# How rare are the Surefire SW01 tailcap?



## Silgt (Aug 6, 2013)

Trying to learn more about these tailcaps -- I know there are two official version (Fatty & Baker's cap?) and an unofficial one (UU06 aka Slim SW01).

How long were they in production, and what makes them so desirable/collectible?

I just saw a 7.5/10 condition SW01 going for $365 + shipping on fleabay...what gives???


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## archimedes (Aug 6, 2013)

Silgt said:


> Trying to learn more about these tailcaps -- I know there are two official version (Fatty & Baker's cap?) and an unofficial one (UU06 aka Slim SW01)....



The tape-switch is usually called the "Skinny", and the "Bakers Cap" has been called the "Slim" ... 

The "Fatty" was replaced by the "Slim", before being discontinued.

Here's an old thread with some info ...

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?155324


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## jamesmtl514 (Aug 7, 2013)

I love these tail caps. 
They are rare because not many were made.

The fatty was commissioned by a weapons company IIRC. They wanted a switch that was easy to operate in the cold with gloves on. 

Here are some photos i just took to illustrate the side by side differences.


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## el_Pablo (Aug 7, 2013)

i checked this auction this morning... when i saw the ending price i almost fell!


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## 880arm (Aug 7, 2013)

I think the rarity is finding them in good condition. Like James mentioned, they were intended for the M9xx series of weapon lights and in one form or the other were standard equipment so there have been a ton of them produced. However, in line with their intended usage they tended to receive a lot of wear.

I live near a military base and I wouldn't exactly call them common but I used to be able to find more SW01's and SW02's than C2's in an afternoon of hitting the pawn and surplus shops near base. You can see a little more about them in the old Tactical Products catalogs.

2001 Tactical Products Price List - Check out the switch on the M951. Looks like the precursor to the "fatty"
2002 Weapon Lights Catalog - Beginning on page 34


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## Chechen (Aug 12, 2013)

I have two "slim's" myself. I love these caps. Wish I could get my grubby paws on more of them.


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## carl (Aug 25, 2013)

The "Skinny" appears to be tail "standable". Does anyone make a knockoff this one today?


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## Norm (Aug 25, 2013)

Malkoff and SolarForce gave a tail stand-able tail cap, although they aren't a copy of the skinny.

Norm


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## slingsy (Aug 25, 2013)

I'll have an 01 fatty someday! just can't bring myself to bite the bullet when they come around..


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## Silgt (Aug 26, 2013)

carl said:


> The "Skinny" appears to be tail "standable"...



Unfortunately, NO


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## Blackbird13 (Aug 26, 2013)

Why is it that sf can't see how popular these things are and , start another run of thm to me it's just not smart business . It seems that way for a few reasons with sf lately and I'm a huge fan so it's frustrating . If there was only someone here that new some people high up with sf who could talk to them. I have sent them letters, emails and phone calls about similar things in the past, which ends always in we are happy to here your interest in it and well advise our manager . Has anyone else ever tried talking to these folks about your concerns


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## Eric242 (Aug 26, 2013)

I´m sure on a real Surefire cale the SW01 is not really popular. It only appears so on our small CPF world.

Eric


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## carl (Aug 26, 2013)

thanks. I guess the button pops out when screwed onto a body with the battery against the spring.


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## Silgt (Aug 26, 2013)

Exactly...because for the lack of any retainer ring to hold the switch & rubber boot


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## Rat (Aug 27, 2013)

Here is my favorite tail standing tailcap for my Surefire lights.
Second from the left. * The Gamp* they are extremely rare and almost imposable to buy these days.





:wave:


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## Eric242 (Aug 28, 2013)

Ganp  This particular one went from the UK (Ganp) to germany (me) to the UK again and finaly to australia. That´s one of the parts I actually regret selling. Really rare to have a third party part to have Surefire quality HA anodizig.

Eric


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## Blackbird13 (Aug 28, 2013)

Rat u always got some awesome lights, what kind of heads are those


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## Eric242 (Aug 28, 2013)

That´s a finned Surefire M2 head, 3x Cryos M2 sized cooling bezel and a Fivemega head.

Eric


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## Chechen (Aug 28, 2013)

I just saw one of these sell on eBay for over 300$ U.S. Really tempts me to sell the two I have... But I'm gonna hold out on that XD


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## Rat (Aug 28, 2013)

Blackbird13 said:


> Rat u always got some awesome lights, what kind of heads are those



Eric is spot on.
What about this head ? :naughty: I just put it all together tonight. Its got a skinny so I am still on topic :devil:






:wave:


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## Silgt (Aug 28, 2013)

Interesting...more details about the head please

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 2


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## Eric242 (Aug 28, 2013)

Chechen said:


> I just saw one of these sell on eBay for over 300$ U.S. Really tempts me to sell the two I have... But I'm gonna hold out on that XD


If I had two if these, I´d probably keep them as well. Ultimately it depends on how much you are actually into Surefire...for most people it would be a no brainer to make them into good coin.



