Surefire, A step BELOW the rest?
 

I asked about a bright small flashlight and after many suggestions one stood out, a Surefire G2 Nitrolon so I ordered one. When I first got it I loved it, it was small yet nicely powerful! Anyways it's been a month since I got it.

All of a sudden it just stopped working. New batteries ARENT the problem.

Pushed the button on the back for 3 seconds, had it off for 10 seconds, then needed light again but when I pushed the button nothing. Tried turning the end instead and still nothing. Changed the batteries and again nothing.

To top it off the Pressure Button on the back now doesn't press in, it's rock solid no matter how tight or loose the tail cap is.

So I fired off an email to the Surefire Customer Service to get sent a Warranty Number and here's how things went:

Email to them:
Response to me:
My response to them:
Their response to me:
Now anyone can get a lemon from any company, it happens, BUT their support is spending MORE money ($30 for a lamp assembly for a $50 flashlight) from them to try and solve a problem with one of their products and if that doesn't work then they will send me a number to get it repaired AFTER of course I pay the shipping costs to them (which was calculated out to $20)!

You really dont know anyone that owns,/stores that have demo G2s? Just swap the assembly with a friend, see if it goes flash. If it doesnt, RMA it. Given the amount of operator caused failures i'm not suprised they want you to cover shipping. Why not just return it to the retailer/ ask for a working one?

I live in a mining and logging town of 200 people with over an hour to the nearest town which even doesn't do any good since no one even sells Surefires locally anyways. Im the only one in town that owns a Surefire. :D

How badly do you need it?
You could order a cheap LED lamp assembly from DX (just make sure you pick one that doesn't generate too much heat since you're using the polymer body G2).

How often have you been using it? Surefire lamps can burn out quick, same thing happened to a buddy of mine. You want to buy the LED front end for that flashlight. Or return it and get a G2 LED.

It also sounds like you've activated the lockout feature on the tailcap.

I know how long the runtime is but it's not the batteries since Ive put new ones into it. And the lockout feature on the tail cap is only if you move the tailcap so the two dots line up. No matter where the tailcap is it's still locked.

Surefire's are over priced and I don't think are that great. I have a 6P that has the same problem, flashlight was pretty much $100 that uses two CR123 (1-2$ a piece) thats now nothing more than a paper weight. I've bought a Fenix light since, at half that cost, with more options and it has lasted longer and is cheaper to run than said flashlight. I would recommend the TK12 or if you want something cheaper the Fenix L2D.

http://www.fenixtactical.com/images/...x-tk12-015.jpg

I used a G2 for about 2 years without a problem.
I now own a E2D and a 6P LED Defender.

I changed the lamp assembly on the E2D once after about 4 years of use.

Now, back to the G2, you could have a lemon, but if it's possible, go to a store, or gunshop (they usually sell Surefire stuff) and swap the lamp there. Sometime they come in little bags that can be opened for testing... if it fix the problem, you buy, if not, you don't.

A deffective tailcap button is something new to me. If I was closer to you, I would have told you to send it to me so I could check it out at my local store with spare parts. Maybe someone you trust in your erea can do the same.

If it's just the tailcap button, buy a compatible clone tape switch and use the G2 on your airsoft gun. :D

Surefire product are supposed to be LIFE TIME WARRANTY. except for the bulb and batteries.

1) I live in a town of 200 people out in the mountains, we are lucky enough to have a post office.
2) Local town which is over an hour away does not have any stores that sell Surefire stuff.
3) I know they are supposed to have a life time warranty and Surefire will replace it AFTER I purchase a lamp assembly from them. :rolleyes:

Where did you buy it? Seriously why not return it or contact the retailer you got it from?

Bought it from an online retailer who told me simply to "contact the company since it's under warranty".

UPDATE:
Well I gave a call to Surefire and lodged a complaint about this customer service. They are now going to mail me a new tailcap and lamp assembly for free to try out!

Nice!
I exected nothing less from them!

