I bought a Cold Steel Master Hunter in carbon steel last month from an online vendor. When the order arrived the sheath was defective- the strap that holds the knife in place could not be snapped shut around the handle of the knife due to improper installation at the factory of the two snap pieces. This means that the knife could fall out of the kydex sheath.
With the vendor's permission I returned this knife for exchange. However, the new knife arrived today and it has the same problem! This must be a defective run of sheaths. I already have a Master Hunter in stainless steel I bought elsewhere, and the strap on the sheath snaps shut quite nicely and holds the knife securely, so I know this is not the way this sheath is supposed to work.
Meanwhile, I stopped by another vendor today who is mostly online but who also has a store. I bought a couple of Photon II LED lights (no problem) plus an Inova XO LED flashlight. The latter really impressed me with how bright it is-you can turn it on through the packaging which is how I could tell. Well, I get home, take it out of the packaging, and guess what? There's a loud and irritating rattle coming from the head of the flashlight! There's not anything loose on the outside- it's something inside that I can't get to. This is just not acceptable, especially on such an expensive flashlight, and it doesn't give me any confidence that the light will be reliable in the future.
The two vendors shall remain nameless for now until I see how well they handle these returns. They have a chance to make a good or bad name for themselves here on this forum.
Speaking of that, I bought a Bark River Gameskeeper this last summer and I found it had a slight problem with the end of the handle. Mike Stewart of Bark River took care of it at no charge and with no hassle. Good service, Mike!
Bill D.
With the vendor's permission I returned this knife for exchange. However, the new knife arrived today and it has the same problem! This must be a defective run of sheaths. I already have a Master Hunter in stainless steel I bought elsewhere, and the strap on the sheath snaps shut quite nicely and holds the knife securely, so I know this is not the way this sheath is supposed to work.
Meanwhile, I stopped by another vendor today who is mostly online but who also has a store. I bought a couple of Photon II LED lights (no problem) plus an Inova XO LED flashlight. The latter really impressed me with how bright it is-you can turn it on through the packaging which is how I could tell. Well, I get home, take it out of the packaging, and guess what? There's a loud and irritating rattle coming from the head of the flashlight! There's not anything loose on the outside- it's something inside that I can't get to. This is just not acceptable, especially on such an expensive flashlight, and it doesn't give me any confidence that the light will be reliable in the future.
The two vendors shall remain nameless for now until I see how well they handle these returns. They have a chance to make a good or bad name for themselves here on this forum.
Speaking of that, I bought a Bark River Gameskeeper this last summer and I found it had a slight problem with the end of the handle. Mike Stewart of Bark River took care of it at no charge and with no hassle. Good service, Mike!
Bill D.
I had a PincetonTec LED die on the first set of batteries. I sent it back. In a week a brand new flashlight arrived from PrincetonTec. 
Their prices are not always the very lowest (nobody is) but are very competitive. Sometimes they *are* the lowest- they sell the Photon II mini-LED for $9.99. They also gave me a great deal on a Benchmade 520. 