Rat said:


> Eric is spot on.
> What about this head ? :naughty: I just put it all together tonight. Its got a skinny so I am still on topic :devil:


That´s the head of a P-Series WeaponLight I´d say. At least that´s what they call it in their 2001 weapon light price list :devil:
P-Series not because it would be compatible with the C/Z/P Series but rather because it´s made of nitrolon *P*olymer.

Eric


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## Chechen (Sep 4, 2013)

Eric242 said:


> If I had two if these, I´d probably keep them as well. Ultimately it depends on how much you are actually into Surefire...for most people it would be a no brainer to make them into good coin.




Ohh I plan to keep there for a while


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## Rat (Sep 10, 2013)

Silgt said:


> Interesting...more details about the head please
> 
> Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 2




Sorry missed this question. Eric is right the bezel is from a Surefire P106 weaponlight. The bezel is made of alloy. The rest of the light is made out of Nitrolon Polymer.
One thing you should know is its not a straight forward fit. That C2 body needed to be modified for it to fit.

:wave:


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## HotWire (Sep 14, 2013)

I have 3 of the SW01 fattys. One is on an M3 and the other two are on Leaf-bodies with Surefire turbo heads. Wish I had more. One is in near pristine condition, the other two have seen some use in combat. I keep the M3 next to my computer in case the lights go out! I look at it and play with it every day! The SW01 fatty is a solid well-designed (& easy to use) part of Surefire's history.

(Update) I've recently acquired a SW01 Slim. It is a perfect color match for my Solarforce L2P with an XML2 U2. This switch has seen use! It's nicked and scraped, but so.... very nice to use!


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## m4a1usr (Oct 12, 2013)

HotWire said:


> The SW01 fatty is a solid well-designed (& easy to use) part of Surefire's history.


 Not a bad investment tool either for todays collectors. Cant believe how much they are going for these day's. And they were cheaper (MSRP) than the SW02 back when you could order them up. Ah how times have changed.


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## Blackbird13 (Oct 13, 2013)

Out of all of there tail caps the swo1 is my favorite it just looks bada$$


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## Blackbird13 (Oct 20, 2013)

jamesmtl514 said:


> I love these tail caps.
> They are rare because not many were made.
> 
> The fatty was commissioned by a weapons company IIRC. They wanted a switch that was easy to operate in the cold with gloves on.
> ...


Is this skinny realy a sw01


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## Rat (Oct 20, 2013)

Blackbird13 said:


> Is this skinny realy a sw01



No it's a UU06 pressure switch tailcap . It has been named the skinny by Surefire enthusiast.
It does not work the best as a Skinny more for looks IMO.



:wave:


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## jamesmtl514 (Oct 21, 2013)

What Rat said...
Sorry if i added confusion.
My photo was for illustration purposes


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## Blackbird13 (Oct 21, 2013)

jamesmtl514 said:


> What Rat said...
> Sorry if i added confusion.
> My photo was for illustration purposes


I still think they look cool are they also made of metal


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## Rat (Oct 26, 2013)

Blackbird13 said:


> I still think they look cool are they also made of metal



Yes Alloy


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## ampdude (Oct 27, 2013)

I always liked the look of the skinny, though I find it impractical, compared to the baker's hat and the fatty. And it is a nice change up from the regular Z41-HA twisty. I really like the fatty for glove use and I wish they still made them. I have some, and with the current market prices (saw one sell on ebay in a sealed weaponlight for $620) I'm tempted to sell them, but can't bring myself to. Where will I find one again? 

By the way, what size is the rubber boot in the skinny? It looks about the size of an M6. I've never seen a skinny with a rubber boot in person, only a ton of UU06's.


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## Rat (Oct 28, 2013)

ampdude said:


> I always liked the look of the skinny, though I find it impractical, compared to the baker's hat and the fatty. And it is a nice change up from the regular Z41-HA twisty. I really like the fatty for glove use and I wish they still made them. I have some, and with the current market prices (saw one sell on ebay in a sealed weaponlight for $620) I'm tempted to sell them, but can't bring myself to. Where will I find one again?
> 
> By the way, what size is the rubber boot in the skinny? It looks about the size of an M6. I've never seen a skinny with a rubber boot in person, only a ton of UU06's.



