Why is Surefire so expensive

[night.hoodie]

Vote for a Z68 here. Hell, I like 'em so much I bought 3 when I only had 2 lights they fit.

I bought 3 also. Gave one away, lost one with a light. Then I bought a light that came with one. I use both I have left every night. I have been saving to get 3 more so I can use 2 more every night and probably lose the another. They only come in TN and BK, afaik, but if they existed, I would buy 2 in NA. The Aleph TS tailcaps are nice, too. Need to get some Apeph parts. I can't afford all I want, but my desires are finite... someday, I'll have it all.

 

[fivemega]

Why is Surefire so expensive?

It's not expensive at all because you buy and pay once.

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

I won't bother to comment on SF specifically as my feelings are well documented regarding them, however I will comment on "price" of any consumer goods.

"Expensive" is very much a relative term. What might be considered "expensive" to one may be pocket change to another. It's like any adjective "good, best, quality, cheap" etc. etc. are simply the opinions of the one describing said object. I could say SF is cheap because I am used to using a Cool Fall Spy, a titanium HDS clicky, or McGizmo. If you compare SF across the entire flashlight spectrum, I would say they fall in the middle regarding cost.

Now, whether or not a persons perceived value in that product is worth the cost, is up to that individual alone. That is also where marketing plays a role. Marketing is not cheap (subjective use of the word cheap, I know), but lot's of marketing does increase costs in a product.

Flashlights are like any tool. You go from Harbor Freight on up to Snap On and others considered "high end". Timex to Rollex. Hi Point to Wilson Custom. You get the idea. Even a product that is not very good, with the right marketing, can make it seem great to many people... but that marketing costs money which the consumer ultimately pays for.

Look at Harley Davidson. The name alone is an icon. People have it tattooed on their bodies for crying out loud. Is it the "best" motorcycle? Not in this man's opinion, but the marketing and culture have raised it to by synonymous with the image "rebel, outlaw, tough guy" much in the same way SF's marketing has raised it to nearly the same level. You can see it in many of the previous responses. Serious bikers who travel by bike on extended trips would rarely do it on a Harley... but a Honda, Yamaha, or BMW if they really wanted comfort. Though the cost of an HD is often much higher.

Ultimately, whether or not the light is right for you, is up to you. Buy one and see if it lives up to YOUR expectations. If it does, then is the cost/benefit worth it to you. If it is, then it really isn't expensive at all. This goes with any product.

 

[ven]

Very true is dat!

Value along with beauty are both in the eye(and heart) of the beholder.

I will say that most brands(surefire certainly) are more expensive for us here in the UK. Luckily with some searching we can find deals about, even importing from the states with tax can save a good amount of money over buying here. Of course issues and returning can be timely, but generally posting a typical surefire size light works out around $10-$15 from UK to USA(not bad!).

 

[etc]

Actually I've always wondered why SOB (some other brands) are expensive.

For what you get, they are very pricey.

Check out the prices on some high end xyz brand. Frequently, they are at $200 or something for their high-end models. I don't think cheap SOBs are cheap anymore.

I think Sf prices must be seen in that context.

Having said that, I would never buy new. SF or anything else.

 

[desert.snake]

I had a bunch of SF, I dropped them, used them in cold and hot weather. The refusal was only 1 time, but not complete - for some reason U2 Ultra 100 lm stopped working all modes except the one weakest. Phone calling from Russia is unrealistic, they do not respond to mail messages, perhaps this is due to sanctions or with my very indistinct spelling language, but I was very helped one long-time member here, I am very grateful to him for this. I sent him a flashlight, he arranged with SF and I got a new UM2 with 600 lm! It was very unexpected. SF save tailcap from the old U2, it was also nice. I agree that we get what we pay for. I can not call them too expensive, especially if I buy from their large dealers like B&H. For example DBR Guardian,
I do not know another flashlight with a near and far beam and such convenient control. Of course, I should like a version of DBR on 4 * CR123 / 2 * 18650, I hope in the future it will appear (I still do not really trust the built-in batteries).

 

[the0dore3524]

Great post Hogo and great story desert.snake! Wholeheartedly agree.

 

[dealgrabber2002]

Anyone remember the video of Surefire sawing into a Maglite?

 

[turbodog]

Interestingly, Surefire has proved to be the least reliable brand of $10+ lights I've ever owned. I had an E1e with a small imperfection in the glass, which on the first drop became a big crack. I had another incident with the E1e where the internals of the click switch just disintegrated leaving it stuck 'on' (could still turn it off by unscrewing the tail slightly). And finally a bulb in a G2 that failed before the first set of batteries had depleted. To Surefire's credit, despite dealing with an international customer, replacement parts were sent out quickly, no questions asked, including free CR123 cells for my trouble. Also, I think my experience of 2 failures out of 2 lights owned is the exception, not the rule.

They are overbuilt, but not perfect.

Had 2 U2 models with failed tailcap innards.

Had 2-3 A2 models with tailcaps that were simply too long and bottomed out before making electrical contact.

And had an L4 that simply split the emitter in half due to unregulated heat.

 

[turbodog]

Anyone remember the video of Surefire sawing into a Maglite?

I've seen and done that, posted pics also. It's impressive and persuasive, but not an even comparison: hard anodize versus normal anodize.

 

[sween1911]

Woohoo! It's been almost 11 years now... https://www.candlepowerforums.com/v...-fascination&p=2191414&viewfull=1#post2191414

Seriously though, I'm still a Surefire fan for serious usage. Sure I've got Malkoff and Customlite drop-ins in my Surefires, I have a few Fenix, Thrunites and Olights, but I still love the old school Surefire stuff.
My EDC is an unmodded Surefire L1 Gen6 all day everyday. IMHO lights today are standing on the shoulders of the giants that started the revolution: Surefire, Streamlight and Maglite back in the day.

 

[peter yetman]

Nice one.
P

 

[dealgrabber2002]

recently got a Surefire L1 Gen 5 for a great price, looking for way to run it on 2AA (in the work with one member here to create a extension to run it with 2AA)

 

[sween1911]

There exist 2AA executive-series tubes that should work with the L1 head.

 

[dealgrabber2002]

There exist 2AA executive-series tubes that should work with the L1 head.

So you know where I buy one?

Nvm, it won't work. The driver is in the body, not in the L1 head.

 

[Timothybil]

I haven't read all the responses, so someone else may have already mentioned this. But I don't think many people think about all the money tied up in the spare parts Surefire keeps for all their lights. If I recall correctly, it has only been in the last couple years that Surefire has replaced original 6Ps, etc. with more recent versions rather than an exact replacement. That tells me that one, they carried a lot of spare parts for a long time for those lights, and two, they have finally used all of those parts up. Even at actual production costs, that is an awful lot of money tied up in inventory. Money that could have been used elsewhere in the company, and that therefor had to be made up on some other way, such as adding to the price of new products.

Don't bother climbing all over my case about this, because I'm not going to be reading any responses. I leave with one final though. As someone else on this page stated, value is relative. To me, as just a flashaholic, most Surefire lights cost more than I am willing to pay when there are other manufacturers that that provide similar products at lower prices. But I am not putting my life on the line when I use my lights. If my life and well being depended on the light I was using, Surefire lights would not be expensive at all. It has only been in the last few years the Surefire seems to be aiming most of their products more toward the consumer market, instead of mainly the military and civil users.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

On that note, I'm closing this thread.

Bill