Every brand on Earth, no matter how much they cost, will have an issue with their products at some point. How companies resolve a customer's issues is what separates the good from the great.
*I bought a new Surefire DF Tactical and the exact same thing happened to me.* I barely used it, meaning I only used it for walking my dog and only occasionally turning it on to light the path. I didn't drop it and I didn't leave it on for more than a couple minutes at a time. After about 3 months, I noticed the same thing you described, a dark center in the bulb which ruined the beam. That's when I started scouring RU-vid until I found your video cluing me in on what happened and what to do - (thank you for your video!) I called Surefire and they told me they'd provide me with a shipping label and to send it back to them to inspect it Within a week, they had sent me a brand new one to my house. I was very happy. Within literally a month! the same thing happened to the new one with only maybe 10 times of walking the dog and treating it like it was gold. I called them back saying, "you're not going to believe this, BUT IT HAPPENED AGAIN!" So they sent me another label, and off this one went back to Surefire. NOW! it's been 3 weeks and I've called them Twice to inquire where my Surefire was. They are telling me that the DF Tacticals are all backordered, and they have No Idea when any will arrive. *So here I sit using my old $9.95 Walmart flashlight that hasn't burnt out in years*.
*I'm now waiting on my 5th replacement because of yet another bulb burnout. I've been waiting for nearly 4 months this time! so I called Surefire TODAY, and they offered me a lesser candle power flashlight as a replacement! I declined!* *They said that they have no ETA for the replacement of my Surefire DF Tactical* *I can't begin to tell you how discouraging this all is!*
As the old saying goes ( two is one and one is none!) I always ah a primary light and a smaller backup one. I know some will say that if it’s a quality light you don’t need the hassle of carrying a second light. We this just shows you why that mindset doesn’t work!
...Some people swear by this brand or that brand but crap happens Surefire still makes great lights but this is an example of a good thing gone wrong it happens like not ever Glock runs flawlessly even though the fanboys would say as much, that said still love my Surefires and my Glocks lol...No product is impervious to problems...Thanks for sharing your experience with us :)
Wow interesting, I own many surefires and I’ve never seen such a thing. Thanks for sharing.
2 года назад
I've been rockin the modlite okw with their lite holster. I ditched nitecore after they didn't' help fix my favorite light at the time. Customer service is powerful stuff.
I had the same thing happen with my Fury Dual Fuel Intellibeam. I only run surefire batteries in it as well. I also had a similar experience with Surefire. Although I was pissed off that the light burnt out, they made it right and handled everything in a manner that is above reproach. I sent it in and about 3 weeks later they sent a new one, so I have an additional 18650 for it. I've been running that replacement, using it almost daily for six months, and haven't had a single issue with it. My buddy purchased one at the same time as me and hasn't had a single issue with his.
I'm thinking of getting the Intellibeam. how is it running now? I don't see a lot of reviews for it on youtube.. wish there were more long time reviews
I had the same issue with mine, about two months ago. Luckily, I was just walking the dog. Noticed a large black spot, within the hotspot. Received replacement from Surefire three weeks ago.
My new is great, actually cleared several buildings and used it hard daily and even did a live test video on here, tan it 40 minutes straight no burns!
same thing happened to my X300, used it a few times while dry firing and worked fine, first time live firing at the range I noticed the black spot at the centre of the beam
I’ve had this happen to my fury three times now. Kinda sucks love my surefire lights but my 6v lights are the only ones that I haven’t had any issues out of. They always make good on them just warranty the lights and come back new. Hopefully they square it away soon.
If it's life saving equipment, you should carry a backup. Electronics can and will fail, and they will fail when they're in use. An LED doesn't burn out when the light is off. That means it will always fail at the least opportune moment. An LED burning out is not abnormal. LED's have an incredibly long average burn time, but it is an average. Some will burn out sooner, some will burn out later, but they will all burn out eventually. We have a saying: "Two is one. One is none." Carry two lights. They don't both have to be Surefire lights, your backup can be cheaper, but you will need to keep track of it working before every shift. The chances of two lights burning out at the same time are almost zero.
Own multiple soften my surefires an vs been carrying 1 every day since around 2004. Have had switches burn out and that's about the extent of my issues but customer service has always been amazing at sending me replacement tail caps or whatever else may have failed or broke and I've never paid a cent for any of the replacement parts they've sent. I have zero complaints about surefire as a company or their products
They are over-driving these lights just like every manufacturer who has gotten hooked on the lumen wars. Some of these LED's are only rated for 1000 lumens, and the big 18650's can drive them way harder than that if the lights are programmed to draw that much power. I stayed one generation behind on lights because I saw where this was going. Poor runtime, poor regulation, and lower reliability is what we're getting by paying attention to nothing but the peak lumen numbers on the box. Notice how we don't see runtime/output charts anymore... That's because the output regulation is crap compared to old LED models which were programmed for serious use and not just wow-factor for the first 30 seconds. I think peak reliability/performance/efficiency balance was seen in the generation of 500-lumen fury models and the 320-lumen G2X's. People thought the performance limits were dictated only by CR123a's, but by lifting those limits with 18650's, we're now finding that maybe there's not that much farther to go before we're also limited by practical thermal constraints of small lights and LED's.
