why the twist on/off lights?

Midget

Midget

Gold Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2002
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2,806
so i got my fenix P1 today.

wow! what a flashlight. we're talking blindingly bright light out of this teeny, 123A sized flashlight. this one is staying on my keychain, and i can retire that bulky surefire E2D from my pocket EDC. this really is a great flashlight, quality and pricewise, it can't be beat.


with that said. i HATE twist on/off switches. why do so many flashlight companies use that system? inova, fenix, maglite, lower end surefires... other than the system being simple and cheap for the manufacturer, is there any reason why it's used?

because i can think of disadvantages. the generation of friction (to keep it from screwing/unscrewing accidentally) is that oring. and it seems to me, after enough on/off action of the flashlight, that oring is going to dry and wear out. dirt, lint, dust is going to get in the threads if you carry it on your keychain, and that's going to make that oring less water resistant. not to mention, the twist-switch requires two hands to manipulate.

i'm only for clicky on/off switches--they just seem to make so much sense.

has anyone ever worn out their twist switch? what happened?

and can anyone recommend to me a flashlight comparable to the fenix P1 that has a clicky switch? i only know about HDS systems lights, which look fantastic, but about 3x too expensive.




in advance, i probably know what most of you are going to say. inspect my equipment frequently, relube and replace the oring frequently.... but it just seems to me, the reason why i'd buy nice equipment is for dependability and convenience. i want my flashlight to be on when i need it on, i want my knife to cut when i need it to cut, and my watch to tell time when i look at it. otherwise, i want to forget they're there. is that too much to ask?
 
Twisty switches are simple, reliable, durable, and allow the light to be smaller. Adding a clicky switch adds complexity and length. On a purposely small light like the P1, making it larger would defeat that purpose. An alternative would have been to get an L2P and one of the aftermarket CR123A or CR2 bodies, but these are all sold out (might still be able to find one on the secondary market though, check out CPF).

And yes, any twisty switch should be periodically cleaned and relubed. We're not talking daily maintainance though. I keep a CR2 Ion on my keychain, in my pocket, and I only relube it every few weeks or so. I should also mention that I'm working in flour 5 days a week (making pizzas), and that stuff gets everywhere. A clicky might not need maintainance like a twisty does, but remember that it's a more complex system with moving parts. Not to mention a rubber switch boot, which can be worn through, tear, etc. There's more to fail and to wear out. Given time, any clicky will fail. Surefire has their no-questions-asked warranty, but they don't warranty switches that fail over time because all switches, given enough time, will fail.

Size or technical requirements not withstanding, I too prefer a click switch over a twist; my main carry flashlight is an HDS U60XRGT. My other two carry lights (McLux PD and SF A2) are 2 stage momentaries with twisty constant on (a clicky wouldn't work). Given your price range, the only lights I'm aware of (worth mentioning) with a clicky like you'd want are the Nuwai Q3 and Dorcy Super 1W. But both of these (and the HDS and Surefire E1L too) are substantially larger than the P1, so if you're looking for a clicky about the size of your P1, you're out of luck unless you can find the aftermarket L2P bodies I've mentioned. I don't think anybody's made bodies that work for the L1T/L2T yet, but it's probable that someone will.
 
in my experience only the really small lites (ie arc aaa, ) have the twist switch, i dont know of any SF thats twist only, none of mine are (ie M2,Z2,Z3, E2e, E1e, etc) my fenix L1P has the clicky too.
 
my p1 is broken.

story and pics to follow.





i waited for this on the tadgear waiting list for 3 months, and i've had it less than 3 hours.
 
alright, so between when my P1 arrived at my door and now, i have been in my living room, the post office, and in the computer labs. i have not been jumping out of helicopters, or in the mountains of afghanistan. i am wearing dockers.

i got my p1 via ups about 3-4 hours ago. since then, i've inserted a battery, put it on a keychain, stood in my bathroom in the dark, and made a post about twist on/off switches.

