What's the deal with Surefire?

[alamo5000]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I'm happy with the TLR-7A on my 19. Great value.

I never used any other brands until recently, but that shows how little I know. My habits are generally to let others do the vetting and then just stick with what I know. So while yes I like my Surefires I learned a lesson that almost no one is the only game in town. I was pleasantly surprised by all means.

I'm sure there are other things that make Surefire a staple. Their warranty and guarantees are excellent. Any time I ever needed anything (which hasn't been very often) it always only took a single email and cost nothing to correct. Not even a question one has been asked. They just make it right.

For this specific light though I think it would be worth it to do a re-design of the activation buttons. To me it's more than just the 'clicky' nature vs the mushy feel.

With the Surefire if I activate it with my support hand thumb I have two options. If I use the curved textured area of the switch I have to put my thumb down like I am playing thumb war with somebody. If I try to use the ledge just above that, that ledge is slightly better, but it's tiny and I have to slightly move my hand to get activation.

With the Streamlight, the tactile feel of the button aside, where things are located and the shape of the button itself is in a much more natural place and there is more meat to it. In a natural shooting grip your activation thumb just goes to the right spot.

With the XSC if I am using that top ledge I feel like I am using the side of my thumb to sort of rake the switch, whereas with the Streamlight I have a purchase right in the center of my thumb right on the switch without compromising my grip. If I use a similar center of the tip of my thumb on the XSC that little ledge is quite small and hence it requires a little bit of hunting sometimes, or I have to do the thumb war position.

Aside from that I bought the Streamlight shipped to the door for like $130 bucks. The Surefire with one extra battery right now will cost around $360.