Buyer beware: Surefire XC1

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Warp

Warp

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I'm not sure if this belongs here or in "handgun holsters and accessories". It may need moved if I got it wrong

I made the mistake of shelling over legitimate % for a Surefire XC1 earlier this year. I wanted the real small size to carry concealed daily on my Glock 19, and I keep hearing about Surefire quality.

Well, it was a failure. It would frequently stutter and shimmer and also, fairly often, just simply shut off. This applied to using the momentary arms with my thumbs or depressing the constant on switch. Firing the gun or even just dry firing and racking the slide or hitting the light with my hand could induce failure.

Here is a video demonstrating some of the initial condition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEhxoELh09k



I called Surefire customer service (US customers have no email option), and they called back about 4 hours later. I was unable to answer, they left an email for a specific customer service rep. I sent the above ^ video and basic description, surefire sent a UPS label to return the light. The total time to return the light for repair was about 5 weeks.

It returned today. Same light, same exactly problem. As far as I can tell all they did was put it into a different box, wait 4 weeks, and then ship it back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqHawjrDLv4



I'm not sure what I will do with this now. I can never trust a product that fails immediately after the manufacturer "fixes" it, nobody will want to buy it, I guess I will do the exact same thing with Surefire again, hope for a different outcome, maybe they'll send me a new one if I ask, and then I"ll sell it and try to find something that works? IDK. I have a holster for the G19 + XC1 too, not sure what I'll do with it.
 
When I started reading I thought this was going to be a case of counterfeit product from amazon or something (Its happened to me, too)


But you sent it back, and they claimed to have fixed it rather than say it was counterfeit...


That stinks that the repair is not better.


Please update us when you get it back the 2nd time. And, good luck.
 
Is the battery compartment closed up tight?

I am not sure of the construction of this particular light, but most pocket-type flashlights suffer from problems like you describe when the tail cap is loose.
 
CZ9shooter said:
Is the battery compartment closed up tight?

I am not sure of the construction of this particular light, but most pocket-type flashlights suffer from problems like you describe when the tail cap is loose.
Click to expand...

It is tight, yes.

I suffer occasional bouts of what the CPF guys refer to as being a flashaholic, I can figure out the simple and obvious stuff well enough.

And it doesn't always do it from being moved around sometimes if it's on it just suddenly stutters or even turns off, or tuns back on, the shock just makes it more likely to act up. Same as when I mailed it off to them. I have plenty of other lights that have taken a thousand times more abuse (dropped down flights of concrete stairs, thrown on keychains to be land on concrete driveways, dropped on tile, dropped on marble, thrown into the deep end of pools, stepped on, over and over and over) and the only light I have had fail in probably 8 years has been Surefire (three of them). The Fenix, Inova, 4sevens, Streamlight, they just keep on trucking no matter what.

But the Surefires...half (3/6) have failed

(I thought it was 3/4 failed before but then I remembered about two others I have sitting on rifles)


And now Surefire can't even fix the one I send back to them to get fixed.


It is quite frustrating.

I called their "world class" customer service this afternoon. I left my info to hold my spot in the queue. I did not get a call back yet (the first time it took the 4 hours to call me back)
 
Thanks for posting Warp. I have been looking for a good small taclight. Had looked at this one. Now, I'll mark this one off that list.
 
I called their customer service at 3:57 PM eastern time yesterday (that's 11:57 AM their time in CA) and did the typical thing where it captures your number, you leave a brief message, and they are supposed to call you back.

I have not yet been called back. They had literally the entire afternoon of their work day yesterday, a non-holiday run of the mill Tuesday, and didn't return my call.

However, I responded to an email from the specific CS guy I dealt with the first time, and got this back about an hour ago:


"Hi ___,

We will get another UPS label out to you within 24 hours. When your XC1 was in for inspection, the repair technician could not find a problem with it. I promise to replaced as soon as it arrives.

Thank you,
Steven ____
Technical Support Supervisor"



So, I was right. They did literally move it to a different box and ship it back to me in exactly the same condition it arrived. I don't know what they did with it to look for a problem...but probably not much because it's pretty easy to have it mess up just playing around for 1-2 minutes. And why did it take a month to get it back to me if all they did was look at it, think nothing was wrong, and send it right back?

Seriously, what the heck
 
Same thing happened to me with a Fenix light, they replaced it after sending me back the same one.
 
OP thanks for the post I hope you get this straighten out they should have just sent you a new one once they received your light. Looks like I will be looking else where for a light for my Glock.
 
Warp said:
So, I was right. They did literally move it to a different box and ship it back to me in exactly the same condition it arrived. I don't know what they did with it to look for a problem...but probably not much because it's pretty easy to have it mess up just playing around for 1-2 minutes. And why did it take a month to get it back to me if all they did was look at it, think nothing was wrong, and send it right back?

Seriously, what the heck
Click to expand...
'Cause maybe they had thousands of other defective lights to get to before yours. If that's the situation, the "highly trained" tech didn't have 2 minutes to spend with yours.

Hopefully the new one will work.

I had a problem with an Inova light. Sent it in, got it back, didn't work. Called, they told me toss it, a new one is on the way. Sent me a couple of key chain lights gratis for my troubles. Turned out it was my fault, I put the batteries in backwards. Positive went to the back instead of the normal front. My bad. :rolleyes: Very happy with my two Inova lights.
 
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