Why are SureFire Handgun Lights so Expensive?

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  • knastera

    Just another shooter
    May 6, 2013
    1,484
    Baltimore County
    I just got a solid aluminum, quick disconnect, 300 lumen gun light from eBay for $19.99. The shipping was free and it even came with the 3V lithium battery. It fits my Glock 23 like it was made for it. A comparable light from SureFire is going for $279 at several vendors. What makes SureFire so good that it is so expensive? I'm sure there must be a reason, but I don't get it.
     

    mopar92

    Official MDS Court Jester
    May 5, 2011
    9,513
    Taneytown
    Testing, R&D, Made in USA, solid fully potted electronics, recoil testing and evaluation by leading industry professionals...............

    I buy and recommmend only 3 lights. Olight for EDC. Streamlight for WML. But.....if you're going to places where theres no repair or replacement infrastructure Surefire is the only choice.
     

    4guyz1stool

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Apr 16, 2017
    172
    If you paid $20 for a light on ebay its a POS I guarantee it. It will not stand up to abuse at all. A surefire will.
     

    j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    I just got a solid aluminum, quick disconnect, 300 lumen gun light from eBay for $19.99. The shipping was free and it even came with the 3V lithium battery. It fits my Glock 23 like it was made for it. A comparable light from SureFire is going for $279 at several vendors. What makes SureFire so good that it is so expensive? I'm sure there must be a reason, but I don't get it.

    My son did some work for Surefire for the last 6-7 months. Now granted what he was working on was a lot more involved than a gun light. But they figured they had well over a $1mil on R&D, fabrication and testing before it went to the military for just the 1st round of testing.

    I can't imagine how much they put into every item that eventually makes it to the commercial market.

    The dollars are staggering!
     

    Bob A

    όυ φροντισ
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Nov 11, 2009
    30,691
    Their customer service is tremendous. They back up their products to the hilt. I wore out a switch on mine, called them, and a new one came in the mail a couple days later. No charge, of course.
     

    j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    Their customer service is tremendous. They back up their products to the hilt. I wore out a switch on mine, called them, and a new one came in the mail a couple days later. No charge, of course.

    My son was VERY impressed with the owners. They have some amazing toys too.
     

    DC-W

    Ultimate Member
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 23, 2013
    25,290
    ️‍
    Brown Bear only costs a couple dollars a box. Why buy anything else guys?

    :D
     

    terp91

    Active Member
    Mar 14, 2013
    204
    Halethorpe
    Depends on what you want the $20 light to do.

    Q

    It's like comparing the LED lights they give out for free at HarborFreight to a real ($80+ name brand) flashlight. As an extra light in the garage or workshop the free one is fine; backpacking where you may need to rely on it, the one you pay for has a few advantages.

    Difference is, with a weapon light there's really no point to having it if it isn't truly reliable. If the power goes out at your house, are you going to use your handgun as a flashlight? I can see it as useful for kids playing with airsoft guns, but that's about it.
     

    hogarth

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 13, 2009
    2,504
    Is this derp day or something?

    A $20 light as good as a Surefire?

    Shoot with it mounted every time you go to the range for the next year. Get back to us with how well it's working then.
     

    knastera

    Just another shooter
    May 6, 2013
    1,484
    Baltimore County
    Is this derp day or something?

    A $20 light as good as a Surefire?

    Shoot with it mounted every time you go to the range for the next year. Get back to us with how well it's working then.



    You missed the point of the question. Here it is again:

    "What makes SureFire so good that it is so expensive? I'm sure there must be a reason, but I don't get it."

    I wasn't saying the $20 light is as good as the SureFire. I assumed there must be a reason why it is so much more expensive, I just didn't know why. People that answered the question, instead of calling me a "derp," understood that. They pointed out things like R&D, service after the sale, made in America, etc. Calling somebody a name because you thought their question was stupid totally defeats the purpose of this forum. Attempting to alienate somebody is the exact opposite of what we try to do here. Is your purpose on this site to help others learn, or do you just want to ridicule everyone that doesn't know as much as you?

    To answer helpful questions, I'm only planning on having it on my home SD gun and taking it to the range every now and then to make sure I understand the different feeling of having a few extra ounces on the front of my gun.

    I have no misconceptions about durability. I don't think that SureFire has somehow duped intelligent shooters into buying an overpriced product that performs no better than a $20 knockoff.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,884
    Streamlight vs $20 light ? No comparisons, for all the reasons listed above .

    A decent quality 300 lumen pistol light for less than $279 ? That can be done . 30sec of googling found a Streamlight TLR-1 for $126.99 from LA Police Gear .
     

    Neutron

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 20, 2014
    1,532
    severna park
    You missed the point of the question. Here it is again:

    "What makes SureFire so good that it is so expensive? I'm sure there must be a reason, but I don't get it."

    I wasn't saying the $20 light is as good as the SureFire. I assumed there must be a reason why it is so much more expensive, I just didn't know why. People that answered the question, instead of calling me a "derp," understood that. They pointed out things like R&D, service after the sale, made in America, etc. Calling somebody a name because you thought their question was stupid totally defeats the purpose of this forum. Attempting to alienate somebody is the exact opposite of what we try to do here. Is your purpose on this site to help others learn, or do you just want to ridicule everyone that doesn't know as much as you?



    To answer helpful questions, I'm only planning on having it on my home SD gun and taking it to the range every now and then to make sure I understand the different feeling of having a few extra ounces on the front of my gun.

    I have no misconceptions about durability. I don't think that SureFire has somehow duped intelligent shooters into buying an overpriced product that performs no better than a $20 knockoff.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Well said.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Their customer service is tremendous. They back up their products to the hilt. I wore out a switch on mine, called them, and a new one came in the mail a couple days later. No charge, of course.

    At least in my limited experience, so does streamlight. I got a used one and it was DOA. I called them and they still fixed it under warranty even though it wasn't bought through them used or anything.

    My 2 cents is if it was something I needed to rely on for a job, home defense or SHTF, I am buying the really expensive weapon light. If it is just something I was going to play around with, I'll get some cheap thing from China that might not last.
     

    Qbeam

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 16, 2008
    6,074
    Georgia
    It's like comparing the LED lights they give out for free at HarborFreight to a real ($80+ name brand) flashlight. As an extra light in the garage or workshop the free one is fine; backpacking where you may need to rely on it, the one you pay for has a few advantages.

    Difference is, with a weapon light there's really no point to having it if it isn't truly reliable. If the power goes out at your house, are you going to use your handgun as a flashlight? I can see it as useful for kids playing with airsoft guns, but that's about it.

    Is this derp day or something?

    A $20 light as good as a Surefire?

    Shoot with it mounted every time you go to the range for the next year. Get back to us with how well it's working then.

    That was the OP's question, reiterated above. Surefire has always been pricey, look at when the first 6P came out at ~$65 for the focused "high intensity" incandescent beam (which sometimes broke when it rolled off the table). I bought one, but most folks thought it was way overpriced. If I need a toolbox light, harbor freight, home depot, or ebay light will work over the $100+ light overkill (if you are flush with cash, feel free to stock up with high end stuff). Home defense or going into harsh/unknown conditions, I'll pay the extra for testing and reliability that comes with the known flashlight brands.

    Q
     

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