Long-term durability of Surefire Z49 tailcap?

etc

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Does anyone have objective tests done on this. I have a Z48 and a Z49 tailcaps that are working, but in what way does the Z49 sacrifice durability over Z41?
 

m4a1usr

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also what's the diameter of the Z49 tailcap? I cannot find the info anywhere.


I measure 1.125 on my HA and 1.127 on my BK. So an inch and an 8th basically. But that's on the aluminum body. The rubber extension is 1.145 at its largest diameter. It measures almost exactly the same on an SW02 I measured as well. Not that you asked for that diameter.
 

TMedina

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The Z48/49 tailcap is potentially less reliable than the Z41 because of the clicky mechanism - that is simply because there are moving parts being engaged.

By comparison, the Z41 is a floating plunger on a spring, which leaves very little to break.

Diagram of the Z41: Diagram

In purely statistical terms, I don't know that anyone has done a study of failure rates. The SF tail clickies are regarded as being very good, although there are always some folks with different opinions or experiences.
 

etc

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Is there a twisty tailcap like Z41 but that has the diameter of Z49?

Anti-roll ideally.
 
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m4a1usr

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Is there a twisty tailcap like Z41 but that has the diameter of Z49?

Anti-roll ideally.

The SolarForce S8 TC might come close to your requirements but there are other models as well. I know Surefire TC's pretty good but couldn't tell you what each SolarForce tail cap model number if you showed me each one and asked me to identify it. And I own 6 or seven SolarForce Hosts. Most all of them have different TC.

There is a thread here on CPF and one on BLF that sort of covers the different TC versions. But for the life of me I couldn't locate either. I do remember looking at them a couple times over the years though. What I got the most hits on was just googling SolarForce Tailcaps and found pics of 7 or 8 different ones. And several might come close to what you are seeking.
 

m4a1usr

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Solarforce s8 is clicky, I need a twisty.

That's an easy fix. You could go with an Oveready Zerorez kit or place a WTB ad for some SF Z41 "guts". That would give you a "twisty". The former would be a little spendy while the latter would be pretty cheap. Many of us CPF'ers have a stash of McClicky install leftovers so finding the SF parts would be pretty easy.
 
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