Kevin1322
Flashlight Enthusiast
Seriously Vinh. You need to market this to the military. This is the kind of stuff they look for. Not to mention all the money you could make from them.
You can become a Supporting Member.
Seriously Vinh. You need to market this to the military. This is the kind of stuff they look for. Not to mention all the money you could make from them.
could this be as good as in HDS , Malkoff , Elzetta Toughness ?
Seriously Vinh. You need to market this to the military. This is the kind of stuff they look for. Not to mention all the money you could make from them.
Until I can find a way to make this light cheaper I think I will have a very hard time getting this light to any group of professional...Let start here and we will move on from there.
could this be as good as in HDS , Malkoff , Elzetta Toughness ?
As one who was a Marine logistics officer for many years, I'll throw my two cents worth in the ring and say that Vinh's instincts are right on the money here. I would advise against devoting too much time and effort in these very early stages toward pursuing any sort of military contract.
In the vast majority of cases, the military procurement process is predicated upon finding the cheapest product that is capable of meeting a certain set of predetermined standards. In other words, when it's decided that a new piece of military gear is required, the warfighters and the bean counters will come together and draft a very detailed set of specifications which outline the minimum performance and durability criteria that the item must meet. Once that is done, then the military specification is published and a competition is conducted amongst willing manufacturers to determine which prototype submitted best meets those specifications and does so most cost effectively.
So in the final analysis, everything is predicated on the specification that is established. If the Army suddenly decides that it needs a handheld flashlight that can produce 4000 lumens of light, live for days under 30 feet of water and survive repeatedly being thrown off four story buildings, then Vinh is definitely in a good position with this light. But until a light meeting such an extreme set of specifications is deemed required, then much cheaper lights meeting far less rigorous minimum specifications will be awarded the contracts.
The stories you hear about the military paying $600 for a hammer or $1000 for a toilet seat are really just silly urban legends. I can promise you the military isn't spending hundreds of dollars for any common tool that can be had at Home Depot for $15. Unless you just happen to stumble across an active RFP with existing specifications that match very closely with the product you've already developed, you'll quickly find yourself competing against other manufacturers with much deeper pockets who can develop a product from scratch specifically designed to just barely meet these standards as cost effectively as possible.
That's not to say that at some point down the road Vinh might not want to strike up a conversation with folks like those at CountyComm. If willing, I'm sure they could tell you everything you need to know about the process of petitioning the Defense Logistics Agency to have a national stock number (NSN) assigned to your product. But even going to that trouble and expense is no guarantee the military will actually purchase any of them. And as a purely practical side note, I can add that, where individual issue equipment is concerned, the military has a preference for gear powered by primary cells rather than rechargeable batteries.
For now, I think Vinh is wise in stating his preference to build the brand, build the reputation, build the customer base and build the capacity to deliver product. Doing all of these things will only enhance the future attractiveness of his creations to the military/LEO community.
Thank you for the very detail and informative post. Truly appreciate it.
My pleasure, Vinh. And many thanks to you and your family for taking the leap of faith and financial risks necessary to bring such fantastic products to the marketplace.
Will you offer a run over/dropped from a building finish? LOL [emoji1787]
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Serial 1-24 Black HA III Anodized
Serial 25-30 Hand Mirror Polished + Clear Anodized
Serial 25-30 will be here this Saturday to hand polish before it goes back to the shop for clear Anodizing
Question: Anyone interested in a bare aluminum with no Clear anodizing?
Also here are a bit more concrete pricing although not exact.
SLN host ~ $250 or less
SLN Light Engines Range from $50-$150
Vinh, what would you do if an ultra wealthy internet dweller decided to purchase your $999,999,999.99 SLN preview item on your site?
Would you send him every last sample you've ever made? And fly him in to Seattle and teach him how to mod lights?
Wishful thinking It could happen.