so incredibly upset with surefire right now!

hi all.

you probably know i was never really impressed with my l4.
well, i guess i no longer have to worry about that now!

today it dropped less than 2 feet off my table. it then hit the brass foot of my bed. traveled another 6 inches coming to rest on pile carpet. i had a sinking feeling, knowing how shoddy it was constructed to begin with.
i picked it up to examine it. huge dent on the bezel, right through the finish. with white color metal showing(i don't get that part either). i thought to myslef, don't even turn it on! your gonna find out it is dead and you are already not in a good mood right now! i replied to myslef, nah it can't be that crummy it is still working. clicked it, sure enough dead-as-a-doorknob! argh! bybye $130!

well the heck with surefire! someone please reccomend a serious custom light with led this size and output.
if you think i am flaming surefire, you are right! this is total bs! "tools for professionals"? and cannot withstand a 2.5' drop onto plush carpet? they can suck an egg!
(i hope this does not have to go in the underground, i didn't really cuss).

grinding my teeth,
nitebrite.

I don't know your story but based on your post it doesn't sound to me like your L4 is typical at all.

I suggest you contact SureFire and arrange to have it replaced.

I'd be angry too and I'd definitely want to get it replaced.

Al

i did much worst to my g2/kl3 in camping than what you did and it's still ticking. that's a real strange occurence especially being and LED. They would replace it without question i think though. that's what makes surefire soo awesome, they'll stand by what they make. Heck even streamlight replaced parts of my light without question when i told him i cracked the bezel on my 3n. I would think surefire would do the same thing.

Nitebrite,

I think the L4 you had was a dud from that start. I've dropped mine on rocks and pavement on many occasions and it still keeps ticking. Give Surefire a call and I bet they take care of you. If they don't I would be really surprised/shocked.

I dropped mine more times than I can count and it still worked....then I lost it

Surefires are normally much tougher than that.

I agree with Al, give Surefire CS a shot. I can assure you this is not typical for any Surefire, I have a number of them and have never had any problems. I have accidentally done things to Surefires that I was sure would blow the lamp or worse, and they walk away with a "character marks" but shining as bright as ever.

-Mike

SureFire lights are some of the best lights made. Your experience is very atypical.

Why don't you call SureFire and explain the situation? Perhaps if you're civil they will help you. I have had many dealings with them, and they're great.

Just to piggyback on what everyone else has mentioned: Give surefire a call.

Ditto. Give Surefire a call. They'll take care of you.

Not to flame surefire but i do believe their quality is not as awesome as wht it use to be.
I have post on the LED forum regarding my brand new L2 having GREASE on the reflector and i have request them to made good of it. However, they ask me to send the thing back( i'm in Singapore) at my cost so that they could take a look at it.
I mean...for christ sake, its brand new & 1'm already very upset on my first surefire being a lemon and now they want me to pay to send the lemon back to them. I dun expect them to send me a replacement head but at least they should have the goodwill to offer me free shipping bqck to them.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
Anyway, i did request a head replacement in my last email to them cos i'm getting pretty upset abt this.

Once bitten twice shy, i will practice extreme precaution when buying any new surefire product..to me i expect top notch customer service for the premium price pay, whether i'm a local or oversea customer shouldn't be the issue.

DC

Hi NiteBrite,

I would give them a call. I only have one SF light (an L4) and it seems much more resiliant. They can do better.

NiteBrite and dc,

I have found that the customer service you receive depends on the rep you speak with. I had a problem with a rattle in my L4 bezel and initially, I called and wrote to SF and got a very curt response basically saying that I would get what they wanted to give me. I then worked through Chris at Meridian Tactical and posted a jeer here and a manager contacted me (Stuart, I think) and he was as helpful and amicable as anyone I have dealt with. What I'm trying to say is SureFire's customer service can be very good, you just may have to work at it a little.

Good luck,
Robert

If they've asked you to send it back (the L2) why not send back just the bezel?

i kinda figured this would open a can of worms. size15s, i think you might have made a comment that i got a dud in my original post about that light almost a year ago.

ordinarly i would call surefire, but when they see the size of the gash in it they will never beleive that it fell 2.5' onto carpet(and hit the beds foot). i am an honest guy as are most cpfr's. i swear it only fell that far. but it all depends if they beleive they made a dud. i hope they are man/woman enough to admit it. i'll call in the morning.

you are also right, as with any company it depends on which rep you get on the phone as to how nice they will be.

i just had one question though, i'd think that the size of the gash from such a short fall suggests that the body was the dud part here and it did not protect the led/electronics from shock. am i right? i assume it is the electronics that dies and not the led, but i am just guessing. it should not have sustained a gash like that from such a little fall should it have? i think the gash is indicative of the total failure of the light. but i guess in the morning i will find out if they beleive this. the gash is about 1/2" long part on the head and part on the body. right where the two peices meet. an entire chunk of metal is missing down to the bare aluminum. it is maybe 1/8" deep. you may remember that in my original post i was so unhappy with the crummy finish on it. it may very well be a dud body. i assume it is the bodys job to protect the "guts" and being a defective body it failed at this.

now one more question please, if the first person at sf tells me something to the effect of "go take a hike", is it appropriate for me to call back and try to get another rep? or could this make them real angry for me trying to get another answer if i was already told no? i am just asking your opinion on this. because like for instance if my boss said no about something i wouldn't go ask his boss. but thats at work so i guess it is different. in the case of retail, the customer is always right, right? i mean it is a $160(i mistakingly said $130 in my first post) flashlight that i use solely as a cool gadget. if it was owned by a fd or pd i could understand if they didn't beleive me.

well, i'll let you guys know in the evening. i'll call them at work.

thanks.

I don't suppose you have any pictures of what happened?

I just thought of something...is it possible you got a fake? I don't know if they even make fake flashlights but it doesn't seem possible that the metal would be softer.

pictures would be very helpful.

However, regardless, if it breaks, SureFire say they will be fix it. Be honest and genuine and I'm sure they will take care of you.

Al

can this board host my pic? i gotta go charge the batteries in the cam. pic is a great idea.

I can't host it but would welcome it emailed to me.
I'm sure we can find somebody willing to host it for you.

Al

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