Except it took calling them and lodging a formal complaint about their customer service. :p

I would have to agree with T_A_N_K. I owned 2 surefires and both burned out way too quickly. I also needed to replace the headlamp assembly twice on one of them. I switched to Fenix and never looked back. They are very affordable and are made for heavy duty use (rock climbing, law enforcement, etc...). They are very bright LED flashlights with adjustable brightness levels along with some different lighting/flashing schemes (strobe, S.O.S., etc...)....and their pressure switches are of good quality.

I looked into the TK12 and at $80+ that's a little more than Im going to spend on a flashlight at this time. I also looked into the L2D and it was just slightly more expensive than the Surefire G2 so at this time I'll stick with the G2 until it actually breaks and then pick up the L2D as a replacement.

cool. Glad Surefire ended up helping you out without costing you extra. Hope the replacement parts fix your flashlight....cause they weren't so helpful the second time with me!

i bought one of these for work. still has yet to fail me and its been beaten a lot. i work as a bouncer/manager at some of the local bars and nightclubs so i asked a few of the local cops what they use. they suggested this light for max output and reliability. costs $30 and i love it. several of my security staff now own them (20 or so) and we have yet to see one break/ fail in any way other than changing batteries when the light dims past our needs.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...p#BVQAWidgetID
EDIT: Picture is actually of the smaller $20, 60 lumen, single AA version. larger one is gray with rubberized grips.

I thought they did ok as far as customer service goes. They troubleshot that it wasnt your tailcap, so uunless there was a problem with your tube, it would be your lamp assembly. That isnt covered by warranty, hence them wanting you to buy a new one.

Except I DO have a problem with my tailcap because the pressure button no longer works (you can press it down). Then on top of that lamp assemblies ARE covered by warranty (thus why Im getting one free shipped to me) but BULBS are not. When I lodged my complaint I was told that I didn't need to buy the LA since they are covered and was simply asked for my address.

bought one on sale from Rona as a backup light for a night pistol game.

http://www.rona.ca/shop/~flashlight-...lashlight_shop

bit big for a pocket light but super bright and the beam can reach out and light up areas well. rechargeable too.

I'd have to agree with the Fenix guys. The TK12 is badass.

http://www.fenixlight.ca/images/fenix-tk12-001.jpg

The thing about why I chose the L2D is that it is small and compact and it also has a low/high/strobe function and can but used a striking weapon. But mainly, it doesn't use CR123(2$ a piece) it use standard 2 AA battery's and the run time is longer. Im not sure how much the G2 was but the TK12 is a good alternative if your going to buy something like a Surefire 6P which is about $80+. Anyways glad it worked out for you, hopefully it will solve your issue.

Bought two of these as well, uses 3 AAA. Got one as a backup and one for the car. Great bang for your buck product. They were on sale a month or so ago for $20.

The G2 was $40-50 and personally Im not going to spend any more than that on a bloody flashlight. :D

If I had known about the L2D beforehand I would have picked one up instead just for the simple fact of taking AA batteries instead.

are there local Fenix retailers? or canadian online retailers?

edit: just went to fenixtactical.com and found that they ship from Toronto but don't have a retail store here yet.

Well I went into town to buy some 123A batteries and the ONLY store that carried them was Zellers and they wanted $20 EACH battery. Screw that!

Came home, went onto Ebay and bought 4 rechargeable 123A Lithium batteries with the charger for $25.

Next flashlight I get will be the Fenix L2D :D

What? What brand where they? Rechargeable?

If you can't make the trip often, buy a box online!

keep in mind some Rechargeable CR123A will come off the charger at 4.2v some torches can't handle overvolt.

You mean the $20 each ones? They were NOT rechargeable, they were Energizer Lithiums

Screw them! Man, that's total rape.
Surefire batteries are expensive at 5$ ish each... 20$ is fraud.

Surefire make a rechargeable stick for their light. It's expensive and I don't know how good it is, but I guess you can have any bettery shop do a custom pack for you.

The $20 each batteries were the Energizer Lithium Photo 123A's and were the ONLY 123A batteries carried ANYWHERE in town!

Yeah Surefire's rechargeable conversion kit is a TOTAL rape at $97 USD for a bloody $40 flashlight!

I picked up 4x 123A rechargeable batteries (3.0v) with a charger for $25 from a battery place online. If they ruin the flashlight then oh well, I'll just go buy the Fenix then :D