You use the boot out of a round 3p,6p or 9P


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## Silgt (Oct 28, 2013)

Rat said:


> You use the boot out of a round 3p,6p or 9P



Those are a size too small...I need to use the boot from a Z48/Z49. If anyone know where I can buy those, kindly drop me a line. Thanks

_*correction...William is correct. The boot from those vintage 3P/6P/9P will fit :thumbsup: However the boot of a Z41 from the newer 6P are smaller and won't fit. _


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## ampdude (Oct 28, 2013)

Rat said:


> You use the boot out of a round 3p,6p or 9P



I'm assuming you use the drop out internals as well?


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## Rat (Oct 28, 2013)

ampdude said:


> I'm assuming you use the drop out internals as well?




Yep


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## ampdude (Oct 28, 2013)

Damn, I always hated those. Still do..... they did it best with the allen head screw. Then they messed up again when they went to the rivet. A lot of good switches made with those, but not ideal...

I have an old minty Laser Products marked Z41 twisty from an M3 in the old school golden HA finish with the allen head screw. That's when they did it best.


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## Blackbird13 (Nov 18, 2013)

I love these tail caps , there needs to be a thread dedicated to nothing but these things.oh ya there is one


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## m4a1usr (Nov 27, 2013)

Silgt said:


> Those are a size too small...I need to use the boot from a Z48/Z49. If anyone know where I can buy those, kindly drop me a line. Thanks
> 
> _*correction...William is correct. The boot from those vintage 3P/6P/9P will fit :thumbsup: However the boot of a Z41 from the newer 6P are smaller and won't fit. _


Ironically I too was wondering where to find a boot that would fit with the UM00 tailcap and guess what? My K40 SupBeam provided me the answer. The spare boot you get when you buy a light is a PERFECT match. I do wish it was a tad bit deeper BUT. If fits like a glove. And with a slight bit of "Flashaholic" ingenuity it can be made to work with the internals of a Surefire tailcap. I used the internals of my M3 Combat Light switch. The diameter of the metal contact is a couple mm larger than a 6P/C2 etc.


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## Rat (Nov 28, 2013)

*"WARNING ALL SUREFIRE COLLECTORS"*


Large number of FAKE SW01 Slim’s are flooding the market along with other tail caps. They are every good fakes.
I will start a new thread very soon showing how to tell them apart. If you have purchased one on Ebay that was not sealed in a package then you might have a fake.

EDIT: New thread up about fakes http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ire-SW01-Slim-tail-caps&p=4328459#post4328459

:wave:


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## jamesmtl514 (Dec 1, 2013)

Very sad news! ! 
I have paid top dollar for over a dozen SW switches, I'll be devastated to find a fake among them.

News to follow.


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## Rat (Dec 1, 2013)

jamesmtl514 said:


> Very sad news! !
> I have paid top dollar for over a dozen SW switches, I'll be devastated to find a fake among them.
> 
> News to follow.




I hope you get lucky James and find *ZERO*. 
It has hit me hard to find one other in my collection from a while ago :shakehead I do not like throwing $350 down the drain like that.

Lets see what you find 



:wave:


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## Rat (Dec 5, 2013)

Blackbird13 said:


> I love these tail caps , there needs to be a thread dedicated to nothing but these things.oh ya there is one



WTF is that a C2 Remington in HA ? The one with the KL5 bezel. If it is I have never seen one in HA only Black HA and I have only ever seen two of them on CPF they are so rare.
Tell us more :thumbsup:


:wave:


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## Blackbird13 (Dec 9, 2013)

Rat said:


> WTF is that a C2 Remington in HA ? The one with the KL5 bezel. If it is I have never seen one in HA only Black HA and I have only ever seen two of them on CPF they are so rare.
> Tell us more :thumbsup:
> 
> 
> :wave:


i knew that it was a little unique, but I didn't know how rare. It's in mint condition other than the kl5 head. I hope to find a blk one to complete the Lil collection . Thanks for the info


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## Rat (Dec 9, 2013)

Blackbird13 said:


> i knew that it was a little unique, but I didn't know how rare. It's in mint condition other than the kl5 head. I hope to find a blk one to complete the Lil collection . Thanks for the info



So it is a C2. It has it the words Remington on one side I can see that what about the other side's ? Has it got Military Products division anywhere ? 
How about more pics ? You could post them in the rare Surefire section or C2 addicts thread.

:wave:


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## Blackbird13 (Dec 10, 2013)

Rat said:


> So it is a C2. It has it the words Remington on one side I can see that what about the other side's ? Has it got Military Products division anywhere ?
> How about more pics ? You could post them in the rare Surefire section or C2 addicts thread.
> It is a c2 but has no military div markings
> :wave:


that sounds good ill post some new pics on the rare thread


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