I think the Peacekeeper is decent choice as it does not seem over driven at just 600 lumens, officially supports 18650s and has decent throw but the price is ridiculous. At $250, it is even more expensive than the Fury DFT ($219).
I take it you are in law enforcement since you said you arrived minutes after an alarm ? I am curious as to why your department would not issue you their approved light and what might have happened if God forbid something would have happened to you and what your departmental policy insurance would have done if they knew you were not using department issued equipment ? I'm asking this because you said that you called Surefire instead of your commander .Glad all is well .
Maybe companys Are getting so good at making stuff that we are just used to it now and that if something breaks it's a shock. I don't know about you but I think that's a good thing.
My Stiletto burnt up on me after a month. $250 and the LEDs are not reliable. They wanted me to pay FedEx charges. Forget it. We pay a premium for a reason but I guess they don't get it. I'll never buy another product from them.
@@clplusp8762 None that Im aware of thats was the point even USA made flashlights like Surefire and Streamlight which are awesome still rely on Chinese LEDS which of course is the most important part in the light its like using a USA made gun with Chinese ammo...Its been fine for many years fine for many lights but in this case it seems like they got a bad batch...Ive found Chinese flashlights are still really good often WAY outperforming the USA made ones in output and features for much less BUT they are more inconsistent than the USA made ones mostly due to QC we have here in the US being better sometimes...US made lights have problems but they dont still pack it up and ship it out like the Chinese companies do...Seems like just a batch batch of LEDS which Surefire couldn't have known until people started really using their lights for longer time periods or maybe even with age so testing in house was great but long term they burn out...As Paul mentioned though the real focus here is if your light breaks they replace it asap no problems unlike some Chinese companies thats part of why you pay extra for a US made light...
Streamlight and Surefire have both replaced flashlights and accessories for me quickly and painful, but Olight is a different story! I had to email Olight 3 times before they even got back to me, and now it's been 17 days since they haven't responded to me AGAIN! No more Olight for me...
Definitely curious about the armor! I do also wonder about your job. I thought police officer, but somehow I am getting a government security contractor vibe, perhaps with DHS/FPS?
I have the Fury IntellbeamS And... I have 2 times "burning" the Fury's LED Crystal head experience : ( The only good news is, sure-fire will replace or repair ur light without asking a question.
I had the same thing happen to my Fury Intellibeam. It's still at Surefire. They must have got a bad batch of emitters. I've been collecting Surefire for 20 yrs. I have 180 Surefire lights. No weaponlights. I'd send you a pic, but I don't know how. If your a cpf member I have some pictures there.
Surefire makes great lights and has good customer service but for what you are doing I'd go with an Elzetta Bravo B331 with a Thyrm Switchback 2.0. Elzetta purposely limits lumen output to prevent reliability issues. They also have fully potted electronics and user replaceable and interchangeable components like 1 inch thick solid acrylic optical lenses. Surefire doesn't have any of that. I love my Surefire lights but they are toys compared to my Elzetta Bravo.
Surefire sucks . Mine burned too Nitecore only from now on with half price and it just doesnt burned or just a walmart flashlight is better than surefire
I'm very disappointed with Surefire's products and their customer service primarily their X300U A and its sloppy mounting solution. Surefire did nothing but try and lie their way out or making things right.They finally swapped the X300U A for a X300U B but would only swap one. I still have one X300U A and it fits sloppy loose on the rail. In addition to that none of their lights seem as bright as I had expected; their 1000 lm doesn't seem any brighter that the 500lm.
Surefire told me the replacement Intellibeam not having half the output was due to "oil on the leaves of trees" despite being 2 acres from any trees. They sent my light back after the 4th time physically and cosmetically damaged. WI never buy from them again and was nothing but pleasant with them
Surefire makes very good flashlights, but I think they are way overrated. For top tier quality I prefer Fenix, and Acebeam and Thrunite are very good as well. These are Chinese lights, but I have never had a single problem with any of these brands and all of them disclose the type of LED's they use.
Surefire told me my G2 I bought at Bass Pro Shops was counterfeit, because Surefire lights don't break. It took 3 months, 5 emails and two phonecalls to get my light dealt with. Meanwhile, one of our LE users dropped his light into a running engine and they replaced it without even sending the old one back, no hassle. No more Surefire for me.
Surefire is well know for having world class warranty service for the life of the light. I have seen a light with bullet hole through it and they replaced it, no questions asked.