about half an hour ago, as i was walking out of the post office and grab my keys out of my pocket. not being used to having the flashlight on there (my keys are a lot bulkier now than before) it slipped out of my hand. it fell down a ledge near a stairwell. i approximate 6-7 feet, onto concrete.

there is a small dent in the metal case, preventing the head from screwing down. i can turn the head really hard, but the light doesn't come on.

i'm not saying this isn't my fault. i should have been a lot more careful. i guess it just irks me that i've waited so long for tadgear to get these back in stock. and i guess it just irks me that the fall wasn't that far, and my keys aren't that heavy. this is more of a rant, i guess.


i bet fenix has a great warrantee, and ill send it back to them and see what becomes of it. but even if they replace the light, i think i'm done with fenix.

i hit the light with my macro lens so you can see the damage.

dsc0018lg7.jpg


dsc0021wx8.jpg


life sucks.
 
what's preventing the head from screwing down? Can this be fixed with some filing? Not cool though.
 
Wow, that's quite a ding for a 6 foot fall. I wonder what grade of aluminum they're using for the body. We're so used to seeing ad photos of Surefires and the like being run over by trucks and still working.

I don't know if you're a CPF guy or not, but you might want to post over there as well. You may get some idea as to how Phenix will likely respond to your dilemma.

In the meantime, see if you can screw the head off and then check the contact points. One of the main advantages of these LED lights is that they're supposed to be able to handle this kind of abuse without missing a beat. Also check the battery- they can occasionally be damaged in falls.
 
nope, can't unscrew the head.

so, the ding goes into the cap, which kind of locks it down on the threads. when i unscrew the cap, the lightbulb assembly comes off instead. does that make sense? i'd take a picture but i'm tired.

it is quite a dent--that's what gets me the most. like i said, it's my fault more than anything else... i think one of the teeth of my keys is what bit the body--it must have just landed at that perfect angle or something. my luck.


i sent an email to tadgear, and i'm crossing my fingers that they'll help me out. i searched the fenix website for an address to send for a repair, but no luck.
on the package there's an address to the fenix company factory, in china.


thanks for the reminder about candlepowerforums, bronco. i've been there in the past; i guess i'll pay them a visit tomorrow.
 
Midget said:
thanks for the reminder about candlepowerforums, bronco. i've been there in the past; i guess i'll pay them a visit tomorrow.
Click to expand...

No prob, bro. Sorry about the bad luck.
 
i *just* got a call from mike at tadgear.com.

looks like they going to take care of me.


so hoooray for tadgear!
 
that's not really the point, is it?
in the first place, the malfunction should not have happened
one tiny little ding that should at the very most have been cosmetic ended up destroying the functionlity of the light
methinks the design/materials needs to be looked into
 
you're right, DEA.

i think the aluminum fenix uses is too soft.

but i think it's half and half. you could argue that it's not a malfunction, since i did drop it, and flashlights aren't functionally made to be dropped.


the point is, i should have been more careful (and i am warning you fenix owners to be more careful), fenix should make a tougher product, and in the end tadgear is making everything right.
 
DEA said:
that's not really the point, is it?
Click to expand...

I suppose not. However, if this incident turns out to be typical of the performance we can expect from these Chinese lights, then the marketplace will eventually adjust. Tadgear markets their products in a way so as to attract folks who occasionally use their gear and who are willing to pay a premium for something that is overbuilt. If Tadgear encounters many more customers with the same problems as Midget, then they're not going to want to continue stocking their product- at which point Fenix will be forced to sell their lights to Walmart at $5 a unit, rather than to tactical supply houses at $30 a copy.

In the meantime let's give credit where credit is due to the good folks at Tadgear for making things right for Midget.
 
Bronco said:
In the meantime let's give credit where credit is due to the good folks at Tadgear for making things right for Midget.
Click to expand...

agreed
it's hard to find people who stand by the products they sell
even less so when they don't actually produce the stuff themselves
 
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