasionally on cold days. I just sent mine back to Streamlight when the rubber sleeve had worn off and they put a new one on. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif They said that the sleeve is covered under the warranty. I wonder if a SF G2 might be better for EDC in your situation?

-Mike

Take off the rubber sleeve and spray some hair spray on the metal, but not in the switch /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Quickly put the rubber sleeve back on. Let dry. That should hold for awhile.

Well, the return policy is 30 days, I own the Scorpion for about 35 days /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

Yeah, the rubber is almost like a skin over the light, but if the rubber expands, it will just slide off... so, don't EDC a rubber light.

Heat-shrink tube won't work well on that Scorpion as I need to use the tail click switch for turning the light on. Black nylon twine might work but not how to tie the tail switch.

Hair spray sounds a great idea, will probably do that later when it the rubber will fully slide off, I just slide it back for now.

Cool, that's nice that the Scorpion's rubber is under warranty. Not sure if I want to ship the Scorpion in for every few months. Anyone know if there is some kind of Upgrade Program? Like I ship to Streamlight my Scorpion and some money and they'll ship me a TL2.

I'd still ask to send it back. Otherwise, if the rubber hasn't expanded too much, spray the body with 3M Super 77 adhesive. That should work better than hair spray. Guess I've been lucky with my Scorp. - no slidage. BTW, degrease the inside of the sleeve and body of light. Good luck.

Well, I'll probably just leave the Scorpion the way it is and EDC my ARC LS when it comes here. I just went to Arc's web site and happened to be able to order the Factory Second Arc-LS. I hope they'll give me something good.

Try removing the rubber grip and replacing it with the stuff you dip tool handles into to coat them.

Roy has another option for retaining the usefulness of that, otherwise, nice light. I wonder if some Scorps weren't degreased before sleeving?

Any Arc LS(whatever) for $50 is a good investment, but the Scorpion has its place, too.

I agree with PhotonBoy. I think that the oil got transfer from hand to the rubber and made the rubber more elastic. But once that it fully slides off, then I'll put 3M Super 77 to fix it.

Roy, using the dip tool handles sounds good but I'm affraid that it'll ruine the tail switch. The rubber hasn't fully slide off yet so I don't know if the swith is protected or not.

I have removed the rubber a couple or times on mine to try and find a fix. Once the sleeve is removed there is no protection for the switch. I have even tried to add material to make the switch work easier. If you are going to use an adhesive, I would recomend 2 things.
1. Start at the top, and roll the sleeve down, or turn it inside out once it is off. Then roll the rubber back on after applying addhesive.
2.If it is contact cement, don't wait until it is dry. Do it wet. This is quite messy, and I have see the hairspray trick for a long time.

30 days might be the store's policy but the last time I checked, Streamlight had lifetime guarantees.
I've no doubt that if you contact them directly they will take care of you.

... all I'm going to say in this thread is the following: "Beware of a loose rubber. Only bad things can happen".

Put it in your glove box /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Yeah, but I live in Canada, it gets down to -40 here... Not sure if the rubber will stand that temperature...