I bought several Surefire E1Bs years ago, and they’ve seen heavy use since then.
Surefire’s warranty covers everything but bulbs and tailcaps, but when one of the E1B tailcaps failed – instead of wearing out, it actually came apart – they covered it without any hassle, sending a new tailcap out right away. I didn’t mention that I would thank them online, or that I had a blog – just that I needed a part replaced.
Since I had already had the entire lens section of the other E1B replaced under warranty – and that failure was entirely my fault – I am very happy with the way Surefire takes care of its customers.
Ive had numerous encounters with surefire’s excellent customer service over the years. They have never ever hesitated to ship out a replacement part for one of their lights free of charge. I even received an entirely new light in one instance. Amazing service and its what keeps me as a surefire customer for life!
Other companies have just as good customer service and yet they don’t overcharge their customers like Surefire does. Their lights are just way, way, way too overpriced for what you get. They’re just awful in lumen/dollar department.
It is difficult to disagree with you, on paper.
The thing SureFire does though, is make some truly exceptional quality lights. Yes, they are a bit behind the curve in the lumen department. Even so, nobody touches the overall quality, materials, fit and finish SureFire provides. It adds up to a more reliable and durable light in my experience.
They also understand how to make a flashlight interface. Most of the Fenix/4 Sevens/JetBeam guys add useless modes and sub modes that are both useless and add complexity. A strobe mode that I need to morris code my way over a tail cap switch to activate every time is next to useless. I just bought a JetBeam light that is fantastically sized and well built, but the multi-mode interface gives me zero confidence as to what sort of beam is gonna come out when I press the tail cap button.
SureFire knows to keep it simple, use proven technologies and build it very well. The Chinese competition hasn’t figured that out yet and until they do, SureFire is the only company building life-safety quality flashlights. Full stop.
Dave, the first thing I look for in a light is dependability. The only lights I have found that offer the same level of dependability/durability/reliability on a large scale and over the long term are made by Elzetta. But I would not call Elzetta cheap.
As I noted in my earlier E1B review, my Nitecore light was extremely bright – right up until it failed when I really needed a light. I had similar, though less life-threatening, experiences with other lights.
Sorry Dave. I’m going to disagree. I’ve dealt with Surefire customer support and it’s easily the best around and well worth the premium you pay for the lights. I’m a big fan of Fenix (and a number of other brands) but good luck trying to reach someone in customer support. With Surefire, you call up, talk to someone stateside and they get you service in a jiffy. Not email/voicemail tree hell.
I have been underwhelmed with the reliability of Surefire products, specifically their lamps. I don’t even really abuse my flashlights, either. I’ve just had too many be dead when I go to use them, mainly G2s.
you base your reliability on when an incandescent bulb in the Surefire’s lowest cost light (the G2) goes out? Try out a G2L…
I’ve had higher end models fail on me, as well. A 6P and a $500 handguard replacement weapon light come to mind immediately. Generally a bad tailcap or bulb that decides to stop functioning after little use. I thought of the G2s since I tossed two of them in the garbage the other day.
Apparently “what you get” depends on how many warranty claims you make. Andrew has gotten his money’s worth. Of course, they aren’t giving that work away; customers pay up front for it, whether they need it or not. So why am I still using Surefire’s? Good question.
I’m going to guess because if you own a surefire light that you use the company will cover it for the lifetime of the product. No, not the lifetime of how long the model line runs, but the lifetime of the company. I suspect the 6P that I bought in the 1990s will still be covered if it suddenly failed (and it hasn’t). Would you rather run a Surefire Weaponlight on your weapon or some other brand based on how cheap it was on eBay?